Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights pre-publication/upcoming releases that readers cannot wait to get their hands on. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
Title: Crown of Oblivion Author: Julie Eshbaugh Pages: 384 Release Date: November 12th, 2019 Publisher: Harper Teen Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Synopsis
Astrid is the surrogate for Princess Renya, which means she bears the physical punishment if Renya steps out of line. Astrid has no choice—she and her family are Outsiders, the lower class of people without magic and without citizenship.
But there is a way out of this life—competing in the deadly Race of Oblivion. To enter the race, an Outsider is administered the drug Oblivion, which wipes their memory clear of their past as they enter a new world with nothing to help them but a slip of paper bearing their name and the first clue. It’s not as simple as solving a puzzle, however—for a majority of the contestants, the race ends in death. But winning would mean not only freedom for Astrid, but citizenship and health care for her entire family. With a dying father to think of, Astrid is desperate to prevail.
From the beginning, the race is filled with twists and turns. One of them is Darius, a fellow racer Astrid meets but isn’t sure she can trust. Though they team up in the race, as Astrid’s memories begin to resurface, she remembers just who he was to her—a scorned foe who may want revenge. Astrid also starts to notice she has powers no Outsider should—which could help her win the race, but also make her a target if anyone finds out. With stakes that couldn’t be higher, Astrid must decide what is more important: risking her life to remember the mysteries of the past, or playing a cutthroat game in order to win her—and her family’s—freedom.
I am super excited for this book! I am also on the street team so I get to chat with fellow book folk who are just as excited. The storyline is different, which was the main reason I was interested in it. I have an arc so I can’t wait to dive in soon and see how the race pans out for Astrid.
Title: How to Hack a Heartbreak Author: Kristin Rockaway Genre: Women’s Fiction/RomCom Publisher: Graydon House Publication Date: July 30th, 2019 Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR
Synopsis Swipe right for love. Swipe left for disaster.
By day, Mel Strickland is an underemployed helpdesk tech at a startup incubator, Hatch, where she helps entitled brogrammers–“Hatchlings”–who can’t even fix their own laptops, but are apparently the next wave of startup geniuses. And by night, she goes on bad dates with misbehaving dudes she’s matched with on the ubiquitous dating app, Fluttr.
But after one dick pic too many, Mel has had it. Using her brilliant coding skills, she designs an app of her own, one that allows users to log harrassers and abusers in online dating space. It’s called JerkAlert, and it goes viral overnight.
Mel is suddenly in way over her head. Worse still, her almost-boyfriend, the dreamy Alex Hernandez–the only non-douchey guy at Hatch–has no idea she’s the brains behind the app. Soon, Mel is faced with a terrible choice: one that could destroy her career, love life, and friendships, or change her life forever.
Quick Thoughts
I read the synopsis and it sounded pretty interesting. Mel is a character I could see surprising me with her wit and cleverness. I look forwarding to reading this!
About the Author
Kristin Rockaway is a native New Yorker and recovering corporate software engineer. After working in the IT industry for far too many years, she finally traded the city for the surf and chased her dreams out to Southern California, where she spends her days happily writing stories instead of code. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, browsing the aisles of her neighborhood bookstores, and planning her next big vacation.
*Thank you Fantastic Flying Book Club and Blink YA for providing a review copy and for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour. This review consists of my original thoughts and have not been influenced in any way.*
Synopsis
Ashlyn Zanotti has big plans for the summer. She’s just spent a year at boarding school and can’t wait to get home. But when Ashlyn’s father is arrested for tax evasion and her mother enters a rehab facility for “exhaustion,” a.k.a. depression, her life is turned upside down.
The cherry on top? Ashlyn’s father sends her to work with a cousin she doesn’t even know at a rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. A self-proclaimed “indoor girl,” not even Ash’s habit of leaving breadcrumb quotes—inspirational sayings she scribbles everywhere can help her cope.
With a dangerously careless camp manager doling out grunt work, an overbearing father trying to control her even from prison, and more than a little boy drama to struggle with, the summer is full of challenges. And Ashlyn must make the toughest decision of her life: keep quiet and follow her dad’s marching orders, or find the courage to finally stand up to her father to have any hope of finding her way back home.
Review
I was so intrigued by how this Hansel and Gretel retelling was written. It’s so unique and that uniqueness is what hooked me in. Ashlyn is sent to a retreat center to work for the summer after her father is set to go to prison and her mother is taken to a rehab facility for mental health. Ashlyn believes her perfect life and summer have been ruined from this decisions. Throughout the journey, she gains so much from this experience and it changes how she see things moving forward.
I enjoyed this novel mostly because it felt relate-able. Ashlyn had the teen angst related to the family situation. Although I couldn’t relate to situation directly, I understand the strain of teenager – parent relations all too well because I was pretty angsty as a teen. I love Ashlyn’s character development. She went from a character that we felt for because of her circumstance to being proud in her development as a strong protagonist willing and able to face challenges so much better than when she began her journey at the retreat center. Speaking of characters, the supporting characters were also very well developed. The author managed to make supporting characters that helped strengthen the protagonist but also added insight into their own development and stories. I was able to invest in all the characters because they were different and complimented each other so well.
This was a coming of age story that worked well. there wasn’t a damsel in distress stories that many contemporaries I’ve read have done. Through all the wilderness activities, conversations with characters and overall self-discovery, Ashlyn painted a vivid but relate-able story that captivated me form the first page. Throughout the story, the theme of family was very focused. We knew Ashlyn’s family structure was broken because she was no longer living with them and had to uproot herself for a whole summer. However, the family dynamic is important to this story. We understand why although Ashlyn wanted to be home, her relationship with her parents were strained. Ashlyn was trying to rebuild that trust and showing she can be perfect even though her father was far form that. It shone a light in how family structures may seem great on the outside and are vastly different on the inside.
Overall this book was a quick, light-hearted read. The writing style kept me wanting to turn the next page to see what Ashlyn was up to next. It was a contemporary read that is perfect for summer reading.
About the Author
Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who they’re meant to become–whether it’s her students or her characters. Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, and hopes to one day be bicoastal–the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland.
She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter. She is the author of IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE, EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE, and the forthcoming NO PLACE LIKE HERE.
Prize:5 BLINK Summer Reading Tour Book Bundles (A Touch of Gold, Meet the Sky, No Place Like Here, Pretty In Punxsutawney, and Swing by Kwame Alexander) (USA)
July 29
Beauty In the Binding – Author Q&A with Annie Sullivan
Onemused – Book Review of Meet the Sky (Instagram Photo)
A Bronx Latina Reads – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Cinnamon Summers – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes
A Dream Within a Dream – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
A Bookish Dream – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
Savings In Seconds – Book Review of Swing + Favorite Quotes
FictitiousWonderland – Book Review + Creative Post for Pretty In Punxsutawney (Instagram)
July 30
What She Will Read – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest Post
Never Too Many to Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Starlight Reads – Book Review of Swing
YA/NA Book Divas – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
YA Media Consumer – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Some Books and Ramblings – Interview with McCall Hoyle
Moonlight Rendezvous – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite QuotesThe Reading Corner for All – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Instagram Post
July 31
Feed Your Fiction Addiction – McCall Hoyle Guest PostTaylor Fenner’s
Bookish World – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Book-Keeping – Book Review of Touch of Gold
Utopia State of Mind – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Kait Plus Books – Annie Sullivan Guest Post
Musings of a (Book) Girl – Book Review of Swing
Kait Plus Books – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest Post
Read At Night – No Place Like Here Creative Post
Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite Quotes
Lifestyle of Me – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
August 1
Reading Authors Network – Creative Post for Swing
Story-eyed Reviews – Interview with Christina June
Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
The Secret Reader – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Creative Post
Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Swing
A Dream Within A Dream – Annie Sullivan Guest Post
Smada’s Book Smack – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
A Bookish Dream – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Adventures Thru Wonderland – Book Review of Meet the Sky
August 2
Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Pretty In PunxsutawneyThe Secret Reader – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Interview with Laurie Boyle Crompton + Creative Post
Smada’s Book Smack – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Faery Tales Are Real – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
Read At Night – Book Review of Swing + Creative Post
Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Swing
Eight authors from the Tempted and Tantalizing Author Event are joining together to bring you this paperback, which is exclusive to #TNTNYC19 and includes eight short stories. Some feature crossovers between existing clubs, others may introduce new clubs—all, however, have been patched over.
Saddle up and let the MC authors of TNTNYC take you on a ride you’ll never forget!
*Thank you Fantastic Flying Book Club and Blink YA for providing a review copy and for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour. This review consists of my original thoughts and have not been influenced in any way.*
Synopsis
A Groundhog Day meets Pretty in Pink mashup from author Laurie Boyle Crompton, Pretty in Punxsutawney tells the tale of a girl willing to look beneath the surface to see people for who they really are.
Andie is the type of girl who always comes up with the perfect thing to say…after it’s too late to say it. She’s addicted to romance movies—okay, all movies—but has yet to experience her first kiss. After a move to Punxsutawney, PA, for her senior year, she gets caught in an endless loop of her first day at her new school, reliving those 24 hours again and again.
Convinced the curse will be broken when she meets her true love, Andie embarks on a mission: infiltrating the various cliques to find the one boy who can break the spell. What she discovers along the way is that people who seem completely different can often share the very same hopes, dreams, and hang-ups. And that even a day that has been lived over and over can be filled with unexpected connections and plenty of happy endings.
Review
This was a good feel contemporary story. A mash-up between Groundhog Day and Pretty in Pink, young Andie is on a mission to find true love to break her curse. The plot mainly focused on the similarities between Pretty in Pink and how living a day over again could lead to so many different outcomes. The premise of the story was good, but there was a big focus on the pop culture in the story that at time took away from the main plot.
In terms of the characters, I was okay with Andie’s determination She was set on finding that true love, which in her case was nabbing that first kiss form Colton. To me, Andie felt like a typical teenager ready to get something that actually is not hers to own. In that aspect, I saw so many similarities to the movie Pretty in Pink that I was okay with. I also enjoyed her relationship with her parents. It was the typical, sometimes untypical relationship teens have with their parents without it feeling unrealistic or forced. Colton was the popular kid who I felt was able to transcend his popularity in every group. This was mostly due to his caring attitude or genuine upkeep of being nice enough to stay cool. My favorite character was definitely Tom. He was the underdog but the obvious choice when it comes to love interest. Andie’s journey showed that sometime being blind in love can blind you from the one thing that could make love blossom.
Overall, it was an okay read. It was short, but predictable. If you are looking for a sweet, pop culture nostalgia filled contemporary read, this is the book for you.
About the Author
Laurie Boyle Crompton is the YA author of the upcoming PRETTY IN PUNXSUTAWNEY (Blink/HarperCollins 2019) as well as ADRENALINE CRUSH (Macmillan/2014, Square Fish/2016), BLAZE (or Love in the Time of Supervillains), THE REAL PROM QUEENS OF WESTFIELD HIGH and LOVE AND VANDALISM (Sourcebooks/2013, 2014, 2017). Growing up in ‘Pennsyltucky’ in the 1980s, Laurie couldn’t wait to escape rural life. After saving up her tips from waitressing at a local greasy spoon at 18 she packed up her acid wash jeans and moved to NY. Where everyone else had stopped wearing acid wash.
She graduated first in her class from St. John’s University with a BA in English and Journalism. Since then she’s written for national magazines like ALLURE, survived a teaching stint at an all-boy high school, and appeared on Good Day New York several times as a Toy Expert. And yes, ‘toy expert’ is an actual profession. Really.
She has lived in places like Orlando, Florida where she and her husband spent all of their spare time and money visiting theme parks before moving to the Cotswolds in England for six months, which was every bit as cool as that sounds. The Cromptons are now back in New York where their two children resent never going to Disney.
Laurie occasionally enjoys hanging out in fields of blooming flowers and also referring to her-self in the third person.
Prize:5 BLINK Summer Reading Tour Book Bundles (A Touch of Gold, Meet the Sky, No Place Like Here, Pretty In Punxsutawney, and Swing by Kwame Alexander) (USA)
Marshmallow Pudding – Christina June Guest Post
Never Too Many to Read – Creative Post for No Place Like Here
Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of Swing + Favorite QuotesNay’s Pink Bookshelf – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Favorite QuotesFictitiousWonderland – Book Review + Creative Post for A Touch of Gold (Instagram) Story-eyed Reviews – Interview with McCall Hoyle
Will Read Anything – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Kait Plus Books – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes
The Reading Corner for All – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Instagram Post
July 26
Adventures Thru Wonderland – McCall Hoyle Guest Post
Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
What She Will Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes
Starlight Reads – Book Playlist for Swing Story-eyed Reviews – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes
Library of a Book Witch – Book Review of A Touch of GoldWill Read Anything – Book Review of Swing
Inky Moments – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes
July 29
Beauty In the Binding – Author Q&A with Annie SullivanOnemused – Book Review of Meet the Sky (Instagram Photo)A Bronx Latina Reads – Book Review of No Place Like HereCinnamon Summers – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes
A Dream Within a Dream – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
A Bookish Dream – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
Savings In Seconds – Book Review of Swing + Favorite Quotes
FictitiousWonderland – Book Review + Creative Post for Pretty In Punxsutawney (Instagram)
July 30
What She Will Read – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest Post
Never Too Many to Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Starlight Reads – Book Review of Swing
YA/NA Book Divas – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
YA Media Consumer – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Some Books and Ramblings – Interview with McCall Hoyle
Moonlight Rendezvous – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite QuotesThe Reading Corner for All – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Instagram Post
July 31
Feed Your Fiction Addiction – McCall Hoyle Guest PostTaylor Fenner’s Bookish World – Book Review of No Place Like HereBook-Keeping – Book Review of Touch of Gold
Utopia State of Mind – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Kait Plus Books – Annie Sullivan Guest PostMusings of a (Book) Girl – Book Review of Swing
Kait Plus Books – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest PostRead At Night – No Place Like Here Creative Post
Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite Quotes
Lifestyle of Me – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
August 1
Reading Authors Network – Creative Post for Swing Story-eyed Reviews – Interview with Christina June
Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
The Secret Reader – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Creative Post
Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Swing
A Dream Within A Dream – Annie Sullivan Guest Post
Smada’s Book Smack – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
A Bookish Dream – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Adventures Thru Wonderland – Book Review of Meet the Sky
August 2
Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Pretty In PunxsutawneyThe Secret Reader – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Interview with Laurie Boyle Crompton + Creative PostSmada’s Book Smack – Book Review of No Place Like HereFaery Tales Are Real – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
Read At Night – Book Review of Swing + Creative Post
Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Swing
A Bronx Latina Reads 