Rockstar Book Tours presents... GHOSTCLOUD by - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

Hello hello!

Let me welcome you back for another adventure today on Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers!

On this, our third post of the day, I am just as honored and thrilled to be hosting a spot on the GHOSTCLOUD by Michael Mann BLOG TOUR hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. It's a fascinating story that is much bigger than it at first seems, and will keep you turning pages long into the night.  Ready to find out more?  Check out my review post, make sure to enter the giveaway, and then visit the other sites participating today for more bookish fun!

 

Title: GHOSTCLOUD

Author: Michael Mann

Pub. Date: September 27, 2022

Publisher: Peachtree

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 320

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

A riveting, magical escapade about finding friendship and the courage to set yourself free against all odds.

Kidnapped and forced to shovel coal underground, in a half-bombed power station, 12-year-old Luke Smith-Sharma keeps his head down and hopes he can earn his freedom from the evil Tabitha Margate. Then one day he discovers he can see things that others can’t. Ghostly things. A ghostly girl named Alma, who can bend the shape of clouds to her will and rides them through the night sky. With Alma’s help, Luke discovers his own innate powers and uncovers the terrible truth of why Tabatha is kidnapping children and forcing them to shovel coal. Desperate to escape, Luke teams up with Alma, his best friend Ravi, and new girl Jess. Can Luke and his friends get away before they each become victims to a cruel and sinister scheme?
 
Debut author Michael Mann delivers a wildly imaginative middle grade fantasy set in a smoke-stained world that’s sure to entertain readers who are eager for an adventure with paranormal superpowers.

 

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👻

Have you ever SEEN a ghost?

How about felt its presence, like someone was there, but you couldn't SEE anyone?

Ever met a half-ghost?

If you answered no to these questions, you're not alone...and if you answered yes, well that sounds like you've a story to share...but back to those that haven't.  In this story, you meet BOTH of them, and more.  From ghouls to living evil, terror at the hands of those that should be trustworthy to escape from an unfathomable end, cats that should definitely be trusted to people that don't live up to the image they cultivate, and everything good, bad, and ugly in-between.  Our story centers on Luke, Jess, Alma, and Ravi, but it's also bigger than them...MUCH BIGGER.  We begin with terrible kidnappings, end up in a place where it seems the world has forgotten them, find hope in achieving the coveted amber ticket, discover how much more than child labor, danger, and kidnapping is actually occurring, fall into the depths of gloom, but get pulled back out again by the smallest ray of hope.  That ray of hope, that belief that somehow, someway Luke and his friends will see their family's again one day isn't kept burning by the promised of a ticket out of there with good behavior, but rather it presents like a misty girl by the name of Alma, who will help not only help Luke achieve things he never imagined, but join forces with him to try and bring the whole system down.  Trust me, it's a worthy cause.  

Along the way you discover the unimaginable places that progress without morals or a conscience can lead us, and how the fallout is definitely not worth the cause.  We are reminded that friendship can be as strong a bond as that of family, and there was a reason the Goonies motto was never say die.  The dangers that await them are many, the rewards precious yet few, but the chance to achieve them, the chance to be outside in the sunshine with their families again...why, there's nothing that's too great a risk to gain that end.

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About the author...

Michael Manns’s first writing success was for a poem about potatoes - in a competition run by a Yorkshire school catering company. As a ‘reward’, he had to shake hands with a giant potato mascot in front of his entire school. It would be many years before he dared write again.

These days, Michael is a teacher by day, dad by night, and mostly writes when he should be sleeping. He owes the idea for his middle grade novel, Ghostcloud, to his coal-mining grandad and a lifelong love of cloudspotting. He’s half-Indian and passionate about diversity in children’s literature, and loves books that keeps kids turning the page.

He has a first-class degree in anthropology, lives in East London with his (very patient) partner and their (less patient) toddler, and can be found playing board games when he’s not busy losing his wallet. Michael was an Undiscovered Voices 2020 finalist, and Ghostcloud is his debut middle grade novel. 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

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~~~   GIVEAWAY   ~~~

1 winner will receive a finished copy of GHOSTCLOUD!

US Only

Ends October 4th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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 ecopy 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, wherever books are sold. Catch the rest of the tour for more!

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/19/2022	Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog	Review/IG Post
9/19/2022	laura's bookish corner	Review/IG Post
9/20/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
9/20/2022	Beers Books Boos	Review/IG Post
9/21/2022	More Books Please blog	Review/IG Post
9/21/2022	@jael_and_jenessa_reads	Review/IG Post
9/22/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review
9/22/2022	Lisa-Queen of Random	Excerpt/IG Post
9/23/2022	@ablueboxfullofbooks	IG Review
9/23/2022	onemused	IG Spotlight

Week Two:

9/26/2022	Eli to the nth	Review/IG Post
9/26/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
9/27/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
9/27/2022	Ya Books Central	Excerpt
9/28/2022	PopTheButterfly Reads	Review/IG Post
9/28/2022	@jacleomik33	IG Review
9/29/2022	The Bookwyrm's Den	Review
9/29/2022	Laurenreads._	IG Review
9/30/2022	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
9/30/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post

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

Rockstar Book Tours presents... GHOSTER HEIGHTS by Corey Landsell and Kelly Mellings - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, I'm thrilled to be hosting a spot on the GHOSTER HEIGHTS by Corey Landsell, Kelly Mellings, & Lisa Larose BLOG TOUR hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. It's another stopover in the land of Graphic Novels for me, but I can honestly say, I rather enjoyed it! Check out my review post below, make sure to enter the giveaway, and be sure to check out the other sites participating in the tour!

 

Title: GHOSTER HEIGHTS

Author: Corey Landsell, Kelly Mellings, Lisa Larose, Becca Carey, Rebecca Taylor (Editor)

Pub. Date: September 27, 2022

Publisher: Wonderbound

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 208

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

A haunting and hopeful Middle Grade graphic novel about a girl, ghosts, and grief.  For fans of Sheets, Small Spaces, and Ghosts.

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOOHOOD!

Eight-year-old Ona has lost just about everything: her home, her possessions, her mother, and almost her life. When she and her father move into her Baba’s apartment complex after these traumatic events, they had hoped for a clean start. But a mysterious specter follows her, and Ona befriends the ghost she discovers haunting the boiler room. When her new friendship starts allowing her to see other ghosts—the ghosts who haunt the other residents of her building—she decides to use her ability to help her new neighbors face their troubles and free themselves from their specters. In doing so, however, Ona must eventually come face to face with a much darker foe—her own trauma and grief. The earnestness of Judy Bloom meets the raw emotion of I Kill Giants in this beautifully hopeful story of childhood tragedy.

An original graphic novel for Middle Grade readers about grief, loss, and the ghosts that haunt us all.

For fans of Brenna Thummler’s Sheets and Delicates.

 

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Ona is facing something no child looks forward to...at least initially....a BIG MOVE.  Yep.  It's that scary time when you're leaving friends and everything familiar behind because your family tells you that's the way it has to be.  In this case, Ona's mother is no longer with them, and her father is simply trying to get them both in a better place to cope with things while he tries to hold them together.  The thing is...stress, and hard times can do a number on a person, leaving them with more than simply the usual baggage to tote around on the daily.  It can become its own ghost, a nagging worry that just won't let go. It's tiring, and cumbersome, and so very hard to break away from, especially if you don't ask for help.  The asking part is the hardest because no one wants to appear weak in the eyes of another.  We're all just trying to get by, and live our lives to the best of our ability...but there is no shame is asking for or accepting help....something that becomes abundantly clear as Ona moves forward through the story.  Her own worries manifest in unexpected ways, and as see seeks to rid others of their "ghosts", she too ends up working towards her own revelation.  I won't spoil it because it was a teary moment with so very much heart, but well worth the journey to the realizations she made.  

Putting the story aside for the moment, we have the illustrated panels that really make their mark.  In vivid color, we get to see Ona as she grows through her experiences.  We get to watch as she helps others realize their worth, their value, and their importance, lifting the ghostly weight of the world right off of their weary shoulders.  We get to meet "spooky" and enjoy their interactions with Ona, but also understand the importance of that friendship by book's end...even as she faces down some scary darkness of her own.   Thanks to Ona and her specter friend, we learn that sometimes it's the things that we can't see that weigh someone down the most.  We're reminded that everyone has stress, and worries they carry with them, and while we may not be able to solve their problems for them, showing kindness in any form can go a long way. 

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About Corey Landsell:

Corey Lansdell is a multiple award-winning illustrator and animator. He is a skilled communicator, expert storyteller and passionate collaborator. Corey heads up a SCBWI illustrators group in Edmonton, Alberta.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

About Kelly Mellings:

Kelly Mellings is an award-winning art director, illustrator, and designer. His work has
appeared in comic books, TV commercials, magazines, apps, museum exhibits, and video
games. He is the co-writer of Ghoster Heights and illustrator of the Canadian best-selling
graphic novel, The Outside Circle. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta.

 

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

About Lisa Larose:

Lisa LaRose is a pop surrealist painter, illustrator, and comics artist in Vancouver, Canada. She is best known for her paintings: Bizarre and Colourful artworks. She creates lively and exciting colour palettes and is always making something a little weird. Lisa loves middle-grade fiction (books, comics, cartoons, you name it) and so she also moonlights as a middle-grade comics artist.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads

 

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~~~   GIVEAWAY    ~~~

2 winners will receive a finished copy of GHOSTER HEIGHTS, US Only.

Ends October 11th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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, wherever books are sold. Catch the rest of the tour for more!

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/12/2022	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
9/13/2022	hauntedbybooks	Review/IG Post
9/14/2022	hodophile_z	IG Review
9/15/2022	Jazzy Book Reviews	Guest Post/IG Post
9/16/2022	Two Chicks on Books	Guest Post
9/17/2022	@jaimerockstarbooktours	IG Spotlight

Week Two:

9/18/2022	Ya Books Central	Guest Post
9/19/2022	Eli to the nth	Review/IG Post
9/20/2022	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Spotlight
9/21/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
9/22/2022	A Dream Within A Dream	Guest Post
9/23/2022	BookHounds YA	Guest Post/IG Post
9/24/2022	RiverMose-Reads	Guest Post

Week Three:

9/25/2022	The Real World According to Sam	Review/IG Post
9/26/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
9/27/2022	Novel Novice	IG Spotlight
9/28/2022	@jacleomik33	IG Review
9/29/2022	The Bookwyrm's Den	Review
9/30/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review
10/1/2022	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review

Week Four:

10/2/2022	@enjoyingbooksagain	IG Review
10/3/2022	@thebookishfoxwitch	IG Review
10/4/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
10/5/2022	booksaremagictoo	Review/IG Post
10/6/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	Review/IG Post
10/7/2022	Mom with a Reading Problem	Review/IG Post

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

SPOOKtacular reads this Halloween with Candlewick Press!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today is THE day. Halloween is upon us and after all the hubba baloo is said and done, you'll be so wound up from all that sugar that you'll need something enjoyable to help you pass the time before bed! Candlewick Press has got you covered with a wide selection of titles for the tall to the small and this Halloween night, I'm highlighting three! Prepare to be scared, but only as much as you allow, as we take you from the friendliest of hauntings to those that thirst for blood...

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost

by

Flavia Z. Drago

9781536211146

This was the most ADORABLE ghost story I've read in quite a long time!  Little Gustavo just wants to make friends and catch the eye of the invisible girl, but he's oh so shy...something a lot of folks can relate to!  In the spirit of the moment, he invites everyone to a concert of his own making with his violin skills on display...but will anyone show?  Oh the suspense!  Trust me though, it turns out all right in the end.  It's a great seasonal story that also reminds us that putting ourselves out there and revealing our true selves is the only way to REALLY be!  Also...those gorgeous illustrations and wonderful colors carry from the cover throughout the book.

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Ghostology

A True Revelation of Spirits, Ghouls, and Hauntings

by 

Dugald A. Steer and Lucinda Curtle

illustrated by 

Anne Yvonne Gilbert, Garry Walton and Doug Sirois

9781536209150

This was quite the manual on how to become a ghost detective of sorts!  It has all the how-to knowledge on detecting a haunting, sorting out the fakes, hotspots around the world, and the different types of spirits you might encounter.  Oh, yeah...and it comes with its very own ghostly guide to help you along the way with side notes written in the margin and...umm, yeah...beware the red jewel embedded on the front.  In the right light and with the right words, you may just get a bit more than you bargained for!

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The Rise of Zombert

Zombert series, Book 1

by

Kara LaReau

Illustrated by

Ryan Andrews

9781536201062

Last, but not least, it's good old ZOMBERT!

Okay, so he's only SO good, and he's only SO old, more old than good, but he TRIES and that's a lot more than you can say for most zombies....am I right?!

I actually read this one pre-Halloween season, so if you'd like to catch my review, check out my Blogapalooza post...or if Zombert has already worked his spell on you, snag a copy for a bit of creepy reading to round out your Halloween night!

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Special thanks to Raquel with Candlewick Press for the copies for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on these titles and more, visit the Candlewick Press website or stop by your local brick and mortar bookstore!

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

TLC Book Tours presents... PLAYING WITH FIRE by Billy Hallowell - REVIEW!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we welcome TLC Book Tours for a stop along their current tour featuring a work of nonfiction perfect for the reading season.  How so?  Well, it deals with our fascination with "the dark side", and all those things that go BUMP in the night...the irony of the fact that I'm typing this while watching Twilight:  Breaking Dawn, Part 2 in the background, is not lost on me either.  Grant it, they are sparkly vampires, but let's not get into THAT discussion right now.  Anyway...today's title in the spotlight is on deck, so let's get intellectually dangerous and peek between the pages of today's book of choice and blog tour guest...

Playing with Fire:

A Modern Investigation into Demons, Exorcism, and Ghosts

by

Billy Hallowell

9780785234500

Emanate Books

About the book...

What is our fascination with the other side?

Join investigative reporter Billy Hallowell as he delves into the strange phenomena of supernatural activity. Themes of demonic possession have overtaken Hollywood, with countless films and TV shows delving into the age-old struggle against evil. Why?

Yet, with so much focus on the topic there seems to be very little public knowledge and discussion about the real-life nature and reality of demons.

In many foreign countries, however, supernatural activity is often recorded and discussed

Government officials watch a nine-year-old boy walk up a wall

A sheriff hears a demonic voice over his radio

Doctors witness a child exhibit extra-human strength

It’s no surprise international media took note. Quite often, though, many people remain silent about their experiences or resort to quietly whispering about what they’ve seen, heard, or felt for fear of being labeled insane or crazy.

The truth is, even pastors, priests, and clergy who have observed firsthand accounts of possession and deliverance can succumb to the strange and terrifying effects of intense spiritual warfare.

For people of faith, Playing with Fire will address these core questions:

Are demons active today?

If they do, indeed, exist, what are they? Are they fallen angels? Nephilim?

Can demons inhabit human beings?

If they exist, what can be done to stop them?

Playing with Fire will explore the theological underpinnings surrounding demonic forces. Relying on firsthand accounts, newspaper reports, and Christian experts, Billy Hallowell will take readers through the various views and perspectives surrounding supernatural activity.

Thomas Nelson | Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

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Do you believe?

If you take a moment, it's actually a hard question to answer, no matter where your religious faith lies.  I mean, most have experienced that mysterious breeze when no source can be found.  Many have felt that phantom touch, turned, and found no one there.  Quite a few have even had moments themselves where they feel they have communicated with someone or something otherworldly or previously of our own...and some are rather well documented.  These are the matters that this book delves into, in an everyday aspect, but with secular roots.

I can't say it was exactly what I thought it would be, as I suppose my own curiosity with those otherly things was peaked by the initial tease from this book, but it was an interesting read nonetheless.  It shed light on some of those more well known cases, shared the behind-the-cloisters viewpoint of those that have had dealings with same said events, and took a closer look at the impact of these darker matters on our lives in general today.  

So if you're looking to be spooked, don't...it's not about that.  This is about where things got their starts, how we've handled it throughout recent years, and a potential way to move forward with our curious thoughts in tact, while saving adequate space in our souls for our true saviors.

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About the author...

Billy Hallowell has been working in journalism and media for more than two decades. His writings, interviews, and social commentary have appeared in Deseret News, TheBlaze, Human Events, Mediaite and FoxNews.com, among other outlets. He has served as the faith and culture editor of TheBlaze, senior editor of Faithwire, and he has written four books. Hallowell has a BA in journalism and broadcasting from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York, and an MS in social research from Hunter College in Manhattan, New York.

 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Special thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours and the Thomas Nelson team 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 via Emanate Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, so click on over to your favorite online retailer or order for curbside pickup from your local brick and mortar to snag your copy today! Be sure to CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE TOUR making its way through Instagram and the blogosphere for more bookish fun!

Instagram tour:

Monday, September 21st: @jessicamap

Tuesday, September 22nd: @sweetbookobsession

Wednesday, September 23rd: @bookpairings

Thursday, September 24th: @_ebl_inc_

Friday, September 25th: @spookypumpkinqueen

Saturday, September 26th: @thecityofdarkclockwork

Sunday, September 27th: @fearyourex

Monday, September 28th: @ve_xo

Wednesday, September 30th: @one.chapteratatime

Thursday, October 1st: @katieneedsabiggerbookshelf

Friday, October 2nd: @thebookend.diner

Saturday, October 3rd: @nurse_bookie

Review tour:

Monday, October 5th: Leighellen Landskov and @mommaleighellensbooknook

Tuesday, October 6th: A Dream Within a Dream

Wednesday, October 7th: @the.magicalpages

Friday, October 9th: Well Read Traveler and @wellreadtraveler

Monday, October 12th: Mom Loves Reading and @mom_loves_reading

Tuesday, October 13th: The OC Book Girl and @theocbookgirl

Wednesday, October 14th: PhDiva Blog and @thephdivabooks

Thursday, October 15th: Books Cooks Looks

Friday, October 16th: @readinggirlreviews

Monday, October 19th: Hallie Reads and @h.szott

Monday, October 19th: The Lit Bitch and @thelit_bitch

Tuesday, October 20th: Tabi Thoughts

Wednesday, October 21st: @brabsandbooks

Thursday, October 22nd: From the TBR Pile

Friday, October 23rd: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Monday, October 26th: The Hi Reader and @thehireader

Tuesday, October 27th: Barks Beaches Books and @barksbeachesbooks

Wednesday, October 28th: @dropandgivemenerdy

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