Thursday, July 24, 2014

Guest Post: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid + Giveaway


One of the YA Contemporary release this 2014 is Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid. Since I saw this book in Goodreads and read its synopsis, it became my "one of the most awaited-and to read book" for 2014. Five strangers on a road trip? YEAH *more of because of the road trip ;)*! Below is Adi's choice of Top 5 Things to Pack and Travel-Themed Reads/Books to Read on the Road and don't forget to join the giveaway!



           5. Books 

4. Notebook/pen






3. My “I wish I could fly” penguin t-shirt for airplane days.

2. If it’s a road trip, snacks.

1.  Not much else. I prefer to keep it light.



      With Friends like These by Danny Wallace- A very funny man—the author of Yes Man—decides to revisit long lost friends across the globe. A touching and entertaining read about the things worth traveling for.

     Timbuktu by Paul Auster- A canine protagonist will teach you more about loneliness and how to be okay with it than any other book I’ve read. A great companion to the inevitable lonesome lulls while traveling. Plus it’s nice and light, so easy to carry with you.

    101 Summertime Knock-Knock Jokes- Just kidding.


    The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams- To vicariously go where no man has before, and to find the answer to the universe.

     Best American Travel Series­- I usually go for the Best Shorts collections, but I picked up one of the travel collections once and it immediately made me want to hit the road. The pieces range from touching to insightful to just plain entertaining. With contributors like Anthony Bourdain and Gary Shteyngart, there’s something in it to please everyone, and plenty of ideas for not just where to go next, but how.

       Tales from Nowhere edited by Don George- Another collection of short pieces, all sent from different nowheres. From the back copy: “Nowhere is a setting, a situation and a state of mind. It's not on any map, but you know it when you're there.” A great non-fiction companion to Let’s Get Lost.    
_________________________________________________________________________

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Release date: July 29, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Tenn
Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost.

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love.

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.


Early Praise:
“Reminiscent of John Green’s Paper Towns and road trip novels that feature a teen paving the way to adulthood, Alsaid’s debut is a gem among contemporary YA novels.” – School Library Journal

“Five love stories, beautifully woven together by a special girl in search of adventure, hope, and full appreciation of life’s simple pleasures. A do-not-miss.  ” – Justine Magazine

“Moving and poignant.”  - Glitter Magazine

“An entertaining and romantic road-trip debut.” – Kirkus

"Leila's quest to find the Northern Lights takes readers on a captivating cross-country journey, where four strangers' adventures collide into one riveting tale of finding yourself." ―YABooksCentral.com

“This will likely be a popular summer hit, especially for older teen about to embark on their own journeys of self-discovery.” –Booklist





Pre-Order Today!
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Indie Bound * Harlequin.com



Adi Alsaid was born and raised in Mexico City, then studied at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. While in class, he mostly read fiction and continuously failed to fill out crossword puzzles, so it's no surprise that after graduating, he did not go into business world but rather packed up his apartment into his car and escaped to the California coastline to become a writer.

 He's now back in his hometown, where he writes, coaches high school and elementary basketball, and has perfected the art of making every dish he eats or cooks as spicy as possible. In addition to Mexico, he's lived in Tel Aviv, Las Vegas, and Monterey, California. A tingly feeling in his feet tells him more places will eventually be added to the list. Let's Get Lost is his YA debut.  
Author Links:
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1 signed hard cover copy of Let’s Get Lost
1 Let’s Get Lost luggage tag
1 Harlequin TEEN notebook
1 Let’s Get Lost sachel
1 Harlequin TEEN tote bag



Book Blitz Organized by:

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Interview: This Summer by Katlyn Duncan + Giveaway



Today I've had a chance to interview Ms. Duncan for her recent YA Contemporary book This Summer. Scroll down to read the interview and join the giveaway below. Have fun!
How did you come up with the concept in "This Summer"?

This Summer stemmed from reminiscing about my summers working for the local Parks Department.

Can you tell us about your protagonist, Hadley and Will?

Hadley and Will were next-door neighbors until he skipped town two years prior to the start of the book.  They had barely bridged the gap between their friendship toward something more when he left. When Will returns, it’s a challenge for them both to be around each other with their past on their shoulders.

Do you have any strange writing habits (like writing in the shower or standing in the head)?

I do think I get my best ideas when walking, and when I come up to a block I like to take my dog out, but I always have my phone ready to jot down any plot ideas!

What makes This Summer different from other books in the New Adult Contemporary genre?

The story is different than any other NA title I’ve read. It still holds onto the age group and problems that “new adults” face but it comes from the younger range where Hadley’s adult life is just beginning and the challenges that she will face are on the horizon.

Is there a message in your novel that you want your readers to grasp?

Not a message specifically, but I would love my readers to grasp onto the memory of their final childhood summer and all the possibilities within.

Have you ever had a writer's block?

Oh yes. And it can be quite unforgiving!

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?


I hope you enjoy reading This Summer as much as I enjoyed writing it!


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This Summer by Katlyn Duncan
Release date: July 9, 2014
Publisher: Carina UK
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
ISBN: 9781472096449
Before college, before responsibilities, Hadley Beauman and best friend Lily are determined to have a summer to remember. There will be all the usual dramas - ex-boyfriends who don't seem to know what 'ex' means, pesky younger brothers with unrequited crushes, but what Hadley didn't anticipate was the out-of-the-blue return of the seriously hot boy-next-door, Will Carson. The boy who broke her heart when he skipped town two years ago.

Will may have shot up a foot and filled out (oh yes), but inside he carries the weight of guilt - for leaving, for coming back... Now he's just passing through to tie up loose ends but it's clear the old chemistry still crackles between him and Hadley. Trouble is, it's built on two years of lies...

This summer might just be the best time of their lives, but is Hadley ready for everything to change - again?

Find it at…

Purchase This Summer:

Coming soon… iBooks, Nook UK, Kobo, Google Play, & Sony Store.

Katlyn Duncan was born and raised in a small town in western Massachusetts. Her overactive imagination involved invisible friends, wanting to be a Disney Princess and making up her own stories. Her bibliophile mom always encouraged her love of reading and that stayed with her since. Even though she works full time in the medical field Katlyn has always made time for books, whether she is reading or writing them.

Katlyn now lives in southern Connecticut with her husband and adorable Wheaten Terrier and she is thrilled to finally share her stories with the world.
Follow her on these sites




The author is offering up for giveaway a $50 Amazon US or UK gift card.




Week One

July 14th – Fire and Ice – Guest Post
July 14th – Spiced Latte Reads – Review
July 15th – Ramblings From This Chick – Review
July 15th – The Cover Contessa – Interview
July 16th – Book Briefs – Review
July 16th – Swoony Boys Podcast – Interview
July 17th – Falling for YA – Guest Post
July 17th – Ginger-Read Reviews – Review
July 18th – A Book and a Latte – Interview
July 18th – Mary Had a Little Book Blog – Review

Week Two

July 21st – Seeing Night Reviews – Review
July 21st – Ticket to Anywhere – Guest Post
July 21st – A Bottomless Book Bag - Review
July 22nd – Library of a Book Witch – Review
July 22nd – Simplistic Reviews – Guest Post
July 23rd – Teen Readers’ Diary – Interview
July 23rd – Rampant Readers – Review
July 24th – Once Upon a Twilight – Review
July 24th – Fiction Dreams - Interview
July 25th – Burning Impossibly Bright – Guest Post


July 25th – Fiktshun – Guest Post + Review





Waiting on Wednesday: Vanishing Girls and Zodiac


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.


Here are my WoW picks this week (click on the title for the Goodreads page):

Vanishing Girls
Release date: March 3rd, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pre-Order: The Book Depository | B&N | Amazon
New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping story about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident. 

Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late. 

In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.

I've been a fan of Lauren Oliver ever since I read Delirium and Pandemonium, although I'm too much of a chicken to finish the series. That being said, she has a gorgeous writing and I can't wait to experience it again with Vanishing Girls.


Zodiac
Release date: December 9th, 2014
Publisher: Razorbill
Pre-Order: The Book Depository | B&N | Amazon 
At the dawn of time, there were 13 Houses in the Zodiac Galaxy. Now only 12 remain….

Rhoma Grace is a 16-year-old student from House Cancer with an unusual way of reading the stars. While her classmates use measurements to make accurate astrological predictions, Rho can’t solve for ‘x’ to save her life—so instead, she looks up at the night sky and makes up stories.

When a violent blast strikes the moons of Cancer, sending its ocean planet off-kilter and killing thousands of citizens—including its beloved Guardian—Rho is more surprised than anyone when she is named the House’s new leader. But, a true Cancrian who loves her home fiercely and will protect her people no matter what, Rho accepts.

Then, when more Houses fall victim to freak weather catastrophes, Rho starts seeing a pattern in the stars. She suspects Ophiuchus—the exiled 13th Guardian of Zodiac legend—has returned to exact his revenge across the Galaxy. Now Rho—along with Hysan Dax, a young envoy from House Libra, and Mathias, her guide and a member of her Royal Guard—must travel through the Zodiac to warn the other Guardians.

But who will believe anything this young novice says? Whom can Rho trust in a universe defined by differences? And how can she convince twelve worlds to unite as one Zodiac?

Embark on a dazzling journey with ZODIAC, the first novel in an epic sci-fi-meets-high-fantasy series set in a galaxy inspired by the astrological signs.
I only learned about this last week while I was checking out other people's WoW picks. I was easily drawn by the cover and the blurb because I've never read a book with Zodiac signs as its concept. And then I read the "epic sci-fi-meets-high-fantasy" and I'm sold.



What are you waiting on this week? Leave a comment with your WoW link and I'll make sure to stop by your blog!



Tuesday, July 22, 2014

FEAR ME NOT Blog Tour: Guest Post by Sara Wolf + Giveaway!


Hi everyone! Today is my stop for Fear Me Not blog tour hosted by Stephanie of Romance Book Blog. As a fan of Sara Wolf's Lovely Vicious, I'm excited to share with you a fun guest post written by the awesome author herself, and an excerpt and giveaway to whet your appetite for Fear Me Not. 






The first HUGE thing I learned about romance was that it was fun to write! I wanted to write romance was after I finished the awesome book Beautiful Disaster. Before then I thought romance would be too hard, but Jamie McGuire made it look so easy and fun! I began writing ARRANGED almost the day after I finished the book!

Another huge romance series for me was the Black Jewels series, by Anne Bishop. It's fantasy, so it's a little different, but I learned so much about making stories from that series! I loved the tension between the main leads - if I can ever write a book half as good as that, I can die happy!

I was also a huge serial dater in high school - guilty as charged! Boys were just too cute. But when I hit college I started to settle. I had one serious fling in college - with a hot-as-hell transfer TA from Brazil. He taught me tons, and probably inspired a lot of Lee Montenegro's character from the ARRANGED series! ;)







“I’m sorry,” Shadus’ voice says.

My eyes slide over – Shadus is standing right next to me, leaning on the bookshelf. I close my eyes and sigh.

“Don’t be. It’s me. Something’s wrong with me. I don’t know how to react like a normal person. Jeers, whispers, sneers, those are fine. I ignore them, punch something to make them hurt less. Compliments? I don’t know what to do with those.”

“You’re different. That’s not necessarily bad,” He offers. His long fingers skim over a row of books and he picks one out, flipping through the pages. “More literature in which the protagonist kisses his interest. Is it all your human writers are interested in? It hardly seems worthy enough to devote entire books to.”

“It’s not so bad,” I defend. “Kissing.”

“You speak from experience?” He asks.

“Second grade during the school play. Arnold Grady. We were backstage, behind the curtain. I thought it was a good time to go for it.”

“It was enjoyable, then?”

“Too wet.” I laugh, the memory burning like an old tattoo of embarrassment. “He was shorter than me - all the boys were. They’ve only started catching up this year, really.”

“I’m jealous.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What? Of the short boys?”

“Of your kiss. You speak of it fondly. Even if it was lacking technique, you still remember it. It must have been an important experience. I assume I will never know that sort of feeling - ”

I step into him. He jolts back, hitting the bookshelf. It shakes, and settles. I point up at him.

“Be thankful. You guys have the ceremony of flame. You don’t waste time with petty shit and he-likes-her-she-likes-him crap. Your future is arranged by your family. But us? Humans? We fish around blindly in a pool of seven billion people, hoping one of them isn’t too crazy or too incompatible with us, and we get so desperate that when we find someone we can stand for two minutes we decide to marry them for life, when in reality they’re all wrong for us. But we keep pretending they’re right, until we can’t anymore, and then we divorce them or break up and we get up and try again, and again, and it chips away at our tiny human hearts.”

He stares at me intently, as if I’m lecturing him and he’s trying his hardest to learn something from it. I snort.

“You’re lucky, Creeps. All you Gutters are lucky.”

“What you call ‘lucky’, I call ‘boring’,” Shadus says. “The human way of things may be more painful, but it sounds much more fun.”

I stride up to him, get in his face. His chest is rising and falling, his fists balled up. His ruby eyes stare down at me.

“Don’t do it,” He murmurs.

“Do what?” I singsong.

He struggles with something inside himself, a pained look coming over his expression.

“Victoria -”

I press my head into the cradle where his neck meets his shoulder.


Fear Me Not (The EVE Chronicles, #1)
Release Date: June 20th 2014
Blurb:
The aliens crash-landed on Earth eleven years ago. And now, sixteen-year-old Victoria Hale feeds them. With her emotions. 

Victoria is an EVE - an Emotion Vesicle Engraft - and one of few humans who are genetically capable of producing emotions for the Gutters to feed on. She's doing it for the money - her sister Alisa needs a good doctor, and fast. But what she didn't count on was being sent to the world's first desegregated high school for Gutters and humans. She didn't count on the paparazzi, the protestors, or the insane Gutter politics and government secrets. She didn't count on the crimson-eyed Gutter prince with an intriguing heart of cold iron, either. 

She especially didn't count on murder. 

But it's counting on her.

You can purchase Fear Me Not at the following Retailers:
    


  


About the Author 
Sara Wolf is the author of the LOVELY VICIOUS series and FEAR ME NOT, the first book in The EVE Chronicles, a YA/Sci-Fi series. She’s currently working on the final book in the LOVELY VICIOUS series. She’s addicted to the Vampire Diaries, The Walking Dead, True Detective, pink Starbursts, pizza, and damaged heroes. For additional books, news, teasers, and giveaways, visit her at sarawolfbooks.blogspot.com or facebook.com/sara.wolf.3304.

Follow her on these sites
WEBSITE




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