Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Blog Tour - The Boyfriend Bet by Chris Cannon (Excerpt + Giveaway)


Hello everyone! Today I am one of the stops for The Boyfriend Bet blog tour hosted by YA BOUND BLOG TOURS. I have read The Boyfriend Bet and enjoyed it so check out my review below! Keep scrolling to learn more about the book, read an excerpt, and enter a giveaway! 


The Boyfriend Bet (Boyfriend Chronicles #2)
by Chris Cannon
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Published August 22nd, 2016 
Entangled Teen Crush

4 stars - Entertaining read!

Summary:

Zoe Cain knows that Grant Evertide is way out of her league. So naturally, she kisses him. Out of spite. Not only is Grant her brother’s number-one nemesis, but he has zero interest in being tied down to one girl. She’s shocked—and secretly thrilled—when they start spending more time together. Non-exclusively, of course, but that doesn’t mean Zoe can’t change his mind, one PDA and after-school detention at a time.

Zoe’s brother claims Grant is trying to make her his “Ringer,” an oh-so-charming tradition where a popular guy dates a non-popular girl until he hooks up with her, then dumps her. Zoe threatens to neuter Grant with hedge clippers if he's lying but Grant swears he isn’t trying to trick her. Still, that doesn’t mean Grant is the commitment type—even if winning a bet is on the line.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains multiple PDAs, after-school detentions, and gambling on the side. Warning: betting on a boyfriend is bad for your health.


Review:

I was very interested in reading this book once I had read the summary for it, so I was glad when I was included in the blog tour for the book. The Boyfriend Bet was definitely an interesting and entertaining read. There were a few times that the book was a little repetitive, though. Aside from a few other issues that I had, this was a nice summer read! 

I really enjoyed this book in the beginning because of the characters. Zoe was spunky and kind of outspoken. She said and did what she wanted and I enjoyed that for the most part. There were a few times that she was a little overdramatic but she always stuck to what she wanted. I enjoyed the banter between Zoe and Grant in the beginning as well. :) And Zoe's grandma is pretty awesome as well! :D I enjoyed her scenes with Zoe and with the principal. 

It was entertaining to watch Zoe and Grant learn from their mistakes and figure out how to be in a relationship with each other. There were also a few baking parts throughout that were enjoyable. I love baking myself and those scenes had me in the mood to make something. :) 

The Boyfriend Bet was a good read and while I enjoyed most of it, there were a few parts that didn't do it for me personally. I definitely recommend giving this one a try, though! I haven't read the first book in the Boyfriend Chronicles but I'll be looking into that to give it a try as well. :) 

Vanessa



Buy Links:



Excerpt:

Amber stuck to me like glue as we exited the cafeteria, lucky for me, her next class was in the opposite direction so she had to leave. I caught up with Zoe and fell into step beside her.
She made a show of looking around me. “Lose your barnacle?”
I laughed. “Interesting description. Not inaccurate.”
“Even I know the quickest way to make a guy run away is to throw yourself at him.”
“But you threw yourself at me yesterday.”
Her mouth fell open and then she laughed. “Wrong. I used you to annoy my brother.”
“Used me?”
She glanced at me from the corner of her eye grinned as we rounded the corner and headed for Foods class. “You were convenient.”
“Convenient?” I pretended to be offended.
“Pretty much.”
“Is this some sort of reverse psychology? Because if I wanted to kiss you again, I’m one hundred percent sure you’d kiss me back.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
We were twenty feet from the classroom door, but ten feet from a side hall, which led to the restrooms. And I wanted to wipe the all knowing grin off her face. No teachers in the immediate area. What the hell?
When we came even with the side hall, I grabbed her hand and tugged her down the hall.
“What are you doing?”
Answering would take too long. I leaned in and pressed my mouth against hers. She froze for a second, and then she kissed me back. The noise from the hall faded away as she leaned into me.
“Mr. Evertide.”
Damn. I stepped away from Zoe and turned to find the principal glaring at me.
“Sir?”
“Are public displays of affection allowed in this school?” His tone took condescending to a new level.
“No, sir. It won’t happen again.”
“To make sure it doesn’t, you both have detention in my office after school. Now, get to class.”
Zoe shot me a this is all your fault look and headed to class. I followed along, tempted to gloat, but figured it might be better to wait until she wasn’t so angry.
Seconds after we took our seats, Ms. Ida launched into a speech about the different kinds of vanilla. Not that I cared, but I pretended to be fascinated to avoid eye contact with Zoe.
“All right, class. Back to the kitchens and start mixing your cupcakes.”
Jumping out of her seat, Zoe made it to the kitchen before me and started sorting ingredients on the countertop. I strolled back to meet her.
She met my gaze and laughed. “Don’t you look pleased with yourself.”
“Because I was right.” I leaned in like I was checking out the recipe on the countertop and whispered in her ear. “One hundred percent right.”
A quick inhalation from Zoe meant what? Anger? Irritation?
She retrieved a large mixing bowl from one of the cabinets. Grabbing our Ziploc bags full of ingredients, she dumped their contents in the bowl. “Yes, and you are one hundred percent giving me a ride home from detention, because my brother has to work tonight.”
That was not part of my plan. “I don’t-”
She bumped me with her hip, knocking me off balance. “Wrong answer. Try again.”
I caught myself on the counter.
“You brought this on yourself.” She shoved the bowl at me. “Stir this while I crack the eggs.”
“You’re bossy.”
“I prefer to think of myself as confident.”
Why did I suddenly feel like she’d manipulated this entire situation?








About the Author
Award winning author Chris Cannon lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and her three dogs, Pete the shih tzu who sleeps on her desk while she writes, Molly the ever-shedding yellow lab, and Tyson the sandwich-stealing German Shepherd Beagle. She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures and snarky contemporary romance.


Author Links:














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Monday, August 29, 2016

Cover Reveal - The Secret Lives of Rockstars by Suzanne Lazear



Hey everyone! I'm one of the tour stops today for the cover reveal of The Secret Lives of Rockstars  by Suzanne Lazear and hosted by Shine. This book sounds so interesting and I don't think I've ever read anything about Elf Punk so I'll definitely be looking into this. Plus, that cover is so awesome! I absolutely love the colors. :) Look below for more info about the book, author, an excerpt and a giveaway! 


Saving the world, one tour stop at a time.


The Secret Lives of Rockstars: Book One
by Suzanne Lazear
Genre: New Adult Elf Punk, Urban Fantasy
Published September 26th, 2016 by Leap Books

Blurb: 

Saving the world, one tour stop at a time.

Eighteen-year-old Bitsy Butler has never quite fit in, not with the dragons who raised her, the druid who took her in, or even with the non-human members of the cirque noir punk band she thinks of as family. Her chance to prove she can make it on her own comes with her band's first big solo tour. It’s all going according to plan when an angel walks into a bar and demands help with his demon problem. 

If she doesn't step up, a magical war will break out, threatening Arizona and all those who call it home. With the help of a human, a sexy dragon, and the members of her band, Bitsy must stop an angry mob of chaos demons before the band leaves for their next tour stop.

It’s nice to be needed, but Bitsy has no idea how to defeat the demons and she just might get herself killed trying. But then, at least one problem would be solved...

Fitting in doesn’t matter if you’re dead.



Excerpt from The Secret Lives of Rockstars:
“I’m Jake, Jake Messenger. I’d like to speak with you alone, if you please.”
My blood ran cold and everything around us ceased to exist. “Why?”
But I knew. There was only one reason why one of the Grigori would seek me out. Somehow celestials just knew when someone could work gates properly, especially the angels who walked the Earth. Anyone could make gates, but it took a linewalker to work them without it being suicide. Linewalker wasn’t a race, but an inherent ability. One I had.
Also, if the celestials – the angels, demons, and the like – needed help from outsiders, things were very bad. The kind which ended in running, screaming, and death.
I so didn’t need this right now.


About Suzanne Lazear:
Suzanne Lazear spins tales of the fantastic. She’s the author of the New Adult Elfpunk The Secret Lives of Rockstars (Leap Books) and the YA dark fairytale steampunk series The Aether Chronicles (Flux). Suzanne lives in Southern California with her daughter and husband where she’s trying to make tiny dragons out of wool. One day she’ll actually create a working cupcake cannon.


Visit Suzanne on TwitterFacebook, and her website.








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Saturday, August 27, 2016

Bookish News of the Week #1 (August 26th, 2016)



Happy Saturday everyone! Hopefully, everyone has had a great week so far. :) Today I am posting my first Bookish News of the Week. It's not a meme but it is a post that I will hopefully be able to do every week or every other week. I thought I'd post about interesting or big news that has happened throughout the week. Maybe some of it will be news that you guys haven't seen or heard of yet. I found all of this info on Twitter too. :) Here goes nothing! Let me know if you like or if you have any big news of the week! 

*I'll try to post in order of the day info was released.*

Monday, August 22nd, 2016  

- Book Releases! 

Daring the Bad Boy by Monica Murphy and The Boyfriend Bet by Chris Cannon were published by Entangled Crush. YA Bound Book Tours will be hosting a book tour for The Boyfriend Bet and I will be one of the stops on August 31st. So make sure to stop by for a review of the book! 

Daring the Bad BoyThe Boyfriend Bet (Boyfriend Chronicles, #2)


- Sarah Dessen and her 13th book!

Sarah Dessen tweeted the official announcement of her 13th book, Once and For All, on the 20th of this month. She also tweeted again for anyone who missed today so it's part of this week's news. :)  The book is set for a summer 2017 release. Read the official announcement at publishersweekly.com to find out more! 



- Are you into Twitter giveaways? 

If so, Victoria Scott (@AuthorVScott), author of Fire and Flood, is giving away signed swag from various authors until August 30th. The giveaway is also international. Make sure to enter to win if you are interested! Check it out here - https://twitter.com/AuthorVScott/status/767870393034027008

- Rupert Grint and TV 

Rupert Grint will be starring in Snatch, a drama series based on the film by Guy Richie. Honestly not too sure what it's about other than it being inspired by a real-life London heist. There are a few articles around about it but I found my info on USA Today's website. 

- Netflix and Anne of Green Gables

I read Anne of Green Gables when I was younger and I remember liking it. Apparently, a TV adaptation will be produced by CBC and you'll be able to see it on Netflix sometime in 2017. The eight-episode drama will be called Anne. 
Click here for more info - http://www.themarysue.com/netflix-anne/

Shadowhunter Season 2

- Day 1 of Shadowhunters season 2 started filming today! The Shadowhunters television show is based on The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. 
@ShadowhuntersTV tweeted this - 



Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016

Book Releases!

- Under the Lights by Abbi Glines was released today! This is the second book in The Field Party series and I can't wait to get my hands on it. If you haven't read the first book, Until Friday Night, then you definitely should. 

Under the Lights (The Field Party, #2)


Wednesday, August 24th, 2016

- Kasie West and a Cover Reveal!

Epic Reads revealed the cover of By Your Side by Kasie West! By Your Side has to do with two teens stuck in a library overnight. Is there any better place to be stuck? No. I'm so excited for this book and cannot wait until it's released in 2017! The cover was revealed and so was the first chapter. 



 - Cassandra Clare and LoS Snippet 

The 23rd was Clary's birthday (The Mortal Instruments character) and Cassandra Clare posted a snippet from Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) in honor of her birthday! But beware - this is a spoilery snippet if you haven't read Lady Midnight and the story in the back of the book yet!!!



Friday, August 26th, 2016

- Susan Dennard and UK Cover Reveal

Susan Dennard is the author of Truthwitch if you aren't familiar with her. The UK covers for both Truthwitch and Windwitch were released today! Check them out -


- Full-Time Paid Internship! 

Literary "Lit" Hub is hiring a full time paid intern and August 31st is the deadline to submit a resume plus extras. Hurry up and check it out if you are interested! 



- Another Snippet!

Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn) is the author of many beautiful books in case you didn't know. Her NA contemporary, Fire in You, is set to be released in November of this year! This is the 6th novel in the Wait for You series. She released a small snippet from the book today. Warning! This includes spoilers if you haven't read the other books in the Wait for You series! You have been warned!



Hope you all enjoyed this week's Bookish News of the Week post! Hopefully, you learned something new and exciting. :) Let me know what you think.

Vanessa

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday #4

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post and, if you want to, add your name to the Linky widget on that day's posts (typically put up midnight EST on Tuesday) so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Hey, everyone! It's been awhile since I've done a Top Ten Tuesday post and I'm pretty excited to start it up again. Today's topic is Ten Books That Have Been on Your Shelf Since Before You Starting Blogging That You STILL Haven't Read Yet. I actually didn't have a TBR before I started blogging so I couldn't think of any books from before then. So I decided to use ten books that I have had on my TBR the longest since I've started blogging. If that even makes any sense. :D 

Let me know which books you haven't read yet in the comments below! 

*Books in no particular order*

1. Angel Fever (Angel #3) by L.A. Weatherly - The first book in this trilogy was one of the first that I read and reviewed when I started my blog. I absolutely loved it and the concept of Angels in YA. I read the first two books but then stopped because either the third hadn't been released or it wasn't available at my library. I kept meaning to buy the kindle book but never got around to it. I definitely want to finish this trilogy because it kills me to have unfinished series. I'm thinking I'll probably have to re-read the first two books, though...

2. Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay - I can't remember if I wanted to read this because I had read Juliet Immortal but I know I've wanted to read it, like, forever. I'm all for any kind of Beauty and the Beast retelling I can get my hands on so I definitely want to pick this up. I just have to find the time to buy it first. :) 

3. The Girl Who Never Was (Otherworld #1) by Skylar Dorset - I honestly can't remember what this book is about but I know that I still want to read it. I think. I saw this book at Barnes & Noble a few years ago and absolutely loved the cover. I totally wanted to buy it then and there but didn't have the funds at the time. I still kinda like the cover and would definitely give it a try. Maybe someday. :)

4. Fire and Flood (Fire and Flood #1) by Victoria Scott - I remember when this book was released in 2014. There was a good amount of hype and the cover just called my name. But...I still haven't read it! I heard things like Hunger Games and Pokemon combined so I'm still interested in reading. I just have to buy the book first. 

5. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys - I have heard so many great things about this book. I think the reason that I've put it off for so long is because it's Historical Fiction. I read Historical Fiction the least (if at all really) and I just can't get myself to pick it up. I want to though because, like I said, I've heard great things!

6. Angelfire (Angelfire #1) by Courtney Allison Moulton - Another angel book and this one has to do with fallen angels. I think. :) I found this one when I was going through my Fallen Angel and Vampire stage. (Not really over it to be honest.) It sounded interesting then and it kinda sounds interesting now so... I've seen it on BookOutlet so I will buy it at some point. 

7. The Jewel (The Lone City #1) by Amy Ewing - The thing that kills me is that my online library has the second book but not the first! I've wanted to read this one since it was released because of the cover. And that's pretty much the only reason. I don't remember what this one is about but the last two books in this trilogy have pretty good ratings so I'll give this one a try someday. 

8. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - This is a classic that many have raved about! I've wanted to read this since I knew what classics were. For some reason, I have yet to pick it up but I know I'll like it once I do. :) I mean, it's Jane Austen! 

9. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Another classic of sorts about the horrible death of books! I just have to read this and am so upset that I never got to read it for school. (I actually like reading books for class but that's another story.) I can easily borrow this online but I just haven't felt like I've had the time to read it. Weird, huh? :) 

10. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - Everybody loves this book! My brothers and my mom have read this book and they don't even like to read! How have I not read this yet? I blame my English teachers because I never got to read this in an English class like so many others. And I blame myself now because I'm honestly too lazy to add it to the top of the list when I have so many other books to read too. When will I have the time? Your guess is as good as mine. 


Angel Fever (Angel, #3)Of Beast and BeautyThe Girl Who Never Was (Otherworld, #1)Fire & Flood (Fire & Flood, #1)Out of the EasyAngelfire (Angelfire, #1)The Jewel (The Lone City, #1)Pride and PrejudiceFahrenheit 451The Outsiders



Those are some of the books that have been on my TBR for awhile now. Are any of them on yours? Let me know! 

Vanessa

Monday, August 22, 2016

Review - The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts


The Replacement Crush
The Replacement Crush
By Lisa Brown Roberts 
Expected publication is September 6th, 2016 by 
Entangled: Teen
400 pages

4 stars - Enjoyable and Entertaining! 

*An e-arc of this book was provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!*

Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble





Summary from Goodreads.com:

True love can’t be strategized.

After book blogger Vivian Galdi’s longtime crush pretends their secret summer kissing sessions never happened, Vivian creates a list of safe crushes, determined to protect her heart. 

But nerd-hot Dallas, the sweet new guy in town, sends the mission and Vivian’s zing meter into chaos. While designing software for the bookstore where Vivian works, Dallas wages a counter-mission.

Operation Replacement Crush is in full effect. And Dallas is determined to take her heart off the shelf.


Review:

I was instantly intrigued by the summary of The Replacement Crush. A book blogger and a cute guy? Sign me up! :) 

Vivian is a book blogger which is right up my alley (obviously) and her mom owns a bookstore which is just plain awesome. Viv loves any and all kinds of romance novels and is upset when she realizes that her crush (aka the guy she's been making out with during the summer) isn't all that he seems. So she devises The Replacement Crush mission to help her get over her old crush. Along the way meets Dallas (also known as McNerd) and basically ignores her feelings for him for most of the book. 

I did enjoy Viv's character because she was quirky and smart and funny. But there were also times when she was incredibly stubborn and insisted on ignoring her feelings for a certain McNerd. I think that this definitely made the book a little longer than it actually had to be. Aside from those annoying scenes there were also some pretty cute scenes between Viv and Dallas. :) 

Aside from Viv and Dallas, I also enjoyed the book group discussions because those were incredibly funny. :D Viv's friends were also pretty great at certain times. Oh! The music parts near the end were awesome as well because we all know I love when authors mix books and music. There were a lot of Star Trek references that I didn't really understand because I'm not into Star Trek, but that might work for you if you are a fan.

The Replacement Crush was interesting and entertaining but it wasn't exactly everything that I thought it would be. I enjoyed the characters and the whole idea of the book but there were times when the pacing felt slow. There were also times when the characters just kept making the same mistakes over and over. Again, aside from those few points this was an enjoyable read and perfect for summer because of the setting. I recommend to those that are fans of all things "nerdy" and looking for a fun and enjoyable read! 

Vanessa