Jan 29, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday ~ Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

Sinner


A standalone companion book to the internationally bestselling Shiver Trilogy. 


Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole's story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole's darkest secret -- his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel's life. Can this sinner be saved? 

This is one of the most anticipated books for me in 2014.  When I heard there was going to be a companion book for the Shiver Series I was thrilled.  I loved Sam and Grace and the time we spent in Mercy Falls.  If you haven't yet read the Shiver series I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Release date for Sinner is July 1, 2014


Are there any books you think I should be waiting on? Let me know in the comments below if you have any suggestions for me. Thanks for stopping by! 

Jan 28, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Worlds I'd never want to live in/Characters I'd never want to trade places with

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by 

This weeks topic:
Top Ten  worlds I'd never want to live in or 
Characters I'd never want to trade places with

I couldn't do 10 worlds or 10 Characters this week so I decided to do 5 worlds and 5 characters to make it a little bit easier for me.  In no particular order:

Worlds I'd never want to live in

Panam from The Hunger Games
No thank you on sending me or my children into the Hunger Games lottery every year.  The stress alone would kill me not to mention the day to day living especially somewhere like District 12.

Narnia
This is a fantastic world to read about, but I'm sort of a "comforts of home" type of gal and I don't need to be riding horses and hunting with Satyrs not to mention the whole White Witch thing.  

Wonderland
Wonderland is such a fantastic place to visit.....in your mind but not so much for the long term.  However, I wouldn't mind taking that Cheshire Cat along.  He's a pretty witty fellow.   

Any world without running water or electricity
 I need running water, electricity and all the other comforts of life I enjoy day to day.  I don't think most fictitious world are for me, but these essentials are definitely something I would ever want to experience for any length of time.

The world of The Mortal Instruments
As much as I love this series, I wouldn't want to live in their world.  Dodging and hunting demons, not to mention having vampires, werewolves and all other sorts of downworlders to constantly contend with, it really wouldn't be a place for me on a permanent basis.

Characters I'd never want to trade places with

Katniss from The Hunger Games
There is always a lot of Hunger Games talk at our house since it's Banana's favorite series ever.  I probably don't need to elaborate much, but can you imagine being Katniss and going through the games not once but twice and then being expected to be the face of a war you never intended to start?  Definitely not for me.

Gale From The Hunger Games
I know, a second character from The Hunger Games.  Let me tell you why.  My heart constantly breaks for Gale.  He loves Katniss but she's always so unattainable to him.  On top of that the fact that he has to watch her fall in love with someone else (whether it's true or not) on national television.  No thank you very much. 

Melanie from The Host
I chose Melanie over Wanda from The Host because she is the one trapped.  She wants the host out of her body so she can take her life back and really be with the people that she loves.  I love reading about the inner struggle of both Melanie and Wanda but I wouldn't want to trade with Melanie in particular.

Any character that is abused
I cannot imagine living my life in a situation where I was abused and I hope I never have to.  I was raised by loving parents and I have the best husband and children someone could ask for.  I would never wish abuse on anyone as in my mind there isn't a more miserable way to live your life.

Magnus Bane from The Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices
Magnus Bane is one of my favorite characters in these series.  I love how you never know what to expect next from him and the wealth of knowledge he has because he has lived for so many lifetimes.  I do believe, however, that being immortal is a blessing and a curse.  We may THINK we want to live forever, but if everyone around you can't as well, I cannot imagine the hurt of watching friends and loved ones come and go throughout centuries.


That's it for me.  Now tell me what you think.  Is there a world you would never want to live in or a character you would never want to be?



Jan 27, 2014

If I Speak True ~ Blog Tour and Release Day

The Sarcastic Palmtree is excited to be hosting the blog tour and release day for 
If I Speak True
by Jessica L. Brooks

I am so excited today to have Jessica here as a special guest to talk about her book and because it is her big release day, Jessica is hosting a special GIVEAWAY exclusively at The Sarcastic Palmtree!

Here is a little bit about If I Speak True:

Book Title: If I Speak True
Author Name: Jessica L. Brooks
Genre: YA, magical realism, romance, fantasy, flora
Release date: 1/27/14
Goodreads Link: 

Book Summary:
Dahlia Kennedy's sixteenth birthday marks a decade of mysterious dahlias arriving and strange, lonely dreams of being in a forest. The only difference this birthday, however, is that for the first time, someone is there with her. And he's practically from a whole other era. 

The more often Dahlia visits Rowan in his land of Ambrosia, the stronger their connection grows. But... is Ambrosia real? Is he real? What is going on between the two of them, exactly, and why does he insist that she keep it to herself? 

As secrets usually go, however, it's only a matter of time before everything comes out. And when Dahlia finds out the truth of who Rowan is, who she is, and how he really feels -- it’s beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

Add If I Speak True to Goodreads

I asked Jessica if she would share a little bit about her book and some of her ideas and inspiration so she's here to join the celebration with us!  

Hey Jessica!  Happy Book Birthday to you and If I Speak True!

Hi, Kristalyn! I am so excited about If I Speak True finally being out in the world for all to read -- thanks for featuring it here on release day! *passes cookies around*

As I was trying to figure out what exactly to share about If I Speak True, I realized that I haven’t really said anything about the bent of the book itself or shared the fact that, at one point, more of the plot was (loosely) based on The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. 

In fact, The Tempest itself plays a role in more ways than one in the first Flora book, not only because it’s one of Dahlia’s (the main character) favorite Shakespeare plays, but also because, as things progress, there are elements from Ambrosia and the family dynamic Rowan deals with that are similar to The Tempest’s theme. (Not that I made this overly obvious, or anything. I would tell you more, but, you know, spoilers and all. *winks*)

And, The Tempest isn’t the only work referred to, either… Dahlia also refers to a few movies, such as Ever After (starring Drew Barrymore), The Princess Bride, and The Sound of Music.
Now, the reason I chose to do this was the fact that, as you read and get to know someone, understanding the things they love (and, especially, having already experienced those things yourself) can tend to not only help you bond with a character, but it also gives you a broader understanding of an overall picture that would take pages of words to explain. So, instead of going on and on about Dahlia’s feelings and whatnot, she can sum things up simply by saying, for example:   
***

Starlight reflects in sparking white spots onto the water as we trot in, and it occurs to me, as I inhale the gardenias’ sweet scent, that I am Drew Barrymore. I am that girl; the one who never in a million years thought she’d ever be in a place like this.

***

Also, I’m going to be honest, here. I like to fangirl. I do it all of the time with my three teenage daughters (though not necessarily always the same things). We love to watch our favorite movies and quote our favorite lines, and I just felt that being able to share stuff, like movie lines and whatnot, was something worth including in Dahlia’s story.
So. I hope you enjoy If I Speak True. I had so much fun writing it. And, in honor of today being its debut and because you deserve to understand exactly how Drew Barrymore’s character, Danielle, felt in Ever After: A Cinderella Story, not only am I offering the usual giveaway featured on the rest of the tour, but also this DVD. Because ya’ll are special. 

*insert fanguy/fangirl squeal here*

Thank you Jessica!  You are so fantastic and I'm sure you have everyone super excited to read your fantastic new book!

Thanks for having me, Kristalyn! 

Get your copy of If I Speak True


About Jessica L. Brooks

Jessica L. Brooks: YA author. Lover of books, coffee and all things owl-dorable.

I write about near-future dystopia (PITY ISN'T AN OPTION, Cozenage #1 out now); magical realism (IF I SPEAK TRUE, forthcoming); and love to serve virtual cookies. (Here, try one -- they're tasty!) Feel free to connect with me here on my blog or anywhere else on the interwebs by searching for my username: coffeelvnmom.
Email     Website     Facebook     Twitter   Google+     Goodreads     Pinterest 


GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Be sure and enter BOTH giveaways below!  

The first one is a release day celebration giveaway here at 
The Sarcastic Palmtree 
(Thank you again Jessica!) 

DVD copy of Ever After: A Cinderella Story
a Rafflecopter giveaway

2nd Giveaway for a copy of "If I Speak True" 
book tote and swag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you again to Jessica for including us in her tour and especially her release day fun! 

Jan 22, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday ~ The Star Thief by Jamie Grey

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

The Star Thief (Star Thief Chronicles, #1)

She might only be twenty-three, but Renna Carrizal is the most notorious thief in the galaxy. There’s just one problem – all she wants is to get the frak out of the business. 

But when Renna rescues an injured boy from the warehouse she’s casing, she finds herself on the run from the mob instead of enjoying retirement on a garden world. Turns out, the kid was a plant to lead her to MYTH, a top-secret galactic protection agency. 

MYTH needs Renna’s special skills, and they make her an offer she can’t refuse – unless she'd like to spend the rest of her life on a prison ship. To make sure she does her job they shackle her with a MYTH watchdog, the handsome but arrogant Captain Finn. 

A former mercenary-turned-galactic-hero, Finn happens to have his own dirty secrets. Secrets that Renna wouldn’t mind uncovering for herself. Together, they discover an experiment to develop illegal cybernetics that will create an unstoppable army. The intended target? The human star fleet. 

Now Renna must use her skills as the Star Thief to pull off the biggest job of her career – saving the galaxy. And herself.

Release Date for The Star Theif is February 4, 2014


I was fortunate enough to receive an arc of this book and it is what I will be reading next.  After reading Ultraviolet Catastrophe I knew Jamie was an author I wanted to read more from.  I look forward reading The Star Thief and posting a review for it in the near future!





Are there any books you think I should be waiting on? Let me know in the comments below if you have any suggestions for me! Thanks for stopping by! 


Jan 21, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Top Ten Things On My Reading Wishlist


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by 

This weeks topic:
Top ten things on my reading wishlist
(things I wish I could make authors write for me i.e type of character, issue, time period, plot, etc )

These books surely exist in some form, but these may be closer to books I would like to read or see more of.

10 - Bullying.  I think there is a lot of this at every age level even in adults.  I would love to see how more people act and handle these sorts of situations.  

9 - This one is coming from 16 year old Banana, he says he wants more books "set in the now!" The year we live in or the near future.  Give him some technology! 

8 - People looking for something other than love.  I like a good romance as much as the next gal, but I would love to read more books about someone following their heart and going for what they really want in life that didn't have to revolve around finding love.  

7 - Everyday Heroes.  I think the everyday heroes we have all around us could use a lot more love!  Most of these people are willing to put their life on the line for someone else, police officers and firemen especially.  I would love to read something from the point of view of a fireman, inside a fire, what it's like, maybe even telling us what in the world would possess someone to walk into a burning building to save someone they don't even know?

6 - Southern Belles.  I love the old South.  I have grown even more fond of it since moving here 15 years ago.  Give me some old pre-civil war era Southern belles and their lifestyle.  I think I would enjoy more of that.  


5 - Famous people thrown back into "real life" and being forced to live like the rest of the world.  Take away all the fame and fortune and see what they do with their life.

4 - Banana wants more dystopian and futuristic.  He's read The Hunger Games and Divergent. Anyone have any other similar suggestions for him?  It would be welcomed!

3 - Music Related Books.  Give me rock bands, boy bands, solo artists, producers, the ugly side, the glam side I just want more music!  If I can read a book and want to listen to the fictitious soundtrack, you have done your job well!

2 - MORE FUN CHILDREN'S BOOKS!  This is one the whole gang agrees on.  I got "The Day the Crayons Quit" for Christmas and we laughed so hard we want more, more, more!  Being raised on Eric Carle makes me a huge lover of kids books and I want more really cute fun stories for Children.

1 - Hockey.  I can't get get enough hockey.  I have found and read a few, but honestly there will never be enough hockey books for me (unless that's all there are.  Then, I may need a bit of a change up)  I do enjoy other sports books but anyone that can incorporate hockey into a book would win my heart!




That's it for me!  What kind of books do you wish there were more of or what do you like to read most? 





Jan 17, 2014

Chasing Forever Down By Nikki Godwin ~ Author Interview and Tour Stop

Welcome to The Sarcastic Palmtree and the Chasing Forever Down 
Blog Tour!

I'm so excited to bring you my interview stop with Author Nikki Godwin!

Title: Chasing Forever Down (Drenaline Surf #1)
Author: Nikki Godwin
Date of Publication: March 14, 2013
Genre: contemporary YA romance with sports

After seventeen-year-old Haley Sullivan meets a mysterious stranger who plays by his own rules, she's more than determined to learn every trick of the trade from the master himself. But her dream-chasing mentor disappears after that night, and according to the local newspapers, he's been dead for years. Knowing he's very much alive, Haley enlists best friend Linzi to join her on a scavenger-hunt-style road trip that ultimately lands them in the surf town of Crescent Cove, California. Mystery guy is no mystery here, though – he's Colby Taylor, the west coast's biggest professional surfer. 

If Haley wants to talk to the wave rider again, she'll have to get past his four intimidating bodyguards who are highly skilled in the business of sending starstruck fangirls back to where they belong. Haley is up for the challenge if it means chasing her dreams and escaping the perfectly corporate future that's been planned for her. But dealing with these bodyguards isn't exactly what Haley imagined it'd be. Sure, being thrown off a jet ski sucks, but falling in love with one of them might just be worse.

Add To Goodreads
If you would like to read my review of 
Chasing Forever Down 
you can find it here.

My interview with the talented
Nikki Godwin.
How did Chasing Forever Down start to formulate in your head?  What was the initial main idea that came first? 

CFD is actually a mixture of a lot of ideas. I had Haley, Vin, and Reed in another book that wasn't going anywhere, so they were recycled into this book instead. Reed has always been associated with boating, so that carried over too. I actually was on my lunch break one day at my former day job (from hell), and I saw a helicopter circling around. I instantly wondered who it was looking for. (This went into CFD too - if you've read it, you know!) And then there was this idea to write about a dead surfer, which really jumpstarted a real plot for the book. 

Why did you choose a beach location and surfing for your story?

What finally set this story into motion was an episode of Face Off (which I don't even watch - so I have no idea why I was that night). The episode was zombie-themed, and one of the makeup artists was planning to design a zombie surfer who had been bitten by a shark. It intrigued me because I'd never given surfers a second thought. No one really writes about surfers. There's no big surf movie franchise. It's not "a thing." So of course, I instantly wanted to make it MY thing and decided I'd someday write about "a dead surfer." (As for the location, obviously surfing has to take place on the beach.)

You are a huge fan of surfer John John Florence.  Were you a surfing fangirl before writing this book?

I definitely love JJF! I honestly didn't know a thing about surfing when I wrote CFD. I literally knew the name of only one pro surfer (CJ Hobgood, for anyone interested, and I only knew him because To Write Love On Her Arms was one of his sponsors). I researched some surf terms and lingo, so I could sound somewhat legit. It wasn't until I decided to write this as a series that I invested some time into learning about professional surfers. I was definitely hooked! JJF was the first one who was “my surfer,” which is another story for another time. It's such an extreme, exciting sport, and no one else in Mississippi even cares about it, so it's my own special obsession. And you know, *some* of the guys don't look too bad either ;)
(Side note: If you would like to know how Nikki became such a big fan of JJF you can check out her 
Guest Post at Paradise of Pages here.)

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

This is actually a tough call. My gut instinct is to say A.J. Gonzalez because he's a character who had been in my head for a very long time. He came across perfectly on the page. He was a lot of fun, had the best lines, and really showed the range and depth of a person. However, I also really enjoyed writing the Hooligans. Topher came to me as naturally as A.J. did, although he's much more charismatic than A.J. The funny thing with Topher is that he was intended to be a "one scene character" but his personality was too big. 

I love your beach location in the book.  How did you come up with the name Crescent Cove?

I wish I had a cool story behind this. It's literally just one of those names that popped into my head, and I thought, "Wow, that sounds so pretty!" The same thing happened with Horn Island. The place just came already named. 

You are a huge music lover.  I know you have a writing playlist, but what is the one song that best sums up this book?

"With You Around" by Yellowcard. I could go on for days about this song. I really just recommend listening to it. It captures this novel completely...and you may hear where the novel's title came from as well!

I always seem to have favorite parts of every book I read, and I enjoy books that make me think and feel emotionally. What is your favorite thing about Chasing Forever Down and what do you hope for your readers to gain from reading it?

I hate to get all "the moral of the story" about my books, but the theme of CFD is about chasing dreams. That theme continues throughout the rest of the series. So I hope somewhere, at some point, a reader is inspired after reading this book and does something to make his or her own dreams come true. I just really want someone to chase forever down.

Special thanks to Nikki for taking the time to talk to us.  

About Author Nikki Godwin

Nikki Godwin is a Young Adult/New Adult author from the southern USA. She is a city girl who can't live without Mountain Dew, black eyeliner, Hawthorne Heights, and candles from Bath & Body Works. When not writing, she's not-so-secretly internet-stalking her favorite bands. She may or may not completely love One Direction.



Make sure you enter the rafflecopter below to win an ecopy of Chasing Forever Down!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jan 15, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday ~ Misunderstandings by Tiffany King



"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!


Just when she thought things were going up…

Two years after a devastating breakup, Brittni Mitchell has moved on from Justin Avery—or so she tells herself. But when she returns to Seattle for her best friend’s engagement party, Brittni finds herself the victim of a disastrously timed elevator breakdown. She’s trapped with the last person she wants to face, and forced to recount the past she desperately wants to forget.

She’s going to have to look back…

When Brittni left her podunk hometown for a big city college experience at the University of Washington, hooking up with a guy like Justin Avery was not part of her plan. Between Justin’s attention-grabbing tattoos, cigarette smoking, and bad boy attitude Brittni quickly chalked him up as “Mr. Wrong.” But his charm was unrelenting, and Brittni’s decision to give Justin a chance quickly turned into the worst choice she ever made.

So that she might be able to move forward.

Now she’s stuck with Justin—literally—and the complicated web of misunderstandings that tied up the truth for two years is about to unravel.
 
What People Are Saying About It:

“A beautifully woven story of a love that can withstand anything.”—New York Times bestselling author Molly McAdams
 
“Funny, real, moving and passionate, Misunderstandings is a MUST-READ for New Adult contemporary romance fans.”—New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young
 
“Sweet and sexy! Great characters and an intriguing romance…So good!”—New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack

Release date for Misunderstandings is May 6, 2014

If you haven't read anything by Tiffany King you are really missing out!  She is one of my favorite authors and one I never miss a book from.  Misunderstandings is the 2nd book in her Woodfalls Girls series and one I am most definitely waiting on!  You can get a taste of this fantastic series now by checking out book #1 No Attachments and her novella "Cross Country Christmas".   

Thanks for stopping by for my first Waiting on Wednsday!  I'm excited to start doing this as a weekly feature at 
The Sarcastic Palmtree!



Jan 14, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Top Ten Debuts I'm Excited For



Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by 


This weeks topic:
Top Ten Debuts I'm excited for in 2014


When I first saw this topic I thought "I don't know any debuts that are coming out this year" so I went to Goodreads and did a search and guess what?  I did know some after all!  About half of the list below I have heard about previously and others I read about as I was searching.  I hope you enjoy my top ten list!

 In no particular order:


The Murder Complex (The Murder Complex, #1)
An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.


The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?


The Break-Up Artist
Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash. Some work at the Gap. Becca Williamson breaks up couples. 



After watching her sister get left at the altar, Becca knows the true damage that comes when people utter the dreaded L-word. For just $100 via paypal, she can trick and manipulate any couple into smithereens. With relationship zombies overrunning her school, and treating single girls like second class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even her best friend Val has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend.


One night, she receives a mysterious offer to break up the homecoming king and queen, the one zombie couple to rule them all: Steve and Huxley. They are a JFK and Jackie O in training, masters of sweeping faux-mantic gestures, but if Becca can split them up, then school will be safe again for singletons. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date and wiggle her way back into her former BFF Huxley’s life – not to mention start a few rumors, sabotage some cell phones, break into a car, and fend off the inappropriate feelings she’s having about Val’s new boyfriend. All while avoiding a past victim out to expose her true identity.


No one said being the Break-Up Artist was easy.

Love Letters to the Dead
It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

Summer on the Short Bus
Spoiled, Versace-clad Cricket Montgomery has seventeen years of pampering under her belt. So when her father decides to ship her off to a summer camp for disabled teens to help her learn some accountability, Cricket resigns herself to three weeks of handicapped hell. 

Her sentence takes a bearable turn as she discovers the humor and likeability of the campers and grows close to fellow counselors. Now, if she can just convince a certain Zac Efron look-alike with amazing blue eyes that she finally realizes there's life after Gucci, this summer could turn out to be the best she's ever had.


Summer on the Short Bus is a very non-P.C., contemporary YA with a lot of attitude, tons of laughs, and a little life lesson along the way.

Scintillate (The Light Key Trilogy, #1)
A mighty flame follows a tiny spark.

Cora Sandoval’s mother disappeared when she was five and they were living in Ireland. Since then, her dad has been more than overprotective, and Cora is beginning to chafe under his confines. But even more troubling is the colorful light she suddenly sees around people. Everyone, that is, except herself—instead, she glows a brilliant, sparkling silver.


As she realizes the danger associated with these strange auras, Cora is inexplicably drawn to Finn, a gorgeous Irish exchange student who makes her feel safe. Their attraction is instant, magnetic, and primal—but her father disapproves, and Finn’s mother orders him home to Ireland upon hearing he’s fallen in love. After a fight with her father, Cora flees to Ireland, both to follow Finn and to look for her missing mother.


There she meets another silver-haloed person and discovers the meaning of her newfound powers and their role in a conspiracy spanning centuries—one that could change mankind forever…and end her life.


Scintillate is the first book in this lush and exciting new trilogy, full of romance, adventure and metaphysical mystery.

Between
When a supernatural freak of nature forces her family to separate, seventeen-year-old Charlie Page must turn to her frustrating (yet gorgeous) neighbor, Seth, to help reunite them. Seth whisks Charlie to Ellauria—a magical world filled with the creatures of myths and legends—and tells her of the Fellowship, the group charged with protecting mystical beings from human discovery. (All except Bigfoot: that attention whore is a total lost cause.) But when Charlie learns that she's under the Fellowship's protection herself, well, "stressed" is an understatement.

Ellauria should be the safest place for Charlie while the Fellowship works to find her family, but things in the mystical realm aren’t what they seem.


Magic is failing, creatures are dying, and the Fellowship insists Charlie holds the key to saving everyone. With her family still missing and the danger in Ellauria growing, Charlie doesn't know who she can trust. She's dealing with a power she never asked for, falling for a guy she can't have, and being forced to choose between her destiny and her heart. And if she chooses wrong, she could destroy magic forever.


Charlie may be in over her head.

Blackfin Sky
When Sky falls from Blackfin Pier and drowns on her sixteenth birthday, the whole town goes into mourning – until she shows up three months later like nothing happened.

Unravelling the mystery of those missing months takes Sky to the burned-out circus in the woods, where whispers of murder and kidnapping begin to reveal the town’s secrets. But Sky’s not the only one digging up the past – the old mime from the circus knows what happened to her, and he has more than one reason for keeping quiet about it.

17 First Kisses
No matter how many boys Claire kisses, she can’t seem to find a decent boyfriend. Someone who wouldn’t rather date her gorgeous best friend, Megan. Someone who won’t freak out when he learns about the tragedy her family still hasn’t recovered from. Someone whose kisses can carry her away from her backwoods town for one fleeting moment.

Until Claire meets Luke.


But Megan is falling for Luke, too, and if there’s one thing Claire knows for sure, it’s that Megan’s pretty much irresistible.


With true love and best friendship on the line, Claire suddenly has everything to lose. And what she learns—about her crush, her friends, and most of all herself—makes the choices even harder.

Side Effects May Vary
What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you? 

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission.


Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all that she’s said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the one person who matters most? 


My Last Kiss

What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy? 

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss—the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died—is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn’t a suicide as everyone assumes. She can’t remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she’s worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend. 

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she’ll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made—good and bad—that led to her last kiss.


Happy Reading!
Flamingo

Jan 13, 2014

Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Godwin ~ Blog Tour


I am fangirling with excitement today as I have my review stop on tour for my favorite read of 2013

CHASING FOREVER DOWN

Title: Chasing Forever Down (Drenaline Surf #1)
Author: Nikki Godwin
Date of Publication: March 14, 2013
Genre: contemporary YA romance with sports

After seventeen-year-old Haley Sullivan meets a mysterious stranger who plays by his own rules, she's more than determined to learn every trick of the trade from the master himself. But her dream-chasing mentor disappears after that night, and according to the local newspapers, he's been dead for years. Knowing he's very much alive, Haley enlists best friend Linzi to join her on a scavenger-hunt-style road trip that ultimately lands them in the surf town of Crescent Cove, California. Mystery guy is no mystery here, though – he's Colby Taylor, the west coast's biggest professional surfer. 

If Haley wants to talk to the wave rider again, she'll have to get past his four intimidating bodyguards who are highly skilled in the business of sending starstruck fangirls back to where they belong. Haley is up for the challenge if it means chasing her dreams and escaping the perfectly corporate future that's been planned for her. But dealing with these bodyguards isn't exactly what Haley imagined it'd be. Sure, being thrown off a jet ski sucks, but falling in love with one of them might just be worse.

 Add to Goodreads




MY REVIEW
I don't really know where to even start with this review.  To anyone that knows me it's no secret that I have been saying for months this is my favorite book of 2013.  I read more books last year than I have ever read in a year in my life and many of them were very good, but Chasing Forever Down touched me in a way that is almost hard to explain.  I love it so much and for so many different reasons.  I am going to try and capture for you the reasons it means so much to me and hopefully it will leave you wanting to read it and see for yourself.

First a little history.  When I find an author I love I want to read ALL the books they have written.  Back in September I was on the American Girl on Saturn tour and loved the book.  Couldn't quit talking about it and couldn't quit thinking about it.  So of course I had to go get more Nikki Godwin, immediately, and found Chasing Forever Down. I read the description and immediately downloaded it and started reading......and reading.......and reading.  Addicted.  Crack addict level addicted.  I had to keep reading to find out where it was going.  Needless to say I LOVED the book and almost started it over immediately.  I have never had a book make me want to do that.  At that point I felt like I needed to email Nikki and tell her how much I loved the book.  Because I never empty my sent email boxes on a regular basis (like ever) I actually still have the original email I sent to Nikki and I wanted to post just a bit of it (I had to take out some spoiler stuff that was in there) but this tells you a little bit of what I was feeling and loving about the book just after I read it for the first time.

"I really wanted to tell you how much I loved Chasing Forever Down.  Sincerely, I think it was one of the best YA books in this genre I have read in a while.  I need to read it again so that I can really absorb it better.  I just know that I loved how Haley was looking for one thing and found another that was better.  I love how everything unfolded a little at a time.  I loved the relationship between her and AJ.  Talk about unlikely friendships!  It was fantastic!  I loved the beach setting and I love the feel of a less populated more hometown feel of a small beach.  I really could see the setting in my mind while reading.  It was just awesome."

Nikki knows how to tell a story and make you feel like you are there with the characters.  I love how you expect the characters to be one way and then they end up being so different than what you initially thought.  There are so many fun and interesting elements and characters to the story like Emily and her Enchanters, paper stars, The West Coast Hooligans (who will be your favorite?) this book kept me hooked from page to page. This is probably one of my favorite elements to her writing.  My favorite character in the book is AJ.  I was surprised how much he grew on me throughout the story and he actually brought me to tears at the end.  He is a fantastic character and someone I would want for a best friend even though I know Haley as already taken that role on.  Here is an excerpt from the book that will give you a glimpse of Haley and AJ's first meeting:

“Whoa!” Alston yells out. 

I look back. His lips keep moving, but I can’t hear anything over the roaring of A.J.’s jet ski. 

“– the hell!?” is all I catch. I throw my arms into the air and shake my head as Alston moves toward me. 

“What the hell are you doing?” he asks once he’s within earshot. He motions at A.J., but I know he’s talking to me. 

“Jet skiing,” I say. “You know, most people wear lifejackets. I thought that was normal.”

He points at A.J. “You’re seriously getting on that with him? Are you crazy? No one has ever ridden with A.J. Well, except that one time Reed did. He still has the scar to show for it.”

My blood boils as hot as this raging summer sun. This whole jet skiing with A.J. deal was a ploy, just like I thought. He’s probably rocked his mechanical bull moves on that yellow jet ski for a thousand girls. I bet he blew cigarette smoke on them and wrapped his arm around their pretty tan shoulders and told them how wave jumping with him would be the most badass experience of their lives. And at that point, the girls decided to take turns riding with Alston or they found another chiseled beach bum to waste their time with. 

None of them ever dared to get on the back of Jailbird Gonzalez’s jet ski. 

But I do.

Chasing Forever Down is a whole lot of fun, but also you will find between the covers a beautiful book about chasing your dreams and going after what you want even if the end results take you somewhere that is totally different than you planned, and  fate making them better than you ever thought they could be.

Flamingo gives
Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Godwin

10 Big Beautiful Palm Trees


     A Yellow Jet Ski                                         A Pink Frisbee






Origami Stars


About Author
Nikki Godwin

Nikki Godwin is a Young Adult/New Adult author from the southern USA. She is a city girl who can't live without Mountain Dew, black eyeliner, Hawthorne Heights, and candles from Bath & Body Works. When not writing, she's not-so-secretly internet-stalking her favorite bands. She may or may not completely love One Direction.


Blog     Twitter     Facebook

Make sure to enter the Rafflecopter before you go for your chance to win an ecopy of 
Chasing Forever Down.  

Thanks for visiting and be sure to come back Friday when we will have an interview with author Nikki Godwin!


a Rafflecopter giveaway