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Shout out to Sarah!

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I don’t normally do posts like these but I decided to do it because today I met an AWESOME girl at work.

For those of you that don’t now, viagra dosage I work at Disneyland :) I love my job. I’ve only been there a few months but I’m massively in love with it. I get to meet the best people, discount every single day, and I get to work around the magic every day. I seriously love it.

Now today, I met a special girl named Sarah. Sarah came into the store that I worked today and she was carrying a book. You guys know me, I couldn’t resist! I asked her what she was reading and she said very quietly, “Good Omens”. I immediately smiled and told her that I loved that book, and she lit up SO fast. I don’t think she was used to people recognizing the books she enjoyed reading. I told her Neil Gaiman is my spirit animal, she laughed and we got into a GREAT conversation about books.

I just wanted to throw a shout out to Sarah here on What a Nerd Girl Says. I shared my blog with her, and I hope she’s able to come and join in on the fun :) She was SO fun to talk to and I was so delighted to meet such an amazing reader, who was so young. It made my entire day and it was definitely the bright light of my day. She mentioned very briefly that most of the kids she knew didn’t really know the same things as her, and I knew exactly what she meant.

So this is a special shoutout and post to YOU, Sarah :) Keep reading! Keep reading everything you can get your hands on. Read Neil Gaiman. Read fantasy. Read trashy romance novels and read science fiction. Read comic books. You keep reading all those awesome fics on fanfiction.net. You watch all those old school movies, and you be YOU. You were a shining light in my day today and I was SO grateful and happy that I was able to meet you and talk to you today. I’m not sure if you’re going to see this but I definitely hope that you do! Thanks for being a reader, and for loving books and for talking books with me today!

Book Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

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17399160Genre: 

Young Adult, information pills Fantasy

Pages: 

422

Part of a Series?:

The first in a planned trilogy

Release Date: 

October 14th, story 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

My Review:

Why did I read this book? Can I be completely honest here? I really liked the cover, I heard it was fantasy and I heard it was an incredible. I was technically on a book buying ban because I’m in the worst slump EVER but I saw the book and I thought, I can’t resist. Maybe a book like this will break me out of my slump. Now while it didn’t exactly break me out of this incredible slump that I’ve been in all year, it did completely blow my mind.

I’ve been itching for a really good epic fantasy for awhile. The last one that really blew my mind was the Seven Realms series by Cinda Chima. The world building and romance and everything of that series just…ugh, my heart is exploding with feels. But anyway, reading Snow Like Ashes…I felt like I’d finally found a truly great YA fantasy again, and by an incredibly talented debut author.

First off, she creates these amazing characters. Meira, Mather, Sir, Theron, all of them are so incredible. They feel like they could be these real people, which is incredibly important in a fantasy. The thing about fantasy is that its supposed to take you out of our world and into a world that doesn’t feel familiar. Exciting, sure but not familiar. What is supposed to pull you in and keep you there and make you care about it is the people. The people, their lives, their personalities, their successes and struggles have to feel real in order for you to fall into this world. And that’s exactly what Sara does. She instantly makes you love every person in this novel. From the moment I read the first page, when Meira is struggling in a mock fight with Mather, I knew that I was madly in love with her as a character. Every character was so developed and changed over the course of the novel and I just loved that.

And then there is the story itself. The thing about fantasy is that there are so many similar stories but it is the way you tell the story that makes it so unique. Meira and the people of Winter, what few of them are left, are hanging on a thread of hope that is King Mather, in the hopes that they can bring their kingdom back together, that they can go home. You feel it in every single page, from the elder members of the group who remember everything about their home and even in Meira, who feels such a strong tie to a place that she never even knew. I wanted them to get their home so badly, it hurt. I wanted them to do anything and everything to make it happen. I knew nothing about Winter except stories but it felt real and I wanted them to get it back. I wanted Mather to be king and I wanted Meira to figure out her place and I wanted Sir to realize how important Meira is and all of that.

The world building of the book is perfect. Its really perfect. When there is an issue in world building, it can cause the believability of the story to go down. Everything about the world felt real, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, everything. The stories, the myths, the cultures and music, the way they fight, the things they believe in, it all felt so natural. It read easily. I felt like I knew the place without having to be confused or having to flip to the map constantly. There was no over explaining or any of that. It just felt real. I love that about a good fantasy. You don’t question it. I want to go there, and be a part of that world.

But I think what really makes this a great book is that she completely takes you by surprise. Completely. Obviously most books have a really good twist but this one…I didn’t expect it. I thought something was a little wrong, I had a feeling that something wasn’t quite what it seemed but when it was revealed, I definitely was surprised. There was so much more to the story than previously expected and that’s what made it even better than what it had been before. I am already dying for the next book, because I’m ready for the next one. Its an absolutely fantastic debut by Sara and I’m so glad to read such a great fantasy. I’m SO ready for it.

Rating: 

5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

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16068780Genre: 

Young Adult, hospital Fantasy/Dystopian

Pages: 

358

Part of a Series?:

The first in a planned trilogy (I think…)

Release Date: 

September 2nd, prostate 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, look the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence… and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.

My Review:

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I picked up this book. I had heard a lot about it but I knew very little about what exactly it was about. So when I got through the first few chapters, my mind was absolutely blown and I was hooked. Amy grabs you, hooks you from the first page and keeps you addicted.

This book is absolutely frightening. I don’t know that its intended to be so but it is. These girls are raised to be perfect: beautiful, intelligent, talented. They are bid on by the wealthy families that live in the Jewel to give them children. They’re surrogates for these families; that’s their entire purpose in life. And they really seem okay with that. There are definitely benefits for it. They’re given an education and their families receive compensation for their daughters being pulled from their homes. They are told they will provide a child and then retire with other surrogates like themselves.

But when Violet realizes that there is so much more to it than she realizes, I’m just floored. Secret plots and fierce competition between the noble families and absolute cruelty. Surrogates die, get beaten, are covered up, used, paraded around like show dogs, dragged around on actual leashes. It blew my mind because of how totally frightening it was. It didn’t seem to be something that outside of the realm of possibilities. Violet is taught that her life is supposed to be better; differently, definitely but better because of her being a surrogate and instead she’s like a prize show dog, paraded around in pretty outfits and controlled like crazy. The prospect of it, the craziness of it, is just frightening and cruel. There were several times in the book where I actually gasped out loud because something shocked me so badly.

And yet there’s also an incredible romance built into it as well. A boy comes into Violet’s life, a boy that so incredibly off limits but she can’t help but want to be with and I can’t help but ship it too. Its subtle and the build up of it is just…its beautiful. They have to keep it hidden and keep it small because of the expectations they both live under. Violet is expected to become pregnant with her “owner”s baby, amongst other things that I won’t say because, you know, “spoilers”. The boy she meets has an important job to fulfill for Violet’s owner as well and its all very conflicting. The ways that they find to be together and its perfect in its complete wrongness. You know its going to end badly, you keep reading and you just KNOW its going to end badly but its like a car crash on the highway, you can’t keep your eyes off of it.

The thing that really sold me on this novel, and Amy Ewing, and the five stars I give it, is the ending. Just when you think you have a handle on the story, just when you think you have a general idea of where its going, the book ends and completely blows your mind. I mean, completely. I was left, with my mouth hanging open, when that book ended. I couldn’t believe it at all and I loved every bit of it. I’m dying for the sequel. Its going to magnificent and I can’t wait to see what else Amy brings in. She’s a fantastic writer, a great story teller, her world building is superb and she creates an incredible romance.

Rating: 

5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Collector by Victoria Scott

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13449677Genre: 

New Adult, buy information pills Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 

352

Part of a Series?:

The first in the Dante Walker trilogy

Release Date: 

April 2nd, 2013

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.
Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.

My Review:

I’ve been wanting to read this book for quite some time now. I absolutely ADORE Victoria’s Fire and Flood. I just recently finished the sequel to that, Salt and Stone, and I just love her. She’s super sweet and her books are great and I’ve been wanting to read The Collector for awhile now. So when it went on sale for Nook for only 99 cents, I was SO there.

I nearly finished it in one night except I had to go to work fairly early the next day so that was a total failure but I immediately finished the next moment that I was able to. I LOVE this book. I love that its told in the point of view of Dante because you alternately want to punch him in the face and throw him down on the bed and make out with him? I mean, a bright red Escalade? Who does that?! But then he’ll do something incredibly sweet for Charlie, like carry her out of the woods and it KILLS my heart. He’s addicting as a character, and he has a natural character progression. Nothing about his transformation through out the novel seems forced or wrong. You watch as Dante changes and its beautiful. Its my favorite part of the book.

But I also just love Charlie as well. She’s SUCH a great person, which would kind of drive me crazy but it doesn’t because everything she does seems so genuine and real. As soon as you meet her for the first time in her room, dorky and fantastic, I knew I was already madly in love with her. She’s not your typical heroine. Most heroines are always beautiful, even if they don’t know they’re beautiful. They think they’re ugly or average but of course, they’re extraordinary. But that’s not Charlie. She’s straight up not classically beautiful at all. She has frizzy hair, a limp, crooked teeth, freckles, the whole nine yards. And I know it can sound kind of stereotypical and all that but Charlie really wins everyone over with her beautiful personality. She’s so beautiful on the inside that she brings in her best friend and, eventually, Dante, because she’s such an incredibly beautiful person. Obviously that’s a huge part to the general plot of the story but I loved that about this book. Its good to see a character that is so genuinely good on the inside that Dante slowly falls for her, not immediately. I really really enjoyed the freshness of that.

What really got me about this story was that its something I haven’t really read before. Dante is a collector the devil, basically. Its his job to go around, marking people for their sins and collecting them for the devil’s collection in hell. He’s sexy and kind of addicting but he’s a bad person. He’s working for a bad guy and yet you kind of can’t help but be on his side, no matter what he’s doing. Dante is kind of an anti-hero who eventually becomes a hero and its not really something we see a lot in books, not written this well, with this kind of story line. I read a LOT so sometimes I need a really good, fresh story to keep me addicted and satisfied and this book definitely did that. After reading this (now I need to read the next two), and reading the first two books of the Fire and Flood series, I’m completely sold on Victoria Scott as a writer. She’s fantastic, she’s great at world building and her characters are unique and fresh and relatable. I can’t wait to see more. I’m hoping to get The Liberator soon!

Rating: 

4 out of 5 stars

December YA and Middle Grade Book Events!

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Some of you may have noticed that I no longer do Book Events Listings for the entire country. I used to but it just honestly got to be way too much work for me. I know it was really cool for you guys but it really was a ton of work. If any of you need help on finding book events in your area, sickness I will be more than happy to help, but for now, I will be sticking with California (mostly Southern) events!

If there are any events missing, please inform me so I can keep this list as updated as possible!

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December 4th

Robin LaFevers

Vroman’s Bookstore

Pasadena, CA

7 pm

Those wishing to get books signed will be asked to purchase at least one copy of the author’s most recent title from Vroman’s. For each purchased copy of the newest title, customers may bring up to three copies from home to be signed. This policy applies to all Vroman’s Bookstore events unless otherwise noted. Save your Vroman’s receipt; it will be checked when you enter the signing line.

December 5th

Marie Lu

Mysterious Galaxy

San Diego, CA

7:30 pm

Marie Lu, a staff and reader favorite for her Legend series, introduces readers to a new world with The Young Elites. Teen Adelina Amou­teru is among the persecuted malfettos of this world, about to be burned at the stake for the murder of her father, when she is rescued by the Dagger Society, a group of her super-powered peers. In her New York Timesreview, fellow author Maureen Johnson writes: “Lu is presenting a large-world fantasy that will involve multiple kingdoms. She hints that we will learn about the background of the Young Elites. There is clearly more to know, and I look forward to it. This is a world worth revisiting.” Adult and young adult readers are invited to visit Adelina’s world with us and Marie.

December 11th

Alexandra Monir

Barnes and Noble

Santa Monica, CA

7 pm

Combining spine-tingling mystery, romance and unforgettable characters, Suspicion is an action-packed thrill ride. Join us for the launch of this fantastic adventure! Remember that signed and personalized books make wonderful gifts!

December 12th

Shannon Messenger

Barnes and Noble

Oceanside, CA

6 pm

Call Store for More Details 

 

Blog Tour: “Anomaly” by Tonya Kuper + Review + Giveaway!

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I am so INSANELY excited to be a part of this blog tour and to finally be able to share the love I have for this book and for Tonya! She’s an amazing debut author and she’s become a great friend and I’m so excited to bring you this stop on her debut novel, viagra buy Anomaly’s tour!

anomaly banner new

Blog Tour Schedule

Click this link to head over to YA Bound to check out ALL the blogs on the tour. There are a TON of reviews and promo posts to check that there’s just no way I can fit them all!

About Tonya Kuper

tonya-2

Tonya Kuper’s debut, ANOMALY, the first in the Schrodinger’s Consortium young adult scifi trilogy, releases November 2014 by Entangled Teen. She lives in Omaha, NE with her two rad boys and husband, is a music junkie, and a chocolate addict. Star Wars & Sherlock fan.

You Can Find Her At:

Website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / GoodReads

About Anomaly 

20559783

Release Date: November 25, 2014

Published by: Entangled Teen

Worst. Birthday. Ever.

My first boyfriend dumped me—happy birthday, Josie!—my dad is who knows where, I have some weird virus that makes me want to hurl, and now my ex is licking another girl’s tonsils. Oh, and I’m officially the same age as my brother was when he died. Yeah, today is about as fun-filled as the swamps of Dagobah. But then weird things start happening…

Like I make something materialize just by thinking about it.

When hottily-hot badass Reid Wentworth shows up on a motorcycle, everything changes. Like, everything. Who I am. My family. What really happened to my brother. Existence. I am Oculi, and I have the ability to change reality with my thoughts. Now Reid, in all his hotness, is charged with guiding and protecting me as I begin learning how to bend reality. And he’s the only thing standing between me and the secret organization that wants me dead…

Purchase the book at your local bookstore OR at the following links: 

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Review!

I absolutely LOVED this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read it and I had such high hopes for it. I met Tonya back in the summer when I went out to Las Vegas for the ALA Conference. I was standing in line to meet Holly Black (for, like, the third time) and the line ran alongside the Entangled booth. Tonya was just finishing up her signing and she came to talk to us in line, handing us bookmarks and pens promoting her book. She was SO nice and genuine, and really excited about her book so I was immediately sold.

I’ve been anxiously waiting for MONTHS to get my hands on this book and so I felt quite lucky to be a part of the team to help promote Anomaly. I helped hand out postcards to promote it at Mockingjay, which I did at the red carpet premiere, and I got my hands on an early copy and DOVE into that book.

What really caught me about this book was the main character. Josie immediately caught my eye because…I felt like I had a lot in common with her. Within the first few minutes of reading, there were several different nerd references and I was sold, because I was laughing my ass off. As a girl who literally owns no other clothes besides t-shirts with Doctor Who, Star Wars, Harry Potter and various other fandoms adorned on them, I was immediately sold on Josie as a character. I also just recently went through a break up, so I understood that sort of “fun time” as well. Josie immediately felt real, and relatable, and because of that, its easy to follow her journey as her world gets turned completely upside down.

I also really loved how unique it was. This is a story that hasn’t been told before. The ability to manipulate reality? That’s not exactly a NEW concept but its fairly unique in the YA genre and I was immediately interested in how it would work out. Both Josie and Reid pull some off in the first few chapters and it blows my mind and I had to keep reading because I have to know how things work. Why could they do that? How could they do that? That kept me turning the pages, especially as more of the mystery is revealed. As more secrets are unraveled, more is hidden. Its incredible.

Plus there’s just the relationship between Reid and Josie. Its infuriating and beautiful. I love the banter they have with each other, how they’ve obviously attracted to each other. They gravitate to each other, they’re often so close that they don’t even realize it. But you’re sitting there, eyes scanning the page, hoping they’ll get even closer. They have such a back and forth relationship and I even tweeted Tonya one day because I was so frustrated haha! I ship the two of them so bad, and she does an amazing job of creating an incredible chemistry between these two main characters but without making it easy or flawless. Its difficult and I like that, because it leaves me wanting more and more.

Plain and simple, its a great debut by Tonya and I can’t wait for more. She’s a fantastic writer and an awesome person and this is a novel that you MUST pick up!

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Thank you YA Bound for hosting this blog tour and allowing me to be a part of it!

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