Posts Categorized: Blog Tour

Rockstar Book Tours: Burn by Elissa Sussman

January 22, 2016 Lily B Blog Tour, Review 11 ★★★½

Burn (Four Sisters, #2) by Elissa Sussman
Series: Four Sisters, #2
Published by Greenwillow Books on January 19th 2016
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Fairy Tales
Pages: 272
Format: Hardcover
Source: Author, Blog Tour
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: zero-flames

I received this book for free from Author, Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

After helping to rescue Princess Aislynn, Elanor has finally rejoined the rebel camp she calls home. Stolen from her parents at a young age and forced into service by the Wicked Queen, Elanor now wants nothing more than to see the queen removed from power. But Elanor has secrets, mistakes she’s spent years trying to forget, and the closer the rebels get to the throne, the harder it is for Elanor to keep her past hidden away.
With fellow rebels on her side—including Princess Aislynn, Thackery, and the handsome and mysterious Matthias—it is time for Elanor to make a decision. Will she protect her secrets? Or risk everything to save the people she loves?
The thrilling companion to Elissa Sussman’s masterful and original fairy tale, Stray, that will appeal to readers of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and fans of Wicked, Into the Woods, and the Disney princess movies.

An interesting story following a girl named Elanor, part of a group of Orphans living in a mountain, who wants more than anything to see the Wicked Queen gone from power. I never read the first book, thought I owned it, I never got around to it. I enjoy fairy tales, so I was actually a little bummed to find out I missed out on the first book, thought all was not lost, that just means I will now need to actually read it.

I was glad that Burn could read as a standalone, though I must admit, reading book one, still would have helped get the whole background story. Nonetheless, I was able to catch up and things eventually clicked into place. I enjoyed Sussman’s writing. I love the amount of creativity that took to spin this tale, and the entire series shows a lot of potential. Even thought the book started a bit slow for me at first, it did eventually pick up and I found myself truly enjoying the story. I loved him limited the magic was in this book and the role it played in the character’s lives.

I did have a bit of a hard time with Elanor, I think for me there was a bit of a disconnect. I am sure in part it was my own mood when I started the book, but I did end up warming up to her by the end of the story. I enjoyed the character growth as the story progressed.

The swoon worthy romance made me happy :), the adventure was exciting and overall, I really enjoyed the writing and the story. I am looking forward to going back and reading the first book to familiarize myself with this growing world in hopes to better prepare myself for the next book!

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a signed paperback of STRAY and buttons. US Only.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/11/2016- Dazzled by Books- Interview

1/12/2016- Seeing Double In Neverland- Review

1/13/2016- The Eater of Books!- Guest Post

1/14/2016- RhiReading- Review

1/15/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

Week Two:

1/18/2016- Stories & Sweeties- Review

1/19/2016- Fire and Ice- Guest Post

1/20/2016- Owl Always Be Reading- Review

1/21/2016- Dark Faerie Tales- Interview

1/22/2016- Night Owl Book Café- Review

About Elissa Sussman

Elissa Sussman is a writer, a reader and a pumpkin pie eater.

She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and in a previous life managed animators and organized spreadsheets at some of the best animation studios in the world, including Nickelodeon, Disney, Dreamworks and Sony Imageworks. You can see her name in the credits of THE CROODS, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG and TANGLED.

She currently lives in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and their rescue mutt, Basil.

Blog Tour Review: Thicker Than Water by Kelly (Fiore) Stultz

January 4, 2016 Lily B Blog Tour, Giveaway, Review 18 ★★★★

Thicker Than Water by Kelly (Fiore) Stultz
Series: Stand-Alone
Published by Harper Teen on January 5th 2016
Genres: Young Adult Contemporary
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: zero-flames

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Cecelia Price killed her brother. At least, that’s what the police and the district attorney are saying. And although Cecelia is now locked up and forced into treatment, she knows the real story is much more complicated.
Cyrus wasn’t always the drug-addled monster he’d become. He was a successful athlete, but when an injury forced him off the soccer field and onto pain medication, his life became a blur of anger, addiction, and violence. All CeCe could do was stand by and watch, until she realized one effective way to take away her brother’s drugs while earning the money she needed for college: selling the pills.
Soon, CeCe becomes part drug dealer, part honor student. But even when all she wants is to make things right, she learns that sometimes the best intentions lead to the worst possible outcome.
Thicker than Water is an unforgettable dark, harrowing look into the disturbing truth of drug addiction and the desperate love of a sister watching her brother deteriorate before her eyes.

Thicker Than Water was a read that I came away with quite surprised. It’s a story told from Cecelia Price‘s point of view about the death of her brother, her involvement, and going through treatment as she awaits trial for his death.

It was an interesting story, and even more of an interesting subject as the author takes on a challenge of tackling prescription drug abuse in a Young Adult novel. It didn’t feel for the faint of heart. The subject was a bit dark, it was scary, and at times it felt difficult to read.

As Cecelia unfolds the events leading up to her treatment, I found her journey a bit hard to follow. There had been times where I found myself stepping away from the book in order to sort out my feelings. It was heartbreaking witnessing the deterioration of not just her brother but the friendship between them. It was also hard to swallow the fact that this ended up being another Young Adult novel with the clueless absent parents who wore rose colored glasses of blissful ignorance. I won’t lie when I tell you that it was annoying the way her father had handled the brother’s addiction, or how he choose to live in denial instead of finding his own son some help. I won’t tell you how ironic it felt that Cece is the one who ends up in treatment. Thought I have to admit, that part stumped me.

But I did enjoy the book, more than I thought I would given the difficult subject. I applaud the author for bringing something like this up to attention. The writing was amazing and quite talented. The story had me hooked and wandering the entire time about what had happened and what made things fall apart. It was well crafted, but the end did kind of surprise me and I am not sure if it was in a good or bad way.

Everything I thought I knew, felt like it wasn’t. Making everything that Cece had ever felt guilty of kind of scratch my head a little. But unfortunately I cannot go too far into why, without ruining the book.

Overall, it was really well written, despite a few problems. The story line was a bit dark, parts of it made me feel bad for Cece and the sibling relationship she lost with her brother, parts of it made it hard to read it.

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THICKER THAN WATER. US Only.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

12/28/2015- Ohana Reads- Interview

12/29/2015- Here’s to Happy Endings- Review

12/30/2015- FICTION FARE- Guest Post

12/31/2015- In Wonderland- Review

1/1/2016- PLEASE FEED THE BOOKWORM- Interview

Week Two:

1/4/2016- Night Owl Book Café- Review

1/5/2016- Fiktshun- Guest Post

1/6/2016- Such a Novel Idea- Review

1/7/2016- YA Book Madness- Interview

1/8/2016- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

About Kelly (Fiore) Stultz

Kelly Fiore-Stultz has a BA in English from Salisbury University and an MFA in Poetry from West Virginia University. She received an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2005 and 2009. Kelly’s poetry has appeared in Small Spiral Notebook, Samzidada, Mid Atlantic Review, Connotation Press, and the Grolier Annual Review. Her first young adult novel, Taste Test, was released in August 2013 from Bloomsbury USA, and her second, Just Like the Movies, again from Bloomsbury, was releasted in 2014. Forthcoming novels include Thicker Than Water from HarperTeen in 2015.

Blog Tour Review: Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy by Paula Berinstein

December 10, 2015 Lily B Blog Tour, Review 11 ★★★½

Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective, #1) by Paula Berinstein
Series: Amanda Lester, Detective #1
Published by The Writing Show on May 22nd 2015
Pages: 386
Format: Paperback
Source: Author, Blog Tour
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: half-flame

I received this book for free from Author, Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Twelve-year-old Amanda Lester wouldn't be caught dead going into the family business. Just because she's related to Inspector G. Lestrade, that bumbler who sometimes worked with master sleuth Sherlock Holmes, doesn't mean she should become a detective and give up her dream of becoming a filmmaker. Unfortunately, her plans are in jeopardy. Her latest project with the Stick Dog Filmmakers Club and Production Company isn't coming together, and her control freak tendencies have driven away all her actors. If she doesn't make a winning film soon, her parents will insist that she go into the L.A.P.D. young cadets training program, and her budding career will be over. So when Herb and Lila Lester suddenly send her to a secret English school for the descendants of famous detectives, Amanda resists-until she and her new friends notice drops of blood and weird pink substances in odd places. Are these strange happenings clues to a real mystery or simply part of the elaborate class project the teachers assign every year? The answer comes all too soon. When Amanda's father disappears and the school's cook is found dead with her head in a bag of sugar, the kids are certain that crimes are taking place. Now Amanda must embrace her destiny and uncover the truth. The only snag is that arch-villain Blixus Moriarty, a descendant of Holmes's nemesis Professor James Moriarty, might be involved, and he doesn't like nosy little girls interfering in his business.

Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy banner

This is my stop during the blog tour for Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy by Paula Berinstein. This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 30 November till 13 December, you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.
So far this series contains 3 books: Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective #1), Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis (Amanda Lester, Detective #2) and Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle (Amanda Lester, Detective #3).

Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy, was a cute story. It had an interesting concept and room for development and growth of the characters. I do admit, while reading this my initial thought screamed, Harry Potter. A 12 year-old girl is forced away into a boarding school where she learns the skills she needs in order to become a detective. She gets sorted into one of the four houses, which ends up being a house she didn’t particularly want. Sounds fun right?

I enjoyed the story. It was a quick read. Amanda at first is very reluctant when it comes to going to the school. She does not want to be a detective, she wants to be a film maker. I have to admit, 12 years-old seems very young to be worrying about your career, and Amanda was very serious about growing her career. Once she gets to the school and meets a few friends, I think she slowly ends up warming up to the idea. Besides, the school offers her plenty of opportunities to help work on her film-making stuff, and when things start to go downhill in school, including a murder, Amanda and her friends find themselves in the thick of things.

As much as I enjoyed the story, there was a thing or two that did bother me.

As I pointed out before, I felt 12 years old Amanda was too focused on her career, and did not feel like a 12 year old. Maybe the book would have benefited if it was made for an older audience? The age and her ambitions sometimes did not match, but it was definitely written like a middle grade book, which clashed a bit for me. There was a scene about dead bodies, something I feel no 12 year old should witness. The character definitely should have been older. There had been instances that made her look older, and then there had been tantrum throwing that was age appropriate. There was also an attraction to a boy named Nick, once again the age kept swinging up and down for me.

There is a huge pet peeve in the book for me. The parent bashing as I like to call it. It suffers from the bad parent syndrome. The fact that this is a middle grade book made me frown a little. Amanda calls her mother stupid, there is a disconnect, and she hates the fact that her mother does not support her film-making career and is trying to send her away. The parents are portrayed badly in this too. Her mother says that film-making is dangerous, but she sends her off on a career path that can get her daughter killed.

Nonetheless, it has a lot of potential as Amanda carries on at the academy and grows as a character. Plus the artwork for the covers are stunning, absolutely adore them. As a middle grade book, it was also fast and easy to get through, but a few concepts felt a little heavy and confusing for the targeted audience.

Later books in the series:
Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis (Amanda Lester, Detective #2)
By Paula Berinstein
Genre: Mystery/ detective
Age category: Middle Grade
Release Date: September 15, 2015

Blurb:
If only Sherlock Holmes’s great-great-grandson weren’t such a dork . . .

There’s a new student at the Legatum Continuatum School for the Descendants of Famous Detectives and Amanda is supposed to work with him. Scapulus Holmes is a descendant of the great Sherlock and he’s crazy about her. Unfortunately she thinks he’s a dork and would rather die than have anything to do with him.

But when the kids discover a dead body encrusted with strange living crystals, Amanda realizes she needs Holmes’s help. If the crystals fall into the wrong hands they could be used for nefarious purposes, and only he knows how to protect them.

Can the detectives keep the bad guys from learning the crystals’ secrets? It would help if they could figure out who the dead body is too. Only if Amanda and Holmes can find a way to work together can they prevent a disaster, and it isn’t looking good

You can find Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis on Goodreads

You can buy Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis here:
- Amazon
- Amazon Paperback
- Barnes & Noble

Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle (Amanda Lester, Detective #3)
By Paula Berinstein
Genre: Mystery/detective
Age category: Middle Grade
Release Date: November 15, 2015

Blurb:
Purple rainbows, a mysterious crypt, and pots of gold . . .

Things are not going well for Amanda and the secret detective school. A priceless artifact has disappeared, a dangerous hacker is manipulating matter, and zombies are being seen all over the Lake District.

Then the real trouble starts. When her cousins go missing and her friend Clive is kidnapped, Amanda is forced to turn to someone she’d rather not deal with: her old boyfriend Scapulus Holmes. But then he vanishes too. Now’s she’s sure that arch-villain Blixus Moriarty is involved . . . or is he?

You can find Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle on Goodreads

You can buy Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle here:
- Amazon
- Amazon Paperback

About the Author:
Paula Berinstein is nothing like Amanda. For one thing, she’s crazy about Sherlock Holmes. For another, she’s never wanted to be a filmmaker. In addition, compared to Amanda she’s a big chicken! And she wouldn’t mind going to a secret school at all. In fact, she’s hoping that some day she’ll get to build one.

You can find and contact Paula here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Paula’s blog on Goodreads
- The Writing Show podcasts

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy. These are the prizes you can win:
- paperback copies of Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective #1), Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis (Amanda Lester, Detective #2) and Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle (Amanda Lester, Detective #3) by Paula Berinstein (INT)
- 2 winners will each win a paperback copy of Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective #1) Paula Berinstein (INT)

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
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Tasty Book Tours: No Groom at the Inn by Megan Frampton

November 19, 2015 Lily B Blog Tour, Review 25 ★★★

No Groom at the Inn by Megan Frampton
Series: Dukes Behaving Badly, #2.5
Published by Avon Impulse on November 10th 2015
Genres: Adult Historical Romance
Pages: 96
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: three-flames

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

In this Dukes Behaving Badly holiday novella, a young lady entertains a sudden proposal of marriage—to a man she’s only just met...
What does a lady do when a man she’s never seen before offers his hand in marriage? Lady Sophronia Bettesford doesn’t scream and run away. Instead, she accepts the shocking proposition. After all, what’s her other choice? To live with her cousin, caring for six children and a barnyard full of chickens?
James Archer has roamed the world, determined never to settle down. He’s faced danger and disaster…he fears nothing and no one—except his mother and her matchmaking ways. So when ordered to attend a Christmastime house party filled with holiday cheer and simpering young misses, he produces—a fiancée!
Sophronia and James vow to pretend to be in love for one month. But when they promise to give each other a Christmas kiss, it becomes clear that this pact made out of necessity might just be turning into love.

James Archer does not want to settle down, he likes roaming the world, and he has no plans of giving that up. So when his mother stages a house party for a couple of mothers and their eligible daughters, James accidentally blurts out that he is already engaged.

Lady Sophronia Bettesford has no where else to go but to see to her cousin, her six children and chickens. So when a mysterious stranger throws her an unexpected proposal, Sophronia can’t help but see this as an opportunity to get what she wants and get away from a lifetime of raising her cousins’ children and chickens.

I felt the story was refreshing. There was no mention of dukes, just Mr.Archer and Lady Sophronia. The house party was amusing watching one of the eligible ladies’ mother practically shoot daggers at Sophronia for stealing Mr.Archer. I hated the woman for being so cynical and treating Sophronia for the way she did, but I guess she and James deserved it. Their deceiving ways was kind of hurting James’ mother, who was over the moon that her son is actually engaged. All she wants from him is to get married and stay rooted so she could see him more often and that is in fact that last thing James wants.

As any novella this suffers from being too fast, too many jumps ahead, it felt like a skipping record or watching a movie on fast forward. The romance unfolded much too quickly, as well as the attraction between these two.

But I did enjoy it. I thought it was sweet watching the two fall in love, even with James struggles to accept the fact, a little. This was also a nice introduction to the authors writing, which is another reason I do find myself enjoying novellas, despite their length. I already know they aren’t the strongest piece of writing, and I take that into consideration. But, it told a story of two unlikely people who might have been missed out on a book, and that I was okay with.

Also, there is holiday cheer as the house party is preparing for Christmas, and a contest of who can bring in the best Christmas tree. I loved watching these two work together. So if you are looking for a quick Christmas read and love historical romance, I would give this one a shot. There are also plenty of moments to chuckle over.

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About Megan Frampton

Megan Frampton writes historical romance under her own name and romantic women’s fiction as Megan Caldwell. She likes the color black, gin, dark-haired British men, and huge earrings, not in that order. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband and son.

Tasty Book Tours Review: The Winter Laird by Nancy Scanlon

November 16, 2015 Lily B Blog Tour, Review 44 ★★★

The Winter Laird by Nancy Scanlon
Series: Mists of Fate #1
Published by Diversion Books on November 17th 2015
Genres: Adult Historical Romance, Time Travel
Pages: 262
Format: Paperback
Source: Blog Tour
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: two-flames

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

I received this book for free from Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE PRESENTSuccessful matchmaker Brianagh O’Rourke believes in happily-ever-afters...just not her own. She’s convinced passion only exists in her dreams. When she reluctantly accepts a marriage proposal, Bri decides she needs a vacation—but she didn't expect it to be in 13th century Ireland.
THE PASTLaird Nioclas MacWilliam just wants peace for his clan. The time for him to marry has come, and after waiting years for his ally to present their daughter, he’s agreed to marry another. But on the eve of his nuptials, a daring rescue brings his missing betrothed right into his arms.
And she does not want to be there.
THE FUTUREBrianagh has to return to the future. Nioclas has to marry. He offers a solution for the both of them: She marries him and stays for three months, and they work together to convince his clan they are a love match. In return, he vows to safely return her home. But as the days turn to weeks, they both begin to see what a happily-ever-after could be. And when the time comes, does Brianagh return to the life she’s built, or does she remain in the past for a chance at true love?

Brianagh O’Rourke is one of the most coveted matchmakers in the business. It’s only a shame that she herself cannot find a love match. When a family secret comes to light, the last thing Bri expects was to be thrown back into the past, without warning, by a man she trusted her entire life.

Now she is back somewhere in the 1400s, and must fulfill her sire’s promise to the laird of the MacWilliams clan in joining their clans in marriage and her duty of producing children in order to save history. There, Bri comes to face to face with literally with the man of her dreams and the revelation stuns Nick just as much.

I liked the story. I thought the romance was sweet. I liked how Nick went out of his way to try and woo Bri into loving him because he realized he could not fulfill his promise to her of letting her go. Bri was a strong woman, but not powerful enough to deny the depth of the attraction between them. Her personality is to take charge and no sooner after arriving at the castle, does the boredom of being the lady of the castle, drives her into taking charge and making some changes.

Overall, as far as the story goes and the romance it was a good read. It was clean, and I came to admire both Bri and Nick. I liked watching their love for each other grow into something undeniable. I also really loved Reilly in this book and hope he eventually get’s his own story.

My only gripe is the historical accuracy with this book. First, the blurb mentions 13th century Ireland, but in the book Bri goes back to the 15th Century Ireland. Second, the Irish heads of the clans during that period were often called the Irish Lords. Lairds were a Scottish term for the highlander clan lords in Scotland, not Ireland. If you are looking for a highlander romance, this is NOT it as Highlanders originated in the Scottish Highlands. Also, Irish lords didn’t really wear kilts, which is what it looks like on the cover. They did wear leine, which is accurate in the book.

I also wished that Bri wasn’t so accepting of her faith so quickly. For a modern girl, she did not act like being thrown into 15th century Ireland and having everything ripped away from her was a problem.

Also don’t believe okay excited in 15th century 😉

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About Nancy Scanlon

Born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts, Nancy Scanlon wrote her first romance novel at age 16, when she realized that fictional boyfriends were much easier to figure out than real ones. In the time since, she managed to earn a degree in English, obtain a graduate certificate in creative writing from the University of Cambridge, and marry the man of her dreams (but she still holds tight to her fictional boyfriends).
Currently, she resides in Puerto Rico with her husband, two children, and two dogs. When not writing, Nancy spends her time reading, reviewing and blogging about romance novels, watching too much HGTV, and taking care of her family.