Top 10 Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2018

Not only are these covers SUPER FREAKIN' GORGEOUS--they also sound AMAZING! (Click on the cover to be taken to goodreads!) 

Best Book Covers of 2017

Pretty covers are PRETTY! 

MOXIE by Jennifer Mathieu {ARC Review}

Moxie

Author: Jennifer Mathieu

Publisher: Roaring Press Books

Release Date: September 19th, 2017

Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with her small-town Texas high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes and hallway harassment. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.

Viv’s mom was a punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ’90s, so now Viv takes a page from her mother’s past and creates a feminist zine that she distributes anonymously to her classmates. She’s just blowing off steam, but other girls respond. Pretty soon Viv is forging friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, and she realizes that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution. ~Goodreads

Moxie is a feminist novel to the core and I was so here for it!

Dude, I'd totes be friends with Viv. She has spunk and drive plus, she's hilarious and loyal. I really enjoyed her point of view! She has this reputation at home of being the "good girl" who never breaks the rules so it was nice to see her shatter that into pieces!

I also liked the presence of her family. I'd love to read a book about Viv's mom in her Riot Girl! glory days!

Oh! And, can I just say that the Zines were freaking awesome!?! I adored the "Fight Back" statements, stars and hearts, bathrobes (READ THE BOOK, YOU'LL UNDERSTAND!)

If you're looking for a cute, quick read Moxie is for you!  It delivers a deep underlying social message without shoving it down your throat. Well done, Jennifer, well done! 

Rockstar Book Tours: I Never

About The Book:

Title: I NEVER

Author: Laura Hopper

Pub. Date: November 7, 2017

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Pages: 288

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Amazon | Goodreads | TBD

Janey King’s priorities used to be clear: track, school, friends, and family. But when seventeen-year-old Janey learns that her seemingly happy parents are getting divorced, her world starts to shift. Back at school, Luke Hallstrom, an adorable senior, pursues Janey, and she realizes that she has two new priorities to consider: love and sex.
Inspired by Judy Blume’s classic Forever, I Never features a perfect, delicious, almost-to-good-to-be-true high school relationship . . . and it doesn’t shy away from the details. Destined to be passed from teen to teen, this is a young adult debut that will get readers talking.

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Excerpt

He gets up and guides me over to the mirror that covers the length of the door to my bathroom.  He places me in front of the door and stands behind me, his hands interlocked near my bellybutton.  “Look at you.”

Is he serious?  I’m supposed to stand here, wearing jeans and a bra in a fully lit room and gaze into the mirror at myself with Luke Hallstrom supervising?  I don’t freakin’ think so.  I put my hands over my eyes and hope he’ll give up on this mission.  He takes hold of my hands and pulls them down to uncover my eyes.  My lids stay shut tight. I only wish I could make it dark for him as well.

“Will you please open your eyes so you can see what I see?” he begs.

I open my eyes, but look everywhere except at my own reflection – the sandy beige carpet, the molding around the doorframe, the backwards photos reflected in the mirror.

“Come on, just for a second.  For me.”  I finally relent and stare straight ahead.  

I try to see in myself what he clearly sees.  I look at my image and the self-consciousness slowly evaporates. A blanket of reassurance covers me in warmth and comfort.  Everything in the room seems to change and Luke can obviously pick up on my new sense of ease.  He reaches his hands behind my back and unhooks my bra.  I keep my eyes locked on the mirror as my bra falls to the floor.

“My god, Janey, look at you.”  I do as he says and I look, searching to find the truth in his words.  It takes significant effort for me to let him stare at me.  His hands wrap back around my waist and find their way up to my chest, cupping my breasts.  I watch his hands and then I watch his face.  I see how taken he is with me.  I see appreciation and admiration in his eyes.  Finally, his eyes find mine in the mirror.  He looks deeply into me, making sure we’re in sync.  I turn around to face him and feel the whole of my naked chest up against his smooth brown skin.  I lift my face to look at him and he delicately licks the tiny space between my lips.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” he asks.

“Maybe I’m just perfect for you."

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Giveaway 

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About Laura
Laura Hopper has worked in the film industry and is currently a book editor. I Never is her first novel. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her family.

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Unpopular Book Tag

I saw this tag over on Karen's lovely blog, For What It's Worth, and decided to tag myself! Feel free to do the same!

A Popular Book or Series You Didn't Like.
THE. UNBECOMING. OF. MARA. DYER. Ugh. I really did not understand the appeal? Everyone was wetting their panties over it and it was so meh.  


Popular Book or Series that Everyone Hates but You Love.
The Sky Fall series did NOT get the love it deserved. Like, I'm not sure people hated it but...it didn't have a huge following I don't think. And it was GREAT!  



Love Triangle where the MC eneded up with the Character you DIDN'T want them to end up with.
*THROWS THESE COVERS ONTO THIS POST AS HARD AS I CAN* *STOMPS FEET* *LOOKS AT THEM WITH DISGUST*

Popular Book Genre You Hardly Reach For.
FAE! Can't do it. I've tried and now I just know it's not for me.  Dystopians are up there on the list now too. 


A Popular or Beloved Character You Didn't Like.
JACOB BLACK. Yuck times infinity! 

A Popular Author You Can't Seem to Get Into. 
Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, Cassandra Clare, Maggie Stiefvater.

A Popular Book Trope You're Tired of Seeing. 
Besides the most obvious, which would be the love triangle, I'd have to go with 1. Non-existant adults and 2. Lack of menstration from YOUNG ADULT GIRLS IN YOUNG ADULT NOVELS. Like what?  

A Popular Series that You have NO Interest in Reading?
Anything Cassandra Clare or Sarah J. Maas. Way too over hyped and overall not my cup of tea. 


Show/Movie Adaption that You Liked Better than the Book?
DIVERGENT! That movie was 10x better than the book. Also, The Secret Circle was a good ass show!  

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Last Seen Leaving

Author: Caleb Roehrig

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Release Date: October 4th, 2016

Flynn's girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?

Flynn's girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can't answer, and her friends are telling stories that don't add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January's boyfriend, he must know something.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January's disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself. ~Goodreads

This thriller took me by total surprise. With its dynamic characters, humorous dialogue and suspenseful plot, Last Seen Leaving was nothing short of fantastic!

The very first paragraph was one of the most enthralling openings I've ever read. I even re-read it a few times just to relive its awesomeness. Of course, the rest of the novel did NOT disappoint either! 

I freakin' ADORED Flynn. He was a warm sweet cinnamon roll who is too precious for this world--hilarous, loyal, and flawed.  I could not get enough of him! He was so concerned with figuring out certain situations the fact they were dangerous barely registered. He's literally the most adorable little pumpkin with the purest of intentions so, you can't even be mad at him for getting into perilous predicaments.

I loved his relationship with his best friend--their banter was A+ TOP-NOTCH. I enjoyed how present adults were in this story as well, and his relationship with his parents was endearing, slightly awkward and totally realistic.  

Then there was January, Flynn's girlfriend. She was such an enigma. She reminded me SO much of Ivy from Bad Girls with Perfect Faces. Like, they could totally be related. That girl definitely had a lot going on behind the scenes. I'd LOVE to read this story from her POV (WHICH CALEB SAID HE WOULD NOT RULE OUT WRITING SUCH A STORY!? YASS!)

Let us not forget about "fucking Kaz," that fine piece of fictional specimen. Get him his own spinoff! Talk about a ship I will go down with.

If you're into books that have lovable characters, laugh out loud dialogue, twists, turns, blood, creepy pedophile teachers, and overall spook vibes, Last Seen Leaving is for you! 

I can NOT wait to read more from Mr. Roehrig! 

Teaser Tuesday: To Kill a Kingdom

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at A Daily Rhythm.

To participate all you have to do is:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!) 

 Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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"I have a heart for every year I've been alive.

There are seventeen hidden in the sand of my bedroom. Every so often, I claw through the shingle, just to check they're still there. Buried deep and bloody." ~ARC Pg. 1  

How strange that instead of taking his heart, I'm hoping he takes mine. ~ARC pg. 278 

What are you teasing this week? Link below!  

Fierce Reads Fall Book Tour

This past Friday I had the wonderful opportunity to interview some incredible authors for the Fierce Reads Fall Tour! 

Friday 5PM: To say I was nervous would be an understatement, like HELLO! These people are BASICALLY ROCKSTARS! Their books were all freakin' fantastic and I was trying not to poop my pants on the drive to the event.

Friday night 6PM: Nervousness was COMPLETELY unnecessary, Jennifer, Caleb, Mitali and Anna-Marie are some of the nicest, funniest people I've ever met! I had the BEST time talking to them about their writing process, characters, and a few other silly things!

--FIERCE INTERVIEW--

What's the weirdest thing you've used as a bookmark?

Jennifer:  A nail file, that's not very weird but that's the weirdest I can come up with! 

Caleb: I've used a shirt as a bookmark, just stuff it in there!

Anna-Marie: An oatmeal raisin cookie. 

Mitali: Bazooka bubble gum.

Spotlight: YOU BRING THE DISTANT NEAR by Mitali Perkins

Which Das Girl would win an all you can eat competition?

Probably Ana. She's little and tiny but she doesn't like to lose. 

Which Das Girl would end up on a TV game show?

That would be Tara because she's the actress. 

Messiest family member? 

Probably Sonia because she's most like me. The creative messy type. 

Where do you do the majority of your writing?
Coffee shops. I like coffee shops, I like the background noise. 

Would you rather your book be made into a movie or TV series?
A TV series. I think a family sitcom/romance would be a good TV series. I think people would want to hang out with them. 

If you were trapped in a elevator who are 3 people you wouldn't mind being stuck with? I'm so claustrophobic. An elevator repair man, an elevator repair man, and an elevator repair man. Or a firefighter, an elevator repair man, and a police man--all hot! 

Spotlight on WILD BEAUTY by Anna-Marie McLemore

Which Nomeolvides girl is most likely to cheer you up?

I'd say Gloria, she can always find the good in everyone. 

Most ambitious: That's probably Azalea. She doesn't like to lose.  She very much likes to tell people when she's winning. 

Most gullible: That's a tough one. I'm going to say Estrella. You'll see why when you read the book. She believes something that she knows she shouldn't. 

Biggest Prankster: Oh! That has to be Calla! 

If you were tethered to a specific place where would you want it to be? Probably the kitchen. I love eating and cooking. 

Fondest memory of your writing process? Getting to go to a lot of different gardens and calling it research. Just to spend time among all the pretty flowers and prance around and pretend I was a fairy princess--not that I did--no serious writer would. 

Spotlight on LAST SEEN LEAVING by Caleb Roehrig

What would Flynn say the theme song to his life is? That's really hard to choose! I'd have to say We Are Young by Fun.

What are 3 things we wouldn't expect to find in his wallet or pockets? I think he's a pretty sentimental guy. So, he probably has a little stuffed thing, like a good luck charm. I think that in his wallet he probably has the movie stub from the first movie he ever went to. And I think he has random stuff in his pockets. Stuff that he doesn't even know about like a pen cap. 

Flynn has been invited to a Halloween party, what's he going as? I think he's probably going as a low rent Batman...I think he'd buy the mask and then wear a T-shirt that had the Batman symbol on it. 

Did you have any rituals while writing? I would go for my morning run and think about all the things I'd have to tackle for the day. Then I'd make a pot of green tea before sitting down to write and I always had my white noise app. Those are all the components I need on hand but I don't have any superstitions or rituals. 

Hardest scene to write? There was a scene with four characters that had four very different feelings and points of views. I had to try and balance it so all of them shared the stage equally because they all needed to be heard from. I really needed those voices to come through. Orchestrating that was difficult. 

You're a murderer... Yes. I mean...who told!? You're a murderer CLUE style...what is your weapon of choice and in which room did you do it? Candlestick! I'm doing the candlestick. I'd probably pick the library. 

Spotlight on MOXIE by Jennifer Mathieu

What was the last thing Vivian watched on Netflix? 

She liked Glow--Glow or Stranger Things, she's into both of those.

What is one thing we'd be surprised to find in her room? 

I could see her being into socks. I could see her having like a funky sock collection, that's her thing. She's not really into fashion but she's into funky socks. 

Was there a scene in MOXIE that you really liked but it ended up having to be cut? I'd have to actually say no! I didn't cut any scenes. There are scenes now that I think would've been fun to add but nothing that I cut, nothing major. 

If the story was told from another characters point of view, who would it be? Lucy Hernandez. I love her. 

What's tougher to write, the first sentence or the last sentence? The first sentence for sure. I've always had the end in mind. 

Do you look at your book and go, "oh my gosh, I wrote this!?" is that like crazy? Yes, yes! But I don't read it once it's in print because I'm done reading it. I've read it too many times. But yes, it's amazing to look at. 

I had a complete BLAST getting to talk with these four incredible human beings! I learned so much and had so many laughs!

After my time with Mitali, Anna-Marie, Caleb, and Jennifer they all took a small coffee break before the panel started. 

The panel was led by Vania, who asked some really great questions as well and then she opened it up to the audience for a Q&A!  Someone asked if any of the authors see the potential for a future sequel (GREAT QUESTION!) Jennifer and Mitali said no, but Caleb isn't ruling out a companion novel for LAST SEEN LEAVING! Anna-Maire said she will be writing more queer fairy tales (!) Their best advice for aspiring writers: WRITE! And read a lot too!  

 YAY FOR AUTHOR TOURS! Y'all need to go to one! 

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Thank you so much to Brittany Pearlman for inviting me and  Little Shop of Stories for hosting! Photo credit: Elizabeth Lenhard