Sammeh Lurves Reading!

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Damaged Goods | Jennifer Bardsley | Giveaway | Blog Tour

DAMAGED GOODS, Blog Tour Assets

Title: DAMAGED GOODS (Blank Slate #2)

Author: Jennifer Bardsley

Pub. Date: January 17, 2017

Publisher: Month9Books

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 300

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | TBD

Blanca has everything she ever wanted, a hot boyfriend named Seth and the loving support of her foster father, Cal. She’s finally escaped the abusive control of her birth father, Barbelo Nemo, and her tortured childhood at Tabula Rasa School.

But the scars of Blanca’s Vestal upbringing run deep, especially when the FBI start asking questions. Blanca feels abandoned by Seth who is hunting for Lilith, Blanca’s only blood relative. The Defectos, a support group of Vestal-Rejects, offer Blanca comfort instead.

While the Vestal order crumbles, Chinese rivals called the Guardians rise to power and wrest control of important Tabula Rasa contacts. Now Blanca’s life is in peril once more, and this time, Blanca struggles to recognize friend from foe.

Title: GENESIS GIRL (Blank Slate #1)

Author: Jennifer Bardsley

Pub. Date: June 14, 2016

Publisher: Month9Books

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 280

Eighteen-year-old Blanca has lived a sheltered life. Her entire childhood has been spent at Tabula Rasa School where she’s been protected from the Internet.

Blanca has never been online and doesn’t even know how to text. Her lack of a virtual footprint makes her extremely valuable, and upon graduation, Blanca and those like her are sold to the highest bidders.

Blanca is purchased by Cal McNeal, who uses her to achieve personal gain. But the McNeals are soon horrified by just how obedient and non-defiant Blanca is. All those mind-numbing years locked away from society have made her mind almost impenetrable.

By the time Blanca is ready to think for herself, she is trapped. Her only chance of escape is to go online.

Jennifer Bardsley writes the parenting column “I Brake for Moms” for the Sunday edition of The Everett Daily Herald. She also blogs at Teaching My Baby to Read with the mission of sparking a national debate on the important roll parents play in education. Jennifer is a graduate of Stanford University and a member of SCBWI. She lives with her husband and two children in Edmonds, WA.

GENESIS GIRL will release in 2016 and is about an 18 year-old girl whose lack of a virtual footprint makes her so valuable that she is auctioned off to the highest bidder, the sequel will come out in 2017. Jennifer is represented by Liza Fleissig of the Liza Royce Literary AgencyLLC.

Follow the Jennifer on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Giveaway Details on Rafflecopter

(1) winner will receive a Perfectly Posh, Posh To Meet You Set ($20 value), US Only.

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/16/2017- The Avid Book Collector- Excerpt

1/16/2017- Sammeh Lurves Reading- Review

1/17/2017- Lisa's Loves(Books of Course)- Guest Post

1/17/2017- I am not a bookworm!- Review

1/18/2017- Sharon Lee Hughson, Author- Interview

1/18/2017- Bookish Hollow- Review

1/19/2017- Hidden Worlds Books- Guest Post

1/19/2017- Taylicious Reads- Review

1/20/2017- Bibliobibuli YA- Interview

1/20/2017- Abooktropolis- Review

Week Two:

1/23/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

1/23/2017- Jenn Blogs Books- Review

1/24/2017- Read Coffee and Teen- Excerpt

1/24/2017- Michaela Daphne- Review

1/25/2017- So Few Books- Interview

1/25/2017- Book Review Becca- Review

1/26/2017- Quillable- Guest Post

1/26/2017- Rockin' Book Reviews- Review

1/27/2017- LILbooKlovers- Interview

1/27/2017- The Starving Bookworm- Review

Monday, January 9, 2017

And I Darken | Kiersten White

Goodreads Synopsis:

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

One thing I really loved about this book is that it is really diverse, and I went in not expecting it the way it was. I don't know how to explain how much I love this book but oh my god, do I love it. Lada is one of my most favorite of favorite female characters ever. She is evil. She is strong. She is cunning. ANNNNND She knows it, and isn't afraid to let you know that she knows she is all of the above things. Lada is based on Vlad the Impaler but oh my gosh. She can stand up as character all on her own.

There is a lot of politics in this book and it doesn't read like your average YA. There were a couple of minor things that happened in this novel that caused me dock a star off, but oh am I looking forward to the sequel "Now I Rise" that comes out in June.

I loved Lada and Radu, but oh Mehmed. I don't like you. At all. I'm not going to hide it. You're a little assclown who can go die in a fire.. <3

4/5 stars

Bright Side (Bright Side #1) | Kim Holden

WARNING. THIS IS NOT SPOILER FREE. DO NOT CONTINUE READING UNLESS YOU WANT THE SPOILERS!

Goodreads Synopsis

Secrets.

Everyone has one.

Some are bigger than others.

And when secrets are revealed,

Some will heal you ...

And some will end you.

Kate Sedgwick’s life has been anything but typical. She’s endured hardship and tragedy, but throughout it all she remains happy and optimistic (there’s a reason her best friend Gus calls her Bright Side). Kate is strong-willed, funny, smart, and musically gifted. She’s also never believed in love. So when Kate leaves San Diego to attend college in the small town of Grant, Minnesota, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with Keller Banks.

They both feel it.

But they each have a reason to fight it.

They each have a secret.

And when secrets are revealed,

Some will heal you …

And some will end you.

I figured today would be a decent day to do a review for this book. I got it from Kindle Unlimited after seeing it in the Colleen Hoover facebook group. I like to go into Colleen Hoover completely blind so I decided to the same thing with this one since a lot of people compare Kim Holden to the queen that is Colleen Hoover and her books are the best if you go into them completely blind. This was the biggest mistake that I could have possibly done at this time in my life. It's not because this was a terrible book because it's not, and I plan on reading the other two..way on down the road. I'm not in a good mental state to read stuff like this at the moment. Let me explain.

Right before Christmas, my mom had to have a biopsy done on her right breast. We didn't want to wait until today (Jan. 9th) to get the results, so we snuck around and got the results earlier than that. It was positive.

Now this book...the main character Kate..
She has cancer.

Untreatable cancer.

The entire time I was reading this book, I was hoping that the ending that came wouldn't.

I loved Kate.

I loved Keller.

I made the mistake of reading this at work and I slowly became a slobbering mess of a person.

I wasn't ready for that bomb to drop and I wasn't expecting it. I think that's what the author was going for. Don't mistake this for oh no I didn't like this book. Because I did. I loved it. There a moment when I was reading where I was like "Okay, I'm going to put this down and come back to it later whenI'm ready for this mentally." but I just couldn't. I was so addicted to this book I couldn't put it down. I do plan on going on and reading Gus which is the next book in this series but I can't do that to myself at this particular moment.

If you're in a better place than I am mentally, I would absolutely recommend this book. Pick it up. You won't be disappointed. Just get ready to cry more than what you did with The Fault in Our Stars

5/5 Stars

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Top 10 books I'm most looking forward to in 2017

Okay, these babies are my more anticipated releases for 2017. I'm excepting to love and each and everyone of them. <3

1.) Damaged Goods (Blank Slate #2) by Jennifer Bardsley
I actually have an ARC of this gem but I'm waiting until I'm in a better place mentally to start it. Last year I began and finished the first book in this series, Genesis Girl while in the ER with an allergic reaction, and I really don't want to do that with this one.

2.) Windwitch by Susan Dennard
This one will release on January 10th, and I'm really excited for it. Due to some unfortunate doctor appointments I know I will not read this immediately is as soon as I get it get it, even though I do have it preordered. I just don't want to associate one of my favorite series to these particular doctors appointments. So. I'm gonna wait, but, this is still one of my more anticipated releases of this year!

3.) By Your Side by Kasie West
This is a contempary romance about a girl locked in a library overnight. Um. This is your homegirls DREAM. I'll probably read it during the summer but those Amazon preorder prices get me everytime. This releases on Janurary 31st.

4) Ally (Nemesis #2) by Anna Banks
I know this book is supposed to release sometime in 2017, but goodreads says Janurary 12th..for some reason I don't believe that.

5.) Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare
I am a HUGE Shadowhunter book fan. All of them are preordered autobuys for me. Releases May 23rd when my best friend is going to be visiting me from Oregon but we're going to be going to the beach a lot, and well, I like to personally read on the beach. I know most people don't think of as urban fantasy as a decent beach read but ANY BOOK CAN BE A BEACH READ. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

6.) A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas
This is the third (and final? I don't know) book of A Court of Thorns and Roses series or whatever it is now. Doesn't matter. She could write 50 books set in this world and I would read them all. I love Feyre, and she's one of my favorite characters ever. This releases before my best friend from Oregon comes to see me on May 2nd. :)

7.) Throne of Glass #6 by Sarah J Maas
THIS IS THE LAST BOOK OF THE THRONE OF GLASS SERIES. I'm so freaked. I know how Empire of Storms ended and I'm so scared about where this series is going and how it's going to end. I'm assuming it's going to release in the fall. Probably September.

8.) Now I Rise by Kiersten White
I read And I Darken last month and I will have a review coming up soon. I loved And I Darken, and it was just so good. I loved this world and everything about it. I went into this book not knowing that it was a diverse read but oh my gosh it was just so good. Releases June 27th.

9.) One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns, #2) by Kendare Blake
Three Dark Crowns is another book I read last month and will probably have a review coming up of it, so I will go more into depth and just gush about it then. I need it now but strangly, I don't mind waiting for it because it will release on September 19th, which is the day before my birthday. Yay, early birthday present to Sammy!

10.) Untitled (Eldryn Chronicles #2) by Emily Sowden
This is the 2nd book after Trapped in Silver. I know Trapped in Silver isn't released yet BUT GOODREADS SAYS IT HAS AN ANTICIPATED RELEASE DATE IN 2017. Therefore, I will hang on to that and hope and hope and hope that I will get it sometime this year. Like I said yesterday..I want this book yesterday.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Heartless | Marissa Meyer

I am SO thankful because my best friend allowed me to ship my copy of this gem to her so she could get it SIGNED FOR ME. I have a slight obsession with signed books but that's okay. I saw a copy at walmart and oh my goodness. I took the dust jacket off and that thing is gorgeous! GORGEOUS.

I downloaded an ebook copy so I can go ahead and read it because I have no patience and I have problems.

Okay, so update. I got my copy in the mail from my friend and I am now obsessed with this book and it holds a lot of meaning for me now. I opened it and there was a Marissa Meyer/best friend BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT. What the heck. Seriously, I screamed and I'm really excited and I feel like this is the way to tell your reader friend you're having a baby.

ANYWAYS. On to the actual book thoughts. Like every other Marissa Meyer book I have had the pleasure of reading, I LOVED THIS. I loved the story of Caath and how all she really wanted to do was open a bakery and how in the kingdom of Hearts she wasn't allowed to do that and everyone wanted her to marry the king that she had zero feelings for. I'm trying to not spoil it, but at the end, I really felt like I understood why Cath did the things that she did. The way things happen.. you feel terrible for her.

Also my owlcrate for novemeber was totally Alice themed but I'm keeping both copies I have because look at this exclusive cover!? It's so pretty! That, and I think I'm going to collect a another or two from other countries because I loved this book and it does hold now special memories for me.

4.5/5 stars.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Trapped in Silver | Emily Sowden

Okay, so first let me start this review by saying I have the flu and I'm supposed to be going to work right now but instead, I'm in bed writing about THE BEST DAMN YA FANTASTY I HAVE READ IN QUITE SOME TIME.

Let me start with a good ole fashioned goodreads synopsis:

Courage comes from a shadowed place in our hearts; a blurred line that straddles love and sheer stupidity.

To seventeen-year-old Ava, wild woodcats, hungry stragglers, and simple-minded townsfolk are the evils she’s grown accustomed to. But when Ethan, an unusual man with eyes of smoke and fire opal, enters her world she quickly understands that there are worse things out there than drunken men and carnivorous forest creatures. She’s a specialised liar and a hell of a fighter, but against a group of animalistic men called Berserkers she struggles to survive the encounter as the desperate swing of a dagger is all it takes to change her life for good.

Half-dead and hunted by the Berserker’s leader when he forms a monstrous obsession with her, Ava escapes his pursuit in an unfamiliar land full of impossible creatures, unlikely allies, and the man she doesn’t know whether to kiss or kill.
But after dreadful news of her missing brother surfaces, Ava becomes more involved in the centuries-long war and begins to unravel the reasons behind her relentless nightmares, discovering truths long-buried in a violent history of love, loss and betrayal.

Okay, so I am planning a much more spoilery blog post for when after this book releases in February, because I have to talk to someone about certain events that go down. I'm going to try to avoid them spoilers. That, and not knowing much about this book besides that you need to read it as soon as it's released, is the way to go into it.

This book does follow a YA trope that I usually find annoying but it was done so different in this book, that I didn't mind it at all. One thing about the ebook formatting that I loved was before each chapter you get a blank page with the characters name that the chapters perspective is written from. That made it much easier to follow unlike some high fantasy books that I have enjoyed but could have enjoyed much more (example: Game of Thrones) I've noticed a lot more YA books doing this lately and I am so not complaining about it!

Ava is an AMAZING main character. There were some things that she does that I didn't agree with but I loved the fact that in a world where women were expected to act a specific way, she was like "Um, no, I don't think so, I'm going to do this instead."

The creatures in this book are something else. I love my high fantasy to have something a little different that really makes it stand out in all the others books I go after and this book DEFINITELY did that for me! I just love the authors writing style, mainly because it reminds me of other authors that I absolutely enjoy such as Sarah J. Maas and Susan Dennard.

Now, let me tell you a little story that has to deal with this book. I was reading this book on my phone at work and I finished it right around the time of shift change, and I kind of started freaking out to the point where one of my coworkers (who shall remain nameless) offered to tranquilize me. Obviously, I didn't accept their offer but that should let you know just how invested you will be in this book. <3

5/5 stars

Release date: 02/07/17
(I don't want to wait for the second novel in this series, may I please have it now? PLEASE?)

Also, if you preorder this bad boy, be sure to email your receipt to oftomes@oftomes.com for some sweet looking preorder swag.

FTC disclaimer: I was provided an egalley of this book from oftomes publishing in exchange for an honest review. #teamBERSERKERS