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#RT18 – My Saturday at RT Booklovers Convention

May 27, 2018 / Jen / 14 Comments

You guys. I had the most amazing experience at RT! My childhood friend, Astin, and I only attended Saturday’s events, but it was a whirlwind of a day. We got to meet so many amazing authors and even made some new friends. ♥

First off was the Giant Book Fair. It was 3.5 hours long and it wasn’t near enough time for us to meet everyone we wanted to. We each brought huge stacks of books to be signed and we did get that accomplished. But there were still so many authors we wanted to meet. Here are the books I brought….

A post shared by Star-Crossed Book Blog (@starcrossedbookblog) on May 27, 2018 at 10:01am PDT

We took pictures with the authors who signed our books and also who’s books we’ve read. I’m sure I was a huge, smiling, rambling mess. In case you haven’t picked up any of these author’s books yet, which we can’t recommend enough, I linked each author to their Goodreads, Amazon and Website.

Lorraine Heath (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

Rachel Van Dyken (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

Astin & C.L. Wilson (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

Jill Shalvis (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

Kimberly Bell (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

Mary Ting (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

Jennie Marts (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

Jennae Vale (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

JoAnn Sky (Goodreads l Amazon l Website)

We also met some of the cover models………

Astin and I both yelled REN (HA that’s a Jennifer L. Armentrout character reference!). We’re with Dillion Lalor and Justin Edwards.

And Stuart Reardon

We also met so many other authors, here’s just a few……

Avery Flynn was absolutely hilarious and had Astin and I cracking up! I definitely need to pick up one of her books!

Sonali Dev was the sweetest person ever and she’s another author I’m looking forward to reading!

Tina DeSalvo had the most amazing sweater! It had holes on the sides and it felt like it was meant for hugging. We got to receive the hugest hugs ever and I made sure her books are on my TBR!

Ginger Scott was so much fun to talk to but Astin and I totally embarrassed ourselves in front of her. *Deep breath* Astin and I were talking about how much we loved a side character in one of her books, A Boy Like You. Astin and I kept going back and forth over what one of the character’s initials were. We weren’t even close and Ginger Scott had to tell us his correct initials. Oh we felt so bad *hides face*! We swear we love him!

We also got to talk to Sylvia Day, Shaila Patel, Anne Bishop, Anne Eliot, Rebekah R. Ganiere, Dakota Willink, Brenda Novak, Elizabeth Hoyt, Shayla Black, Victoria Dahl, Rebecca Zanetti, Jasmine Guillory, Lexi Blake, J. Kenner and so many others. And we came home with a huge tote bag filled with swag that we’ll treasure forever! ♥

After the Giant Book Fair we got to run out to my vehicle to put all of our books and swag in. We grabbed a sandwich to go and then sat in line for the next event which was Berkley’s Talk Wordy To Me Party. At the party we got to chose a few authors who’s books we’d receive for free and also have signed by them. We had NO clue that would happen. So amazing! Also, at that party they had the yummiest dessert bar and lemonade. I don’t even want to say how many brownies and cookies I ate, but the part cookie part brownie?! That one definitely had my heart!

We then went to Audible’s event. It was filled with lots of fun games and cocktails. We left with a fabulous t-shirt and this picture which we will treasure forever. We met a Highlander!

And after all of that we attended the FAN-tastic Day Party. Soooooooo, like above, call us clueless, but we had NO idea that you got free books at RT for just attending the Saturday events. We also didn’t know that a lot of them would be signed while you got to talk to the authors. We were shocked and beyond grateful! It was so overwhelming how giving these events were. We had so much fun talking with the authors and also getting a lot of fabulous books!

I got to meet all of these authors and have the books signed. ♥

These are other books I received. ♥

So all in all…..we had truly no clue what we were getting ourselves into. It was an amazing fun-filled day and I’m so thankful we got to attend! RT Booklovers Convention was an absolute blast and Astin and I kept saying ‘oh my gosh this is better than Christmas’!

PS I received a copy of Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf at RT and then I received a fabulous box from Entangled Teen with the same ARC. So I’m giveaway a copy of the book on our Instagram and Twitter. It ends tomorrow and you can find it here on Instagram and here on Twitter.

BOOK REVIEW: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

May 25, 2018 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

It’s not escaped my attention that this is an extremely popular book that has exploded on my feed for YEARS. I’ve always seen such wonderful sentiments and tons of 5 star ratings-so why did it take me so long to read, you ask? Well. I don’t know. And, for those of you wondering, NO-I am not reading this because of the upcoming movie. It might have REMINDED ME I had this on my iPad, but in no way do I choose to read stories just because they are being made into movies.

I loved our main character, Wade. He made this story worth coming back to, even after I had to take a break for a while to finish some other books. There was SO much 80’s/pop culture talk that I both got and didn’t get. Most of it was before my time. But I really enjoyed reading about all of it in this format because it felt close to home. I was born in 1989 so it was all on the cusp of what I know/grew up with-even so, it felt like nostalgia. I’m a nerd, but not so much so that I know every little pop culture reference or every piece of trivia-but I do know a lot.

Wade (obviously) breaks the mold when he is the first person to get the first key and clear the first gate. He becomes a phenomenon, someone who the people admire and adore…and public enemy number one. What follows is a grand chase to reach the end, a company that will not stop until they get what they want…and they don’t draw the line at murder.

I enjoyed Wade’s journey and the friends we get to know around him. And, I’m sorry, but I did love the little romance. It was just too cute and I loved how devoted he was to her…even though she was in a race for the egg, as well-and, did I mention, that the winner receives billions of dollars?

Fun, fast-paced, and addictive as all get out, I fell in love with this story. It had its moments I didn’t just geek out over, but it was such a fun book I didn’t even seem to care. To those of you on the fence, like I was, I suggest you read it. It’s worth it. But, just know, it is a lot of pop culture references and a lot of gaming gaming gaming-lots of terms I couldn’t begin to comprehend, as I’m not a computer whiz. But, if you get past all that, it’s truly an excellent story with a character you can’t help but to fall in love with and root for.

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BOOK REVIEW: Finding Felicity by Stacey Kade

May 23, 2018 / Chelsea / 2 Comments

Finding Felicity by Stacey Kade
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Caroline Sands has never been particularly good at making friends. And her parents’ divorce and the move to Arizona three years ago didn’t help. Being the new girl is hard enough without being socially awkward too. So out of desperation and a desire to please her worried mother, Caroline invented a whole life for herself—using characters from Felicity, an old show she discovered online and fell in love with.

But now it’s time for Caroline to go off to college and she wants nothing more than to leave her old “life” behind and build something real. However, when her mother discovers the truth about her manufactured friends, she gives Caroline an ultimatum: Prove in this first semester that she can make friends of the nonfictional variety and thrive in a new environment. Otherwise, it’s back to living at home—and a lot of therapy.

Armed with nothing more than her resolve and a Felicity-inspired plan, Caroline accepts the challenge. But she soon realizes that the real world is rarely as simple as television makes it out to be. And to find a place where she truly belongs, Caroline may have to abandon her script and take the risk of being herself.

**ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**

I’ll admit that this author is one I have always liked. Her Ghost and the Goth series took me strongly by surprise when, before even giving it a try, I was judging it by the horrid cover (I’m sorry, but some covers just need to not exist-people DO tend to judge a book by it’s cover). I absolutely adored it, of course. It was cute, fun, quirky, and a fun play on the hierarchy of high school. This book? It was the opposite. I didn’t judge it in the least when I saw who the author was when the blog tour was offered to me. I immediately was all in. And, while it had it’s moments where I really connected with the main character and the people surrounding her (these were FAR and FEW between, mostly), there is only one way I could describe this book as a whole: Cringey. This book, with it’s out of reality narrator, was beyond cringe-worthy.

I just….it was SO hard for me to connect. The story itself seemed adorable. I’ve loved these types of stories before, where the main character latches onto a fictional thing (tv show, fanfic, books, drawings, etc.) and then they slowly learn to live in reality. But here? It went a step too far, in my opinion, where even my suspension for disbelief couldn’t handle it. I’m sorry…but this girl? She broke my heart with how pathetic she was.

And I’m not trying to be mean, here. The fact is this: She latched onto the show Felicity where the girl meets a guy who is nice to her. Where he makes her believe she can be more. Now, hold up, this doesn’t bother me in the least. In fact, I do think people, as a whole, can inspire others to make more of themselves through inspiration and kind words or what have you. But, and this is where I just couldn’t with this girl, when she takes the same step that her idol does, following someone to college….I just. WHAT?

I’m sorry, but it made me gag and-actually-made my heart stop. How could that possibly lead to anything good? I won’t spoil anything, seeing as that is the opposite of what I like to do in my reviews, but I found myself wondering if we should actually like the male in this story or brace ourselves.

I will admit that I had my bout of stupidity (in HIGH SCHOOL) where I deluded myself into thinking all the hot guys that flirted with me truly wanted to make it into a relationship. A lot of them did, for sure, but did I ever choose the right one??? Ummmm. I’ll get back to you on that. lol. I will say-before I get too judged-I did end up choosing the right guy, in the end. In High School, that is. We’re married. So…I think I did okay-after too many flirty boys, I found the right flirty boy. HA. Depending on the day, that is. 😉

My point remains, however, that though I did many stupid things…I never ONCE would have considered following a guy I didn’t know to a college halfway across the country. I’m not here to judge completely, though.

This story really was a sense of finding yourself, a journey of self-discovery-and she did grow throughout the book-absolutely. Of course, this was after one of the most awkward moments in the history of awkwardness.

I don’t think this story truly offered a full look at all the extra characters like it could have, but I still really grew to like her roommate, Lexi. She was actually my favorite character. So, I’ll wrap this up because I keep saying ‘so’ and ‘actually’ a lot lol. My point is this: This book was not a romance, it was a story of self discovery and learning who you can be if you put yourself out there. I did tear up once, because, ouch. I DO know how some of this feels-many girls do-but not near in the same dumb situation she put herself in. View Spoiler » TMI. I KNOW. Whatever. That is all. Read it, don’t read it, it was a cute read…albeit, cringey.

I do think this quote was really good, though:

“The mistake, I think,” she says. “Is believing that once someone else checks the ‘yes’ box on you, then you’ll have what you need. Then you’ll be happy, then you’ll be okay with yourself. I don’t think it works like that.”

YES.

REVIEW – Hot Asset (21 Wall Street #1) by Lauren Layne

May 22, 2018 / Jen / 2 Comments

Hot Asset (21 Wall Street #1)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A sexy agent hounds Wall Street's hottest new wolf in an exhilarating novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne.Ian Bradley is the definition of a Wall Street hotshot: seven-figure salary, designer suits, and a corner office. His drive off the floor is just as potent. Every woman who knows him has felt the rush. But now he's met his match in Lara McKenzie-a woman with the power to bring Ian to his knees.An ambitious, whip-smart daughter of FBI agents, Lara is a rising star in fighting white-collar crime. Her latest case-the investigation of Ian Bradley for insider trading-could make her career. She knows a scoundrel when she sees one, and Ian fits the bill: a cocky, ridiculously handsome bad boy with a slick swagger.She'll do anything to prove he's guilty. He'll do anything to prove he's not. But it's only a matter of time before their fierce battle of wits gets oh so hot and personal. Now taking down Ian has become more than business for Lara. It's become a pleasure-and there's more at risk than she ever dreamed.

Review:

*covers face* This rating hurts my heart because Lauren Layne is one of my favorite authors. But I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters, so I was never once pulled into the book. Looking back, I’m sure there has to be something wrong on my end. Especially since a few months ago I read and fell madly in love with her previous release, Runaway Groom. If you haven’t read that one yet, definitely give it a try! It was hilarious, sigh worthy, crazy at times and so much fun!

I’m torn between regret and relief, because she’s SEC, I’m Wall Street— we’re about as compatible as a wolf and a lamb.
Though, for the life of me, I’m not sure who’s who in this scenario. – Ian

So when I put Hot Asset down, I realized that I am going to give this book another try. It definitely deserves it! I mean, this story is one I would normally fall in love with. So right before the next book in this series releases, in September, I’m going to pick this back up. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that hopefully I will make that connection and fall head over heels in love with Hot Asset.

I don’t want to play nice.
I want to fucking fight it. – Ian

Before I step away, let me tell you a little bit about what was in the pages. I think a lot of people will love it. First we met Ian Bradley. He was confident, charming, seductive and underneath it all he had a heart of gold. He found himself being investigated by the SEC. And the woman heading the investigation, Lara McKenzie, completely intrigued him.

So is Ian Bradley hot? Yes. Very. But I don’t need hot. I’d settle for someone a little plain, even a little boring, just so long as he’s loyal. – Lara

Lara was fabulous at her job. And Ian’s case was going to help her move onto the next stage of her career, into the FBI. Going into the FBI had been one of her lifelong goals, and her parents worked for them too. It seemed like Ian’s case would be a solid win for Lara, but the case and Ian are not at all what she expected.

I want her to see me as something other than the fucking case. – Ian

This book is definitely for those who are into a little bit of love to hate with some forbidden angst. And who also like to alternate between the two main characters. There are some wonderful friends that you will meet, plus there was a little bit of a mystery which was fun. Normally that all would amount to me gushing a ton and trying to get a lot of my friends to add this to their tbr. But that lack of connection completely ruined my reading experience. Sigh. So here’s hoping you end up loving this book a lot more than I did and hopefully when I pick this one back up in the fall I will love it too!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, provided by Montlake Romance. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

About Lauren Layne:

Lauren Layne is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than two dozen romantic comedies. Her books have sold over a million copies, in eight languages. Lauren’s work has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Glamour, The Wall Street Journal, and Inside Edition. She is based in New York City.

Website l GoodReads l Instagram l Bookbub l Pinterest l Lauren Layne Library

BOOK REVIEW: Everless (Everless #1) by Sara Holland

May 21, 2018 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

Everless (Everless #1)
by Sara Holland
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In the land of Sempera, time is extracted from blood and used as payment. Jules Ember and her father were once servants at Everless, the wealthy Gerling family’s estate, but were cast out after of a fateful accident a decade ago. Now, Jules’s father is reaching his last hour, and she will do anything to save him. Desperate to earn time, she arrives at the palace as it prepares for a royal wedding, ready to begin her search into childhood secrets that she once believed to be no more than myths. As she uncovers lost truths, Jules spirals deeper into a past she hardly recognizes, and faces an ancient and dangerous foe who threatens her future and the future of time itself.

What. A. WONDERFUL surprise. I absolutely adored this masterpiece of a novel. When I try to think of what book I want to read next, a weekly occurrence, I immediately think back to this story time after time after time. I read this the first week it came out, yet I’ve been backlogged horribly on time with which to write a review it so rightfully deserves (I was sick, then husband, then daughter-then fast forward and daughter gets it again and BLAH just TOO MUCH)…so I waited. And I waited. And I waited. And do you know when I have finally found the time? While getting my hair done lol.

Yep. I’m processing right now and I’m just tap tap tappin’ away on the keys. So. ANYWAY. I am so happy I can finally express my thoughts on this beauty-and the amazing characters this author brought into existence.

I think when trying to find a YA fantasy, there are few and far between that really reach into my soul and make me pine for more, wish that, even though terrible things are happening repeatedly, there was more we could read, that the story wouldn’t end. Those books are a dime a dozen…but this story was one of them.

With its lush visuals and deeply flawed, intricately layered characters, I was a goner from the moment I met every single one of them. Vivid storytelling led to endless possibilities, causing me to guess every theory in the book-until I realized I had no way to truly guess what was happening and I just needed to chill out and enjoy the ride.

A strange feeling flowers in me, like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff, looking out to the green-and-blue sea, which I’ve only ever seen drawn in books, its waves sloshing and beautiful and endless—and from this height, deadly.

Jules hates the Gerlings…chased from the castle when she was younger and still ‘in hiding’, she wants nothing to do with the royals that caused her and her father such pain and worry. She can stop time, but doesn’t know why. Blood is the price for security, its value only worth something so long as you’re not paying with your whole life. When backed into a corner with house payments, Jules finds that her father has been paying with his blood to keep them afloat-but she sees that he’s withering away with each pull, years dwindling away into oblivion.

She decides it’s time to take action, and when news gets out that Prince Roan has chosen a bride, help is required to prepare for the big day and it’s the talk of the town-those hired get a hefty amount of money, enough that it would get Jules and her father out of debt. Jules’s father begs her not to go, for that would mean facing the Gerlings once again and maybe being found out after all these years-But we all know what Jules decides to do, don’t we? The next morning she’s off before her father has risen, hoping to be chosen so she can pay off their debts and perhaps find the mystery as to why her father said to NEVER go near the Queen. What is he hiding? And why can’t she be near the Queen?

Lying feels like trying to hold an eel in my stomach: the truth wants to wriggle its way out.
I’m used to the feeling by now.

I’ll admit that I was all in for the romance. I mean, who would I be if not myself? I need a ship, and my ship was a lovely ship. My ship has/had promise. My boy was just…oh my gosh…ahhhh I need it. I just need it. And I need him. I love him. Adore him. I would do anything for him. But…unfortunately, I don’t think I should be saying any names. It’s a mystery until the end, I tell you, and it was a wonderful journey indeed.

Have I grown distracted, my head turned by Ina’s beautiful gowns, Caro’s friendly gossip, Roan’s smiles that seem just for me, and forgotten the promise I made by the lakeshore after View Spoiler »Papa died « Hide Spoiler?

I’ll admit I guessed mostly who she might possibly be with or end up with or pine for or what have you (how many different ways can I say I think I know who she will end up with, in the end?), but I second guessed myself on EVERYTHING. And here I am, I find, trying to fangirl about a boy that I can’t say the name of and not able to tell anything that happens or why I like said person. I can’t really say her past or why she likes who she likes or who she stops liking or ends up liking or who she continues to like (holy hell this is confusing lol)….so I feel as though my normal review format is screwed and I’m just left a rambling mess. It sucks. I want to talk about my guy, dang it!!!!

And then all those characters. All these dark corners and twists and turns we go through. The stories and myths and childhood memories-it all builds up into this beautiful story, this seamless weaving of epicness, gripping you more and more with each passing page. I was sucked in until I was drowning, until I couldn’t breathe….and I STILL wasn’t prepared for the inevitably devastating (and STILL devastating) turn of events. I had my suspicions, but I tell ya, this author? She is the definition of epic. No holds barred, she goes all in. No tiptoeing around, she slits your throat and is in your face.

She wins. You lose. That’s all. This story is beyond your imagination. It’s new, imaginative-it seeps elegance out of every pore (eew). When I say this, I mean it-This book is the underbelly of the tainted royalty game. Who can you trust? Who SHOULD you trust? Is everything as it seems? And, almost always, the answer is no. Keep your head high and eyes forward, because you might just miss something. You might think you know where its going, but I can assure you, even if you’re partially right…you’re not even close. And if you are?? You’re a wizard, my friend, because this author is a wonderful, tricky mistress….and I adore her.

Liam doesn’t react for a moment. Then, to my shock, he grins, a wide, earnest smile breaking across his face like sun through storm clouds. It only lasts a moment, but smiling, he looks like Roan. No—he looks like someone all his own.

Sigh. I’ll shut up. But I just…I loved this book. I really loved it. And its been a month, so it’s so hard to write a nice review that’s worthy of such a strong book and a strong set of characters. It’s like…I don’t know. I am so frustrated because I’m reading all these amazing books that mean the world to me, but then I can’t put down my thoughts the next day like I used to…BEFORE. Lol. I love my daughter but UGHHH she puts a damper on mama’s reviewing skills. I like to think I can post a review about a book I’ve read now more than a month ago, but even I find it difficult these days. I’m reading so much faster than I can put out quality reviews and…it breaks my heart.

Oh well. I will continue to try and catch up on past reviews-even if they review is a shadow of what it could have been. I needed this on hardback after reading the ebook-so I got it (that and cruel prince). And if that’s not saying enough, I don’t know what will.

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