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: Goodreads, https://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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
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Tour Schedule:
Week One:
1/2/2022 |
IG Post |
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1/3/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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1/4/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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1/5/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/6/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/7/2022 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
Week Two:
1/8/2022 |
TikTok Review/IG Post |
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1/9/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/10/2022 |
IG Review |
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1/11/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/12/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/13/2022 |
IG Review |
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1/14/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Three:
1/15/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/16/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/17/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/18/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/19/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/20/2022 |
IG Review |
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1/21/2022 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic |
Week Four:
1/22/2022 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic |
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1/23/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/24/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/25/2022 |
IG Review |
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1/26/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/27/2022 |
IG Review/FB Post |
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1/28/2022 |
IG Review |
Week Five:
1/29/2022 |
IG Review/FB Post |
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1/30/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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1/31/2022 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |