Category: Review (Page 150 of 295)

BLOG TOUR + AUTHOR INTERVIEW + REVIEW: Sadie by Courtney Summers

September 4, 2018 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

Courtney Summers doesn't need any introductions-her work speaks for itself. Howeverrrr...I am MORE than happy to give praise to such a creative, wonderful, and darkly imaginative woman who has never ceased to amaze me. Below is the blog tour for her current work, Sadie, which is claimed to be 'the breakout of her career'. So look below to find my review, an author Q & A with Summers herself (DYING! AGH! Such an honor!), an excerpt from the book, and all the praise she deserves. Enjoy!

BLOG TOUR + AUTHOR INTERVIEW + REVIEW: Sadie by Courtney Summers

BLOG TOUR + AUTHOR INTERVIEW + REVIEW: Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

I wish this was a love story because I know how it goes in one like mine, where the only moments of reprieve are the spaces between its lines. But here’s the thing I tell myself to dull the sharp edges of everything that’s surely left to come:

The worst has already happened.

This book evoked many emotions within me-some good, some bad. And I think that needs to be explored more by authors. It’s no surprise to anyone that I am-and always have been-obsessed with Courtney Summers. From the moment I picked up This is Not a Test, followed by Some Girls Are, I was a goner. Her dark and languid writing has this way about it-it’s stark and blunt, yet draws you in because of the beautiful simplicity in which the words are sculpted. To get to the point? She’s an evil genius-no explanation needed.

It makes my stomach ache, how, at a time like this, I can’t make that word come perfectly out of my mouth enough to convince him. I can’t describe how bad it feels, this inability to communicate the way I want, when I need to.

But I would be lying if this book wasn’t one huge trigger for me-and, yes, that’s a personal thing. AND it’s the ONLY flaw I really have with the book. But, as a very honest blogger and friend to many on GR, I must warn that, while Summer’s writing is always dark, this ventures into something far more sinister than anything she’s ever constructed before. Some will REALLY dig it-my best friend and blogger buddy ate it up. And, hey, so did I….but that doesn’t mean the content within (ie, child death and, um, other things?) didn’t hurt my soul a tad.

My body is sharp enough to cut glass and in desperate need of rounding out, but sometimes I don’t mind. A body might not always be beautiful, but a body can be a beautiful deception. I’m stronger than I look.

And, with that being said, I fully support the direction Courtney is going with her work. It NEEDS to be said. The world is a dark place, and people turn their heads and are blind to most of it. Sadie was a tenacious, strong, young girl hell bent on vengeance, on making the world a better place for other kids-and that was the most alluring thing about this story. Her heart was so large, her soul so crushed-but her spirit, her will to fight, isn’t broken-no matter how shattered she may feel.

Last thing she said to me, my face cupped firmly in her hands, was <I>whatever you’re thinking, you get it out of that damned foolish head of yours right now</I>. Except it’s not in my head, it’s in my heart and she’s the same woman who told me if you’re going to follow anything, it might as well be that.

Even if it is a mess.

Her story is something that was so palpable…you felt what she felt. The hurt. The pain. The soul-crushing panic. The hope. It was all so…addicting. But such is the nature of Summer’s writing. I’m no stranger to it, I’ll admit. I wait and I wait and I wait until she announces she has more books coming out, then I obsess until I get my hands on it. In this case, I bothered the publishers and got a copy-and, MORE AWESOMELY, I got to be a part of the blog tour and was able to do a Q & A WITH THIS AMAZING WOMAN.

And one of the more important questions, to me, that I asked was about what has taken her writing down this path. If you’re an avid reader of her work, you know that her earlier work was of mean girls, zombies, an unlikable heroine with a difficult story and-most importantly and perhaps the most recurring theme-her stories deal with difficult issues such as rape and attempted rape-murder. But All the Rage was the first time we truly saw Summers take the darker road. And I think it’s the story she’s trying to tell, something her work has built up to and she now wants to explore-and it’s truly amazing to see it all play out.

This story was also her first foray into a dual POV situation-but, more than that, it was like a radio show format when we weren’t in Sadie’s POV. West is the person investigating Sadie and it really put things in perspective for me. However, I enjoyed the book most in Sadie’s POV.

It’s about the lengths we go to protect the ones we love … and the high price we pay when we can’t.

All in all, this story is something to behold. It’s dark, gritty, and without a doubt one of the largest shocks to my system I’ve ever read-and perhaps I needed that. And, for those of you on the fence-read it. It has so much to say with its gut wrenching narrative, and perhaps it can urge you to do more. To see more. Or, perhaps, it will just open your eyes in a way you never expected. Either way, this is Summer’s at her best, her most jarring-and it’s not a book you’ll soon forget. You won’t regret it.

*FYI- in the middle of this review my computer froze up, so my thoughts may seem a bit off or strayed-I promise my opinion is still the same, though. It just changed the flow of the review. But one thing I want to make perfectly clear that I didn’t get a chance to say in my review: If there’s one thing that stayed with me throughout this novel, its the pain. The deep, unfathomable pain of losing someone you couldn’t protect-but then going after it to make it right. It really resonated with me…even if it hurt deeply to think this way. Summers is just epic like that.

Q & A with Courtney Summers:

1. I have always been a huge fan of your books-they’re deep, insightful, dark, and they MEAN something-but Sadie is the darkest of your other works (in my opinion)-What lead you to write this particular story? What brought you here?

Thank you so much! That’s so kind and your support of my work means a lot to me. Looking back at my body of work, Sadie feels like a natural culmination of the stories that came before her. I think I was always headed that way. The longer I write, the more inspired I am to dig deeper—or, in my case, darker.

I love that she said this because, in retrospect, all her work really does seem to be leading up to this moment….and its just so pivotal and game-changing. It fits with everything so well. By far my favorite answer 🙂

2. Do you ever write your personality into any of your characters? If so, which characters have your personality?

I’m not my characters, but I sometimes put very little pieces of myself in them. I never reveal what they are because I don’t want to risk readers thinking of me at all when they pick up one of my books.

3. The world can be a dark place-your books don’t shy away from that. So that begs the question: What books [or authors] help you find your happy place?

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo, I Hate Everyone But You by Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn and Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt.

And check out this gripping excerpt! (If this doesn’t hook you, I don’t know what will!):

[scroll-box]THE GIRLS
EPISODE 1
[THE GIRLS THEME]

WEST McCRAY:
Welcome to Cold Creek, Colorado. Population: eight hun-
dred.

Do a Google Image search and you’ll see its main street, the
barely beating heart of that tiny world, and find every other
building vacant or boarded up. Cold Creek’s luckiest—the
gainfully employed—work at the local grocery store, the gas
station and a few other staple businesses along the strip. The
rest have to look a town or two over for opportunity for them-
selves and for their children; the closest schools are in Park-
dale, forty minutes away. They take in students from three
other towns.

Beyond its main street, Cold Creek arteries out into worn and
chipped Monopoly houses that no longer have a place upon
the board. From there lies a rural sort of wilderness. The highway out is interrupted by veins of dirt roads leading to nowhere as often as they lead to pockets of dilapidated
houses or trailer parks in even worse shape. In the summer-
time, a food bus comes with free lunches for the kids until the
school year resumes, guaranteeing at least two subsidized
meals a day.

There’s a quiet to it that’s startling if you’ve lived your whole
life in the city, like I have. Cold Creek is surrounded by a beau-
tiful, uninterrupted expanse of land and sky that seem to go
on forever. Its sunsets are spectacular; electric golds and
oranges, pinks and purples, natural beauty unspoiled by the
insult of skyscrapers. The sheer amount of space is humbling,
almost divine. It’s hard to imagine feeling trapped here.

But most people here do.

COLD CREEK RESIDENT [FEMALE]:
You live in Cold Creek because you were born here and if
you’re born here, you’re probably never getting out.

WEST McCRAY:
That’s not entirely true. There have been some success sto-
ries, college graduates who moved on and found well-paying
jobs in distant cities, but they tend to be the exception and
not the rule. Cold Creek is home to a quality of life we’re
raised to aspire beyond, if we’re born privileged enough to
have the choice.

Here, everyone’s working so hard to care for their families and
keep their heads above water that, if they wasted time on the
petty dramas, scandals and personal grudges that seem to
define small towns in our nation’s imagination, they would
not survive. That’s not to say there’s no drama, scandal, or
grudge—just that those things are usually more than residents of
Cold Creek can afford to care about.

Until it happened.

The husk of an abandoned, turn-of-the-century one-room
schoolhouse sits three miles outside of town, taken by fire. The
roof is caved in and what’s left of the walls are charred. It sits
next to an apple orchard that’s slowly being reclaimed by the
nature that surrounds it: young overgrowth, new trees, wild-
flowers.

There’s almost something romantic about it, something that
feels like respite from the rest of the world. It’s the perfect
place to be alone with your thoughts. At least it was, before.
May Beth Foster—who you’ll come to know as this series goes
on—took me there herself. I asked to see it. She’s a plump,
white, sixty-eight-year-old woman with salt-and-pepper hair.
She has a grandmotherly way about her, right down to a voice
that’s so invitingly familiar it warms you from the inside out.
May Beth is manager of Sparkling River Estates trailer park, a
lifelong resident of Cold Creek, and when she talks, people
listen. More often than not, they accept whatever she says as
the truth.

MAY BETH FOSTER:
Just about . . . here.

This is where they found the body.

911 DISPATCHER [PHONE]:
911 dispatch. What’s your emergency?[/scroll-box]

Purchase Here:

Amazon l iTunes l Book Depository

About the Author:

Courtney Summers was born in Belleville, Ontario, 1986. At age 14, she dropped out of high school. At age 18, she wrote her first novel. Cracked Up to Be was published in 2008, when she was 22 and went on to win the 2009 CYBIL award in YA fiction. Since then, she’s published four more critically acclaimed books: Some Girls Are, Fall for Anything, This is Not a Test and All the Rage, as well as an e-novella, Please Remain Calm which is a sequel to This is Not a Test. Her new novel, Sadie, hits bookstores September 4th, 2018 and is available for preorder now. In 2016, Courtney was named one of Flare Magazine’s 60 under 30.

Follow her HERE!

instagram: summerscourtney
twitter: @courtney_s
tumblr: summerscourtney.
official website: courtneysummers.ca

More about THE GIRLS podcast (super popular podcast they are doing based after West’s journey to find Sadie in the book!):

THE GIRLS: Find Sadie is the first-ever YA thriller podcast. The Serial-like show is based off the novel Sadie by Courtney Summers. In a brilliant move, Summers scripted periodic chapters of the novel like a podcast script, hosted by fictional radio personality West McCray. The six-part podcast series brings these chapters to life with a 30+ person cast, music, and sound effects and was a collaboration between Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Podcasts, and Wednesday Books. Episode 1 launches on August 1st, and the show will air seven weekly episodes available on all the major podcast platforms. The final episode will feature a bonus interview with Courtney Summers and her editor Sara Goodman.

And, yeah, look at all this advance praise:

*THE GIRLS Podcast now available*
* A 2018 BookExpo America YA Editor’s Buzz Book Pick*
*Most Anticipated by BookRiot, Goodreads, B&N Teen Blog & Buzzfeed *

“A riveting tour de force.”
—Kirkus, STARRED Review

Summers’ novel is filled with her trademark biting commentary on sexual assault and the mistreatment of girls and women at the hands of predatory men…her hunt for Mattie’s killer is captivating, and Summers excels at slowly unspooling both Sadie’s and West’s investigations at a measured, tantalizing pace.—Booklist, STARRED Review

“A taut, suspenseful book about abuse and power that feels personal, as if Summers, like May Beth and West, can’t take one more dead or abused girl.”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review

The fresh, nuanced, and fast-moving narrative will appeal to a range of YA and new adult readers, and serves as a larger examination on the way society interacts with true crime…It’s impossible to not be drawn into this haunting thriller of a book. A heartrending must-have.
—School Library Journal, STARRED Review

“An electrifying thriller, taut as a bowstring. A coming-of-age tale, both gritty and sensitive. A poignant drama of love and loss. This — all this — is SADIE: a novel for readers of any age, and a character as indelible as a scar. Flat-out dazzling. —AJ Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

And don’t forget to follow the rest of the tour! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

Our Most Anticipated Releases For September

September 1, 2018 / Jen / 8 Comments

We love talking about books that we can’t wait to read! And that includes the ones that haven’t been released yet. So around the first day of every month, we’ll share with you the books coming out that we’re the most excited about. There’s a link to Goodreads in case you want to add them to your tbr too! So here are the books we are counting down until they are released in September.

Releases 9/04 – Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel

Goodreads ✩ Amazon

Dresden is cursed. His chest houses a hive of bees that he can’t stop from stinging people with psychosis-inducing venom. His face is a shifting montage of all the people who have died because of those stings. And he has been this way for centuries―since he was eighteen and magic flowed through his homeland, corrupting its people.

He follows harbingers of death, so at least his curse only affects those about to die anyway. But when he arrives in a Midwest town marked for death, he encounters Essie, a seventeen-year-old girl who suffers from debilitating delusions and hallucinations. His bees want to sting her on sight. But Essie doesn’t see a monster when she looks at Dresden.

Essie is fascinated and delighted by his changing features. Risking his own life, he holds back his bees and spares her. What starts out as a simple act of mercy ends up unraveling Dresden’s solitary life and Essie’s tormented one. Their impossible romance might even be powerful enough to unravel a centuries-old curse.

Each book in the Black Bird of the Gallows series is STANDALONE:
* Black Bird of the Gallows
* Keeper of the Bees

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Releases 9/04 – Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3) by Kendare Blake

Goodreads ✩ Amazon

Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.

Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the minland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.

Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.

This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed—or expected.

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Releases 9/04 – Sadie by Courtney Summers

Goodreads ✩ Amazon

A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial—like podcast following the clues she’s left behind.

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.

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Releases 9/04 – When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubicaf

Goodreads ✩ Amazon

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?

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Releases 9/25 – Hot Winter Nights (Heartbreaker Bay #6) by Jill Shalvis

Goodreads ✩ Amazon

Who needs mistletoe?

Most people wouldn’t think of a bad Santa case as the perfect Christmas gift. Then again, Molly Malone, office manager at Hunt Investigations, isn’t most people, and she could really use a distraction from the fantasies she’s been having since spending the night with her very secret crush, Lucas Knight. Nothing happened, not that Lucas knows that—but Molly just wants to enjoy being a little naughty for once . . .

Whiskey and pain meds for almost-healed bullet wounds don’t mix. Lucas needs to remember that next time he’s shot on the job, which may be sooner rather than later if Molly’s brother, Joe, finds out about them. Lucas can’t believe he’s drawing a blank on his (supposedly) passionate tryst with Molly, who’s the hottest, smartest, strongest woman he’s ever known. Strong enough to kick his butt if she discovers he’s been assigned to babysit her on her first case. And hot enough to melt his cold heart this Christmas.

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Releases 9/25 – Vengeful (The Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab

Goodreads ✩ Amazon

Magneto and Professor X. Superman and Lex Luthor. Victor Vale and Eli Ever. Sydney and Serena Clarke. Great partnerships, now soured on the vine.

But Marcella Riggins needs no one. Flush from her brush with death, she’s finally gained the control she’s always sought―and will use her new-found power to bring the city of Merit to its knees. She’ll do whatever it takes, collecting her own sidekicks, and leveraging the two most infamous EOs, Victor Vale and Eli Ever, against each other once more.

With Marcella’s rise, new enmities create opportunity–and the stage of Merit City will once again be set for a final, terrible reckoning.

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Releases 9/18 – Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper #3) by Kerri Maniscalco

Goodreads ✩ Amazon

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.

But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?

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Releases 9/25 – Give the Dark My Love (Give the Dark My Love #1) by Beth Revis

Goodreads ✩ Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Nedra Brysstain leaves her home in the rural, northern territories of Lunar Island to attend the prestigious Yugen Academy with only one goal in mind: master the trade of medicinal alchemy. A scholarship student matriculating with the children of Lunar Island’s wealthiest and most powerful families, Nedra doesn’t quite fit in with the other kids at Yugen.

Until she meets Greggori “Grey” Astor. Grey is immediately taken by the brilliant and stubborn Nedra, who he notices is especially invested in her studies. And that’s for a good reason: a deadly plague has been sweeping through the north, and it’s making its way toward the cities. With her family’s life–and the lives of all of Lunar Island’s citizens–on the line, Nedra is determined to find a cure for the plague.

Grey and Nedra grow close, but as the sickness spreads and the body count rises, Nedra becomes desperate to find a cure. Soon, she finds herself diving into alchemy’s most dangerous corners–and when she turns to the most forbidden practice of all, necromancy, even Grey might not be able to pull her from the darkness.

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So these are the books we can’t wait to be released this month! Are you excited about any of these releases too? Or is there a book we missed that we should definitely check out? Let us know. ♥

BOOK REVIEW: The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1) by Danielle Lori

August 30, 2018 / Jen / 4 Comments

The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
by Danielle Lori
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
She’s a romantic at heart, living in the most unromantic of worlds . . .

Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.

Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint.

They say first impressions are everything . . .

In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome.

She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice.

And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another.

Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man . . . right?

This is a standalone forbidden romance.

Review:

The Sweetest Oblivion was the most wonderful surprise ever! It was addicting, seductive and had some of the best sexual tension I’ve ever read. The characters and story felt so real that the world around me disappeared each time I picked up this story. I was completely enraptured by this forbidden tale and I can’t recommend it enough!

He took a small step forward.
As if we were the same poles of a magnet, I took one back.
He dropped his hand to his side, the slightest bit of amusement coming to life in his eyes as if I’d just done a trick that entertained him. I suddenly had the distinct feeling I didn’t want to be his entertainment. And an even stronger feeling that I already was.

Elena Abelli could be considered a princess in the mafia. Her Italian family was deeply embedded and their marriages weren’t for love, they were arranged. But because of an enormous past mistake, that left blood on her hands, she was passed over to be wed. Her younger sister was to take her place and marry Nicholas Russo, aka Nico, one of the most notorious men in the mafia.

“For thinking I’m a psychopath, you don’t seem to fear being alone with me.”
“I can scream. Loudly.”
He glanced at me, like my words had an entirely different meaning— like he might like to hear me scream. My breathing became shallow.

From the moment that Elena and Nico met, sparks ignited and exploded. Sexual tension seeped into every single instance they were near each other. Even when they were surrounded by others, there was always this charge between them. It didn’t matter if they were at a family gathering or if it was just a moment in passing, any time they were near one another it felt bigger than life. But he was engaged to her sister. They shouldn’t feel that way, yet there was no way either of them could deny it.

His palm ran from my hip to my lower stomach. Heat curled inside me with the smallest amount of pressure from his hand. Each finger burned through the fabric while his lips brushed the nape of my neck. My insides were melting, dissolving into nothing but memory as he softly bit down and then licked the skin. I gripped the edge of the countertop, a moan crawling up my throat.

As the days passed, Elena and Nico started to push the limits for what was acceptable. And things that seemed so simple were made beyond erotic. I was left hanging onto every single breath, touch and look they had towards one another. I was completely enraptured to see what would happen between them. I found myself wanting to push them together, just so they could touch or be near each other again.

I wanted to fuck her and ruin her for anyone else. I wanted to crush her wings and then put them back together again so she’d become dependent on me. I wanted her to need me. That dark, possessive, and dangerous feeling crawled through me every time she crossed my path.
Elena Abelli was my vice, and fuck if I’d let it kill me. – Nico

The characters in this story added to my addiction. Elena was always such a people pleaser, but from the moment she met Nico she was herself. She had no problem pushing his buttons, being brutally honest with him and also letting her deepest desires rule her. Even though Elena had her insecurities, she was a strong woman who I absolutely loved. And as for her interest in Nico? I so got it. Nico was seductive but dangerous. He had a traumatic past, but he was a smart business man and got further than anyone else his age. He was respected, feared and lusted after. And I found myself completely engrossed in everything that was Nico and his alpha ways. Especially when I read some of the chapters in his pov! But those moments when Elena and Nico were together, they made me laugh, smile, swoon and fall deeply in love.

He cupped me between the legs. “This is also the nicest puss—”
“Nico,” I cut him off, every inch of my skin warming.
He chuckled.
I loved the sound of his laugh, the way the warm timbre ghosted down my spine.
I shivered.

The Sweetest Oblivion was crazy hot and I loved every minute of it! The world they lived in could be so dark at times, and while there were some twisted moments, I was completely fascinated by it all. On top of being addicted to their world, Elena and Nico, I loved so many of the side characters. The meddling Grandma, her sister and cousins and even some of Nico’s relatives too. The people in their lives filled up their world and it was all so colorful and emotional. I was left hoping to catch many glances of them in the next book that’s supposed to be about a different couple. I can’t wait to read everything else this author writes and I can’t recommend The Sweetest Oblivion enough!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book, provided by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

BLOG TOUR+REVIEW: Seafire (Seafire #1) by Natalie C. Parker

August 24, 2018 / Chelsea / 7 Comments

I won't lie-I NEEDED this book the moment I saw it. I mean...LOOK at it! And I'm happy to report that the beauty within matches the absolutely stunning cover. Rarely does the beauty of a cover match what's inside, so it's a rarity and I'm ecstatic that's the case. Soooo many thanks to Penguin Teen for sending me an early copy and for letting me participate in this amazing tour for this amazing book. See below to follow the tour, learn about the author, and to read my 5 star review. Enjoy!

BLOG TOUR+REVIEW: Seafire (Seafire #1) by Natalie C. Parker

BLOG TOUR+REVIEW: Seafire (Seafire #1) by Natalie C. Parker

Seafire (Seafire #1)
by Natalie C. Parker
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, whose lives have been turned upside down by Aric and his men. The crew has one misson: stay alive, and take down Aric's armed and armored fleet.

But when Caledonia's best friend and second-in-command just barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether or not to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all...or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?

“Take your ship, take your crew, and prove to that man that he has not quelled all of us. Prove that there is a fire on these seas he cannot contain.”

So vivid in detail, you can practically taste the salt from the sea. So engrossing, it’s as if you can feel the wind in your hair. So mind blowing and addicting, you might as well sign your soul over to the Mors Navis crew-because once you start this story….you might as well say goodbye, because you’re done for. Dead. Dying. You’re addicted like any old Bullet to the most powerful Silt Aric Athair can offer. Say hello to your newest obsession.

Image result for girl pirate gif

I’ll admit I was scared when I started this story-well, that’s a lie. From the minute I started, I was ADDICTED-that prologue may be one of the saddest, harshest beginnings to a story EVER. And, let me tell you up front-Parker isn’t afraid to kill people off. JUST SAYIN’.

He smiled in return, saying, “I might not be quite the hammer Redtooth is, but I’ll do my best.”
Redtooth leaned in to answer, “Don’t feel too bad about it. The way you take a beating, you make one helluva nail.”

But no, it’s more than that. It started off so great-it truly pulled me in. But then I found it hard to find and buoy to a connection (har). I don’t know why, honestly, other than the fact that perhaps it has to do with me moving and not feeling wholly myself that first week when I was reading this beauty. But I also wonder if I needed more of a mix of men and women for longer throughout the story-but, like with many things, that’s a personal preference.

Redtooth pushed a finger into his face. “Damn dirty Bullets don’t touch my ship. Try it and I’ll put you down.” Then, as an afterthought, she added, “Unless the captain says otherwise.”

But, fear not, because a true beauty this is indeed, for I was a total goner not long after that minor lapse in judgement. How can you resist the piratey pirateness that comes with a sea-filled read, full of action and adventure, friendship and heartbreak, loyalty so strong you almost choke on the palpable tension when things aren’t going just as they should be, and an addictive beginning to a slow burn, but [enemies-to-lovers] oh so tiny and fresh, romance. Tell me-HOW. HOW DO YOU RESIST THIS?!

The thought didn’t give Caledonia as much pleasure as she’d expected. It left an uncomfortable crook in its wake, a sea snake disturbing the flow of water. Ceepa was right to call him poison. There was something truly insidious about him. So insidious, Caledonia had stopped wishing for his immediate demise.

Alas, I did not, could not, and would not resist. And though my not-so-adorably stubborn self did my best to find flaws…there really weren’t any. Truly. Well. I don’t understand boat talk, so there’s that. But I’m going to GUESS that falls under the ‘it’s me, not you’ category.

Masterfully written with a style so smooth and oh-so-wonderfully fluid that you get pulled into its seamless story line and feel as if you’re being lulled to sleep with the beauty of it-I can’t explain it right, but it’s almost like-okay-it’s style of writing drew me in because it was so captivating and had so much action and adventure, but while doing so, it captured the subtle depth of feather-light writing that somehow RELAXED me …just because it was THAT good [that’s not even to mention the excellent, amazing, alluring, vivid world building]. There’s just something about peril mixed with beauty that makes my masochistic self feel, well, self-actualized.

Hm. Wonder what that says about me. I don’t care to analyze that tonight [as I write this], though. So I’ll move on.

But world-building and soothing writing hardly make for a complete book-you need relationships to root for. To ride and die for. To make it worth coming back for after detaching yourself from the story every night when you have to catch up on a pesky thing called ‘sleep.’ What IS sleep, anyway? And why do we need it? Pesky pesky sleep…interfering with my reading every night-sigh. I digress. ANYWAY. There are just so many relationships to root for here-friendships, family bonds…and a hate-to-love between a Bullet and the captain who swore to never trust a Bullet.

“Thank you.”
Her eyes snapped open. She turned to find Oran still watching her. Had he been watching her this whole time? She scowled.
“For saving my life today. I know you didn’t have to, and I’m grateful.”
“I’m not concerned with your thanks. Or your gratitude.” She thought she detected the hint of a smile on his mouth, and she wanted to hit it. Hard.

Let’s start with that last one, shall we? Actually, ARGH, ya know-sometimes it’s just best to leave it to the imagination, so I will. Just know THIS-Oran was adorable. Their relationship was something that blossomed slowly, like a flower-it didn’t happen overnight and, frankly, I was DYING for it to develop-but when it did…that tentative bond they share-it was ELECTRIFYING. So short, sweet…and well worth the wait. That’s all. (He’s so cute, thoughhhh). Shh, Chelsea, just shhh.

One of us needs to lead, Pisces had said. You need to lead us.
Why not you? Caledonia asked.
Because, Pisces began. One of us also needs to follow.

I suppose I should focus on my favorite bond of all, and that was between Cal and Pi. Best friends. Both mourning the loss of their families-sworn to be by each other’s side until the end, even in the toughest moments. I ADORED them and their sisterly friendship-the loyalty, understanding, and the push that each needed when things got tough-but, I have to say, Pi stole the show for me. Wow, was she a great, strong, and empathetic person. She saw reason when Cal only saw fire and revenge…and I really connected with her as a person. One act of kindness can start a whole new cycle, and one act of trust can save a life. It can easily go the other way around, but you can’t know until you try, and Pi was so inspirational in that way, standing against her best friend because she knew what was right. I just…I loved her.

Image result for crying best friends hug gif

Cal? She was a little stubborn and hard to connect with sometimes, for me, honestly, because I’m a bit fluffier on the inside, like Pi-however, I know that pain Cal feels, we FELT it from the depths of our soul (damn you, Parker *shakes fist at sky*) because of that poignant and jarring prologue-we know the pain Caledonia hides…and we can’t help but understand that sorrow. So no, I can’t (and didn’t) judge her harshly, which is why I ended up loving her, in the end. Plus, she was a flawed MC-and I dig that.

Image result for girl pirate gif

But, most importantly, probably, is the fact that this book is fueled by the strongest bond of all-family. Even when they aren’t around, we can draw strength from them….and, apparently, drive us to bloody and just revenge.

Related image

(Lol, legit pictured this voice/scene in my head, so naturally I needed the GIF to send my point home)

He hopped to the ground at Redtooth’s feet. “You wanted the gear snapped in, right? No chance for movement.”
Alarm showed on Redtooth’s face. “Snapped in? No, I didn’t want it snapped in! I-“ Her teeth crashed together. “You’re joking. You’re a damn dirty Bullet and you’re joking.”

In the end, this story was a big punch in the feels that gave me a lot to think about. And it had an epic end I won’t likely forget (UGH COME ONNN) any time soon. I felt every sad moment, even when I wasn’t all in, and that’s saying something about this author’s ability to write. It got me where it hurts, even in the face of doubt, and that’s where the biggest punch in the feels comes from.

“She’s right,” Oran said from beside her. “If anyone could lead a fleet, it’s you.”
In spite of the cold, Caledonia felt a small warmth bloom in her chest.Redtooth groaned. “Things have gone very wrong when a Bullet agrees with you. Quick, say something terrible. Shouldn’t be hard. Just open your mouth.”
“Red, you’re faithful and strong, and if I die tomorrow, I hope you remember I considered you a friend,” Oran said brightly.

A strong story about friendship, bravery, and a ship of girls all loyal to a fault-but, mostly, it’s a story that centers around love…and that’s what made my heart beat, my soul soar, and my head spin with possibilities. I was lost in the clouds when I read this, and I am SO ready for anything that comes next. Sign me up-I’m a loyal fan. And more Oran, please. Yum.

Pre-order HERE!

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Bookstagram Picture:

(I’m in the process of moving so it is NOT what I normally can do…but it’s the best I could do with no props and no light!)

AUTHOR BIO:

Natalie C. Parker is the author of the Beware the Wild duology, the Seafire trilogy, and the editor of Three Sides of a Heart. She earned her BA in English literature from the University of Southern Mississippi and her MA in gender studies from the University of Cincinnati. She grew up in a Navy family finding home in coastal cities from Virginia to Japan. Now, she lives surprisingly far from any ocean on the Kansas prairie where she runs Madcap Retreats with her wife. She tweets @nataliecparker.

Follow the tour below!

WEEK ONE

August 20 – Bibliobakes – Review

August 21 – My Friends are Fiction – Creative Instagram Picture

August 22 – Gladiatorglory – Moodboard

August 23 – YA Books Central – Author Guest Post: What gave you the inspiration for this book?
August 24 – Starcrossed Book Blogger – Review

WEEK TWO

August 27 – Here’s to Happy Endings – Creative Instagram Picture

August 28 – NovelKnight – Review

August 29 – Utopia State of Mind – Author Guest Post: Who would be in your pirate crew and why?

August 30 – @Darkfaerietales – Creative Instagram Picture

August 31 – The Fandom – Author Guest Post: Natalie C. Parker’s favorite stories of sisterhood and survival.

WEEK THREE

September 3 – IceyBooks – Quote Candy

September 4 – Novel Novice – Styled by the Books

September 5 – The Young Folks – Author Guest Post: What was the world building process like? What type of research was involved in creating the world/learning about ships or sailing and what was the inspiration of the world and story?

September 6 – Lindseyybooks – Review + Creative Instagram Picture

September 7 – Brittany’s Book Rambles – Spotlight + Listicle

WEEK FOUR

September 10 – Cayla Reads – Review + Playlist

September 11 – Herbookstacks – Review + Book Aesthetic

September 12 – Swoony Boys – Character Interview

September 13 – Book Is Glee – Creative Instagram Picture

September 14 – Sarah June – Review + Creative Instagram Picture

BOOK REVIEW: The Darkest Legacy (The Darkest Minds #4) by Alexandra Bracken

August 23, 2018 / Arielle / 0 Comments

The Darkest Legacy (The Darkest Minds #4)
by Alexandra Bracken
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Five years after the destruction of the so-called rehabilitation camps that imprisoned her and countless other Psi kids, seventeen-year-old Suzume "Zu" Kimura has assumed the role of spokesperson for the interim government, fighting for the rights of Psi kids against a growing tide of misinformation and prejudice. But when she is accused of committing a horrifying act, she is forced to go on the run once more in order to stay alive.

Determined to clear her name, Zu finds herself in an uncomfortable alliance with Roman and Priyanka, two mysterious Psi who could either help her prove her innocence or betray her before she gets the chance. But as they travel in search of safety and answers, and Zu grows closer to the people she knows she shouldn't trust, they uncover even darker things roiling beneath the veneer of the country's recovery. With her future-and the future of all Psi-on the line, Zu must use her powerful voice to fight back against forces that seek to drive the Psi into the shadows and save the friends who were once her protectors.

From #1 New York Times best-selling author Alexandra Bracken comes a harrowing story of resilience, resistance, and reckoning that will thrill loyal fans and new readers alike.

You can get up.
You have to get back up.
I could get back up. I could do it myself. Again, and again, and again. As long as there was breath in my body, I could get back up.

WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?!?!?!?!? Alright, people. It had been a LONG time since a book has made me ~feel~ this way so you better believe this review is going to be a jumbled mess of thoughts and feelings. First off, this was obviously SO GOOD. Like, a billion stars to Alexandra Bracken for this entire series. I’m angry with myself, though, because I was reading this on an app that didn’t allow highlights and I was only smart enough to actually write one measly quote down so I’ll have to add more the next time around—just know there were so many great ones. SO MANY. (This review might also be half in caps too, we’ll see, I’m just really pumped up about how good it was.)

I started reading this a few days but didn’t actually get into it until I had some time to myself yesterday morning. Once I started, I was COMPLETELY hooked. See, that’s the thing about these books and Bracken’s writing. I become so immersed that I have to drag my eyes away from the writing and when I do, it takes me a few seconds to come back to the real world. That’s when you know you’re reading something amazing. This book gave me the butterflies, it made me shake with rage, and it made me buzz with anticipation. It left me out of breath and has me hoping that even though it wasn’t ended on a cliffhanger, that we will get more from this world—especially Zu’s perspective.

She was always a character that I loved in The Darkest Minds series but getting this entire book from her perspective was amazing. We may not have actually heard her speak until Into the Afterlight but you can tell that once she started, there was no going back. I LOVED when she was in Moore’s facility and was basically having PTSD flashbacks to her time in Caledonia that she finally came to the conclusion that she was not alright and that that was okay. She wasn’t alright because horrible things had been done to her, and were still being done but she could do whatever it took to help turn things around for the Psi kids. She has grown SO much since we were first introduced to her that it gives me the shivers thinking about it. I am so proud of her.

In this book we are introduced to a few new characters, mainly Roman and Priyanka. I LOVED THEM SO MUCHHHH. They became so much more than what I first thought they would when I started the book. Roman is so serious and so caring—he would literally take a bullet for you. Priya was hilarious. She has so much sass and so many good one liners she reminded me a lot of Vida but without the potty mouth lol. Speaking of Vida though—I was so glad that we still were able to see all of our old favorites. Ugh I love them all so much I think I need to drop the other books that I’m reading and go re-read all of those books next.

I don’t really feel like getting into the plot much because I fully enjoyed going into the book and not quite knowing what to expect. All you really need to know is that things are not all fine and dandy in America. Yes the camps had been shut down and Cruz had been trying to get more rights for the Psi kids, but that doesn’t mean that things turned into rainbows and puppies overnight. Not in the slightest. In fact, some parts were still so horrible that it made me sick to my stomach, thinking as if those things were happening in real life (and in some aspects of this world and this government I think that they are). This is why I need more out of this story. I need to know what happens with Zu and the gang. I need to know how she continues to fight for their rights. And most importantly, I need to know what happens with the stupid, slimy, manipulative prick that is Clancy Grey…