YA Epic Reads Blog Tour- Puppet by Pauline C. Harris

Hello! I had the honor of being able to read Puppet by Pauline C. Harris for my tour stop and I couldn't have asked for a better story to read and review for this tour! 

Summary from the Goodreads:

Penelope never dreamed she’d become a superhuman experiment masquerading as a puppet.
She never dreamed everything would be taken from her; even her ability to lie.
Nor did she ever dream that she would become something so unreal.

Penelope lives in a world of advanced technology. Marionettes have advanced in the form of robots; lifelike creations remote controlled to perform super human tasks.
When Penelope makes a deal with Jed, a marionette-obsessed scientist, she doesn’t fully realize what she’s getting herself into. In order for Jed to take her away from the orphanage she lives in, she must first agree to undergo his experiments and tests, ultimately creating something no one ever dreamed possible; the first living marionette.
As Jed shows off his scientific creation to the world, concerns arise surrounding Penelope’s abilities and what she’s capable of doing. Ordered to somehow lessen her abilities, Jed makes a desperate attempt to change Penelope to make her more human, more vulnerable. After Penelope lies to the officials about her past, Jed makes sure it’s the last one she’ll ever utter. The truth is now the only thing she is capable of telling.
As Penelope struggles with her past, her disturbingly new present, and her uncertain future, she is thrust into a magically twisted world of mayhem in search of the one thing she wants, but knows she can never have. The chance to be just a girl again. To be normal. To be real.

Links to Puppet: Goodreads, Amazon

My Review: 5 out of 5 stars 

I wanted to start this off by saying I never read a retelling of Pinocchio so I found this to be a very interesting story. From the beginning of this story I had my own views on how I thought this book would be, which may I say was I really wrong, and in a good way. 

Penelope "Pen" is a heroine I would say in her own way, yet she seemed like she was so real and relatable in some ways. Obviously, not in the ways you may think because she's "superhuman" but in the way she fights herself on things in the story. 

Pen has had a hard life growing up in a orphanage, never knowing her parents and buying adopted by Jed. There relationship may I say was different, a good different. Pen always just saw there relationship in a more business type way, never as family as you think she would, but I guess that's what got her adopted in the first place. 

This book starts you off guessing on things, trying to come to your own conclusions the whole time, but totally wrong with your ideas and I found that refreshing. You never could tell what was gonna happen next. This book had several twist and turns, but it wasn't in overwhelming amount, but just a right amount. Never once was I not surprised by what was happening and that's what kept me reading and wanting to read more and more of this book. It's also is a action filled, romance, and mysterious type of story. The romance was something I thought wasn't gonna happen, like there was subtle hints but then something would happen making me change my mind so I loved how it was paced, not rushed but not to slow, it was sweet and not I the sickly sweet way. The action was also one of my favorite parts. Pen was a very daring girl, but not over daring, or over confident. 

I would love to read more stories from Pauline in the future! 

All in all I really enjoyed reading this book and I would diffidently read it again in the future! 

Recommendation: 

 I would recommend this story to anyone who likes retelling if any type of fairytales or myths. 

About the Author: 

Pauline C. Harris is the author of middle grade and young adult science fiction novels and published her first book at the age of fourteen. She's currently working toward a degree in English. Other than writing, her time is consumed mainly by reading, playing the violin, watching old black and white movies, and trying to survive her college classes.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THIS BOOK-tour TOGETHER TAMARA AND ELLEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Dance For Me - Release Blitz

Dance for Me
by: J.C. Valentine
Forbidden #1
Publication Date: April 7, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Amazon - Nook - Kobo - iBooks

Synopsis:

WARNING: Dance for Me is the first book in a trilogy and ends with a cliffhanger. Due to mature material, it is recommended for ages 17+.

What if the person who stole your heart wasn't who you thought they were?

When my parents passed away, I grew up fast. Learning to stand on my own two feet has been a challenge, but I'm making it... my way. I make no apologies for the path I've chosen. My choices have served me well, but no one knows the real me.

Except one man.

He's a mystery to me. He's controlling, demanding, and he has me wrapped around his little finger. Anything he wants, I'll give it to him. The hours we share together aren't about love. It's just sex. Hot, dirty, passionate sex. It was never supposed to be anything more than that.

Until everything changed.

Now, I'm more confused than ever. The more I learn about him, the less I seem to understand. What I do know is that I'm falling, and I have the feeling when I land, it's going to hurt.


My Review- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Josephine Aka Joe is a college student who is trying to pay her way through college by any means necessary which in other words means stripping. With the loss of her parents at such a young age she has no support for money, even though one of her life goals isn't stripping she must do it to ensure her way through college without any support of parents.
With the way Joe is working she meets many people one of them including a sexy mysterious man whom she meets regularly, and creates a sexual bond with him.
Without really knowing anything about each other; besides her being a stripper and him being a regular, this creates the one big complication that arises when she goes to college and finds out whom her art proffesor is.
At first I was completely hooked by the beginning being this was the first story I ever read by J.C Valentine but I was very intrigued by the way Joe lives her life and how she gets by in the world. Valentine creates a really good novel of unexpected twists and turns which suprises me. The flow of the story is really well done as well, which sometimes isn't always done the best ways, so this made the story better. Sometimes I felt like I wanted to scream at Joe though with her actions and the way she took things. Like I would be in the middle of reading and read something that happened at start screaming at my tablet haha!
This story makes you want to cling onto more and read the next book in THE FORBIDDEN SERIES, especially with that cliffhanger it left you with. I heard it had a big cliffhanger at the end but I blew it off and now I have to suffer until the next book comes out ugh. Anyways I think Valentine does a fantastic job of bringing you the first part of Joe's story.

Dance for Me Book Trailer

About J.C. Valentine

USA Today Bestselling author J.C. Valentine is the alter-ego of Brandi Salazar, whose enjoyment of tales of romance spurred her to branch out and create her own.

She lives in the Northwest with her husband, their wild children, and far too many pets. As a university student, she studies literature, which goes well with her dream of becoming an editor. Brandi entertains a number of hobbies including reading and photography, but her first love is writing fiction-in all its forms.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Swept Away Release Day!

Happy Release Day! 

Swept Away by Kamery Solomon, Available for purchase on April 6, 2015!

From Kamery Solomon, #1 bestselling genre author and creator of the bestselling series The God Chronicles, comes SWEPT AWAY, a time travel romance fraught with danger and secrets on the high seas! 

“Amazing! The best way I can think to describe it is Pirates of the Caribbean meets Outlander! There is action, adventure, romance and so much more! You will not be disappointed!” 

~Heather Garrison, Amazon Customer 



“Kamery Solomon never disappoints a reader in her ability to tell a great story. She has proven she's not a one trick pony and capable of writing across genres. Highly recommend reading any and all of her books.” 

~Lisa Markson, The Paranormal Bookworm 



“This book has so many twists and turns that will keep you reading all night long. I love the characters and the mystery. The author does a fantastic job weaving every part in this story that will leave you wanting more. I highly recommend!” 

~Laura Collins, Amazon Customer 



“I was pulled in right away and I did not want to put the book down, nor did I want the story to end . . . a must read!” 

~Holly Copper, Amazon Customer 



“Marvelous, wonderful, awe-inspiring; these are just a few words to describe just a fraction of the awesomeness that is this book.” 

~Julie Engle, Amazon Customer

“This is a book I will read time and time again.” 

~Angie Angelich, Bookeepsie 



Get ready to be Swept Away! 



BLURB: 



Dead men tell no tales... 

For more than 200 years, the Treasure Pit on Oak Isle has baffled treasure hunters, engineers, and the common man alike. When Samantha Greene arrives, she finds her estranged father has spent years funneling energy and finances into the endeavor, finding nothing. 

When an accidental death occurs in the pit, fulfilling the prophecy that seven lives must end before the treasure can be found, the search kicks into high gear, with more than one party vying for the secrets that lie below. Finding herself the closest to the treasure anyone has ever been, Samantha throws herself into the work, landing among the coveted prize. Just as she's about to discover what's truly hidden beneath the island, the pit begins to flood with ocean water, sweeping her away despite her attempts to swim to the surface. 

Upon awaking, Samantha discovers that, not only did she not drown, but the year is 1695—one hundred years before the Treasure Pit was even discovered. Carried off by the pirate Tristan O'Rourke, a rouge Irishman with more than his share of secrets, she soon finds that there is much more than she realized in play. Will she discover the secrets of Oak Isle, or will an unexpected love keep her from finding out the truth? Will she ever make it back to her own time? Perhaps the real question is this; will she want to?

Read the first three chapters for free here! 

Join the party! Kamery will be hosting a release celebration on Sunday, April 12 in The Royal Court Facebook Group. Join through this link today for your chance to win a treasure chest full of goodies! Entries for the grand prize chest are gathered through Rafflecopter~get started on your entries today! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Purchase Links**

Amazon

Apple iBooks

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Smashwords

Signed print copies ordered through the author! 

About The Author: 

Kamery is not the person who grew up dreaming of the day that she would clutch her very own novel to her chest, tears brimming over the rims of her eyes as she thought about how she'd written it herself, finally! In fact, anything remotely like that didn't even happen until she was actually holding her first book in her hand, amazed that she'd written it and wondering how on Earth she'd managed to do it when it hadn't ever occurred to her to write one until months before. Surprisingly, though, it was just what she never realized she loved doing.



When starting out in life, Kamery had (and still has) big dreams to perform on Broadway. She loves music and acting very much, while she and dance have a love/hate relationship; she would love to do it and every form of dance decides it hates that about her, haha! The one constant she always had between the performing world and the book world were the stories, tales that transported her to other worlds and made her feel like she really could do anything. Finally, she decided she wanted to do that for someone else and sat down to write. 



It's been a few years since she held that first book, realizing that she really liked writing and wanted to do more, but the love that blossomed in that moment has only grown. Currently, Kamery works from home in the White Mountains of Arizona, while taking care of her two adorable kids, a girl and a boy, and talking her sweet husband Jake's ear off about the insane amount of characters in her head who are ready to fight to the death for a chance at their own novels. She also gets together with other authors in the family and they all gab together, making up The Royal Court of the Queens of Romance. It truly is a wonderful life! 

For more information on Kamery, or to discover how to contact her, please visit www.kamerysolomonbooks.com!

Spotlight On Contempory + giveaway!

Spotlight on Contemporary





From March 20th to April 3rd, over 70 authors come together to give away hundreds of books. The YA Spring Fling is an opportunity for readers to find new books, new authors and take part in something very special. Here is a sneak peek of some of the books involved in the giveaway.

All are featured in the YA Spring Fling giveaway. Click here to win free books!


Fashion Fraud and Love Songs by Jamie Campbell

The Fashion Series revolves around Truly Winx, fashion designer wannabe. When her dreams are so close to coming true, she commits fashion fraud with her new frenemy, Jane Davis.

Find out more

Sixteen year old Kaley Thorne is invisible. Or she may as well be anyway. All her emotions, thoughts, and dramas go into her secret songbook. Music is her passion, her escape, and her hidden talent. Her songbook is her diary, singing everything she is too shy to speak.

Find out more
About Jamie

Effie’s Senior Year and Lover I Don’t Have to Love by Tracy Marchini

"Effie has a million reasons why her senior year hasn’t gone as planned — from the hideous bridesmaid dress at her older sister’s wedding, to a disastrous first kiss, to a complete lack of romantic attention from her boy-that-is-a-friend, Robbie.

In this complete collection of all six Effie Stories, Effie Green tries to turn her oh-so-average high school existence into the perfect teen movie moment. "

Find out more

"Thanks to a runaway best-seller, the world thinks that Greg Hanlon fell in love with the beautiful Angeline while sailing the open seas, and lost her before they could marry on the beaches of South Africa.

Though the book started out as a bet between Greg and his best-friend Darrin, the project has taken off like neither of them expected. As Greg's mother sees the money roll in, Greg starts to see nothing but Angeline - his fictional, dead fiancé.

In this absurdist short-story, one young adult must come to terms with fame -- or infamy."

Find out more
About Tracy

War Kids by HJ Lawson

When Jada wakes up in a hospital, the last thing she thinks is that her life has completely changed forever. But when the very real civil war forces her to flee from every open space, she must use the firearm skills her father taught her to reunite with him and protect herself.

Find out more
About HJ

American Girl on Saturn and Falling From the Sky by Nikki Godwin

When attempt has been made on the lives of Canadian boyband, Spaceships Around Saturn, during their USA tour, the guys have to go into hiding ASAP with a secret service agent's family, which includes two teenage daughters and a five-year-old fangirl.
Find out more

Sixteen-year-old Ridge McCoy’s summer plans take a turn in an unexpected direction when he meets Micah Youngblood, the guy who runs the carousel at the local mall and has a reputation for devouring straight boys’ heterosexuality for breakfast, alongside his chocolate chip pancakes.

Find out more
About Nikki

Watermelon Summer by Anna Hess and Aimee Easterling

A forgotten farm, an elusive father, and the blue eyes of a perfect boy are the perfect ingredients for an unforgettable watermelon summer.

Find out more
About Anna and Aimee

The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath and The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet by Charity Tahmaseb

No one expects the girl who has mastered the art of keeping quiet to join the speech team. But Jolia does. When a crush-worthy rival offers to coach her in secret, she can't say no. But secrets have a price, and this one might cost Jolia everything . . .

Find out more

When MacKenna pursues an ROTC scholarship behind her father’s back, she inadvertently uncovers the secret behind her mother’s death in the first Gulf War. And secrets, like war, have their own casualties.

Find out more
About Charity

The See-Through Leopard by Sibel Hodge

"The See-Through Leopard is an inspirational coming-of-age story set in the wilds of Africa.

""If I had to sum this story up into one word, I think it would be fitting to say, ""Wow!"" This story was emotionally gripping from the very first page to the very last."" -- Night Owl Teen Reviews"

Find out more
About Sibel

Right-Hearted: Finding What... Right-Hearted: Finding What's Right With a Wrong-Sided Heart by Daniel Wallock

"Standing before the sky I had little idea my next two weeks would be overwhelmed with wild love, lust, confusion, tears and a beautiful girl. She and I would share the stories of our hearts...our right-sided hearts.

Right-Hearted: Finding What's Right With A Wrong Sided Heart is the story of two lustful teenagers who together confront their life-threatening heart conditions and learn to embrace their broken hearts."

Find out more
About Daniel

Gone by Stacy Claflin

Macy Mercer’s supposed to meet the boy of her dreams who she met online. But he was a fake and she finds herself with a man capable of murder.

Find out more
About Stacy

Miss Popularity and Fallen Leaves by Rachel Elizabeth Cole

Plain and bookish Laura Wood is sure life at her new school won't be any different. Her older sister will slather on the makeup and charm and instantly become Miss Popularity while Laura will end up Loser Girl. Again. But this time she might pull off a new role: Shy New Girl. Will a chance encounter in the hallway ruin everything?

Find out more

Fifteen-year-old Grace Sather can't understand why her mother would want her great-grandmother to move in with them. Great-Gran hates Mom. But before Mom can talk Gran into it, Gran has a bad fall and ends up in the hospital. Now a long buried-secret is about to reveal itself.

Find out more
About Rachel

Idolism by Marcus Herzig

Idolism is a delightful, quirky romp for the young adult religious skeptic, taking a tongue-in-cheek look at the differences and similarities between religion and stardom.

Find out more
About Marcus

Cross My Heart by Katie Klein

True love can blossom in unexpected places. This is Jaden pretending not to notice. . . .

Find out more
About Katie

The Flirting Games Trilogy by Stella Wilkinson

The Flirting Games, More Flirting Games and Further Flirting Games, now come together in a Trilogy Edition. A British boarding school romp full of hilarious moments and romance.

Find out more
About Stella





Q & A with the organiser – Sarah Dalton

How can readers enter the YA Spring Fling giveaway?

Head over to my website Sarahdaltonbooks.com and find the page for the YA Spring Fling (handy hint, it’s HERE). Once you’re there you can browse through the books on offer, or check out more information about the participating authors.

You should see plenty of links prompting you to enter the giveaway. Simply fill out the Google document telling us which books you’d like to win, the format you prefer, and whether you would also like to win paperbacks and swag. It’s that simple. Pick the books you want and sign off.

How will I know I’ve won?

There are so many books on offer that I’d be surprised if you didn’t win something! So you will be hearing from us.

After April 3rd, I will collate all the entries and pass them on to the participating authors. They will then choose the winners at random and Email the winners to let them know the good news.

Will my Email or personal details be used outside the giveaway?

Absolutely not. We’re all against spam and promise not to use your Email for anything other than contacting you as a winner. If you joined up to the YA Spring Fling mailing list you will receive one Email telling you the giveaway is open, and another warning you it is about to close. That’s it!

Is the giveaway open internationally?

Yes! But there are some paperbacks on offer that are region specific. Not all of our authors are sending paperbacks and swag internationally, purely because it costs us so much money and we ain’t made of it. ;)

We will ask for your country of residence in the Google document. That’s so we can work out the winners for region specific paperbacks more easily. Everything else is open internationally.

I have a question, who can I contact?

Me! Send me a message on Facebook. My Email might be clogged by answering author queries, so Facebook might be the easiest method.

Who can I tell about the giveaway? And what can I do to help spread the word?

You can tell everyone and anyone who might like YA books. If you’d like to spread the word it would be awesome if you could follow or like some of the authors and share their posts about the giveaway. You can find a full list of the participating authors and their social media links here.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! MAY YOU WIN MANY BOOKS!

https://www.facebook.com/sarahdaltonbooks
http://www.sarahdaltonbooks.com/
https://twitter.com/sarahdalton

Book Blitz~ Half-Life by Tina Ferraro (Review)

Title: Half-Life

Author: Tina Ferraro

Publisher: Leap Books

Description: Half a life is not worth living.

Probably not a good idea to take advice from your dead twin sister. High school sophomore Trisha Traynor and friends have played the Halloween mirror game for years, the one that’s supposed to show a glimpse of the guy they’ll marry. But no one’s ever seen anything.

Until tonight—when Trisha is gob smacked by the candlelit arrival of her long-deceased twin sister, instead of her crush, Kirk Maxwell.

In a voice and vision that only Trisha can hear and see, Chessie claims to be back on a compassionate journey. Trisha fears she's gone nuthouse crazy. But she nonetheless follows the instructions Chessie outlines in their nightly conversations, until she finds herself stepping across some ethical lines, and probably ending all chances with Kirk.

When a sisterly showdown ensues, resulting in the shattering of the mirror, Chessie’s gone again, and a heartsick Trisha sets about righting her recent wrongs. That is, until she stumbles upon the real reason Chessie had come back and the most important glimpse yet that the mirror could never predict.

  

You can find the book at: 

Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23161011-half-life?from_search=true

Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/Half-LIfe-Tina-Ferraro-ebook/dp/B00U329CWW/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1425157808&sr=1-2

B&N  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/half-life-tina-ferraro/1121331648?ean=2940046605457&isbn=2940046605457

Leap  http://leapbksshine.net/?page_id=82

MY REVIEW: My rating 5 out 5 stars 

I love the world that Tina brings in her novel of Patricia (Trisha) and her (dead) twin Chessie. Trisha is only 15 in this novel and in highschool so you  know just with that life is tough, but no she has the crazy life of seeing her dead twin, facing battles of choosing image over herself, trying to get her Bestfriend back and of course her love life which is far more complicated then you could imagine. This story brought on many laughs,  frustrations, awww-ings, and tears. Tina shows how in life you make plans and try to execute them but no matter what sometimes reality gets in the way and changes course for you even though you might hate change or its makes you uncomfortable, just like it did for Trisha. I may admit sometimes I was yelling at Trisha in my head for being dumb or blind and also cheering for her when she showed courage! I think it's a a beautifully written novel and I would re-read over again just to experience the funny, crazy, and tearful life of Trisha. May I also say yum at Kirk haha. He was one of my favorite people in this story and was quite charming (may I have a Kirk of my own pleassse?). 

I would recommend this story to any ages 13 and up. Yes even older people. It deals with the issues of loss as well as moving on from that loss. I would say anyone who loves a good paranormal, heartfelt story would love this. Thanks so much Tina for letting me experience Trisha and her life as well.    

Author Bio:  Tina Ferraro been writing since she learned to hold a pencil, and sold upwards of a hundred short stories to national magazines before turning to novels. She is the author of three Random House novels, The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, How to Hook a Hottie and Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, which have received distinctions such as the ABA Book Sense Award and two RITA nominations.

Her fourth YA, The Starter Boyfriend, has spent time on Amazon’s Top 100 Lists. She lives in Los Angeles with her rocket scientist husband, two cats and whichever of their three young adult children is in town. When not writing, she enjoys playing Facebook Scrabble, swimming, and chasing coyotes out of her neighborhood.

Twitter  https://twitter.com/PromMom3

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tina-Ferraros-Books/145050492327044

Website  http://www.tinaferraro.com/

Blurb: My heart beat in all its pulse points. Not about grabbing a bottle of champagne from our basement stash. It would be a cinch since my parents totally trusted me. But did I want to steal for Dawn and J-9? And if I did this once, would they ask again? Would this become a thing?

Book Giveaway; 

Rafflecopter:"http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1d75e57c5/" 

Others on the Blitz:

March 16th

Word to Dreams http://wordtodreams.blogspot.com/

A Little Bit of R&R http://alittlebitofrnr.com/

Twinning for Books http://twinningfortwins.wordpress.com

March 17th

Tattered Book Blog http://www.tumblr.com/blog/tatteredbookblog

Somewhere Over Yonder http://somewhereoveryonder.blogspot.com

Forever Lost In Other Worlds foreverlostinotherworlds.blogspot.com

March 18th

After the Last Page http://afterthelastpage.wordpress.com

Electively Paige http://electivelypaige.com

Queekie Girl Reads http://thequeekiegirl.blogspot.sg/

March 19th

Reese’s Reviews http://reesesreviews.blogspot.com/

CiCi’s Theories http://cicistheories.com

Girl With Pen http://victoriazumbrumsreviews.blogspot.com/

March 20th

Michelle’s Minions http://michellesminions.blogspot.com

Lindsay and Jane’s Views and Reviews http://lindsayandjaneviewsandreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Good Reads with Ronna http://www.goodreadswithronna.com

March 23rd

Jessica Bayliss jessicabaylisswrites.com

Ali’s Books http://alisbooks.wordpress.com

Emma Michaels www.emmamichaels.com

Review Policy

Hello!

I will be accepting review requests if you do send me them but I got a couple rules:

1. I accept Only ARCs and Hardcopies right now. Sorry not ebooks but if you do talk to me personally about it I might be willing to accept a couple

2. I do accept self-published books

3. My broader genre I try to stay in is teen- new adult. (Some middle school books as well)

4. I don't have a specific genre preference because I like pretty much every genre so no need to worry about that

5. If you would like to Contact me about reviewing your book or have any questions you can reach me at my email: crazyworldofmads@gmail.com

My reviews will be put up one- two weeks after receiving it, depending on my review pile. My reviews consist of the Rating, Summary, my honest review, about the author and where you are able to purchase the book from so make sure to include that if I do accept your review request.

I will also participate in blog tours, cover reveals and author interviews.

If you have any questions, concerns or comments don't hesitate to email me. It might take up to a day for a response but I do check my email everyday so I will get back to you ASAP.

Thanks for reading through this and understanding my review policy.

2015 most excited about

Hello!
   Questions: What stories are you most excited about for 2015?

What author are you hoping to get to meet in 2015?

How many authors have you met?

Are their any specific stories you are hoping I review?


-Any Questions you want to ask me, just comment below!

~Have a good day, Maddie!