Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway Lucky Caller by Emma Mills

I am thrilled to be hosting a stop on the LUCKY CALLER by Emma Mills Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours! Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

Title: LUCKY CALLER

Author: Emma Mills

Pub. Date: January 14, 2020

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 336

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

With the warmth, wit, intimate friendships, and heart-melting romance she brings to all her books, Emma Mills crafts a story about believing in yourself, owning your mistakes, and trusting in human connection in Lucky Caller.

When Nina decides to take a radio broadcasting class her senior year, she expects it to be a walk in the park. Instead, it’s a complete disaster.

The members of Nina’s haphazardly formed radio team have approximately nothing in common. And to maximize the awkwardness her group includes Jamie, a childhood friend she’d hoped to basically avoid for the rest of her life.

The show is a mess, internet rumors threaten to bring the wrath of two fandoms down on their heads, and to top it all off Nina’s family is on the brink of some major upheaval.

Everything feels like it’s spiraling out of control―but maybe control is overrated?

PRAISE FOR LUCKY CALLER

A well-crafted, bittersweet comedy of errors filled with realistically flawed
characters and taut, witty dialogue. – Publishers Weekly Starred Review

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Give me an Emma Mills book and I will devour it within hours. And guess what, Lucky Caller was no exception. Although the novel started off slow, the steady pace allowed the weaving of Nina’s old memories with her current situation as a senior unfold into the happily ever after ending I was hoping for.

Nina is awkward, but her dry, sarcastic sense of humor was the perfect ingredient to add to her radio broadcasting group. While being grouped with fellow flawed and truly relatable students, Nina and her radio group of misfits provide endless scenes of laughter, bickering, and great 90s-themed music. Nina at times seemed stagnant, but with the push of her radio peers, sisters, her mom, and future stepdad, Nina opens up and provides the reader a realistic outlook of teenage life, mixed-family dynamics, and the rekindling of old friendships.

Lucky Caller is more than a contemporary novel; it’s a pages upon pages of pragmatic circumstances littered with familial problems, adolescent issues, bumbling acts of kindness, and high tension of breaking promises and unfortunately making common mistakes. This book ticked all my boxes: a quiet, sweet, and easy to talk to cinnamon roll of a boy; swoons galore; original characters; and a strong sisterly bond. Emma Mills has a knack of crafting the perfect books that effortlessly mingle witty characters into chaotic situations, and Lucky Caller doesn’t lose that representation of flawed characters trying to make sense of the messy world that surrounds them.

About Emma:

 

Emma Mills is the author of First & Then, This Adventure Ends, Foolish Hearts, Famous in a Small Town, and Lucky Caller. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and has recently completed a PhD in cell biology.

Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of LUCKY CALLER, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/6/2020	Mary Had a Little Book Blog	Review
1/6/2020	onemused	Review
1/7/2020	Do You Dog-ear?	Review
1/7/2020	BookHounds YA	Interview
1/8/2020	Kait Plus Books	Review
1/8/2020	Nerdophiless	Review
1/9/2020	Not In Jersey	Review
1/9/2020	She Just Loves Books	Review
1/10/2020	Lifestyle of Me	Review
1/10/2020	Eli to the nth	Review

Week Two:

1/13/2020	Smada’s Book Smack	Review
1/13/2020	Wonder Struck	Review
1/14/2020	Fictitiouswonderland	Review
1/14/2020	A Dream Within A Dream	Guest Post
1/15/2020	The Heart of a Book Blogger	Review
1/15/2020	Fire and Ice	Review
1/16/2020	DJREADSBOOKS	Review
1/16/2020	A Bookish Dream	Review
1/17/2020	Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile	Review
1/17/2020	Two Chicks on Books	Interview

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Lucky Caller by Emma Mills

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights pre-publication/upcoming releases that readers cannot wait to get their hands on. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Title: Lucky Caller
Author: Emma Mills
Publication date: January 14, 2020
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis

With the warmth, wit, intimate friendships, and heart-melting romance she brings to all her books, Emma Mills crafts a story about believing in yourself, owning your mistakes, and trusting in human connection in Lucky Caller.

When Nina decides to take a radio broadcasting class her senior year, she expects it to be a walk in the park. Instead, it’s a complete disaster.

The members of Nina’s haphazardly formed radio team have approximately nothing in common. And to maximize the awkwardness her group includes Jamie, a childhood friend she’d hoped to basically avoid for the rest of her life.

The show is a mess, internet rumors threaten to bring the wrath of two fandoms down on their heads, and to top it all off Nina’s family is on the brink of some major upheaval.

Everything feels like it’s spiraling out of control―but maybe control is overrated?

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Review: Famous In A Small Town by Emma Mills

Title: Famous in A Small Town
Author: Emma Mills
Publisher:  Henry Holt
Release Date: January 15, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

For Sophie, small-town life has never felt small. She has the Yum Yum Shoppe, with its famous fourteen flavors of ice cream; her beloved marching band, the pride and joy of Acadia High (even if the football team disagrees); and her four best friends, loving and infuriating, wonderfully weird and all she could ever ask for. 

Then August moves in next door. A quiet guy with a magnetic smile, August seems determined to keep everyone at arm’s length. Sophie in particular. 

Country stars, revenge plots, and a few fake kisses (along with some excellent real ones) await Sophie in this hilarious, heartfelt story.

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I’m not much for country music, but the small-town feel of Famous In A Small Town by Emma Mills won me over. If I could count how many times I laughed out loud on my fingers, I would need more fingers. But even though I found myself laughing throughout the story, I did find this book to have a more serious tone than past Emma Mills’ books that I enjoyed.

I love the friendships that Emma creates in her books, and Famous In a Small Town has A LOT of them…A LOT! The numerous amount of friends in this book overwhelmed me at first, but that did not falter me from staying focused on the story at hand. I had a hard time relating to the main character (Sophie) and her friends and family, but this doesn’t mean that other readers won’t connect to her. Sophie’s story broke my heart and then carefully pieced it back together with love, laughter, and macaroni and cheese (the good kind, that you make on the stove, not that gross kind that you make in the microwave). 

If you are already an Emma Mills fanatic, and even if you are not, this book will make your heart ache like a country song that you tell everyone that you hate, but you actually might love because it’s so damn catchy! Plus there are some swoons! I love me some good “Emma Mills” swoons!

Note: Thank you to Henry Holt and Fierce Reads for providing me an early copy of this book to read and review. I was not compensated for this review. All statements and opinions in this review are mine.

Top 5 Tuesday: Books You Read as an ARC

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by The Bionic Book Worm. 

Today’s topic: Top 5 Books You Read as an ARC

Click on my photographs to be linked to my review or the book’s Goodreads page.

This was one of the first ARCs I ever owned. I won it from a Twitter giveaway hosted by Fierce Reads. I love this trilogy and I am hoping to reread it again before the end of the year. 

A Million Junes was my favorite book of 2017 and I haven’t stopped raving about it since.

I adored this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I’m so excited for Meagan Spooner’s Robin Hood retelling called Sherwood. Is it 2019, yet?

If there is one contemporary writer I highly recommend to readers it’s Emma Mills. Her books are always so swoony and realistic. Definitely give Foolish Hearts a read–the Froot Loops will make sense after you read the book, lol. 

I was so lucky to receive a manuscript ARC of Legendary from Flatiron Books. I love the world of Caraval, and this book did not disappoint. 

What are some of your favorite books you read as an ARC?

Top 5 Tuesday: Summertime Reads

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by The Bionic Book Worm. 

Today’s topic: Top 5 Summertime Reads

Click on my photographs to be linked to my review or the book’s Goodreads page.

What are some of your favorite summertime reads?

If It’s Not A Rant, It’s a Rave: Review of First & Then by Emma Mills

Title: First & Then
Author: Emma Mills
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary 

Synopsis:

Devon Tennyson wouldn’t change a thing. She’s happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon’s cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn’t want them: first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.

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This is a “second chance” read for me. Back in late 2015, I read First & Then and rated it at a 2/5 stars. At that time, I stated in my short Goodreads review that I could not connect with the story or the characters. Now fast forward to 2018! I re-read First & Then and OHHHHMYYYGOD . . . I don’t even know what was wrong with my past self. So in regards to my re-read, I adored First & Then, and I am so happy I gave the book a second chance. 

It’s quite possible that I could not relate to First & Then back in 2015, because I am not a football fan. But last year, I binged watched Friday Night Lights and fell in love with the show, the drama, and maybe (just maybe) I started liking football. Add in the swoons, a dash of Prejudice and Prejudice appreciation, and an adorable cousin friendship, and voilà First & Then won me over. 

Overall, First & Then is a quick read and it comes with two of my favorite reading criterion: angst and warm fuzzies. Devon, the main character, and Ezra, her “nemesis,” have great chemistry throughout the book and the storytelling definitely won me over. I love that Emma Mills portrays her characters with flaws and vulnerabilities, making the story more vibrant and realistic. I am so glad I gave this book a second chance and I highly recommend that if you are fan of romantic contemporary books, First & Then is for you. 

Note:   I was not provided a copy of this book by the author or the publisher in exchange for a review. I bought this book with my own funds, and I reviewed the book at my own discretion.  All statements and opinions in this review are mine. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books of 2017 (so far)

HOSTED by The Broke and the Bookish

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This week’s topic is…

Top Ten Favorite Books of 2017 (so far)

(CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO BE LINKED TO ITS GOODREADS’ PAGE or MY REVIEW)

What are some of your favorite books of 2017? Which books of 2017 would you highly recommend that I read?

 

 

 

Blog Tour: Raves & Craves of Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

Welcome fellow book-ravers, and thank you for joining me today for my stop on Fierce Reads’ Foolish Hearts Blog Tour. Today I will be raving about my love for Emma Mills’ Foolish Hearts and pairing it with a snack recommendation. Enjoy!

Title: Foolish Hearts
Author: Emma Mills 
Publication Date: December 5, 2017
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co./Macmillan
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary 

Synopsis:

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn’t supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn’t know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they’re both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia’s ever seen. As Claudia’s world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.

LINKS:   Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |  The Book Depository

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Oh, Foolish Hearts, how do I love you? Let me count the ways. First, this book has everything from great family dynamics, amazing friendships, and a sprinkle of quirky characters. I am a sucker for sarcastic characters–the wittier, the better–and of course, Emma Mills does not disappoint with her main character Claudia.

I adored Claudia throughout the story. She’s smart, creative, snarky, and gives herself room to mope but also grow. And when it comes to friendships in Foolish Hearts, I love that it is Claudia’s truthful and witty personality that attracts Gideon to befriend her. Gideon and Claudia belong on two different sides of the introvert v. extrovert spectrum, but I love that they are always on the same wavelength. Their chemistry and banter are perfect, which allows this book to be the epitome of constant smile with the cutest dimples that will make you swoon. 

I adored this book, the characters, and all the crazy shenanigans that come with it. Add in video game quests, boy band obsession, amazing friendships, broken hearts, mending hearts, and a Shakespeare comedy, and you get one of the swooniest, funniest, and heartwarming stories called Foolish Hearts. 

In Foolish Hearts, Claudia is introduced to Gideon’s random quirks and “strange things Gideon says or does,” which are documented by his friends on an online account: JustGideonPrewittThings. One of Gideon’s strange preferences is that he likes to eat his cereal soggy. So today, I thought I would “taste test” Gideon’s soggy cereal preference with Froot Loops.

Ingredients: Cereal of your choice and milk. Don’t forget a bowl and a spoon.

CONTROL GROUP

Eat the cereal with no added milk.

SOGGY CEREAL

For “Soggy” Cereal, Gideon pours milk into a bowl of cereal and lets the concoction “marinate” for about ten minutes.

CRUNCHY CEREAL

Pour cereal and milk into a bowl, and start eating it for that perfect crunch.

THE WINNER!

I am a texture eater, so soggy cereal is out for me. CRUNCHY CEREAL WITH MILK, ALL THE WAY! Sorry not sorry, Gideon. 

Which way do you prefer eating a bowl of cereal? Comment below, if you like crunchy or soggy, or no milk at all. I would love to hear your thoughts and how you compare to Gideon. 

Emma Mills is an author better known to her subscribers as vlogger Elmify. She is also cocreator and cohost of the “life skills” channel How to Adult, which ended in 2016.

Website • Twitter • Goodreads

December 5
Fire and Ice Reads – Author Guest Post

December 6
Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile – Raves & Craves

December 7
Ex Libris – Playlist

December 8
Fiction Fares – Mood Board

December 9
Mary Had a Little Book Blog – Shakespeare Theme

December 10
Brittany’s Book Rambles – Author Interview

December 11
The Fox’s Hideaway – Shakespeare Theme

December 12
Alexa Loves Books – Gift Guides for Gideon and Claudia

December 13
Lisa Lost In Lit – Bookish Inspiration Post

Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I’ve Read In The Past Year Or So

HOSTED by The Broke and the Bookish

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This week’s topic is…

Top Ten Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I’ve Read In The Past Year Or So

(Click on the book cover to be linked to its Goodreads page or my review)

What are some underrated/hidden gem books you have read in the past year or so?