Blog Tour—Pretending by

Blurb: In PRETENDING, April struggles to move on after a traumatic relationship. She’s kind, pretty, and relatively normal, but she can’t seem to get past the fifth date.  Every time she thinks she’s found someone she can trust, they reveal their awful selves to her and leave her heartbroken. Until April realizes that what men really want is Gretel.

Gretel is perfect - beautiful but low maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not a slut. She's a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door With No Problems. And when April pretends to be Gretel, dating becomes so much more fun—especially when she reels in the unexpecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control, but it’s her own feelings that she can’t seem to manage. And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?

Perfect for fans of “Fleabag,” with winking narration and bitingly observant humor, PRETENDING is an emotionally authentic take on #MeToo narratives and explores the pain and frustration of dating men in an era when stories about assault are a daily occurrence. In PRETENDING, April struggles to move on after a traumatic relationship. She’s kind, pretty, and relatively normal, but she can’t seem to get past the fifth date.  Every time she thinks she’s found someone she can trust, they reveal their awful selves to her and leave her heartbroken. Until April realizes that what men really want is Gretel.

Review:

This has the best firstliner in a book I’ve ever read. “I hate men.” I just KNEW that once I read that short little line, that Pretending was going to be my type of book. April is my gal—beautiful, kind, and just so happens to have terrible luck in the lurveeee department. Don’t we all, April?

Bottom line, always be yourself. If you find yourself needing to lie to impress someone, you’re not only doing them a disservice, you’re doing yourself a disservice as well. April is 100% of herself but men just don’t like her. That’s when she comes up with a plan to act not like herself. She meets Joshua and the two start a relationship based on April’s one little lie. 

That one little lie turns into something quite big though. April and Joshua are a good pair. I liked them both a lot. While I loved April a lot, there were times where I got a teensy bit annoyed with her. She’s very...unique and obsessed with falling in love. Sometimes less is more. 

Overall, I had a ton of fun reading this! It’s romantic and funny. The message about always being yourself bares repeating. BE YOURSELF!

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are subjective but my own. 

See what readers abd reviewers are saying HERE!

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About the Author:

Holly started her writing career as a news journalist, where she was nominated for Best Print Journalist of the Year. She then spent six years working as an editor, a relationship advisor, and general ‘agony aunt’ for a youth charity – helping young people with their relationships and mental health. 

Inspired by what she saw, she started writing teen fiction, including the best-selling, award-winning ‘Spinster Club’ series which helps educate teenagers about feminism. When she turned thirty, Holly wrote her first adult novel, 'How Do You Like Me Now?', examining the intensified pressures on women once they hit that landmark.

Alongside her writing, Holly has a keen interest in women’s rights and is an advocate for reducing the stigma of mental health problems. She’s helped create online apps that teach young people about sexual consent, works with Women’s Aid to spread awareness of abusive relationships, and runs Rethink’s mental health book club.

Review: These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1) by Chloe Gong

 

Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry Books

Published: November 17, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 4.5 stars

See what readers and reviewers are saying HERE!

Blurb:

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

Review:

Wow! That was absolutely gorgeous. From the very first page until the very end, I was invested in Juliette and Roma's story. It was romantic and so deliciously forbidden. Gong takes a classic tale and makes it all her own. The best thing about These Violent Delights is that it takes place in 1926 Shanghai.  

Juliette is the heroine you've longed for-she's strong and fiercely independent. I loved her immediately. I think readers will love this because it has a hot trope, enemies-to-lovers! The best kind, in my humble opinion.

Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the original play of Romeo & Juliet. Gasp...I know! I'm terrible. For some odd reason, I always end up loving the retelling of the classic tale. However, Gong's version is by far my favorite. I'm in love with it. I can't wait for the second book to come.

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Buy the book:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

About the author:

Chloe Gong is an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, studying English and International Relations. During her breaks, she’s either at home in New Zealand or visiting her many relatives in Shanghai. Chloe has been known to mysteriously appear by chanting “Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s best plays and doesn’t deserve its slander in pop culture” into a mirror three times. You can find her on Twitter @thechloegong, check out her website at thechloegong.com or email her at chloegongwrites@gmail.com.

Review: Love & Olives (Love & Gelato #3) by Jenna Evans Welch

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Published: November 10, 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 4 stars

GOODREADS

 Blurb:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato comes a Mamma Mia–inspired tale about a teen girl finding romance while trying to connect with her absent father in beautiful Santorini, Greece.

Liv Varanakis doesn’t have a lot of fond memories of her father, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight. What Liv does remember, though, is their shared love for Greek myths and the lost city of Atlantis. So when Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father explaining that National Geographic is funding a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and will she fly out to Greece and help?—Liv jumps at the opportunity.

But when she arrives to gorgeous Santorini, things are a little…awkward. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. And yet Liv doesn’t want their past to get in the way of a possible reconciliation. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo—her father’s charismatic so-called “protégé”—to witness her struggle.

And that means diving into all that Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the hidden caves, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.

Review:

When reading a Welch book, I always know I’m going to feel good by the end of it. The stories are all meaningful, romantic, and have a good blend of heavy and light. Love & Olives immediately pulled at my heartstrings because I felt connected to Liv on a whole other level. 

I loved that the story’s central theme was Atlantis but with an underlining meaning of family and forgiveness. Liv has some deep hurt from a father who left her when she was very young. Fast-forward to her senior year in high school when her father contacts her about something major happening. 

When Liv was young, she and her father bonded over their love and belief of the City of Alantis. Now that she’s older, those dreams have been put on the back burner. That is until her dad contacts her about an amazing opportunity courtesy of National Geographic. 

Next thing she knows, Liv is on her way to Greece. Where she comes face to face with her father and her own fears and disappointments. She also learns a lot about herself. Of course, there’s a sweet romance brewing with her dad’s protégé, Theo. 

I fell in love with everything about this book. It was so descriptive and beautiful. Liv is the type of heroine you can’t help but root for. She isn’t perfect, but it’s her imperfections that make her all the more loveable. Perfect ending for a perfect story. 

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are subjective but my own. 

Buy the book:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

(Photo courtesy of Goodreads)

About the Author:

Jenna Evans Welch was the kind of insatiable child reader who had no choice but to grow up to become a writer. She is the New York Times Bestselling author of LOVE & GELATO and the upcoming LOVE & LUCK. When she isn’t writing girl abroad stories, Jenna can be found chasing her children or making elaborate messes in the kitchen. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and two young children.