Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme created by Jill at Breaking the Spine. A spin-off of the meme called "Can't Wait Wednesday" is now hosted at Wishful Endings. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

The Raven's Tale

by Cat Winters

 

hitting shelves April 16th, 2019  

from Amulet Books

Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family—the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me!”

My thoughts:  So anyone who's been reading this blog for awhile knew I was going to pick this one this week, right? xD Cat Winters is one of my absolute favorite authors and I couldn't be more excited to have her tackling a story of young Edgar Allen Poe.  Plus, she always gets the most stunning covers and this one, which was revealed this past week, is certainly no different. ♥.♥

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Odd & True by Cat Winters {blog tour + guest post + giveaway!}

It's an exciting day! I'm always happy to host one of my absolutely favorite authors, Cat Winters, and her newest YA supernatural novel,

ODD & TRUE

Read on below to find out more about the book, learn more about sisters Odd & True and what they have in common with Cat and her own sister, and of course, don't forget to enter the tour-wide giveaway of three copies of the book!

• ABOUT THE BOOK•

Odd & True

by Cat Winters

♦publisher: Amulet Books

♦release date: September 12, 2017

♦hardcover, 368 pages

♦intended audience: Young adult

Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.

In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all.

*       *       *       *       *       *

Guest post with Cat Winters

5 Ways Odd & True are like Cat and Her Sister

ODD & TRUE was very much inspired by my relationship with my own sister, Carrie, who’s three years younger than me. It’s a work of fiction that’s not meant to be considered autobiographical, but my two protagonists, Odette and Trudchen, do, admittedly, share several things in common with Carrie and me.

Here are five examples:

1. Older sister Odette (Od) teaches younger sister Tudchen (Tru) how to read the future in tea leaves. Tea leaf readings and scenes of the sisters drinking tea appear throughout Odd & True. In real life, Carrie and I love visiting tearooms for special events, a pastime we’ve been enjoying since we found a tearoom tucked away in an antique shop in Escondido, California. In the opening chapter of ODD & TRUE, look for a nod to Escondido (which means “hidden” in Spanish) in the words of a magic spell.

2. Od has been telling Tru fairytales and legends since the week Tru was born, and she talks her sister into joining her in pretend adventures, even into their teenage years. I did the same thing with my sister when we were little, although I didn’t do so to hide the pain of our family’s secrets like Od. Thankfully, Carrie and I had a far less traumatic childhood than what my two protagonists endure, but I’ve always used stories as an escape from reality and a means of keeping us entertained.

3. For fun during their childhood, Od and Tru travel to neighboring farms and collect folktales and stories of monster sightings, which they catalog in a notebook. Od does the writing in the book, and Tru creates the illustrations. They call the book Odd & True Tales and plan to one day publish it. In real life, I wrote stories and poems all the time as a kid, and my sister would illustrate them. Our parents were often the recipients of cards that featured our joint creations (which probably weren’t as good as we thought they were). We always talked about one day publishing a book that I would write and she would illustrate.

4. Od and Tru grow up in a Southern California canyon populated by rattlesnakes and coyotes. They believe their mother is a monster slayer who protects them from diabolical creatures that prowl around after dark. My sister and I grew up in the hills of a Southern California suburb, and we heard coyotes at night and found various types of snakes in our yard, including the occasional rattlesnake. Our mom didn’t slay monsters, but when I was eight, we witnessed her climbing up to our roof with a hose to protect our house from a raging brushfire. She also fought off the black widow spiders that lived under our eaves, and she once even captured a snake that had slithered into our house.

5. Od and Tru are fiercely protective of each other and would slay monsters for each other. If I could do the same for my sister, I most definitely would.

Cat (left) and Carrie (right).

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Seriously, how super cute are they???  Thank you so, so much, Cat, for sharing these stories and this adorable photo with us!!

•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•

Cat Winters’s critically acclaimed debut novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, was named a 2014 Morris Award Finalist, a 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, a 2013 Bram Stoker Award Nominee, and a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013. Her upcoming novels include The Cure for Dreaming (Amulet Books/Oct. 2014) and The Uninvited (William Morrow/2015), and she’s a contributor to the 2015 YA horror anthology Slasher Girls & Monster Boys. She lives in Portland, Oregon.  

WEBSITE  •  TWITTER  •  PINTEREST  •  GOODREADS

Purchase  ODD & TRUE:

 Indiebound   •  Amazon  •  Book Depository

And now for an amazing 

*GIVEAWAY*

3 winners will receive a finished copy of ODD & TRUE, US & CAN Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Rockstar Book Tour for ODD & TRUE!

Week One:

9/4/2017- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview

9/5/2017- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

9/6/2017- YA and Wine- Guest Post

9/7/2017- Ex Libris- Review

9/8/2017- Novel Novice- Guest Post

Week Two:

9/11/2017- Take Me Away To A Great Read- Review

9/12/2017-Two Chicks on Books- Interview 

9/13/2017- Falling For YA- Review

9/14/2017- Stories & Sweeties- Guest Post

9/15/2017- Lisa Loves Literature- Review

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee {audiobook review}

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo 
by F.C. Yee
♦publisher: Amulet Books
♦release date: August 8th, 2017
♦hardcover, 320 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series
♦source: from publisher for honest review

The struggle to get into a top-tier college consumes sixteen-year-old Genie’s every waking thought. But when she discovers she’s a celestial spirit who’s powerful enough to bash through the gates of heaven with her fists, her perfectionist existence is shattered.

Enter Quentin, a transfer student from China whose tone-deaf assertiveness beguiles Genie to the brink of madness. Quentin nurtures Genie’s outrageous transformation—sometimes gently, sometimes aggressively—as her sleepy suburb in the Bay Area comes under siege from hell-spawn.

This epic YA debut draws from Chinese folklore, features a larger-than-life heroine, and perfectly balances the realities of Genie’s grounded high school life with the absurd supernatural world she finds herself commanding.

Review: I'd been looking forward to reading The Epic Crush of Genie Lo since first hearing about it months ago and when it popped up as a new title on Audible I decided to try out the audiobook. Good call. The reader was great and I think this exciting and visual story really lent itself well to being read out loud. This was such a fun story---think Scott Pilgrim heavily steeped in ancient Chinese mythology.  Which brings me to another great reason for going the audiobook route---the narrator is Chinese actress Nancy Wu, so it was awesome to hear all the language and know it was pronounced correctly. Who knows what kind of crazy mispronunciations I would have come up with trying to read it myself xD. It made experiencing this story and all of it's inlaid myths and legends all the more immersive and fun.

As for the story itself--okay, it was a little cheesy at times, but still so fun. Genie had a great sarcastic humor to her character and despite some confidence hurdles to overcome, still managed to become a badass and own the fate she was handed AND keep hold on the fact that she couldn't let all this demon business come between her and her college goals. Loved that.  Her and Quentin had a great bantery chemistry, but I'm not sure I was ever quite feeling the romantic spark between them. I also really felt for Genie as she tried to hold her normal teen life, friendships and her already straining family together through it all. 

The whole things was super fast paced---I don't remember even one dragging moment. An exciting superhero story with a few fun (maybe a little predictable at times) twists. For me, it felt genuine and rang true where it needed to, but also was wild and over-the-top like any good superhero story has every right to be LOL. 

I definitely recommend this one as a fast, fun read, and if you can, definitely go for the audiobook. 

•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•

F.C. Yee grew up in New Jersey and studied economics at Brown University. For his debut novel, he drew inspiration from the best and wisest people in his life. Outside of writing, he practices capoeira, a Brazilian form of martial arts. He currently calls the San Francisco Bay Area home.

WEBSITE  •  TWITTER  •  INSTAGRAM  

Purchase  The Epic Crush of Genie Lo:

 Indiebound   •  Amazon  •  Book Depository  •  Audible

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

A Skinful of Shadows 

by Frances Hardinge

hitting shelves October 10th, 2017

from Amulet Books

A Skinful of Shadows is a dark YA historical fantasy set in the early part of the English Civil War. Kate is an illegitimate daughter of the aristocratic Fellmotte family, and as such, she shares their unique hereditary gift: the capacity to be possessed by ghosts. Reluctant to accept her appointed destiny as vessel for a coterie of her ancestors, she escapes. As she flees the pursuing Fellmottes across war-torn England, she accumulates a motley crew of her own allies, including outcasts, misfits, criminals, and one extremely angry dead bear. From Costa Book of the Year winner Frances Hardinge comes a new dark historical fantasy that’s sure to satisfy her leagues of fans who are eager for more.

My thoughts:  I've been curious about this author for ages but have never gotten around to reading one of her books. They all sound pretty amazing, and this one is no exception! Ghostly possession, an escape from an unwanted life, and an intriguing time setting. All things that having me dying to read it!  Not to mention, this gorgeous cover. Seriously, Amulet is killing it this coming season with their cover designs: exhibit A, exhibit B, and now this one. :) 

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo

by F.C. Yee

hitting shelves August 8th, 2017

from Amulet Books

The struggle to get into a top-tier college consumes sixteen-year-old Genie’s every waking thought. But when she discovers she’s a celestial spirit who’s powerful enough to bash through the gates of heaven with her fists, her perfectionist existence is shattered.

Enter Quentin, a transfer student from China whose tone-deaf assertiveness beguiles Genie to the brink of madness. Quentin nurtures Genie’s bodacious transformation—sometimes gently, sometimes aggressively—as her sleepy suburb in the Bay Area comes under siege from hell-spawn.

This epic YA debut draws from Chinese folklore, features a larger-than-life heroine, and perfectly balances the realities of Genie’s grounded high school life with the absurd supernatural world she finds herself commanding.

My thoughts:  Is it me, or does this sounds so epically FUN!! I'm getting some definitely Scott Pilgrim vibes from the cover and synopsis and I love that.  Excited for the asian folklore and culture, and even more excited that this all takes place on my home turf! (well, just down the road LOL.)  

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Odd & True

by Cat Winters

hitting shelves September 12th, 2017

from Amulet Books

Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.

In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all. 

My thoughts:  So basically: A new Cat Winters historical/paranormal book + a story of sisterhood that pays tribute to her real life sisterly bond + demon-hunting Supernatural style + an incredibly kick-ass cover = BECKY HAS A NEW MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR.  Haven't checked out Cat's YA books yet?? You must. She is an absolute favorite of mine. 

What book are you eagerly anticipating this week?

ROSEBLOOD Blog Tour {Guest Post & Exclusive Giveaway!}

I've got an exciting one for you today, everyone!! Today I'm helping to kick off the fantastic blog tour for Roseblood by A.G. Howard with a closer look at the six main characters and not one, but TWO amazing giveaways! Let get right to it:

•ABOUT THE BOOK•

RoseBlood by A.G. Howard

In this modern day spin on Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera.

At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn—an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself, but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul-deep romance blossoms, Thorn’s dark agenda comes to light and he’s forced to make a deadly choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom who has haunted the opera house for a century, and is the only father he’s ever known.

Coming January 10, 2017 from Amulet Books

Available in Hardcover, Paperback, & Ebook

Preorder:  Amulet   •   Amazon   •   Indiebound   •   BookDepository

*        *        *       *       *      

Thanks so much for joining us for the RoseBlood Virtual Tour, presented by Amulet Books, Pique Beyond, and RockStar Book Tours!

On each stop of the tour, there will be a rafflecopter for a domestic giveaway offering 5 RoseBlood hardback + collectible mask sets.

Collectible mask + signed arc set

And to make things fair for the foreign fans, each guest or reveal post will have its own unique INTL giveaway rafflecopter personalized to the post, spotlighting one or more of the following prizes:

So be sure to follow along each day to get a chance at all the prizes! 

For today's guest post, let's meet the six main characters of RoseBlood (three of them might surprise you!) and see what makes each one tick.

The Phantom

picture attribution: Fanpop.com

HEART'S DESIRE: To reclaim something he once lost, by any means necessary.

HOBBIES: Ventriloquism, architecture, botany, zoology, magician, composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, experimenting, inventing, devising, manipulation, 
terrorizing, stalking, killing...

FEARS: Death. Not his own, and not death in the literal sense. The end of hope. The death of that final chance for unconditional love.

***

Thorn

Michael Gandolfi = Thorn

Photo by Salvador Sabater

HEART'S DESIRE: To repay the debt he's owed since his childhood.

HOBBIES: Violinist, tending to animals, spying, composing music to blot out sinister acts he wants to forget.

FEARS: Becoming too monstrous to walk in the light, to breathe fresh air, to find a companion to walk and breathe with. Being so warped by misdeeds, even a mask won't cover the disfigurement of his soul. 

***

Rune

Emily Rudd = Rune

HEART'S DESIRE: To know who she is, and to purge the guilt of her father's death.

HOBBIES: Sewing, knitting, designing, reading, gardening.

FEARS: That her musical illness is demonic, and somehow responsible for her father's death. That the unnatural talent will strike again and leave someone else a victim.

***

Ange

HEART'S DESIRE: To beat Diable at every game.

***

Diable

HEART'S DESIRE: To have a bowl of cream for each meal.

***

Thorn's Stradivarius

HEART'S DESIRE: Do violins have hearts? Hmmm...

There you have the six main characters. I hope they intrigued you enough to want to read about them in RoseBlood!

•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

When she's not writing, A.G.'s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Tumblr • Pinterest • Goodreads

*GIVEAWAYS*

Today's INTL giveaway pack consists of three items that represent three of the characters you met: Masquerade Pendant (the Phantom's tendency to hide), Eiffel Tower Key Chain (Thorn's desire to walk above ground and stop hiding), Emoticon Key Chains (something secret between Thorn and Rune that binds them together).

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And to enter for the signed ARC & Collectible Mask:

(US mailing address only please)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to everyone, and be sure to join us again tomorrow for stop #2, and on to the rest of the stops!!

10/24/2016- Mundie Moms- Spotlight

10/24/2016- Stories & Sweeties- Guest Post

10/24/2016- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Review

10/25/2016- Once Upon a Twilight- Spotlight

10/25/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

10/26/2016- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Spotlight

10/26/2016- Seeing Double In Neverland- Guest Post

10/27/2016- BookHounds YA- Review

10/27/2016- Dark Faerie Tales- Guest Post

10/28/2016- Fiktshun- Review

10/28/2016- Bookemoji- Guest Post

A Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters {blog tour excerpt + giveaway!}

One last exciting blog tour stop for the week, and this one is with one of my very favorite authors!! So needless to say, I'm excited to be a part of it! :D Cat Winters has given us some of the most outstanding YA historical/paranormal stories and I have loved every single one: The Shadow of Blackbirds, The Cure For Dreaming, The Uninvited (actually an adult book, but equally as wonderful!), and now...

A Steep and Thorny Way

Today I have an exclusive excerpt from the book and, of course, the tour-wide giveaway of 5 gorgeous finished copies. Read on!

A Steep & Thorny Way 

by Cat Winters

♦publisher: Amulet Books

♦release date: March 8th, 2016

♦hardcover, 352 pages

♦intended audience: Young adult

♦standalone

A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.

THE EXCERPT:

A scene from Chapter Three. Hanalee Denney has just learned from Joe Adder, the boy imprisoned fordriving drunk and killing her father, that her new stepfather was actually the person who murdered her dad. She discusses this troubling information with her closest friend, Fleur. 

_____________

“Joe hinted that Uncle Clyde’s involved with the Klan.”

At that, Fleur sputtered a laugh. “This isn’t the old South. Do you know what the Oregon KKK is like?”

“I know, I know—they’re pushing to fix roads and improve public education.”

“And they have ridiculous names for their ranks. ‘Imperial Wizard,’ ‘Exalted Cyclops,’ ‘Great Titan.’”

I shuddered, not liking such names at all. “How do you know that?”

“Mama once received an invitation to join the Women of the Ku Klux Klan in Bentley, and they included all sorts of pamphlets. But don’t worry”—Fleur flipped her magazine to an advertisement for Mulsified Cocoanut Oil Shampoo—“she didn’t join them. She heard that the organization’s mainly a big business venture out to collect money from people still scared of immigrants from the war years.” 

I held my forehead in my hand and sighed from deep within my lungs.

“Hanalee . . .” Fleur squeezed my right shoulder. “You’re safe here in Elston, despite a few prejudiced folks out there who might imply otherwise. And you’re safe in your house with Dr. Koning. You’ve told me yourself that he saved your mother when she was sick with grief and drugging herself with nerve pills. How could a kind man like that commit murder?”

“He did marry her awfully quickly—just thirteen short months after we put my poor father in the 

ground.”

“Hanalee, don’t—”

“Uncle Clyde was always friendly with her”—I picked at one of the magazine’s curled-up corners—“even before Daddy died. They’ve known each other as long as your mama has known her, since childhood.”

“Your mother’s a likable person.”

“She is. She’d be worth killing for, wouldn’t she?”

“Stop it, Hanalee.”

“Especially if your target was a man with no rights and no respect—only a pretty white wife who wasn’t even considered his legal spouse within this state. Oh, Jesus, Fleur”—I gave a start, for the music came to an abrupt halt again—“I hate that I’m tempted to believe that jailbird. I hate that he planted these sickening seeds inside my brain.”

“Shh.” She cupped her warm fingers over my hand. “Stop thinking about Joe tonight. Stay here with me, have a calming cup of tea, and push all your worries off to another time. I’ll take care of you, Hana-Honey.” She kissed my cheek with lips butterfly soft. “Like always.”

*       *       *       *       *       *   

     ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo by Tara Kelly    

Cat Winters’s critically acclaimed debut novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, was named a 2014 Morris Award Finalist, a 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, a 2013 Bram Stoker Award Nominee, and a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013. Her upcoming novels include The Cure for Dreaming (Amulet Books/Oct. 2014) and The Uninvited (William Morrow/2015), and she’s a contributor to the 2015 YA horror anthology Slasher Girls & Monster Boys. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Visit her online at www.catwinters.com.

Find Cat Online:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr | Pinterest

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to hit the rest of the tour stops! 

2/29/2016- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview

3/1/2016- The Forest of Words and Pages- Review

3/2/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

3/3/2016- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

3/4/2016- Stories & Sweeties- Excerpt

3/7/2016- Jessabella Reads- Review

3/8/2016- Bookish Lifestyle- Guest Post

3/9/2016- Katie's Book Blog- Review

3/10/2016- The Fox's Hideaway- Interview

3/11/2016- MEREADALOT- Review