Blog Tour: Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

I am super excited to be part of the Dark Shores blog tour! Read on for my review and a guest post by the author! And check out the end of the post for a special giveaway!

Title: Dark Shores

Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release: May 7, 2019

Pages: 364 pages
Review: 4 Stars

Synopsis:

High seas adventure, blackmail, and meddling gods meet in Dark Shores, the first novel in a new YA fantasy series.

In a world divided by meddlesome gods and treacherous oceans, only the Maarin possess the knowledge to cross the Endless Seas. But they have one mandate: East must never meet West.

A PIRATE WITH A WILL OF IRON

Teriana is the second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate. Her people are born of the seas and the keepers of its secrets, but when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, Teriana breaks her people’s mandate so her friend might escape—a choice with devastating consequences.

A SOLDIER WITH A SECRET

Marcus is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is his family, but even they don’t know the truth he’s been hiding since childhood. It’s a secret he’ll do anything to protect, no matter how much it costs him – and the world.

A DANGEROUS QUEST

When an Empire senator discovers the existence of the Dark Shores, he captures Teriana’s crew and threatens to reveal Marcus’s secret unless they sail in pursuit of conquest, forcing the two into an unlikely—and unwilling—alliance. They unite for the sake of their families, but both must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much they are willing to sacrifice.

You Can Find it At:
Goodreads
AMAZON

Barnes & Noble

Book Depository

Review:

First Impressions

I've been interested in Dark Shores since I saw the cover reveal. It grabbed my attention and hasn't let go. When I had to opportunity to be on the blog tour I jumped at the chance. The book starts out a little slow going, but it picks up after a time jump. And it's a fast enough read that I read it in less than a day. Overall the book was really good, I just had a couple complaints that brought the rating down a star.

Characters

I absolutely loved Teriana. She's tough and had to make some hard choices. I love her commitment to her family and her crew. She also looks out for her best friend Lydia, when many in her position wouldn't have befriended her in the first place. On the topic of Lydia, I have some theories, but I'm not sure if they count as spoilers. What I will say is this: she isn't around after the time jump, but I don't think we've seen the last of her.

While I really like Teriana, I'm not a big fan of Marcus. He states in the story that he doesn't think he's worthy of her, and personally I agree with him. While he, like Teriana, had to make some tough choices in life, he still lives in a place of relative privilege. Especially considering she's basically his captive the entire book. I also feel like he doesn't fully see just how bad the Empire's conquering is. He sees the cost on battlefield, but he doesn't understand the personal and spiritual costs to what he's doing. And even when he does see that what he's doing is wrong, he only makes minimal sacrifices.  I almost wanted Teriana to be like "I like you, but not enough to be with you right now. But call me up if you ever want to start a rebellion." Because there's definitely a rebellion against the Empire coming.

World Building

I loved the world I got to see in Dark Shores. I'm unsure if the final copy has a map or not, but I know my digital ARC didn't. I'd love to see one if one exists, because I think it would help me visualize the story better. While we get a lot of characters talking about the world, we don't see a whole lot of it. Most of the book takes place at sea and in two countries. I want to better understand the differences of the East vs the West and just why the must never meet. Hopefully we'll get more answers in book two. This world is really interesting, and I hope to learn more about the gods, the different people, and how everything ties together.

Guest Post:

Check out Danielle L. Jensen's top ten dream vacation spots!

Ten Dream Vacation Stops:
1. Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
2. Mykonos, Greece
3. Rome, Italy
4. Angkor Wat, Cambodia 
5. Dubrovnik, Croatia 
6. Iguazu Falls, Brazil 
7. Kusatsu Onsen, Japan
8. Petra, Jordan
9. The Dead Sea
10. Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Praise:

“Richly-woven, evocative, and absolutely impossible to put down―I was hooked from the first lines! Dark Shores has everything I look for in a fantasy novel: fresh, unique settings, a cast of complex and diverse characters, and an unflinching boldness with the nuanced world-building. I loved every word.” ―Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"The book grabs readers from the beginning with its stellar worldbuilding and multidimensional characters, and the mythical elements are truly believable within the constructs of the story. The perspective shifts between the viewpoints of Teriana and Marcus from chapter to chapter, offering readers greater insights into each. ...A gripping introduction to a new series." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"This is a lush, imaginative world, and as the focus shifts between Teriana and Marcus, it becomes clear that the readers are only getting a glimpse of its complicated history and mythology. ...Their secrets don’t, of course, stop Teriana and Marcus from embarking on a steamy romance, and fans of Rutkoski’s sighworthy The Winner’s Kiss and the high-stakes sea adventure of Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King will want to know where Marcus and Teriana journey to next." ―Bulletin of the Center for Children's Book

Author Bio:

Danielle L. Jensen is the USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Novels: Stolen Songbird, Hidden Huntress, Warrior Witch, and The Broken Ones, as well as The Bridge Kingdom (Audible Originals). Her latest novel, Dark Shores, will be released by Tor Teen in May of 2019. She lives with her family in Calgary, Alberta.

Photo Credit: Katherine Calnan Photography

You Can Find Her At:

Website

Twitter

Goodreads
Facebook
Instagram

Tour Schedule:

WEEK ONE
May 27th Monday JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW
May 28th Tuesday Bibliobibuli YA INTERVIEW
May 29th Wednesday A Court of Coffee and Books REVIEW
May 29th Wednesday TTC Books and More EXCERPT
May 30th Thursday Movies, Shows, & Books EXCERPT
May 30th Thursday Casia's Corner REVIEW
May 31st Friday A Bookish Dream REVIEW 
May 31st Friday Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews REVIEW & GUEST POST

WEEK TWO
June 3rd Monday BookHounds YA REVIEW & INTERVIEW 
June 3rd Monday Cover2CoverBlog REVIEW 
June 4th Tuesday Nay's Pink Bookshelf REVIEW 
June 4th Tuesday Random Bookish Banter REVIEW
June 5th Wednesday A Dream Within A Dream REVIEW
June 6th Thursday Wishful Endings REVIEW
June 7th Friday My Bookish Escapades REVIEW & EXCERPT 
June 7th Friday Lauren's Bookshelf REVIEW

Giveaway:

*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Greta and the Lost Army Guest Post

Guest Post:

Greta has always been a kick-ass character, but what made her so capable of adapting to her new environment on Mylena when other girls her age who may have found themselves trapped in a hostile world without any resources might have fallen apart under the stress?

Greta was thirteen when she ended up in this other world. It was summer vacation and she’d just had her birthday. When she started talking to me way back in the very beginning, I knew she was a Leo.

Leo's are natural born leaders, and they will let you know it because they have a tendency to be high-minded and vocal about their opinions. But they also have a savvy way of analyzing a situation and executing swift judgment with a beneficial outcome. It comes from being a leader. They are brave, intuitive, and also head-strong and willful. Beneath their dynamic persona is a generous, loving, sensitive nature that they don’t like to share. They might be a bit bossy, but this comes from a need to do good.

Sounds familiar, right? This totally fits Greta’s personality.

But what does it say about her love life?

Well, Isaac’s zodiac sign was harder to pin down because he lives under a different set of stars, of course. But given the timing of his birthday and the way he reacts to her, I pegged him for a Capricorn.

Capricorn is more conservative, hard working and traditional than Leo, and that fits Isaac’s personality for sure. Both are extremely devoted, however, especially to teach other. And while they may seem to be an unlikely couple on the surface, their love will grow as they discover similarities. Leo can be outrageous, while Capricorn has a simpler nature. Both Signs are very strong and determined, but they are open to learning from one another.

When it comes right down to it, both Greta and Isaac are strong personalities, and they’re definitely going to butt heads along the way to true love, but if they remain open and honest with one another, then they can be one hell of a power-couple! :D

Synopsis:

A fate as unavoidable as love itself…

After spending the last four years trapped in a place of monsters, demons, and magick, the last thing the fierce teenage bounty hunter Greta expected was to ever be back on Earth. But a rare opportunity gives her and the Goblin King Isaac the opportunity to do just that. Now she’s home. With a boy in tow. And her parents have lots of questions.

Although Greta finally has her heart’s deepest wish—to see her family again—every step she takes to reconnect with them drives her further away from Isaac. Greta and Isaac planned for her to return to Mylena and become his queen, but she’s not sure if she can go back to that harsh world, though staying on Earth means giving up the boy she loves.

But a powerful enemy refuses to let Greta escape. A demon who will stop at nothing to destroy her and everything she loves. Even if it means following her to Earth and forcing her to face a fate as unavoidable as love itself.

You Can Find it At:
Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Indigo/Chapters

Also Available:

Greta and the Goblin King, Greta and the Glass Kingdom

Author Bio:

Chloe Jacobs is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having jumped around to practically every Province of Canada before finally settling in Ontario where she has now been living for a respectable number of years. Her husband and son are the two best people in the entire world, but they also make her wish she'd at least gotten a female cat. No such luck. And although the day job keeps her busy, she carves out as much time as possible to write. Bringing new characters to life and finding out what makes them tick and how badly she can make them suffer is one of her greatest pleasures, almost better than chocolate and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.

You Can Find Her At:

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Facebook

Blog Tour: Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers

Guest Post:

I asked Sarah how she did the world building for the novel. Here's her answer!

I love to build worlds.

I love to think up a new society and culture and pick and prod at it, wondering how they do things differently than we do things in real life. And because I write fantasy, there are often many things that come into play.

In ASSASSIN’S HEART, Lea’s world is a world of ghosts and gods. People die and turn into angry ghosts, and those ghosts in turn kill more people. So because of this, I had to sit and ponder what it means for the cultures and societies plagued by these ghosts.

What would happen if the ghosts only came out at night? That would mean cultures that were day-oriented. Which would mean people who rise early and greet the sun. And perhaps a roaring inn business because once the sun sets, people would be afraid to walk the streets to reach their homes. And if suddenly a city or country found themselves free of the ghosts, they would probably go a bit overboard in their celebrations of reclaiming the night.

And then, of course, the kingdom of Lovero has a patron god of murder, death and resurrection, which required so much brainstorming. How would their culture react to Families of assassins? Would they fear them? Worship them as disciples of their gods? And how would someone worship a disciple of their god who has also killed someone they love? There’s probably some conflict in the hearts of many of the citizens of Lovero. Is this something that comes up in their society? Most likely.

Finally, the kingdom of Lovero in ASSASSIN’S HEART is modeled after a renaissance Italy (if, you know, renaissance Italy had angry ghosts milling about) and so I did a fair amount of research there.

I’m lucky enough to have visited Italy when I was a teenager. So much of the setting is pulled from my own memory (if you’ve never been to Italy and you get the chance to go, do so!) But the renaissance level of technology required some research on my part. I needed to know how their kitchens functioned. How their toilets functioned. What their clothing was like. I wanted Italian-esque sounding names for places and people, so it required a lot of surname research and place-name research. And once I had a good feeling of both, it also helped me for when I wanted names of people or places to sound different, as clues that maybe these people weren’t Loveran. Or to make it clear when Lea travels outside of Lovero that those place names don’t sound as similar.

But that’s why I love worldbuilding. Because it lets me ask “what if” questions. And when I find answers, I get to ask more questions, digging deeper and deeper until I find a sturdy foundation upon which to build my story.

Title: Assassin's Heart
Author: Sarah Ahiers
Release: February 2, 2016
Pages: 400
Publisher: HarperTeen
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Synopsis:

In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.

You Can Find it At:

Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Author Bio:

Sarah Ahiers is working towards an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and lives in Minnesota with three dogs and a house full of critters. She has a collection of steampunk hats and when she’s not writing she fills her time with good games, good food, good friends and good family.

Sarah writes Young Adult and Middle Grade novels and occasionally dabbles in Picture Books. Fantasy is her favorite genre, though she sometimes can be found playing around with Horror and other things that go bump in the night.

Sarah’s debut novel, ASSASSIN’S HEART (HarperTeen, February 2nd, 2016) is a Young Adult Fantasy. In the Kingdom of Lovero, where families of assassins lawfully kill people for the right price, seventeen-year-old Oleander “Lea” Saldana sets out on a path of vengeance against the most powerful assassin family of all.

She is represented by Mollie Glick of Foundry Literary & Media.

You Can Find Her At:
Website

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Goodreads

Blog

Giveaway:

(1) Winner will receive a finished copy and some swag (bookmarks, postcards), US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Dates:

Week One:

1/25/2016- Adventures of a Book Junkie - Interview
1/26/2016- Brittany's Book Rambles - Review
1/27/2016- Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews - Guest Post
1/28/2016- The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club - Review
1/29/2016- The Young Folks - Interview

Week Two:

2/1/2016- Cover2Cover - Review
2/2/2016- YaReads - Guest Post
2/3/2016- Dark Faerie Tales - Review
2/4/2016- Storybook Slayers - Interview
2/5/2016- Fiction Fare - Review

Book Blitz: Love, Lucy by April Lindner

I am so excited that LOVE, LUCY by April Lindner releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an awesome guest post from the author in which she shares “Some Rules of the Road” for traveling abroad, as Lucy did in the book.

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful new book by Author April Linder, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blast also includes a giveaway for a copy of the book courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours and 3 signed JANE posters courtesy of the author. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Title: LOVE, LUCY
Author: April Lindner
Release: January 27, 2015
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 304
Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Synopsis:

While backpacking through Florence, Italy, during the summer before she heads off to college, Lucy Sommersworth finds herself falling in love with the culture, the architecture, the food...and Jesse Palladino, a handsome street musician. After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home, determined to move on from her "vacation flirtation." But just because summer is over doesn't mean Lucy and Jesse are over, too.

In this coming-of-age romance, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.

You Can Find it At:

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

THE BOOK DEPOSITORY

NDIEBOUND

GOODREADS

Author Bio:

April Lindner is the author of three novels: Catherine, a modernization of Wuthering Heights; Jane, an update of Jane Eyre; and Love, Lucy, releasing January 27, 2015. She also has published two poetry collections, Skin and This Bed Our Bodies Shaped. She plays acoustic guitar badly, sees more rock concerts than she’d care to admit, travels whenever she can, cooks Italian food, and lavishes attention on her pets—two Labrador retriever mixes and two excitable guinea pigs. A professor of English at Saint Joseph’s University, April lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons.

You Can Find it At:
BLOG

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

TUMBLR

GOOGLE +

GOODREADS

Guest Post:

SOME RULES OF THE ROAD

Like Lucy Sommersworth, the heroine of Love, Lucy, my parents gave me the gift of a lifetime: a backpacking trip to Europe. I was a bit older than Lucy—22, and just out of college—but when I arrived in Milan, Italy with a Eurail pass, a copy of Let’s Go: Europe, and a seventy-pound backpack I could barely lift, I was a wee bit terrified. Like Lucy, I spoke only a little bit of Italian, just barely enough to get by, and I wasn’t particularly good at reading maps or train schedules. Unlike Lucy, I was travelling solo.

Luckily, my journey began with training wheels. I’d just taken a college Italian class, and my professor had offered a safe crash pad for the first few days of my trip—in her family home in the Alps. Less luckily, when I reached Malpensa airport, nobody was there to pick me up. Giddy with excitement and jet lag, I wandered around the airport, eavesdropping on Italians as they hugged each other hello and goodbye, and had noisy arguments. I’d never felt more alone in my life. Where would I sleep that night if my ride didn’t show up?

Luckily, my professor’s brother arrived at last to whisk me away to the family home in Domodossola. The extended family welcomed and fed me, gave me tours of their city with its charming medieval center, helped me practice my Italian, and, when the time was right, brought me to the train station where my solo travels began for real. It was time to take off the training wheels.

If I’d felt alone back in the airport, I was even more so on that train to Verona, a city where I didn’t know a soul. In those pre-internet days, I could disappear into thin air and nobody would even notice I was gone. The thought was chilling, but oddly exciting.

By nightfall, I’d made it to Verona. I’d figured out the public transportation, found a youth hostel, and booked myself a bed. Best of all, I had introduced myself to a handful of other backpackers. We hung out together in the hostel’s common area, sharing bread and cheese, exchanging stories, discussing the rules of the road—those bits of practical wisdom our travels were teaching us. Here are a few.

Time passes differently on the road. Spend a few very intense hours seeing the sites with strangers and by the end of the day, those strangers have become a part of your story. Years later you’ll see their faces in your photo album and still remember stray details of the adventures you shared together, even if you can’t quite recall their names.

Spontaneity is key. There are few things as magical as showing up at a train station with no idea where you’re headed next, picking a random train, and hopping on.

Janis Joplin said it best: Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. When you’re carrying all your possessions on your back in a city where you don’t know a soul, you’re absolutely free. You can go anywhere, do anything. That freedom has its lonely moments—but it can be the doorway to all kinds of adventures.

Embrace misadventure. As carefully as you plan there will be crazy mistakes: wrong turns, slept-through train stops, multilingual misunderstandings, and all kinds of other blunders—and these will make the best stories. My misadventures are some of my favorite memories. The time I missed curfew and had to climb into my hostel through a second-story window. The morning when, hanging out my recently washed clothes to dry, I dropped my wet underthings out the window, onto a stranger’s head. The night when, with no room to stay in, I slept on Venice’s train station steps with about a hundred other backpackers, the stars above us and the Grand Canal stretched out before us.

Would I trade that last memory for a safe, comfy night in an actual bed? Not on your life.

Giveaway

There is a blast-wide giveaway, ending February 6th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, for:

1 copy of LOVE, LUCY to be ordered from Amazon or The Book Depository – Int’l
3 JANE posters (signed) – US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blogoversary Day Eight: Guest Post With Mily from The YA Nightstand

Hello everyone! I have decided to do something a little different this year for the blog's second blogoversary! This year, each day I will have a post or two from authors and bloggers that I ADORE! Many of them will have giveaways specific to the post, as well as the overall giveaway! The big giveaway has tons of prizes, from swag to signed copies of books!

Please welcome the blogorific Mily from The YA Nightstand!

Guest Post:

A Shared Love For Books

By Mily 

Why do you love blogging? It’s a simple question really and yet there are so many answers I don’t even know where to start! So, I guess the logical place to begin would be to tell you who I am.

My names Mily, pronounced Emily without the E not Miley like the Cyrus. I have had a serious addition to books for the last 10 years or so and it’s only got worse as the years go on. During the day I’m a textile student with a sweet tooth and a book in her bag, but at night I’m a blogger through and through. I mainly read YA books, although I do dabbled with other genres and I love to write. It’s why I started The YA’s Nightstand actually. You see, I was writing a book – still am – and I couldn’t for the life of my write the ending! Usually I’d stop, thinking I’m taking a couple of weeks out but then that always turns into another unfinished manuscript. So this time I decided I needed to keep writing, and I decided that the best way to do that was with a blog. And that’s what I did.

That was 6 months ago.

What they don’t tell you about book blogging is how amazing the community can be. I think that’s one of my favourite things about being a blogger, the community and being able to connect with people over a shared love for books. I have friends in the real world too but we don’t have the same taste in books so being about to talk about your fandoms with other people without them judging your fangirl ways is a nice change. I’m not say my friends aren’t great, they are, I just don’t think they truly understand how much Four and I are meant to be together like the blogging community. ;)

Then there are the books themselves! I started out by writing reviews of the books on my shelves as most bloggers do. What I DIDN’T know was that when you’re a book blogger publishers, author, lovely PR people actually send you books. FOR FREE! Which was a rather lovely surprise! I feel truly honoured to be able to read these books that I get sent before they’re even on the shelves and help spread the word about up and coming books to my followers.

I love that I’m able to share my love of books and hopefully help people pick out they’re next favourite read. I love the fact that I get to share my love of YA literature. Whether you’re a Potterhead, a Tribute, a Shadow Hunter or Divergent, I love you all and thank you for letting me be a part of your world(s)!

PS. For the record, I’m a Hufflepuff Amity with kick-ass District 8 sewing skills.

Bio:

Twenty-one year old creative nerd. Textiles student. Fabric enthusiast. Book reader. Food eater.

You Can Find Her At:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Giveaway:

Second blogoversary giveaway extravaganza!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blogoversary Day Seven: Guest Post With Aimee L. Salter

Hello everyone! I have decided to do something a little different this year for the blog's second blogoversary! This year, each day I will have a post or two from authors and bloggers that I ADORE! Many of them will have giveaways specific to the post, as well as the overall giveaway! The big giveaway has tons of prizes, from swag to signed copies of books!

Please welcome, the unbreakable, Aimee Salter!

Guest Post:

Please welcome Aimee, with a guest post about one of HER favorite books!

Happy Blog-o-versary Tween2Teen! Here’s my nomination for BEST BOOK EVER:

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay won't be to everyone's taste. But for this reader it was so close to perfect a knat could starve on the difference.

I'm not going to summarize the plot because, frankly, I suck at that. But, I will say that if you're a fan (or writer) of raw, contemporary YA, then The Sea of Tranquility is a Code Red Must Read. Buy it now. Then start reading it and try to stop. I dare you.

But I don't want to spend today expounding on TSoT (though, trust me, it's tempting). What I do want to do is get my analysis down on why I enjoyed it so thoroughly.

Element of Awesome #1 - Characters We Haven't Seen Before

This is pretty straight forward, but worth noting. As a reader, these characters are very, very real to me. Not just because I loved them, but because the writer achieved what I believe is the perfect balance between recognizable traits, and a unique blend with depth. I haven't seen Josh or Sunshine before. Even Drew, who seems cookie cutter on first appearance, demonstrates actual depth (more on this later).

Element of Awesome #2 - There Are Surprises
The character I mentioned above, Drew, is the primary example of this, but the book is full of them: People or plot points that you think you can anticipate. BUT YOU CAN'T (trust me on this).

Drew walks on to the page in typical Man-whore style -- and lives up to that trope the first few times we meet him. But by the end of the book I just want to squeeze him and sit on a couch with him and bask in the brilliance of who he is. And he isn't even the hero of the tale!

Element of Awesome #3 - Technical Brilliance
There's no way around it, Katja Millay has a turn of phrase, a wit and a vocabulary (on both ends of the mannerly scale) that provide a shiny vehicle for this story. And maybe this is what sets TSoT apart from other stories that have grabbed me by the shoulders and shaken me until I finished the last page: The writing is stellar. It's clever. It's funny. It's emotional. There's no telling. No explanations. No over-emphasis of important points, no faux ex machina. My OCD internal editor didn't even cough.

Element of Awesome #4 - The Plot Vehicles Didn't Rev Their Engines
Let's face it, in every story there are elements of the plot that just can't occur unless some other circumstance is in place. In YA it's usually the marginalization or removal of adult authority figures.

Katja does that too, but in such a way that the removal of those figures drives the entire book. The motives and circumstances of this story aren't just convenient, they're critical. Literally, the story couldn't occur unless these unique circumstances were in place.

And last, but not least: Element of Awesome #5 - Emotion

I'm not sure I can explain this, but I'm going to try.

At one point, about halfway through the book, when the characters were firmly ensconced in my heart, and I was wholly invested in their lives, a very quiet, very unobtrusive paragraph opened a new chapter.

Six or seven lines. Nothing dramatic.

And I wept. Literally.

It wasn't because the author had thrown down a literary gauntlet and pulled the tears from my eyes. It wasn't because a massive, emotional reveal had just occurred. It was because she'd used the pages before that moment to make the characters so real to me, that when one of them told me an anticipated event had occurred, I cried for how I knew the character must feel. My emotions were so completely engaged, I reacted to this character just as I would have a true, dear friend.

I was moved.

Frankly, I don't have a clue how to replicate this impact. It is the part of this book that blows my mind into the next solar system. But I have a feeling it has something to do with depicting your characters in such a way that they look, sound, and act like real people. Like people I could run into on the street any day of the week.

So that's it... those are the things I learned from reading this incredible book, then thinking about it for five days straight afterward.

Like I said, the story itself may not be your cup of tea. But if you're a big reader, or someone who’s writing YA, I'd seriously consider it a MUST READ.

This book rules.

Katja Millay is my new hero(ine).

Synopsis:

Every Ugly Word follows 17 year old Ashley who is relentlessly bullied at her high school and by her own mother, and his helplessly in love with her best friend, Matt, who is bullied by his father.

She seeks help by looking to her future self, “Older Me” who supports her through it all and teaches her to love herself. But is she really seeking “Older Me” or is she looking within herself for the answers?

When Ashley looks in the mirror she can see and talk to her future self. “Older Me” has been her support system through her relentless tormentor’s bullying, her unstable mother at home, and her forlorn love for her longtime best friend. But when Ashley discovers “Older Me’s” betrayal, she is targeted in the worst way and impends her last chance with Matt. She’s done with hearing every ugly word.


Author Bio:

 Aimee L. Salter is the author of Every Ugly Word, the story of a high school junior learning to copy with the effects of severe bullying – and who can talk to her future self in the mirror. (Alloy Entertainment, July 2014) Available now. 

You Can Find Her At:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads




Giveaway:

Second blogoversary giveaway extravaganza!

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Blogoversary Day Three: Guest Post With Alison Kemper + Giveaway

Hello everyone! I have decided to do something a little different this year for the blog's second blogoversary! This year, each day I will have a post or two from authors and bloggers that I ADORE! Many of them will have giveaways specific to the post, as well as the overall giveaway! The big giveaway has tons of prizes, from swag to signed copies of books!

Please welcome the zombie-licious, Alison Kemper!

Guest Post:

My writing journey began with the stupidest move ever. I’d been working on a novel for about six months. It was only half-finished, but I decided to send out a query. Just one little query. To see what would happen.

You know what happened? The agent requested the full manuscript.

That sounds like a stroke of luck, right? Wrong. Because here’s where I made an even stupider move. My brief one-page letter sparked some interest, so I thought I might get to take a shortcut. That maybe I wouldn’t have to put in all the time or effort—pay my dues like other writers. I actually hoped I could mail off the novel, the agent would love it, and by the next year, I’d be on the bestseller list. Can we say “clueless”?

I had to send the novel quickly, so I wrote the other half in six days. Yep, half a novel in six days. You can guess what happened next. It took a few months, but the rejection came. I felt like the world’s biggest dummy. But I also woke up a little. Okay, maybe a lot.

Writing is hard. Everyone says that, but so many of us still hope we can somehow skip the hard part. That’s what I tried to do. I jumped the gun, queried before I was ready—even though all the writers’ websites warned me not to—and then tried to write 40,000 words in six days. Of course my novel sucked.

But here’s where I was lucky—probably luckier than I deserved to be. The agent took an extra two minutes to tell me what she thought worked (the premise, the romance between the two main characters) and what didn’t work (the entire plot after page 75).

The rejection came on Memorial Day weekend as I was driving to visit friends in DC. I spent the entire road trip thinking about the choice before me. Should I give up writing? Quit while I was ahead? Or keep forging onward—put in the time, do the work, learn the craft, make this right?

When I got back home, I opened my manuscript file, highlighted the entire block of text after page 75 and hit the delete key.

Then I went on Absolute Write and looked for a beta reader. A real one. Parents and friends are great for encouragement, but they’re not writing experts. My new, more experienced beta tore apart what was left of my novel.

I re-wrote the entire manuscript. Then I did a round of revisions. And another. Then another. I worked with five different beta readers. I proofed my novel so many times I practically had it memorized.

Eleven months passed before I sent out my next query. This time, I researched agents. I took my time. I was careful. I met my wonder-agent Kristin Vincent (who asked for even more revisions) and then sold my novel in a three-book deal with EntangledTeen (even more revisions).

Don’t kid yourself. The road to publication is a tough one. There aren’t any shortcuts. And there aren’t any tricks. If you want to be a writer, be prepared to put in the time and effort. A LOT of time and effort. Put away your ego and learn from those who know what they’re doing. The day I saw my name on a cover was one of the proudest of my life. And I knew the novel wasn’t some slapdash effort, but a product of years of hard work. Be smarter than I was. And remember there are no shortcuts.

Synopsis:

When most people hear creepy, disembodied voices, they think they're going crazy. But when fifteen-year-old Donna Pierce hears them, she knows she's in danger. Thanks to their warnings, Donna and her dorky best friend Deke narrowly escape when a zombie virus hits their cruise ship--but they have to leave their parents behind.

Back on land, the worldwide Zompocalypse is in full swing. The teens find refuge in their high school with thirty other survivors--including Liam, the mysterious boy Donna's been crushing on since fifth grade.

The next few days are a nightmare: the food supply dwindles, the water is shut off, and an army of undead waits outside the doors. The battle-torn school seems like the last place to start a romance, but Donna and Liam can't fight their attraction.

If Deke-the-Geek would stop acting like a jealous freak, the end of the world might just be perfect.

You Can Find it At:

Amazon

Goodreads

Barnes & Noble

Author Bio:

Alison Kemper is the author of Donna of the Dead—a fun, snarky romance set during a zombie apocalypse—now available from EntangledTeen. Look for the companion novel, Dwight of the Living Dead, in 2015.

You Can Find Her At:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Giveaway:

Zombie Swag Bag includes $5 Amazon card, Donna of the Dead mints (don’t get caught with zombie breath) and exploding eye gumballs (they squirt red goo when you bite into them, but are surprisingly delicious)!

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Blogoversary Day One: Joanne Rock's Top Summer Reading Spots + Giveaway

Hello everyone! I have decided to do something a little different this year for the blog's second blogoversary! This year, each day I will have a post or two from authors and bloggers that I ADORE! Many of them will have giveaways specific to the post, as well as the overall giveaway! The big giveaway has tons of prizes, from swag to signed copies of books!

And now, please welcome, Joanne Rock, author of Camp Boyfriend!

So, as a celebration of summer and reading, I thought I’d look for fun and inspiring places to curl up with a good book. Maybe you’ll get an idea to turn an ordinary corner of your room into a great reading space. Or maybe you’ll want to pack you beach bag full of good paperbacks and hit the road to find the ideal spot. Either way, I think you’re favorite pastime will be even more fun when you take the time to really get comfy.

Favorite Summer Reading Spots
By Joanne Rock

I have always found it interesting how reading is such a mental activity that completely transports us to a different place and time, yet the experience is improved when we are doing the reading in a place that is appealing. For example, while it’s nice to have a book to read in a bus station as a distraction from your actual physical space, it’s even more fun to have a book to read in a beautiful reading nook where you can dig in and get comfortable. In the first case, you need to read to forget where you are. In the second, you want to read for a long time because you’re in a place that’s comfortable and inviting.

So, as a celebration of summer and reading, I thought I’d look for fun and inspiring places to curl up with a good book. Maybe you’ll get an idea to turn an ordinary corner of your room into a great reading space. Or maybe you’ll want to pack you beach bag full of good paperbacks and hit the road to find the ideal spot. Either way, I think you’re favorite pastime will be even more fun when you take the time to really get comfy.

Poolside

I love reading by the pool. I don’t even need to swim as long as I have a good book and a little patch of shade. I’ve got an umbrella working here and a copy of I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson. How perfect is that?

Beach

Beach reading is even better than the pool for me because the sound of wind and waves is so relaxing. The laughter and conversations at the shore are even more soothing than the quiet hum of coffee shop chatter, it just fades into a pleasing, happy backdrop for me. And if a cute boy disrupts your reading when his Frisbee lands on your beach blanket… that’s a completely acceptable distraction.

Backyard

You’ll notice all my spots are outdoors so far. But it’s summer! If you spend half the year in cold weather, you’ll want to get outside as much as you can once the temperature stars climbing. My backyard is a great place to read, assuming there are no massive football games or neighborhood-wide basketball tournaments taking place in the driveway. With three active teenage sons, this is always a risk. But on a quiet day, I take my cup of tea outside and pick a shady spot. Sometimes my cat Duchess hangs out with me, which is fun until she steals my seat. 

Couch:

Of course, I don’t have it as bad as my writing partner, Karen. Her favorite reading nook is the couch, but it can be tricky turning pages in a book with a dog cuddled on your arm. Or head! Then again, sometimes a furry friend makes reading all the more fun if they park themselves in a good spot. If there’s a draft nearby or the air conditioning is cranked a little too high, it’s extra nice to have a warm pet covering your toes.

Window Seat:

I don’t have a window seat in my house, but I think they look like awesome places to read. I like going to the Houzz website and searching for window seats. Or Pinterest. How fun is this window seat that’s made up like a full-on bed, complete with teddy bear? You get the fun of the pet with the benefit of it not falling asleep on your pages.



Your Own Fort

Last but not least, I love the idea of building a special fort or tent for reading. I like blanket tents on the living room floor, a real tent outside with lots of pillows, or a special seat inside a treehouse. All of these have that “other world” feel that make it seem like you’re hidden away from everyone while you read. And above all, isn’t that what we want most as readers? We want a way to enter the special world of the story, and the assurance that no one is going to bother us for a long time!


I hope you find a fun spot to read a good book this summer, and if you’re looking for a summery read, I hope you’ll check out our “summer camp” books—CAMP BOYFRIEND, CAMP PAYBACK or—in October—CAMP FORGET ME NOT.

Synopsis:

They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school half-way across the country. Amazing what losing your braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren’s nerves and she can’t wait to return to summer camp where she’s valued for her brain instead of handsprings. She misses her old friends and her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she’s broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn’t begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.

But Matt isn’t giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn’t really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she’s more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren’s friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she’s changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?

You Can Find it At:

Goodreads
Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Website

Author Bio:

J.K. Rock is the partnership of Joanne Rock and Karen Rock, sisters-in-law who decided it would be fun to write YA books as a team. Their first book, Camp Boyfriend, is a Booksellers Best Finalist for Best YA novel. They love hearing from readers and encourage you to download the free prequel to their camp series- Camp Kiss—at the Spencer Hill Contemporary website. Learn more of about their books at the Camp Boyfriend website and follow 

You Can Find Them At:

Joanne-Twitter

Karen-Twitter

Facebook

Website

Tumblr

Pinterest

YouTube

Giveaway:

Print copy of Camp Boyfriend (US)
eCopy of Camp Boyfriend (INT)

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