tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56539203508362530312024-03-13T03:00:19.204-07:00Sara in BooklandSara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.comBlogger285125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-5957911667148937052021-05-30T07:17:00.001-07:002021-05-30T07:17:00.241-07:00Blog Tour: Call Me Elizabeth Lark by Melissa Colasanti [Interview + Giveaway]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603145146l/54884632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603145146l/54884632.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Call Me Elizabeth Lark</span></b></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20585064.Melissa_Colasanti"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">M</span>elissa Colasanti</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 9th March 2021</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Crooked Lane Books</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Genre</u>: Domestic Suspense </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Call-Me-Elizabeth-Lark-Novel/dp/1643856820?&linkCode=sl1&tag=partnerscrime-20&linkId=4af224e2fdfa6bf95f8f4ca473843b09&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/call-me-elizabeth-lark-melissa-colasanti/1137365159?ean=9781643856827" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54884632-call-me-elizabeth-lark?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=39C9mqRtqN&rank=1" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #181818;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Your daughter went missing twenty years ago. Now, she's finally back. You thought she had returned a few times in the past, and your husband tells you she's not the one, but you feel it in your bones.</span></i></b></div><span id="freeText6326597178826793576"><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><b><i>Now, what will you do to keep her home?</i></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Twenty years ago, Myra Barkley's daughter disappeared from the rocky beach across from the family inn, off the Oregon coast. Ever since, Myra has waited at the front desk for her child to come home. One rainy afternoon, the miracle happens--her missing daughter, now twenty-eight years old with a child of her own, walks in the door.</div></span><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Elizabeth Lark is on the run with her son. She's just killed her abusive husband and needs a place to hide. Against her better judgment, she heads to her hometown and stops at the Barkley Inn. When the innkeeper insists that Elizabeth is her long lost daughter, the opportunity for a new life, and more importantly, the safety of her child, is too much for Elizabeth to pass up. But she knows that she isn't the Barkleys's daughter, and the more deeply intertwined she becomes with the family, the harder it becomes to confess the truth.</div></span><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span id="freeText6326597178826793576">Except the Barkley girl didn't just disappear on her own. As the news spreads across the small town that the Barkley girl has returned, Elizabeth suddenly comes into the limelight in a dangerous way, and the culprit behind the disappearance those twenty years ago is back to finish the job.</span> </div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKGiiWAFnjFYn1S0vxAVzUgMXUfwAyjJN6GW2RNM8wz2tC1k8Ds8_Vr1vw9w5C7P8zAeIpFG2-vc9YeBXzDX56SAnLKM7Hy2Bxbs4CP68ejD4ZLXp5mb3Cr4Qey5bCJHeID36mBYI4g1c/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKGiiWAFnjFYn1S0vxAVzUgMXUfwAyjJN6GW2RNM8wz2tC1k8Ds8_Vr1vw9w5C7P8zAeIpFG2-vc9YeBXzDX56SAnLKM7Hy2Bxbs4CP68ejD4ZLXp5mb3Cr4Qey5bCJHeID36mBYI4g1c/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My Interview</span></b></div></span></div><span style="color: #a64d79;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;">Hello </span><span class="markxv3abhfz3" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Me</span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;">lissa, thank you for being on my blog today! To start, tell us 3 reasons why we should read your book “</span><span class="markx1enlp4zw" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Call</span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"> </span><span class="markxv3abhfz3" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Me</span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"> </span><span class="markufg9lrznk" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Elizabeth</span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"> </span><span class="mark7bm9czoda" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lark</span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;">” – besides for its gorgeous cover!</span></span></b></div></span><span style="color: #201f1e;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #3c4043; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thank you for having <span class="markxv3abhfz3" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">me</span>! I appreciate it so much. I loved writing the little cast of characters in the book, so I’m certainly biased. But I think </span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="markx1enlp4zw" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Call</span> <span class="markxv3abhfz3" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Me</span> <span class="markufg9lrznk" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Elizabeth</span> <span class="mark7bm9czoda" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lark</span></span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> has three very intriguing central characters with complicated relationships. There are several big twists and layers of family secrets. If you enjoy domestic suspense this is definitely a book where I hope readers will get caught up in this little family with big secrets. </span></div></span><span style="color: #3c4043;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">If you had to pick one character as your favorite, who would it be and why?</span></b></span></div></span><span style="color: #201f1e;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span style="color: #3c4043; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">If I had to pick, I’d say Gwen is my favorite. She is the guilt-ridden older sister who was supposed to be babysitting the night her sister disappeared from the beach. Because of this, her relationship with Myra, her mother, is very strained. I thought about this even before writing the novel. What is too much for a mother to truly forgive? And even if this forgiveness is granted, would the teenage girl who lost her sister, never to return again, ever forgive herself? Twenty years later, when </span><span class="markufg9lrznk" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Elizabeth</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> </span><span class="mark7bm9czoda" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lark</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> enters the family’s life, Gwen is a bit prickly, a perfectionist, trying to control everything so she doesn’t make the same mistakes with her own kids. As a result, she’s caught up in this façade of ‘the perfect mother’ that we see portrayed on social </span><span class="markxv3abhfz3" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">me</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">dia, the societal expectations of women. I felt for her as I wrote her, but also, I wanted to make her not entirely likable while still sympathetic. So she’s the character I worked with a lot to achieve that middle ground. I wanted to be free to explore all of these characters’ flaws—because they are deeply flawed—while keeping them intriguing. And Gwen’s personality is generally guarded so I had to work harder on showing the vulnerable side of her. </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: #3c4043;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">What was the funniest thing about writing this book?</span></b></span></div></span><span style="color: #201f1e;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span style="color: #3c4043; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">I have six kids. And I used to have quiet time when the majority of them were at school and a babysitter was helping out with the youngest. Or when I could leave them home and work at Starbucks or the library for a few hours. But with COVID, we were suddenly all home together. And the babysitter option was out because I felt it was too risky. Eight people and two dogs in a house together when I was on a tight deadline for revisions on this book. Now, this part isn’t funny, but the creativity it took to get this done kind of was. I wrote in my walk-in closet, with the bedroom door locked, and the bathroom door locked, and the closet door shut just to slow them down and mute out the perpetual, “Mommy! Mommy! Can I have a snack?” </span></div></span><span style="color: #201f1e;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><b> Is t</b></span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><b>his your first published book or are there more of your novels?</b></span></span></div></span><span style="color: #201f1e;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #3c4043; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I have another book, written under <span class="markxv3abhfz3" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Me</span>lissa Woods, <span class="markx1enlp4zw" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">call</span>ed </span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That Night on the Bayou</span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, which is literary fiction. This is my suspense debut, which is why I write under a pseudonym. </span></div></span><span style="color: #3c4043;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;"> If you could work with any author, who would it be?</span></b></span></div></span><span style="color: #201f1e;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span style="color: #3c4043; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Ooh this is tough because I admire so many authors. I just finished Ruth Ware’s latest novel. So, I’m going to say Ruth Ware. </span></div></span><span style="color: #3c4043;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">What was the most rewarding experience you’ve had since being published?</span></b></span></div><div style="color: #3c4043; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #3c4043; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Seeing my book on bookstore shelves! As a young child, this was what I wanted more than anything. My life’s dream. And having this book on a lot of bookstore shelves has been an amazing experience. Of course, as authors we’re always looking toward the next goal—whether that’s sales or the next book deal or reviews—but I think it’s so important to go back to that child’s mind, the one that made you want to be a writer in the first place. And for most of us, it was because we loved reading, and we wanted to be storytellers. This is a tough business, with lots of rejection along the way, with highs and lows. But if I take my mind back to the place it was in before I knew this was a business, seeing my name on a book at the store is a huge accomplishment. </span></div></span><div style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9292e8_cfce4b2263094f689aa1f6d4d93328b5~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_872,h_620,fp_0.41_0.46,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/9292e8_cfce4b2263094f689aa1f6d4d93328b5~mv2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="800" height="143" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9292e8_cfce4b2263094f689aa1f6d4d93328b5~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_872,h_620,fp_0.41_0.46,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/9292e8_cfce4b2263094f689aa1f6d4d93328b5~mv2.webp" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b></div></span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="mark022o4ut6u" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Me</span><span style="color: #202020; font-size: 16px;">lissa Colasanti is a mother and an author. She has a BFA in fiction from Boise State University. Her writing has appeared in Lithub, </span><span class="mark022o4ut6u" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Me</span><span style="color: #202020; font-size: 16px;">moir Magazine, The Coffin Bell Journal and others. She is the Stephen R. Kustra scholar in creative writing for 2019, and was awarded the Glenn Balch Award for fiction in 2020.</span></span></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.melissamcolasanti.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20585064.Melissa_Colasanti" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.bookbub.com/profile/melissa-colasanti" target="_blank">BookBub</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/melissacolasanti/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/mmcolasanti" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/melissacolasantiauthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b></span></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Giveaway</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours</span></h5><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> for <span class="mark022o4ut6u" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Me</span>lissa Colasanti. There will be one (1) winner of one (1) signed</span></h5><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Copy of <strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span class="marke3r4y616j" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Call</span> <span class="mark022o4ut6u" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Me</span> <span class="mark8loa4nwv9" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Elizabeth</span> <span class="mark0zpu1zbgn" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lark</span> </em></strong>+ Swag (US Addresses ONLY). </span></h5><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The giveaway begins on May 1, 2021 and runs</span></h5><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> through June 1, 2021. Void where prohibited.</span></h5><div><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div></div><a class="rcptr" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f24bf84b741/" rel="nofollow" data-raflid="f24bf84b741" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_39zwtupt">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-719360826733916302021-05-14T01:00:00.001-07:002021-05-14T01:00:00.220-07:00Blog Tour: The Queen's Rival by Anne O'Brien [Excerpt]<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586129230l/51111864._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586129230l/51111864._SY475_.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">The Queen's Rival</span></b><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/64974.Anne_O_Brien" target="_blank">Anne O'Brien</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: September 2020</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Harper Collins</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Genre</u>: Historical Fiction </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 531 pages</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Queens-Rival-bestselling-gripping-historical-ebook/dp/B084GHY8LF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+queen%27s+rival&qid=1620921675&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-queens-rival-anne-obrien/1137842630?ean=9780008225513" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-queens-rival/anne-obrien/9780008225544" target="_blank">Waterstones</a> | <a href="https://www.kobo.com/it/it/ebook/the-queen-s-rival-the-sunday-times-bestselling-author-returns-with-a-gripping-historical-romance" target="_blank">Kobo</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>England, 1459.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One family united by blood. Torn apart by war…</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Wars of the Roses storm through the country, and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, plots to topple the weak-minded King Henry VI from the throne.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But when the Yorkists are defeated at the battle of Ludford Bridge, Cecily’s family flee and abandon her to face a marauding Lancastrian army on her own.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Stripped of her lands and imprisoned in Tonbridge Castle, the Duchess begins to spin a web of deceit. One that will eventually lead to treason, to the fall of King Henry VI, and to her eldest son being crowned King Edward IV.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45f33f_0dc35b9db07444058179ba6ff4c0bf99~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_338,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/The%20Queen's%20Rival.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45f33f_0dc35b9db07444058179ba6ff4c0bf99~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_338,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/The%20Queen's%20Rival.webp" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Read an excerpt</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Duchess Cecily teaches a lesson in Ludlow Castle, October 1459</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We were in occupation of one of the corner chambers in the old gatehouse keep at Ludlow Castle because it was a good vantage point from which to detect approaching marauders. Despite the lack of light and the all-pervasive reek of damp, I lit candles then unrolled the precious scroll with a flourish. It was a line of succession, drawn as a tree with thorny branches, all the way from the first man and woman on earth, Adam and Eve, enclosed in leaves and flowers in the Garden of Eden, to King Henry the Sixth, our present crowned and anointed King of England.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Hold down the corners,’ I said to my children.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My two elder sons already knew this lesson well, as did my elder daughters, Anne and Elizabeth, who were wed and living in their own households. Here with me were my three younger offspring. Margaret, more frequently called Meg, at twelve years was adept at reading and could work it out for herself. George at ten, and Richard, known to all as Diccon to avoid unnecessary complications in our domestic dealings, the youngest of my sons who had not yet achieved eight years, were still in the process of gleaning information on old alliances. It was time they knew of their profound inheritance. Indeed, in the circumstances, it had become an urgent affair.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">George slouched over the table edge, pressing down hard with his whole hand, while Meg applied her fingertips with neat precision. Diccon had his elbows splayed along one edge, leaning close to survey the pattern of lines and names.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Do you see the roundels, painted next to each name?’ I pointed to some of them, the closest to us today and the most highly coloured, all capped or crowned with gold. ‘The scribe has included a picture of each King, and his heraldic symbol so that you might recognise him.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">They peered over the document, sufficiently engrossed, even George who preferred weapons to books.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Our King Henry.’ George pointed. ‘Our cousin.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Meg placed her finger on a sword-wielding figure, two branches above. ‘That is the fourth King Henry.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘He was my mother’s – your grandmother Joan’s – half-brother.’ I traced my finger down from that fourth Henry to his son, the fifth Henry, and then his grandson, the sixth, our present King. ‘These Kings – all three Henrys – are from the House of Lancaster.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Why is the fourth Henry the only one with a sword?’ Diccon asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Because he used the sword to slice through the branches of the tree. There.’ I pointed to the break in the branches. ‘Henry cut the order of succession and deposed King Richard.’ I watched as a frown furrowed George’s brow. ‘The fourth Henry is what we would call a usurper.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘What happened to Richard?’ George asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘He died. In Pontefract Castle.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Did Henry have him killed?’ Meg asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘No one knows.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘I wager he did. He is fierce in the picture.’ Diccon looked impressed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘What do you learn from this?’ I asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘They are all branches of the same tree, from father to son. Except there, when the Lancastrian Kings took over.’ Meg regarded me with her solemn stare. Her eyes were forthright, her chin stubborn, her countenance often firm-lipped and unsmiling, but I thought she would grow into a handsome woman. My husband said that of them all she was most like</p><p style="text-align: justify;">me, and perhaps he was right. She was developing a strong will. ‘Would it have been better to keep Richard, whatever his faults?’ she asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘The Lancastrian Henrys have brought us a peaceful and strong country,’ I stated. ‘Victory abroad in battles against the French. Richard may not have done so. And Richard had no son to follow him. It is important to have sons.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Is our King Henry a good King?’ Diccon asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Sometimes he is not well,’ I suggested. ‘Sometimes he needs good advisors.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Like our father?’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I regarded Diccon. My other sons would be as tall and broad and fair as the painted angels on the walls of my private chapel. Diccon would be neither tall nor broad, and his hair was the dark of a raven’s wing. He was the image of his father, who had more wiry strength than powerful muscle.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Yes, like your father.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But King Henry’s worthiness was not a subject for discussion. We were stepping on the quivering ground of a morass that had recently begun to weaken the solid foundations of our vast, far-flung family.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘But where does our father fit on the branches?’ George asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I pointed further back than the deposed King Richard, to the great third King Edward who had won battles at Crécy and Poitiers and thus defeated the French.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘We come here, from the sons of this King Edward. He had five sons. Your father is descended from one of those sons, the Duke of York.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘I know that I will not inherit my father’s title, even though I have his name,’ Diccon said.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">His acceptance rather than childish wistfulness made me smile. ‘You are named for him, but it is Ned who will be Duke of York. You will have your own title when you have grown a little more.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My eldest son Edward – still Ned in his adolescence – would make an exemplary Duke of York.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I replaced the scroll, locked the coffer and returned the key to the purse, appropriately embroidered with our emblems of falcons and fetterlocks, at my girdle.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘So our father is royal. We are royal.’ Diccon’s mind was still absorbed in the multi-layered branches of the tree as we left the chamber, even as he hopped with an excess of energy. George raced ahead down the narrow stairway, his voice echoing in a strident farewell, and I let him go. Meg walked with grace at my side.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘You have Plantagenet blood in your veins, just as King Henry does. From your father and from me.’ It was never too early to instil some sense of pride in their inheritance, as I had learned it at my mother’s knee. My mother Joan, as one of John of Gaunt’s Beaufort children with Katherine Swynford, once disgracefully illegitimate before being restored to respectability, had more than her fair share of pride when she was wed to Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Why are we not on the tree as well, if we are all descended from the great King Edward?’ Diccon was asking.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I dropped my hand lightly on his head, ruffling his already ruffled hair.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Because we do not rule.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Even though the fourth Henry was a usurper?’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">He had remembered the word well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘Even though he was a usurper. We do not have the right to rule, and we never will.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘To think otherwise would be treason,’ Meg stated with all the smooth assurance of youth and untried loyalties.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Diccon looked to me for confirmation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">‘That is true. We are loyal subjects to the House of Lancaster. The House of York will always be so.’ I spoke what were to become fateful words. ‘Whatever you hear to the contrary, we are loyal subjects.’</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There were storm clouds building on our immediate horizon. It was a simple thing to make this declaration of fealty. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hold it as a truth.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At this moment there was an army outside our gates, almost within our sights across the river. It was led by Marguerite, Queen of England, who would be quick to cry me false.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KJavZbvV-InWAmGMrs4j0YC9Yp569vqVyRcFcGyhAsFF_fQnzxGeJnhrcdwYRMmKLefN7ljpsBD0Cfwwgl_vNPSglJkQiZahyphenhyphenr__w3qrBkHjeYBw8CGK-lK_Ifp_GsfOwTcG-9HNxBNt/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KJavZbvV-InWAmGMrs4j0YC9Yp569vqVyRcFcGyhAsFF_fQnzxGeJnhrcdwYRMmKLefN7ljpsBD0Cfwwgl_vNPSglJkQiZahyphenhyphenr__w3qrBkHjeYBw8CGK-lK_Ifp_GsfOwTcG-9HNxBNt/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45f33f_2af79b8f27a04cf491b25b39675fc91e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_360,h_358,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/45f33f_2af79b8f27a04cf491b25b39675fc91e~mv2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="360" height="199" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45f33f_2af79b8f27a04cf491b25b39675fc91e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_360,h_358,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/45f33f_2af79b8f27a04cf491b25b39675fc91e~mv2.webp" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: start;">Sunday Times Bestselling author Anne O’Brien was born in West Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in History at Manchester University and a Master’s in Education at Hull, she lived in East Yorkshire for many years as a teacher of history. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: start;">Today she has sold over 700,000 copies of her books medieval history novels in the UK and internationally. She lives with her husband in an eighteenth-century timber-framed cottage in the depths of the Welsh Marches in Herefordshire. The area provides endless inspiration for her novels which breathe life into the forgotten women of medieval history.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.anneobrienbooks.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/anne_obrien" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/anneobrienbooks/?ref=bookmarks" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-o-brien-89668a45/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/thisisanneobrie/_saved" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anne-OBrien/e/B001HD1NHI" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/64974.Anne_O_Brien" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></b></span></span></p></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-57893365335463086082021-05-10T23:00:00.001-07:002021-05-10T23:00:00.221-07:00Blog Tour: Forsaking all Other by Catherine Meyrick [Book Spotlight]<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521999800l/39495833._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521999800l/39495833._SY475_.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Forsaking All Other</span></b><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17798235.Catherine_Meyrick" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">C</span>atherine Meyrick</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 16th March 2018</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Courante Publishing</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Genre</u>: Historical Fiction / Historical Romance</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 308</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Forsaking-All-Other-Catherine-Meyrick-ebook/dp/B07B8QK3V3/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=forsaking+all+other&qid=1620662820&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forsaking-all-other-catherine-meyrick/1128115945?ean=2940155415671" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/forsaking-all-other/id1356080102" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">A</span>ppleBooks</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>England, 1585.</b></span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bess Stoughton, waiting woman to the well-connected Lady Allingbourne, has discovered that her father is arranging for her to marry an elderly neighbour. Normally obedient Bess rebels and wrests from her father a year's grace to find a husband more to her liking.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Edmund Wyard, a taciturn and scarred veteran of England’s campaign in Ireland, is attempting to ignore the pressure from his family to find a suitable wife as he prepares to join the Earl of Leicester’s army in the Netherlands.</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although Bess and Edmund are drawn to each other, they are aware that they can have nothing more than friendship. Bess knows that Edmund’s wealth and family connections place him beyond her reach. And Edmund, with his well-honed sense of duty, has never considered that he could follow his own wishes.</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With England on the brink of war and fear of Catholic plots extending even into Lady Allingbourne’s household, time is running out for both of them.</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Love is no game for women. The price is far too high.</i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45f33f_9d68bb72b6b442fc90e1d08a42ba5292~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_338,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/Forsking%20All%20Other.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45f33f_9d68bb72b6b442fc90e1d08a42ba5292~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_338,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/Forsking%20All%20Other.webp" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520707407p8/17798235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520707407p8/17798235.jpg" width="210" /></a></div></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Catherine Meyrick is a writer of historical fiction with a particular love of Elizabethan England. Her stories weave fictional characters into the gaps within the historical record – tales of ordinary people who are very much men and women of their time, yet in so many ways are like us today. These are people with the same hopes and longings as we have to find both love and their own place in a troubled world.</div><div><p style="text-align: justify;">Catherine grew up in regional Victoria, but has lived all her adult life in Melbourne, Australia. Until recently she worked as a customer service librarian at her local library. She has a Master of Arts in history and is also an obsessive genealogist. When not writing, reading and researching, Catherine enjoys gardening, the cinema and music of all sorts from early music and classical to folk and country and western and, not least of all, taking photos of the family cat to post on Instagram.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://catherinemeyrick.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/cameyrick1" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/catherinemeyrickhistorical" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CatherineMeyrickAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com.au/catherinemeyrick15/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> </span></b></p></div></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-4161533209923034632021-05-07T01:00:00.004-07:002021-05-10T08:37:37.353-07:00Blog Tour: Under the Light of the Italian Moon by Jennifer Anton [Interview]<p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609532779l/56228865.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="525" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609532779l/56228865.jpg" width="263" /></a></span></b></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Under the Light of the Italian Moon </span></b><br /><br /><p></p><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7322674.Jennifer_Anton" target="_blank">Jennifer Anton</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 8th March 2021</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Amsterdam Publishers</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Genre</u>: Historical Fiction / Biographical Fiction</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 394</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="http://getbook.at/JAnton" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://bit.ly/3n1nDqC" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a> | <a href="https://bit.ly/3ofS39T">Bookshop.org</a></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></div><div><i style="text-align: justify;"><b>A promise keeps them apart until WW2 threatens to destroy their love forever.</b></i></div><div><i style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Fonzaso Italy, between two wars.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nina Argenta doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny. But when her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave. When childhood friend Pietro Pante briefly returns to their mountain town, passion between them ignites while Mussolini forces political tensions to rise. Just as their romance deepens, Pietro must leave again for work in the coal mines of America. Nina is torn between joining him and her commitment to Italy and her mother. As Mussolini’s fascists throw the country into chaos and Hitler’s Nazis terrorise their town, each day becomes a struggle to survive greater atrocities. A future with Pietro seems impossible when they lose contact and Nina’s dreams of a life together are threatened by Nazi occupation and an enemy she must face alone… </div><div><p style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><b><i>A gripping historical fiction novel, based on a true story and heartbreaking real events. Spanning over two decades, Under the Light of the Italian Moon is an epic, emotional and triumphant tale of one woman’s incredible resilience during the rise of fascism and Italy’s collapse into WWII.</i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45f33f_17a29326404a4d7998c617be590f0ca9~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_338,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/Under%20the%20Light%20of%20the%20Italian%20Moon.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/45f33f_17a29326404a4d7998c617be590f0ca9~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_338,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/Under%20the%20Light%20of%20the%20Italian%20Moon.webp" /></a></div><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333300; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My Interview</span></b></div><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;"><b>1. Hello Jennifer, thank you for being here today! It’s so fascinating to have an Italian/American writer on my blog! To start, would you like to share with us a few lines from your book opening?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>It all begins with women.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>In them, Heaven and Earth transfer. Creation comes to life, and all of humanity springs forth.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>In the mother’s powerful womb, the transition from Godly to worldly takes place.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>It was Mary who gave birth to eternity and redemption.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The strength of the world is in its women.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The power of the world is within its women.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Yet it is the women we erase.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Some women are unwilling to be forgotten or to forget.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Particularly if they are Italian.</i></p><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">2. In the synopsis, it mentions that the book was inspired by a true story, could you tell us whose story it was?</span></b></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The novel is based on the lives of my Italian ancestors. You have to read the book to find out the exact connection, but I can tell you that my grandmother was the start of where my research began. The novel tells the story of Nina Argenta, the daughter of a strong-willed midwife, who falls in love with Pietro Pante, a boy who emigrates to the coal mines of America. The story is based on the lives of my family and tales I have been told growing up, as well as research I did after my grandmother died in 2006.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;"><b>3. What would you say the hardest part of writing this book was? T</b></span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The book was truly a joy to research and write but after fourteen years, there was a massive manuscript that would have been too big to publish. The most difficult thing was determining what to cut to make the story shine, without impacting the book negatively. For that, I did work with two fantastic developmental editors.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;"><b>4. What is the thing that gets Nina attracted to Pietro?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Like many great love beginnings, there is a spark between them that makes them stand out to each other, even from a young age. She is curious about him at first, a boy she knows from around the small town heading to America on a great adventure. Ultimately, there is something unexplainable but very powerful about the way they are drawn together when he returns later. Oceans cannot keep them apart or destroy their love. How many of us can say that?</p><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">5. Now speaking a little bit about you, name one thing you love and one thing you hate about Italy.</span></b></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I love so much about Italy: the feeling of connection to my strong female ancestors, the beautiful scenery, the food, the language, the art, the fashion, everything. Once, when we were in Rome and my daughter was three or four years old, she took a big bite of pasta, looked at us with wide eyes and asked, “Mom, why is everything so GOOD in Italy?” I had to laugh. From the mouths of babes. There is nothing I hate about Italy except for the historical pain the country has been through because of men who drive for power and end up ruining so much. It’s also sad how many families were separated through the years due to emigration. My greatest wish is for Italy to continue to create, thrive and grow. It would be nice to see more equality of females in leadership in order to ensure creation and new solutions for the future!</p><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">6. Do you have a favorite Italian author?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I love Bassani and Moravia (men who wrote during and after WWII) but right now I love Elena Ferrante and Donatella Di Pietrantonio blew me away with Girl Returned which is so few pages but has so much power! A must read.</p><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">7. Are you working on some other books right now?</span></b></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I’ve started a second book which takes place in Fonzaso and is based off a minor character and another family member who left audio memoirs</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1607445320p8/7322674.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="467" height="180" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1607445320p8/7322674.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>About the author:</span></b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Jennifer Anton is an American/Italian dual citizen born in Joliet, Illinois and now lives between London and Lake Como, Italy. A proud advocate for women's rights and equality, she hopes to rescue women's stories from history, starting with her Italian family.</span></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="http://www.boldwomanwriting.com" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/boldwomanwrites" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jenniferantonauthorpage" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.instagram.com/boldwomanwriting" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/janton1468/_created/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-anton" target="_blank">Book Bub</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.it/Jennifer-Anton/e/B08RL6HBDN?ref_=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://bit.ly/2XsHt3F" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://bit.ly/3i9XvZ" target="_blank">Youtube</a></b></span></p></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-63028359049916773882021-05-04T09:02:00.000-07:002021-05-04T09:02:03.464-07:00Review: The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary<p><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558562241l/41436031._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558562241l/41436031._SY475_.jpg" width="260" /></a><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Flatshare <br /></span></b><br /></p><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13038484.Beth_O_Leary" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">B</span>eth o'Leary</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: First published 10th April 2019</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Quercus</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 329</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: eBooks</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Bought</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Flatshare-Novel-Beth-OLeary-ebook/dp/B07KF75BSQ/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+flatshare&qid=1620115431&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-flatshare-beth-oleary/1129285351?ean=9781250295651" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Flatshare-Beth-OLeary/9781787474413?ref=grid-view&qid=1620116688912&sr=1-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></b></div><div><p style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px; margin: 18px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast.</i></b><br /><b><i>Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash.</i></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px; margin: 18px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Their friends think they're crazy, but it's the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy's at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px; margin: 18px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly-imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they <i>still</i> haven't met yet, they're about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window...</span></p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 18px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #181818; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is my second book by Beth O'Leary and I'm so glad I read it after The Switch. I liked The Switch but I didn't share all the excitement other readers felt, while for the Flatshare, I was definitely hooked. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">The concept of this book is already funny, even without the sweet and akward Tiffy making it all the more enjoyable. I liked our protagonists from the beginning and I couldn't wait for the moment they would meet. I could not foresee though, how their encounter could change so drastically the reader's perspective on both of them. Before seeing Tiffy through Leon's eyes, I never really thought about Tiffy's appearance and never thought about her as a gorgeous young girl, especially since the first physical comment we have is from Leon's girlfriend, describing her as "Larger than life." The emotional turmoil she's living and the fact that she's presented mostly as a sobbing mess at first, certainly didn't help. But once we have Leon's pov, everything changes. Tiffy appeared in my mind, finally, absolutely beautiful and full of colours inside and out. Her vitality and her quirkiness not akward anymore but sweet and encouraging, pushing Leon into taking care of this magical person he has casually met. Same thing can be said for Leon seen through Tiffy's eyes, even if the shocking difference for me emerges much more with Tiffy's case. Leon is and remains an introvert, the nerd-kind-of-beauty, but certainly with Tiffy pushing him into partecipating more in life, we do see a growth. Taking part of these metamorphosis was what I truly enjoyed most about this book and what I believe must be one of Beth O'Leary's strong points. Another perspective that I </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818;">thoroughly enjoyed is also the difference between Tiffy before the emotional abuse, and Tiffy after. Justin, Tiffy's ex-boyfriend is the worst man you could meet in life, one who doesn't really touch you but that manages to have complete control of your head, making you believe you might be someone you actually aren't. So we see a woman who thinks she's forgetful, weak, needy and mediocre by all meaning. With Leon's devotion and her friends' support though, Tiffy starts to regain some clarity and begins a journey of self-love and self-discovery that completely changes how Tiffy sees herself and is seen by others. I was glad the book offered this theme, as it was totally unexpected from what I thought was just a light rom-com.</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this book, I appreciated much more the author's humor but especially her writing skills, considering that she adopts completely different styles when speaking from Leon or Tiffy's points of view. Leon's chapters are short-sentenced, text-like, full of periods, while Tiffy's chapters are incredibly descriptive and reflect her exuberance. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">All these elements helped me create a strong affection for the characters and that is why I was dying to watch their love burn. After their first encounter, though, I expected for things to develop way more quickly than they did and I can not deny that I was a bit bored while reading the second part of the novel, where it seemed like their encounter never happened and other aspects of the story took the lead. And all I wanted to read about was Tiffy and Leon, Leon and Tiffy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Overall, I liked this book very much, so much so that I would have made it my favorite read of April if it wasn't for ACOMAF. It certainly made me reconsider my opion of the author and now I'm actually looking forward to reading her new book, The Road Trip.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zvkIJiJcybJJ68f8FhbXn1jWRl_pOjb7Sxk38o1_Tb2wbKvTsaWwgYTzK88fU3JQ2ZzCkhWyHFix-1_YP6QorxSgd_FdImj73jqFNVLZw8soPlt23vrviGWtdD-P3EdAHwaIEGGtPRM2/s400/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zvkIJiJcybJJ68f8FhbXn1jWRl_pOjb7Sxk38o1_Tb2wbKvTsaWwgYTzK88fU3JQ2ZzCkhWyHFix-1_YP6QorxSgd_FdImj73jqFNVLZw8soPlt23vrviGWtdD-P3EdAHwaIEGGtPRM2/w400-h31/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Rated</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB_f3EUTz0XLMzZ3dWRUWvwplFZ5LjESzsEbhwaeN_qtCf2rjFOf8I5BcSUoEeXuC5bCpgQL9urSToIphC_OkaSpIqTEeRoxxswlJuVGJ2Y9uoknk_2Pfa4Th6VGNz7BmAISxN4Z1GTNQ/s203/4+STELLE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB_f3EUTz0XLMzZ3dWRUWvwplFZ5LjESzsEbhwaeN_qtCf2rjFOf8I5BcSUoEeXuC5bCpgQL9urSToIphC_OkaSpIqTEeRoxxswlJuVGJ2Y9uoknk_2Pfa4Th6VGNz7BmAISxN4Z1GTNQ/s0/4+STELLE.jpg" /></a></div></div><p></p></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-83012240419019722662021-04-27T00:30:00.001-07:002021-04-27T00:30:00.248-07:00Book Blitz: Grave Robbing and Other Hobbies by Jayce Carter + Giveaway!<p><a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/04/GraveRobbingAndOtherHobbiesBlitzBanner.png" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></a></p>
<img height="400" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/04/GraveRobbing.jpg" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px;" width="250" />
<p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong>Grave Robbing and Other Hobbies</strong><br /><strong>Jayce Carter</strong></span><br /><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;">Grave Concerns #1</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Publication date</u>: April 20th 2021<br /><u>Genres</u>: Adult, Paranormal, Reverse Harem, Romance</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ghosts, corpses and four hot men—what’s a girl to do?</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Abandoned at three—whose parents want a kid who sees ghosts?—I learned the world is quick to punish misfits. I try my best to be a normal, boring human, but the call of the supernatural just won’t be ignored.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When a stranger shows up on my doorstep in the middle of the night, it’s no sexy tryst. Instead, I’m off to the graveyard, digging up the corpse of a murder victim at the demand of the local vampire coven—and that small felony is just the start.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The spirit of the woman has gone missing—something that shouldn’t be possible—and everyone is looking to me for answers. There’s Kase, a vampire who’s both terrifying and secretive. Grant, a mage with a bad attitude and a lot of power. Troy, the possessive werewolf-detective next door and Hunter, a mysterious bad boy who isn’t even close to human.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">It’s a race not just against time but against everything to figure out where the spirits are going, who’s behind it and if I can trust the men who now share my bed.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">And all because of a little grave robbing…</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57140303-grave-robbing-and-other-hobbies" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://amzn.to/2RXeGET" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grave-robbing-and-other-hobbies-jayce-carter/1138904160?ean=9781839434792" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> / <a href="https://books.apple.com/ca/book/grave-robbing-and-other-hobbies/id1555742936" target="_blank">iBooks</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/grave-robbing-and-other-hobbies" target="_blank">Kobo</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Jayce_Carter_Grave_Robbing_and_Other_Hobbies?id=_TAhEAAAQBAJ" target="_blank">Google Play</a></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Read an Excerpt</span></b></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Hunter didn’t remove his hand from my mouth. It made me realize he was also entirely pressed against me, and despite it not being possible, he felt better than he’d looked. His skin was warm, even through my robe.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">He took his hand off my mouth but didn’t move away. “Stay still,” he whispered against my ear.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Why? Is it coming back?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“No. I just really like looking down your robe.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As soon as his words sank in, when I moved past the adrenaline and the purr of his voice, I realized that yes, my robe had bagged open and he had a perfect view down the front.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I elbowed him, but he didn’t seem to even feel it. He released me, though the way he did it implied my little move hadn’t meant a thing.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“I am so tired of people breaking into my house,” I said.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“You aren’t human, and you don’t have any wards. That’s the same as a ‘come on in ’sign in our world.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“I <em>am</em> human.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Sure, shadow-girl.” He sent me a conspiratorial wink, as if we were on the joke together.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“No, I actually am. No funky teeth, no freaky eyes. Human.” I pointed at my face as though that drove the point home.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">He waved at himself. “No funky teeth, no freaky eyes. Very much <em>not</em> human. Sure, though, if you want to pretend, I’m not one to turn down a bit of good roleplay. You want to be innocent Little Red Riding Hood? I’ll play the wolf.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">His suggestion derailed me. How could it not? Any girl who claimed she hadn’t had entirely inappropriate dreams about the wolf in that story was a damned liar. Once I’d reached a certain age, ‘all the better to eat you with ’had taken on a very different meaning.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I pictured a dark, heavily wooded forest as I ran, something on my heels, gaining ground. His warm breath on my neck when he caught me…</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Suddenly I didn’t care what he’d said, why he was there or what exactly he meant by him ‘<em>not being human</em>’.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Until I recalled he’d broken in, and clearly him showing up at my office wasn’t a coincidence.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">He snorted. “I liked where your mind was going before.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“What are you doing here? And what was that thing?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Don’t we have better things to discuss? Or we can do away with talking all together.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“I don’t sleep with people who might kill me, but thanks.”</p>
<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">“If someone might not kill you, are they even worth sleeping with in the first place?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>
<img alt="" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/04/Jayce.jpeg" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px;" /><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Jayce Carter lives in Southern California with her husband and two spawns. She originally wanted to take over the world but realized that would require wearing pants. This led her to choosing writing, a completely pants-free occupation. She has a fear of heights yet rock climbs for fun and enjoys making up excuses for not going out and socializing.</p></blockquote><p> </p><p><br /></p><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<p style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.jaycecarter.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19718300.Jayce_Carter" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JayceCarterAuthor/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jaycecarterauthor/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram</a></b></span></p>
</blockquote>
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<p> </p>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-92126613237966420612021-04-22T07:18:00.000-07:002021-04-22T07:18:54.683-07:00Review: A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOTAR #2) by Sarah J. Maas<p><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586220612l/50659468.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586220612l/50659468.jpg" width="267" /></a></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">A Court of Mist and Fury</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">ACOTAR #2</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3433047.Sarah_J_Maas" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">Sarah J. Maas</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: First published 3rd May 2016</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Bloomsbury USA Childrend</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 656</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: Paperback</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Bought</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Court-Mist-Fury-Thorns-Roses-ebook/dp/B015FELXQ0/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=a+court+of+mist+and+fury&qid=1619094238&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-sarah-j-maas/1123052907?ean=9781635575583" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>, <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/A-Court-of-Mist-and-Fury/9781526617163" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>From Goodreads:</b></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The seductive and stunning #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling sequel to Sarah J. Maas’s spellbinding <i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she’s now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre’s hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people: one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world in turmoil.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her dazzling, sexy, action-packed series to new heights.</span></div><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #181818; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>If you want, check out my A Court of Thorns and Roses review <a href="https://sarainbooklandblog.blogspot.com/2021/01/review-court-of-thorns-and-roses-by.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>So. The time when I would have switched team has come, and I couldn't stop it. I really, really wanted to go against the flow on this one, but inevitably, I fell for Rhysand. And if I look back about how much I loved Tamlin, I can't believe it myself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">*tries to organize her thoughts* ... how difficult it is to write a review about a book you seriously loved? I find them the hardest to put into (coherent) words! Well, if you read my review of the first book in this series, you might remember me talking incessantly about how good it was and about how excited I was of finally finding a series that could steal my heart. A Court of Mist and Fury did not diminish my enthusiasm about this new world and I'm happy to see that up until now, the first two books in this series were equally great, even if for different reasons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The good thing about having a world divided into courts, each reigning over their own element, is that it gives you several scenarios where to set your story and therefore surprise the reader. I loved the change of scenarios in book #1 and I was anxiously waiting to have a chance to visit more of Prythian and its courts. I may repeat myself, but once again the author's writing abilities did the trick and I enjoyed how fully entertaining this book too was, giving me constant pictures and images about its endless, magical world. We have a better look at the Court of The Night and it was just the best place to spend all my imaginations into, its magical and romantic atmosphere like nothing I could have imagined and a certain protagonist to this chapter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just like ACOTAR, A Court of Mist and Fury is a slow-burner, but if in the first book the suspence is occupied by Feyre slowly falling for Tamlin, this time we have a much slower pace to get to the second step of her growth. Maybe, just maybe, I found this slower development a little bit bothersome, especially when I couldn't predict where the story was going. I was initially expecting a little more action from the second installment, especially since the ending of book #1 made us all aware that a lot of things were going to change for Feyre (and you can't even imagine) and I believed we would have had an immediate glimpse at how her life was proceeding. We did, but it was not what I expected at all, and let me say that it was shocking at first. Now looking at the whole story, I actually appreciated the time the author took into describing Feyre's adjustments as it made the character gain more credibility; moreover, this precious time also gave us the possibility to get acquainted to a great number of perfect characters that finally give our Feyre a so wanted family. The introduction of Cassian, Azriel, Mor and Amrel to the scene was an exquisite plus to an already perfect story and once again I have to just underline how incredibly talented the author is in picturing complex, multi-layered characters. They each have their stories, their pasts and everything they lived scarred them for eternity; they are feral, but they are also loyal and tender and I seriously can't wait to discover what lies beyond the beautiful eyes of each and every one of them. But it's not just them that are treated a certain way, what I noticed in the Acotar series is that even the more irrelevant character seems to have a specific background and identity. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just a couple of things that slightly annoyed me (I had to find something bad in such a paradise) are Feyre, that sometimes during the book acted super moody and incredibly unfair towards those who most cared for her, and second, the King of Hybern who seemed... ABSOLUTELY HARMLESS. It might have been me, but the few words he spoke in this title sounded just stupid and not at all intimidating as I expected from the antagonist par excellence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And if I'm not mentioning THE chemistry and THE steam in this book, is because I always try to write spoiler-free review, but for those of you who already read this... I DIED several times while reading this book and I will probably keep having problems dating for the rest of my life. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Rated</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwc86FP2qm1NiJhlhyphenhyphenKlIYaGHcwD3fTdceGKCVom3jEqgSGLJ_Az3EVsa24U1Zf-jCdUFIXKSXIGfHI7eoYJPaTY6gb0VDymvNx_NNPR7j0d8Xsbau9wOfprz6GkMVh_joD9NK7ciTcfBG/s247/5+stelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwc86FP2qm1NiJhlhyphenhyphenKlIYaGHcwD3fTdceGKCVom3jEqgSGLJ_Az3EVsa24U1Zf-jCdUFIXKSXIGfHI7eoYJPaTY6gb0VDymvNx_NNPR7j0d8Xsbau9wOfprz6GkMVh_joD9NK7ciTcfBG/s0/5+stelle.jpg" /></a></div><br /></b></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-41924424755756878432021-04-20T04:34:00.000-07:002021-04-20T04:34:35.557-07:00Blog Tour: Unwritten (The Zweeshen Chronicles #1) by Alicia J. Novo [Review + Giveaway]<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1592476287l/53487153.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="524" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1592476287l/53487153.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Unwritten</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Zweeshen Chronicles #1</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20323098.Alicia_J_Novo" target="_blank">Alicia J. Novo</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Expected Publication</u>: 8th May 2021</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: INtense Publications</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 324</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: eARC</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Received from author</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Pre-order</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unwritten-Alicia-J-Novo/dp/1947796658?dchild=1&keywords=Unwritten+by+Alicia+J.+Novo&qid=1617652807&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=xpresso06-20&linkId=2bce27c8ff87d766ce18f53a0512ef05&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Books whisper to Beatrix Alba. But they aren’t the reason she has never fit in. Bullied at home and school, she keeps a secret—a power of violence and darkness.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the spell that keeps her hidden fails, she’s catapulted into the Zweeshen, a realm where all tales live, and her dream of meeting her favorite characters comes true. But wishes are tricky, and behind its wonder and whimsy, the Zweeshen is under attack. A character is burning bookworlds in pursuit of a weapon to rule both stories and storytellers. To succeed, he needs a riddle in Beatrix's keeping.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now he’s hunting her down.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Joining forces with William, a cursed conjurer, Beatrix must face an enemy who knows her every weakness in a realm where witches play with time, Egyptian gods roam, and Regency heroines lead covert operations. And with her darkness as the only weapon, she may have to sacrifice everything to save a world that rejects her.</span></div></span></div><div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/UnwrittenTourBanner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="800" height="237" src="http://xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/UnwrittenTourBanner.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unwritten is a novel set in the world every reader dreams of
visiting one day: the world of stories or the Zweeshen. Beatrix, is a teenage
girl that, after her Grandpa’s death, doesn’t have a lot of reasons to stay with
her hateful father. Too good then that she practically gets kidnapped and
forced to join the Zweeshen. But what does a mortal girl have to do in a land
of taemlins, or characters?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I loved the premises of this book. It had the potential of
containing everything I want and like in a book: a fabulous, magical world, a
strong female protagonist and an intricate adventure to face. I was seriosuly
impressed by the writing skills the author showed in this debut novel , the
story was flowing and had the ability to catch your attention. The world the
author creates is certanly the result of a great imaginary effort and I liked
that it was well structured and had its systems and its history. The impact it
had on me during the first chapters was extremely positive and I was curious to
know how all the stories Beatrix grew up with would mingle with her everyday
life in the Zweeshen. Contrary to my expectations, though, the story did not
really revolve around exploring the worlds of well-knows stories, but more
around saving the Zweeshen from a dangerous threat, supposedly thanks to what
Beatrix’s dead mother left her. All the twists and turns that led to Beatrix
uncovering her Mom’s heritage though, were not always clear to me and this made
me detach a little from the story, let’s say halfway through the reading. Beatrix’s
principal mission being to solve her mother’s riddle, I would have expected
this journey to be a little more structured while at times I felt like too many
things were thrown in the way of the story and made me confused about the steps
that led to the solving.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Speaking of the characters, I liked Beatrix, even if I can’t
quite picture her as a teenager but always as a young girl - similar to Emma, who was my favorite character
in the story. The fact that I thought of her as this young, didn’t help me in
getting warm with the idea of her being in a relationship with William;
everyone knew from the beginning that they would become a thing even if they
seem to hate each other, but I just hoped that Beatrix’s change of mind wouldn’t
have been so abrupt. When they became a done deal though, I have to admit that
I liked them together way more than I thought and I appreciated their tender
and supportive relationship.Beatrix also managed to make a lot of friends in
the Zweeshen, and I loved how cared for she was, even though there are just a few
names that really stuck with me: Emma, Neradola and Jane, the others making a
brief appearance on the pages.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, I feel like giving this book 3 stars because I
honestly liked the idea of the world Novo created, as it is something
completely original in my reading experience . I just think that, being the
Zweeshen a world full of narrative ideas, the author tried to bring too much
into the first volume, making it not really easy to follow at times.Let me be
clear: I loved the journey but I can’t tell you that I’m 100% sure about what
happened in the end or what the prologue meant, too many elements and
characters taking my mind off the important aspects of the story, probably. I’m
sure that all the things that left me a little doubtful in Unwritten though,
will certainly find answers in the following installments of this series, where
a skillfull author and such a rich world make for an infinity of possibilities.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Rated</span></b></div><p></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggQ9rtU0IShTgnjbAHihvX-UeaENSjmSYGY_2TqE4EbRtoCT51h8ZQqjtgFHBu1WtLiuy7Nx-yUultoul3c5xCNgvveMgiZ_3GCpjyx6urvgaSnRjp5Nql4uXGlFYtZahjV5EuTeHMQVm/s166/Rating+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="63" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggQ9rtU0IShTgnjbAHihvX-UeaENSjmSYGY_2TqE4EbRtoCT51h8ZQqjtgFHBu1WtLiuy7Nx-yUultoul3c5xCNgvveMgiZ_3GCpjyx6urvgaSnRjp5Nql4uXGlFYtZahjV5EuTeHMQVm/s0/Rating+3.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BQh6oCxh8UtXoNhByQpAAmTewymRLICj8PtVk8USN-VE_qSkaeHVo40gF02I_L9pdvQEZulYT-dnSMe6vWZ_HF4HI5wtPDD2enxWyvl6btOX42rU441CS_hkocjaD2wOQQgr3pfwRRp8/s248/thumbnail_Alicia.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BQh6oCxh8UtXoNhByQpAAmTewymRLICj8PtVk8USN-VE_qSkaeHVo40gF02I_L9pdvQEZulYT-dnSMe6vWZ_HF4HI5wtPDD2enxWyvl6btOX42rU441CS_hkocjaD2wOQQgr3pfwRRp8/s0/thumbnail_Alicia.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;">Alicia has a weak spot for happy endings and transformative journeys. She spent her teenage years </span><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;">in Argentina and Europe, speaks several languages and loves to travel.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;" /><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;"> </span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;" /><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;">An eclectic reader, she grew up on a diet ranging from Lucy M. Montgomery and Jane Austen to Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Raymond Chandler, Hermann Hesse, Jorge Luis Borges, and many classics. She's never been cured of reading a bit of everything and is as likely to geek out about Mr. Darcy as Dr. Who.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;" /><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;"></span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;" /><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;">She is a history and astronomy aficionado, who walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, completed her Masters in the Netherlands and worked for Google in Ireland. She decided to become a writer at six but took a full, winding road here. Along the way, she learned if there’s one thing that cuts across cultures, one unifying thread that pulls everyone together, it's a good story.</span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;" /><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;"> </span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;" /><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-weight: 400; text-align: start; widows: 1;">A big-city girl, she now lives in the Midwest, where she occasionally picks apples and pretends witches exist.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.alicianovo.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/authoraliciajnovo/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/aliciajnovo" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aliciajnovo" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20323098.Alicia_J_Novo" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">The Giveaway</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><br /></b></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 1;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="d04251234211" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d04251234211/" id="rcwidget_14c0ehm1" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-72989472164897376452021-04-12T02:23:00.003-07:002021-04-12T04:32:28.462-07:00Blog Tour: The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky [Interview + Giveaway]<p><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599044636l/48424478.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="529" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599044636l/48424478.jpg" width="265" /></a></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Mary Shelley Club </span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">by Goldy Moldavsky</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13682584.Goldy_Moldavsky" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">G</span>oldy Moldavsky</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 13th April 2021</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Genre</u>: Thriller / Young Adult </span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 352</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Shelley-Club-Goldy-Moldavsky-ebook/dp/B07ZBW3LF1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=sl1&tag=xpresso06-20&linkId=085ce0db6c8a97f273d2c4a0386963e1&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mary-shelley-club-goldy-moldavsky/1134065698" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a> | <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1517409940">iBooks</a> | <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-mary-shelley-club" target="_blank">Kobo</a> | <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Ley3DwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">GooglePlay</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit;"><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">New York Times</i>-bestselling author Goldy Moldavsky delivers a deliciously twisty YA thriller that’s <i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Scream</i> meets Karen McManus about a mysterious club with an obsession for horror.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When it comes to horror movies, the rules are clear:</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit;">x Avoid abandoned buildings, warehouses, and cabins at all times.</span></div><span style="color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">x Stay together: don’t split up, not even just to “check something out.”</span></div></span><span style="color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">x If there’s a murderer on the loose, do not make out with anyone.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If only surviving in real life were this easy…</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">New girl Rachel Chavez turns to horror movies for comfort, preferring stabby serial killers and homicidal dolls to the bored rich kids of Manhattan Prep…and to certain memories she’d preferred to keep buried.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then Rachel is recruited by the Mary Shelley Club, a mysterious society of students who orchestrate Fear Tests, elaborate pranks inspired by urban legends and movie tropes. At first, Rachel embraces the power that comes with reckless pranking. But as the Fear Tests escalate, the competition turns deadly, and it’s clear Rachel is playing a game she can’t afford to lose.</span></div><div style="color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #201f1e; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/1TheMaryShelleyClubTourBanner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="800" height="237" src="http://xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/1TheMaryShelleyClubTourBanner.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Interview!</span></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">1. Hello Goldy! Thank you for being here today! Would you like to tell us a little bit more about your novel and about the Mary Shelley Club?</span></b></p><p style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Thanks for having me! The Mary Shelley Club is about Rachel Chavez, a new girl at an elite Manhattan Prep school who joins a secret society of fellow horror aficionados. She soon discovers that the members of the club play a game where they aim to enact their favorite horror movie tropes in real life in order to evoke real fear. The game is fun at first but it quickly spirals out of control when someone starts targetting the club. Soon, everyone’s in danger and it’s up to Rachel to discover who’s messing with them before it’s too late.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">2. What was the funniest part about writing your novel?</span></b></p><p style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Funnily enough, I’m used to writing comediies but this is my first time veering away from that genre. And yet, there are moments in it that—I’ve been told—are kind of funny. I think it’s the dialogue. I like to make my dialogue humorous whenever I can in order to reflect how real people speak. I think even in dire situations people try to be funny to defuse the tention. Hopefully those subtle hints of humor come through in the story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">3. If you had to choose 3 adjectives to describe your protagonist, Rachel Chavez, what would they be?</span></b></p><p style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Reckless, nervous, strong.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">4. Rachel apparently, is a huge fan of horror movies, are you as well?</span></b></p><p style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Absolutely. I’ve been watching horror movies since I was little—probably too little. But for some reason I was really drawn to them at a young age. I guess I liked the feeling of getting scared and then immediately giggling after the fact. But I am not as well-versed in horror as my characters are. They’ve seen way more movies and read way more books on the topic than I have. They’re hardcore.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;"><b>5. What is the book that inspired you the most to become a writer?</b></span></p><p style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">I think I’d have to say Gossip Girl. But it inspired me before I’d even read a single page. I just remember really wanting to write about bad rich kids in NYC and finding the book in a bookstore and automatically feeling a pang of jealousy that Cecily Von Ziegesar had beaten me to the punch. But now I’ve come full circle and written about my own bad rich kids of NYC.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Merriweather; font-size: medium;">6. Is this your first published book? If not, could you tell us a little bit more about your other works? If yes, how long did it take for The Mary Shelley Club to be published?</span></b></p><p style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">This is actually my third published book. My first two books are Kill the Boy Band, a dark comedy, and No Good Deed, a sort of slapstick comedy. The Mary Shelley Club is the “black sheep” of my book family in that it’s much darker in tone but the one thing that all three books have in common is that it features teens behaving badly. It’s a fave theme of mine. But even <span style="font-family: inherit;">though I’d already been published, TMSC still took a very long time. From the idea stage to writing the proposal, to finding it a home, to finally getting it out in the world took about three years. But I think the book shows all that hardwork and I’m really proud of it.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://attachment.outlook.live.net/owa/MSA%3Asaraviti5%40outlook.it/service.svc/s/GetAttachmentThumbnail?id=AQMkADAwATM3ZmYAZS1kMGUwLTIxMQBhLTAwAi0wMAoARgAAA3OuDHAUBclBkBIrx30nhW0HANyHYQvsfdlAlh%2F8M%2FSmZ2EAA69MmbMAAADch2EL7H3ZQJYf%2FDP0pmdhAAR2dQdEAAAAARIAEABl658fqedHQJM0FSo1hTry&thumbnailType=2&isc=1&token=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6IjMwODE3OUNFNUY0QjUyRTc4QjJEQjg5NjZCQUY0RUNDMzcyN0FFRUUiLCJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJ4NXQiOiJNSUY1emw5TFV1ZUxMYmlXYTY5T3pEY25ydTQifQ.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.cRAumyXORt2lZ6qabnPUlMBmQkRiqGlAEcdUMu6pQ0Kxj8kbQkqOUqNrx76eQc6ItA9Hxcjvm0SqZzFF6090kjtkPHu0vwhEEuPfK2OhP2czaoNWQaxDdHroXF28G2cxI5563izj9xpr-DgxiIrcQNYwaHe3hfaIGLXMU8uLa5EJa0eYfWx2r7LPUpVrmeVdz1T7ntzuyZvXo37pj3a3CJbngy_Ac_UR7UbnoXZKJp8XjkZRyg9WtmQY0M5Lde6NbKd2LA1fLpugwyWsmOySZ8FeiU1okyzGIHro1Qmao65XFPgF_ng6IumFDPwe2yCXI2iCjZxhk6sCCx6RKW3JjA&X-OWA-CANARY=pwmZKaSukEyE-m2r8nYWVdA8kS6T_dgYvSvMIs96_dBU90ifXnxoPjUC0OSxGMRQpJExtx7q4os.&owa=outlook.live.com&scriptVer=20210405005.04&animation=true" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"></span></b></a><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://attachment.outlook.live.net/owa/MSA%3Asaraviti5%40outlook.it/service.svc/s/GetAttachmentThumbnail?id=AQMkADAwATM3ZmYAZS1kMGUwLTIxMQBhLTAwAi0wMAoARgAAA3OuDHAUBclBkBIrx30nhW0HANyHYQvsfdlAlh%2F8M%2FSmZ2EAA69MmbMAAADch2EL7H3ZQJYf%2FDP0pmdhAAR2dQdEAAAAARIAEABl658fqedHQJM0FSo1hTry&thumbnailType=2&isc=1&token=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6IjMwODE3OUNFNUY0QjUyRTc4QjJEQjg5NjZCQUY0RUNDMzcyN0FFRUUiLCJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJ4NXQiOiJNSUY1emw5TFV1ZUxMYmlXYTY5T3pEY25ydTQifQ.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.cRAumyXORt2lZ6qabnPUlMBmQkRiqGlAEcdUMu6pQ0Kxj8kbQkqOUqNrx76eQc6ItA9Hxcjvm0SqZzFF6090kjtkPHu0vwhEEuPfK2OhP2czaoNWQaxDdHroXF28G2cxI5563izj9xpr-DgxiIrcQNYwaHe3hfaIGLXMU8uLa5EJa0eYfWx2r7LPUpVrmeVdz1T7ntzuyZvXo37pj3a3CJbngy_Ac_UR7UbnoXZKJp8XjkZRyg9WtmQY0M5Lde6NbKd2LA1fLpugwyWsmOySZ8FeiU1okyzGIHro1Qmao65XFPgF_ng6IumFDPwe2yCXI2iCjZxhk6sCCx6RKW3JjA&X-OWA-CANARY=pwmZKaSukEyE-m2r8nYWVdA8kS6T_dgYvSvMIs96_dBU90ifXnxoPjUC0OSxGMRQpJExtx7q4os.&owa=outlook.live.com&scriptVer=20210405005.04&animation=true" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8zPZmcJOsA6ebXbx6kt_9PxKwN-C_cke_qc2V7rOKBG7xMaoaDOEP5J0Z_LtBT2YvtdCTWEOumb8qJE1RC7TBZFaX6ICuGf-9lvK6_l-c4551OYYU5B-NFqh1FLR9M1K_x16j10Qa1t7/s279/thumbnail_Goldy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8zPZmcJOsA6ebXbx6kt_9PxKwN-C_cke_qc2V7rOKBG7xMaoaDOEP5J0Z_LtBT2YvtdCTWEOumb8qJE1RC7TBZFaX6ICuGf-9lvK6_l-c4551OYYU5B-NFqh1FLR9M1K_x16j10Qa1t7/s0/thumbnail_Goldy.jpg" /></a></div></span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 1;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Goldy Moldavsky was born in Lima, Peru, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she lives with her family. She is the New York Times–bestselling author of Kill the Boy Band and No Good Deed. Some of her influences include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the esteemed works of John Irving, and the Mexican telenovelas she grew up watching with her mother.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><b>Author links:</b></span></div></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="10" href="https://goldymoldavsky.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">https://goldymoldavsky.com/</a></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="11" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13682584.Goldy_Moldavsky" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13682584.Goldy_Moldavsky</a></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="12" href="https://twitter.com/goldywrites" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/goldywrites</a></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="13" href="https://www.instagram.com/goldywrites/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/goldywrites/</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 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border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 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font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 1;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 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text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">The Giveaway</span></b></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 1;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 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<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="d04251234210" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d04251234210/" id="rcwidget_gvd5ww66" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-64800466323617030312021-04-09T08:23:00.000-07:002021-04-09T08:23:24.663-07:00Review: Paper Princess (The Royals #1) by Erin Watt<p><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476744953l/28678119.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476744953l/28678119.jpg" width="263" /></a></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Paper Princess</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Royals #1</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14902188.Erin_Watt" target="_blank">Erin watt</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: April 4th 2016</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Timeout LLC</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 370</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: eBook</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Bought</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Princess-Novel-Royals-Book-ebook/dp/B01DT9ZWNI/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PY08ZKIN6HE9&dchild=1&keywords=paper+princess&qid=1617961140&sprefix=paper+princess%2Caps%2C269&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/paper-princess-erin-watt/1123544744?ean=9781682304563" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>| <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Paper-Princess-Erin-Watt/9781682304563?ref=grid-view&qid=1617961224036&sr=1-2" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These Royals will ruin you…</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He might be right.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees. </span></div><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where do I even start with this book? I had been warned. I
knew that this was going to be a strange, disturbing yet addictive path to
follow. And despite every warning, I kept reading.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Paper Princess starts with the introduction of our
protagonist Ella, a 17yo girl who’s alone in the world and who tries to mantain
her indipendence by doing all kind of works, even those that a girl her age
should not even consider doing. I liked the idea of having a young yet strong
female protagonist, as I usually struggle when the narration is led by immature
characters and I have to say that for great part of the book I enjoyed how Ella
managed to stay strong despite everything she was forced to face. She was the
perfect mix of humour and wittiness, despite also showing at times her
suffering and therefore her young age. But when the Royals start to get
involed, I admit that I expected Ella to be a little more tough than what she then
shows. I think that for a girl with such past, she was fooled too easily by the
sick, corrupted world of the Royals and I really hoped that she would have
defied all clichèes and end up resisting them. Well, she didn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apparently nobody can because The Royals, are just
unimaginable things. When they appeared on those stairs, all five of them, I
knew that they were going to be actively implied in Ella’s future but I could
never imagine how or how many of them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This book has a way of treating sex and boundaries in a most
disturbing yet addictive way. I was shocked while skimming through the pages by
the amount of taboos brought up and completely brushed aside, like brothers
getting horny for their “sister” or their father screwing his girlfriend a mere
inch away from Ella. I think I made the most hilarious faces while reading some
of these passages, that I wish I had filmed me. Like when this whole insane
scenario just reached a peak and Ella gets drugged, her heroic brothers just kept
repeating – like in a serious tone – that the only way to make her feel better was
to give her RELIEF, as if fucking is actually considered as a medical
prescription for coming out of the high! And how passionate those souls were to
offer themselves in sacrifice! I’m not gonna lie and tell you that some parts
of the book were quite hot to read, but still, they were mostly uncomfortable
and sometimes so absurd that I just wanted to roll my eyes and shut the book.
Another annoying thing regarded how the brothers initially slut-shamed and
tortured Ella by hinting at how they could do to her whatever they liked, rape
being very close to their behaviour, that was supposed to be accepted just for
how hot they were portrayed. I have not felt insulted by the superficiality of
this story, but I understand how these scenes could be very triggering for
someone who might have lived difficult situations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sex being obviously a central topic to this story, I have to
say that there were also other types of relationships developed, like Ella’s
bond with Eaton or with Valerie, both good examples of friendships that helped in actually adding on to the plot, that if it wasn’t for the spicy bits,
wasn’t that much complex.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The worst thing about this book though, is that even if you
know that it is really disturbed, so disturbed that you should probably end it,
you just end up getting sucked in its toxicity, just like Ella. I’m not gonna
lie, I’m going to buy book #2, first because I know that we have probably seen
the worst of the family and we can only have the better left, and secondly
because it ended with a cliffhanger that, even if it was not totally
unexpected, made me curious about what will come up next in Broken Prince. What
can I say? I’m just human!</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>Rated 3.5</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVx-JnouulYVKLGYMeEV_79091j3vfpe5Ca_ZMwWDM93YzVObO-E9EIH2VbAkGt9QHyV8YXolx9xMACKJLw3lacXTVLEnWh2SxBlVePTnXbcvIyGQWUzt5BSBavJoCxraPBg7SMFS8ndv/s166/Rating+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="63" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVx-JnouulYVKLGYMeEV_79091j3vfpe5Ca_ZMwWDM93YzVObO-E9EIH2VbAkGt9QHyV8YXolx9xMACKJLw3lacXTVLEnWh2SxBlVePTnXbcvIyGQWUzt5BSBavJoCxraPBg7SMFS8ndv/s0/Rating+3.jpg" /></a></div></span></div></span></div></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-62308525823953277362021-04-06T01:32:00.003-07:002021-04-06T01:32:43.950-07:00Book Blitz: The Text God: Text and You Shall Receive... by Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers + Giveaway!<p><a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/02/TheTextGodBlitzBanner.png" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></a></p>
<img alt="" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/04/The-Text-God-for-Amazon.jpg" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px;" />
<p><span style="color: #a64d79;"><strong style="font-size: x-large;">The Text God: Text and You Shall Receive …</strong></span></p><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;">(An Accidentally in Love Story #2)</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Publication date</u>: May 5th 2021<br /><u>Genres</u>: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Text and you shall receive…</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Jen Flanders moved to New York to be an artist. This translates into walking dogs for money, practicing yoga for sanity, and hitting up her friends at a local bakery to supplement her diet. Rent is due and she’s running out of cash. After begging the universe for a sign that help is on the way, her phone pings with an incoming text. GOD: You can do it; I believe in you!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Gabriel Oliver Daly agreed to mentor a friend’s younger sister. Unbeknownst to him, after losing her phone, said sister uses her dog walker’s phone to text him about a job offer. He responds enthusiastically.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Jen can’t believe GOD is actually texting her! But who is she to question the ways of the universe? On the first day of texting, GOD gets her a job that will keep her afloat. On the second and third days he offers even more help.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Gabriel starts to think his friend’s sister might be too flighty to make it in the legal jungle of New York. Why exactly does she need a survival job? Wasn’t she supposed to be interviewing for a position as a junior lawyer? And why is she texting him random (not to mention very personal) stuff all the time?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When they finally meet, Jen realizes GOD isn’t a deity but a divinely handsome lawyer. A complete stranger has answered all her prayers. After all, God does move in mysterious ways.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57130674-the-text-god" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://amzn.to/3fzjiea" target="_blank">Amazon</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FYlwLAYtp5ubNzyMxDLvor30PRcpSja24_79oe26y4zLweZ37v4sDzxmm4t5aOryn-aAX8ZCUTJXtJJPNa5vdNmOaVms-EY7ShkUCUiqXmoxiHC2JM07iC_ekkoy5_P9rtS6sPjkAsrI/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FYlwLAYtp5ubNzyMxDLvor30PRcpSja24_79oe26y4zLweZ37v4sDzxmm4t5aOryn-aAX8ZCUTJXtJJPNa5vdNmOaVms-EY7ShkUCUiqXmoxiHC2JM07iC_ekkoy5_P9rtS6sPjkAsrI/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Read an excerpt!</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Jen </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Bending over in Downward Dog, I release the whoosh of breath I’ve been holding for what feels like the last three days. Then I have a stern talk with myself. It goes like this:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>Jennifer Flanders, you’re an artist. You are a highly evolved soul who is temporarily off track. While dog walking isn’t your dream job and picking up copious amounts of poop is not fulfilling in and of itself, you’re lucky to have a job. And with such cute furry love nuggets who worship you unconditionally. With the exception of Brutus, of course, who loves nobody.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Then, as I do, I answer myself.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>You haven’t sold one painting since you moved to New York. Not. One. Therefore, you can claim to be as advanced a soul as you want, but you are no artist. </em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Back to Positive Me: <em>Screw you. I went to art school for three years and apprenticed with Peony Parks. That’s Peony. Parks. Second only to Georgia O’Keeffe in matters of all things flowers and possibly girly bits. </em>Those lilies do bring to mind something of a non-botanical nature<em>. I am an artist no matter what you say. </em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Negative Me: <em>Nope. Not. Lalalalalalala, I can’t hear you!</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I’m as tense as the rubber bands that hold a tennis ball together. I gradually retreat out of my current yoga pose and move into a headstand. As the blood rushes to my frontal lobe, I pray to the Universe for peace, strength, creativity, and either more clients or a better-paying survival job. I can’t even afford new art supplies right now, and I’ve been told by every gallery that I’ve walked into that they don’t want me coming back until I have something new to show them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">For some reason my mind drifts off to the morning of Gram’s funeral. I remember Pops telling me that I need to ask for miracles and not to turn away from them when they happen. “Dear God, send me a sign,” I plead. “Just a little something to give me the strength to carry on.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Not a minute later, maybe not even thirty seconds later, my phone pings. Gently tucking and rolling out of my headstand, I strike a quick warrior pose and namaste my goldfish Frank before checking to see who texted.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The yoga gods would probably prefer all electronics be banned during times of spiritual mind/body goings-on, but they aren’t worried about eviction like I am.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When I see who the text is from, I have to stop and rub my eyes before reading it again. Same result. I read:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">GOD: Word on the street is you need a little career guidance. Just wanted to let you know I’m here for you.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">What the … <em>God</em> is texting me? Is this some new Verizon service? Because if it is, what in the heck am I paying for it? <em> </em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">A knock on the door startles me out of my concerns. Looking through the peephole, I see my neighbor and good friend Zay Lopez standing there. Well, I see the top of his head, anyway. He’s only four foot eleven. Opening the door, I usher him into my apartment. “Hey, Zay! Wait until you hear what happened today.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I met Zay when I moved into my building. He lives right across the hall from me and is a computer programmer. He’s a bit of a hermit who works from home because he’s too shy to go into an office. I think he’s embarrassed by his diminutive stature, which was the result of some glandular thing he was born with.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Plopping down on my sofa, my friend says, “I hope it’s good news because I could really use some.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Oh, no. Bad day?” I don’t want to jump right into the whole “texting with God” thing before he has a chance to unburden himself.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Not a good one,” he says, making a grabby motion toward the Oreos in my hand. I toss them over and watch while he dumps several onto his lap. “You know that cow Shelby that I work with?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Shelby, the cow, is Zay’s nemesis who always mentions in company email threads that Zay should be working in the office and not from home. “What’s she done now?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“She’s convinced my boss that I need to start coming into the office at least twice a week.” He explains, “I ran downstairs to get my mail the other day and didn’t respond to her text immediately. She’s taken my transgression to a higher power.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Sitting down next to my friend, I snatch a cookie off his lap. “Oh, no. What are you going to do?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">He shakes his head mournfully. “Unless I want to leave the apartment to stand in the unemployment line, I guess I’m going to have to go into work.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“That sucks, but maybe it’ll be good for you,” I tell him, trying to sound confident. I’m always trying to get Zay to walk the dogs with me, but he’s not interested. I’m not sure he’s even left his apartment in the past year.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Good for me like a live grenade to the head,” he grumbles. “What happened to you today that has you so excited?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Wait until you hear!” I pause long enough to know I have his full attention before saying, “God texted me this morning.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Zay looks side to side like he’s searching for a hidden camera before asking, “God? Like ‘the ’God?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As I nod my head wildly, he says, “Jen, I know you’re a little out there sometimes, and to be honest, it’s one of the many things I like about you, but”—he reaches over to take my hand—“I don’t think you’re getting enough protein.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“What does protein have to do with anything?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Protein,” he starts to enunciate his words much slower and louder, like I’ve aged eighty years in the last minute and won’t be able to understand him otherwise, “Keeps the brain from atrophying.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Jumping to my feet, I yell, “You don’t believe me!” Then I grab my phone off the counter and find my God thread before handing it over. “He texted me this morning while I was doing a headstand—which, I’ll have you know, is just as good for the brain as protein.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Zay reads through the texts, muttering things like “His name is <em>Gabe?</em>” and “Come on, his mom says hi?” Finally, he looks up from the screen. “Who is this, really?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“I know this sounds nuts, but I think it could really be the Big Guy.” I lower my voice out of reverence and point at the water stain on my ceiling. “I didn’t program that name into my phone, and his first text showed up right after I asked the Universe for a sign that things would work out for me. Like <em>immediately</em> after. I told him I needed a job, and …” I snap my fingers. “He got me one at The Asher Hotel. Just like that. I didn’t even have to fill in an application. The manager said if I was a friend of Gabe’s, I was hired.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Oh, Jen, you poor naïve thing. You’re being scammed.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“What could possibly be the motive for someone to pretend to be God just so he <em>or she</em> could help me out?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Zay does not look convinced. Instead, he starts typing.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">JFlan: Hey GOD, this is Zay, but I’m assuming you already know that. Can you please tell me why you’ve taken an interest in my friend?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">GOD: …</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">GOD: …</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">GOD: Hi, Zay. Um, I’m helping because, you know, it’s good to help people.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">JFlan: I could use a little help.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">GOD: Shoot.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">JFlan: I need to grow four inches by Monday. Any chance you can make that happen?</p>
<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">GOD: That’s not really my specialty, but have you looked into elevated shoes?</div>
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<blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the authors:</span></b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries -- not always in that order.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Gold Medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2017.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Silver medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards, 2017</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Finalist Top Shelf Indie Book Awards, 2017</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;">Author links</span></b><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;"><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://whitneydineen.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8145525.Whitney_Dineen">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Whitney-Dineen-Author-11687019412/">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/whitneydineen">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.instagram.com/whitneydineenauthor/">Instagram</a></span></b></p>
</blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuXKPHAIHo0JrolatJ9vS2fCRUnu8j-nKO_leOYApKp8GlaM6ZXLwR1FR5MFim3r9IBpKtci3gh5k0opdPN8yMf3S818wLKgYASgN_DUDkE_YFHwNkx_G0k_peCJzd0xO8VVKjtfgBw4I/s400/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuXKPHAIHo0JrolatJ9vS2fCRUnu8j-nKO_leOYApKp8GlaM6ZXLwR1FR5MFim3r9IBpKtci3gh5k0opdPN8yMf3S818wLKgYASgN_DUDkE_YFHwNkx_G0k_peCJzd0xO8VVKjtfgBw4I/w400-h31/image.png" width="400" /></a></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published three novellas, and eight novels (of which seven have been published). She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally - then she'll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for 'K' Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn't require makeup and/or nylons).</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three young children, and their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog. When she's not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken 'from above'. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something--more like just staying until they turn the lights off.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;">Author links</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;"><p style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://mjsummersbooks.wordpress.com/">Website</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17105602.Melanie_Summers">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MJSummersAuthorPage">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/mjsummersbooks">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mj_summers_author/">Instagram</a></span></b></p>
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<p> </p>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-36727398626180017292021-04-04T01:00:00.001-07:002021-04-04T01:00:00.232-07:00BookTour: Silver Dawn Afire by Sonja J. Breckon [Excerpt]<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56163191-silver-dawn-afire" rel="noopener" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Silver Dawn Afire cover" class="alignleft" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSHWNz0Q8VE8bVZfp1mb30ViNG0gaCYaRxHTi0-fGQdlBiyRv_b-im67l_6qQVEVqnnP3QIpMp1UK37a2EAOlf6IgwKjOJ29xFCI34thmb5e6mMc2qYsYCEHwjnspbSBSil-NcTcdLO1p/w260-h400/Silver-Dawn-Afire.jpg" width="260" /></a></p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><b>Silver Dawn Afire </b></span><div><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">(The Seventh Age Saga #1)</b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: medium;">By Sonja J. Breckon</span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Genre</u>: Fantasy<br />
<u>Age category</u>: Young Adult<br />
<u>Release Date</u>: March 16, 2021</span><br />
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<blockquote><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Myridians are coming, each wielding one of Six Cataclysmic Powers that will lay waste to the world and wake the God of Neutrality. What happens when one refuses to succumb to her myridian nature and sets out to save the world instead?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;">SIDRA ANATOLA will soon die a human death and be reborn as one of the myridian, beings destined to destroy the World of Aetheria. In a desperate attempt to change her dark fate, she flees home and the young man she loves to seek help from a powerful entity who has lived through all the ages. But she may not make it in time before she is killed by hunters—or by the love of her life, also a myridian, who fights every day to hold onto the emotions that made him human.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">BRESEIS ERISWEN was expelled from the academy and failed her father who expected her to carry on her late mother’s profession as a myridian hunter. But Breseis never wanted to be a hunter—she refused to kill, and she never believed in myridians, to begin with. She leaves home with big dreams, lacking experience, and a broken heart, to prove that she is more than a failed hunter.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two contrasting paths converge to become a turbulent one. A mouthy intellect with a colorful personality, and a skilled warrior with a frosty attitude, put their differences aside and travel the rest of the way together, robbing temples, angering false gods, and escaping numerous predicaments with their lives. Amid the chaos, they form a friendship despite a gut feeling that both hide dangerous secrets that can save or destroy the world and each other.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PPWL5NJ" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Silver Dawn Afire promotion banner" class="aligncenter" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXaOaeFf_9YtB5NyHGBJHYglu43U6leXSz6ZCBjwCbzW6_wPK_6RpS7NZQUZWPohS_rUljfeKO7KTc1Q3nwC8oNpiQqlg_SEgLQnis6PAdaS44skNEOQkekFMHSGzDw-VzTszlCn6v1Qo/s0/Silver-Dawn-Afire-promotion-banner.jpg" /></a></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Read an experpt!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The susurrus of voices and the shuffling of bodies filter in from the parlor just outside the room where a small crowd has gathered, though not for Sidra’s sake. Most either don’t know she’s here, don’t know she’s dying, or don’t care. Some are people from the streets who, like Sidra and me, have gone into the brothel to take shelter from the rumbling mountain and the chaos in the streets; others are the brothel’s residents, Eslanda’s girls who live and work here.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“They found her,” Eslanda announces from the doorway.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She enters the room with a young woman embellished by a thin yellow dress that clings to her naked form underneath. She has reddish-brown skin; her cheeks and nose splashed with dark freckles, and her hair falls just below her ears in springy reddish-black curls. She reminds me of my good friend, Evolet, back in Valdania: lovely and kind and incredibly talented.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Can it be that simple? That Eslanda can send someone into the city to find a healer, and Sidra be magically cured as a result? I don’t think anything is that simple, so there are no feelings of hope or relief when the woman steps into the room. Okay, maybe some hope, but not much.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“This is Nesrin,” Eslanda says. “She’s the best healer I know; I’ve seen her do extraordinary things.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“But Sidra’s not sick,” I point out kindly. “She’s cursed.” I grasp the top of Sidra’s hand, absently trying to comfort her; Sidra’s fingers feel clammy against my skin.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The healer, named Nesrin, steps up closer; she smells of begonia and a hint of honeysuckle. I notice the woman carries no satchel or anything that might indicate she is a healer. Where are the salves and herbs that traditional healers often possess?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I have banished as many curses as I have healed diseases,” Nesrin says in a honeyed voice. “I make no promises, but I will do my best to help your friend.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I release Sidra’s hand, and I stand.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“You know Banishing Craft,” I say; it is as much a question as a statement.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I am one of few left with the gift,” Nesrin says.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Gift?” I make a face. “Forgive me for saying, but Banishing Craft is as much a curse as the curses and diseases it cures—why do you still practice it?”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nesrin places the palm of her hand to Sidra’s forehead; then, she sits down on the bed beside her; I move out of the way to give her more space.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Because it is my calling.” Nesrin runs her fingers through Sidra’s hair. “If I die banishing the maladies of others, then it will be a good death.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Um…okay; have to admire her dedication, at least.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Banishing Craft is one of the most sought-after crafts in all of Aetheria—because it almost always works, even against so-called unbreakable curses and incurable diseases. But like all things involving life and death, there are consequences. The one</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">using Banishing Craft is at risk of dying from the same curses and diseases they cure. It is why there are so few of their kind left. And few ever seem to care for the healer’s life when they are so worried about the lives of their loved ones, and I have always felt bitterly of such people—I’ll be damned if I became one of them.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I don’t feel right about this.” I pace, one arm across my midsection, the other propped atop it at the elbow; my fingers curled underneath my chin. “I mean, of course, I want someone to help her, but I…” I bite my lip. “But by agreeing to it, I feel like I’m trading one life for another—it’s just not right.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Do you want your friend to die?”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Of course not. But I don’t want you to die either.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Your conscience is clear,” Nesrin assures. “I choose to help her.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“You don’t even know her.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nesrin smiles softly.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“One day you will understand,” she says and turns to Sidra. “I would like everyone to leave the room.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My arms drop to my sides, and I just stand here, not liking the idea of leaving Sidra alone with anyone.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sidra moans in her unconscious state, and her body trembles and sweats profusely against the linen that covers the small bed. I can only imagine what horrible images the fever is trying to burn from Sidra’s mind.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“All right,” I give in. “But if you need me…”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nesrin nods.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Let’s go sit in the parlor.” Eslanda reaches for my hand.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“And please,” Nesrin says, stopping us, “do not come into this room unless I tell you. Many curses, when removed from one body, find another one to attach itself. Let it be mine, as I am experienced in such things.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With reluctance, I follow Eslanda into the parlor, where several people are all standing and sitting around in groups of three and four, discussing amongst themselves what they think might be happening with the quakes in the city. I can’t bear to sit or stand still, so I pace, arms crossed, my bottom lip wedged between my teeth.</span></p></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56163191-silver-dawn-afire" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PPWL5NJ" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/silver-dawn-afire-sonja-j-breckon/1138417246?ean=2940162823667" rel="noopener" target="_blank">B&N</a> | <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ebook/silver-dawn-afire" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Kobo</a></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4PiN0xIOe8R4at5GCxNlIotzgcrSOYzXbI5FKCEC8ZvsREwn2nSy8_MjcE9XuwTiu5q1EPE8HAWqy3T2lkfEU1dS9fjivkrEpd6_8EjPsW2e6TPUpyfVXZeN3zRDzj50x6vMSw6NI8yn/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4PiN0xIOe8R4at5GCxNlIotzgcrSOYzXbI5FKCEC8ZvsREwn2nSy8_MjcE9XuwTiu5q1EPE8HAWqy3T2lkfEU1dS9fjivkrEpd6_8EjPsW2e6TPUpyfVXZeN3zRDzj50x6vMSw6NI8yn/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>
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<div align="right"><a href="https://sonjajbreckon.com/" rel="noopener" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Sonja J. Breckon" class="alignright" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhJM189BPovQj-fX_pH-EY61SOldUYJb4Vq6uDn4j7zmzFvUo6gqR_UPvuMfnT3sgrdzmTWguqqdF2r4niXj43wrqs2KyCs3088vaslXBy0ETp5THTT_AXSh8DTtBkU1kUczXx0mbLXXS/w150-h200/Sonja-Breckon.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the Author:</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: justify;">Sonja J. Breckon is a builder of fantasy worlds and not ashamed to admit she lives in them more than in the real world. Besides writing books, she works with various programs to create her own cover art, interior art, design, formatting, and fantasy maps. Sonja loves nature, the universe, coffee, and bookstores. Oh, and chicken potato enchiladas.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://sonjajbreckon.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://instagram.com/sonjajbreckon" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/SonjaJBreckon" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/sonjajbreckon" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sonja-J-Breckon/e/B08PSSCX2Y/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://sonjajbreckon.com/get-exclusive/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Newsletter</a></span></b></div>
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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.lolasblogtours.net" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img align="middle" alt="Lola's Blog Tours graphic" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGeBMspCSgZiArvqjwNtR7s_z9wrq-jQrievMjQNIqFrPaKrir9l0AA5vcG2bPa9APqMAwDJTqsqwQSZUr0oFKkjoLKzovqAjuYvO_2vd4opvhAoUPyK90UlF1rYi1t-sSaIA7ro4PauEF/w320-h107/LolasBlogToursbanner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-66841865950653112602021-03-26T01:30:00.002-07:002021-03-26T06:46:48.487-07:00Booktour: Tristan (The Hawks #1) by Jennie Lynn Roberts [Excerpt + Giveaway]<p><a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/TristanTourBanner.png" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" />
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<p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><strong>Tristan</strong><br /><strong>Jennie Lynn Roberts</strong></span><br /><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;">The Hawks #1</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Publication date</u>: February 22nd 2021<br /><u>Genres</u>: Adult, Fantasy, Romance</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>His redemption might be <em>her</em> downfall…</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Tristan has nothing left to lose. His best friend’s betrayal cost him everything. Now, he’s going to take it back. All he has to do to get the Hawks reinstated to their rightful position at the palace is track down the traitor’s younger sister and turn her over for execution. But Nim’s not the girl Tristan left behind years ago; she’s a stubborn, loyal, beautiful woman, and he can’t stop himself from wanting her.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Nim fled with nothing when the king’s favorite came for her. All she has left is the conviction that her brother is innocent—and her determination to free him. She’ll do anything…even if it means convincing Tristan to help her. But the man he’s become is a far cry from the boy she fell in love with so long ago. He’s formidably stern and deeply untrusting. She’ll just have to hope he still has a heart under that battle-scarred exterior.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When love and duty collide, will Tristan follow his orders or follow his heart?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Tristan, book 1 in The Hawks series, is a sexy, steamy, adult fantasy romance full of swords, shifters (kind of), and tons of action. But fair warning: This book is intended only for readers who love slow burn romance, fast-paced adventure, soul mates and found family—and characters who curse when they fight for survival. If that’s you, happy reading.</strong></p>
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<p style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56329224-tristan" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://books2read.com/u/m2M15O?store=amazon" target="_blank">Amazon</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><b>Read an excerpt!</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="s3" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: start;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;">They’d been on the road for an hour, with the men bantering in low voices—mostly Mathos telling rude jokes and Tor trying to make him shut up—when something made Tristan focus on </span><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;">Nim</span><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;">. </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">At first, he wasn’t sure what he’d noticed. She had become more slumped during the afternoon, her head bowed. But something had made her seem even less steady. A spike of concern from his beast made him nudge Altair closer. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">A moment before he reached her, she started to slide. Her body simply tipped to the side and she lost balance in a smooth, helpless glide toward the distant ground. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">He pushed himself forward and over in one rapid swoop, leaning precariously in his saddle to scoop her up. She startled awake, half held in his arms, her body stretched between the two horses with her foot tangled in the stirrup. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">He had her at a horrible angle, but he held her tight, forcing the horses close together as Rafael dashed forward and freed her. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">Finally, she was loose and he could settle back into his saddle, heart still beating hard from the sudden burst of fear and speed, and the effort of holding her safe across the two horses. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">He held her firmly in his arms as she stared up at him, shocked into wakefulness, silver-flecked blue eyes wide and startled, and he forced himself to curb his first impulse—to shout at her for riding half asleep, for frightening him like that—and managed a surly grunt instead. She felt his ire anyway, because her eyes narrowed, and she immediately started to twist and squirm to be put down. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">He clamped his arms around her and gave her his most ferocious glare, but all she did was roll her eyes and redouble her effort. Gods, if she didn’t stop wiggling that rounded leather-clad bottom in his lap, they were both going to have a problem. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">He frowned at her. “Will you kindly stop.” </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">“No. I want to get off.” </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;">He raised an eyebrow. “Why? </span><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;">So</span><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;"> you can go to sleep in the saddle again?” </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">She turned to stare at him, nose in the air. “That was a mistake. I’m awake now.” </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;">He turned and looked at </span><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;">Rafe</span><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="line-height: 21.6px;">, who gave him a quick shake of his head. As he’d suspected. “No. It’s not safe. You’ll just go back to sleep. You can ride with me, or you can walk.” </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">She huffed out an enraged breath. “You are so bloody frustrating! You know walking would take too long!” </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">His lips twitch as he suppressed the desire to grin. No one else ever challenged him. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">She sighed again and then changed tack. “Anyway, it would be bad for your horse to carry the extra weight.” </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">He considered the massive stallion and the tiny woman in his arms and surprised them both by grinning. “He’s a warhorse. I think he can manage an hour or two.” </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">She mumbled something vicious under her breath, but she turned and lifted her leg over the high front saddle horn, then wiggled that torturous bottom closer so that they fitted together. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">He gritted his teeth and took a few deep breaths, grateful that his heavy leather breeches would disguise just how much she was affecting him. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">Slowly, she started to relax between his arms. The stiffness of her spine softened, and she leaned her back against him, her head tucked under his chin. The men’s voices lowered, as if they too wanted her to rest as they rode on through the weak afternoon sunshine. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">He noticed the moment that her weight fell completely against him, but he was reassured by the slow rise and fall of her chest as she nestled against him. His beast stirred again, filled with a deep sense of connection. </span></p><p class="s3" style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s2" face=""CIDFont+F2"" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.6px;">She was so beautiful. And the first woman that he and his beast had ever agreed on wanting. He felt it down to the most primal parts of himself, how right it was to hold her in his arms. How badly he needed to protect her and keep her close. </span></p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: start; text-size-adjust: auto;" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<img alt="" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/Jennie.jpg" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px;" /><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<p style="text-align: justify;">Jennie Lynn Roberts believes that every strong, kickass heroine should have control of her own story, a swoony hero to support her at every turn, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Because that doesn’t always happen in real life, she began creating her own worlds that work just the way they should. And she hasn’t looked back since. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Jennie would rather be writing than doing anything else—except for spending time with her gorgeous family, of course. But when she isn’t building vibrant new worlds, she can be found nattering with friends, baking up a storm, or strolling in the woods around her home in England. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">If you want to talk books, romance, movies, reluctant heroes, or just about anything else with Jennie, feel free to contact her atwww.jennielynnroberts.com. But be prepared to settle in for a long chat if you bring up shifters, vampires, Star Wars, or The Princess Bride….</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://jennielynnroberts.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20984183.Jennie_Lynn_Roberts" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Jennie.Lynn.Roberts.Romance/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jennielynnroberts_author/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> / <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/jennie57930310/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></span></b></p>
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<p> </p>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-5391127524008565042021-03-25T07:57:00.000-07:002021-03-25T07:57:46.976-07:00Review+Interview: Chasing the Taillights by Kate Larkindale + Giveaway!<p><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611939619l/56878727._SY475_.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611939619l/56878727._SY475_.jpg" width="267" /></a><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Chasing the Taillights</span></b></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4086706.Kate_Larkindale" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">K</span>ate Larkindale</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 26th February 2021</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Evernight Teen</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 213</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: eBook</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Received from author</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Taillights-Kate-Larkindale-ebook/dp/B08XJYTJCT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2R5FE2NFEX1P5&dchild=1&keywords=chasing+the+taillights+by+kate+larkindale&qid=1616679532&sprefix=chasing+the+tailligh%2Caps%2C255&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-the-taillights-kate-larkindale/1138715702?ean=2940164800734" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>| <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1066627" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lucy and Tony share nothing except genes. Tony’s the champion diver destined for greatness. Lucy’s biggest concern is getting Cute Guy from the burger joint to ask her out.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After an accident kills their parents, the siblings are forced to rely on one another—and decide whether to reveal their secrets.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lucy can’t tell Tony what she knows about the accident for fear of destroying the tentative bond between them. If she doesn’t confess, she might lose her mind. If she does, she might lose the only person she has left who loves her.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tony has problems too. Between diving practice, classes and concealing the crush he has on his best friend Jake, Tony needs to find room in his life for his sister, but his own stability dwindles with every passing day.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the siblings struggle to overcome a lifetime of past conflicts and jealousies, they discover they might have more in common than a love of rock music.</span></div><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #181818; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KJavZbvV-InWAmGMrs4j0YC9Yp569vqVyRcFcGyhAsFF_fQnzxGeJnhrcdwYRMmKLefN7ljpsBD0Cfwwgl_vNPSglJkQiZahyphenhyphenr__w3qrBkHjeYBw8CGK-lK_Ifp_GsfOwTcG-9HNxBNt/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KJavZbvV-InWAmGMrs4j0YC9Yp569vqVyRcFcGyhAsFF_fQnzxGeJnhrcdwYRMmKLefN7ljpsBD0Cfwwgl_vNPSglJkQiZahyphenhyphenr__w3qrBkHjeYBw8CGK-lK_Ifp_GsfOwTcG-9HNxBNt/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chasing the Taillights follows the story of Tony and Lucy,
brother and sister that were never really close until the death of their
parents force them together. The idea of this book interested me right away as
it sounded like a story that would definitely bring me through an emotional
journey. But to write a story like this, I believe you must have a certain sensitivity
and the ability to transport the readers into the characters’ hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In my opinion, Kate Larkindale completed this job perfectly!
I was scared at first to approach this kind of book because if the emotional
side of the story would not have been dealt with in an exemplar way, I know
that I would have suffered for the simple plot. But the characters’ development
and interiority was so well presented, that I was never bored by the lack of
action.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Both Lucy and Tony are great protagonists: they are mature
without losing their spontaneity, they are sweet and tender yet they both have
a strong temperament. I loved to see their relationship grow and if there is
one thing I would reproach the author is the fact that we have just a few
episodes of these two actually spending time together. The strenght of their connection,
infact, grows out of their slow understanding of one another, more than out of actual
moments shared. It is a silent growth that we experience, made of facts
more than words since both Tony and Lucy struggle with pouring out their
feelings. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book,though, since it made me
concentrate more on the emotions hidden behind their gestures. Another great
part of the story that certainly had an impact in the emotional rollercoaster
this book was, is the romance between Jake and Tony, that was so well
structured that I wish we could have a book aside just for the two of them. But
to focus too much on this love story, would probably have distracted the
readers from Tony and Lucy’s growth and I loved how the author managed to make
the romance just a sweet addition to complete the book perfectly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Overall, I consider myself really satisfied by this book: the
author’s writing was extremely fluent and intense, the emotions were relatable
and sincere and I was really not expecting for this book to be so easy to get
attached to. I’ll be certainly be checking out more of Kate Larkindale book, an
author I’m really happy to have discovered!</span> </span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Rated</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmT0LPHe4_xeei7yyOEoOxGH9Mu__jQCKz6tNoOzWwHGWfhBZ1OYrFKwng5ZdSNFjD3iNJcA-DEQh5CuJAmNz0Edu2nvzxfmRj73Tm3zZjucKcRRLWRmYxXI7BtUS-snMOh5sAUQ0IhUBR/s203/4+STELLE.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmT0LPHe4_xeei7yyOEoOxGH9Mu__jQCKz6tNoOzWwHGWfhBZ1OYrFKwng5ZdSNFjD3iNJcA-DEQh5CuJAmNz0Edu2nvzxfmRj73Tm3zZjucKcRRLWRmYxXI7BtUS-snMOh5sAUQ0IhUBR/s0/4+STELLE.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8YhPisQU1m2etcIBaPUUxbn3s2uaSCQoS-q3bXTj-DsP5g3TCZjRetlE_fx9vr0f7lFSNNCnkyr7VWgR9u-Uyd3AHXJcyIP-cfK3fQRt1VBOrAdhb0hj5L9uY3dBNK0hn2gkEZRqMkv7/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8YhPisQU1m2etcIBaPUUxbn3s2uaSCQoS-q3bXTj-DsP5g3TCZjRetlE_fx9vr0f7lFSNNCnkyr7VWgR9u-Uyd3AHXJcyIP-cfK3fQRt1VBOrAdhb0hj5L9uY3dBNK0hn2gkEZRqMkv7/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></b></div><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><b>Meet the author!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">1. Hello Kate, thank your for stopping by! I would start by asking you to introduce yourself and tell us how you got into writing.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for having me Sara!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I’m Kate Larkindale and I’m a writer who currenly lives in Wellington, New Zealand. I don’t feel like I ever “got into writing” as such; I’ve always written. My first story was published in the ‘Kid Stuff’ section of our local paper when I was six!</p><p style="text-align: start;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">2. Is there any new author that has grasped your interest?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Gah! There are so many... But if I have to name just one, I recently read a book called We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra, and that’s been one of my highlights so far this year. She may not be a new author, but she’s new to me...</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>3. What book are you reading now?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was really lucky and won an ARC of Hannah Moskowitz’s new book, The Love Song of Ivy K Harlow, so that’s what I’m reading right now.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">4. Besides Chasing The Taillights, what is another of your novels you’re most proud of and why?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I’m proud of all my books for different reasons. But if I had to pick one, it would probably be STUMPED. I loved writing that one so much. Ozzy is such a complicated character – he’s kind of an asshole at the start of the book – and it was fun to throw obstacle after obstacle into his path until he was forced to grow up and be a better person.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And I’m really proud of the one I finished last year. It’s called Standing Too Close and I’ve been trying to write versions of this story since I was about thirteen, and I finally feel like I have done it justice. Hopefully I’ll find a home for it soon so readers can love it as much as I do!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thanks so much for having me today. It’s been fun!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIkZeOSfT9Dx1jiPUUpaUrMGcTWDL4UeHjyrL9HNGqS_BrEaqPFGKt98nq7bSoqvYKb2ROm-dyLqgnXfK_m3Lshk-7MkbbJu7T-ID67vjlqrNTYO5X59-ueXHESJ2FTh6lNN3ufEiqjDv5/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIkZeOSfT9Dx1jiPUUpaUrMGcTWDL4UeHjyrL9HNGqS_BrEaqPFGKt98nq7bSoqvYKb2ROm-dyLqgnXfK_m3Lshk-7MkbbJu7T-ID67vjlqrNTYO5X59-ueXHESJ2FTh6lNN3ufEiqjDv5/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">The Giveaway!</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>The author Kate Larkindale has kindly offered to gift one of you</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>with an ecopy of one of her books, winner's choice. Here's a peek at</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>what you might be winning... Good Luck!</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43297490-the-sidewalk-s-regrets" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545326068l/43297490._SY475_.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><br /></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36631001-stumped" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511975990l/36631001._SY475_.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35432526-an-unstill-life" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1497434092l/35432526._SY475_.jpg" width="134" /></a> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="ca62df2d34" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ca62df2d34/" id="rcwidget_5twql35l" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-29658716195147729612021-03-22T17:00:00.015-07:002021-03-22T17:00:15.226-07:00BookTour: Love and Other Moods by Crystal Z. Lee [Review + Giveaway!]<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnHyx9EaX1nfnbvfh0ge5Kxsayx23W1dSZCij6aM7m3XyoLwVEQ4fuDPU0XnuuG-jAztK7-DxkirFpgcWNvSESb1KhMvf-3lbAMPitU3EwCU5F6bNssCfyrY_X35mdFLIV3E1s6bJNDp_/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnHyx9EaX1nfnbvfh0ge5Kxsayx23W1dSZCij6aM7m3XyoLwVEQ4fuDPU0XnuuG-jAztK7-DxkirFpgcWNvSESb1KhMvf-3lbAMPitU3EwCU5F6bNssCfyrY_X35mdFLIV3E1s6bJNDp_/w267-h400/image.png" width="267" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Love and Other Moods</span></b><br /><p></p><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20927312.Crystal_Z_Lee" target="_blank">Crystal Z. Lee</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 10th December 2020</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Balestier Press</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 319</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: Paperback</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Received from author</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Love-Other-Moods-Crystal-Lee/dp/1913891011/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=love+and+other+moods&qid=1616426066&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-and-other-moods-crystal-z-lee/1138082526?ean=9781913891015" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>| <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Love-Other-Moods-Crystal-Z-Lee/9781913891015?ref=grid-view&qid=1616426160683&sr=1-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Love and Other Moods</i> is a coming-of-age story set in contemporary China, about falling in love, learning to adult, finding strength, and discovering one’s place in the world.</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Naomi Kita-Fan uproots her life from New York to China when her fiancé’s company transfers him to Shanghai. After a disastrous turn of events, Naomi finds herself with no job, no boyfriend, and nowhere to live in a foreign country.</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amidst the backdrop of Shanghai welcoming millions of workers and visitors to the 2010 World Expo, we meet a tapestry of characters through Naomi: Joss Kong, a Shanghai socialite who leads an enviable life, but must harbor the secrets of her husband, Tay Kai Tang. Logan Hayden, a womanizing restaurateur looking for love in all the wrong places. Pan Jinsung and Ouyang Zhangjie, a silver-aged couple struggling with adapting to the ever-changing faces of their city. Dante Ouyang, who had just returned to China after spending years overseas, must choose between being filial and being in love. All their dreams and aspirations interweave within the sprawling web of Shanghai.</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This multilayered novel explores a kaleidoscope of shifting relationships—familial friction, amorous entanglements, volatile friendships—in one of the most dynamic metropolises of the twenty-first century.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibm9FjjIIc72mch8Lx8NiFJyThmLDzZzst9HqI4zJHGCpYbBeSnminUvr-mFnrWz-2F_2obxscgSmVBbH9ajnVJRKeBnipMrV4lhEstLrLVApfw7sRTq-a_-5R-WH6LhjCO5sillfhm6ZE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibm9FjjIIc72mch8Lx8NiFJyThmLDzZzst9HqI4zJHGCpYbBeSnminUvr-mFnrWz-2F_2obxscgSmVBbH9ajnVJRKeBnipMrV4lhEstLrLVApfw7sRTq-a_-5R-WH6LhjCO5sillfhm6ZE/w640-h236/image.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I always like to start a book without knowing too much about
the story so when I applied for my copy of Love and Other Moods, I thought it
would be an average romance, just set in modern Shanghai. Having studied Chinese and visited
China for a month in 2017, I can not tell you how excited I was to read a book
by a Taiwanese-American writer, that would certainly bring me back to that
beloved country. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For me, Love and Other Moods was a great experience and I can
frankly admit that it exceeded all my expectations. As soon as I started it, I
was confused by the amount of impressions the author gives us: the narrative,
just like China, is chaotic, full of colours, odours, sounds and characters
shoveling to get your attention. I noticed soon, that the structure the author
gave the book was going to be different from what I’m used to read and that even
if Naomi was the protagonist,the story was actually going to be told by a
variety of different characters: “A sweeping, multilayered novel exploring a
kaleidoscope of relationships” – just like the back of the book recites. At
first, I thought that this narrative pattern wasn’t really my cup of tea, as I
felt too distant from Naomi to get attached, but later I realised that the
beauty of this book lies in its ability to slowly capture the reader’s
affection through brief and rapid episodes. The story is fast-paced and there
are a lot of temporal gaps as the author does not concentrate on every single
episode of her characters’ lives, but more on significant parts and bigger
emotional turmoils. The attention posed on analysing different relationships
and different conditions gives the reader a portait of unique characters. I
really liked the romance that slowly grows between Naomi and Dante, our main
couple, but I also really liked to explore Naomi’s work environment, Dante’s
relationship with his traditional family and most importantly Joss and Tay’s
approach to parenthood. Basically, every single character introduced in Love
and Other Moods plays a role and I really enjoyed how the author actually
completed all of their stories.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another protagonist of the book, maybe even more important
than Naomi herself, is Shanghai and the author certainly knew how to put it
under the spotlight. The city represents the turning point in all our
characters’s lives and I loved to discover the city alongside with them. The
ability the author had in picturing Shanghai with its contsant contradictions
between modernity and tradition was the sweetest thing about this book. For
someone like me, who misses China daily, it was a pleasure to visit Shanghai through
Crystal Z.Lee words and I loved how she captured China’s characteristics and
eclecticity. I particulary enjoyed the focus the author put into presenting
Chinese traditional cuisine as it reminded me a lot about author Qiu XiaoLong
and his tribute to his country through his constant mention of chinese
specialties. It’s interesting how food culture always seems to find an
important place in Chinese literature, maybe representing the attempt at saving
tradition in a country that’s constantly changing.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Last thing I really enjoyed about this book is how the author
gently touches also the third-generations theme. All the characters in the book
in fact, are children of Chinese people who have migrated towards different
states and that decided later to move to their home country again. They’re half Chinese, yet they don’t feel like they belong in China at first. They look like
Chinese, but they barely speak the language. To see them slowly getting
aquainted with their origins and finally find a place to call home was heart
warming and particulary interesting as it gives the reader the possibility to
see things from another point of view.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A great variety of stories that will certainly warm your heart, Love and Other Moods is a 4 stars read for me! I would really like to thank the author for sending me her book and giving me the chance to review this wonderful work! I'll be sure to check out her future works, as I hope you will too!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxw6D0ENbci70PE0BXsk9evfPazYSCX-TUjzXcZhj3b8a5mS8unYQ6k5hx-0RH7TgTOlsm_D7iirEBhVJYcaBkeOWfISuaYRb6Sz8JKn3TJkgGmnYIjWU9yEDXXz5fNtcr7H6llAKE4uM/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Rated</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB_f3EUTz0XLMzZ3dWRUWvwplFZ5LjESzsEbhwaeN_qtCf2rjFOf8I5BcSUoEeXuC5bCpgQL9urSToIphC_OkaSpIqTEeRoxxswlJuVGJ2Y9uoknk_2Pfa4Th6VGNz7BmAISxN4Z1GTNQ/s203/4+STELLE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB_f3EUTz0XLMzZ3dWRUWvwplFZ5LjESzsEbhwaeN_qtCf2rjFOf8I5BcSUoEeXuC5bCpgQL9urSToIphC_OkaSpIqTEeRoxxswlJuVGJ2Y9uoknk_2Pfa4Th6VGNz7BmAISxN4Z1GTNQ/s0/4+STELLE.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeX0ZJUyv9zSIiIsv6f3aM7Ny8_6_dPXF-dx0hBe8dTrUbAi-fHtWB6HDcjQLRtaCRTfH1pVHWMZxA77zlVx7rWXYdF9jyEV7tNAfVJxdcenHzbpBgLU9Bl4RGOHzroCCoUU9_iK6IMwY/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="749" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeX0ZJUyv9zSIiIsv6f3aM7Ny8_6_dPXF-dx0hBe8dTrUbAi-fHtWB6HDcjQLRtaCRTfH1pVHWMZxA77zlVx7rWXYdF9jyEV7tNAfVJxdcenHzbpBgLU9Bl4RGOHzroCCoUU9_iK6IMwY/" width="222" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author</span></b></div></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Crystal Z. Lee is a Taiwanese American bilingual writer. She has called many places home, including Taipei, New York, Shanghai, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She was formerly a public relations executive who had worked with brands in the fashion, beauty, technology, and automotive industries. Love and Other Moods is her debut novel. She’s already hard at work on her next novel and a children’s book.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/crystal.z.lee/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20927312.Crystal_Z_Lee" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></b></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIF7HO314ZGXCxyndZ62RzK8nT17usQpwvvgGn17roRPMHYvY-IbeviwEPYqI9bNh3w-U8KqSesBsCRActqYugAIddqMre18UWuHRXQN3CMSbcg1p2LgSoA0BYw5VXGjC_skyi9pu3e8m/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">The Giveaway!</span></b></div><br /><div align="center">There's a tour-wide giveaway offering a <b><i>Love and Other Moods </i></b></div><div align="center">gift basket filled with book gadgets! Total worth of the basket is 70$.</div><div align="center">This contest is open to <b><u>US residents only</u></b>.</div><div align="center"><br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="1000e4f1362" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1000e4f1362/" id="rcwidget_r2nokved" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.lolasblogtours.net" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img align="middle" alt="Lola's Blog Tours graphic" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGeBMspCSgZiArvqjwNtR7s_z9wrq-jQrievMjQNIqFrPaKrir9l0AA5vcG2bPa9APqMAwDJTqsqwQSZUr0oFKkjoLKzovqAjuYvO_2vd4opvhAoUPyK90UlF1rYi1t-sSaIA7ro4PauEF/s400/LolasBlogToursbanner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-38256378899289113712021-03-17T07:00:00.000-07:002021-03-17T07:02:10.509-07:00Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor <p><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461353773l/8490112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461353773l/8490112.jpg" width="262" /></a></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/324620.Laini_Taylor" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">L</span>aini Taylor</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 27th September 2011</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 418</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: Hardback</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Library</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Smoke-Bone-Laini-Taylor-ebook/dp/B004QX076Y/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=daughter+of+smoke+and+bone&qid=1615986388&sr=8-2" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daughter-of-smoke-and-bone-laini-taylor/1100051896?ean=9780316459181" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>| <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Daughter-Smoke-Bone-Laini-Taylor/9780316459181?ref=grid-view&qid=1615986491848&sr=1-5" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.</span></div><div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair </span><i style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">actually</i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"> grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SGrUyUWaIiSej0Bonzsg8EXsbojM-hYaroVBVkmUGX_tLW590vhogQjAiNdF8p5_cQsLhEglhcuYvoxnm2xvYCWa5w2kuSwMbDOOCIhbv_S5lWPwmtTS5sBQeWQzMdF0F3bzO96nmBui/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SGrUyUWaIiSej0Bonzsg8EXsbojM-hYaroVBVkmUGX_tLW590vhogQjAiNdF8p5_cQsLhEglhcuYvoxnm2xvYCWa5w2kuSwMbDOOCIhbv_S5lWPwmtTS5sBQeWQzMdF0F3bzO96nmBui/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the first installment in what
promises to be another favorite series of mine. I approached this book with no
expectations, if not the vague memory of this title being very popular years
ago.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Laini Taylor is a wonderful writer, let’s start this way. The
first thing that will grasp your interest in this book is certainly the world
the author created. I’ve personally read a lot of fantasy novels up until now,
and I have to say that I rarely had the pleasure of entering such a magnificent
setting. In Daughter of Smoke and Bone in fact, there are many fantasy
creatures that appear, - like angels and devils, or chimeras - there is a lot
of magic, there are two worlds colliding, yet everything manages to mantain a
strong link to reality. It’s really difficult to explain what I felt with this
book, but let’s just say that usually, with books of this genre, I’m always
afraid that an excessive fantasy background might compromise my feeling towards
the whole novel, since I prefer when a story doesn’t get too far-fetched. Laini
Taylor though, presents the reader with this beautiful and unique setting, without
depriving her characters of such humanity, that it will be impossible for the
reader to separate with them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Karou, our protagonist, represents the link between magic and
reality, she’s human, yet she has been raised by chimeras. It’s really easy to
create a bond with her: she’s mature, she’s funny, she’s real and incredibly honest.
I’ve never felt frustrated with her, even if she was 17 years old. I loved the
fact that she was an artist because it certainly gave the reader the
opportunity to see everything through a meticolous eye: Karou’s sensitivity
mixed with Laini Taylor’s writing skills make for a wonderful explosion of
impressions. It was incredibly challenging to try and keep up with the number
of images the author sends the reader, like the various species and forms
chimeras had, the incredible accuracy with which Akira is described, the
collection of postcards from the cities Karou visits. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The maturity of the writing, of the characters’ building,
also reflects on the importance relationships have in this book. The concept of
family and diversity occupies a central place in this novel and I loved to see
Karou interact with her family of “monsters”. I found this particular link
between the characters to be even more captivating than the romance itself,
which was really good but touched me less than Karou’s relationship with
Brimstone. While Akiva and Karou’s passion is so strong that exudes from their
every interaction, the affection of Brimstone towards little Karou is rarely
displayed and will be fully appreciated by the reader at the end of the story. Speaking
of Akiva and Karou, something I have read in another review that I agree with
completely, is that the romance between
our two protagonists is very sensual even if it is rarely physical and when it
does get physical, it is in the sweetest and most tender way. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are no negative aspects about this book, nothing I
would change or didn’t enjoy. My only regret is that I started it during a
moment when I was not really present so it took me a while to finish this
story. I am sure that in another occasion, I would have dived into this book
and would not have stopped until I had everything revealed.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the perstitence it still has in my head, Daughter
of Smoke and Bone is a 5 star read for me. I just can’t wait to discover how
Karou’s journey will continue and meet her again in Taylor’s wonderful world</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktJ9XB3Fd1dUpby_Db7HzVxkr9vJj4Jm4Lynw7Mwr0h3u8rJsMUK9d-HHIe22CWCy8Xk0ClkymdtT3mLtH0ODO6iP3959ei0c_N7Jbx46rB0G-ebnsHFNcSdWNfsfHe1FXQBfgnKstrMX/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktJ9XB3Fd1dUpby_Db7HzVxkr9vJj4Jm4Lynw7Mwr0h3u8rJsMUK9d-HHIe22CWCy8Xk0ClkymdtT3mLtH0ODO6iP3959ei0c_N7Jbx46rB0G-ebnsHFNcSdWNfsfHe1FXQBfgnKstrMX/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Rated</span></b></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpBh-Xl_la0q6tqg0bWy_Trmq-Ia7_ix85pVUA34EbFxbE13kvXNtcMsZXHR_bJU0XMzqxUnFhYFWtZFDGb82vOBG9PiytV7ML01ZsFQUlg_sXpbKSOO77kgfxBTx-teEisWnlj_dKq8Z/s247/5+stelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpBh-Xl_la0q6tqg0bWy_Trmq-Ia7_ix85pVUA34EbFxbE13kvXNtcMsZXHR_bJU0XMzqxUnFhYFWtZFDGb82vOBG9PiytV7ML01ZsFQUlg_sXpbKSOO77kgfxBTx-teEisWnlj_dKq8Z/s0/5+stelle.jpg" /></a></div><p></p></div></div></div></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-75714560641537684322021-03-10T08:35:00.000-08:002021-03-10T08:35:49.113-08:00Review: Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber<p><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465563623l/27883214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465563623l/27883214.jpg" width="264" /></a></p><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Caraval</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Caraval #1</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14137787.Stephanie_Garber" target="_blank">Stephanie Garber</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: First Published January 31st 2017</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Flatiron Books</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 432</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: eBook</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Bought</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Caraval-Novel-Stephanie-Garber/dp/1250095263/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=caraval&qid=1615392199&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>| <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caraval-stephanie-garber/1123015759?ean=9781250095268" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>| <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=caraval&search=Find+book" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></b></div><div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.</span></div></span><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjl9qPhDMD2cTUsPRmeHENY0thTgtkmSX5BtPRLcNHVT2qxzCr4y1TXw-5joM-ZEZvuqPX509S30MdfYMJrRy1KER8vPxWwDPCJXoW_uFXdNbaHVhJ7YFAFBUF0Ppjzhbr0VceUSUd0Vn/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjl9qPhDMD2cTUsPRmeHENY0thTgtkmSX5BtPRLcNHVT2qxzCr4y1TXw-5joM-ZEZvuqPX509S30MdfYMJrRy1KER8vPxWwDPCJXoW_uFXdNbaHVhJ7YFAFBUF0Ppjzhbr0VceUSUd0Vn/w400-h31/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To write a review about Caraval, it’s an hard job. I
approached this book with so many expectations and it felt like I was waiting
to read it for ages. I got pushed by a group of lovely bookstagrammers that
decided to organise a group read, and finally, I got my chance to start this
new series. But the journey, didn’t go exactly like planned.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I took up and abandoned this book countless times and I
noticed that my group did the same. It was hard to focus on the story and even
though I really liked the author’s writing style, it didn’t manage to catch my
attention: a few pages of the book, and I felt full-loaded. If I try to
investigate the reasons for this reject, I am not sure. Probably, the book had
all the premises to become a favorite for me - a magical world, an adventurous
plot and a bit of romance – but they were all exploited mediocrely. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">The book starts with some letters exchanged between Scarlett
(also, why translate Scarlett into Rossella and leave Donatella as it is?!) and
the Master of Caraval, who after years, finally invites the Dragna sisters to
come to his island. As soon as they landed, I immediately expected all the
magic this book should have contained to run wild, but it actually never did,
or at least, not as fiercely as I thought. Slowly, I started to realize that
Caraval was not imbued with the kind of magic I was hoping for, but more likely
with a dark power that hinted at something awful happening in its lands. Tessa
Dragna, indeed, disappears and becomes the prize for a treasure hunt that
rekindled my spirits, but even there, I was disappointed shortly after.
Scarlett should have followed 4 (or 5, I don’t remember well) clues that she
should have found progressively along her adventure, each clue coming from a
magical trial or something like it… but if I have to be sincere, I can’t
remember accurately how she came to get some of those clues and therefore find
her sister in the end. Basically, I’m saying that what was supposed to be the
main structure of this adventure, all became kind of blurred. </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"> I
would have preferred for the author to focus more clearly on this hunt that saw
Scarlett as a protagonist and have more scanned passages about what she was
supposed to do each time to get her clue.</span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 107%;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another thing that I didn’t like particularly, is the fact
that a lot of mysterious hints are given throughout all the book about several
matters – the Master of Caraval’s identity, Julian’s link to him, the
involvement of the Dragna family and the identity of Scarlett’s bethroted –
that all contributed in widening my confusion about the whole novel. I am sure
that all these questions will be answered in the following books, but even the
few answers we receive at the end of this book were rushed up and not very
clear to me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So it’s a pity that I couldn’t get attached to the plot much,
because the author’s style and intention certainly were great! I loved her
descriptive skills and one thing I noticed and enjoyed is how she associates
colours to emotions. I could clearly picture Caraval with its streets and
castles and balconies and beautiful, magical dresses and that is exactly why I
would have loved to get more of this world who had the fortune of being
pictured by such a talented storyteller.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, when I think about Caraval I think about a wide
magical cloud hanging above my head and messing with my judgement: I was not
enthusiastic about it, but I’m not going to give up on the series either. I am
sure that there is more to discover about this world in the next installments
and I’m going to give Stephanie Garber another chance, just not in the
immediate future! <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-1BBTVfgwZThc8yd82W1XHHzNISpoj7gtqad5PQD_N4IPX7-i75MYZFxawpXsLzXQZti1wbJvGpRoyPEwdQfTtPXouVV3laBd5joSArHfwvkTlyMurW0d58iyRz4IY-ZSYt3_gU7PYJC/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-1BBTVfgwZThc8yd82W1XHHzNISpoj7gtqad5PQD_N4IPX7-i75MYZFxawpXsLzXQZti1wbJvGpRoyPEwdQfTtPXouVV3laBd5joSArHfwvkTlyMurW0d58iyRz4IY-ZSYt3_gU7PYJC/w400-h31/image.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Rated 2.5</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbopzyC9uPKKJYf9NGfpBnnEdhEjzKAg9hyw_K-ZBcNf4Qn5jqMJU2gfbaZhA-TMxpeqatMELu2Yoh0pdmIpXlbe74RA_64gucTYI9iAqCWRtLjONAbsctLFOtKCLqh2r7xYOdcPvhR-jE/s146/13330DBF-D6CB-4159-A4E2-5B305A9D54F5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="146" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbopzyC9uPKKJYf9NGfpBnnEdhEjzKAg9hyw_K-ZBcNf4Qn5jqMJU2gfbaZhA-TMxpeqatMELu2Yoh0pdmIpXlbe74RA_64gucTYI9iAqCWRtLjONAbsctLFOtKCLqh2r7xYOdcPvhR-jE/w200-h85/13330DBF-D6CB-4159-A4E2-5B305A9D54F5.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div></b></span></div><p></p></div></div></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-27749451817602178082021-03-03T09:39:00.001-08:002021-03-03T09:39:39.275-08:00Review: Lazarus (Joona Linna #7) by Lars Kepler<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602563663l/53479929.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602563663l/53479929.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Lazarus</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Joona Linna #7</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3105995.Lars_Kepler" target="_blank">Lars Kepler</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: First published 19th October 2019 - English edition 1st December 2020</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Random House Large Print Publishing</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 720</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: Hardback</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><u>Source</u>: Library</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lazarus-novel-Lars-Kepler-ebook/dp/B085BVP8VG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lazarus+lars+kepler&qid=1614788714&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lazarus-lars-kepler/1136585760?ean=9780593317839" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>, <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Lazarus-lars-Kepler/9780008205980?ref=grid-view&qid=1614788837326&sr=1-3" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">Sometimes the past won't stay buried.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All across Europe, the most ruthless criminals are suffering gruesome deaths. At first, it seems coincidental that their underworld affiliations are finally catching up to them. But when two of the victims are found to have disturbing connections to Detective Joona Linna, it becomes clear that there's a single killer at work. Still, police are reluctant to launch an investigation. If a mysterious vigilante is making their jobs easier, why stand in his way? Joona, however, is convinced this is no</span></div></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">would-be hero. These deaths serve a much darker purpose.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Desperate for help, Joona turns to Saga Bauer. If his hunch is correct, she's one of the few people who stands a chance at bringing this criminal mastermind down. But Saga is fighting her own demons--and the killer knows just how to use them to his advantage. He continues to strike with impunity, and no one, it seems, is safe. When the killer begins targeting those closest to Saga and Joona, it appears more and more likely that Joona has been right all along, and that tracking down the person responsible will force him to confront a ghost from his past . . . the most terrifying villain he's ever had to face.</span></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0wM0SciLdurb2WAsl5MY_GedXifxDava7s4t_iCUW2gycZznflKJ8fZg7FRplKbDZG7opALw91PI6l4FU4pY2itkRmLWLf1fsjMNmOMBKj4L9qhG3VHZe_NW2RssWGmulXltQP-Cnnr1/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0wM0SciLdurb2WAsl5MY_GedXifxDava7s4t_iCUW2gycZznflKJ8fZg7FRplKbDZG7opALw91PI6l4FU4pY2itkRmLWLf1fsjMNmOMBKj4L9qhG3VHZe_NW2RssWGmulXltQP-Cnnr1/w400-h31/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I</span> consider Lars Kepler to be my favorite authors when it
comes to thrillers and up until now, I’ve never felt disappointed with their
books. For this particular title, I had really high expectations because the
first book in which Jurek Walter enters the scene, that is The Sandman, was one
of my absolute favorites and I couldn’t wait to see how his and Joona’s rivalry
would end.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The mere existence of this book was already a twist in the
Joona Linna series if we consider that all the readers who have read all 7 books
will know that Jurek Walter was supposed to be dead. The beginning of the book
is built as to create doubt and mistrust toward our dear protagonist, who has
spent all his life trying to escape from Jurek and is therefore considered
obsessed with him by his collegues, who refuse to aknowledge the treath. Despite
loving the suspense this moment created, I didn’t like how naive my dear Saga
appeared in this book: she was the only one who should have trusted Joona’s
infallible guts and not only she didn’t, she also took one or two bad decisions
that actually made her differ from the picture I had in my mind. Moreover, she
was one of the few officers who had the advantage of having been in touch with
Jurek and I was expecting a little more cleverness from someone who should have
known how his mind worked. On the other hand, the chapters that were told by
her POV were personally the most emotional, probably because in this book, with
her family being the one threatened, she struggles with being a cop and appears
just as a scared, irrational woman who would do anything for her family. The
vulnerability she shows was much needed in a book where the reader kind of
becomes way too accostumed to grotesque killings and absolute lack of morality.
For the same reason, I really liked the scenes in which we are finally
introduced better to Joona’s daughter Lumi, a character that only emerges in
the last books since we were all led to believe she was dead. Lumi embodies all
the efforts Joona had to make to save his family and to see her struggle
between following her father’s orders and trying to have a normal life was
touching. It was really satisfying to see how everyone who didn’t trust Joona
in the beginning had to reconsider his cunning once again and being really
attached to Joona’s character, I was pleased when all his efforts actually made
sense in the eyes of all those who thought him hyper-protective.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite my general liking of the story, I did not feel much
engaged by the narrative as I used to do. There were some things lacking in
this book, for example, the absence of a nice background mystery, which was
always present in the last books: Jurek Walter always being the principal
thread while other psycopaths shared his scene. This time, we have Jurek’s
accomplice as our side story, but his mystery and his importance just lose
completely focus when Jurek makes his entry. But most importantly, what really,
really, really disappointed me was the final round between Jurek and Joona. I
had been dreaming of this moment. The tension was expertly built throughout
almost three books. And in the end, it was not that good. I was expecting much
more from the collision of these two brilliant characters and I can’t accept
that they shared such an intense moment without even saying a word to each
other. You know those thrillers where you have a really bad killer and also a really
good cop kind of shaking their hands for everything they’ve put each other
through? That’s what I was hoping for!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not the surprising read I was expecting but certainly a book
I would have read in any case, Lazarus is a 3.5 stars for me. I’m really hoping
book #8 (which still hasn’t been translated in English!) will pick up from
where Lazarus ended and will give me much needed answers!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0wM0SciLdurb2WAsl5MY_GedXifxDava7s4t_iCUW2gycZznflKJ8fZg7FRplKbDZG7opALw91PI6l4FU4pY2itkRmLWLf1fsjMNmOMBKj4L9qhG3VHZe_NW2RssWGmulXltQP-Cnnr1/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0wM0SciLdurb2WAsl5MY_GedXifxDava7s4t_iCUW2gycZznflKJ8fZg7FRplKbDZG7opALw91PI6l4FU4pY2itkRmLWLf1fsjMNmOMBKj4L9qhG3VHZe_NW2RssWGmulXltQP-Cnnr1/w400-h31/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Rated 3.5 </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggQ9rtU0IShTgnjbAHihvX-UeaENSjmSYGY_2TqE4EbRtoCT51h8ZQqjtgFHBu1WtLiuy7Nx-yUultoul3c5xCNgvveMgiZ_3GCpjyx6urvgaSnRjp5Nql4uXGlFYtZahjV5EuTeHMQVm/s166/Rating+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="63" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggQ9rtU0IShTgnjbAHihvX-UeaENSjmSYGY_2TqE4EbRtoCT51h8ZQqjtgFHBu1WtLiuy7Nx-yUultoul3c5xCNgvveMgiZ_3GCpjyx6urvgaSnRjp5Nql4uXGlFYtZahjV5EuTeHMQVm/s0/Rating+3.jpg" /></a></div><br /></b></div></div></div></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-45946149413120466342021-02-09T03:23:00.000-08:002021-02-09T03:23:56.536-08:00Review: Normal People by Sally Rooney<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRzzwYeHAqil3bja-Jajc4pysG_zwNF38a-JhEijsbEkqUvgz6Vz8jmT9RwNGT14nNiXWT-pJ0T9Vs_tAaS3t2PrbtS5_ONZNllC_Hsmi5VKmAw7yA9mWHGXkQ6XtC6u7ngn2V6FN4cEP/s475/41057294._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRzzwYeHAqil3bja-Jajc4pysG_zwNF38a-JhEijsbEkqUvgz6Vz8jmT9RwNGT14nNiXWT-pJ0T9Vs_tAaS3t2PrbtS5_ONZNllC_Hsmi5VKmAw7yA9mWHGXkQ6XtC6u7ngn2V6FN4cEP/w265-h400/41057294._SY475_.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Normal People</span></b><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15860970.Sally_Rooney" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">S</span>ally Rooney</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 16th April 2019</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Hogarth Press</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 273</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: Hardback</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Library</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Normal-People-Novel-Sally-Rooney/dp/1984822187/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=normal+people&qid=1612869224&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Normal-People/9780571334650" target="_blank">TBD</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/normal-people-sally-rooney/1129141966?ean=9781984822185" target="_blank">B&N</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;">At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.</span></div><div style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #181818; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74nrO4VrSf-W6iyVeBaYjI8qQsgtWuln8Hkw7yFD9ijsevQiz4j_iOMwiTo1hvze8XcL4T6qaK9Q7zHZAmH1yIIzM4ENtAMaBiyfetDtkBMXGxx4Pmn4d8uFZHVqFKpfaxEvDmy2Ht_Cv/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74nrO4VrSf-W6iyVeBaYjI8qQsgtWuln8Hkw7yFD9ijsevQiz4j_iOMwiTo1hvze8XcL4T6qaK9Q7zHZAmH1yIIzM4ENtAMaBiyfetDtkBMXGxx4Pmn4d8uFZHVqFKpfaxEvDmy2Ht_Cv/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Normal People was my first Sally Rooney book and it won't certainly be my last. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">As soon as you start the book you immediately realise that this author has a peculiar writing style. Sentences are short yet punctuation lacks when it comes to dialogues. Sometimes I had to reread a sentence twice to really understand who was talking, yet, I felt like this kind of sterile narration perfectly fit the protagonists' incapacity of showing their feelings. I am actually really curious about wheter this writing style was purposely used in this book to better describe Marianne and Connell or if it's actually the author's unique touch that I'll find in her other works too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I saw a lot of mixed reviews about this book and I can totally understand why some readers might have not liked it. It's not easy to follow a story where there's not much happening and where the characters speak in monosyllables but I was rather fascinated by the incredible psychological work the author put into creating this story. Marianne and Connell are both very relatable characters: they are young, they both have had a difficult life, they don't know how to face love and they make stupid mistakes to try and be normal people. The fact that the narration didn't have any kind of distractions, allowed me to be completely focused on their emotion, which are not laid bare on the pages but are rather a most-welcomed prize for those of us who tried to read beyond the author's apparent aseptic narration. Both characters really got to me, Connell way more than Marianne and I was totally surprised as I was so sure before starting the book, that he would have been an abusive kind of boyfriend! The whole concept of normalcy and of being a "normal person" permeates the book and guides our characters from the beginning toward the wrong path. To fulfill this idea of normalcy, infact, Connell and Marianne will both sacrifice their shot at happiness and they realise only later how these stereotypes will never fit anyone. What it means to be normal indeed? For Connell, it meant to stay far away from the girl he loved just because she was considered a weird but this will only set the two of them both to a long path of dissatisfaction. It was curious how at a certain point Connell admits how Marianne, who in his eyes was past other people's judgement, showed him another way of being, while on the contrary, she was much more concerned with fitting in than he was. Marianne is maybe the most controversial and frustrating character in the book because despite everything she has survived, she always finds the way to attract more darkness her way. Her fragile nature and self-destructiveness though, just make her someone with who the reader can relate. I've read many readers complain about the ending, but I appreciated the finale of the story so much as it was the perfect way to show us how Marianne in particular has actually learned from all their struggles and has found her emotional independence.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">For me, Normal People was a really easy read, I just kept reading and reading without ever feeling tired. It's a short book, yet it gives the reader a great chance at exploring human nature a little bit deeper. If you're looking for a book with a complicated plot or just a normal story where boy meets girl, then you won't certainly like this book. But if you want to read something different that will maybe make you think twice about what you'd be willing to sacrifice to be accepted, then Normal People might be your cup of tea!</div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEp2dlKC8TBQ9LBY2UIFTb80402uK9dmWxfSUz7FJFWBQzRXLQZt3y87s1EgP4Cxoi0OPEM_FthgYDOGWn5l4hcDG7fym0r_lMjJsi5hCGB49jXoYzXtCiOP_cZtq9yO260PO0hIC3YiD/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEp2dlKC8TBQ9LBY2UIFTb80402uK9dmWxfSUz7FJFWBQzRXLQZt3y87s1EgP4Cxoi0OPEM_FthgYDOGWn5l4hcDG7fym0r_lMjJsi5hCGB49jXoYzXtCiOP_cZtq9yO260PO0hIC3YiD/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Rated 3.8</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDr48cu6k-zgq3s4b0vwbbN28vr-P99cx4-_4BCaRm9TsGJbcAmUNDH3K4veCnBtgYkqfcMC3SXwxj6sa6jjsQNPnICaZUmsCSAI_ZUOi-zWVNSXZqoLmsYYx77oRKHzZ9iDoGYV4SQYS1/s166/Rating+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="63" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDr48cu6k-zgq3s4b0vwbbN28vr-P99cx4-_4BCaRm9TsGJbcAmUNDH3K4veCnBtgYkqfcMC3SXwxj6sa6jjsQNPnICaZUmsCSAI_ZUOi-zWVNSXZqoLmsYYx77oRKHzZ9iDoGYV4SQYS1/s0/Rating+3.jpg" /></a></div></div></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-58532500964869988362021-02-05T06:03:00.000-08:002021-02-05T06:03:02.451-08:00Book Tour: Up the Creek by Alissa Grosso [Excerpt + Giveaway]<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_71g7OkWQXJ90-Bn0Y8X6KLK6hmIj4ByLRqqQlHnh8sW_5p3Y2V5wCIQa3Ac_5Lmhg2iu0kmv4gMyMNcogrImSu6LNyoYa8bppxS92i-6TmcQRb7s0pwnR7sW_yDBQBqvSh8nUPEtBpf/s2048/up-the-creek-by-alissa-gross0-cover.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1281" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_71g7OkWQXJ90-Bn0Y8X6KLK6hmIj4ByLRqqQlHnh8sW_5p3Y2V5wCIQa3Ac_5Lmhg2iu0kmv4gMyMNcogrImSu6LNyoYa8bppxS92i-6TmcQRb7s0pwnR7sW_yDBQBqvSh8nUPEtBpf/w250-h400/up-the-creek-by-alissa-gross0-cover.jpg" width="250" /></a></p><div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Up The Creek (Culver Creek #1)</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">by Alissa Grosso</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://alissagrosso.com/"><span style="color: #2b6da0;">A</span>lissa Grosso</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publication Date</u>: 12th January 2021</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Glitter Pigeon Press</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 356</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Genre</u>: Mystery Thriller</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u style="background-color: white;">Purchase Links</u><span style="background-color: white;">:<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"> </span><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://hottbooks.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aff32f4c1276ddafdecdeeedd&id=f7b0a96c85&e=ee39ca3fc9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #007c89; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Amazon</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"> | </span><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://hottbooks.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aff32f4c1276ddafdecdeeedd&id=de1eee3fcf&e=ee39ca3fc9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #007c89; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"> | </span><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://hottbooks.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aff32f4c1276ddafdecdeeedd&id=9de2096716&e=ee39ca3fc9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #007c89; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></div><div><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An unsolved murder. Disturbing dreams. A missing child.</span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Caitlin Walker hasn't had a dream in nine years. But now nightmares torture her son Adam and awaken in Caitlin buried memories and a dark secret. Her husband Lance has a secret of his own, one that his son's nightmares threaten to reveal.</span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Culver <span class="marke39cwbu4c" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Creek</span> newly hired detective Sage Dorian works to unravel <span class="markh1sahn9nn" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the</span> small town's notorious cold case, <span class="markh1sahn9nn" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the</span> grisly murder of a young girl.</span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How are Caitlin and Lance connected to <span class="markh1sahn9nn" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the</span> horrific crime? And how far will <span class="markh1sahn9nn" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the</span>y go to make sure <span class="markh1sahn9nn" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the</span>ir secrets stay hidden? Find out in this riveting thriller.</span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgbkkVX661ALDcy-HfB63_n5c7M7Z29oWSEMrUyj2FlMZAajM7aQnQfbOzLKo77gufejG-yY8aryPCv6Z4KtmxKXXrM7G1yY4zFBZmDotZc9a-gj-bPZoAlAdBsYcfmCihNZ_uTlg0vHR/s1220/up-the-creek-by-alisa-grosso-banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1220" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgbkkVX661ALDcy-HfB63_n5c7M7Z29oWSEMrUyj2FlMZAajM7aQnQfbOzLKo77gufejG-yY8aryPCv6Z4KtmxKXXrM7G1yY4zFBZmDotZc9a-gj-bPZoAlAdBsYcfmCihNZ_uTlg0vHR/w640-h330/up-the-creek-by-alisa-grosso-banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KC6S1NHai3y9SPTYH8AYVDVQfDKRzj_2ceYXUKpakJ5Le_7vBaGAdBRBXFB7tHZg1nX1AxI878pg5wYPRfIP58qA9ra6FWG3k0VYga0uGZ1lZJ8gi3l-lcy7Z8ZsA3PdJN6uzZ58dmfd/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KC6S1NHai3y9SPTYH8AYVDVQfDKRzj_2ceYXUKpakJ5Le_7vBaGAdBRBXFB7tHZg1nX1AxI878pg5wYPRfIP58qA9ra6FWG3k0VYga0uGZ1lZJ8gi3l-lcy7Z8ZsA3PdJN6uzZ58dmfd/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Read an excerpt!</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="excerpt" style="border-color: 800000; border-style: groove; border-width: 3px; height: 250px; overflow: auto;">
<p>Caitlin emerged from a black, dreamless sleep to screams. Adam’s tortured cries sounded almost otherworldly. They turned her blood to ice and made her heart race. She sat straight up, then bolted from bed, blinking sleep from her eyes as she raced toward the door, banging her shin on the dresser as she went. She yanked on the doorknob and almost toppled over when it didn’t yield as she expected. Goddammit. Lance had locked the door again.</p>
<p>She spared a glance toward the bed, but her husband wasn’t there. Instead he was standing, looking out the window. For a moment she thought she was mistaken. Were the screams coming from outside?</p>
<p>“Lance?” she asked.</p>
<p>He turned to her, but his eyes looked past her at some point on the wall.</p>
<p>“What’s going on?” he mumbled, barely awake.</p>
<p>“Adam’s having a nightmare,” she said.</p>
<p>“Again?” he asked. “Maybe we should just let him sleep it off.”</p>
<p>The screams had subsided now, but she could still hear her son’s whimpers from down the hall. Sleep it off? Could Lance really be that clueless? She unlocked the door and flung it open. It bounced almost silently off the rubber doorstopper, which didn’t really give her the dramatic exit she was hoping for.</p>
<p>She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around her husband just standing there looking out the window while Adam cried for them. Usually Lance was the one who woke up first. Maybe he had already gone to comfort Adam and came back to their bedroom by the time she awoke. He seemed so out of it, though. Well, that’s what a lack of sleep could do to a person.</p>
<p>Adam sat on his bed in a nest of tangled sheets. His face was damp with tears and sweat, his dark hair plastered to his forehead. The hippo nightlight cast large, ominous shadows when she stepped into his room. He looked up with a start, then relaxed when he saw it was her.</p>
<p>She sat down beside him and pulled his small body to her, wrapping her arms around him and rocking him gently back and forth. The tears subsided, but he still felt tense.</p>
<p>“Mommy, I’m scared of the bad boy,” he said. “The bad boy’s going to hurt me.”</p>
<p>“Nobody’s going to hurt you,” she assured him. “You’re safe. It was just a dream. Look, you’re safe in your bedroom.”</p>
<p>At this, Adam pulled away from her a little to study the dimly lit bedroom. Maybe they should get a different nightlight. She had never realized how spooky that hippo light made everything look.</p>
<p>“There were trees,” Adam said, “and a river. She was playing in the river.”</p>
<p>Caitlin stiffened. Adam noticed it and looked up at her. She smiled at him.</p>
<p>“It was just a dream,” she said, as much to reassure herself as him. “It wasn’t real.”</p>
<p>There were lots of rivers out there, and wasn’t Adam just watching a cartoon show with cute animals that had to get across a river? That was probably where that detail came from. Plus, she reminded herself, it hadn’t been a river. It had been a creek. She wasn’t sure Adam knew the difference between a river and a creek, though. But a little girl playing in a river? No, wait, was that what he had said? He said only “she.” For all Caitlin knew, this she could have been a girl river otter. Maybe he had been having a cute dream about river creatures.</p>
<p>And a “bad boy,” she reminded herself. She remembered his bloodcurdling screams. There was nothing cute about the dream he had. Still, she clung to the “bad boy” detail. Was he talking about a child? If so, then the river was just a coincidence. She wanted to ask him more about the bad boy, but this was the worst thing she could do. He was already starting to calm down, starting to forget the details of his nightmare. She couldn’t go dredging things back up again.</p>
<p>“Mommy, can I sleep in your room?” Adam asked.</p>
<p>#</p>
<p>Lance was fully awake and in bed when Caitlin returned with Adam in her arms.</p>
<p>“Hey there, champ,” Lance said. “Have a bad dream?”</p>
<p>“Daddy, he hurt her,” Adam said. “He hurt her head. She was bleeding.” </p>
<p>Her son’s tiny body stiffened again in Caitlin’s arms, and she gave Lance an exasperated look as she set Adam down in the middle of the bed.</p>
<p>“We’d already gotten past that,” she said in a whispered hiss.</p>
<p>“Obviously,” Lance said with a roll of his eyes, “which is why he’s sleeping in our bed. Again.”</p>
<p>She slid into the bed beside Adam and adjusted the covers, ignoring her husband. She petted Adam’s head and made soft, soothing noises.</p>
<p>“Remember, that wasn’t real, just make believe, like a movie.” She didn’t want him to get himself worked up again talking about the dream, but it wasn’t just that. She didn’t want to hear any more details from the nightmare because the bit about the bad boy hurting the girl’s head and the blood felt a touch too familiar.</p>
<p>She stroked his face, and his eyelids slowly drooped closed. He looked so calm and peaceful when he slept.</p>
<p>“I thought we said we weren’t going to do this anymore,” Lance said. Even whispering, his voice was too loud. She held her finger to her lips. He continued more quietly, “I’m just saying, I think it would be better for him if he sleeps in his own bed.”</p>
<p>“It’s already after three,” she said. “It’s only for a few hours.”</p>
<p>“That’s not the point,” Lance said. “He’s nearly five years old. We can’t keep babying him.”</p>
<p>It was like the school argument all over again, and Caitlin didn’t want to get into it. Not now. She was still tired and groggy and needed more sleep.</p>
<p>“I want to get him a new nightlight,” she said to change the subject. “The one he has makes these creepy shadows.”</p>
<p>“A new nightlight,” Lance repeated in a skeptical voice. “Sure, that will solve everything.”</p>
<p>“The important thing,” she said, “is that we have to remind him that his dreams are not real. That they’re make believe. We have to be united on this.”</p>
<p>Lance made a dismissive noise and lay back down on his pillow, turning his body away from her and Adam. He muttered something, but his voice was muffled by the pillow.</p>
<p>“Lance, this is important,” she said. “We have to make it clear that his dreams are not real. He has to know they aren’t true.”</p>
<p>He sighed. “What kind of moron do you think I am? Do you really think I’m going to start telling him his dreams about boogeymen are real?” He squirmed around and pulled the covers up in an attempt to get comfortable. She thought he was done, but he stopped shifting around long enough to add, “It’s not exactly like you’re the foremost expert in dreams.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Excerpt from <i>Up the Creek</i> by Alissa Grosso. Copyright 2021 by Alissa Grosso. Reproduced with permission from Alissa Grosso. All rights reserved.</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTf2Iws0ggYhgJfEleTMlDyc6F_nUEx0-z9pPFBBQDYbKIT-STAmApmWIFLdcG2wWLnH4BK7GnI6P5-p4AB3iwXtDVDKtErKFu77uDRjkRPud2Vuk_FjmJLr5KbrZyhyphenhyphen73qlasGse9g00/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTf2Iws0ggYhgJfEleTMlDyc6F_nUEx0-z9pPFBBQDYbKIT-STAmApmWIFLdcG2wWLnH4BK7GnI6P5-p4AB3iwXtDVDKtErKFu77uDRjkRPud2Vuk_FjmJLr5KbrZyhyphenhyphen73qlasGse9g00/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTgSpGMlSX8Pyy0MJFii__DfSAMIP7avrVSvmTH0-P0Pt7TW4EeFi2PQ-z-op741L8UiryCpqur9E5Xg4RXvdzxceIV1Ve4GD_kfzJKsu_oEbOiUw1THhU7Z4smNcQJr0Guh_VP_w54mJ/s1356/up-the-creek-by-alissa-grosso-author.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1247" data-original-width="1356" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTgSpGMlSX8Pyy0MJFii__DfSAMIP7avrVSvmTH0-P0Pt7TW4EeFi2PQ-z-op741L8UiryCpqur9E5Xg4RXvdzxceIV1Ve4GD_kfzJKsu_oEbOiUw1THhU7Z4smNcQJr0Guh_VP_w54mJ/w200-h184/up-the-creek-by-alissa-grosso-author.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>About the author:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Alissa Grosso is </span><span class="markh1sahn9nn" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202020; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;"> author of several books for adults and teens. Originally from New Jersey, she now resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div></div><p></p><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://alissagrosso.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://hottbooks.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aff32f4c1276ddafdecdeeedd&id=39b7fe6a23&e=ee39ca3fc9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://hottbooks.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aff32f4c1276ddafdecdeeedd&id=42604b881a&e=ee39ca3fc9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">BookBub</a> | <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://hottbooks.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aff32f4c1276ddafdecdeeedd&id=527a1242e7&e=ee39ca3fc9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://hottbooks.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aff32f4c1276ddafdecdeeedd&id=d960e7e161&e=ee39ca3fc9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></h3><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9R6e3kcH6RLm7iso_D7bAhGqNLJsUmlIiMOHWS0bLbsYk5iN4zrBb1V3CIpCuu-Hi34pf1bScPDuIZma14PT8_nGoyw8rOL5NA6QgCgrrHvFlc5S27AZCCawD0NyhTcMvO4wTG2pYcpUh/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9R6e3kcH6RLm7iso_D7bAhGqNLJsUmlIiMOHWS0bLbsYk5iN4zrBb1V3CIpCuu-Hi34pf1bScPDuIZma14PT8_nGoyw8rOL5NA6QgCgrrHvFlc5S27AZCCawD0NyhTcMvO4wTG2pYcpUh/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">The Giveaway!</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span color="inherit" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by </span></h5><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span color="inherit" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Alyssa Grosso. <span class="markh1sahn9nn" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The</span>re</span></h5><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span color="inherit" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> will be two (2) winners each receiving one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card.</span></h5><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span color="inherit" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span class="markh1sahn9nn" color="inherit" data-markjs="true" data-ogab="" data-ogac="" data-ogsb="" data-ogsc="" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The</span> giveaway begins on January 11, 2021 and</span></h5><h5 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span color="inherit" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> runs through March 14, 2021. Void where prohibited.</span></h5><div><br /></div></div><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="f24bf84b717" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f24bf84b717/" id="rcwidget_mk2b1x2i" rel="nofollow"><script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></a>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-82052944279379159172021-02-02T23:49:00.001-08:002021-02-02T23:52:24.640-08:00Book Tour: What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo [Interview + Giveaway!]<p><a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/11/WhatBigTeethTourBanner.png" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" />
</a><span style="text-align: center;"></span></p>
<img alt="" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/WhatBigTeeth.jpg" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px;" />
<p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><strong>What Big Teeth</strong><br /><strong>by Rose Szabo</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Published by</u>: Farrar Straus and Giroux (BYR)<br /><u>Publication date</u>: February 2nd 2021<br /><u>Genres</u>: Fantasy, Gothic, Young Adult</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b> </p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Rose Szabo’s thrilling debut <em>What Big Teeth</em> is a dark, gothic fantasy YA novel about a teen girl who returns home to her strange, wild family after years of estrangement, perfect for fans of <em>Wilder Girls</em>.</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Eleanor finds herself desperately trying to hold the family together. In order to save them all Eleanor must learn to embrace her family of monsters and tame the darkness inside her.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Exquisitely terrifying, beautiful, and strange, this fierce paranormal fantasy will sink its teeth into you and never let go.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48560025-what-big-teeth" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://amzn.to/3ccjhv4" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-big-teeth-rose-szabo/1136619262?ean=9780374314316" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> / <a href="https://books.apple.com/ca/book/what-big-teeth/id1506600624?mt=11&id=1506600624&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank">iBooks</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/what-big-teeth" target="_blank">Kobo</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Ll7VDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">Google Play</a></p>
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To start, please tell us something about your book and your protagonist Eleanor.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you for having me! What Big Teeth follows Eleanor, a 17-year-old girl, as she runs away from boarding school to return to her family’s estate. When she gets there, she’s confronted with the reality of her family. For one thing: they’re all terrifying. But perhaps the stranger thing is that her grandmother, the powerful witch who controls the family fortune, seems afraid of her. As events unravel, Eleanor learns some hard truths about her family, but also about her own past.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Josefin Sans; font-size: medium;">2.What would you say the hardest part of writing this book was?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I would say: revising it. I am very good at...I want to say, mystical vision. I am very bad at making sense, and so my poor agent and editor had to drag me through probably eight rounds of revisions altogether. And every time I was like “ah, yes, now the book makes sense and has no plot holes and feels concrete and real.” And then a copyeditor caught a plothole! I think I learned a lot from this process, though. It’s given me a more editorial eye, a better sense of what I’m writing for me and what will actually serve the reader. I still write the parts that are for me, but I’m less precious about cutting them if they don’t work in the final manuscript.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Josefin Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>3. If you could pick a favorite quote from your book, what would it be?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is going to sound strange, but I always struggle to pull quotes. They look so naked! Or the emotional truth of the quote feels like it’s missing without the lines around it. But one of my favorite parts is the description of Eleanor’s family home:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It loomed over the landscape. Towers and porches and balconies and bay windows. Story after story of decorative gingerbreading, crown molding, sunburst emblems, recessed niches, and high gables, and all of it covered in gray scalloped shingles, like scales, and at the very top of the highest tower, the creaking weathervane in the shape of a running rabbit. It was hard to look at: not all of it fit in my view at once, even after I took a few steps back. I realized that now, it scared me. It was too much. It felt oppressive, a giant squatting at the top of the world.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Josefin Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>4. Is this book going to be a stand-alone or are we to expect sequels?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am really not sure! I have an image in my mind of Eleanor’s sister Luma wrestling an alligator. But my process often goes like that: a handful of images start to adhere to each other, and it might take years for them to actually coalesce into a book. I do have a new two-part series in the works right now. But it’s really different. Although it still has monsters in it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Josefin Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>5. Now speaking about you, what book are you currently reading?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m reading the absolutely delightful Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg. The conceit of the book is that it’s a found historical manuscript, published with annotations by the scholar who found it, kind of like Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire. The story is about a legendary thief named Jack Sheppard from 18th century London, but this “lost” manuscript makes it clear that Jack is trans. It’s a perfect adventure story</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and somehow also a parable about academic freedom and surveillance and how we’re all constantly commodifying ourselves. I am absolutely furious that I didn’t come up with it, because it’s brilliant.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Josefin Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>6. Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aside from Rosenberg, I’ve also really enjoyed S.T. Gibson’s debut, A Dowry of Blood, which is out January 31st. I got to read an ARC, which feels like a perk of being in the writing community at last. And I just read Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark, which has me excited for his first novel-length work, which is out this year!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Josefin Sans; font-size: medium;"><b>7. And if you could work with any author, who would it be?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a huge admiration for Shonda Rhimes, the TV writer and producer. The quality she maintains, at the pace she works, is just staggering to me. The dream would be to have her adapt my work the way she’s doing with Bridgerton. I’d cry.</span></p></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the author:</span> </span></b></span><span style="text-align: left;">Rose Szabo is a nonbinary writer from Richmond, VA, where they live with an assortment of people and animals and teach writing at VCU. They have an MA in English from the University of Maine and an MFA in creative writing from VCU. Their work has been published in See the Elephant and Quaint magazines. What Big Teeth is their first novel.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
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<p> </p>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-46517826627018769612021-02-01T03:21:00.000-08:002021-02-01T03:21:06.152-08:00Book Tour: She Sees Ghosts by David Fitz-Gerald [Guest Post]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67lLtGcTh6knOWtml0DY0H0I6zJFoitI1DiAU_L-8WGRdana9GNdtXvyzVPHhuInNEiT2S9f9-uWz1o0-Hgg7-8Ppjb8NLOKezJ-9R1MLdClmG-Sea9xRNkebUPoxsn4a1rd1jk_4Y8VE/s1280/thumbnail_image1+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67lLtGcTh6knOWtml0DY0H0I6zJFoitI1DiAU_L-8WGRdana9GNdtXvyzVPHhuInNEiT2S9f9-uWz1o0-Hgg7-8Ppjb8NLOKezJ-9R1MLdClmG-Sea9xRNkebUPoxsn4a1rd1jk_4Y8VE/w640-h360/thumbnail_image1+%25281%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikidt1BHdgu5HlQkrl2-zRy3o4ZICYAsuwluhJmqFrEjQ-6etpxTC97-yG65C2IbUUE6irMBnAdQSwk-CqTOK5ARyqWw58jwOorttNsIrNfbT5XYOD3Ju38jG6vcjayisoYxplivW2OSwS/s475/55824850._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikidt1BHdgu5HlQkrl2-zRy3o4ZICYAsuwluhJmqFrEjQ-6etpxTC97-yG65C2IbUUE6irMBnAdQSwk-CqTOK5ARyqWw58jwOorttNsIrNfbT5XYOD3Ju38jG6vcjayisoYxplivW2OSwS/w268-h400/55824850._SY475_.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">She Sees Ghosts</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">by David Fitz-Gerald</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333300; text-align: justify;"><div style="font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.itsoag.com/" target="_blank">David Fitz-Gerald</a> </span></div><div style="font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publication Date</u>: 25th October 2020</span></div><div style="font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Outskirts Press</span></div><div style="font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 270</span></div><div style="font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Genre</u>: Historical / Supernatural </div><div style="font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Purchase Links</u>: <span style="text-align: start;"><a href="https://books2read.com/sheseesghosts" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a></span></div></div><p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A blazing fire killed her family and devoured her home. A vengeful demon haunted her. Ghosts of the Revolutionary War needed help that only she could provide. A young woman languished, desperate to survive, and teetered on the edge of sanity.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mehitable grew up in a freshly tamed town, carved from the primeval forest. Family, friends, and working at the mercantile filled her days and warmed her heart. For Mehitable, life was simple and safe, until tragedy struck. When her family perished in their burning home, she retreated into a world of her own making.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a young girl, she had seen glimmers, glimpses, and flickers of the spirit world. She closed her eyes. She turned her back. She ignored the apparitions that she never spoke of, desperately hoping they would leave her in peace. She was mistaken.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Grief-stricken, Mehitable withdrew from the human world. Ghosts were everywhere. They became bolder. She could no longer turn her back on the spirit world. Her friends feared for her survival. Nobody understood her. She would have to find her own way.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fans of TV's Ghost Whisperer and Long Island Medium will especially love She Sees Ghosts. This historical novel features memorable characters and delivers bone-tingling, spine chilling goosebumps. It stands on its own and it is the next installment in the Adirondack Spirit Series by the award-winning author of Wanders Far―An Unlikely Hero's Journey. David Fitz-Gerald delivers a historical novel with a bittersweet ending that you won't see coming.</span></div></span><p></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: inherit; 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text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Inspiration Behind </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, by David Fitz-Gerald</span></span></i></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></i></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></i></span></b></div><p></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71_Pj4DBn7m_sL8gzqDUgJcHY2LrANMZbYyS6e1oRXqR1m8Pwm-l86G8msxv2j7BniO-7tsJJcurV_1yRp_QV8wjvEB1laCYfIWqdebgh060qgt8lsZznpl8p9-0lr5JAqAFj0OlrScH3/s1280/download+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71_Pj4DBn7m_sL8gzqDUgJcHY2LrANMZbYyS6e1oRXqR1m8Pwm-l86G8msxv2j7BniO-7tsJJcurV_1yRp_QV8wjvEB1laCYfIWqdebgh060qgt8lsZznpl8p9-0lr5JAqAFj0OlrScH3/s320/download+%25282%2529.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the fact that this book is called <span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> and my series is called the Adirondack Spirit Series, this book is historical fiction. When I was in high school, a long time ago, I took an elective class called The Novel as History. I loved that class, and I think it was the only class I got a</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">n</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> “A” in that year. Many years later, that inspiration has become a passion for writing historical fiction.</span></span></span><p></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Maybe I’m gullible or highly open to suggestion. If there is a case to be made, I’m likely to believe. </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I am happy to entertain the possibilities, w</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">hether it’s the loch ness monster, aliens, bigfoot, portals, ESP, reincarnation, or ghosts. What makes ghosts stand out from other phenomena is that I believe I’ve seen a ghost myself</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">―</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the ghost of my grandfather. He visited me in the 1980s</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> and I haven’t stopped thinking about that encounter after all of these years. It was just a moment. I don’t think he was expecting me to be in his study. It was a very peaceful visitation, yet it scared me to the core. I’m still not sure I’m open to being visited by spirits myself, but I am always intrigued by supernatural and paranormal possibilities. Who says those concepts can’t stand alongside proven historical facts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">?</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><i><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> is the story of Mehitable Munch, a young woman who turned sixteen on New Year’s Eve in 1799. She was born in one rural frontier town at the edge of the woods and moved with her friends to another unsettled wilderness.</span></span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What inspired the character of Mehitable Munch? She grew within my head as I was finishing the first book in my Adirondack Spirit Series. She revealed herself to me, shyly, a little bit at a time. I was trying to write the next installment, set immediately after the end of Wanders Far, but Mehitable forced me to set that story aside, so that I could tell her story instead. I would claim that she </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">i</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">s a fictional character, created within my imagination, but for a fictional character, she sure seemed to insist on telling the story that appears in </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. I can’t prove her existence, but perhaps she isn’t fictional after all.</span></span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I love it when I’m working on a story. Usually</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> my inspiration for characters and storylines come to me as I’m lying awa</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ke</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, getting ready to fall asleep. I often have to email myself a note so that I won’t forget it when I wake up. </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As a writer, I like to always have a story percolating in my head. </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I think readers feel the same way</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. W</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">e always want to have a </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">book that we’re in the process of reading.</span></span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This book is my first attempt to write </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">an entire novel </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">from a woman’s point of view. I wasn’t sure how it would come out, but the first two women who read </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> told me that I </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">did a good job meeting that challenge. As an author, I enjoy </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">imagining that I am </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">walking in the shoes of characters who are very unlike myself. That might be my favorite thing about creating fiction. </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">W</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">e are told that we can become anything we want</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> when we are children</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. For authors, that’s certainly true. Since I completed writing </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, I’ve been working on two books</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> and I’m writing both of them in the first person. I wish I had done that for </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. I find writing in the first person very inspiring.</span></span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What inspires me </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">while</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I’m writing? For one thing, I am grateful for the existence of coconut mocha coffee. My other muse is music.</span></span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As I was writing </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, new wave music was resurgent on my playlists. I think I’ve listened to Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Yaz, and the Thompson Twins more in the last two years than I did in the 1980s</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">―</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">also, Tammy Wynette. I’m sure that Spotify is counting, and I can’t imagine that anyone has played </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Essential Tammy Wynette</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> album more than I have.</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> There is so much more to her music than that one song everybody knows</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Stand </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">B</span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">y Your Man</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I find it helps me get in</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">to</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> the zone</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> when I listen to very familiar music repetitively</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I credited Joan Jett and the Blackhearts</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> when I passed the CPA exam in 1991</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. For </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts</span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I have to thank Tammy Wynette</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. Her 1969 album titled </span></span><span class="x_s4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Inspiration</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">wa</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">s my “go-to.” When I hit play on that, my brain kn</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">e</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">w that it </span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">wa</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">s time to write.</span></span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">W</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">hat inspires me most as a writer is the hope of creating something that readers will love. Recently, someone told me that I was her favorite author</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> and I was blown away. Did you ever read a book that you couldn’t get off of your mind, even months after you were done reading it? I want to write books like that.</span></span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="x_s3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 14.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="x_bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What better time to get lost in fiction than right now? </span></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kdZOsb0r94f9QVr1rdkSRDYSyeiihQbwFGS1RhLLKSaNLX2NfAkBwKbc0LbupePnNSk0aAy_2DEFY9bk7iOwrHeJBnyhKruGe5yYLx0filnClMoJrg5wv1_sx6PHWqFA86vq82wQRznH/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kdZOsb0r94f9QVr1rdkSRDYSyeiihQbwFGS1RhLLKSaNLX2NfAkBwKbc0LbupePnNSk0aAy_2DEFY9bk7iOwrHeJBnyhKruGe5yYLx0filnClMoJrg5wv1_sx6PHWqFA86vq82wQRznH/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofF9SwRhsjW7XukPGbS89mtv5gfr4abwTPvGNeclSb3RCUYu8nsolvHTnN6zneXMknD50JkH4OPz407xFb2GHkwbDtVHKotsx3W8MNvgA350cz187iYtvvSyH5p_tcBgEzlD3NK27WPDJ/s1280/thumbnail_image0+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofF9SwRhsjW7XukPGbS89mtv5gfr4abwTPvGNeclSb3RCUYu8nsolvHTnN6zneXMknD50JkH4OPz407xFb2GHkwbDtVHKotsx3W8MNvgA350cz187iYtvvSyH5p_tcBgEzlD3NK27WPDJ/s320/thumbnail_image0+%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></i></span></b></div><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b></span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span class="x_s13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">David Fitz-Gerald</span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"> writes fiction that is grounded in history and soars with the spirits. Dave enjoys getting lost in the settings he imagines and spending time with the characters he creates. Writing historical fiction is like making paintings of the past. He loves to weave fact and fiction together, stirring in action, adventure, romance, and a heavy dose of the supernatural with the hope of transporting the reader to another time and place. He is an Adirondack 46-er, which means that he has hiked all of the highest peaks in New York State, so it should not be surprising when Dave attempts to glorify hikers as swashbuckling superheroes in his writing. </span><span class="x_s9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">She Sees Ghosts―A Story of a Woman Who Rescues Lost Souls</span><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"> is the next instalment in the Adirondack Spirit Series.</span></span><span><br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://www.itsoag.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span class="x_s11" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #0563c1; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Website</span></a><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"> • </span><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://twitter.com/AuthorDAVIDFG" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span class="x_s11" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: #0563c1; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Twitter</span></a><span class="x_s2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; 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border: 0px; color: #0563c1; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21.6px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://www.instagram.com/authordavidfitzgerald/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Instagram</a></span></b></span></span></p>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-90515818838811175832021-01-29T01:53:00.000-08:002021-01-29T01:53:30.356-08:00Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLSR1FQyP42b3tbc34m-3jk2Fmu0_8EUWz2eGgmp6jiHfrEaabb_088_3r2DazMPF-E1i3QR77Y1oHR6kP4hTxp4mBbK9TJt3l08h3gJnQgFYQnDizCxzWok-lvpiy8EexfK-dwT8V7-3/s475/16096824._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLSR1FQyP42b3tbc34m-3jk2Fmu0_8EUWz2eGgmp6jiHfrEaabb_088_3r2DazMPF-E1i3QR77Y1oHR6kP4hTxp4mBbK9TJt3l08h3gJnQgFYQnDizCxzWok-lvpiy8EexfK-dwT8V7-3/w264-h400/16096824._SY475_.jpg" width="264" /></a></p><div style="color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">A Court of Thorns and Roses</span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>ACOTAR #1</b></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3433047.Sarah_J_Maas" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">Sarah J. Maas</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 5th May 2015</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: Bloomsbury USA Children</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 432</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: Hardback</span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Library</div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Court-Thorns-Roses-Sarah-Maas/dp/1635575559/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1759C9H5S0D0C&dchild=1&keywords=a+court+of+thorns+and+roses&qid=1611858287&sprefix=a+court+of+thorns%2Caps%2C470&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-sarah-j-maas/1120160516?ean=9781635575569" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>, <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Court-Thorns-Roses-Sarah-J-Maas/9781526605399?ref=grid-view&qid=1611858437957&sr=1-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2dcfuD5asgVNnEjBz0VF3aDZTcUWyGpfQ4hwJzE51xxgSiCST-Ojys9MkfvmQ8vcgBgVpsOTjdxoynVYPeFmaHdw3y9Hp_j0vYORYU_8GLXVjS0Hr9yPVPWsGlvq6XPZ4OkdnnnNBVIt/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2dcfuD5asgVNnEjBz0VF3aDZTcUWyGpfQ4hwJzE51xxgSiCST-Ojys9MkfvmQ8vcgBgVpsOTjdxoynVYPeFmaHdw3y9Hp_j0vYORYU_8GLXVjS0Hr9yPVPWsGlvq6XPZ4OkdnnnNBVIt/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> know that ACOTAR and Throne of Glass are two totally different works and should therefore be considered separately, but you'll find lot of refences to the second in this review, as my mind could not stop comparing the two while reading ACOTAR. I was really disappointed when I read <a href="https://sarainbooklandblog.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-throne-of-glass-by-sarah-j-maas.html" target="_blank">Throne of Glass</a>, so the fact that I did not like it much might actually have had a strong impact on my LOVING ACOTAR because this time, expectations were really low and I was not expecting everything I've felt while reading this magical work. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The thing that surprised me the most about ACOTAR is the radical change I've perceived in Maas' writing style. I loathed how immature and silly the characters appeared in Throne of Glass and I particularly hated the dialogues, which were pointless and vain and did not help me at all in liking the protagonists. I felt like the author did not particularly dwell on descriptive images of the fantasy world she was creating and did not even balance this shortage with an action-packed plot. To be short: it was flat. But ACOTAR on the other hand. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I read a few reviews after reading this book and there a lot of things that I caught thanks to other people's perspective. Just like Throne of Glass, ACOTAR too does have a slow rythm, lots of readers claiming that it took them a while to get into the story. But apparently, I did not have this problem at all. Want to know why? Because I LOVED how descriptive the author had been from the beginning! This time, Maas did not spare us any detail: from the snow-covered forest in which Feyre hunted her preys, to the magical mansion where Tamlin's court resided, to the small silver lake in which they bathed, till the stenching cave where Amarantha formed her wicked reign... everything was brilliantly portraied. I couldn't help but falling in love with everything Feyre laid eyes on and the fact that she was a painter and first person narrator, gave us a wider spectrum of colours and impressions that the average eye might not catch. I still have freshly painted in my mind every image the author has presented us and I find this to be particularly important for a fantasy book, whose aim should be to make the reader evade.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Another big problem I had with Throne of Glass concerned Caelena and how much I detested her and her ambiguity. On the other hand though I immediately liked Feyre, who, in my opinion, shows much more bravery and temperament than the infamous killer Caelena. I loved her pride, her desire to preserve her integrity and the energic way in which she experiences everything. Consequently, I really enjoyed the romance in this book too as it felt natural and mature and well-structured. I was not expecting this book to be so damn sexy and after reading the stupid altercations between Caelena and Dorian, I was certainly not expecting to experience such a mature and incredibly seductive relationship between the two protagonists.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The building of Tamlin and Feyre relationship actually occupies 3/4 of the book and then eventually, the real action kicks in. I really liked where the book went and the whole thing about the curse, but if I have to be honest, it was problably the part I liked the least. From that moment on, infact, we see way less of Feyre and Tamlin and at that point all my mind was craving about was actually to have more of their moments. However, I can see that the author certainly has a lot of surprises ready for me in the following books, and I'm thrilled by the impression that with all the courts and other worlds implied in this first installment, ACOTAR might actually resemble a medieval fantasy, although with Faes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">... Just, can I be cruel about just one thing? Dear Sarah J. Maas, why do you always have to put that love-triangle clichè thing into your works?! I mean with stupid Dorian and that poor Chaol it was no problem, but what when I love both Tamlin and Rhys? What if I don't want to switch team? I'm sure you'll get to me and I already hate you for this!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Eehm, ehm. So sorry for the little outburst. Well, to finish, this book has earned my whole heart and therefore 5 brilliant stars and the possibility to become one of my new favorite fantasy series! Now I can go back and wait on my Amazon parcel of book #2, #3,#4.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_TFV_qfLfiDk_LGLsAc-zIzyHO4LrKYp9R1t-kbavi9PszUn4Vs4RjaNkHnP08_wxXY-9ulSY_1WD3cBkUCZgQMJZk7nhlfUa0oBxUDGDFD1Qb2WfZ5edGhvCtx3aCBwPKALyhMOnvdMN/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_TFV_qfLfiDk_LGLsAc-zIzyHO4LrKYp9R1t-kbavi9PszUn4Vs4RjaNkHnP08_wxXY-9ulSY_1WD3cBkUCZgQMJZk7nhlfUa0oBxUDGDFD1Qb2WfZ5edGhvCtx3aCBwPKALyhMOnvdMN/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoK25gQYWcK66oJKz7LBKM_1gu1Eq8I_bzqS8fxSX1_PnhfzQ7ez0-mkthGrAM_FDnQs-CiqUJGz1570Xym8GdLOl7gdlkNpd3VVrykKlbBoeglR_x_3EzwtPcwVoJCRAquRUwdF_y_Ns2/s247/5+stelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoK25gQYWcK66oJKz7LBKM_1gu1Eq8I_bzqS8fxSX1_PnhfzQ7ez0-mkthGrAM_FDnQs-CiqUJGz1570Xym8GdLOl7gdlkNpd3VVrykKlbBoeglR_x_3EzwtPcwVoJCRAquRUwdF_y_Ns2/s0/5+stelle.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-54403299252070843582021-01-27T02:38:00.000-08:002021-01-27T02:38:38.796-08:00Book Blitz: The Secret of Dartwood Manor by N.A. Triptow + Giveaway!<p><a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/TheSecretOfDartwoodManorBlitzBanner.png" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" />
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<p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong></strong></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByelps5g_FzykyTOUD09WiLdVDZNzcoCr_0jiv8rSX8gCz-mThh_Iyk9lKmIBm6YpeM02rvC0i0RxLYltBH-tzs4Tsm-1czbY5ZfAJ5nfMW_vkyGhHQHRcWljleUKUdyn3pi4re0PSKvD/s475/56459176._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByelps5g_FzykyTOUD09WiLdVDZNzcoCr_0jiv8rSX8gCz-mThh_Iyk9lKmIBm6YpeM02rvC0i0RxLYltBH-tzs4Tsm-1czbY5ZfAJ5nfMW_vkyGhHQHRcWljleUKUdyn3pi4re0PSKvD/w261-h400/56459176._SY475_.jpg" width="261" /></a></strong></span></div><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong>The Secret of Dartwood Manor</strong><br /><strong>by N.A. Triptow</strong></span><br /><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: medium;">(The Witchling Trilogy, #1)</span></b><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Publication date</u>: January 18th 2021<br /><u>Genres</u>: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Witches. Ghosts. An ancient secret. Enter a world of myth and magic through this contemporary fantasy reimagining of Jane Austen’s beloved classic, <em>Sense and Sensibility</em>.</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The small New England town of Tarryville, Maine is steeped in history, having been settled by the Dartwood and Farris families who fled Salem during the witch trials. The Dartwood sisters, Eden, Mariah, and Melissa, unexpectedly return home after their parents are found murdered. Upon their arrival, the girls are plagued by dreams in which dark spectral beings haunt them. When the hellish creatures seem to be more than just nightmares, another mystery begins to unravel as they discover that the circumstances around the murder of their parents may be far more menacing than they appear. Frantic for answers, they must untangle the mystery of their parents ’murders and reconstruct the pieces of an ancient secret. With the help of the young assistant curator of their family museum, Baden Correia, and an estranged friend from their past, Evan Farris, the orphaned Dartwood sisters must uncover the truth before the darkness haunting their family descends upon them as well.</p>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56459176-the-secret-of-dartwood-manor" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://amzn.to/2KzHIHa" target="_blank">Amazon</a></p><p style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXdHS8Mq1s0ElwFg2jAwrxc7sjQKrvZOoKsXCxtffWhHEg8viu9PkAMta3dWFIavm4w2SoQhz_0FkhwRDH1riRUhtruxk6y7VyrvcsvwSnDUzGAjMvmVknbc0QBFz3d97l1ZLqYq8ECn2/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXdHS8Mq1s0ElwFg2jAwrxc7sjQKrvZOoKsXCxtffWhHEg8viu9PkAMta3dWFIavm4w2SoQhz_0FkhwRDH1riRUhtruxk6y7VyrvcsvwSnDUzGAjMvmVknbc0QBFz3d97l1ZLqYq8ECn2/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Read an excerpt</span></b></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Have a good night, Dr. McConnell,” Baden held the door for one of their regulars as the woman exited the Dartwood Library and Museum. She was the last patron of the evening. Locking the door behind her, he turned to finish cleaning up</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">for the night. Returning a few stray books to their homes on the shelves and throwing scraps of paper in the trash was all he had left to do. As he made his way toward one of the tables, his attention was drawn toward a nearby bookshelf. He could hear a voice whispering something. Someone was behind that shelf.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Hello?” Baden called out. Hearing only more whispering, he headed for the bookshelf, spotting the silhouette of a woman. Wondering how he had missed her before, he turned the corner and said, “I’m sorry but we’re closed for the eve—” His words cut short as he froze in place, staring at the suddenly empty space behind the bookshelf.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Baden,” a woman chimed from across the room.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Who’s there?” he called out, spinning on his heals. How had the woman crossed the room so quickly?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Don’t you remember me, old friend?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Baden followed the voice into the center of the room and caught the tail of a white cloak that only partially obscured what appeared to be a toga rushing behind another bookshelf. He had finished his rounds through the museum checking for patrons. No one else had been there. He was certain. Now, staring at the strange silhouette gliding behind the shelves, he couldn’t help but think of the Dartwoods. They had been murdered at night in their own home. “This isn’t funny,” he tried to speak with confidence, but it came out as little more than a whimper.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“They’ve finally come,” the voice seemed to be coming from everywhere despite the fact that he could distinctly see her gliding in front of him.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“Who’s come?” He made his way around the shelves to face the woman, but she was gone once more. When no answer came, he closed his eyes. “You’re just tired,” he said to himself, shaking his head, before opening his eyes. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The whispering began again, this time closer. It was right on the other side of the bookshelf he was standing next to. Slowly he turned and saw the silhouette behind the shelf. Inhaling, he placed a weak hand on the spine of the massive text that obstructed his view of her. The whispering was still a constant hum, but he’d have to be quick if he wanted to avoid her disappearing again. Rapidly, he pulled the book out of its place and was met with the weary expression of a frail old woman, her milky eyes boring into him, though he doubted they could see much of anything. “Que susto!” he all but screamed, leaping back. He recognized her. She’d been in his nightmare the night of the murder. Somehow, though, her visage felt more familiar than the simple memory of a dream. He knew her, but he did not know how.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">“They are in danger,” the crone hissed in warning, and then she was gone. She hadn’t run away or moved to the side. She had merely vanished.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Placing the book back on the shelf, he buried his face in his hands. There was no way he had seen a woman just disappear in front of him. It was impossible. </p>
<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, he jumped. Sighing a laugh, he tried to clear his thoughts. It must have been a hallucination brought on by grief and stress. There was no other explanation. Stilling himself, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and went to finish cleaning up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0ED3pDHRZnm_xC8j5jiNBfxE3enSMFa_J_VDJoR23yyXrnr6SgSzFI7-00AubjvIPpmhuuJH3Uf2WIqH612kos6HjMJAqgBi2bvy4i1g7QqCIg5wOS9IB8txC49XCDXXhpml2y_vytuK/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0ED3pDHRZnm_xC8j5jiNBfxE3enSMFa_J_VDJoR23yyXrnr6SgSzFI7-00AubjvIPpmhuuJH3Uf2WIqH612kos6HjMJAqgBi2bvy4i1g7QqCIg5wOS9IB8txC49XCDXXhpml2y_vytuK/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>
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<p><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">About the author:</span></b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">N. A. Triptow graduated from The University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in English Teaching with minors in History Teaching, Theatre, and British Studies. She teaches high school English and Film Studies. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Strategic Communication and Advertising from Purdue University. In her free time, you can find her reading, watching and analyzing movies and television shows, attending the theatre, going on walks or hikes, and playing board or video games with family and friends. She lives in Utah.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">For more from Nicole, including character artwork, playlists, swag, excerpts, trailers, and more, visit her website!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
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<p> </p>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653920350836253031.post-30170279945103235552021-01-24T03:55:00.000-08:002021-01-24T03:55:39.735-08:00Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-BREfnextA1q-D8vJoFP8xex_Io7B52mi5eksqJGx5h6FmvCEqFMlpk2LK_jlqNU9dbZQ6I65igIH9TkDoDRhwIoQr7jXJJ9OnHDkkhoazmilxpsvDgUpKqHVkWVr8zvM7da9zRVBG4f/s475/30075662._SY475_+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-BREfnextA1q-D8vJoFP8xex_Io7B52mi5eksqJGx5h6FmvCEqFMlpk2LK_jlqNU9dbZQ6I65igIH9TkDoDRhwIoQr7jXJJ9OnHDkkhoazmilxpsvDgUpKqHVkWVr8zvM7da9zRVBG4f/w263-h400/30075662._SY475_+%25281%2529.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div style="color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Aurora Rising</span></span></b></div><div style="color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Aurora Cycle #1</span></span></b></div><div style="color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="color: #333300;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Author</u>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5360335.Amie_Kaufman" target="_blank">Amie Kaufman</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4735144.Jay_Kristoff" target="_blank">Jay Kristoff</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Published</u>: 7th May 2019</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Publisher</u>: <span style="color: #333333;">Knopf Books for Young Readers</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Number of pages</u>: 473</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Format</u>: eBook</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Source</u>: Bought</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Purchase</u>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Aurora-Rising-Cycle-Amie-Kaufman/dp/1524720992/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=aurora+rising&qid=1611486865&sr=8-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/aurora-rising-amie-kaufman/1129141773?ean=9781524720995" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;">B&N</a>, <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Aurora-Rising-Amie-Kaufman/9781524720964?ref=grid-view&qid=1611486969797&sr=1-1" style="color: #2b6da0; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">TBD</a></span></div></div><div style="color: #333300; font-family: Muli, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="color: #333300;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">From Goodreads:</span></span></b></div><div><div style="color: #333300; text-align: justify;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From the internationally bestselling authors of THE ILLUMINAE FILES comes an epic new science fiction adventure.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm</div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates</div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder</div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;">An alien warrior with anger management issues</div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering</div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #181818; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.</span></i></b></div><div style="color: #181818; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #181818; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFOpexWBZyPBzTAPjDeQqrTT8Q5KNjzAI4qkKkKtRzAM_lzhSKHvR3ZCKwtT2wzxBtDioFg-HScd7JgmEbaTTsooDv4HNb1SANBP7zVotbtqkE6SoI2zx1v2quX3HEWxoWISlROa0DuRG/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFOpexWBZyPBzTAPjDeQqrTT8Q5KNjzAI4qkKkKtRzAM_lzhSKHvR3ZCKwtT2wzxBtDioFg-HScd7JgmEbaTTsooDv4HNb1SANBP7zVotbtqkE6SoI2zx1v2quX3HEWxoWISlROa0DuRG/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">My Review</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>This book was just the perfect concoction of funny characters, incredible setting, action-packed plot and such a sarcastic but incredibly flowing and captivating writing style. I've never heard of these authors before, even though their books are quite popular... but wanna know something funny? I always get a little suspicious when books are written by more than one author because this makes me confused about how much there is of one and the other. I've never read anything by Amie Kaufam or Jay Kristoff singularly so I actually don't know who has the most merit of creating such an incredible work, but they did it!</div><div><br /></div><div>I loved this book from the very first pages! You know how it works with certain books: there is love at first line and then there are those who slowly creep under your skin. With this one, it was definitely an instant connection and an instant need to discover more about what was happening to Aurora and how the craziest, funniest and clumsiest squad of space would manage to survive this journey. The style of these authors combined, certainly made the magic. I immediately recognized a familiarity and a capacity to involve the reader directly, so strong, that I felt attached to Tyler from the first moment he addressed me with that sweet yet funny character of his. </div></div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;">I have never read books set in space, so the fact that I felt completely new to this world, while I usually feel like I've already read everything there is to read out there, certainly gained another great score from me. Everything felt new: the modernity of the Academy, the technology with which the squads traveled, the Void that allowed them to cross the Galaxy in the matter of hours! It was all fascinating and incredibly catchy for a newby like me. I loved the storyline, which the authors introduced from the very beginning and that they managed to keep as the main focus through all the book, despite having little adventures and obstacles that just make the plot richer and more entertaining. But another thing that made it all for me, was definitely the variety and attractiveness of the protagonists of this galactic journey. I loved all of them! They're all different and yet they complete each other with each of their particular features. I really enjoyed the focus the authors put into making the diversity the center of these characters' friendship as it was heart-warming and sweet to see them getting to know each other and accepting their flaws. I was seriously tempted to buy the second book immediately - because I really can't wait to be reunited with Scar, Aurora, Ty, Zila, Cat and Khal - but at the same time I thought: "How am I supposed to wait till book 3 - yet unpublished - if I immediately devour book 2?!". That's the kind of addiction this book gave me, the one that forces you to rationing stocks in order to survive.</div><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;">So. This book totally surprised me in the most positive way. I can't wait to buy book 2 and I'll be sure to check out any other works by these brilliant two authors, who undoubtedly win 5 big fat stars from me!</div><div style="color: #181818; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #181818; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdD4GumBe3pjsh_txBoWyuzSYDz6_7-H9j1FMsryvnmww3M5yjMc68CYIxL482M_Yc8KS0y0UOwMyjZaNBUvkzlQvxaaqxLPqS8pI8s1EGWXnkqdYXErLWrf6YhOcJCk2moLIpDtU6D3B/s400/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="31" data-original-width="400" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdD4GumBe3pjsh_txBoWyuzSYDz6_7-H9j1FMsryvnmww3M5yjMc68CYIxL482M_Yc8KS0y0UOwMyjZaNBUvkzlQvxaaqxLPqS8pI8s1EGWXnkqdYXErLWrf6YhOcJCk2moLIpDtU6D3B/w400-h31/ShabbyBlogsDividerI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">Rated</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_M6c2n6vEmLpj_SY90XR74Z8rxSZ2aHDpRJovB4RXr3QQHd2DYJfo9T7Z8hcDTP6nbiNkZTJNWepS4guZvYL_FI_cMSXMnxXIFZhf0HNLPXJ9nArHDiRDGrcBf51-RbP8fbYh3LTCSLCT/s247/5+stelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_M6c2n6vEmLpj_SY90XR74Z8rxSZ2aHDpRJovB4RXr3QQHd2DYJfo9T7Z8hcDTP6nbiNkZTJNWepS4guZvYL_FI_cMSXMnxXIFZhf0HNLPXJ9nArHDiRDGrcBf51-RbP8fbYh3LTCSLCT/s0/5+stelle.jpg" /></a></div></b></div></span></div></span></div><p></p>Sara In Booklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08450184844772906945noreply@blogger.com0