Hi everyone! Today I’m excited to host the cover reveal for Crush, the sequel to Crave by Tracy Wolff. Crush, a YA paranormal, will be published by Entangled Teen but the date has not yet been revealed!
Without any further ado, here’s the cover:
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Jaxon and Grace’s story continues in New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff’s captivating sequel to Crave.
I’m in the fight of my life. For my humanity. For Jaxon. And for the world I’ve only just begun to be a part of. I’m all in, even if saving the people I love means I risk losing myself forever.
ABOUT CRAVE:
My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.
Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.
Which could spell death for us all.
Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff is a lover of vampires, dragons, and all things that go bump in the night. A onetime English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing dark and romantic stories with tortured heroes and kick-butt heroines. She has written all her sixty-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her family. You can find her on Goodreads or her website
Hi everyone! Today I’m excited to participate in the blog tour for NIGHT SPINNER by Addie Thorley hosted by FFBC! It is described as, “A must-read for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, transforming The Hunchback of Notre Dame into a powerful tundra-inspired epic.”
Publication date: February 11th, 2020 Publisher: Page Street Kids Pages: 400 Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings Buy: Book Depository| Wordery
Synopsis:
Before the massacre at Nariin, Enebish was one of the greatest warriors in the Sky King’s Imperial Army: a rare and dangerous Night Spinner, blessed with the ability to control the threads of darkness. Now, she is known as Enebish the Destroyer―a monster and murderer, banished to a monastery for losing control of her power and annihilating a merchant caravan. Guilt stricken and scarred, Enebish tries to be grateful for her sanctuary, until her adoptive sister, Imperial Army commander Ghoa, returns from the war front with a tantalizing offer. If Enebish can capture the notorious criminal, Temujin, whose band of rebels has been seizing army supply wagons, not only will her crimes be pardoned, she will be reinstated as a warrior.
Enebish eagerly accepts. But as she hunts Temujin across the tundra, she discovers the tides of war have shifted, and the supplies he’s stealing are the only thing keeping thousands of shepherds from starving. Torn between duty and conscience, Enebish must decide whether to put her trust in the charismatic rebel or her beloved sister. No matter who she chooses, an even greater enemy is advancing, ready to bring the empire to its knees.
– My Thoughts –
“I’m still me beneath these scars. I’m still a girl beneath the monster.”
Night Spinner is a YA fantasy inspired by The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was not what attracted me to the book at first. The ability of the character to control darkness is one magic I have yet to read in a fantasy so I was naturally intrigued.
Enebish, our protagonist, is an ex-soldier living at a monastery now after she allegedly lost control of her powers and killed an entire caravan of merchants. She’s both physically and mentally disfigured, has no hope left until her adopted sister Ghoa comes along offering her the chance to gain freedom. However, it comes with a high price: Enebish has to work with the rebels as a spy. The only one on her side is her friend Serik who believes in her with all his heart.
“I want to claw these thoughts from my head, but, like parasites, they’ve already burrowed too deep.”
What I didn’t like was how naïve the character acted at times though and I didn’t like the first half of the book. I loved Enebish’s character development and my heart really broke for her when we came to the ultimate twist in the story. Ghoa and Temujin were two other side characters who I was genuinely excited for. Both of these morally grey characters were someone Enebish was glad to follow(after some persuasion, for one) and in the end, you end up either hating or loving them.
“Be humble, for you are made of Earth.
Be noble, for you are made of Stars.”
I loved the magic system here and I would love to see how other powers work in the upcoming book(/s). I also loved that meddling gods and their children are present in this story as well. The story also has little romance and plenty of political intrigue so for those craving these elements in a fantasy book, you won’t be disappointed
Overall, I would recommend this if you’d like to read about a fantasy about a country in war and a girl trying to save it without losing herself. Although there are some similarities to The Hunchback.., I don’t know if it’d be right to call it a retelling.
Thanks to the publisher for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review and to FFBC for including me in the blog tour!
– Giveaway –
Win one hardcover of Night Spinner. Enter here. Open to US/CAN residents only! Ends on February 25th, 2020
Click this link to see the entire Tour Schedule. Make sure to visit the rest of the tour stops to get more chances to win!
– About the Author –
Addie Thorley is the author of An Affair of Poisons, a YA historical fantasy, which was chosen as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and is a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults nominee. Her forthcoming novel, Night Spinner, will be released on February 11, 2020. She spent her childhood playing soccer, riding horses, and scribbling stories. After graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in journalism, Addie decided “hard news” didn’t contain enough magic and kissing, so she flung herself into the land of fiction and never looked back. She now lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband, daughter, and wolf dog. When she’s not writing she can be found gallivanting in the woods or galloping around the barn where she works as a horse trainer and exercise rider. Follow her on: Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
Thank you for reading! Do you think you’ll read Night Spinner? If you’ve already read it, then I’d love to know what you thought as well!
Hi everyone! Today I’m excited to participate in the bookstagram & creative blog tour for BREAK THE FALL by Jennifer Iacopelli hosted by MTMC Tours! Break the Fall is a fiercely told survivorship YA Contemporary novel about one girl’s determination to push her body to win gold at the Olympics, and the power of uniting as women to speak out. Publishing on February 18th, 2020 from Razorbill and February 20th, 2020 from Hodder Children’s (UK).
Publication date: February 25th, 2020 Publisher: Feiwel and Friends Pages: 336 Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult Buy: Book Depository | Wordery
Synopsis:
Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:
1) Woo the Shadow King. 2) Marry him. 3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.
No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.
But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?
– My Thoughts –
“They’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart.
And they never will.”
The Shadows Between Us starts with the trope, “boy you might be hot and all, but imma still kill you as it suits me” but it quickly turned to “oh noooo.. boy you’re THE brooding hero of my fanfic dreams..how in the f-ing hell can I kill you”.
Alessandra, the second daughter of a nobleman, started off as an ambitious heroine. It seems that she has everything, riches to freedom to do whatever she wants but Alessandra knows that as a woman she has to marry someone eventually. Alessandra shocks her father when she tells him she’ll marry the Shadow King. Alessandra is confident that the King won’t be able to help himself and fall for her. When he does, Alessandra is going to kill him and rule the kingdom in his place. Of course, things don’t go her way. For starters, there are others in line ahead to kill the king.
I won’t say I didn’t enjoy the book because I loved every bit of it. There are pretty great moments( some of which I’ve included above) like Alessandra’s sense of humor, her passion for designing clothes, female friendships, moments of female empowerment, great banter and Demodocus of course! I was intrigued by the Shadow King too; not the King part but the “Shadow” part. The pacing was decent as well as I had finished reading it in two days. I loved the twist at the end as well. I couldn’t predict the villain until before two pages of the revelation but it was anticlimactic.
Now let’s talk about what I didn’t like. To me, it seemed like Alessandra quickly forgot about her plans. I didn’t like the Alessandra that we got to see after she joined the royal household. I also wanted to see her in the role of Royal Tailor or something..since there are paragraphs detailing her love for designing. There was also minimal worldbuilding so I’d advise you to steer clear of this if you prefer detailed world-building.
Overall, I would recommend thisbook. I think if you enjoyed The Cruel Prince, you might enjoy this! If you like anti-heroes, stabby romance, a character-driven fantasy that prioritizes romance, then go buy or borrow this YA fantasy when it hits the shelves on 25th February!
Thanks to the publisher for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
– About the Author –
Initially from a small town in Oregon, Tricia Levenseller now lives next to the Rocky Mountains with her bossy dog, Rosy. She received her degree in English Language and editing and is thrilled that she never has to read a textbook again. When she’s not writing or reading, Tricia enjoys putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing volleyball, playing OVERWATCH, and watching shows while eating extra-buttered popcorn.
Thank you for reading! Will you add The Shadows Between Us to your tbr? Have you read any of the author’s previous books? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Publication date: June 27th, 2019 Publisher: Bloomsbury YA Pages: 374 Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary Buy: Book Depository | Wordery
Synopsis:
When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.
Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle.
When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they’re both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they’ve built. But when Maegan learns of Rob’s plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship…
This captivating, heartfelt novel asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?
TW: discussions of suicide, discussions of abortion, teen pregnancy, parental abuse
– My Thoughts –
After reading A Curse so Dark and Lonely, I was eager to read more of Brigid Kemmerer’s books and many blogger friends recommended Call It What You Want. I was supposed to pick up this book in 2019 but I kept putting it off; however, this wholesome YA contemporary was exactly what I needed after reading a horror story.
“I’m not lost. I want to do the right thing.”
“Most of us do,” she says ruefully. “The problem is that it doesn’t always look the same for all of us”
Rob Lachlan was once THE popular guy in school but now, he’s a nobody. His father stole half the towns investment money and people think that Rob was in on it too. If that’s not enough, his father committed suicide and Rob saw it all.
Maegan was a good girl but she cheated on the SATs and nothing been the same since. Her classmates blame her for getting caught and forcing everyone to rewrite the tests all over again. Maegan’s dad is also a cop and definitely won’t like it when his daughter is friendly with the son of a criminal.
Maegan and Rob are paired up as partners by a teacher, one of my favourite YA trope! At first, none of them wants to each other’s partners but later, they realise that their project meet-ups provided a welcome escape from their complicated families. This unlikely relationship between them was so beautiful to read; both insecure and presume the wrong things about each other at first. There were so many other lovable characters in the book: Owen, Owen’s mom, Sam, Mr. London.
The main theme here is how anyone can be misjudged and that we truly don’t know what is going on in their lives. Either we ignore them or treat them like garbage. Also a slight paragraph about racism was included through a character called Drew, when he says that at least people aren’t Rob like a criminal. Even though Drew’s delivery came off rude he was right, Rob got off easy because of the colour of his skin. If a black kid like Drew’s dad would have committed such a crime, the punishment would be far worse. Another representation comes from Owen who’s gay and it was so amazing to see his mother asking him to keep his door open when Rob was alone with him; a contrast to Mr London’s parents who wanted to get “rid of the gay” in him.
“Other people don’t have the challenges that we have, Owen. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own.”
Overall, I would highly recommend this. If you loved A Curse so Dark and Lonely and want to read more of the author’s books, then you won’t regret picking this contemporary up. I loved the Robin Hood easter egg in the story and way male friendships were portrayed. I was a bit miffed about the lack of female friendship in this book and I would love it if Brigid wrote a more present female friendship in her next book.
Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
– About the Author –
Brigid Kemmerer is the New York Times bestselling author of dark and alluring Young Adult novels like A Curse So Dark and Lonely, More Than We Can Tell, and Letters to the Lost (Bloomsbury), as well as paranormal YA stories like The Elemental Series and Thicker Than Water (Kensington). A full-time writer, Brigid lives in the Baltimore area with her husband, her boys, her dog, and her cat. When she’s not writing or being a mommy, you can usually find her with her hands wrapped around a barbell.
Thank you for reading! Have you read Call It What You Want or any of the author’s other books? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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