Monday, January 30, 2023

REVIEW + GIVEAWAY starring... The Wicked Ones by Robin Benway

We're back again with another fabulous tour featuring a not-to-be-missed title you'll be chomping at the bit to read!  I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE WICKED ONES by Robin Benway BLOG TOUR hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my review, snag your chance to enter the giveaway, and then make your way to the other sites participating for more bookish fun. Ladies and gents, may I present...

 

THE WICKED ONES (Dark Ascension, 1)

by Robin Benway

Pub. Date: January 10, 2023

Publisher: Disney Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 320

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/THE-WICKED-ONES

"Blood is blood...and one way or another, we all bleed."

Drizella and Anastasia only know one thing for certain: they will never end up like their mother, Lady Tremaine. When their father left them as young girls, he took what was left of their family’s fortune and their mother’s dignity with him. A few years and one deceased stepfather later, the only version of Lady Tremaine that Drizella and Anastasia know is a bitter and cruel head of house. Anastasia and Drizella have promised themselves―and each other―that they'll be different. They'll find love, see the world, and never let their hearts go cold.

But both sisters are all too aware of what it can mean when cast into disfavor with their mother, and fueled by Lady Tremaine’s tendencies to pit the daughters against one another, Drizella and Anastasia are locked into a complicated waltz of tenuous sisterhood. On the cusp of the royal debut party―their one chance to impress the Prince and live up to their mother’s expectations―the sisters at last get a glimpse of what life could be like outside of Lady Tremaine’s intentions: Drizella discovering a love of science and Anastasia sparking a secret romance. But never underestimate the power a mother whose greatest talents lie in manipulation, and the sisters may learn that even the cruelest of hearts can spill blood.

This first book in the new Disney Villains Dark Ascension series by National Book Award-winning author Robin Benway explores the complex sibling rivalry between the two wicked stepsisters from Cinderella that turned them into the characters we know today.

 


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Alright, so first things first, this isn't exactly the Cinderella story you know, but rather a story that spins its own web, weaves its own magic,  while still retaining a few bits here and there to keep things vaguely familiar. Now, before you jump the gun, don't let that put you off in the least because it's truly memorable in its own accord! Just listen...

It's sort of the story of what turned the stepsisters from not-quite-meshing siblings to absolutely wicked.  It'll soften your heart to their plight... right up until the actual change (at least it did mine!)... and make it THAT much easier to understand them, if such a thing was formerly desired. The thing is...here, they weren't so bad to start out. If you hadn't guessed, it boils down to upbringing, and Lady Tremaine was not a force to mess with.  Again, we're brought into her inner circle (so to speak) to see bits of what made her the way she was, but the end to which she goes to in order to ensure her own happiness or comfort above all else is truly disturbing. At some point, you can't simpy blame your circumstances. Look at Ella! She certainly wasn't given the moon or stars once her father passed, and yet she found some amount of joy in her day. The girls try, and they almost reach that happy-ever-after ending, but for whom, how, and if it's successful, I'll have to leave you in the dark. Can't run around spoiling things, now can I?

Suffice it to say, this is a story fairytale fans won't want to miss! It's also the start of a new series with Disney Press, the DARK ASCENSION SERIES, that sounds VERY promising indeed! Step away from the fairytale and look beyond the fairy godmother assist to discover just how real a dream of the heart can be, when discovered or shattered! 


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About the author...

Robin Benway is a National Book Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author of eight novels for young adults, including Far From the Tree, Audrey, Wait!, the AKA series, and Emmy & Oliver. Her books have received numerous awards and recognition, including the PEN America Literary Award, the Blue Ribbon Award from the Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults, and ALA’s Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. In addition, her novels have received starred reviews from Bookpage, Kirkus, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly, and have been published in more than 25 countries. Her sixth novel, Far From the Tree, won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the PEN America Award, and was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR, PBS, Entertainment Weekly, and the Boston Globe. In addition to her fictional work, her non-fiction work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Bustle, Elle, and more. Her latest book, A Year To the Day, was published on June 21, 2022, and her next book, The Wicked Ones, the origin story of Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters, will be released by Disney Books on January 10, 2023.

Robin grew up in Orange County, California, attended NYU, where she was a recipient of the Seth Barkas Prize for Creative Writing, and is a graduate of UCLA. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Hudson.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon  | BookBub

 


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Giveaway

1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE WICKED ONES, US Only.

Ends February 4th, midnight EST.




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Special thanks to the Rockstar Book Tours team for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the publisher for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online store, or plan a trip to your local brick and mortar! Catch the rest of the tour for more!


Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/2/2022

Ohyouread

IG Post

1/3/2022

Kait Plus Books

Excerpt/IG Post

1/4/2022

YA Books Central

Excerpt/IG Post

1/5/2022

OddandBookish

Review/IG Post

1/6/2022

Nerdophiles

Review/IG Post

1/7/2022

@more.books.yes.please

IG Review/TikTok Post

Week Two:

1/8/2022

Wanderingwitchreads

TikTok Review/IG Post

1/9/2022

Books With A Chance of Traveling

Review/IG Post

1/10/2022

travelersguidetobooks

IG Review

1/11/2022

Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog

Review/IG Post

1/12/2022

booksaremagictoo

Review/IG Post

1/13/2022

NeverKnotReading

IG Review

1/14/2022

Mindyourshelf

Review/IG Post

Week Three:

1/15/2022

The Momma Spot

Review/IG Post

1/16/2022

The Book View

Review/IG Post

1/17/2022

Library of Becca

Review/IG Post

1/18/2022

A Bookish Dream

Review/IG Post

1/19/2022

A Backwards Story

Review/IG Post

1/20/2022

onemused

IG Review

1/21/2022

@carlysunshinebooks

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

Week Four:

1/22/2022

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

1/23/2022

popthebutterfly

Review/IG Post

1/24/2022

OneMoreExclamation

Review/IG Post

1/25/2022

@froggyreadteach

IG Review

1/26/2022

Lisa Loves Literature

Review/IG Post

1/27/2022

Emily Ashlyn

IG Review/FB Post

1/28/2022

@enjoyingbooksagain

IG Review

Week Five:

1/29/2022

Momfluenster

IG Review/FB Post

1/30/2022

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Review/IG Post

1/31/2022

@drew_ambitious_reading

IG Review/TikTok Post




Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!


Saturday, January 28, 2023

REVIEW starring... The Marriage Season by Jane Dunn


Time to step back in time with Rachel's Random Resources as we take part in their latest tour featuring a new Historical Romance novel you won't want to miss. Grab your best day dress, and prepare to wow the ton as we take a closer look at today's ebook of choice...



The Marriage Season
by
Jane Dunn


About the book...

‘It’s not a fair world I’m afraid. Beauty or fortune carries the day. You have the beauty and I the fortune, so there’s every chance we’ll succeed’

In Regency England, marriage is everything. For young widow Sybella Lovatt, the time has come to find a suitable husband for her sister and ward Lucie. Male suitors are scarce near their Wiltshire estate, so the sisters resolve to head to London in time for The Season to begin.

Once ensconced at the Mayfair home of Lady Godley, Lucie’s godmother, the whirl of balls, parties and promenades can begin. But the job of finding a husband is fraught with rules and tradition.

Jostling for attention are the two lords – the charming and irresistible Freddie Lynwood and the preternaturally handsome Valentine Ravenell, their enigmatic neighbour from Shotten Hall, Mr Brabazon, and the dangerous libertine Lord Rockliffe, with whom the brooding Brabazon is locked in deadly rivalry.

Against the backdrop of glamorous Regency England, Sybella must settle Lucie’s future, protect her own reputation, and resist the disreputable rakes determined to seduce the beautiful widow. As the Season ends, will the sisters have found the rarest of things – a suitable marriage with a love story to match?






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Honestly, this one was so much fun!
From the impromptu meet cute where he quite literally fell for her, despite "her" not actually being in the vicinity when the fall happened, to the tenuous relationship formed between the guardians, you have your hands full and your heart on your sleeve!

The sisters were quite the duo, each eligible in their own way, and yet not as well. The hoops ladies had to jump through back on the day, despite having read my fair share of Historical Romance novels, still surprises! I suppose some of those obstacles still exist today though because how often do you hear or see or experience someone not being their true self, but a representation of their best behavior when "courting" a potential love interest? Am I right? I mean, finding that one, that person that gets us, takes us as we are, is the ultimate goal, and Sybella won't stand for anything less for Lucie... what about you? Anywho, back to the book...

I had my reservations about a few characters, while my heart was rather open to a few others. However, while the love matches can be vexing, you can't help but smile at the antics of the little boy! You really do never know what he's going to say next, do you? 😂 Ah, the innocence of childhood... and the laughter it can bring to any hardened heart. 

Suffice it to say, this story had all the makings of a grand tale, and the ending did not disappoint. Genre fans take note, definitely one not to miss!



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About the author...

Jane Dunn is an historian and biographer and the author of seven acclaimed biographies, including Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters and the Sunday Times and NYT bestseller, Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens. She comes to Boldwood with her first fiction outing – a trilogy of novels set in the Regency period, the first of which is to be published in January 2023. She lives in Berkshire with her husband, the linguist Nicholas Ostler.






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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you and to Harlequin Books for the ecopy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!



Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!


Friday, January 27, 2023

REVIEW + GIVEAWAY starring... A Ruinous Fate by Kaylie Smith

Greetings fellow readers!

Today, I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the A RUINOUS FATE by Kaylie Smith Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. It's infused with magic, mayhem, dangerous fates, and uncertain futures...just to start with!  KEEP READING to check out my post, make sure to enter the giveaway, and then click on over to the other sites participating for more bookish fun!

 

A RUINOUS FATE (Heartless Fates #1)

by Kaylie Smith

Pub. Date: January 3, 2023

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 432

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/u/boyLnZ

Fate does not choose the weak. Fate chooses the ready.

Illustros is a cursed realm ruled by the ruthless Gods of Fate, and no one understands the Fates’ wrath more than Calliope Rosewood. Blessed with unspeakable powers that terrify even the most dangerous witches and fae, Calla hides her forbidden magic in shame and fear that one wrong touch could send her to her death. With only her two best friends in tow, Calla deserted her coven and has been on the run ever since.

Worse, Calla is concealing an even darker secret: fate has chosen her as the final prophesied Blood Warrior, the being destined to start the Fates’ War, which will decimate her people and eradicate their magic.

After a betrayal from her infuriating ex Ezra leads her one step closer to fulfilling that age-old prophecy, Calla is desperate to do whatever it takes to reset her fate. So when a mysterious and charming witch offers to help Calla do just that, she immediately agrees to his plan. Only catch? That plan includes journeying into the deadly Neverending Forest with Ezra and said witch, who just so happens to be Ezra’s tempting older brother. Torn between her past desires and alluring new possibilities, Calla brings along her best friends to fight what lies ahead.

As the group ventures into the enchanted woods together, they’ll all soon learn that choosing your destiny comes with dire consequences . . . and the Fates are not to be tested. Calla believes the Fates have it out for her, while others believe they have chosen her for a reason. But in the end, Calla will have to fight to forge her own destiny and decide if the risk of choosing herself is worth the possibility of damning everyone else.

 

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You know, as much as this is a Young Adult Fantasy story, it still resonates in real life.  I mean, grant it, the obstacles we face aren't always as dire as Calla's are, since we're talking literally life and death, but they come pretty close and skate the line REALLY close.  It's hard to choose yourself, choose you over others.  It sounds selfish, but self preservation isn't a bad thing.  SOMEONE has to protect you, so that someone may as well be you.  Now, that doesn't mean keeping others at arms length, living a solid life of one, but it does mean that you are as important as everyone else.  It does mean that your knee jerk reaction to self-sacrifice isn't necessarily the best way, or the only way.  It does mean that the family you have, whether gathered or born into, are there for you because they value you, not simply what you can do or provide.  So as much as the danger surrounds Calla and her companions, as much as the darkness calls to her from outside as well as in, as much as the easy way would be to simply give in or give up, it's never really that simple in the end...and the repercussions would be far reaching.

Take a chance.  Get to know Calla, and her two best friends.  Discover the Onyx witch that captured her heart in spite of itself, and the other that's dancing on the edge of her feelings that's done more for her than the first.  Witness the magical net that is inevitably drawing closer and closer to snaring its prey...that prey being Calla...and be there for the fireworks as her power flies free, for better or worse.  A stunning start to what promises to be a great series; I can't wait for the next installment!



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About the author...

Kaylie Smith is a writer and lover of all things magical and fantasy. She grew up in Louisiana where she frequently haunted bookstores and practiced her writing craft. After getting her degree in graphic design, she decided to fully pursue her dream of being an author, and the first book in her YA fantasy series, A RUINOUS FATE, debuts in January 2023 from Disney Hyperion. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found at home with her menagerie of animals, fussing over her houseplants, or annoying people about astrology.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon

 



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YOUR CHANCE TO WIN...

1 winner will receive a finished copy of A RUINOUS FATE, US Only.

Ends February 4th, midnight EST.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





Special thanks to the Rockstar Book Tours team for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the publisher for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online store, or plan a trip to your local brick and mortar!  Catch the rest of the tour for more!



Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/2/2022

Kait Plus Books

Excerpt/IG Post

1/3/2022

YA Books Central

Excerpt/IG Post

1/4/2022

Books and Zebras

Review/IG Post

1/5/2022

Library of Becca

Review/IG Post

1/6/2022

pluvioreads

Review/IG Post

1/7/2022

travelersguidetobooks

IG Review

Week Two:

1/8/2022

@more.books.yes.please

IG Review/TikTok Post

1/9/2022

Wanderingwitchreads

TikTok Review/IG Post

1/10/2022

NeverKnotReading

IG Review

1/11/2022

Review Thick And Thin

Review/IG Post

1/12/2022

Ohyouread

IG Post

1/13/2022

onemused

IG Review

1/14/2022

Book Reviews by Alison

IG Review

Week Three:

1/15/2022

Book Briefs

Review/IG Post

1/16/2022

The Momma Spot

Review/IG Post

1/17/2022

Thindbooks Blog

Review/IG Post

1/18/2022

@brittyoreads

IG Review

1/19/2022

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

1/20/2022

A Dream Within A Dream

Review/IG Post

1/21/2022

A Bookish Dream

Review/IG Post

Week Four:

1/22/2022

popthebutterfly

Review/IG Post

1/23/2022

OneMoreExclamation

Review/IG Post

1/24/2022

@froggyreadteach

IG Review

1/25/2022

Eli to the nth

Review/IG Post

1/26/2022

Nerdophiles

Review

1/27/2022

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Review/IG Post

1/28/2022

The Book View

Review/IG Post

Week Five:

1/29/2022

@drew_ambitious_reading

IG Review/TikTok Post

1/30/2022

Momfluenster

IG Review/FB Post

1/31/2022

Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog

Review/IG Post



Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!