PEOPLE LIKE US BLOG TOUR: Review + Giveaway

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: People Like Us

Author: Dana Mele

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons 

Release Date: February 27th, 2018

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she's reinvented herself entirely. Now she's a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl's body is found in the lake, Kay's carefully constructed life begins to topple. 

The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. But if Kay's finally backed into a corner, she'll do what it takes to survive. Because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make...not something that happened.

Review 

People Like Us was a murder-mystery romp that was unputdownable! 

My favorite thing about this novel had to be the setting. (A boarding school for rich girls? Trouble is bound to blossom). Fall was the perfect time of year for the novel to take place; It added such an integrative element to the story. It made the whole atmosphere rich with suspense and gave you an overall chill while reading it.

The characters were likable and I definitely found myself becoming attached to most of them. I wish a few would have had larger roles, or a bit more background (looking at YOU, Greg and Tricia!) but otherwise each one had compelling storylines. Spencer was sassy and sexy and HELLO! I need more of him too-please hook me up with a prequel or companion novel, Dana! As for the main character, Kay, I thought she was pretty cool! Her voice was easy to follow, she was down-to-earth, dedicated, slightly damaged, and I found myself rooting for her.

I ADORED the mystery aspect of this novel. Secrets galore, dead bodies, and a dash of blackmail-definitely equals a recipe for an awesome page turner. I was guessing up until the very last chapters on who the culprit was!

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to Bates Academy and I'd definitely recommend you take a trip there yourself!  

About the Author 

Dana Mele is a Pushcart-nominated writer and a work at home mother. A graduate of Wellesley College, she is a former actor, lawyer, musician, and briefly, associate producer. She prefers tea to coffee, snow to sand, and stars to sunshine, and she lives in the Catskills with her husband and toddler. This is her first novel.

Follow the Tour

WEEK ONE

February 19 – Lindseyybooks – Review

February 20 – Bibliobakes – Review

February 21 – Bookish Bug – Review + Creative Instagram Picture

February 22 – Twinning for Books – Review

February 23 – The Bookish Crypt – Review

WEEK TWO

February 26 – Brooke Reports – Review

February 27 – Bookish Delights – Review

February 28 – Here’s to Happy Endings – Review + Styleboard

March 1 – Never Too Many To Read – Character/Suspect Profile

March 2 – Dauntless Books and Penguins – Review

WEEK THREE

March 6 – Touch My Spine Book Reviews – Review

March 7 – The Night Owl Book Cafe – Review

March 8 – A Simple Taste of Reading – Review

March 9 – Books.Tea.Quotes – Review + Instagram Picture

Comment below to enter for a chance to win an ARC of the book! 

Entry Question: Would you lie in order to protect a loved one?

Rockstar Book Tours: BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER by Marie Lu-- EXCERPT

About the Book:

Title: BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER (DC Icons #2)

Author: Marie Lu

Pub. Date: January 2, 2018

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Pages: 272

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon,  B&N, TBD

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.

One by one, the city's elites are being executed as their mansions' security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family's fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he's forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city's most brutal criminals.

Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce's only hope.

In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.

Excerpt:

When Bruce headed down to the basement level after lunch, one of the lights in the corridor was flickering in an unsettling rhythm. It cast a trembling glow against the walls, making the hall seem surreal, as if it might blink out of existence if he shut his eyes. A couple of the cells were empty, while several of the remaining inmates were napping. Already, he didn't recognize some of them. Inmates didn't stay down here for long. Maybe the girl had been moved by now, too, even though Bruce felt strangely disappointed at the thought.

     He reached the end of the hall, where the girl's cell sat beside the flickering light. He slowed his steps. She was still here, this time alone. 

    She's in there for a good reason.

    But she was so young. Decades younger than everyone else in here. Bruce frowned as he watched her, waiting for something, anything--a violent tantrum, an insult--to reveal a clue about why everyone found her so threatening that they locked her up down here. His gaze returned to the new shape she was folding with her napkin. It looked like an unfinished lion. He wondered what it would transform into when she was done with it. 

   As he looked on, she glanced up at the door. At him. 

   Again, her look caught him off guard. This time Bruce forced himself not to jerk away. He walked toward her door's window and stopped right in front of it. 

    She stared at him for a long moment. Of course she wouldn't speak, Bruce reminded himself. She has been in here for weeks, at least, maybe even months, and hadn't uttered a single word. How much longer would Draccon try to get something out of her? What exactly did they want to hear from her anyway? If---

  "You're Bruce Wayne."

    Bruce stilled.

    Did he just hear her speak? And not just that. She recognized him. The sound of her voice surprised him so much that, for an instant, he couldn't move.  She was soft-spoken, but her words rang clear as a bell. Lovely. Soothing, even. 

   "Guilty," he finally replied.

About Marie:

 Marie Lu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Legend trilogy and The Young Elites trilogy. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry, working for Disney Interactive Studios as a Flash artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing Assassin’s Creed, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles, California (see above: traffic), with one husband, one Chihuahua mix, and two Pembroke Welsh corgis.

Website| Tumblr| Goodreads| Twitter | Instagram

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the Tour! 

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 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"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!