Waiting On Wednesday: Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

Posted in Waiting on Wednesday by rantsandravesofabibliophile

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.

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Title: Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft
Author: Tess Sharpe (Editor) and Jessica Spotswood, (Editor)
Publication date: August 28, 2018
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Anthology, Short Stories

Synopsis

A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era.

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth.

History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations.

Bold. Powerful. Rebellious.

A bruja’s traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch’s healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane.

From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely–has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored.

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29Jan2018

Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway: Say You’ll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

Posted in Book Review, If It's Not A Rant, It's A Rave by rantsandravesofabibliophile

From critically acclaimed author Katie McGarry, comes SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME—a story of two people from different worlds pushing themselves, and each other, to get what they deserve!

SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME releases on January 30, 2018. Pre-order your copy today!

Title: Say You’ll Remember Me
Author: Katie McGarry
Published by: Harlequin Teen
Publication date: January 30, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME Synopsis:

“Doesn’t matter who did it. Not anymore. I did the time. It’s over.”

When Drix was convicted of a crime–one he didn’t commit–he thought his life was over. But opportunity came with the Second Chance Program, the governor’s newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while.

Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor’s daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn’t may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means.
When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle’s parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix’s messy life.

But sometimes love can breach all barriers.

Fighting against a society that can’t imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves–Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence–and each other to finally get what they deserve.

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

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I adore Katie McGarry’s books, so I was ecstatic when I got an e-arc of Say You’ll Remember Me. Once again, McGarry sets up her storytelling in my favorite setting, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and unleashes a romantic contemporary where two characters from different sides of the track have their lives intertwine.

I found Say You’ll Remember Me to be one of the more serious and darker books of McGarry’s. Told in two different points of view, Elle’s and Drix’s, we are introduced to the lives of a girl who is the daughter of a well-known politician and a boy with a struggling background with the law. Both characters are vibrantly written and their internal and external dialogue will suck you in. I love that these two main characters have a instant connection with each other and their friendship grows before a relationship blooms.

One of my favorite things about this book is that McGarry’s portrays the importance of family (traditional and non-traditional). While Drix’s parents are out of the picture, he relies highly on his older brother and younger sister. Although they don’t live in the best part of town, their love for each other shines brighter than money. Elle also comes from a family of love, but her parents are happily married, and their expectations are high for Elle’s future and her living a “pristine” life. Through these two main characters and their familial backgrounds, Say You’ll Remember Me stresses the importance of love, trust, and communication.

If you are fan of drama and romance, Say You’ll Remember Me is for you. I did find this story to be a bit too dark and angsty for me, mainly with the realistic portrayal of gun violence. A particular part of the ending broke my heart and was a major trigger for me, mainly because I am a dog owner/lover. But overall this story realistically portrays the eyeopening boundaries of social backgrounds and integrates a new dialogue into social status, poverty, traditional and non-traditional families, and teenage violence and incarceration.

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EXCERPT

~Ellison~

Sean points, and a woman in the back asks, “You never met Mr. Pierce before?”

I shake my head, and Sean gestures to the microphone. “No. I was playing a midway game earlier, and he ended up playing beside me, but then we went our separate ways. I left the game, and these guys started to harass me, and hen Hendrix asked if I needed help. I agreed, and he suggested we talk. He said that if the guys thought we were friends they would eventually lose interest, and they did. Hendrix played a game, and we talked until Andrew showed.”

“Andrew?” someone asks.

“Andrew Morton.” That causes enough of a stir that nervousness leaks into my bloodstream and makes my hands cold and clammy. Why is it that I feel that I said something terribly wrong?

“Are you and Andrew Morton friends?” someone else asks, and the question hits me in a sickening way. I name-dropped the grandson of the most powerful US Senator…the position my father is campaigning for. Sean is going to roast me alive.

“Yes. We’ve been friends for as long as I remember.” Friends, enemies, it’s all semantics at this point.

“Did you and Andrew Morton plan to attend the festival together?” Another reporter.

“Yes.”

“Were you on a date?” a woman asks.

My entire body recoils. “What?”

“Are you and Andrew Morton romantically involved?”

I become one of those bunnies who go still at the slightest sound. “I thought we were talking about Hendrix.”

“Did Mr. Pierce confront the men?”

Finally back on track. “No, he was adamant that there should be no violence.”

More questions and I put my hand in the air as I feel like I’m the one on trial. “Isn’t that the point? Hendrix went through my dad’s program, and one of the first chances he had to make a good decision, he made one. We’re strangers, and he helped me without violence. That, to me, is success.” A few people nod their head, and because I don’t want to be done yet… “Mr. O’Bryan—grown men shouldn’t be following seventeen-year-old girls. I’m curious why you didn’t step in when I was being harassed. If you saw Hendrix and me together, then you know what happened, and it’s horrifying you didn’t help. Hendrix made the right choice. You did not.”

A rumble of conversation, Sean places a hand on my arm and gently, but firmly pushes me to the side. The raging fire in his eyes says he’s mentally measuring out the room in the basement he’s going to let me rot in for the next ten years.

My father approaches the microphone with an ease I envy. “Any more questions for Ellison can be sent to my press secretary. As you can tell, it’s been a trying day for my daughter, but we are most grateful for Mr. Pierce’s actions. We promised a program that was going to help our state’s youth turn their lives around, and, thanks to Mr. Pierce’s admirable actions, we are proud of our first program’s success.”

He offers Drix his hand again, and Drix accepts.

Lots of pictures and applause, and Dad leans in and whispers something to him. I can’t tell what it is, but I do see the shadow that crosses over Drix’s face, his throat move as he swallow and then the slight nod of his head.

I don’t know what happened, but I don’t like it. The urge is to rush Drix, but Sean has a firm hold on my elbow, keeping me in place, silently berating me for causing problems.

Drix stands behind the podium and drops a bomb so huge the ground shakes beneath my feet. “Because Ellison had enough courage to explain what happened today, I’m going to tell you what I was convicted of…”

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giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Pre-order SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME, register and you will receive AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER, a novella that features your favorite Pushing the Limits and Thunder Road characters!

From the Pushing the Limits series, Noah, Beth, Isaiah, West and Logan are all grown up. Catch up with your favorite characters as one of them finally says, I do.

Pigpen, Eli and Addison from the Thunder Road series: Three separate personalities who still needed to find love…and still had someone important to meet.

This is a limited time offer! So hurry! Registration ends on February 3, 2018! You must register your pre-order to receive AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

https://a.pgtb.me/4tLZSM

Katie McGarry’s SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME – Tour Schedule:

January 22^nd

A Book Fanatic Obsession

Books, Coffee & Passion

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27Dec2017

Waiting on Wednesday: Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Posted in Waiting on Wednesday by rantsandravesofabibliophile

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.

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Title: Ace of Shades
Author: Amanda Foody
Publication date: April 10, 2018
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…
and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn’t have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne’s offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi’s enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

1Nov2017

Waiting On Wednesday: Cadaver & Queen by Alisa Kwitney

Posted in Waiting on Wednesday by rantsandravesofabibliophile

waiting on wednesday

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: Cadaver & Queen
Author: Alisa Kwitney
Publication date: February 27, 2018
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genres: Young Adult, Historical

Synopsis

When Lizzie Lavenza enrolled at Ingold as its first female medical student, she knew she wouldn’t have an easy time. From class demands to being an outsider among her male cohorts, she’ll have to go above and beyond to prove herself. So when she stumbles across what appears to be a faulty Bio-mechanical–one of the mechanized cadavers created to service the school–she jumps at the chance to fix it and get ahead in the program.

Only this Bio-mechanical isn’t like the others. Where they are usually empty-minded and perfectly obedient, this one seems to have thoughts, feelings…and self-awareness.

Soon Lizzie realizes that it is Victor Frankenstein–a former student who died under mysterious circumstances. Victor, it seems, still has a spark of human intelligence inside him, along with memories of things he discovered before his untimely death…and a suspicion that he was murdered to keep that information from getting out.Suddenly Lizzie finds herself intertwined in dark secrets and sabotage that put her life, and the lives of Victor and their friends, in danger. But Lizzie’s determined to succeed–even if that means fighting an enemy who threatens the entire British Empire.

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24May2017

Waiting On Wednesday: Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

Posted in Waiting on Wednesday by rantsandravesofabibliophile

waiting on wednesday

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.

Today I am aiming the spotlight on…

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About the Book - purple

Title: Daughter of the Burning City
Author: Amanda Foody
Publication date: July 25, 2017
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis

A darkly irresistible new fantasy set in the infamous Gomorrah Festival, a traveling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires.

Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the Festival’s Freak Show.

But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that—illusions, and not truly real. Or so she always believed…until one of them is murdered.

Desperate to protect her family, Sorina must track down the culprit and determine how they killed a person who doesn’t actually exist. Her search for answers leads her to the self-proclaimed gossip-worker Luca, and their investigation sends them through a haze of political turmoil and forbidden romance, and into the most sinister corners of the Festival. But as the killer continues murdering Sorina’s illusions one by one, she must unravel the horrifying truth before all of her loved ones disappear.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

RAVES

First, this cover is magnificent–I love the circus tents and ALL the purple!

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Any book that clashes mystery with a carnival/circus theme is always moved to the top of my TBR list ASAP.

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Sorina, the main character, sounds like the ultimate badass heroine. She has the gift of being an illusion-worker, which sounds so amazing. GAH! GIVE ME THIS BOOK NOW!

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16May2017

Book Review: Long Way Home by Katie McGarry

Posted in Book Review by rantsandravesofabibliophile

Title: Long Way Home
Author: Katie McGarry
Publication date: January 31, 2017
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

Long way home

The Thunder Road series is quite a reading addiction for me. Katie McGarry has written a group of stories about teenagers caught in the most edgy and excitable situations. The stories center on young couples that are growing up and falling in love, all while they are part of a motorcycle club family. I loved the first two books of this series, so I was so excited to finally get my hands on Long Way Home, which finally gives the much anticipated, fist-clenching, tension-building relationship between Chevy and Violet to unravel.

Although, this was not my favorite book of the Thunder Road series, Long Way Home still captivated my attention with the character development and high-tension plot. Violet was too angsty for me, but I can very much understand where all her frustration and anger comes. And Chevy is such a good guy all around. Both characters are going through a lot family secrets and adolescent dilemmas, and I think they handle their situations the best way they can, especially as teenagers.

Katie McGarry has become one of my favorite contemporary writers, and once again she does not disappoint with Chevy and Violet’s story. Overall, I enjoyed Long Way Home, and I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed that more stories are written in this guilty-pleasure series.

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

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Tag Archives: Harlequin Teen

Waiting On Wednesday: Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

Synopsis

Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway: Say You’ll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

From critically acclaimed author Katie McGarry, comes SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME—a story of two people from different worlds pushing themselves, and each other, to get what they deserve!

SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME releases on January 30, 2018. Pre-order your copy today!

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

EXCERPT

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Katie McGarry’s SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME – Tour Schedule:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumbler | Instagram

Waiting on Wednesday: Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Synopsis

Waiting On Wednesday: Cadaver & Queen by Alisa Kwitney

Synopsis

Waiting On Wednesday: Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

Today I am aiming the spotlight on…

Synopsis

Book Review: Long Way Home by Katie McGarry