Event Recap: Epic Fangirl Road Trip and RT Convention 2015!

May 21, 2015May 21, 20155 Comments

I warn you in advance, buy information pills this is the longest blog post ever. But it has lots and lots of pictures. So at least its pretty. Mostly…

I’ve officially decided something: my friends and I are absolutely crazy!

We had been dying to attend the Teen Day events of the RT Convention ever since my friend Cassie had attended the 2014 convention in New Orleans. It looked like a ton of fun, buy information pills and she had photo booth pictures with authors and she brought home a ton of really awesome stuff and a ton of amazing authors go, that never seem to make it west to California and we knew we had to go.

So we started planning. And here’s the thing: we are big talkers. We’re always like, we’re going to go here and do this and whatever and…we. Never. Do. It. Seriously. Big talkers here. We don’t get very far haha.

So putting this together: booking our hotel room, renting a car, buying our tickets for Teen Day, all of that? Totally huge for us. Maybe not for others, but I think sometimes it boils down to the fact that we are damn spoiled. We hardly ever have to leave the comfort of our LA backyard to see all the authors we want. But we got our butt into gear and we saddled up and drove 30+ hours there and 30+ hours back in order to spend ONE day with a bunch of super amazing authors.

But it turned out to be SUCH an awesome time. First off, we decided to road trip. One, it was going to be a bit cheaper, especially since we could haul all of our books with us, and two, because who doesn’t want to go on a road trip! I’ve actually never legitimately been on one before and I knew I needed to make this happen.

The way there was SUCH a blast. We left late Wednesday night, and drove through Arizona to the Grand Canyon, down through New Mexico to Roswell, through Texas to Arlington (needed to see that baseball stadium) and finally, into Dallas, where the RT Convention was taking place. We also brought along Flat Cassie because our friend Cassie could not road trip with us, and met us in Dallas on Friday.

Starting the trip off right with some 7-11 food. Because that’s how we roll.

Made it to Arizona!

What you can’t see here is that I’m absolutely TERRIFIED that I’m going to die. I absolutely HATE heights.

Always, always, always have to represent books. Even when the scary but absolutely beautiful Grand Canyon is in the background.

Made it to New Mexico!

Me, an alien and Flat Cassie in Roswell, NM. The city itself was fairly disappointing but my friends and I always manage to turn it into a good thing ;)

Made it to Texas!

At the time of this picture taking, I had yet to read Stay With Me. I finished it last night so now this picture has a little more meaning haha. But while on this road trip, my friends and I fell only *slightly* in love with Waffle House. And Jax…

Now, its no secret that I’m a total baseball nerd. A HUGE one. I love all sports but baseball is near and dear to my heart. UGH. I love it. So my huge bucket list item is to hit every baseball stadium on the MLB circuit. Well, on the way to the baseball stadium, we ran into the football stadium…and I had to stop. Because its beautiful and looks like a damn spaceship…

I did eventually make it to the baseball stadium ;)

My dad’s favorite player ever is Nolan Ryan, and he’s passed on that NR love to me, of course, so I had to take a picture with the statue!

Oh yes, and the street sign too!

We made it to Dallas safe, checked out Waffle House (seriously, so yum), the Dallas Cowboys stadium AND the Texas Rangers stadium, and then checked into our hotel. We eventually picked up Cassie from the airport, and got ready for a dinner with the super awesome and amazing Tonya Kuper.

For those of you who don’t know (or just don’t pay attention to my IG at all), Tonya is the debut author of Anomaly. She’s awesome, super sweet, perfectly nerdy and her debut book is fantastic. She invited us to hang out that Friday and I was so excited for it. She turned out to fit in SO well with us. We talked all night about all kinds of stuff from books to boys to food to cupcakes back to books and boys and it was just the best. We introduced her to the wonders of a BJ’s pizookie AND the amazingness of a Sprinkles ATM. Because, yes, even I can sniff out cupcakes in a totally new state.

Us at BJ’s :) We look like we’re having a fun, classy dinner together as ladies but oh, we had the best time, laughing and all of that.

CUPCAKES. I love cupcakes and I think we might have made a cupcake monster outta Tonya ;)

Yes. Yes, that is me in a dress. I had to pair it with Converses so I didn’t feel totally weird…

The next day it was all about RT. We packed all over our books in the rental car (which was SO hard, considering our rental was so little and we manage to pack a punch when it comes to book luggage) and headed down to the Hyatt. We picked up our wristbands, got in line, and waited. And waited. And waited.

I had an AMAZING time at RT, I really did but I will tell you this: there are definitely some hiccups that could have made my day better. One, the fact that the Giant Book Fair with all the signings started at 11 and we didn’t even get in the door til about 11:30? Yeah, not a fan of that. You only get 3 hours to run around like a nutcase and I wanted every minute of it that I could.

I also didn’t like that they had a rule of only 10 books into the room at a time. You had to check your bag at a bag check, take the books in, get them signed, and get them checked out. I can see why they did it, because they wanted to separate the books you brought with you from the ones you grabbed from an author’s table to buy BUT it was a hassle, an annoyance and it made it so I missed out on a TON of authors. I met a ton of great ones too but I was irritated.

Luckily, there was the Teen Day party that night. We got in line for it, and ended up scoring a table with some other fangirls and authors, Liz Czukas and I feel so bad for not remember the other’s name. I’m horrible. But anyway, we had to do a trivia contest, all about YA books, and we totally rocked it. We got a perfect score, along with another table, which means we got to grab the swag bags and head into the swag rooms first. Of course, Sylvia and I had to sit out because, you know, being adults and all LOL. But Liz, aka Ellie Cahill in the NA world, grabbed an ARC of her new book and passed it along to me.

In the end, we managed to get our hands on some bags and swag, and ARCs, once all the teens had their turn so that was awesome. Then the rest of the time was spent eating, mingling amongst the authors and just having a total blast. All the books I had not gotten signed at the book fair, I managed to get signed at the party. And then I was able to hit the photo booth not only with the awesome Tonya Kuper but also the one and the only, Kiera Cass. Shenanigans went down.

I got matching RT/Road Trip bracelets for me and the homies ;)

We ran into our dear friend Morgan Matson, who we know very well back home in California. We were surprised to see her there because she wasn’t an official attendee of RT so it was like an unexpected reunion!

Cora Carmack. She knew who I was, and addressed me by name before I even approached the table, and we hadn’t even met in real life. I died, only slightly.

Me and Liz Czukas. SUCH a sweetheart. I’ve read one of her books and can’t wait to dive into her NA one!

Me and my queen, Richelle Mead. I swear, I’m much happier to meet her than my face shows.

Me and Sara Raasch. If you haven’t read Snow Like Ashes yet, you are so sorely missing out.

Me and Bethany Hagen, who writes Landry Park. I managed to score a copy of the second book in the swag room, and I was pretty stoked.

Me and Katie Cotugno, author of How to Love and 99 Days. I swear, again, I am much happier than my face suggests.

This absolutely darling picture of me and Kiera Cass ;)

SUCCESS. Finally meeting Jennifer Armentrout aka JLA aka J Lynn aka I love her. And the beautiful model that graces the cover of Wicked.

Me and the amazing, one of a kind, fantastic Tamora Pierce. I cried, I babbled, I made a complete fool of myself. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of meeting her. It just blew my mind. I can’t. I just can’t still.

The photo booth with Tonya and Kiera! I had Kiera sign mine because why not?

Tamara Ireland Stone, who just wrote an amazing book called Every Last Word about OCD and anxiety that was so close to my heart. It was beautiful.

Me and Victoria Scott. I adore her so much and she told me my pandora is a penguin and that’s all that matters in my book ;)

The ever so lovely Gretchen McNeil :)

Kate Brauning, whose book, How We Fall, I snagged at the event. Tonya had talked it up SO much the night before that all four of us KNEW we had to get our hands on it!

My dear, dear Meg Cabot. She was blown away that I had ten books for her, and I was like, you have a million books out AND I’ve been reading you since I was 12…do the math lol

my haul from the day. I brought a ton of books but I also got a bunch, and a TON of swag AND that tote bag is the best. Its actually sitting right next to me, I’m massively in love with it.

The next day, we hit the road again and headed back to California, making some stops on the way. We said one last farewell to Waffle House (oh, please, come to California), took Cassie back to the airport and set off. It was a long, long drive home but we made a few stops. We hit the Oklahoma border, in order to say we visited one more state, the Four Corners monument, and Phoenix, in order for me to the Diamondbacks stadium.

It felt SO good to be back in California though. I know I had not been gone for long, but when you’re crammed into a tiny car with a ton of luggage (mostly books…we are SO getting a bigger car next time), it feels good to get out of it. I missed the California sun, and I missed home. I’m definitely excited to go on road trips again in the future but I’ll definitely be prepared in different ways, so I’m not so homesick so fast!

We were quite sad saying goodbye to the Waffle House.

We were driving along when Cassie spotted this out of nowhere. Jax is the main guy in Stay with Me and owns a bar so this was absolutely perfect.

Randomly ran into the Texas Motor Speedway while driving out of Dallas. The sports nerd in me had to stop.

No biggie, just lying in the middle of the bridge, over the Red River, dividing Oklahoma and Texas.

Super stoked to be in Oklahoma. We only saw a small part of it but it was beautiful!

Reading in four different states at once at the Four Corners monument. I’m that talented.

We found a volcano and super wanted to go visit it. But then we realized it was super far off our path and didn’t do it. So instead we took random pictures in the woods. Cuz that’s how we do things.

The absolutely gorgeous Chase Field. The people working there were so awesome and it made me miss my Mark Trumbo immensely.

Very happy to be back in California ;)

******

All in all, it was an amazing time. SUCH an incredible experience and I definitely want to road trip again, for much longer, but with stops at hotels this time because I’m still exhausted and I got home three days ago LOL. But it was a blast. I can’t wait for next year’s RT, especially since it’ll be in Vegas and that’s just a short drive compared to driving allllll the way to Texas. I’m so grateful to all three of my friends, Sylvia, Alex and Cassie for putting up with me, especially Sylvia and Alex because it takes true friendship to put up with your friends that much in a teensy tiny car.

If you’d like to see more pictures, check out the #EpicFangirlRoadTrip hashtag on Instagram for pictures from all four of us!

Until next time!

Oh, and make sure you come back to this blog in just a couple days to celebrate my blog’s THIRD birthday! EEK!

Blog Tour and Music Monday: Sarvenaz Tash & Three Day Summer – Guest Post, Spotlight and Giveaway!!

May 11, 20151 Comment

Hello everyone! Welcome to the blog post that has everything. Oh yes, no rx you heard that right. Not only will I be talking about an amazing author and her fabulous book set in the nostalgic days of Woodstuck, side effects but she also guest wrote something for this little ‘ol blog for Music Monday AND there’s a giveaway. I mean, seriously, do you GET any better than that?

The answer is no, guys. No way.

So let’s jump right into this awesomeness! (Have I said that word enough today? I don’t think so…)

Meet Sarvenaz Tash

Sarvenaz Tash was born in Tehran, Iran, and grew up on Long Island, NY. She received her BFA in Film and Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting. Sarvenaz currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Find Her At:

Her Website / Her Twitter / Her Facebook / Her Instagram / Her Tumblr

About Three Day Summer

Michael is unsure about most things. Go to college? Enlist in the military? Break up with his girlfriend? All big question marks. He is living for the moment and all he wants is a few days at the biggest concert of the summer.

Cora lives in the town hosting the music festival. She’s volunteering in the medical tent. She’s like that, always the good girl. But there is something in the air at this concert and suddenly Cora finds herself wanting to push her own boundaries.

When Michael and Cora meet, sparks fly, hearts race, and all the things songs are written about come true. And all the while, three days of the most epic summer await them…

This book releases May 19th, 2015. Preorder at your local bookstore or the following links:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository

The Guest Post!

Thank you SO much Sarvenaz for taking the time to write this short piece about the influence of music on your book! What A Nerd Girl Says always welcomes you!

It’s safe to say that one cannot write a book about the legendary Woodstock Festival without having to delve into its incredible music. It’s also safe to say that the music was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to write this book in the first place! I’ve loved the music of the 1960s since I discovered the Beatles at age 8. Of course, the Fab Four didn’t make it to Bethel to play Max Yasgur’s farm in 1969, but plenty of larger-than-life artists did: Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and the Grateful Dead to name just a few of the 32 acts that made music history on that very rainy August weekend.

I listened to a lot of this music while I wrote this book, often matching up the exact setlists with the scenes as I was working on them. I found it very helpful in trying to evoke the environment of the festival as much as possible—which I think was very important to the story. (Not that I ever need much of an excuse to put on some ‘60s tunes!)

And if you want to experience the festival as Cora and Michael do in the book, I’ve created a Spotify playlist that features the songs that Cora and Michael actually hear—and in some cases, the very performances of those songs—during key moments of the story. I hope they help you get into the spirit of the greatest concert of all time just as they did for me!

The Giveaway!

SO simple. One lucky winner will win a copy of Three Day Summer. I absolutely adored this book, so definitely get your hands on this. It IS to US addresses only (please allow 4-6 weeks delivery time).

Simply tweet “I want to win a copy of #ThreeDaySummer by @SarvenazTash in @anerdgirlsay’s giveaway!” You have until May 20th to do so, and you may enter ONCE per day!

Follow the Rest of the Blog Tour:

May 12th: GreenBean TeenQueen

May 13th: Mother Daughter Book Club

May 14th: Curling Up with a Good Book

May 15th: The Compulsive Reader

May 18th: The Hiding Spot

May 19th: Adventures of a Book Junkie

May 20th: Proseandkahn

May 21st: The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

May 22nd: Word Spelunker

*****

Blog Tour: Cora Carmack and All Played Out – Review, Excerpt and Giveaway!

May 10, 2015May 11, 2015Leave a comment

Hello everyone! I am SO excited to be a part of this blog tour. I adore this series, approved I adore Cora and I want you ALL to fall in love with this series and Cora and all the beautiful fictional boys she has created for us.

There is SO much awesome with this, so I want to make sure I cover it all. We’re going to meet Cora, learn about the book (with an excerpt), have a spoiler free review courtesy of moi and then GIVEAWAY! That’s the best part right? I thought so too. Let’s jump into this!

Meet Cora Carmack!

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She’s done a multitude of things in her life– boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

You Can Find Her At:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / GoodReads

About All Played Out

Pre-Order All Played Out at your local bookstore or the following links!

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository/ iTunes

Don’t forget to read books 1 and 2: All Lined Up and All Broke Down!

ALL LINED UP, Book 1

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iTunes

ALL BROKE DOWN, Book 2

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iTunes

And check out the fourth book in the series, All Closed Off, on GoodReads now!

The Excerpt

The door opens, and my stomach dips at the sight of Nell’s bleary eyes and rumpled hair. She squints at me, and then winces at the sunlight, instinctively taking a step back into the house.

I step in after her without waiting for an invitation, and shut the door firmly behind me.

“I brought coffee,” I say, lifting the tray up into her line of sight.

“Shhh!” She holds one hand up to me and the other to her forehead.

“I think,” she says, her voice raspy, “there’s a herd of elephants in my head.”

“Welcome to the world of hangovers, sweetheart.”

She blinks at me, then says matter-of-factly, “I’m going back to bed.”

She shuffles down the hallway, and I follow her, still holding the coffee carrier and resisting the urge to laugh. Then she swings her bedroom door wide, and doesn’t bother to close it before tumbling headlong into her bed. Again, I take that as permission, closing the door in case Dylan comes home unexpectedly.

Before Nell can slip back into sleep, I force the coffee into her hand.

“Drink a little of this,” I tell her. “It’ll help clear up the headache and nausea.” She doesn’t look like she believes me, but she takes a sip anyway. “Aspirin will help, too, if you have some.”

“Bathroom,” she says, and I go out to the hallway bathroom. I find a bottle in the second cabinet I open.

When I return to her room, she asks, “You find it?”

“I did. Right next to your box of tampons. The things I endure for you, woman.” She rolls her eyes and takes the aspirin, and she drinks about half the coffee before placing the cup on the nightstand and sinking back against her pillows. She must be feeling better because she finally asks the question I’d expected to hear the second she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

I shrug, toe off my sneakers, and throw myself down on the covers on the other side of her bed. She groans when the mattress bounces, but other than that doesn’t complain.

“I knew you’d be miserable this morning …”

“And you decided that was something you needed to see?”

“I decided I could be of some help. I’ve had more than my fair share of hangovers. When that coffee kicks in all the way, we’ll get you showered and dressed, and then we’ll go out for some greasy breakfast. You’ll be good as new in no time.”

“You’ve done this more than once? Are you crazy? I never want to drink again.”

“Everybody says that. If you don’t, you’re not doing it right.”

“I don’t feel like I did anything right.”

“You checked another thing off your list, didn’t you?”

She throws an arm over her eyes in lieu of an answer, and after a minute or so of silence, she asks, “Why are you really here?”

“I told you, I—”

“If you feel sorry for me because of what happened last night or what I said, don’t. Please. I’d really rather you just leave.”

“I can’t do that. Sorry.”

“Why?”

“Because last time I let you get away from me, you called some giant ginger-bearded monster to get you drunk, and look how well that turned out. Face it. You need me.”

She makes a groan that sounds vaguely laughlike. “Matt is not a monster.”

“We’ll agree to disagree.”

She sighs, and rolls on her side to face me. I suck in a breath because even hungover, she’s beautiful. And that fiery, challenging look in her eyes always goes straight to my cock.

“And if I had wanted to call you?” she asks. “I don’t have your number.”

“You could have just thought of me. I would have known and come running. I’m practically a superhero in that regard.”

“Riiight.”

“Why so disbelieving? Unless you thought of me, and it didn’t work? Were you thinking of me last night, girl genius?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“I thought about you. Even during the game last night when I should have been concentrating on not getting my ass kicked, you kept popping up. I think I might be addicted to you, Antonella De Luca.”

“How do you know my full name?”

“I might have done a little snooping last night while you were out of it. So you were valedictorian in high school, huh?”

“Just how much snooping did you do?”

“Relax. Your list is safe. I promised I wouldn’t read it, and I didn’t.” My eyes drop to her lips, which she keeps pressing together in what I assume is nervousness. “It was tempting, though.”

All of her is tempting, and I should probably get out of this bed right now before I drag her beneath me and remind myself just what her skin tastes like.

Regretfully, I pull myself up to a sitting position and say, “All right, sweetheart. Go shower so we can get breakfast. Unless you need assistance, then I’d be happy to—”

She cuts me off. “No. No, I think I can handle that alone.”

“Pity,” I say. “Well, I’ll be here waiting in your bed in case you change your mind.”

She stands up and faces me, still all cute and rumpled from sleep. “You are so …” She trails off, and shakes her head, turning for the door instead.

As she heads for the bathroom, I call out, “I’m so what? Charming? Devastatingly handsome?”

“You so better be in the living room by the time I’m done with my shower.”

Damn. I’d been looking forward to seeing her in a towel.

Next time.

The Review:

Please be aware while there will be no spoilers for this novel in the review, I can’t guarantee there will not be spoilers for All Lined Up and All Broke Down. Please click those titles to read the reviews!

I was so excited to get an advanced copy of this. I read the first two and loved the first two. I think Carson will always be the love of my life. Always. Sigh. But yes, I was very excited to get an early copy and to be a part of this awesome blog tour. Falling in love with two new characters, in a universe you already know you love…its the best. It really is.

First off, I gotta say. I love both characters. I love the diversity of both of them, I love the determination of both of them, and the ambition of both of them. They’re so different, and you’re really thinking, come on, how do these two even end up in the same universe but they do. Because while Nell and Torres might not have a massive amount of things in common, they have chemistry and they’re both determined on their own path for different reasons. They both put an insane amount of pressure on themselves and honestly, they need to let up. And that’s where the other person comes in.

Torres teaches Nell to have fun, let loose and Nell teaches Torres not to hide behind all his fun. They really work so well together and I’m rooting for them from the beginning. What I love is that they’re both so blunt, so they kind of square off so many times. Torres is completely blunt about what he wants and when he wants it and Nell is just…she doesn’t hold back. She says the first thing that’s on her mind and more than one time, I burst out laughing because of what she said and how it just totally works. I can see why someone would fall in love with that; its insanely refreshing.

I also love the way they’re brought together, this idea that Nell has spent her entire life focused on being the good girl, getting the grades, going to college and all of that. She really realizes, I haven’t had any experiences and so she starts to make a list of things to do, a sort of college bucket list. And the list is fabulous and when Torres discovers it, it just is even better because he’s determined to help her check off every single one. The adventures they have in doing that together and how it brings them together: that’s what makes this book so damn good. It starts off as a legitimate friendship, with its ups and downs, but it takes its time and then hits the two of them like a cannon blast and as a reader, it was awesome.

Lastly, Cora just writes GREAT romance. She makes it so real and so damn sexy (seriously, keep cool water close by at all times when reading this book) but she doesn’t shove it in your face so much that you’re like, okay, we get it, they’re in love and they have sex, I’m bored. She creates a story, a character story, and you care about them more than just a couple and that’s what makes her romances SO good. You want them to fall in love and you want all their problems to go away and you want everything to work out. And you want more and more steamy scenes for sure though because holy moly, Cora knows how to write them!

All I gotta say is this: another winner in this series for Cora. Sports, hot boys and badass heroines and now she’s announced she has a fourth one on the way, sometime next year. Cora, you have me sold. I’m hooked!

The Giveaway!

A signed Rusk University Set for one lucky winner! Follow THIS link to enter now!

Follow the Rest of the Blog Tour :)

You can see all the lovely awesome blogs that are participating on this tour, and see what they have to say about it by clicking this link. I’m in pretty good company!

Book Review: What We Saw (ARC) by Aaron Hartzler

May 9, 2015May 7, 2015Leave a comment

This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy of the novel obtained through Edelweiss at the permission of Harper Teen. This is in no way had an effect on the integrity of my review. Please note that published novel will differ from this ARC.

Genre:

Young Adult, and Contemporary

Pages:

336 pages

Part of a Series?:

Standalone Novel

Release Date:

September 22nd, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Kate Weston can piece together most of the bash at John Doone’s house: shots with Stacey Stallard, Ben Cody taking her keys and getting her home early—the feeling that maybe he’s becoming more than just the guy she’s known since they were kids.

But when a picture of Stacey passed out over Deacon Mills’s shoulder appears online the next morning, Kate suspects she doesn’t have all the details. When Stacey levels charges against four of Kate’s classmates, the whole town erupts into controversy. Facts that can’t be ignored begin to surface, and every answer Kate finds leads back to the same question: Where was Ben when a terrible crime was committed?

This story—inspired by real events—from debut novelist Aaron Hartzler takes an unflinching look at silence as a form of complicity. It’s a book about the high stakes of speaking up, and the razor thin line between guilt and innocence that so often gets blurred, one hundred and forty characters at a time.

My Review:

I knew immediately that this was a book I needed to read. It sounded amazing for one thing, and I absolutely adore Aaron and his writing and his writing style. I knew that it would be good. I just didn’t know how good it was going to be.

This book completely blew my mind. As soon as I had downloaded it onto my Nook, I couldn’t stop reading. It was like a train wreck, you couldn’t look away. When it came down to it, I think the realism of this story, the fact that this is based on a true story and based on real events that happen all the time, I think that’s what drew me in and kept me there right away.

Kate is faced with an incredibly difficult obstacle. She was at the same party as Stacey. She was drunk, and yet she made it home and Stacey didn’t. Or so Stacey says. But she’s torn because the guys accused of raping Stacey are basketball royalty, the entire town worships the ground they walk on. There’s no way they did this…and even if they did, Stacey deserved it. She dressed provocatively. She’s from the “wrong” side of town. Its everything we face in the news, on Facebook, everywhere, all the time right now, and watching it through Kate’s eyes was hard to take.

This book was incredibly emotional for me. I felt so many different emotions at once. I felt sick and angry and anxious as hell. Its been awhile since I’ve had such a visceral reaction to a story and I felt this one all over. I cried, I got angry, I felt helpless, even though this is all fictional. But is it? I was so angry because this sort of thing happens and this sort of thinking-that a girl deserves it, that she should have taken care of herself, she shouldn’t dress that way or drink that much-exists all over the place and its WRONG. But because of the rape culture we have…people are confused. And Kate is confused. She’s torn between her feelings for Ben Cody, and for his friends and for the popularity they have.

I think the thing I had the most visceral reaction to was everyone’s thoughts about the boys and Stacey. The way they built up the boys, the way the boys acted like it was a joke, the way they tore apart Stacey…it made me feel awful every single time I read a line. People genuinely think this way! They do, and its just terrible and to read a book about something like this, something that actually really happened…it was hard to stomach.

But I think what makes this book as great as it is is that Aaron provides a beacon of hope about this. Sure, you feel hopeless at times, you realize how close to home this story hits because of how incredibly real it is. But at the same time, you have Kate. And Kate is the light in this story because you see her journey through uncertainty and confusion and determination and finally, resolution. She’s the light, she’s the hope. She’s the good. She gives you the hope that there are so many people out there that know to do the right thing. That’s what makes this book so beautiful. Kate. She’s an incredible character and you follow her through this book, experiencing the same emotions as her, wanting to reach into the pages and hold her hand and tell her its going to be okay, even if you’re unsure its going to be. She’s the beautiful bright spot of the novel and she’s what makes this book SO incredibly good.

This book doesn’t come out til September, and I’ll definitely repost the review closer to release day. I just wanted to share this now because I want to build up talk for this book NOW. It blew my mind. The writing, the characterization, everything…its just amazing. I already was impressed with Aaron from Rapture Practice and now I’m a complete convert. This is a one of a kind novel and I know that we will see more of this incredible talent in the future.

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

The Meg Cabot Blog Tour: So You Want to be a Princess… + Giveaway!

May 7, 2015May 7, 20151 Comment

I am SO insanely excited to be a part of this blog tour! It seems like just yesterday that I picked up the very first Princess Diaries book and fell madly in love with Mia Thermopolis, hospital The Princess Diaries and Meg Cabot. I was 12 the first time I read that book and now I’m 27, stomach so its amazing to see how much we’ve changed.

Now Meg Cabot has an adult book coming out in just a month or so, illness with our very own Mia Thermopolis, all grown up and getting married. But in the meantime, we get to meet little Olivia Grace, the long lost sister of Mia!

I was lucky enough to get read this new book in The Princess Diaries world and I absolutely adored it. I gobbled it up in a matter of minutes (but really…) and I can’t wait to read more about Olivia! You can read my review here! Oooh and its spoiler free of course!

About Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Princess Diaries series. Born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Meg also lived in Grenoble, France, and Carmel, California, before moving to New York City after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Indiana University. She is the author of numerous books for adults and children, including five #1 New York Times bestsellers. Over 25 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide. Meg Cabot currently lives in Key West with her husband and cat

Find Her at:

Her Website / Her Facebook / Her Twitter / Her Instagram / Her Tumblr

About From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess

Olivia Grace Clarisse Harrison has always known she was different. Brought up by her aunt’s family in New Jersey, book-and-music-loving Olivia feels out of place in their life of high fashion and fancy cars. But she never could have imagined how out of place she really was until Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia, pops into her school and announces that Olivia is her long-lost sister. Olivia is a princess. A dream come true, right? But princesses have problems too.

This book comes out on May 19th so make sure to preorder it at your local bookstore now!

So You Want to Be a Princess…

If I found out I was royalty I would…

I think I would have a similar reaction to Mia Thermopolis…completely and utter disbelief, and anger and I would run dramatically from the Plaza tearoom and tear down to Central Park in order to write in my diary, surrounded by penguins in the Central Park Zoo…

Honestly, I think part of me would be like what on earth do I do now and another part of me would be like, omg do I get to live in a castle?! Because that part would be seriously awesome. I would have the coolest castle in the world. I would definitely want a gigantic slide somewhere. Because why not? When you’re a princess, you can totally have a ginormous slide in your house.

I would also make sure I had the biggest library in the world. I live in a very cramped space at the moment and so none of my beautiful books get to sit on a shelf, they’re just in piles everywhere. If you’ve ever seen the anime Read or Die, you totally understand me…

So I would want a HUGE library, for all my books. That would be amazing.

I think I would also embrace more of my girly side too. I was raised a total tomboy and sometimes I think I’m afraid to embrace my girly side because I feel like its so obvious and people are staring. If I were a princess, I wouldn’t worry about that. I would wear tiaras and dresses and all the pink I wanted (which would be a lot of pink…) and I would ROCK it.

I would probably also beg to meet William and Kate’s new little princess, Charlotte. I have to admit it, guys, I’m way too excited about this little princess! But come on, she’s adorable!

I would also totally want to be, like, a Disney princess. Can we make this happen? I would be like, okay, so I need an animated movie, stat! I want little girls running around in dresses inspired by me and my story…

I work at Disneyland, this is strangely too close for me ;)

I lastly would help people. I know that sounds cheesy and untrue and all that but it IS true. I would help my friends and my family, all of whom are struggling and could use my help. I’d help make change in things that are important to me, like gay rights and women’s rights and all of that. I would want to use my power for good, because what is the point of having the power of a princess if you can’t use it for good!

I changed my mind. One last thing: I would totally ask people to call me Princess Leia. Hey, I’m a princess now, I can totally do that!

The Giveaway!

One Winner will Receive a copy of From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess and a super cool sparkly princess crown like I’m wearing above!

This is open to US residents only. You have until May 15th to enter!

Head to my Instagram and reblog this photo with the hashtag #middleschoolprincess and #nerdgirlprincessgiveaway to enter!

Follow the Entire Blog Tour

Find out what these awesome bloggers would do if they found out they were royalty!

Monday, May 4th – YA Book Nerd
Tuesday, May 5th – Word Spelunking
Wednesday, May 6th – Book Chic
Thursday, May 7th – What a Nerd Girl Says
Friday, May 8th – Shae Has Left the Room
Monday, May 11th – A Backwards Story
Tuesday, May 12th – The Reading Nook Reviews
Wednesday, May 13th – Green Bean Teen Queen
Thursday, May 14th – A Reader’s Adventure
Monday, May 18th – Bookish Broads
Tuesday, May 19th – The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia
Wednesday, May 20th – Bibliophila, Please
Thursday, May 21st – Working for the Mandroid
Friday, May 22nd – Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Monday, May 25th – Alice Marvels
Tuesday, May 26th – A Perfection Called Books
Wednesday, May 27th – Dana Square

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Blog Tour: “Every Last Word” by Tamara Ireland Stone – Spotlight and Giveaway!

May 7, 2015May 10, 20151 Comment

Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s stop on Tamara Ireland Stone’s blog tour for her brand new release, treatment Every Last Word. I have been wanting to read this book and was SO excited to be able to get my hands on a copy. I’m also excited to be seeing her in just a week at the RT Book Lover’s Convention! If you are there, ambulance please make sure to say hi!

I’m even MORE excited to be sharing all of this with you. We’re going to learn a bit more about Tamara, about her new book, I’m going to review the book and there’s an epic giveaway. So let’s get started!

About Tamara Ireland Stone

Tamara Ireland Stone is the author of Time After Time and Time Between Us, which Melissa Marr praised as a “beautifully written, unique love story,” and has been published in over twenty countries. A former Silicon Valley marketing executive, Tamara enjoys skiing, hiking, and spending time with her husband and two children. She lives just outside of San Francisco.

You Can Find Her At:

Her Website / Her Facebook / Her Twitter / Her Tumblr / Her Instagram / Her GoodReads

About Every Last Word

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can’t turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn’t help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she’d be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam’s weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet’s Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more “normal” than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.