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

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

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!

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

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.

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

 

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

~~~   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!

Belated BOOK BIRTHDAY wishes to... STEGGIE BELLE & THE DREAM WARRIORS by Elias Pell - REVIEW!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, I'm SO EXCITED to be bringing you news of a Young Adult title that released a little under the radar this past week that SERIOUSLY needs to be right smack on top of your wish/reading list.  It's the first of a planned two book (or perhaps more?) series from a relatively new voice to the writing world, but if this one is anything to go by, their talent will take them far!  So, ready or not, get ready to tread in the land where dreams can come true, but danger is just as much a possibility, as we explore...

Steggie Belle & the Dream Warriors

by

Elias Pell

About the book...

“What if our understanding of dreams is just a poor reflection of another place… a real place?”
During a storm, a man who calls himself Zoofall has barricaded himself inside an attic. He has only seven candles worth of time to reveal his extraordinary secrets. How, when he was a boy, he discovered a wild other world, where Reality and Mythology meet, beyond the limits of Lucid Dreaming. There he found a group of other young dreamers, and together, through many adventures, they tried to unravel the terrifying mysteries of this dream world.

In a race against time, Zoofall must figure out if his own unusual powers make him a possible saviour or a dangerous burden. As dark forces rise up, threatening to engulf their group, he must uncover the greatest mystery of all. Who their incredible leader, Steggie Belle, really is, how she became so powerful, and if by any chance she can be saved?

AMAZON

US | Spain  | France  | Germany |  Italy

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

The beginning is the end, and yet the end is only the beginning...

This is definitely one of those sleeper releases that needs its time in the sun!  Basics...Zoofall (so aptly named for how he became one of those potentially destined to be dream warriors) is an adult, writing his memoirs in the locked attic of a house while the candles burn low, one by one.  He's given himself seven in which to complete his task, and then...it won't matter really.  He may never return from where he's going, let alone accomplish all that he has planned, as he tries to rescue those he cares for from an unknown fate more terrible than you'd care to imagine...

...and that my friends is only the beginning!

Along the way, we discover what both the waking and dreaming worlds held for Zoofall (from fantastic flights of fancy to hidden talents, and uber scary potential fates!), along with Wolfe, Puddle, and many others.  The world created is rather curious, but don't try to figure it out too much because as they so perfectly point out, the dream world doesn't follow the same rules as the waking.  Though the friendships, trials, and tribulations these three face do stagger, the equally enthralling tale lies with one Steggie Belle.  How she came to the world of dreams was rather unique, and her abilities within it are fairly spectacular, but the story she shares of those first days/weeks/months are beyond compare.  They start the mix of myth, legend, and every day, really setting us up for all that's still to come...

In the end, I couldn't believe the depth to which this world was created, the characters with which we were granted friendship, the dreams that we were made privy to, and the nightmares that awaited unsuspecting souls in the dark.  Trust me when I say the ending is STUNNING and if you happen to be turning those final pages in the dark of night, you might want to leave a candle of your own burning bright...

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

About the author...

Elias Pell is a London born poet, writer, lifelong daydreamer and Lucid Dreamer.
After drifting briefly in and out of University, Elias decided to travel and found he had an
uncanny knack for getting himself into unusual situations. Several years and many adventures
later, Elias returned to London where, at the age of twenty-seven, he published a book of poetry,
buried his backpack at the back of the wardrobe, and attempted to settle down. When this
eventually failed, Elias felt a strong need to cleanse himself of such “sensible aspirations”.

 So, in 2012, he embarked on a crazy mission: camping and sleeping “rough”—in some highly
questionable places—while walking over 1,500 miles barefoot, raising money for charity. It was
during these months when Elias decided Steggie Belle & the Dream Warriors was a story that
needed telling. While recovering from the injuries incurred, Elias Pell came up with a reasonably
rational plan—by his standards. And four and a half years later, having knuckled down, working
and saving every penny he could, he retreated to focus full-time on his life’s true passion:
writing.

 Disguised as an adult (children have somehow always been able to see through this facade) Elias
left England in 2016 and never looked back. Since then, he has won AudioArcadia’s
International Short Story Competition (2018), and earlier this year published a collection of
short stories for adults, entitled Scapegoats & Crowbars .

Elias is currently working on the sequel to Steggie Belle & the Dream Warriors — yes, there is a
sequel, and possibly even more to come — alongside other exciting new writing projects.

SITE  |  TWITTER

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

Special thanks to author Elias Pell for the ebook for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or his other works, 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 now!

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