{Blog Tour} The Trail Rules (The Rules Series #2) - Melanie Hooyenga (Review & Giveaway)

The Trail Rules (The Rules Series #2)
by Melanie Hooyenga
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 9th 2018

Summary:

Junior year’s looking up for sixteen-year old Mike. Her new BFF isn’t a sadistic control freak, her boyfriend adores her, and she’s learning to bike in the mountains without decapitating herself on a tree.

Well, almost.

When she meets a group of riders who welcome her into their pack, she feels like she’s finally found where she belongs. One particular rider—a boy with an amazing smile and an even more amazing ability to see what she’s truly capable of—gives her the confidence to go after what she wants: her own life with her own rules.

There’s only one problem—he’s not her boyfriend.

Just as things seem to be falling into place, her parents put on the pressure to figure out her future—one that doesn’t include riding. Mike soon realizes that having everything isn’t that great when she’s not the one choosing it. She needs to decide if she’s going to continue to be a follower or step out of the shadows and find her own trail.

Add to Goodreads

The Slope Rules (The Rules series #1) on Goodreads

Buy Links:

Print: https://www.amazon.com/Trail-Rules-2/dp/1984240587

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Trail-Rules-2/dp/1984240587

BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-trail-rules-melanie-hooyenga/1127920278

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-trail-rules

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/793788

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/author/melanie-hooyenga/id714226093

Review 

This book follows Mike as she believes she has the perfect life at the moment.  Although once Mike starts to look at her life, maybe everything isn’t as perfect as it seems.  Mike is into mountain biking and found a new group to hang out with that don’t go to her school and aren’t tangled into all the drama that her school brings.  Mike gets to be almost a different person on the trail and needs to make some life decisions she is afraid to make.

This is the second book in The Rules story so if you read the first book you know a little about Mike prior to the story beginning, but this book could completely be read as a standalone novel.

Mike was a great main character.  The author gave us a nice conflict of figuring out what to do when you have previous expectations.  I loved that the chance was there to blaze your own path.  I loved that we got to get a lot of feelings from Mike as she was trying to make decisions about what she really wanted out of life.  I enjoyed getting to know Mike in this book.

I loved the mountain bike aspect of the book. I know a little about mountain biking, but the author did a great job bringing it to life in the book and making it work.  I didn’t know how intense it could be and the author did a great job grabbing my attention with mountain biking.

I would suggest this as a nighttime read.  There were parts of the book I found that I could put it down and keep reading the next night.  I enjoy a book where I can read a little bit here and there.

I received a copy of this book from YA Bound Tours to provide an honest review.  This does not affect my opinion of this book. 

About the Author

Multi-award winning young adult author Melanie Hooyenga first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. She has lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but has finally settled down in her home state of Michigan. When not at her day job as a Communications Director at a nonprofit, you can find Melanie attempting to wrangle her Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with her husband Jeremy.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Instagram

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

                                  

Blog Tour Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

Wintersong - S. Jae-Jones (Review)

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publication date:  February 7th 2017
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Format: ebook, 436 pages
How I got it: The Fantastic Flying Book Club
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 3/5 

Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.

All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.

But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.

Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world. 

..............................................................................

   

My thoughts:

This book follows Liesel as she must venture into the realm of the Goblin King to save her sister Kathe who was taken by the Goblins.   Liesel is protective of her family and feels full responsibility for losing her sister.  Liesel needs to make sure that Kathe gets home safe no matter what.  Liesel has always heard stories of the underground so she feels somewhat connected before she even ventures in to save her sister.

The author does an amazing job creating the world above and underground.  I loved that we got to learn about the restraints of the underground as well as what everyone looked like.  We get to see what Liesel is seeing through her eyes. 

I enjoyed the romance in this book between Liesel and the Goblin King.  It is somewhat slow burning, but they have known each other for years. I loved that we got flash backs into Liesel’s previous meetings with the Goblin King even if she didn’t fully realize what is going on.  The author did a great job creating the relationship between Liesel and the Goblin King.  As I was reading you can tell the issues that arise between the two of them, but you can also feel the chemistry coming through.

I loved that Liesel came into her own while taking on the role of Goblin King’s wife.  She got to focus on herself and learn what made Liesel, Liesel.  I enjoyed learning how she evolved and what her true passions in life where.   I felt we saw tremendous growth in Liesel throughout the book.

My major complaint for this book would be that it is slightly over descriptive.   There were parts of the book I felt like skimming over it was just going to great into detail that I didn’t really need to now all that information.  Although the author does an amazing job creating the detailed world at some points I wanted the story to keep moving versus all the descriptive.  I felt it slowed the pace down in the book and left me skipping sections. 

I received a copy of this book from The Fantastic Flying Book Club in exchange for an honest review.  This does not affect my opinion of this book. 

 ..............................................................................

About the Author

S. Jae-Jones, called JJ, is an artist, an adrenaline junkie, and the NYT bestselling author of Wintersong.

Born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, she lived in New York City for ten years before relocating down to Dixie, where she is comfortably growing fat on grits and barbecue. When not writing, she can be found rock-climbing, skydiving, taking photographs, drawing pictures, and dragging her dog on ridiculously long hikes.

Author Links:

   

A Good Idea - Cristina Moracho (Review)

A Good Idea by Cristina Moracho 
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Mystery
Publication date: February 28, 2017
Publisher: Listening Library
Format: Audiobook, 10 hours and 54 minutes
How I got it: My public library
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5 

Fin and Betty’s close friendship survived Fin’s ninth-grade move from their coastal Maine town to Manhattan. Calls, letters, and summer visits continued to bind them together, and in the fall of their senior year, they both applied to NYU, planning to reunite for good as roommates.

Then Betty disappears. Her ex-boyfriend Calder admits to drowning her, but his confession is thrown out, and soon the entire town believes he was coerced and Betty has simply run away. Fin knows the truth, and she returns to Williston for one final summer, determined to get justice for her friend, even if it means putting her loved ones—and herself—at risk.

But Williston is a town full of secrets, where a delicate framework holds everything together, and Fin is not the only one with an agenda. How much is she willing to damage to get her revenge and learn the truth about Betty’s disappearance, which is more complicated than she ever imagined—and infinitely more devastating?

..............................................................................

   

My thoughts:

This book contains topics that might be triggers.  There is a large amount of drug use, sexual contact, binge drinking, and depression in the book.  Also, this book deals with mostly just graduated seniors before college so a younger age group.

This book starts up with Fin returning to her father’s house from Manhattan after her best friend Betty had disappeared during their senior year.  We jump into the story right as Fin is sitting at graduation awaiting Betty’s name to be mentioned and when it isn’t you can see the emotions come right off Fin.  Fin has decided she will figure out what happened to Betty while she is town and needs this to get closure.  Fin believes Betty has been killed and is not missing.

Fin has a somewhat of a boyfriend named Owen when she is in town.  Owen runs his family dinner and is the town drug dealer.  The relationship between Fin and Owen is interesting they seem to not be friends outside of the time she spends in time and, they appear to be close at the same time.  The way the relationship turns out is an interesting listen.

The book went into a lot of details of how people felt regarding Betty’s disappearance.   We get to see how each character felt about what happened to Betty and how afterwards they thought why didn’t they try to stop her.  It takes a hard look at actions and reactions.    Everyone got to take a good reflection about what they may have missed or how they could have stopped Betty.

Serena was another character that joined the mix in helping to bring justice for Betty.  Serena comes off to me immediately as if she is hiding something.  I am not sure why, but it might be how she is introduced that comes off as shady and something is off.  I did enjoy how the relationship between Serena and Fin came together.

My biggest complaint was the ending of this book.  I listened to the audio of the book and it appears the climax ends with about an hour left in the audio.  The last hour is dedicated to tying up all the loose ends as possible.  I felt like it was almost too neatly tied up.  I could have left with more vagueness of what happened to everyone, but the author took the time to explain what happened in detail after the climax.  

I would suggest reading this book over the weekend or when you have a longer time to read.  The book had a lot of parts that I couldn’t stop listening to and I ended up binge listening to the book in one day at work.   It was hard for me to stop listening because you could tell the book was building and building up for something big to happen. 

 ..............................................................................

About the Author

Cristina Moracho is a novelist and freelance writer/editor. Her debut novel, Althea & Oliver (Viking), will be published this October. She lives in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where she makes all the bad decisions.

Author Links:
   

{Blog Tour} I Stop Somewhere - T.E. Carter (Review & Giveaway)

I Stop Somewhere 

by T.E. Carter

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Release Date: February 27, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

Ellie Frias disappeared long before she vanished.

Tormented throughout middle school, Ellie begins her freshman year with a new look: she doesn't need to be popular; she just needs to blend in with the wallpaper.

But when the unthinkable happens, Ellie finds herself trapped after a brutal assault. She wasn't the first victim, and now she watches it happen again and again. She tries to hold on to her happier memories in order to get past the cold days, waiting for someone to find her.

The problem is, no one searches for a girl they never noticed in the first place.

TE Carter's stirring and visceral debut not only discusses and dismantles rape culture, but it also reminds us what it is to be human.

BOOK LINKS

•      Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34499231-i-stop-somewhere

•      Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/I-Stop-Somewhere-TE-Carter/dp/1250124646/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1508870795&sr=1-1

•      Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-stop-somewhere-te-carter/1125855909?ean=9781250124647

•      Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/I-Stop-Somewhere-T-E-Carter/9781250124647?ref=grid-view&qid=1516375677934&sr=1-1

•      Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/i-stop-somewhere-1

•      IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250124647

•      iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/i-stop-somewhere/id1265712732?mt=11

REVIEW

This book contains the topic of rape culture, it might be a trigger for people.

This book is about Ellie who disappeared after being captured and assaulted.  Ellie tells us the story of what is happening and how she got there in her own words.  

At first when I was reading I didn’t love the back and forth between past and present I was completely confused on where Ellie was, but as the book goes on I found it to be the perfect start for this book.  We go back and forth into Ellie’s memories before she was taken and get a look into where she is currently.  The author leaves it somewhat vague and grows into more details as the story transforms, which was also driving me a little crazy while reading.  I wanted more information up front, but in the end, it was worth it.  The author did a great job building the story and Ellie's life.

Ellie was trying to reinvent herself for high school and by doing this she wanted to make herself blend in more versus being bullied.  Ellie reaches out to a neighbor to reinvent her look, which is an interesting relationship that we get a look into.  Ellie doesn’t consider her a friend, but the amount of interaction really does show that they weren’t friends that confide in each other.

I loved that we got a look into how Ellie felt about not having a mother growing up as well as a look into the relationship between Ellie and her father.  Ellie breaks down the relationship between her and her father while she is narrating because she doesn’t have much else going on so it feels like a deeper insight.   The author does a great job with the pacing of the story it kept me hooked and wanting to keep reading.  I wanted to know what was going to happen to Ellie in the end.

The story does take a darker turn in the book.  I found it a little shocking, but it worked with this story.  I did like that we got to see the entire story through from the beginning until the end.  I did feel complete once I finished this book.

I would suggest this as a weekend read.  I found it hard to put the book down I wanted to try and piece together what was going on in the book.  

I received a copy of this book from the Fantastic Flying Book Club for an honest review.  This does not affect my opinion of this book.

My Rating: 4/5

TOUR SCHEDULE

Blog tour schedule link: http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/01/tour-schedule-i-stop-somewhere-by-te.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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.

GIVEAWAY

•      Prize: 1 hardcover copy of I STOP SOMEWHERE by T.E. Carter (US Only)

•      Starts: 2/19

•      Ends: 3/9

•     

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Blog Tour} Shadowsong - S. Jae-Jones (Review & Giveaway)

Shadowsong (Wintersong #2)

by S. Jae-Jones

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Release Date: February 6, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can’t forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her. 

When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King—who he was, who he is, and who he will be. What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world—or the ones Liesl loves—is in her hands?

BOOK LINKS

•      Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30694168-shadowsong

•      Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shadowsong-S-Jae-Jones/dp/1250129133/ref=bseries_primary_1_1250129133

•      Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadowsong-s-jae-jones/1126245370?ean=9781250129130#/

•      Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Shadowsong-S-Jae-jones/9781785655463?ref=grid-view&qid=1517549146544&sr=1-1

•      Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/shadowsong

•      IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250129130

•      iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadowsong/id1251255910?mt=11

 REVIEW

Liesl is back again in the second book of the series.  This book picks up from where the first book left off with Liesel returning from the underground after being released.   Liesl is dealing with heartbreak and also trying to put her family back together when we meet her back in this book.  She is trying to get her life back together, but also worried about her brother Josef since he is still off traveling for his new job.

Liesl has a lot of emotions going on in her head at this time and she is trying to figure out her next steps in life.  She thinks the opportunity of a lifetime has come in the form of a music lover and also she will be reunited with her brother Josef, but things aren't always as they seem.

The author does an amazing job bringing not only the characters to life, but the scenery as well.  The author is very talented with describing what is going on and it really brings the book to life when you are reading.   I could imagine myself being transported to the different locations in the book while just reading the authors descriptions. 

I enjoyed my Kathe scenes in this book a lot.  I felt that the comments that she was making in the book helped me understand what everyone might be seeing from Liesl.   The book is told mostly through Liesl thoughts and we get to see that she has a lot going on in her mind.  Kathe helps to show the reader what Liesl's actions where doing to others or how others might view her.   Also, Kathe has some other pivotal points in the book that help bring her to life. 

My biggest issue with the book was some of the pacing.  It felt like some parts of the book sort of began dragging for me and I wanted to figure out what was going to happen so I felt like almost skimming until the action picked back up.  Once the action picked up again though I couldn't put the book down.

I would suggest this as a nighttime read. I found sections of the book that I felt I was able to put down and pick it back up.   The book does have a nice transition from Wintersong so I would also suggest reading the first book in the series first.  I would not consider this a stand alone novel. 

I received a copy of this book from The Fantastic Flying Book Club to provide an honest review.  This does no affect my opinion of this book.

My Rating: 4/5

TOUR SCHEDULE

Blog tour schedule link: http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/01/tour-schedule-shadowsong-wintersong-2.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S. Jae-Jones, called JJ, is an artist, an adrenaline junkie, and the NYT bestselling author of Wintersong.

Born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, she lived in New York City for ten years before relocating down to Dixie, where she is comfortably growing fat on grits and barbecue. When not writing, she can be found rock-climbing, skydiving, taking photographs, drawing pictures, and dragging her dog on ridiculously long hikes.

GIVEAWAY

Prize: 1 copy of Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones (US Only)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d9681b86281/?

Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard (Review)

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Series: Pretty Little Liars # 1
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Mystery
Publication date: June 8, 2010
Publisher:  HarperAudio
Format: audiobook, 7 hours and 5 minutes 
How I got it: My public library
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
My rating: 3/5 

Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back? A strong launch for a suspenseful series.

..............................................................................

   

My thoughts:

This is my first Sara Shepard book that I listened too.  I have never seen the Pretty Little Liars show, but did enjoy watching the preview when it came out I just never got around to watching the show. 

This book is the first in the Pretty Little Liars series that follows the four girls who used to be best friends with Allison who disappeared three years ago from a slumber party.  The four girls drifted apart from one another and now live their own lives.

Each of the four girls begin receiving text messages from someone calling themselves “A” who knows all their secrets.  The big issue is that the only person who knew the secrets was Allison who went missing.  The girls don’t want to divulge the secrets to each other because they only shared them with Allison.  It doesn’t appear that the girls were all friends together, but rather each a friend to Allison and acquaintances to each other.    

The author does a great job creating the four different personalities of the girls Emily, Aria, Spencer and Hanna.  Each girl is going through their own drama related to the secrets as well as new developments.  It also seems though that “A” is watching them currently leading them to believe she might be alive. 

The story is very fast paced and an easy listen.  We get details of each of the girl’s lives, secrets, struggles and then we get to piece together the little mystery.    Aria just got back from overseas with her parents and is hiding a secret about her dad’s infidelity.  Emily is the star of the swim team and hiding that she is gay.  Spencer is almost valedictorian and hiding that she tries to steal her sister’s boyfriends.  Lastly, we have Hanna who feels her father abandoned her for a new family.  They all develop new secrets that “A” is also trying to bring to light.  I enjoyed learning about the girls and watching them each struggle with what is going on.  I did want them to come together in this book, but it is a longer series so we will see what happens.  

My one biggest issue was in the audio it took me a few chapters to figure out exactly what girl is what.  They had the same narrator for all the girls so it was challenging to figure out who was who.  I think reading the book might have helped with this issue as you could have easily looked back to see who was narrating the chapter.

I would suggest this as a perfect nighttime read.  It was easy to stop in between the chapters since the narrator was changing.  I found the book had natural stopping parts that helped me to stop and start the book without missing the storyline.   I can’t wait to see where the author takes the series.  

 ..............................................................................

About the Author

For as long as she can remember, Sara Shepard has been writing. However, when she was young she also wanted to be a soap opera star, a designer for LEGO, a filmmaker, a claymation artist, a geneticist, and a fashion magazine editor when she grew up. She and her sister have been creating joint artistic and written projects for years, except they’re pretty sure they’re the only ones who find them funny.

She got her MFA at Brooklyn College and now lives outside Philadelphia, PA with her husband and dogs. Her first adult novel is called The Visibles/ All The Things We Didn’t Say.

Sara’s bestselling young adult series, Pretty Little Liars, is loosely based on her experiences growing up on Philadelphia’s Main Line…although luckily she never had any serious stalkers. The series has also inspired the ABC Family television series of the same name.

Author Links: