Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers: Serena Valentino

Showing posts with label Serena Valentino. Show all posts

Friday, September 23, 2022

Rockstar Book Tours presents... RAISING THE HORSEMAN by Serena Valentino - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the RAISING THE HORSEMAN by Serena Valentino BLOG TOUR hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. If you're looking for a spooky read for the current season that takes a legend of old and gives it a few good twists and turns...this is definitely the one for you. So, check out my post, make sure to enter the giveaway, and then click on over to the other sites participating for more bookish fun!

Title: RAISING THE HORSEMAN

Author: Serena Valentino

Pub. Date: September 6, 2022

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 304

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

From the New York Times best-selling author of Disney’s Villains series comes a ghostly new stand-alone novel that reimagines The Legend of Sleepy Hollow through the eyes of a modern teen.

The two-hundredth anniversary of the Headless Horseman's legendary haunting of Sleepy Hollow is approaching, but Kat van Tassel wants nothing to do with the town's superstitious celebrations. As a descendant of the original Katrina van Tassel, Kat knows she’s expected to fulfill her ancestor’s legacy by someday marrying her longtime boyfriend and running the prestigious family estate. But Kat dreams of a life outside Sleepy Hollow.

Then Kat meets Isadora, a new girl in town who challenges Kat to reexamine those expectations, opens her eyes to the possibility that ghosts are real, and makes her question who she truly wants to be . . . and be with.

When Kat is given the original Katrina’s diary, a new legend begins to take shape, one that weaves together the past and the present in eerie ways. Can Kat uncover a two-hundred-year-old secret, and trace its shocking reverberations in her own life, in time to protect what she truly loves?

Fans of Serena Valentino will delight in this supernatural coming-of-age tale that finally gives the women of Sleepy Hollow a chance to tell their side of the story.

Review:

“A sweet retelling of a spooky classic.”―Kirkus Reviews

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This is the story of the infamous Sleepy Hollow like you've never seen it before. It takes the myth and legend, gives it a modern day twist, and reveals truths lost along the way that shed a whole different light on A LOT of the subject matter.

I liked getting the know the Katrina of today. Her interactions felt genuine, her frustrations easily echoed, and her current predicament understandable. Who wants to be locked into a family legend against their wishes? Who doesn't want the chance to follow their dreams and become who they were meant to be...not simply their ancestor of yesteryear in the here and now? Kat was a strong young woman, but even the strongest among us needs someone by our side, a person to help us see the way, a light to shed the darkness and confusion of night, letting in the sun of another day. For Kat, it's her new friend Isadora, and while friendship may blossom first, it's not the ending emotion, and all the better for them both...that is, if the Horseman lets them be. Yes, the history of the legend isn't all cloak and dagger, and the supernatural definitely makes more than a passing appearance here, but it's all part and party to Sleepy Hollow...who would expect anything less? The add-in bonuses of getting to know the first Katrina through the diary, the strange parallels drawn between then and now, plus the paranormal activity that seems to be reaching a crescendo, all go into making it a retelling you won't soon forget.

Come to quench your curiosity about the tale. Stay because the story so intrigues you that leaving before the final page is turned would feel like an endless night. Spread the word about this release so others may discover this sleepy tale brought back to life for a new generation...and you'll never have to fear the Headless Horseman!

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About Serena Valentino:

Serena Valentino has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past decade. She has earned critical acclaim in both the comic and horror domains, where she is known for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty, and extraordinary protagonists. The books in her best-selling Villains series are best enjoyed when read in the following order: Fairest of All, The Beast Within, Poor Unfortunate Soul, Mistress of All Evil, Mother Knows Best, Odd Sisters, Evil Thing, Cold Hearted, and Never Never. She is also the author of the Villains graphic novels Evil Thing and Fairest of All.

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~~~ GIVEAWAY ~~~

1 winner will receive a finished copy of RAISING THE HORSEMAN, US Only.

Ends October 7^th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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:

9/1/2022	Celia's Reads	Review/IG Post
9/2/2022	booksaremagictoo	Review/IG Post
9/3/2022	Nonbinary Knight Reads	Review/IG Post

Week Two:

9/4/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
9/5/2022	@ReaderOfTheWrittenWord	IG Review
9/6/2022	Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog	Review/IG Post
9/7/2022	Book-Keeping	Review/IG Post
9/8/2022	Ya Books Central	Excerpt
9/9/2022	A Dream Within A Dream	Review/IG Post
9/10/2022	@lexijava	Review/IG Post

Week Three:

9/11/2022	Laurenreads._	IG Review
9/12/2022	The Bookwyrm's Den	Review
9/13/2022	Forthenovellovers	Review
9/14/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
9/15/2022	Epic Book Society	Review/IG Post
9/16/2022	@booksrn_rashi	Review/IG Post
9/17/2022	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post

Week Four:

9/18/2022	hauntedbybooks	Review/IG Post
9/19/2022	BookHounds YA	Excerpt
9/20/2022	Novel Novice	IG Spotlight
9/21/2022	@ReadsReaders	YouTube Review/IG Post
9/22/2022	@enjoyingbooksagain	IG Review
9/23/2022	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
9/24/2022	Momfluenster	IG Review/FB Post

Week Five:

9/25/2022	PopTheButterfly Reads	Review/IG Post
9/26/2022	@drew_ambitious_reading	IG Review/TikTok Post
9/27/2022	@thebookishfoxwitch	IG Review
9/28/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
9/29/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review/IG Post
9/30/2022	onemused	IG Review

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

Friday, July 16, 2021

Rockstar Book Tours presents... COLD HEARTED by Serena Valentino - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

HI guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the COLD HEARTED by Serena Valentino Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. I've always wanted to check out this ever growing series, so I snagged my chance to get behind (or perhaps, inside?) of the classic story we all know and love...or so we thought. Check out my review, the rest of the tour, and be sure to enter the giveaway before you go!

Title: COLD HEARTED (Villains #8)

Author: Serena Valentino

Pub. Date: July 6, 2021

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 304

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

This was supposed to be her happily ever after...

It’s a familiar tale: A kind and beautiful young girl, reeling from loss. A doting father, frantic to bring a mother’s love back into his daughter’s life. And the selfish, cruel woman who insinuates herself into that family―a woman so unfeeling, so cold hearted, that when her new husband dies, she makes the girl a servant in her own home.

But who is that evil stepmother, that icy lady of the house? How did she become so closed off that, in the face of a child’s grief, she thought only to seek wealth and power for herself and her abhorrent daughters? Before that fateful ball, before the glass slipper and the prince, there was another story―a story of love and grief, of hope and of dreams dashed. It is the story of Lady Tremaine.

Even the coldest of villains are sometimes wives and mothers, women who loved and lost and hoped for something grander for their lives . . . once upon a dream.

The latest novel in Serena Valentino’s deliciously devious Villains series introduces the most famed and hated wicked stepmother of them all―but turns everything you know about her on its head.

GRAB ALL THE VILLAINS BOOKS NOW!

Don’t miss Serena’s live stream on July 6^th on Creepy Kingdom’s YouTube Channel!

👠 👠 👠 👠 👠 👠

Once upon a dream...

...a lovely place to be...

...depending upon what side of it you're on.

As I said, I've been wanting to check out this series, so when I saw this tour come around and the villain it centered on, I couldn't resist! I mean, who doesn't love to loathe Lady Tremaine of Cinderella's story fame? The thing is...the story sheds a light on her time before becoming a stepmother, let a one an evil one with cruel intentions and self serving ways. For you see, once upon a TIME, she was a Londoner widow reeling from the loss of the love of her life, realizing the two daughters she adored were fairly spoiled brats, and tryin to see her way through to another day. Doesn't sound so evil, right? Ah, and you're assetment would be spot on...at least until the magic of the Many Lands works its way into her character, both heart and soul, turning what appears to be a chance at an ending much more pleasant than her current state of affairs into a nightmare from which she can't escape.

Oh, my friends, you are certainly in for a treat with this one. Meddling witches, fairies strung too tight, forgiving stepdaughter Queen's, and former households turned haunts for more than bad memories...all these things and more await you as you dive between the pages. I can't say it was what I expected, and yet I wasn't disappointed in the least. The different viewpoint given to a story that we've known our whole lives certainly makes you stop and think...but that forgiveness that Cinderella so easily offers is much harder to come by. Step into a fairytale that holds echoes of the things we held certain, while smashing to bits assumptions made with truths hard to swallow, but nevertheless revealing.

👠 👠 👠 👠 👠 👠

About the author...

Serena Valentino has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past decade. She has earned critical acclaim in both the comic and horror domains, where she is known for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty, and extraordinary protagonists. The books in her best-selling Villains series are best enjoyed when read in the following order: Fairest of All, The Beast Within, Poor Unfortunate Soul, Mistress of All Evil, Mother Knows Best, Odd Sisters, Evil Thing, and Cold Hearted.

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of COLD HEARTED, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Special thanks to the Rockstar Book Tours team and Disney Hyperion for the copy for review as well as the chance to bring this tour to you. (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 retailer to snag your copy today! Be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun...

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/1/2021	YABooksCentral	Excerpt
7/2/2021	BookHounds YA	Excerpt
7/3/2021	Rajiv's Reviews	Review

Week Two:

7/4/2021	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt
7/5/2021	She Just Loves Books	Review
7/6/2021	@curlygrannylovestoread	Review
7/7/2021	History from a Woman’s Perspective	Review
7/8/2021	@autumn.booked	Review
7/9/2021	@kristens.reading.nook	Review
7/10/2021	Fyrekatz Blog	Review

Week Three:

7/11/2021	The Reading Wordsmith	Review
7/12/2021	Lilly's Book World	Review
7/13/2021	BRITTREADSALATTEBOOKS	Review
7/14/2021	Phannie the ginger bookworm	Review
7/15/2021	@pagesofyellow	Review
7/16/2021	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review
7/17/2021	Don't Judge, Read	Review

Week Four:

7/18/2021	@under_the_aurora.borealis	Review
7/19/2021	A Fictional Bookworm	Review
7/20/2021	@minnesota_mailer	Review
7/21/2021	Books Are Magic Too	Review
7/22/2021	@lostinbookverse	Review
7/23/2021	hauntedbybooks	Review
7/24/2021	The Momma Spot	Review

Week Five:

7/25/2021	Books and Zebras @jypsylynn	Review
7/26/2021	Bookish Rantings	Review
7/27/2021	Book-Keeping	Review
7/28/2021	Popthebutterfly	Review
7/29/2021	Momfluenster	Review
7/30/2021	@fictitious.fox	Review
7/31/2021	two points of interest	Review

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