Hi everyone!
It's time for something a little new today as I take part in my first ever Book Blitz to promote Upside Down by N.R. Walker. So, for those of you who don't know, with a book blitz, I haven't actually read the book, I'm just helping to promote it. I'm not sure how many of this sort of post I'll be doing but since I've been lacking in the blog department lately I figured you might enjoy this. This book certainly sounds like a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to reading it when it's released! Keep reading to find out more (and for your chance to win a $40 Amazon Gift Card (open internationally)!
Genre: LGBTQ+/Romance
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Jordan O’Neill isn’t a fan of labels, considering he has a few. Gay, geek, a librarian, socially awkward, a nervous rambler, an introvert, an outsider. The last thing he needs is one more. But he when he realises adding the label ‘asexual’ might explain a lot, it turns his world upside down.
Hennessy Lang moved to Surry Hills after splitting with his boyfriend. His being asexual had seen the end of a lot of his romances, but he’s determined to stay true to himself. Leaving his North Shore support group behind, he starts his own in Surry Hills, where he meets first-time-attendee Jordan. A little bewildered and scared, but completely adorable, Hennessy is struck by this guy who’s trying to find where he belongs. Maybe Hennessy can convince Jordan that his world hasn’t been turned upside down at all, but maybe it’s now—for the first time in his life—the right way up.
Sound good? Now, check out the excerpt below!
As always, you can add the book to your Goodreads TBR by clicking on the book cover above and feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below!
Now, enter here for your chance to win a $40 Amazon gift card. This competition is open internationally!
Welcome to my stop of the Princess of Baker Street blog tour.
I'd been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time and I'm excited to finally share my review with you! Big thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to participate.
Rating: 4 STARS
Genre: LGBT/YA/Contemporary
Series/Standalone: Standalone How I got this book: ARC from Xpresso Book Tours
“Always wear your imaginary crown” is Joey Kinkaid’s motto. For years, Joey, assigned male at birth, led the Baker Street kids in daring and imaginative fantasy adventures, but now that they’re teenagers, being a princess is no longer quite so cool. Especially for a child who is seen by the world as a boy.
Eric Sinclair has always been Joey’s best friend and admirer—Prince Eric to Joey’s Princess Ariel—but middle school puts major distance between them. As Eric’s own life takes a dangerous turn for the worse, he stands by and watches as Joey—who persists in dressing and acting too much like a Disney princess for anybody’s comfort—gets bullied. Eric doesn’t like turning his back on Joey, but he’s learned that the secret to teenage survival, especially with and absent mother, is to fly under the radar. But when Joey finally accepts who she is and comes to school wearing lip gloss, leggings, and a silky pink scarf, the bullies make her life such a misery that she decides to end it all. Eric, in turn, must decide who he really is and what side he wants to stand on… though no matter what he chooses, the consequences with be profound for both teens, and they’ll face them for years to come. Is there a chance the two teens can be friends again, and maybe even more?
Trigger warnings: Transphobia, suicide, parental abandonment.
I'm going to start by saying that I can't comment on how well this book represents trans issues/the trans community and that I am still myself learning more about the different genders and sexuality. From the synopsis, it's clear that this is in no way an easy, fluffy read, and it features some incredibly heavy and hard to deal with themes. It actually surprised me that the story was told from Eric's perspective, when, given the synopsis, I expected it to have been from Joey's. Eric is an extremely complex character. He's living alone following his mother's abandonment, he's trying his hardest stay under the radar so that no one finds out and in his attempts he loses a part of himself, the part that cares for his best friend. Joey is a truly beautiful soul. She wants to live her own life by being true to who she is, and the view, through Eric's eyes, of her struggles and challenges is more than traumatic. "Are you the roadkill or the vulture?" I ask. "I'm the one who's getting ripped into pieces." Personally, I struggled a little with the writing. I'm not sure if it was because of mistakes exactly, or the style itself, I just felt as though it jolted me out of the story a few times. But, saying that, the pace and character development was fantastic! "Even through my coat, the weight of her hand feels good because I been so lonely in my cold house this week, but the panic in her expression rips the good away." Whilst there is a lot of pain and torment in this novel, I do think that it's important for young people, especially those who are trans to know that they're not alone, and also for non-trans teens so that they can better understand the challenges faced by their peers and how just being a good friend can make all the difference. "I flop back on the bed and say the only important thing left. "Just tell Joey I'm sorry." Through all of the pain and heartache, I feel that at the very heart of this story is a strong message about being true to yourself, standing up for what's right and important, and the real power of friendship. "But you're the princess of Baker Street."
Click the cover photo above to add the book to your Goodreads TBR and enter below for your chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card! The giveaway is open internationally so everyone can enter and it's hosted by Xpresso Book Tours.
Don't forget to click the banner at the top to follow the rest of the tour and feel free to leave your comments below :)
Welcome to my stop on the Match Me If You Can Blog Tour!
It's my first blog tour of the year and I'm so excited to be back since I haven't done one of these since Halloween. As always, a huge thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to take part! Now, on to the book at hand...
Rating: 3 STARS
Genre: YA/Romance/Contemporary
Series/Standalone: Standalone How I got this book: ARC from Xpresso Book Tours
Mia’s best friend Robyn is known for her matchmaking skills, which is perfect, because homecoming is just around the corner. But Robyn refuses to set Mia up with the guy of her dreams, which forces Mia to take matters into her own hands. She uses Robyn’s matchmaking service to make sure popular Vince Demetrius falls for her.
Vince asks her out, but Mia doesn’t count on Logan, the persistent school newspaper photographer who seems to like her out of the blue. Now she has to choose between Vince – the guy she knows is right for her – and Logan, who insists that she give him a chance. And she needs to make sure Robyn doesn’t find out that Mia’s been matchmaking behind her back. Mia has two weeks before homecoming. Can she fix the mess she made or will she have to kiss her perfect match goodbye forever?
Romance and YA are two of my favourite things and I was really excited to start reading Match Me If You Can.
First impressions of Mia made me think of a younger Bridget Jones. Mia is a bit clumsy and fumbling, so it made her a more real and relatable character, to begin with. I noticed on Goodreads that the book is a re-telling of A Midsummer Night's Dream which becomes more apparent towards the middle of the book when certain relationships begin to entwine and clash. Whilst the plot is super predictable and full of rom-com style clichés, the writing did keep me engaged throughout the story. My favourite thing about this whole book is Logan, who I love. He's sweet, supportive, funny, flirty and heartfelt, and I can't get enough of his scenes. I did have a few problems with Mia's character. To me, she seemed quite shallow and a little vapid, she's constantly ignoring the very obvious truth, as well as her own feelings, and I felt as though I was several steps ahead of her throughout the entire book. The drama also irked me a little as it just seemed a tad over the top and unnecessary but it did fuel the plot and kept the pace moving quickly. The romance was very sweet but I don't want to go into too much detail and ruin the particulars for you, so all I'll say is that this book is a very light, fun and fluffy read, perfect for fans of quick-paced teen rom-coms.
Click the cover photo above to add the book to your Goodreads TBR and enter below for your chance to win a print copy of Match Me If You Can. The giveaway is open to US/CAN only and is hosted by Xpresso Book Tours.
Don't forget to click the banner at the top to follow the rest of the tour and feel free to leave your comments below :)
Today is my stop on the Carols and Chaos blog tour! This book is so Christmassy and so, despite it being Halloween today, I just feel like curling up in front of the fire with a giant mug of hot chocolate.
Rating: 3.5 STARS
Genre: Historical/YA/Romance
Standalone/Series: Standalone How I got this book: ARC from Xpresso Book Tours
A lady's maid and a valet become entangled in a yuletide counterfeiting scheme in this romantic Christmas YA adventure.
1817. The happy chaos of the Yuletide season has descended upon the country estate of Shackleford Park in full force, but lady's maid Kate Darby barely has the time to notice. Between her household duties, caring for her ailing mother, and saving up money to someday own a dress shop, her hands are quite full. Matt Harlow is also rather busy. He's performing double-duty, acting as valet for both of the Steeple brothers, two of the estate's holiday guests. Falling in love would be a disaster for either of them. But staving off their feelings for each other becomes the least of their problems when a devious counterfeiting scheme reaches the gates of Shackleford Park, and Kate and Matt are unwittingly swept up in the intrigue.
Reading this book immediately took me back to all of those hours binge-watching Downton Abbey (gah, I loved that show), I love the upstairs/downstairs drama. At the same time, it reminded me of Pride and Prejudice, specifically the Austen-era, which I also love and so I quickly became engrossed in this sweet story.
The characters are varied and fantastic. Kate is strong-willed, determined and unperturbed by most of the things thrown her way and Matt is the epitome of a true English gentleman. Their fast-paced romance is full of fun and flirtation but entangled with elements of drama and danger that keep the plot intriguing and moving forward. Carols and Chaos is a sweet, lighthearted Christmas read that is perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and Austen novels. As an aside: After reading this book I noticed that it's a spin-off from one of the author's other books, Suitors and Sabotage, but I didn't at any point feel as though I'd missed anything by not reading it, so I'm happy to say that this can be read as a standalone.
Click the cover photo above to add the book to your Goodreads TBR and enter below for your chance to win a signed copy of Carols and Chaos. The giveaway is open internationally and is hosted by Xpresso Book Tours.
Don't forget to click the banner at the top to follow the rest of the tour and feel free to leave your comments below :) Happy Halloween!!
Welcome to my stop on the Hush blog tour!!
As always, big thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to join in with the tour, I love doing review tours as it's a great way to discover new books and authors! This week's book is Hush by A.M. Salinger, which is book 8 of the authors' Nights series, although it can be read as a standalone.
Rating: 3 STARS
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Standalone/Series: Nights Series #8 - (Can be read as a standalone) How I got this book: ARC from Xpresso Book Tours
Tom Sutherland is an arrogant prick. There, I said it. Okay, so he’s also my assistant and I couldn’t survive without him, but that doesn’t make him less of an irritating bastard — Lana
Lana Keele is a witch. A beautiful, frustrating witch placed on this earth to torment me. Yeah, she’s my boss, but she’s still the most maddening creature I’ve ever had the misfortune to cross paths with — Tom When Lana Keele, president of Keele Industries and only surviving heir to business tycoon Oliver Keele, wakes up in her devil-of-an-assistant’s bed after a drunken night out, she fears the worst. That is, until prissy Mr. Perfect Tom Sutherland declares that she’s the last woman he’d ever want to sleep with. After surviving four years in the company of the infuriating woman he’d lusted after since his teens, Tom has had just about enough of the unholy siren that is Lana, especially when she turns up inebriated on his doorstep one night and demands sex. Convinced that Lana will never return his affections, Tom decides that it’s high time to get over his unrequited love. Except Lana doesn’t quite seem to agree with this plan. Not after she sees him with another woman. Not after she confronts him about it. And most definitely not after he succumbs to temptation and kisses her. As they finally ignite the fire that has burned so long between them, Tom cannot help but be certain that for Lana, this is just about sex. Will he be satisfied with only having the body of the woman he loves and not possess her heart? Or will Lana convince Tom that she truly means to give him her everything?
Hush is the first book that I've read by this author and since I'm always looking to discover new romance authors I jumped at the chance to review it. The synopsis struck me as an enemies to lovers style trope (which I love) and I read the book in just a couple of hours.
It's also the first novella I've read in quite a while and I found myself flying through it. As it's a novella, the story kicks off straight away with Lana waking up in her assistant's bed with a blazing hangover and no idea what happened the night before. Tom and Lana's relationship quickly heats up, with the tension between them building rapidly. The chemistry between the two characters sizzles off the page and the love scenes are SUPER descriptive, if a little cringe-worthy at times, but that's just my opinion. Some of the characters in this book are clearly from the other books in the series but I never really felt as though there was something I'd missed because the author gives a quick overview to introduce each character. Although this book is categorised as a contemporary romance on Goodreads, I'd personally class it as erotic romance as it seems that the sex is at the forefront of the novella with the plot taking a bit of a backseat. I did like that the secondary characters in the book were diverse in terms of their sexuality but I was massively confused by the fact that this book is supposed to be set in Shanghai but I think every single character is white. It would have been nice to have some cultural representation going on here, otherwise why choose Shanghai as a setting at all? Unless I'm missing something here.... The writing style was fun and fast-paced and after looking at the synopsis and reviews of some of the other books in this series, I'm definitely interested in finding out what more A.M. Salinger has to offer. Overall, this was a fast paced, hot read with a simple, fairly drama-free plot and a guaranteed HEA.
Click the cover photo above to add the book to your Goodreads TBR and enter below for your chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card + 2 signed paperback copies of Hush (Open Internationally - giveaway hosted by Xpresso Book Tours).
Finally, you can click the banner at the top to follow the rest of the tour and feel free to leave your comments below :)
Welcome to my stop on The Soul Keepers blog tour!!
Big thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to participate, I really enjoyed reading this book and I'm excited to share my review with you all.
Rating: 3.5 STARS
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Standalone/Series: Standalone How I got this book: ARC from Xpresso Book Tours
Death is just the beginning.
After dying in a terrible car accident, Rhett awakens in the afterlife and is recruited to join the crew of the Harbinger, a colossal seafaring vessel tasked with ferrying the souls of the dead. To where exactly, no one knows. But the crew must get the souls there, and along the way protect them from vicious soul-eating monsters that will stop at nothing to take the ship and all of its occupants. Rhett and his new friends have a hard enough time fighting back the monsters that grow bolder and more ferocious every day. But then a new threat emerges, a demon who wants something that Rhett has. And if she gets it, it could mean the end of everything... for both the living and the dead.
This book took me COMPLETELY by surprise!
I admit that I struggled a little to get into it at the beginning but I quickly got caught up in the fantastic mythology. To sum it up, this book felt like a mixture of Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and a modern spin on Greek mythology. I loved the writing style, particularly when it came to the action scenes which were fantastic, and also the plot twists which were extremely unexpected. The characters were varied and interesting, keeping me engaged throughout and the mythology is fascinating, especially the ship itself, and its changing nature. My only complaint with this book was the ending, I just felt that it left so many unanswered questions. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend The Soul Keepers to mythology and YA fantasy lovers in general.
You can click the cover photo above to add the book to your Goodreads TBR and enter below for your chance to win a print copy of The Soul Keepers (US/CAN only - giveaway hosted by Xpresso Book Tours).
Finally, you can click the banner at the top to follow the rest of the tour and feel free to leave your comments below :)
Welcome to my stop on the To Be Honest blog tour!
I'm so excited to share my review with you all! I've had my eye on this book for ages because I'm always looking for more body positive rep and I was thrilled at the chance to read it, so huge thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to participate in the tour!
Rating: 5 STARS!
Genre: Contemporary YA
Standalone/Series: Standalone How I got this book: ARC from Xpresso Book Tours
Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her sister goes off to college. But if she can just get through senior year, she’ll be able to escape to college, too. What she doesn’t count on is that her mother’s obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy’s mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats.
Between her mom’s diet-helicoptering, missing her sister, and worrying about her collegiate future, Savvy has enough to worry about. And then she meets George, the cute new kid at school who has insecurities of his own. As Savvy and George grow closer, they help each other discover how to live in the moment and enjoy the here and now before it disappears.
I just want to jump up and down and rave about this amazing book, so you'll have to bear with me here! First of all, here's a quick summary of what I LOVE most about this book:
This book was impossible to put down from the moment I started reading, and I flew through it so quickly that I could honestly read it again. I love Savannah, I love her confidence, her positive outlook and attitude, her loyalty and her compassion. "News flash: fat isn't a bad word, Mom." I also love that she's completely relatable. She has principles that she stands by, she has her own insecurities, and she has anxiety (something I feel is portrayed exceptionally well by the author, especially since not one single person treats it as a problem or a burden they have to deal with or as something that she should just 'get over'). "It suddenly felt like all the air had been pushed out of my lungs. I swayed on my feet as the ringing in my ears began. No matter how many panic attacks I had, my body always believed that it was dying." I also found Savannah likeable and truly funny, this book had me chuckling so many times, especially when she's around George and her thoughts take a turn for the amusing. "My mouth watered (for multiple reasons, mostly the pizza, though, to be honest) and I invited him inside." Parts of this book were a little tough for me personally. I've "struggled" with my body image my entire life, and truthfully, a lot of that stems from people close to me telling me that they're worried for me, that I should try to be more healthy to the point where I no longer felt comfortable in my own skin. The way Savannah's mum treats her perfectly illustrates the things I've gone through in my own life and honestly, there were moments that were so real they had me close to tears. "You'd be a lot happier if you could just make the choice to lead a healthier life." One thing that Savannah has that I didn't is an amazing, supportive friend. I absolutely adore Grace, Savannah's best friend, who is always in Savannah's corner. Then there's George; sweet, naive, blushing George. The romance in this book is completely adorable, especially as both George and Savannah are a little clueless when it comes to expressing their feelings. If you're looking for more body positivity in your life, if you're sick and tired of body shaming and reading books with toxic friendships, I urge you to read To Be Honest. I especially recommend to fans of Becky Albertalli who I think will adore Maggie Ann Martin's writing style! I'm so thankful to Maggie Ann Martin for writing this fantastic book and to Swoon Reads for publishing it! We need more body positive YA. I feel certain that if I'd read more books like this when I was younger, I wouldn't have spent most of my teenage life feeling so insecure. "There's no expiration date on acceptance."
What do you think? Remember that you can click on the cover photo above to add To Be Honest to your Goodreads TBR!
Thanks again for stopping by and joining me on my leg of the tour! Click here to follow the rest of the tour! You can also enter below for your chance to win a print copy of To Be Honest (US/CAN only - giveaway hosted by Xpresso Book Tours)!
Thanks for joining me on my stop of the When Life Gives You Demons by Jennifer Honeybourn blog tour. Big thanks to Giselle at Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to participate!
When Life Gives You Demons
Jennifer Honeybourn Published by: Swoon Reads Publication date: July 17th 2018 Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult Synopsis: Some people have school spirit. Shelby Black has real ones. Shelby Black has spent the past six months training to be an exorcist. Her great-uncle Roy―a Catholic priest―has put her through exorcist boot camp hell, hoping to develop her talent, but ohmygod, he still doesn’t trust her to do an exorcism on her own. High school is hard enough without having to explain that you fight demons for a living, so Shelby keeps her extracurricular activity to herself. The last thing she wants is for her crush, Spencer, to find out what she does in her off time. But Shelby knows how to keep a secret―even a big one. Like the fact that her mom left under mysterious circumstances and it’s all her fault. Shelby is hellbent on finding her mom, no matter what it costs her―even if what it ends up costing her is her soul AND a relationship with Spencer.
Today, I have a fun excerpt from the book to share with you!
What do you think? Intrigued? Keep reading for your chance to win a copy of the book!
Don't forget to add When Life Gives You Demons to your Goodreads TBR! And, follow along with the rest of the blog tour!
Enter here for your chance to win a print copy of When Life Gives You Demons (giveaway hosted by Xpresso Book Tours and open to US/CAN only) - ends 26th July!
a Rafflecopter giveaway Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d04251232542/
Welcome to my stop on the Between Frost and Fury Blog Tour!!
I have been ridiculously excited for this book ever since I read book one, Amid Stars and Darkness last year and so I just want to say a huge thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for letting me join in the fun and to Swoon Reads for the gorgeous ARC. Feel free to check out my review of Amid Stars and Darkness and keep reading for my review of Between Frost and Fury!
Rating: 5 STARS!!
Genre: Sci-Fi/YA/Romance
Standalone/Series: The Xenith Trilogy #2 How I got this book: ARC from Swoon Reads
Delaney might have done her job a little TOO well…and now her life has once again been turned upside down by aliens, this time by a deadly (and devastatingly handsome) alien prince in this explosive second installment of Chani Lynn Feener’s The Xenith Trilogy.
Delaney has been kidnapped by aliens. Again. After only a month back on Earth with her hot new alien boyfriend Ruckus, the deadly and devastatingly handsome prince Trystan has dragged her right back to his planet. While some girls may dream of winning a prince’s heart, Delaney just wishes this one would leave her alone. Instead, she finds herself at the center of both a tense political battle between two alien kingdoms and Trystan’s romantic attentions, both of which are absolutely ruining the life she’s built on Earth. Not to mention the fact that she’s about to be crowned queen of a planet she’s barely even visited. Just another day in the life of an ordinary human girl. Readers won’t want to miss Between Frost and Fury, the compelling, fast-paced sequel to Chani Lynn Feener’s Amid Stars and Darkness.
Okay, so what I LOVE about this book is that it literally jumps right back in where the previous book finished, there's no missing time in between, no catching up to do, you're just immediately immersed back into the action and carried through the story by the amazing pace.
The book actually starts with a brand new P.O.V from Ruckus, and I love that we get to hear from both him and (mostly) Trystan throughout this book. If it wasn't already clear, am I totally in this for Trystan! ?? I guess I have a thing for bad boys with hidden depths... Delaney is fantastic. No matter what happens to her, she still manages to keep her composure and her sharp tongue. "I'm not afraid of you," she told him, holding up a finger when he opened his mouth to argue. "I'm not. I'm afraid of the things you might do, yes. But of you personally? What's to be afraid of? Is it the scared little boy who'd rather steal someone else's toy than fix his own broken one?" I also can't help but smile in every scene where she purposefully goes out of her way to annoy Trystan! It's too cute, and it's great to see the new depths to these characters. I could not put this book down, and when I was forced to, I couldn't stop thinking about the characters. They made me smile, swoon and worry. My heart raced, and almost stopped altogether right at the end. Brace yourselves for another amazing, cliffhanger-style ending! ??? It's strange, because two things I'm generally not a huge fan of in books are cliffhangers and love triangles. This series has both and I LOVE them! I can't get enough of the tension, the drama, the conflict and ALL THE FEELS!! This is one of my absolute favourite series' so far. In this book, we get to explore more of the author's world, I absolutely loved the new wintry location and the introduction of some fantastic new characters, and foods! After the jaw-dropping ending, I can't wait for book 3 - I desperately need to find out how this ends, even if I don't want it to end at all!!
What do you think? Remember that you can click on the cover photo above to add Between Frost and Fury to your Goodreads TBR!
Thanks again for stopping by and joining me on my leg of the tour! Click here to follow the rest of the tour! You can also enter below for your chance to win a print copy of Between Frost and Fury (US/CAN only - giveaway hosted by Xpresso Book Tours)! Thanks for joining me on my stop of the UK blog tour for The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross. This is my first ever blog tour and I'm so glad that it's to celebrate the release of this amazing book! Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for allowing me to participate. 😊 I read this book back in December and fell utterly in love with the story. The Beast is phenomenal. The new insight and unique viewpoint blew me away and made this book one of my favourite retellings of all time! If you haven't already, you can check out my review of The Beast's Heart and scroll down for your chance to win a gorgeous hardback copy of this book. Seriously, look at how pretty it is with all that gold foiling! 😍😍 The lovely folks at Hodder & Stoughton are kindly providing a free book to one lucky winner, so here's your chance to enter (UK only): - Comment below with your favourite fairytale - don't forget to include a valid email address! One lucky winner will be chosen at random. Entries open until midnight tonight (08/05/2018) and a winner will be announced tomorrow! Good luck! Don't forget to check in with the rest of the blog tour:
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About Kay (She/Her)
Book addict, film mad, music lover, business owner, writer and mum (not necessarily in that order), living in the UK. About Sophie (She/Her)
Sophie loves books (obviously). She has a passion for photography and spotting wildlife, and is interested in anything made with passion and creativity. THIS BLOG IS SPOILER FREE!
Rating system: 5 Stars - AMAZING!! 4.5 Stars - Almost perfect! 4 Stars - I really loved it 3.5 Stars - I liked it alot 3 Stars - I liked it (I don't typically review books that I rate below 3 stars)
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