Category: BLOG TOUR

BLOG TOUR: Sanctuary, Caryn Lix (July 10, 2018)

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Alien meets Alexandra Bracken’s The Darkest Minds in this thrilling debut novel about prison-guard-in-training, Kenzie, who is taken hostage by the superpowered criminal teens of the Sanctuary space station—only to have to band together with them when the station is attacked by mysterious creatures. If you’re a fan of epic sci-fi adventures, SANCTUARY is right up your alley.

Thank you Fantastic Flying Book Club for including me on this blog tour! Full tour schedule here.

The 411: Kenzie holds one truth above all: the company is everything.

As a citizen of Omnistellar Concepts, the most powerful corporation in the solar system, Kenzie has trained her entire life for one goal: to become an elite guard on Sanctuary, Omnistellar’s space prison for superpowered teens too dangerous for Earth. As a junior guard, she’s excited to prove herself to her company—and that means sacrificing anything that won’t propel her forward.

But then a routine drill goes sideways and Kenzie is taken hostage by rioting prisoners.

At first, she’s confident her commanding officer—who also happens to be her mother—will stop at nothing to secure her freedom. Yet it soon becomes clear that her mother is more concerned with sticking to Omnistellar protocol than she is with getting Kenzie out safely.

As Kenzie forms her own plan to escape, she doesn’t realize there’s a more sinister threat looming, something ancient and evil that has clawed its way into Sanctuary from the vacuum of space. And Kenzie might have to team up with her captors to survive—all while beginning to suspect there’s a darker side to the Omnistellar she knows.

BUY LINKS

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo | IndieBound | iBooks

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caryn Lix has been writing since she was a teenager and delved deep into science fiction, fantasy, and the uncanny while working on her Masters in English literature. Caryn writes novels for teens and anyone else who likes a bit of the bizarre to mess up their day. When not writing, Caryn spends her time obsessively consuming other people’s stories, plotting travel adventures, and exploring artistic endeavors. She lives with her husband and a horde of surly and entitled animals in southern Alberta.

GIVEAWAY

Enter for a chance to win a copy of SANCTUARY! US only, ends 8/1

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR: All Your Perfects, Colleen Hoover (July 17, 2018)

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“Sometimes when people change, it’s not always noticeable in a marriage, because the couple changes together, in the same direction. But sometimes people change in opposite directions.”

Every once in a while we all need one of those rip-your-heart-out-cry-through-a-whole-box-of-tissues kind of book and Colleen Hoover’s yearly releases always provide this for me. Even though it was very different from her previous works, I highly enjoyed WITHOUT MERIT—but if you prefer the heartwrenching romance aspect of CoHo’s work…she’s back in full force with her newest release.

And DEAR LORD keep a box of tissues close and well-stocked because you’re going to need it.

 

“If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim.”

The 411: Quinn and Graham have a perfect love story, but their unique connection is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart, day by heartbreaking day. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair. So do they risk it? Is their history worth saving?

ALL YOUR PERFECTS is a profound novel about a damaged couple struggling with a relatable issue – infertility – whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. In Colleen Hoover’s inimitable style and brilliant narrative voice, this heartbreaking page-turner asks: Can a resounding love with a fairytale beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

For as much as I read, I haven’t read a lot of books about infertility, and this book was certainly a deep dive into the pain couples go through when they’re struggling to get pregnant. The book is from Quinn’s POV and the sorrow and pain she feels is palpable. There were many parts where I was physically hurting from A) how much I was crying and B) simply by empathizing with her character.

We alternate between present day Quinn and Graham and when they first met. The difference is so striking and really a testament of how quickly something like infertility can derail a marriage. As per typical CoHo, Graham is a complete dreamboat and gives some magnanimous speeches that had my poor little heart fluttering. The climax of the book is a scene so incredibly heartbreaking and, ultimately, uplifting that I’m convinced no one else could have pulled this book off other than Colleen.

I have loved every single one of Colleen Hoover’s books and there hasn’t yet been one that didn’t make me cry uncontrollably. I like that her books aren’t just sex, sex, sex (not my cup of tea), and they always have intense stories and a conflict that tackles an important subject.

MY RATING:  ✰✰✰✰✰
RECOMMENDED READING: Colleen Hoover’s entire catalog (obvi), but also Lauren Layne, and Christina Lauren.

Thank you Atria Books for including me on this tour and for my galley.

COLLEEN HOOVER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, Point of Retreat, This Girl, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Maybe Not, Ugly Love, Confess, November 9, It Ends with Us, and Without Merit. Colleen has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three times—for Confess in 2015, It Ends with Us in 2016, and Without Merit in 2017. Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Colleen and her family founded The Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service offering signed novels donated by authors. All profits are given to various charities each month to help those in need. Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Visit ColleenHoover.com.

Colleen will be hitting the road on the ALL YOUR PERFECTS tour! See below for all the dates, and hopefully see some of you at the Minneapolis stop!

  • 07/17: Denver, CO, 7:00 PM | TATTERED COVER BOOKSTORE | Tickets
  • 07/23: Portland, OR, 7:00 PM | POWELL’S BOOKS | Call store for details: 503-228-4651 or pre-order
  • 07/24: Seattle, WA, 7:00 PM | THIRD PLACE BOOKS | Tickets
  • 07/25: San Francisco, CA, 7:00 PM | BOOK PASSAGE | Tickets
  • 07/26: San Diego, CA, 7:30 PM | WARWICK’S | Tickets
  • 07/27: Phoenix, AZ, 7:00 PM | CHANGING HANDS BOOKSTORE | Tickets
  • 07/28: Los Angeles, CA, 4:00 PM | THE RIPPED BODICE | Tickets
  • 07/29: Dallas, TX, 6:00 PM | HALF PRICE BOOKS | Information
  • 08/02: Atlanta, GA, 7:00 PM | EAGLE EYE BOOKS | Tickets
  • 08/03: Asheville, NC, 6:00 PM | MALAPROP’S BOOKSTORE/CAFE | Tickets
  • 08/04: Cincinnati, OH, 5:00 PM | JOSEPH-BETH BOOKSELLERS | Tickets 
  • 08/05: Chicago, IL, 3:00 PM | ANDERSON’S BOOKSHOP | Tickets
  • 08/06: Detroit, MI, 6:30 PM | SCHULER BOOKS & MUSIC, Okemos | Tickets
  • 08/07: Minneapolis, MN, 7:00 PM | BARNES AND NOBLE/Edina | Call for more details: 952-920-2124
  • 08/08: Kansas City, KS, 7:00 PM | RAINY DAY BOOKS | Tickets
  • 08/09: Austin, TX, 7:00 PM | BOOK PEOPLE | Tickets
  • 09/17: New York, NY, 7:00 PM | THE STRAND BOOKSTORE | Tickets

BLOG TOUR: Heart Land, Kimberly Stuart (July 17, 2018)

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Summer is the perfect time to spread out a blanket on the beach and pick up a fluffy, feel-good romance. HEART LAND by Kimberly Stuart is the book you need this summer. Think, Sweet Home Alabama: The Midwest Version. So basically, Sweet Home Iowa. As an Iowan myself, I jumped at the chance to read a book about Iowans, set in Iowa, and written by an Iowan. Go Hawkeyes.

The 411: Grace Klaren has finally made her dream of living in the Big Apple and working in the fashion industry a reality. But when she’s unexpectedly fired and can’t afford the next month’s rent, Grace does something she never thought she’d do: she moves back home.

Back in Silver Creek, Iowa, Grace is determined to hate it. She rails against the quiet of her small town, where everything closes early, where there’s no nightlife, where everyone knows each other. She’s saving her pennies and plotting her return to New York when she almost runs over a man who’s not paying attention at a crosswalk. It turns out to be Tucker, her high school sweetheart whose heart she broke when she left ten years ago. They reconnect, and Grace remembers why she fell for him in the first place.

And her career begins to turn around when she finds a gorgeous but tattered vintage dress at a flea market. She buys it, rips it apart seam by seam, and re-creates it with new fabric, updating the look with some of her own design ideas. She snaps a picture and lists the dress online, and within a day, it sells for nearly $200. Suddenly, Grace has her ticket out of here.

But Grace can’t fight her growing feelings for Tucker. Sometimes when they’re together, Tucker paints a picture of what their future could be like, and it feels so real. And when she finally gains the funding to move her new business back to New York, Grace must decide where home really is—will she chase her long-held New York dream, or find a new dream here in the heartland?

Ok. So I LOVE books that are set in Iowa or have characters from Iowa. But they always seem to follow this kind of narrative: Main Character is made for more than their small town. They move to the Big City where they are finally able to blossom and grow. Personal growth stories are always great to read, but this kind has always left a bad taste in my mouth. What’s wrong with small towns? What’s wrong with staying in your small town? Some people may need to go to the Big City, I’m not denying that. But not everyone does. Some of us can flourish just fine in our small towns. And I’m over-the-moon that HEART LAND doesn’t fall into this type of story.

I think this is also part of the reason why I didn’t find Grace all that relatable for the first few chapters. Her feelings of superiority over her hometown and her classmates who stayed there were upsetting at first. Stuart made me love Grace, her passion, and, ultimately, her love for Silver Creek.

Now can we talk about how dreamy Tucker is?! I’m not gonna lie, in Sweet Home Alabama, I was all for Patrick Dempsey over Josh Lucas (sorry.) In HEART LAND, there’s not really a prominent triangle but Tucker plays the Josh Lucas character and he wins. He just wins.

The faith factor was also an unexpected and not completely unwelcome aspect to HEART LAND. Tucker and Gigi are both devoutly religious, to the point where Grace teases them about praying and church. Grace’s journey back to Christianity and finding faith in her life again is another part of the journey she goes down during her time in Silver Creek. If you’re looking for a Christian book that isn’t preachy, HEART LAND is perfect. And if religion is something you’d rather not read about, it’s a small enough part of the story that you should still be able to read with no problem.

About the Author: Kimberly Stuart has always treasured a good story and a good laugh. When she’s not engrossed in the charming chaos of motherhood, Stuart writes stories that are intended to make readers laugh often and cry once—maybe twice. Kimberly resides in Des Moines, Iowa, with her fantastic husband and their three wily children.

MY RATING:  ✰✰✰
RECOMMENDED READING: KEEP HER SAFE by K.A. Tucker, KISSING GAMES by Tara Eglington

Thank you Atria/Howard Books for including me on this tour and for my galley.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

BLOG TOUR: The Last Time I Lied, Riley Sager (July 3, 2018)

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the last time i lied blog tour | fantastic flying book club

“Everything is a game, Em. Whether you know it or not. Which means that sometimes a lie is more than just a lie. Sometimes it’s the only way to win.”

Riley Sager is becoming one of my favorite thriller novelists. Last year, I absolutely devoured his debut thriller, FINAL GIRLS, and when I saw he was coming out with a new novel, I knew I had to get my hands on it—which makes me even more excited to be included on the blog tour for THE LAST TIME I LIED. Folks, I loved FINAL GIRLS, but I thiiiiiink I might have loved this even more.

Read on for a spoiler-free review AND a giveaway below.

“Two truths and lie, ladies. I’ll start.” 

The 411:  At 13, Emma Davis is sent to Camp Nightingale aka Camp Rich Bitch for the summer. She’s assigned to the Dogwood cabin and is taken in by her cabin-mates, Natalie, Allison, and most importantly, Queen Bee Vivian Hawthorne. Vivian’s favorite game is “two truths and lie” and over the course of the summer, the girls use it to gang up and humiliate each other. The games end, however, when the other three girls go missing one night. As the last person to see the girls, Emma accuses the camp director’s son, Theo, as the culprit.

Fast-forward 15 years and Emma is a hot up-and-comer on the NYC art scene, where she creates lush paintings of forests, (and unknowingly to everyone else) hides three girls in flowy, white dresses. At an art show, Emma is approached by Franny Harris-White, the former director of Camp Nightingale, with the news that she is reopening the camp and wants Emma to return as staff.

Emma returns to Camp Nightingale in the hopes of finally uncovering what happened to her friends, and to face the Harris-White family, who she tore apart with her accusation.

Ok, friends. There were so many swerves in this book that my motion sickness-prone ass was metaphorically spinning by the end. And let me clarify, these were all the good kind of swerves. Here’s the mandatory disclaimer that I am horrible at figuring out twists in books—so it’s no surprise that the ending threw me for a hell of a loop. But it’s an ending that makes sense and is completely satisfying.

Now, the Unreliable Female Narrator is a super common plot line these days and while I do enjoy this trope, I am seriously tired of the is-she-or-isn’t-she-going-“insane” trope. And honestly, I was a little worried that’s where this book was heading at first. Mental illness is involved, but is maaaaaybe mentioned 10 sentences at most. It’s also not often where I enjoy books without some kind of romantic aspect. I don’t need a relaysh to root for, but it definitely helps me feel more invested.

MY RATING:  ✰✰✰✰1/2
RECOMMENDED READING: Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier, Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst

Also, this book is a July pick for Book for the Month club! If you have a subscription, you should definitely add this to your box and if you don’t—you can grab one here.

BUY LINKS
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo | IndieBound | iBooks 

GIVEAWAY

If you’re still here, I’m going to assume you’re here for the freebie (I’m not cocky enough to assume you’ve kept scrolling for my incomparable wit). Dutton is being amazing and offering up 20 hardcovers of THE LAST TIME I LIED for all the blogs on the tour. To get your own copy of the summer’s hottest thriller, here’s what you need to do:

US/Canada only. Winners can only be chosen once per tour (so if you win on another blog, you’ll be disqualified).

Thank you so much to Fantastic Flying Book Club for including me on the tour and to Dutton for my galley. Check out all the other stops on the blog tour here.

BLOG TOUR: Tell Me Lies, Carola Lovering (June 12, 2018)

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If you enjoy reading about destructive and toxic relationships and like yelling, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” at fictional characters—I have your next read.

TELL ME LIES by Carola Lovering is a compulsively readable drama that feels almost uncomfortably realistic.

The 411: Lucy Albright is far from her Long Island upbringing when she arrives on the campus of her small California college, and happy to be hundreds of miles from her mother, whom she’s never forgiven for an act of betrayal in her early teen years. Quickly grasping at her fresh start, Lucy embraces college life and all it has to offer—new friends, wild parties, stimulating classes. And then she meets Stephen DeMarco. Charming. Attractive. Complicated. Devastating.

 Confident and cocksure, Stephen sees something in Lucy that no one else has, and she’s quickly seduced by this vision of herself, and the sense of possibility that his attention brings her. Meanwhile, Stephen is determined to forget an incident buried in his past that, if exposed, could ruin him, and his single-minded drive for success extends to winning, and keeping, Lucy’s heart. 

Lucy knows there’s something about Stephen that isn’t to be trusted. Stephen knows Lucy can’t tear herself away. And their addicting entanglement will have consequences they never could have imagined.

So, warning: You’re going to get mad. Stephen and Lucy aren’t particularly likable characters by themselves, let alone together, and their decisions are even more frustrating. They’re clearly horrible for each other and the fact that they keep returning to each other had me at the end of my rope. But after sitting with this book a while, Stephen and Lucy’s actions aren’t just plausible—they feel completely accurate of a dependent relationship.

You know that saying, “The real world is ugly”? Well, TELL ME LIES is ugly. In the best way. You’re not going to come out the other side of this book and feel good. But you will have a better understanding of why people stay in their safe little boxes even when they know something isn’t healthy for them. There are millions of Lucys and Stephens out there. And their stories aren’t the most romantic, but are necessary to tell.

MY RATING:  ✰✰✰
RECOMMENDED READING: What Girls Are Made Of by Alana K. Arnold
**CONTENT WARNING: Lucy struggles with weight issues and there are some fairly detailed descriptions regarding her body and food.

Buy Links

Simon & Schuster | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million |
IndieBound | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo

Thank you Atria for my galley and including me on the blog tour. Tell Me Lies is available now.