Welcome to my stop on the book tour for Blood City Rollers by V.P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill (illustrator), organized by TBR and Beyond Tours (https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/). Check out the synopsis below!
*Thank you, TBR and Beyond Tours and Random House Children’s Books for the eARC of this book and for having me on this tour.
Skates on. Fangs out. Let’s roll. This perfectly paranormal graphic novel about a 13-year-old ice skater who embraces the dark side and finds her light when she joins a vampire roller derby team is to die for.
Ice-skater Mina is on a one-track path to Olympic gold and glory—that is, until she totally wipes out at her biggest competition, and is kinda-sorta-kidnapped by undead kids on roller skates. Sucked into the high stakes world of Paranormal Roller Derby, she finds herself “recruited” by a squad of vampires who need a human player to complete their team—just in time to save the league from losing it all.
Between learning to play derby well enough to kick butt on the track, crushing hard on the dreamy team captain, and navigating the spooky rules of the supernatural, how can Mina go from striving to be a ten alone, to becoming one of nine chaotic bodies forming a perfectly-imperfect team? Forget being the best. Will she be enough to help her new friends survive the season?
Veronica Park (VP) Anderson (she/they) is a neurodivergent, queer, feminist millennial writer with a resume that Victor Frankenstein would disown for being “a bit much.” V’s previous job titles include: award-winning community theater actor, professional lecturer on cruise ships, indie film producer, literary agent, and creative project manager; however, “writer” is the title that always fits. V plays competitive flat track roller derby as “Scarlet Five” #55 and prefers the pivot role, aka “surprise jamming.” Born in Alaska and raised in Oregon, she currently lives with her partner in Upstate NY and has two cats named Skeletor and Bo-Catan.
Tatiana Hill (she/her) is a Black and Latina illustrator by day and roller skater by night. Her art journey began simultaneously with her growing love for anime and culminated in a BA in Animation. Receiving an award for Best Art Direction in her end of the year showcase, she would later apply her skill set in color and design to her illustration career. As a member of the Los Angeles roller skate community, Tatiana enjoys participating in a space that celebrates diversity and found family. Her love for this community led to her illustrating The Roller World Tarot Deck and eventually Blood City Rollers, her debut graphic novel as an illustrator.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for All The Greys On Greene Street by Laura Tucker!
Find out more about the book below!
*I received an advance readers copy of this book for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy!
All The Greys On Greene Street
by Laura Tucker; illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Publication Date: June 4, 2019
by Viking Books for Young Readers Pages: 320 Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction Rating: 4/5 Stars Add to Goodreads
Synopsis:
SoHo, 1981. Twelve-year-old Olympia is an artist--and in her neighborhood, that's normal. Her dad and his business partner Apollo bring antique paintings back to life, while her mother makes intricate sculptures in a corner of their loft, leaving Ollie to roam the streets of New York with her best friends Richard and Alex, drawing everything that catches her eye.
Then everything falls apart. Ollie's dad disappears in the middle of the night, leaving her only a cryptic note and instructions to destroy it. Her mom has gone to bed, and she's not getting up. Apollo is hiding something, Alex is acting strange, and Richard has questions about the mysterious stranger he saw outside. And someone keeps calling, looking for a missing piece of art. . . .
Olympia knows her dad is the key--but first, she has to find him, and time is running out.
Laura Tucker has coauthored more than twenty books, including two New York Times bestselling memoirs. She grew up in New York City around the same time as Olympia, and now lives in Brooklyn with her daughter and husband; on Sunday mornings, you can find her at the door of Buttermilk Channel, one of their two restaurants. She is a cat person who cheats with dogs. All the Greys on Greene Street is her first novel.
All The Greys On Greene Street, the debut novel by Laura Tucker, takes place in SoHo, New York City in 1981, and revolves around 12 year old Olympia as she tries to find out why her father ran off, while struggling to cope with her mother's depression.
I loved many of the characters in this book, especially Olympia. I really felt for her and all she had to deal with throughout the story. Her father left and she doesn't know why, her mother doesn't get out of bed because she is so depressed, and Olympia is left feeling abandoned. She loves to draw and I loved how art and creativity were a big part of this book. Olympia expresses herself through her art and I think her creativity and drawings help her to process many of her emotions. I also loved the close friendships she had with Richard and Alex. Her friendships helped her cope better with the chaos in her life.
I really liked the setting of this story. Soho in the early 1980's seemed like such an interesting place and time, especially the art scene. I loved how the author described the feel of the city and the creative atmosphere at that time. There were interesting facts about art throughout the story that I found fascinating. I also loved the artwork by Kelly Murphy that was featured on certain pages throughout the book.
This story was difficult to read at times because of the serious situations that take place. After Olympia's dad runs off, she is left living with her mother who hasn't left her bed in over two weeks because of her depression. I have struggled with depression all my life so it was hard to read about what Olympia went through just trying to get her mother out of bed. I felt for Olympia and her mother, but I really did not like how her mother neglected her or the way she treated her. I know firsthand how destructive depression can be, but it was really difficult for me to like her mother. I also found it difficult to like her father because he basically abandoned her too. I just felt so bad for Olympia throughout the story.
This was a slower paced read, and it took me a little while to fully immerse myself into the story. However, as I got to know more about the characters, especially Olympia, I couldn't stop reading and I flew through the last half of the book. Overall, I found this to be an engrossing and touching read, and I definitely recommend checking it out (I do think this would be better for older children though, because of the difficult subject matter). I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small!
Please see about the book below and enter the giveaway!
Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Release Date: May 21, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery
Synopsis:
Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School since childhood, where they’ve formed an inseparable bond forged by respective family tragedies and a fierce love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves what they would do to win the ultimate prize: to be the one girl selected to join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they die? Cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic would make them shine, too? Neither girl is sure.But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other.
A.K. Small is thrilled for her debut novel, BRIGHT BURNING STARS, to come out May 21,2019 through publisher Algonquin Young Readers. Her talent for writing and passion for classical ballet fuse together in this novel and earned A.K.Small the honor of an Entertainment Weekly review.
In addition to BRIGHT BURNING STARS, A.K. Small spends time on short stories. Her short story, Anthrocon, 2017 was just nominated for a Pushcart prize by the Bellevue Literary Review. Other stories such as the Flour Baby and The Interior Designer were also nominated or runner-up to prizes.
She also ran a column titled, "A French Girl's View Du Monde" at Barrelhouse Magazine.
A.K. Small graduated from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2009 with an MFA in fiction. When she's not reading her favorite authors (Rainbow Rowell, Angie Thomas, Anna Gavalda, Jandy Nelson, Ann Hood, Sue Miller, Anais Nin, Tayari Jones, Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Wright, and J.R.R. Tolkien, to name a few!), she's studying her favorite dancers: Sylvie Guillem, Noella Pontois, Marie-Agnes Gillot, and Aurelie Dupont.
A.K. Small grew up near the Sacré Coeur in Paris and married her Tobagonian soulmate. She has three gorgeous daughters and owns a min-chi named Dallas.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for All We Could Have Been by TE Carter!
All We Could Have Been by TE Carter Publisher: Feiwel Friends Release Date: April 23, 2019 Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Synopsis:
Five years ago, Lexie walked home from school after her older brother failed to pick her up. When she entered her house, her brother sat calmly, waiting for the police to come arrest him for the heinous crime he had just committed.
Treated like a criminal herself, Lexie now moves from school to school hiding who she is—who she's related to. She struggles with loving her brother, the PTSD she now suffers from, and wanting to just live a normal life. But how can she be normal when she can’t even figure out how to just live?
This is a powerful look at the assumptions we make about people. Lexie's emotional journey to separate her brother's horrific act from herself is stunning and heartbreaking. This is Lexie’s story and journey—not her brother's—and it will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
TE Carter was born in New England and has lived in New England for pretty much her entire life. Throughout her career, she’s done a lot of things, although her passion has always been writing. When she’s not writing, she can generally be found reading classic literature, playing Xbox, organizing her comic collection, or binge watching baking competitions. She continues to live in New England with her husband and their two cats.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst & Paula Garner!
Starworld
by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner Publication: April 16, 2019 by Candlewick
Synopsis:
Sam Jones and Zoe Miller have one thing in common: they both want an escape from reality. Loner Sam flies under the radar at school and walks on eggshells at home to manage her mom’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, wondering how she can ever leave to pursue her dream of studying aerospace engineering. Popular, people-pleasing Zoe puts up walls so no one can see her true self: the girl who was abandoned as an infant, whose adoptive mother has cancer, and whose disabled brother is being sent away to live in a facility. When an unexpected encounter results in the girls’ exchanging phone numbers, they forge a connection through text messages that expands into a private universe they call Starworld. In Starworld, they find hilarious adventures, kindness and understanding, and the magic of being seen for who they really are. But when Sam’s feelings for Zoe turn into something more, will the universe they’ve built survive the inevitable explosion?
In a novel in two voices, a popular teen and an artistic loner forge an unlikely bond — and create an entire universe — via texts. But how long before the real world invades Starworld?
An unlikely friendship blossoms between two high school seniors…in the deft hands of co-authors Coulthurst (Inkmistress, 2018, etc.) and Garner (Relative Strangers, 2018, etc.), the well-realized main characters and deeply insightful descriptions of complex emotions combine into an unusually thoughtful novel…Readers seeking characters facing challenges with honesty, bravery, and kindness will appreciate this book with its reminder that our outward lives often don’t reflect who we really are. ―Kirkus Reviews
Paula Garner spends most of her time writing, reading, or making good things to eat and drink. She is the author of YA contemporary novels Starworld, Relative Strangers, and Phantom Limbs, which was a 2017 Illinois Reads selection for grades 9-12. Follow her on Twitter at @paulajgarner.
Audrey Coulthurst writes YA books that tend to involve magic, horses, and kissing the wrong people. When she’s not dreaming up new stories, she can usually be found painting, singing, or on the back of a horse.
Audrey has a Master’s in Writing from Portland State University and studied with Malinda Lo as a 2013 Lambda Literary Foundation Fellow. She lives in Santa Monica, California.
⦁There are a lot of stories out there about heartbreak from falling in romantic love, but not so many about heartbreak from falling in friend-love.
⦁Humphrey the hot-sauce fueled dragon.
⦁You can find out things about the authors that you might never learn otherwise.
⦁It’s fun to try to pick out the source of Sam’s many nerdy references to things like Star Wars and Doctor Who.
⦁You’ll get a window into what it’s like to live with a family member who has OCD, or one who has profound disabilities.
⦁Starworld captures the magic of meeting someone you’re instantly addicted to and what happens when you create a whole world of inside jokes practically overnight.
⦁It’s set in Portland, Oregon in fall.
⦁You either love or are horrified by spicy food and Taco Bell.
⦁Some new curse words/phrases are needed in your vocabulary.
⦁You need a good cry.
--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter
- 3 Winners will receive a Copy of STARWORLD by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner.
Last Girl Lied To by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn Publisher: Imprint Release Date: April 16th 2019 Genre: Young Adult,Contemporary
Synopsis:
Something made him angry that night. Something made her cry. Something made Trixie disappear. What if it was all the same thing?
Fiona claims she doesn’t remember anything about the night her best friend left a party early and walked into the ocean. But the truth is, she wishes she could forget.
Trixie’s disappearance is ruled a suicide, but Fiona starts to believe that Trixie isn’t really dead. Piecing together the trail of a girl who doesn't want to be found leads her to Jasper, Trixie’s former friend with benefits, and Beau—the boy who turned Fiona down, who loved someone else, who might be happy Trixie is gone.
The closer Fiona gets to finding out what happened, and the closer she gets to Jasper and Beau, the more she realizes that the girl she knew better than anyone may have been a carefully constructed lie—and she might have been waiting to disappear the entire time.
Told in alternating chapters between the past and the present, Last Girl Lied To is a gripping emotional thriller.
Laurie Elizabeth (L.E.) Flynn is the author of Firsts and the upcoming psychological thriller Last Girl Lied To, along with an untitled thriller to follow in 2020. She is also the author of Wattpad featured series The Boys Tell All. Her other short fiction has been named a finalist for the John Kenneth Gailbraith Literary Award.
Flynn is a former model who worked in Tokyo, Athens, and Paris. She now lives in London, Ontario, with her husband, daughter, and the world’s most spoiled Chihuahua. When she’s not writing about unlikable girls, you can likely find her hiking in the woods with her family, perusing thrift stores for vintage dresses, or binging reality TV.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Death By The River by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor!
Death By The River by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor Publication Date: October 2, 2018 by Vesuvian Books Synopsis:
Some truths are better kept secret.
Some secrets are better off dead.
Along the banks of the Bogue Falaya River, sits the abandoned St. Francis Seminary. Beneath a canopy of oaks, blocked from prying eyes, the teens of St. Benedict High gather here on Fridays. The rest of the week belongs to school and family—but weekends belong to the river.
And the river belongs to Beau Devereaux.
The only child of a powerful family, Beau can do no wrong. Handsome. Charming. Intelligent. The star quarterback of the football team. The “prince” of St. Benedict is the ultimate catch.
He is also a psychopath.
A dirty family secret buried for years, Beau’s evil grows unchecked. In the shadows of the ruined St. Francis Abbey, he commits unspeakable acts on his victims and ensures their silence with threats and intimidation. Senior year, Beau sets his sights on his girlfriend’s headstrong twin sister, Leslie, who hates him. Everything he wants but cannot have, she will be his ultimate prize.
As the victim toll mounts, it becomes crystal clear that someone has to stop Beau Devereaux.
And that someone will pay with their life.
WARNING: Readers of Death by the River will encounter situations of violence and sexual abuse which could be upsetting.
"... a thrilling psychological work ... Catching the current vogue of teen psycho and revenge tales like Bates Motel and 13 Reasons Why ... a horrifically brilliant book ... Beau Devereaux could have easily been a clichéd psycho, but the plot constructed around him and his development during the novel really shone as a masterpiece of character creation ... much in the style of Dexter or Hannibal." ―K.C. Finn, Multi-Award-Winning Author
"Rare is the story that simmers and rises to a boil so naturally and constantly that the reader manages to be repeatedly shocked ... a full-speed rollercoaster that doesn't slow down until the final page. Employing an evocative setting, powerfully defined characters, and taking along hard look at the darker side of human desire, this novel will catch your breath and hold it until the very end. RECOMMENDED" ―Michael Radon, US Review
"While the authors have written a chilling story here, there's more to Death by the River than thrills. It's actually a fascinating study into the effects of good and bad parenting on children. Do it badly and parents, children and society as a whole pay the consequences. This book is not just an exciting read; it's a sobering one." ―Viga Boland, Retired high school English teacher and Author of No Tears for my Father: Viga's true story of incest
"While the story follows compelling characters, it also plunges readers into an intriguing setting. It is ironical that the horrors are taking place along the river that runs so close to a seminary, an establishment that should evoke a powerful sense of God and reverence for life. The characters are sophisticated and readers will learn to honestly hate the villain of the story -- he is well imagined and developed with skill. In a subtle way, the authors allow his crooked mind to reveal itself. Like most serial killers, he is a charmer and an intelligent young man, but beneath the cool surface is a cauldron of simmering evil. Weis and Astor have written a riveting crime tale with strong psychological underpinnings. Death by the River is ingeniously plotted, written in gorgeous prose, and featuring a strong conflict that propels the narrative forward. The suspense intensifies as the story moves on, with the reader always feeling as though something awful could happen at any moment, and this feeling grows in intensity until the explosive climax. A real thriller!" ―Romuald Dzemo, Readers' Favorite
"A suspense-filled thriller steeped in equal parts atmosphere, insanity, and revenge." ―Mary Ting, Award-Winning Author of ISAN: International Sensory Assassin Network
"Weis and Astor have created something so dark, edgy, and gritty, it will stay with you long after you close the book." ―Julieanne Lynch, Dragon Award Finalist: Horror (2018)
"... a crime thriller that pulls readers into the twisted mind of the protagonist and holds them engaged till the exhilarating finish. The writing is flawless ... Death by the River is psychologically engaging, emotionally rich, and utterly absorbing." ―Christian Sia
About the Authors
Alexandrea Weis, RN-CS, CRRN, ONC, PhD, is a multi award-winning author of over twenty-five novels, a screenwriter, ICU Nurse, and historian who was born and raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Having grown up in the motion picture industry as the daughter of a director, she learned to tell stories from a different perspective and began writing at the age of eight. Infusing the rich tapestry of her hometown into her novels, she believes that creating vivid characters makes a story moving and memorable. A permitted/certified wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured animals. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans. Weis writes paranormal, suspense, thrillers, horror, crime fiction, and romance.
Lucas Astor, Lucas Astor is from New York, has resided in Central America and the Middle East, and traveled through Europe. He lives a very private, virtually reclusive lifestyle, preferring to spend time with a close-knit group of friends than be in the spotlight. He is an author and poet with a penchant for telling stories that delve into the dark side of the human psyche. He likes to explore the evil that exists, not just in the world, but right next door behind a smiling face.
Weis and Astor’s first collaboration was the multi-award-winning Magnus Blackwell Series.
I knew I wanted to read this book after I read the synopsis. It just seemed like a story I would find interesting, and I was not let down. This book was dark and chilling, and definitely held my interest. The story contains disturbing situations that at times were uncomfortable to read about (content warning for rape and violence), and even though this book is set in high school, it contains adult subject matter, and some very intense moments.
The story is told from several points of view: Beau Devereaux, who seems like a handsome and wonderful guy on the outside, the star quarterback and caring boyfriend, but he really is a cunning psychopath intent on harming others; Dawn, who is Beau's caring girlfriend, taken with his charm and intellect, but unaware of his true nature; and Leslie, who is Dawn's sister and Beau's deadly obsession.
Beau was definitely a character that I despised. He was pompous, sadistic, and cruel, and I really did not like reading from his point of view. Leslie was a strong character, who saw the true nature of Beau, unlike her naive sister. Dawn was a very insecure character who would cling to Beau, afraid to lose him, even though she had doubts about their relationship. These were all very different characters and it was interesting to read from each of their perspectives.
There are twists in this book that I didn't see coming and I was shocked by the ending. This was a really chilling story and I'd recommend this book for anyone looking for a thrilling and engrossing read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
*I received a copy of this book for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the authors, Vesuvian Books, and Jean Book Nerd.
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--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter
