WHAT'S THE BUZZ?: A DOUBLE REVIEW featuring Author Rachel Lynn Solomon!

Today's WHAT'S THE BUZZ features a DUO of titles from author Rachel Lynn Solomon. It's a Young Adult set that screams Coming-of-Age trope as it tackles life and love in high school days and beyond! That's right. We don't simply end things when the tassel is switched to the other side of the hat. Summer happens, and then...the sequel is released. *first pump* So, grab your cap and gown, or maybe the sweatshirt you confiscated from your significant other that may have belonged to them, but most assuredly is now yours, as we take a look between the pages of your next must reads...

Today Tonight Tomorrow

9781534440258

Here, we meet Rowan and Neil in the hallowed battle ground that is also known as high school.  Yes, I said battle ground because these two have been at each other academically for the last four years.  Competitive much?  OH yeah, and they drive each other crazy along the way, but it's definitely a case of the lady (or gent) doth protest too much because while they think they've merely been sparring all this time, friends and those that surround are catching a glimpse of feelings they may not have even admitted to themselves.  Well, so maybe one of them has, and the other has been ignoring them since the first week they met, but that's beside the point...at least for now.  The end of school scavenger hunt and sniper-ish game is a bout to prove how the line between enemy and something far more endearing is very easily blurred.  There are moments of self discovery, situations that aid in them having those AH-HA instances, and a HEA waiting for them that is uniquely their own.  You'll catch all the feels as things seriously heat up, and really get behind the dreams they are reaching for all while supporting each other in ways even they never realized.  It's all drawn to a conclusion both satisfying and tantalizing as the future awaits them beyond the days of summer.

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Past Present Future

9781665901956

Release Date: June 4th, 2024

About the book...

When longtime rivals Rowan Roth and Neil McNair confessed their feelings on the last day of senior year, they knew they’d only have a couple months together before they left for college. Now summer is over, and they’re determined to make their relationship work as they begin school in different places.

In Boston, Rowan is eager to be among other aspiring novelists, learning from a creative writing professor she adores. She’s just not sure why she suddenly can’t seem to find her voice.

In New York, Neil embraces the chaos of the city, clicking with a new friend group more easily than he anticipated. But when his past refuses to leave him alone, he doesn’t know how to handle his rapidly changing mental health—or how to talk about it with the girl he loves.

Over a year of late-night phone calls, weekend visits, and East Coast adventures, Rowan and Neil fall for each other again and again as they grapple with the uncertainty of their new lives. They’ve spent so many years at odds with each other—now that they’re finally on the same team, what does the future hold for them?

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Summer is over and college has begun.  What looked like a dream on the horizon is actually shaping up to be...part dream, part torture, part big fat unknown.  Funny how the best laid plans can fall by the wayside.  People change as they grow, and dreams can be altered as well, but that doesn't mean we have to say goodbye to everything we hold dear.  It's about learning what we need to hold close, letting go of what we don't, and making room for new experiences, likes, desires, and realizations.  Rowan and Neil have some tough times ahead, both on their own and with each other, but if they put faith in their connection, if they trust in the love they share, there is no obstacle they can't handle, no challenge they can't face, no change in circumstances or desires that they can't handle.  I know, I know, it sounds detrimental to our golden couple, but trust me, it's well worth the read.  Everything they go through will make that potential for a HEA that much sweeter, that much more satisfying if reached...and really, while I won't spoil the surprise, when have either of them cracked from the pressure?

The beauty in this one isn't in the finding, but the understanding, the ability to relate to the characters and what they're going through.  The situations are realistic, the feelings intense, and the hard moments...seriously tough... but it doesn't make them any less valid.  They both have things to work through in this chapter of their lives, and while they've always been up to a challenge on their own, sometimes a problem shared is in fact a problem halved, allowing them to grow stronger together as they find those solutions.  I was rooting for them the whole time, and delighted with the final outcome, as I think you will be too.  A great pick for Young Adult readers that will pull you in and never let go.

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About the author...

Photograph by Sabreen Lakhani

Rachel Lynn Solomon is the New York Times bestselling author of Today Tonight Tomorrow, The Ex Talk, and other romantic comedies for teens and adults. Originally from Seattle, she’s currently navigating expat life in Amsterdam, where she’s on a mission to try as many Dutch sweets as possible. Learn more at RachelSolomonBooks.com.

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Special thanks to Lindsey at Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for the chance to share these titles with you and for the copies for review! (THANKS!) For more information on this set, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. The second title celebrates its BOOK BIRTHDAY June 4th, 2024, so mark your calendar or pre order your copy today!

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

BOOK Start Your Week with a DOUBLE REVIEW!

It’s that crazy hectic end of the weekend (for some...others are already working, hello retail life!), back to school, back to the uber busy daily schedule that is life, and with everything we already have going on, adding one more thing to the mix can feel like that proverbial straw on the camel’s back. I know for me, recently, the factors I mentioned weren’t the weight, but having a parent under the weather, another in the hospital, catching the VID myself, and the work world, the beautiful land that is blogging could feel like that bit of straw. Yep, I said it, but what with the plethora of books, I want to cover, let alone read, it can get that way sometimes...but it doesn’t mean I’m not reading, enjoying the adventures, or that the book isn’t worth your time; more often than not, it’s quite the opposite.

So today, I’m taking a moment to highlight in review a title that jumped into print at the end of last month, and one that’s about to hit bookstore and virtual shelves this week. They are both Young Adult Fiction titles, no magic involved other than that which live can provide, but the other similarity they share is a deep seated message regarding the importance of MENTAL HEALTH. Don’t worry, there are other tropes aplenty running freely throughout, but this is one STRONG vein they share, and I think it’s very important for the audiences that will be consuming it. Ladies and gents, let get the bookish fun started...

All Alone with You

by

Amelia Diane Coombs

9781534493575

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: July 25th, 2023

About the book…

Eloise Deane is the worst and doesn’t care who knows it. She’s grumpy, prefers to be alone, and is just slogging through senior year with one goal: get accepted to USC and move to California. So when her guidance counselor drops the bombshell that to score a scholarship she’ll desperately need, her applications require volunteer hours, Eloise is up for the challenge. Until she’s paired with LifeCare, a volunteer agency that offers social support to lonely seniors through phone calls and visits. Basically, it’s a total nightmare for Eloise’s anxiety.

Eloise realizes she’s made a huge mistake—especially when she’s paired with Austin, the fellow volunteer who’s the sunshine to her cloudy day. But as Eloise and Austin work together to keep Marianne Landis—the mysterious former frontwoman of the 1970s band the Laundromats—company, something strange happens. She actually…likes Marianne and Austin? Eloise isn’t sure what to do with that, especially when her feelings toward Austin begin to blur into more-than-friends territory.

And when ex-girlfriends, long-buried wounds, and insecurities reappear, Eloise will have a choice to make: go all in with Marianne and Austin or get out before she gets hurt.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

😒   Eloise and Austin... 😃

...grumpy sunshine dynamic...

...to say the VERY least.

She's...just trying to reach her goals for college. He's trying to spread a little sunshine into the lives of those who need it. They're both trying to unintentionally drive the other insane, well, at first, but sometimes "like" starts off that way. 😉 

I loved how REAL these two felt, along with the cast of characters.  You felt like they were your friends too, like their triumphs included you for the high fives, and their failures sank you into that same pit of despair. The vibrancy of each of them was palpable, making it easy to step into their shoes, but I also loved the story WITHIN the story regarding Marianne, who was definitely a huge part of those larger than life vibes! You cared for each of them equally, hoped for the best regardless of the missteps they took, and, in the end, were happy to see things come together just like you always knew... okay, so I didn't ALWAYS know, but I hoped, and sometimes that's just enough!

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Cold Girls

by

Maxine Rae

9781635830897

Flux (an imprint of North Star Editions)

Release Date: 09/22/23

About the book…

Eighteen-year-old Rory Quinn-Morelli doesn’t want to die; she wants refuge from reality for even a minute: the reality where she survived the car crash eight months ago, and her best friend, Liv, didn’t. Yet her exasperating mother won’t believe the Xanax incident was an accident, and her therapist is making it increasingly hard to maintain the detached, impenetrable “cold girl” façade she adopted from Liv. After she unintentionally reconnects with Liv’s parents, Rory must decide: will she keep Liv’s and her secrets inside, or will she finally allow herself to break? And if she breaks, what will she unearth amid the pieces?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rory and Liv…

...the best of friends, and yet…

...and yet.

This book had so much darkness to get through, so much guilt to shed, so much light to let in, and yet, we reach some of those points, but not all...and THAT’S OKAY. It’s okay to not have the perfect life. It’s okay to have things to work through. It’s okay to need others, ask for help, and let people in. It’s okay even if you don’t just so long as you don't let yourself get so lost you miss out on LIVING. Loss hits everyone differently for various reasons, but it hits hard nonetheless. 

I appreciated seeing Rory's journey from the inside (before the accident) and the outside (afterwards). It gave a new perspective for those that haven't been as closely touched by tragedy, while making it easier to relate to for those that have yet allowing them to also see that falling down doesn't mean you stop trying to get back up. Aside from the heartache, there were other "me too" moments for readers. From the hallowed experience of high school to the triumphs and challenges of discovering just who you are, who you love, and where you fit in, there's something that everyone can touch with a modicum of understanding... making it a surprisingly powerful read!

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Special thanks to the publishers for the ARCs for review. (THANKS!) For more information on these titles, the authors, or the publishers, feel free to click through the links provided above. The first is available now, the second is just about to be, so plan a stop by your local brick and mortar or click on over to your favorite online retailer today for a purchase and/or pre order!

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

Rockstar Book Tours presents.... THE GIRL IN THE CASTLE by James Patterson and Emily Raymond - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE GIRL IN THE CASTLE by James Patterson & Emily Raymond BLOG TOUR hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. It's a YA Fiction release coming NEXT WEEK that explores the powers of the mind, our ability to connect with others, and just how far we're willing to go to protect ourselves.  Check out my review post, make sure to enter the giveaway, and click on over to the other sites participating for more bookish fun!

 

Title: THE GIRL IN THE CASTLE

Author: James Patterson & Emily Raymond

Pub. Date: September 19, 2022

Publisher: jimmy patterson

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 368

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

Beloved #1 bestselling author James Patterson delivers a thrilling novel about a teen caught between two worlds and the truths that could set her free—or trap her forever.

My name is Hannah Dory and I need you to believe me

NOW: Hannah Doe is brought to Belman Psych, kicking and screaming, told she is suffering from hallucinations and delusions.
 
1347: Hannah Dory and her village are starving to death in a brutal winter. Hannah seeks out food and salvation in the baron's castle. If she is caught stealing, she will surely hang.
 
NOW: Hannah knows the truth: she is Hannah Doe and Hannah Dory, and she must return to the past before it's too late to save her sister. Can Jordan, the Abnormal-Psych student who seems to truly care, be the one to finally help her?

Jordan isn't sure what to believe, and Hannah has even bigger problems: if she doesn't make it back, her sister will die, but if she keeps going back, she might never escape.

 

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It's a rare occurrance for me to stay up later (than usual) reading.  Once I get into bed, it's sleepy time, not reading time, and I can't help my body's natural reaction to the environment.  HOWEVER, I was so close to the end on this one when it was getting REALLY REALLY late and I had to adult in the morning (or rather in a few hours because it was already morning!), I found myself unable to put it down.

Despite Hannah's perplexing case, unless we were going total sci-fi fantasy, the life she leads in medieval times had to be in her head.  I mean, she goes sort of catatonic in the here and now during those minutes, hours, or days, so it'd be hard to explain a similar situation happening to another body that she is bouncing cognitively between...however it doesn't seem IMpossible either.  The story she tells of her life in this other world, it never repeats.  It just continues on as if she only went to sleep, and now that she had awoken, the days progressed.  It was fascinating to explore, and puzzle out alongside Jordan, who really did care about our Hannah...and letting her slip away, letting her be pushed out into the cold without any answers was unacceptable to him.  He dug and dug like a dog after a bone, a man on a mission, until he strikes gold.  Well, perhaps gold isn't the right term because it certainly doesn't glitter, and yet, in the end, it was the proverbial pot at the end of the terrible rainbow.

Throughout the story, we me characters with varying degrees of of psychosis, trauma, and histories to contend with...not all of their stories end with the hoped for HEA either, but as much as it hurts, it's real.  These are things that can and do happen.  People suffer, every day, and sometimes we never know about their struggles until it's too late.  Taking time to notice others, taking time to care is what helps us all make it through.  Hannah needed someone to really care about her to make things happen, but that's not to say it was like waving a magic wand and POOF...everything was okay, because it wasn't.  What it did though was allow Hannah the chance to heal herself, the chance to find her way out of her own mind and back to reality, even if there were things here worth escaping.  The ending is a surprise twist, and if you've watched In the Mouth of Madness, you'll definitely have a moment where you can talk yourself into a spiral about this book being about a book, about a person, about a life, about a fantasy...and so on...but it's all worth it in the end.

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About the authors...

For his prodigious imagination and championship of literacy in America, James Patterson was awarded the 2019 National Humanities Medal, and he has also received the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community from the National Book Foundation. He holds the Guinness World Record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers, including Confessions of a Murder Suspect and the Maximum Ride and Witch & Wizard series, and his books have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide.

A tireless champion of the power of books and reading, Patterson created a children’s book imprint, JIMMY Patterson, whose mission is simple: “We want every kid who finishes a JIMMY book to say, ‘PLEASE GIVE ME ANOTHER BOOK.’” He has donated more than three million books to students and soldiers and funds over four hundred Teacher and Writer Education Scholarships at twenty-one colleges and universities. He also supports 40,000 school libraries and has donated millions of dollars to independent bookstores. Patterson invests proceeds from the sales of JIMMY Patterson Books in pro-reading initiatives.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

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Emily Raymond is the ghostwriter of numerous young adult novels, including a #1 New York Times bestseller. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.

Goodreads

 

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~~~   GIVEAWAY   ~~~

1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE GIRL IN THE CASTLE, US Only.

Ends September 27^th, 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:

9/12/2022	YA Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post
9/12/2022	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt
9/13/2022	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
9/13/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
9/14/2022	Book-Keeping	Review/IG Post
9/14/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
9/15/2022	@just_another_mother_with_books	IG Review
9/15/2022	@readerofthewrittenword	IG Review
9/16/2022	@brittreadsalattebooks	IG Spotlight
9/16/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review

Week Two:

9/19/2022	Mom with a Reading Problem	Review/IG Post
9/19/2022	onemused	IG Spotlight
9/20/2022	The Page Ladies @jacleomik33	IG Review
9/20/2022	The Momma Spot	Review
9/21/2022	Books Are Magic Too	Review/IG Post
9/21/2022	Laurenreads._	IG Review
9/22/2022	A Dream Within A Dream	Review/IG Post
9/22/2022	@thebookishfoxwitch	IG Review
9/23/2022	@momfluenster	IG Review/FB Post
9/23/2022	pick a good book	Review/IG Post

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

RRR presents... TWO SCOOPS, TOO MUCH by Terri Boas - SPOTLIGHT + EXCERPT!

Hi guys! 

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers. 

Today, we’re shining the BOOK SPOTLIGHT on a title on tour with Rachel’s Random Resources. It’s a story about getting just desserts on someone from their shared past that is more than deserving...and the possible repercussions from those actions that were less than anticipated. Good thing you can always count on your friends! So, we’re let’s get to know our featured title a little better and then dive between the pages with a special excerpt. Oh and word to the wise, there are two trigger warnings mentioned at the bottom of the description, and there is some foul language in today’s excerpt, so any kiddos looking at this post, divert the screen to the nearest adult for a read over first! Ladies and gents, today’s title in the spotlight is… 

Two Scoops, Too Much 

by 

Terri Boas 

About the book... 

Three’s a crowd, but not when it comes to best mates, Briony, Natalie and Lauren. As they tipsily toast the future down their favourite local, the Red Lion, the girls have never felt closer.

For Briony and Lauren at least, being intimate friends has taken on a whole new meaning. But as things between them heat up, does that mean they’ll need to put a label on their relationship?

And will their provocative plot to wreak revenge on Briony’s devious ex-lover, Mani, work out, or succeed only in putting her professional reputation on the line?

Meanwhile, Natalie’s affair with her sexy spin instructor, Jason, is now firmly behind her, and she is determined to keep the sparks flying with her loyal hubby, Martin. That is until a girls’ trip to a swanky London hotel reveals her head and her heart are still at dangerous odds; an epiphany that will have dire consequences.

As the friends unite in the face of an unbearable tragedy, they’ll need each other – and ice cream – more than ever before . . . 

Trigger: Mental & Health and Suicide 

AMAZON  UK  |  US

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~~~    EXCERPT   ~~~

The extract I have for you lends itself to the fabulous word ‘Insatiable’. Lauren’s hunger to get justice for Briony after Mani had approached Lauren asking for a threesome in Two Scoops, Not Three is insatiable. She will stop at nothing to get him to pay for what he did. This scene is the part of the fake-threesome that Lauren and Briony have enticed Mani into so that they can name their ransom.

Lauren leaned into Briony and whispered, “Here we go. One, two, three.” She pulled on the make-do knot she’d made in the shirt and released the arms. The girls then took a thigh each and pushed down on Mani’s hips.

The force and the weight on the weakened wicker seat caused it to tear right open, and Mani fell through the centre, so that his small hips were encased in the rim of the chair, which was holding his weight from the crease of his knees. His butt skimmed the floor. He was well and truly stuck.

“What the actual fuck?” he said as he squirmed. The girls threw their dresses back on and Lauren zipped up Briony’s. Now fully dressed, they towered over their victim.

“Mani, Mani, Mani, nothing good comes from insulting a woman’s intelligence and assuming she is just a piece of meat that you can fulfil your sexual needs with. Would you ask your mum’s friends for a threesome?”

Mani quickly realised that this was a rhetorical question, and they weren’t expecting an answer.

“No, you wouldn’t, because you respect them. Yet you clearly don’t respect Briony and me. And for that, this is what happens.”

Tall in her boots, Lauren circled the nearly naked man below her, before coming to a stop in front of him.

“Look, I don’t even know my mum – she left when I was a kid. I guess she’d be in her sixties, so it’s not the same.”

He tried to pull himself out of the chair, but with his movement limited he remained stuck.

Lauren took a second to think. She wasn’t aware of Mani’s missing mum and felt a little empathy for him. She softened her tone like a teacher talking to primary school children. “I’m sorry about your mum, Mani, really I am. I didn’t know, but besides, I think you’re missing the point. The fact is, you went behind your date’s back, got me in a room on my own and laid it out that you wanted a threesome with Briony and me. This was clearly without any consideration for our feelings, and I think you arrogantly assumed we were going to be flattered and jump straight in. Well, news flash!”

“This is all so fucked up. I mean, what is going on here?

You two were making out and we all got undressed.”

Just as they had planned, Briony stepped forward and took the baton. “I don’t want to work with you, Mani, because, like Lauren said, it’s clear you don’t respect me; us. And now I don’t have much respect for you, so my work will most definitely suffer. It’ll be awkward and uncomfortable, and I will resent coming to work, which sucks, because up until now, I quite enjoyed my job. You made all this happen, not me and not Lauren.

“So, I am going to email your dad today and give him my four weeks’ notice. He’s going to ask why. And what do you think I’m going to tell him? Don’t forget that the CCTV camera is filming over there, too.”

Mani gulped and looked like he was going to throw-up. “You two are witches, you know that. But we can sort this out. You don’t have to be so drastic, Bri. I can deal with the CCTV like I did before, that’s not a problem. Can you at least help me out of this chair, please? What do you want me to do?”

Lauren bent down to Mani’s level and looked straight into his deep, caramel eyes . . . the same ones that Briony had dissolved into after meeting him a couple of Saturdays ago.

“You may be able to remove the CCTV recording, but someone might actually be watching it right now,” Briony teased, knowing full well that the lens was covered with black tape and couldn’t have recorded anything.

She returned the baton to Lauren.

“Briony could say to your dad that she has come into some money, some inheritance maybe?” She maintained eye contact, lifted her left eyebrow and waited for the penny to drop.

“Oh, so you want money? Fuck me, really? No way!” As he spoke, Mani fought like a caged animal to get out of the chair.

Briony and Lauren decided it was time to help him out of his predicament. Briony encouraged him to drop forward and lie on his tummy while she held him, and Lauren pulled the chair along his legs and over his feet. He scrambled to get his clothes back on and ran his hands through his hair.

.       

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About the author... 

Terri Boas lives in Hampshire with her husband, Rich, daughter, Portia and Pud, the cat. She works part-time at The Raven Hotel in Hook. Famous children’s author, Enid Blyton wrote the first of her hundreds of books right there! 

Two scoops, not three is Terri’s debut novel. 

TWITTER  |  INSTAGRAM

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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you. (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!