Blog Tour: Literally by Lucy Keating (Tote Bag giveaway)

I am thrilled to be the first stop on the book tour for Litrally by Lucy Keating, hosted by Brittany's Book Rambles! I have a special tote design to unveil for you guys today and I hope you will like it!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Genre:	Young Adult, Contemporary
Publication.Date:	April 11, 2017
Pages:	256
Published By:	Harper Teen
Website:	Lucy Keating
	Literally on Goodreads
My review copy:	Received in exchange for review consideration + design

Where to get:

A girl realizes her life is being written for her in this unique, smart love story that is Stranger Than Fiction for fans of Stephanie Perkins.

Annabelle�s life has always been Perfect with a capital P. Then bestselling young adult author Lucy Keating announces that she�s writing a new novel�and Annabelle is the heroine. 

It turns out, Annabelle is a character that Lucy Keating created. And Lucy has a plan for her. 

But Annabelle doesn�t want to live a life where everything she does is already plotted out. Will she find a way to write her own story�or will Lucy Keating have the last word? 

The real Lucy Keating�s delightful contemporary romance blurs the line between reality and fiction, and is the perfect follow-up for readers who loved her debut Dreamology, which SLJ called, �a sweet, quirky romance with appealing characters.�

(Goodreads)

Lucy lives in San Francisco, California. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, attended Williams College in the Berkshires, and still misses the East Coast very much. 

When she's not writing, Lucy can usually be found obsessing over the latest music, inventing new flavors of ice cream, or having what she feels are perfectly acceptable conversations with her dog, Ernie.

You can follow Lucy on Instagram @lucy.keating, and Ernie The Dog @ernsboberns

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

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Tour Schedule

4/3 - Evie Bookish - Tote Design

4/4 - The Books Buzz - Creative Post

4/5 - YA and Wine - Review

4/6 - The YA Book Traveler - Q&A

4/7 - Book Nerd Addict - Review

4/10 - Little Lillie Reads -Review

4/11 - Brittany's Book Rambles - Fav Quotes

4/12 - A Book and a Cup of Coffee - Review

4/13 - It Starts At Midnight - Guest Post & Review

4/14 - Stories & Sweeties - Recipe & Guest Post

Because I Was Lonely by Hayley Mitchell {Book Review & Giveaway}

Genre:	Fiction, Suspense
Publication.Date	March 2nd, 2017
Pages:	304
Published By:	Red Door Publishing
Author
	Because I Was Lonely on Goodreads
My review copy:	I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Where to get:

Amazon

Meet Rachel. She's trapped in a sleep-deprived world of misery and grief. She used to love being a wife and mum, but now life is a grown-up mess.


Meet Adam. He's trapped in a world of grief and confusion. It wasn't always like this, but since the accident, things have never been the same.


Rachel and Adam used to be friends, back in the days before marriage and babies� in the days before loneliness set in. Then along came Facebook. So when Rachel and Adam rekindle their online friendship, what starts as a little harmless flirtation soon becomes an obsession, and slowly the threads of their lives unravel before them.


Because I was Lonely traces the roller coaster of actions and reactions experienced by a cast of credible, fallible, and ultimately human, characters. Hayley Mitchell carefully captures their emotions and handles the multiple viewpoints deftly, in this cleverly crafted, unputdownable debut novel.

Rachel is your typical suburban housewife who is underpaid and under appreciated. She is looking for love from her husband but doesn't quite get it. After their second baby was born and Rachel stopped sleeping, her life has become one big sleepless night with no help at all from anyone.

Adam is lost. A tragic event happened four years ago and changed his life forever. Although he has two beautiful kids, a wife who is working her ass off to help in every way she can, he still can't let himself stop his repetitive routine day in and day out. It is the only thing that keeps him sane at times.

Julia loves Adam but doesn't quite get why he hasn't gotten back to normal yet. She longs for the old Adam she loved but knows deep down that he is gone forever so she spends her days working far away to earn money for them because Adam is not capable of working anymore. 

Then one day by accident, Adam comes across Rachel's profile on Facebook and starts remembering her from his college days. Boy do those days seem long gone. He misses her and their talks so he sends an innocent request for friendship. Little does he know what happens next.

This was such an amazing novel about midlife and how sad and lonely we can get. It is about remembering what's important and loving the ones that matter. It is about those old regrets and wondering what if. But mostly it is about finding your way through without destroying everything you have. Suspenseful, exciting and sexy. This book had me from the beginning and didn't quite let go till the end.

Hayley Mitchell is giving away an ebook here in the US and/or a paperback copy of "Because I Was Lonely" in the UK. Good luck! 

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Book Review: Wires and Nerve, Volume 1 by Marissa Meyer and Douglas Holgate

Series:	Wires and Nerve #1
Genre:	Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Science Fiction
Publication Date:	January 31, 2017
Pages:	240 (Hardcover)
Published By:	Feiwel & Friends
Website:	Marissa Meyer (author) // Douglas Holgate (illustrator)
	Wires and Nerve on Goodreads
My review copy:	Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Where to get:

In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold. When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.

(Goodreads)

It's not secret that I'm a huge fan of Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles - and I was lucky enough to meet her when she came to my local library for her Heartless tour. I was even luckier because she came three days after my due date and Teacup Human had yet to make an appearance.

While I haven't gotten around to reading Heartless yet (I know!), I was exceptionally excited to read Wires and Nerve. More of these characters that I love so dearly! More of Iko's sassiness, Scarlet's fierceness, and Thorne's swooniness. Okay, so "swooniness" isn't a word, but you know what I mean.

The story starts with Iko tracking down rogue wolf-hybrid soldiers. Those who have refused to return to Luna as they believe Queen Selene (aka Cinder) is no different than Lavana. That she knows how to cure them, but simply refuses to do so.

Wires and Nerve allow us to look into the post-Levana world. Cinder is dealing with the tension between Earth and Luna still exists, on both ends, while trying to govern as Queen. Thorne and Cress are flying around the world delivering antidotes to letumosis. Winter is Luna's ambassador to Earth, with Jason accompanying her. Wolf and Scarlet are living (adorably) on her farm. We even get to see what Linh Adri is up to.

This was a quick read. I read it in a day, with a three-month-old, and found the story to be engrossing. Douglas's illustrations are beautiful and eye-catching. While I'm sure Marissa had some input in how the characters looked, I loved seeing him bring them to life. I thought the blue undertones would bother me, but they fit the story and the characters.

Even if you're not a fan of graphic novels, Wires and Nerve is a must read for those fans of The Lunar Chronicles and I'm excited to get my hands on Volume 2!

BT Luna Rising by Selene Castrovilla {Book Review & Giveaway}

Title: Luna Rising 
Author: Selene Castrovilla 
Publisher: Last Syllable Books 
Publication date: April 25, 2017 
Target Audience: Adult 
Genres: Romance, Women's Fiction 
Length: 450 Pages 
Source: Author 
Format: eARC 
Find It: Goodreads 
Buy It: Amazon|B&N 



My Rating:  

Life begins at thirty-eight for Long Island mom and writer Luna Lampanelli, when she kicks her secretly gay husband to the curb. She�s got her freedom, but what she wants is love.

Luna knows she doesn�t need a man to exist, but try telling that to her heart. Against the advice of Sunny, her snarky best friend, and Jiminy, the cautioning voice in Luna�s head that just won�t shut up, Luna sets course to find a mate.

Luna speed and on-line dates her way into several short-lived, surreal relationships. There�s Ari, the humorless Israeli who refuses to assimilate � to America, and to humanity. There�s Alex, the young and handsome ex-crackhead who informs Luna he doesn�t want to be monogamous while they�re in bed. There�s Memphis, the wild-eyed sadomasochist. There�s Red, angry and crippled, who becomes the catalyst for Luna to join Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous.

But before Luna can proceed to recovery, she meets the elusive but oh so appealing Trip. He�s emotionally unavailable and has the Madonna-Whore Complex, but how can Luna (aka �whore�) let him go when she enjoys his dry wit so much, and his naked body even more?

Humorously haunting and packed with unspeakable truths, Luna Rising follows a woman�s funny and heart-breaking struggle to relate with un-relatable men and an un-relatable world, and to figure out something even more un-relatable: herself.

I always make sure I read Selene's books as soon as they come out. I almost missed this one but luckily I was still able to get an early copy. I am so glad I did. I absolutely loved it as I knew I would. Selene's writing style never fails to impress me. She sucks me in from the beginning. This novel was a bit different than the ones I've read before but she still delivers a great story and even some funny quips along the way. 

Selene creates an interesting character in Luna Lampanelli, an almost-40-something mom who finds herself without a man after separating from her husband (who has kept the fact that he's gay a secret since before the wedding bells and after the birth of their two boys.) Luna is not a typical women's-fiction heroine. Though she's funny and smart, she's also deeply damaged. Her father was a heroine addict who left her in the hands of her narcissistic mother. Thus, Luna's obsessive desire for love is understandable, but her pursuit of it can be frustrating as she falls for one unsuitable man after another. You will find yourself shouting at her many times during the story "No, not him" "Stop the madness". Even with all this, Luna is still an enduring character that hooks the reader in. 

LUna kept seeking companionship over and over and just kept failing miserably each time. A funny part of the story is that she had an "inside voice" that desperately kept trying to teach her right from wrong although she rarely listened. I think many of us have been in LUna's shoes one time or another. Picking the wrong relationsips, going for the wrong guys, etc. It is exciting to see where Luna ends up when everything is said and done. 

I would highly recommend this new novel by Selene Castrovilla. She continues to be a favorite of mine. 

$25 Gift Card to Amazon or Book Depository (International)

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TOUR SCHEDULE 

Feb 1st � A Nook for Books

Feb 2nd � Her Book Thoughts

Feb 3rd � A Leisure Moment

Feb 9th � Actin� Up With Books

Feb 10th � A Chick Who Reads

Feb 14th � The Invisible Diva

Feb 16th � Reese�s Reviews

Feb 22nd � Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Feb 24th � vvb32 reads

About Selene Castrovilla

Selene Castrovilla is the award-winning author of multiple narrative nonfiction picture books and young adult novels. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and a BA in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons and too many cats.

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1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

Last week, a friend of mine tweeted about setting up a Goodreads account for her one year old son for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program, which she first heard about when Daliyah Marie Arana was �Librarian For the Day� at the Library of Congress back in January. Being an avid reader myself and hoping to instill the love of reading in to Teacup Human, I knew this was something we had to partake in too!

 

We've already read a few books here and there to her, but the thought to track them never occurred to me and I cannot wait to start adding these books to her own Goodreads page. A page I hope she'll continue on her own once she gets old enough. Not to mention, how cool will it be when she's older and looks back on all the books her father and I read to her when she was younger!?

On their official website, there is the option to Find a Program in your state and I was pleased to find my local library is a participant! This also led me to find out about their Baby and Me Storytimes, another opportunity to get Teacup Human into the library and developing a love of books!

If you have a child, grandchild, niece/nephew, etc. and so on, I highly suggest you check out this program! Or, if you are already participating in the program, share with us your favorite aspects and how you're doing thus far!

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Babies Are Hard Work

Well that's an obvious fact, isn't it?

I mean, who knew that a newborn would need constant attention and would be a drain on any energy you managed to syphon out of the universe? Okay, I knew that. But I didn't know-know that. You know going into parenting that it's going to be hard, but you don't know how hard it's actually going to be. Nobody can really prepare you for that.

And nobody can really prepare you for the amount of love and joy this teacup human is going to bring you either.  Sure, people tell you and you nod and smile because you know they're right, but until you actually see and hold your child, you don't know.

I'll tell you right now the reason for my almost radio silence is because being a mother is hard, time consuming work. (Another duh statement.) And maternity leave is not what I expected.

No, I didn't expect to sleep in all the day, lounge about while watching TV, read all the books, or take numerous naps because newborns "sleep all day." But I didn't expect to get zero reading done, watch nothing but HGTV and bad TV (I've not only "remodeled" my house 10 times, but I have sunk to a new low of trash TV that even I never thought possible), and have my sleep schedule completely fucked over in the way that some days I wake up at 8am still tired and some days I'm wide awake at 5am. Also, what's a hairbush?

Motherhood is one of those things where you know what to expect, but you don't know what to expect.

I've let a lot of my hobbies go to the wayside, especially in those first few weeks. I'm just now getting back to taking care of me. I know all the doctors and experts say that you need to take care of yourself before taking care of others, but keeping a teacup human alive is hard work! And when said teacup human doesn't need you for those few brief moments, the last thing you want to be doing is giving yourself an at home facial or manicure. You just want to sit and watch mindless TV.

In those early weeks, it was hard for me to just get away and take a shower. My husband is one of the good ones and does everything he can to help me keep my sanity. He loves our daughter and loves being a daddy. But before we found a bottle she liked, which was a task in and of itself, my "me time" only extended for so long. Joe does it all, but he can't breastfeed. Thankfully, we found a bottle/nipple she likes and I now have the ability for long hot showers and running to Target by myself. Who knew wandering around Target with a hot drink from Starbucks would feel like a vacation?! #momlife

I've had my highest-highs and lowest-lows as a new mom. It's hard. It's stressful. It's beyond rewarding and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Because when Teacup Human looks at me and smiles or has fallen asleep in my arms, I can't believe that I'm lucky enough to be her mom.

 

Blog Tour Josh & Anna & Gabe & Claire by Eliza Freed {Book Review & Giveaway}

Josh & Anna and Gabe & Claire
Eliza Freed
Publication date: November 15th 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

No marriage is perfect.
Josh and Anna Montgomery are trying to have a baby. Well, Anna is. Josh is making the minimum contribution necessary, and it�s ruining their relationship.
Gabe Hawkins is trying to survive the wild ride that is life with his wife, Claire. It�s passionate everywhere but in their bedroom.
For these four friends, the difficulties of their marriages are camouflaged by hazy happy hours, extravagant vacations, picturesque weddings, and sleeping in. The possibilities of their youth are wilting in the light of their waning twenties, and on one fateful night, four friends become two. Survivors become lovers. Truths are told, and nothing seems like forever anymore.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Two couple. A tragedy. A revelation. A mystery. This book grabs you right from the get go with its raw story, emotionally vulnerable characters and extremely well thought out plot points. 

They were the four musketeers, always going out together, seen at the bars and vacationing whenever possible. Claire coordinated all their plans and the group just went along with her because they always had a good time. Anna was Claire's best friend and confident. The girls shared so much but some things were just too private to discuss, even with each other. Josh wanted a baby. He convinced Anna to try and try and when things got difficult, he just decided he was finished with wanting one. Although this caused disappointment, Anna always supported and stood by her husband Josh. She never let on her hurt. Gabe would have done anything for Claire and he did. He did not deny her anything she wanted.

This is the type of book that is hard to give a concise review of because you don't want to give away any of the plot points. From the beginning there are many different stories happening that can be ruined if I as the reader tell you even a tad bit of the story line. 

What I can say is that these characters will weave their way into your heart in a matter of minutes and you won't know how to go on without finishing this book. I read it in one sitting. It is not a long book but it is definitely all consuming. 

This is my first book by this author but it most certainly won't be my last. I can't wait to see what else she has written. I'm sure from her writing talent, I can find more gems in her novel collection. 

Author Bio:
Eliza Freed graduated from Rutgers University and returned to her hometown in rural South Jersey. Her mother encouraged her to take some time and find herself. After three months of searching, she began to bounce checks and her neighbors began to talk; her mother told her to find a job.
She settled into Corporate America, learning systems and practices and the bureaucracy that slows them. Eliza quickly discovered her creativity and gift for story telling as a corporate trainer and spent years perfecting her presentation skills and studying diversity. It�s during this time she became an avid observer of the characters we meet and the heartaches we endure. Her years of study have taught her laughter is the key to survival, even when it�s completely inappropriate.
She currently lives in New Jersey with her family and a misbehaving beagle named Odin. An avid swimmer, if Eliza is not with her family and friends, she�d rather be underwater. While she enjoys many genres, she has always been a sucker for a love story�the more screwed up the better.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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