Book Title:
Bloom
Book Author:
Kevin Panetta
Book Illustrator:
Savanna Ganucheau
Page Count:
368
Publishing Date:
February 12th, 2019
Publisher:
First Second
Date Read:
January 6th, 2019
Format:
ARC
Source:
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review - Thank you!

Synopsis

Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band―if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.

Writer Kevin Panetta and artist Savanna Ganucheau concoct a delicious recipe of intricately illustrated baking scenes and blushing young love, in which the choices we make can have terrible consequences, but the people who love us can help us grow.

My Review

It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a graphic novel, and since I had the ARC of Bloom, I decided it was time to dive into it. I absolutely adore graphic novels, and this sounded like such a great … Continue reading

4 stars
1 Comment
Book Title:
No Exit
Book Author:
Taylor Adams
Page Count:
336
Publishing Date:
January 15th, 2019
Publisher:
William Morrow
Date Read:
February 23rd, 2019
Format:
Hardcover
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

A brilliant, edgy thriller about four strangers, a blizzard, a kidnapped child, and a determined young woman desperate to unmask and outwit a vicious psychopath.

A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?

On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside, are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.

Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.

Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?

There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?

Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape.

But who can she trust?

With exquisitely controlled pacing, Taylor Adams diabolically ratchets up the tension with every page. Full of terrifying twists and hairpin turns, No Exit will have you on the edge of your seat and leave you breathless.

My Review

YES! A 5 star thriller! I have been waiting for one of these for a while – it’s been so long since I’ve read such an amazing thriller like this! While I  normally love thrillers, I don’t usually read ones … Continue reading

5 stars
3 Comments
Book Tour

Title: QUEEN TO ASHES (Black Dawn #2) Author: Mallory McCartney Pub. Date: January 8, 2019 Publisher: Clean Reads Publishing Formats: eBook Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Amazon Canada  Synopsis: “You lived your entire life feeling like half of you was missing. Fight for the missing part. Fight for this.” Emory … Continue reading

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Book Title:
Shout
Book Author:
Laurie Halse Anderson
Page Count:
304
Publishing Date:
March 12th, 2019
Publisher:
Viking Books
Date Read:
March 7th, 2019
Format:
Hardcover
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

A searing poetic memoir and call to action from the bestselling and award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson!

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society's failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice-- and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

My Review

Wait wait wait, back up – Speak was published 20 years ago? Seriously? It’s hard to believe I was only nine when that book was published. Geez. Anyway. I don’t really read memoirs that often (or nonfiction), but this book … Continue reading

5 stars
12 Comments
Book Tour

Within These Lines Author: Stephanie Morrill Publisher: BLINK Release date: March 5, 2019 Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, WWII Synopsis: Evalina Cassano’s life in an Italian-American family in 1941 is everything it “should be” until she falls in love with … Continue reading

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The 2020 elections in the United States are about to take over the news in the western world for the better part of two years. It will be exhausting to many who prefer not to follow politics closely – or … Continue reading

1 Comment
Book Title:
Good Enough
Book Author:
Jen Petro-Roy
Page Count:
272
Publishing Date:
February 19th, 2019
Publisher:
Feiwel & Friends
Date Read:
February 25th, 2019
Format:
Hardcover
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

Before she had an eating disorder, twelve-year-old Riley was many things: an aspiring artist, a runner, a sister, and a friend.

But now, from inside the inpatient treatment center where she's receiving treatment for anorexia, it's easy to forget all of that. Especially since under the influence of her eating disorder, Riley alienated her friends, abandoned her art, turned running into something harmful, and destroyed her family's trust.

If Riley wants her life back, she has to recover.

Part of her wants to get better. As she goes to therapy, makes friends in the hospital, and starts to draw again, things begin to look up.

But when her roommate starts to break the rules, triggering Riley's old behaviors and blackmailing her into silence, Riley realizes that recovery will be even harder than she thought. She starts to think that even if she does "recover," there's no way she'll stay recovered once she leaves the hospital and is faced with her dieting mom, the school bully, and her gymnastics-star sister.

Written by an eating disorder survivor, this is a realistic depiction of inpatient eating disorder treatment, and a moving story about a girl who has to fight herself to survive.

My Review

Last year (it’s so hard to believe it was actually last year already), I read P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy, and I thought it was one of the most beautiful middle grade books that I’ve ever read. Of … Continue reading

4 stars
1 Comment
Book Tour
Book Title:
The Beauty of the Moment
Book Author:
Tanaz Bhathena
Page Count:
320
Publishing Date:
February 26th, 2019
Publisher:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date Read:
February 12th, 2019
Format:
ARC
Source:
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review - Thank you!

Synopsis

Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.

Susan’s parents are on the verge of divorce. Malcolm’s dad is a known adulterer.

Susan hasn’t told anyone, but she wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn’t know what he wants—until he meets her.

Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.

My Review

I actually just bought a copy of A Girl Like That about two weeks ago because I’ve been wanting to read it for a while and haven’t had a chance to pick it up yet. While I haven’t read that … Continue reading

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Book Tour
Book Title:
Smoke & Summons
Book Author:
Charlie N. Holmberg
Book Series:
Numina Trilogy, #1
Page Count:
323
Publishing Date:
February 1st, 2019
Publisher:
47North
Date Read:
February 6th, 2019
Format:
Kindle Edition
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

A captivating world of demons and dark magic from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician novels.

As a human vessel for an ancient spirit, Sandis has never lived an ordinary life. At the command of her master, she can be transformed against her will into his weapon—a raging monster summoned to do his bidding. Unlike other vessels, Sandis can host extremely powerful spirits, but hosting such creatures can be fatal. To stay alive, she must run. And in a city fueled by smoke and corruption, she finds a surprising ally.

A cunning thief-for-hire, Rone owns a rare device that grants him immortality for one minute every day—a unique advantage that will come in handy in Sandis’s fight for freedom. But Sandis’s master knows how powerful she is. He’s determined to get her back, and he has the manpower to find her, wherever she runs.

Now, to outwit her pursuers, Sandis must put all her trust in Rone and his immortal device. For her master has summoned more than mere men to hunt her down . . .

My Review

Despite having bought the Paper Magician series on Kindle and owning all the books, I still have yet to pick them up and read them. However, when I heard about this one, got a peek at that awesome cover, and … Continue reading

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Finding time to fit exercise into a busy schedule can be difficult, especially if you are the type of person who has a lot going on. Between school, work, kids, running a house, and trying to keep up with all … Continue reading

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