Blog Tour Review—Tell Me No Lies by Adele Griffin

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Release Date: June 12, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

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Synopsis:

A riveting novel about secrecy, complicated friendships, and heartbreak, set against the iconic backdrop of the late 1980s.

Lizzy Swift is a senior in high school, emerging from her nerd chrysalis to become a social butterfly. She starts dating popular Matt Ashley, whom she’s been pining for since freshman year. She’s delighted when rebellious new girl Claire Reynolds introduces her to Center City Philadelphia—clubs, street life, and the eye-opening art scene. As Lizzy begins to question her own long-held dreams, the changes in her life mirror the upheaval of a decade marked by a drug epidemic and the AIDS crisis. She’s no longer sure of her Ivy League ambition. While she has a special connection with Matt, something’s missing. And Claire carries around a mysterious sadness and talks about a breakup so bad she changed schools—but she won’t tell the whole story. Lizzy wants Claire to confide in her, even as she keeps her own embarrassing secrets.  

Before too long, the heady thrill of her new life starts to crumble under insecurities and deceptions.  When the truth emerges from the wreckage, will it be too late for Lizzy, Claire, and Matt to save their love and friendships?

Review-

This is a poignant story about acceptance, love, and growing up. Bonus that it’s a book set in the 80s—I unfortunately didn’t grow up in the 80s, though I wish I did. Lizzy’s character is easy to indenting with, as was Matt and Claire. 

In this unique and fun-filled book, we follow Lizzy as she navigates her senior year. The book deals with some topics that are have the characters scrambling to survive. The story started off a little bit slow, but once you get the ball moving, it starts getting interesting. 

Tell Me No Lies is a realistic look that had me more than a little engrossed in Lizzy’s life. I enjoyed watching her grow as a character, even if some of her actions were a bit problematic. Readers who enjoy deep and meaningful books, that also have a light undertone, will love this novel. 

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

About the Author:

Adele Griffin is the highly acclaimed author of almost thirty books for Young Adult and middle grade readers.

Her works include the National Book Award Finalists Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be, as well as the popular Oodlethunks series for younger readers. The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone was a YALSA Best Book of 2015, an Amazon Best YA Book of the Year, a Booklist Top Ten Arts Books for Youth, a Junior Library Guild selection, a Romantic Times Finalist for Book of the Year, and a School Library Journal Top Fiction pick. Her latest novel Tell Me No Lies is publishing in June 2018 with Algonquin Books.

Adele serves on the Board of Directors of the MacDowell Colony, and is on the advisory board of 826NYC. She lives with her husband, Erich, their two young children, and their dog, Edith, in Brooklyn, New York.

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New Release Review—Daring Dreamers Club: Milla Takes Charge by Erin Soderberg

Publisher: Random House Disney

Published: June 5, 2018

Genre: Middle Grade

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 4.5 Stars

GOODREADS

Blurb:

When you follow your dreams, the possibilities are endless!

Milla loves nothing more than imagining grand adventures in the great wide somewhere, just like Belle. She dreams of traveling the world and writing about her incredible discoveries. Unfortunately, there is nothing pretend about the fifth-grade overnight and Milla's fear that her moms won't let her go.

Enter Piper, Mariana, Zahra, and Ruby. Together with Milla, they form the Daring Dreamers Club and become best friends. But can they help Milla believe she's ready for this real grand adventure?

Diverse, talented, and smart--these five girls found each other because they all had one thing in common: big dreams. Touching on everyday dramas and the ups and downs of friendship, this series will enchant all readers who are princesses at heart. 

Review:

Daring Dreams Club—Milla Takes Charge is a book I desperately wished I had when I was this age. It’s no secret that this particular story is a bit out of my age range, but it still doesn’t stop me from loving it to pieces. It has a great message for young girls everywhere—Dream Big. 

“This year, my only requirement in this group is that each of you dare to dream big!”

This is the first book of a series in which five young girls, who’re in fifth grade, navigate ways to not only dream big, but to have fun along the way. To prepare themselves for graduating elementary (and everything beyond) at the end of the year, they’re put in an advisory group with other students to help them. That’s where we meet, other than Milla, Piper, Marianna, Zahra, and Ruby. Five girls who become best friends. 

Milla is just like Belle. She wants adventures by the only way she gets them, is through the books she reads and the stories she writes. She wants more. The fifth grade will be going on a trip called Adventure Camp but Milla isn’t sure that her moms will even let her go. 

One thing that’s truly amazing about these books is that it’s part of the campaign “Dream Big Princess”. It’s a wonderful thing because sometimes Disney Princesses get a bad rep simply for the fact that they are a Disney
princess. Some may think that the only thing they care about is getting “the boy”. I don’t see it that way. I see


 beautiful young women going after what they want. Belle is my favorite because not only is she smart, but she isn’t afraid to stand up for what she believes in. She also loves people for who they are on the inside, not for how they look. 

Milla was so fun to get to know. I loved her heart, the passion she had for wanting to explore, and it helps that her trusty sidekick, Chocolate Chip, was a cute pig. I look forward to the rest of the girl’s stories and watching them grow. This comes at a high recommend for all girls and women everywhere. 

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

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About the Author:

ERIN SODERBERG has written many books for kids, tweens, and young adults, including THE QUIRKS and PUPPY PIRATES series.

Before turning to writing full time, Erin worked as a children’s book editor and marketer, spent a few months as a cookie inventor, and also worked for Nickelodeon. She lives, writes, and eats out in Minneapolis with her husband, three hilarious kids, and a mischievous goldendoodle named Wally.

Erin Soderberg also writes as Erin Downing. More information about her books can be found at: www.erinsoderberg.com

ARC Review—Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Published: June 5, 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance 

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 4 Stars 

GOODREADS

Blurb:

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally. 

Review-

“None of them will fill the emptiness, the gaping chasm, the cold void of the girl I used to be. A happy girl, an innocent girl. A girl with family. A girl who believed in the goodness of the world, once. 

A girl with love.”

Bring Me Their Hearts ends on such a cliffhanger, I don’t know what to do with myself. Sara Wolf is an author I’d follow anywhere; simply for the fact that she gave me Jack Hunter in the Lovely Vicious Trilogy. It was inevitable that I would choose to read and review this book as well. 

I’ll be honest, it took me a hot minute to truly get into the story. Why? I have no idea. The main character is spunky and hilarious; I loved her immediately. I just couldn’t, for the life of me, care for the story. The more I read though, the more interesting this new world became. The world building and the story in all, was different. Good but very different. You have beings that are called Heartless—they literally don’t have a heart and witches control them. 

“I might be a thief, but I’m also a romantic. I’m after his heart.”

Zera, our main girl, is a Heartless. She’s given a huge task—to seduce the crown prince and take his heart. In turn, she’ll get the freedom she desires for her and her friends. Things prove to be difficult once she meets Prince Lucien and see how kind and caring he is. But Zera only has so little time to get the job done until everything is too late. 

Despite the fact that the book started off slow, I clearly enjoyed the story very much. The comedic way the heroine would handle situations, made the book so fun. I like books that don’t take themselves too seriously. I think Wolf has a great imagination and I’m so happy she’s shared this particular story with us. Now, I’m not too needy when it comes to reading material but...can we get the sequel like now?

“His heart. Freedom. His heart. Freedom.”

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

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US 

Amazon UK

About the Author:

Sara Wolf is a twenty-something author who adores baking, screaming at her cats, and screaming at herself while she types hilarious things. When she was a kid, she was too busy eating dirt to write her first terrible book. Twenty years later, she picked up a keyboard and started mashing her fists on it and created the monster known as the Lovely Vicious series. She lives in San Diego with two cats, a crippling-yet-refreshing sense of self-doubt, and not enough fruit tarts ever.

Blog Tour Review—Grump by Liesl Shurtliff

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers 

Published: May 29, 2018

Genre: Middle Grade Retelling 

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Goodreads

Blurb:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rump, comes the true story behind another unlikely hero: a grumpy dwarf who gets tangled up in Snow White's feud with the wicked queen.

Ever since he was a dwarfling, Borlen (nicknamed "Grump") has dreamed of visiting The Surface, so when opportunity knocks, he leaves his cavern home behind.
At first, life aboveground is a dream come true. Queen Elfrieda Veronika Ingrid Lenore (E.V.I.L.) is the best friend Grump always wanted, feeding him all the rubies he can eat and allowing him to rule at her side in exchange for magic and information. But as time goes on, Grump starts to suspect that Queen E.V.I.L. may not be as nice as she seems. . . .

When the queen commands him to carry out a horrible task against her stepdaughter Snow White, Grump is in over his head. He's bound by magic to help the queen, but also to protect Snow White. As if that wasn't stressful enough, the queen keeps bugging him for updates through her magic mirror! He'll have to dig deep to find a way out of this pickle, and that's enough to make any dwarf Grumpy indeed. 

Review-

“A thousand years he dug in the earth

Gathering crystals and gems of great worth

He had diamonds and rubies and emeralds galore

But he still felt empty, so he dug ten years more.”

This is probably one of the cutest books I’ve read this year. Grump is full of mischief, imagination, and the beautiful magic that comes with a story full of so much life! It’s a different take on the beloved story of Snow White—with the narrator being Borlen, aka Grumpy. All his life, since he was born, all he’s wanted to do was be on the Surface. Being so far underground made him sick with so much anxiety. 

“We’ll bear no tyrant, suffer no fool

The fairest of all is the one who will rule”

I liked how they incorporated everyone from the Snow White and made them out to be so much different than you’d think. Grump was just misunderstood, couldn’t anyone see that? What so bad with wanting more in life than what you were given? Well, Grump sure showed them! When he’s sent to work as 7th in a team of other dwarves working as a digger. Finding any kind of gem, ruby, diamond, etc. to help fuel the community. He finds a way to get the top. 

That’s when all the trouble starts! And that’s when I realized how much I adored Grump’s recklessness that I eventually realized was just him being brave. A young dwarf that took matters into his own hands and shaped his own destiny. I admire that. If you’re lookin for a book with all the qualities I just listed, then I think this is the perfect read for those of all ages. 

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

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About the Author:

Liesl Shurtliff is the author of the New York Times Bestseller RUMP and other (Fairly) True Tales. She was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the mountains for her playground. Just like Rump, Liesl was shy about her name, growing up. Not only did it rhyme with weasel, she could never find it on any of those personalized key chains in gift shops. But over the years she’s grown to love having an unusual name—and today she wouldn’t change it for the world!
Before she became a writer, Liesl graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in music, dance, and theater. She now lives in Chicago with her husband and four children.

Blog Tour Review—Just Under the Clouds bubble Melissa Sarno

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Published: June 5, 2018

Genre: Middle Grade

Source: Print ARC

Rating:

GOODREADS

Blurb:

Can you still have a home if you don't have a house?

Always think in threes and you'll never fall, Cora's father told her when she was a little girl. Two feet, one hand. Two hands, one foot. That was all Cora needed to know to climb the trees of Brooklyn.

But now Cora is a middle schooler, a big sister, and homeless. Her mother is trying to hold the family together after her father's death, and Cora must look after her sister, Adare, who's just different, their mother insists. Quick to smile, Adare hates wearing shoes, rarely speaks, and appears untroubled by the question Cora can't help but ask: How will she find a place to call home?

After their room at the shelter is ransacked, Cora's mother looks to an old friend for help, and Cora finally finds what she has been looking for: Ailanthus altissima, the "tree of heaven," which can grow in even the worst conditions. It sets her on a path to discover a deeper truth about where she really belongs.

Review-
This was a debut? This read like a well seasoned author that knows how to pack a punch—in all the right ways. Cora, sweet Cora, is in middle school and struggling to get by. She’s not doing so well in school and not to mention she and her family are homeless. Cora has a sister named Adare, whose a special soul. 

Everything changed when their dad died—leaving Cora to grow up far faster than she ever should. Her pride and joy is the tree book that belonged to her father and of course her sister, Adare. Being homeless can obviously take a toll on even the strongest of people. But Cora and her family take it in stride. It made me sad to see that these beautiful people would have to endure such pain as not being able to call a place home. 

Overall, readers will more than likely have their eyes open to such a traumatic experience. Hopefully, it will bring empathy and compassion to those who go through this type of thing everyday. 

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

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About the Author:

My debut novel, JUST UNDER THE CLOUDS, will be published by Knopf Books for Young Readers in Summer 2018.

Learn more about me on my website.

Review—The Patchwork Bride by Sandra Dallas

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: June 5, 2018

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 4 Stars

GOODREADS

Blurb-

From the best-selling author of A Quilt for Christmas comes the irrepressible story of a runaway bride.

Ellen is putting the finishing touches on a wedding quilt made from scraps of old dresses when the bride-to-be—her granddaughter June—unexpectedly arrives and announces she’s calling off the marriage. With the tending of June’s uncertain heart in mind, Ellen tells her the story of Nell, a Kansas-born woman who goes to the High Plains of New Mexico Territory in 1898 in search of a husband.

Working as a biscuit-shooter, Nell falls for a cowboy named Buddy. She sees a future together, but she can’t help wondering if his feelings for her are true. When Buddy breaks her heart, she runs away.

In her search for a soul mate, Nell will run away from marriage twice more before finding the love of her life. It’s a tale filled with excitement, heartbreak, disappointment, and self-discovery—as well as with hard-earned life lessons about love. Another stunning, emotional novel from a master storyteller. 

Review-

The Patchwork Bride is a timeless story that will tug on your heartstrings. It’s also the sole reason I live and love romance with a passion. Set in a past and present format, we’re taken on a gorgeous ride to the early 1900s where cowboys were a hot commodity and the women were in search for their one true loves. 

Ellen’s granddaughter arrives at Ellen’s house to tell her that she’s calling off her wedding. That’s when Ellen starts telling the story of Nell; a biscuit-shooter with stars in her eyes the moment she meets a Cowboy by the name of Buddy. The road to true love is never easy... or so they say. 

I truly enjoyed the writing and most importantly, the storyline. The characters were some the most endearing ones I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year. Buddy and Nell’s story will make you fall in love for sure—and maybe it’ll make you a believer of true love. If you’re looking for something that’s sweet and has a good-timey feel to it, this is the perfect book to start off your summer with. 

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

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Get to know the Author-

Award-winning author SANDRA DALLAS was dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley, in Vogue Magazine. Sandra’s novels with their themes of loyalty, friendship, and human dignity have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and have been optioned for films.

A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as a reporter with Business Week. A staff member for twenty-five years (and the magazine’s first female bureau chief,) she covered the Rocky Mountain region, writing about everything from penny-stock scandals to hard-rock mining, western energy development to contemporary polygamy. Many of her experiences have been incorporated into her novels. 

While a reporter, she began writing the first of ten nonfiction books. They include Sacred Paint, which won the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Western Heritage Wrangler Award, and The Quilt That Walked to Golden, recipient of the Independent Publishers Assn. Benjamin Franklin Award.

Turning to fiction in 1990, Sandra has published eight novels, including Prayers For Sale. Sandra is the recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award for New Mercies, and two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award, for The Chili Queen and Tallgrass. In addition, she was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Assn. Award, and a four-time finalist for the Women Writing the West Willa Award.

The mother of two daughters—Dana is an attorney in New Orleans and Povy is a photographer in Golden, Colorado—Sandra lives in Denver with her husband, Bob.

(Photo and bio courtesy of Goodreads)

Blog Tour Review—Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers 

Published: May 22, 2018

Genre: Young Adult Thriller

Source: Print ARC

Rating: 4 Stars

GOODREADS

Blurb:

Three years after losing her brother Luka in a school shooting, Skye Gilchrist is moving home. But there's no sympathy for Skye and her family because Luka wasn't a victim; he was a shooter.

Jesse Mandal knows all too well that the scars of the past don't heal easily. The shooting cost Jesse his brother and his best friend--Skye.

Ripped apart by tragedy, Jesse and Skye can't resist reopening the mysteries of their past. But old wounds hide darker secrets. And the closer Skye and Jesse get to the truth of what happened that day, the closer they get to a new killer.

Review-

“Judgement. That’s the big one. Being judged. Sister of a school shooter.”

The Lynch mob mentality is strong in this book. I guess kind of like it is in reality. When we have a school shooter or an active shooter. We automatically think about the family and why they weren’t present enough to prevent it. But what if things like this can’t be prevented?

“Sometimes, showing compassion for others means doing things that are painful for us.”

Aftermath was a book that was both scary to think about since it happens all the time here in America. I thought Armstrong handled the topic quite well considering it’s controversial. Skye was a well-rounded character that I felt so much empathy for. She truly got the short-end of the stick being the sister of a school shooter. Everyone assumes the worst about her—after all, she must of known her brother was planning to shoot up the school all along.

“I’m skipping those three years. I have to. The aftermath of that day...”

Jesse and Skye were best friends/maybe something more when the terrible tragedy happened. Then Skye left town, only to return three years later to a whole new Jesse. One whose much more angry. I love that the book kept me

guessing until the very end. Unfortunately, with as many mass school shootings we have now a days, sometimes you’re left to wonder the consequences the family faces when everyone blames them. 

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

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About the Author:

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.