SUMMER GIVEWAY HOP: SIGNED COPY OF ON LITTLE WINGS

I have shared this book before, back when it was a little self published book on Amazon. Since then it has won the Amazon Breakthrough award which means now it is a beautiful published book. I was excited to meet Regina this past month when she came through Utah to sign some books. She was a really wonderful, humble, well spoken person. I enjoyed meeting her very much and also loved getting a signed book for me and one for my blog.

If you ever wanted to spend summer in Maine with your long lost aunt and meet people who will change your life in unexpectied ways then you'll love this read.

BOOK BLURB:

Jennifer is an only child, and so were her parents—at least that's what she thinks, until she finds an old photo in the back of one of her mother's books. The woman in the photo looks just like Jennifer, down to the smattering of freckles across her nose. And her mother refuses to talk about it.

Compelled to find answers, Jennifer embarks on a quest that takes her from the wheat fields of Nebraska to the fishing town of Smithport, Maine, home to the one person who can help her solve this family secret—the woman in the photo. But Jennifer learns that it takes the entire village of Smithport to piece together the story of her mother's hidden past. She needs help from Nathan, the genius with the reluctant smile from across the cove; Little, the elderly town matriarch and former movie star; and The Jacks, three weathered fishermen who dabble in pyrotechnics. As Jennifer discovers the lost chapters of her mother's life, she unwittingly begins to write a few chapters of her own.

Elegantly written, On Little Wings is an evocative debut novel about self discovery, first love, and the power of family

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LOVE AT FIRST CLICK: ELIZABETH CHANDLER

I feel kind of silly recommending this because it is kind of one dimensional and just a basic and maybe predictable love story. But I really enjoyed it, I honestly couldn't put it down. It has been awhile since I read something uncomplicated and simple that sucked me in like this. 

BOOK BLURB:

I could no longer deny what the heat in my cheeks meant when I was around Flynn. I was falling for my sister's boyfriend.

There's just something about Flynn. Yes, he's a tall, unbelievably gorgeous, dark-haired football player, but . . . he's also sweet and nice and super easy to talk to. It's lucky I'm the photographer for the school paper, because my camera likes Flynn almost as much as I do. Unfortunately for me, so does my sister, and there's no way I can nab Flynn with her in the picture.

But could this be the real thing?

Growing up with a sister that drew boys to her as easily as I seemed to repel them, I related to this book a lot. It is short and clean and would probably mostly enjoyed by a younger audience. But I'm in my thirties and I still liked it. You can read more about it HERE.

IF YOU FIND ME: EMILY MURDOCH

So, out of all the horrible abusive childhood books I have read, this tells the, hands down, worst story I have ever read. How Murdoch manages to tell this story and still have it feel hopeful and full of some joy is seriously a literary miracle. Beautiful poetic prose without feeling too stuffy or just plain too much. An absolutely amazing debut.

BOOK BLURB:

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

This is a pretty clean read, but it has some very mature moments concerning rape, drugs, and parental abuse. Read more about this HERE.

GOLDEN: JESSI KIRBY

As far as I'm concerned Jessi Kirby has just gotten better with each book. I like each of them more than the last. This is a romantic story within a story, and I loved it from the beginning. Sometimes the main character gets too introspective, but overall this is really well thought out and executed nicely. So far, one of the only 2013 YA releases that stand out to me.

BOOK BLURB:

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

Overall a clean read with a few scattered swear words. Read more about it HERE.

LOVE IS IN BLOOM GIVEAWAY HOP: SIGNED COPY OF ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS

For this hop I am thrilled to giveaway one SIGNED copy of my all time favorite YA romance Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. She is in Utah this week and I am getting my books signed tonight and I'll be getting another one to give a way to one lucky reader.

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THE LUCY VARIATIONS: SARA ZARR

Oh Sara Zarr how you take ordinary words and make each one feel important and needed. Words should throw you a freaking parade!

I was lucky enough to attend the launch party of The Lucy Variations and was able to hear Sara share the very personal story of how this book came into being. She is an exceptional speaker because she speaks like she writes. Open, honest, and with heart.

The first time I met Sara, she was in the process of writing this book. She shared how she chose to write in third person and how she was already deciding that this might be the big flop of her career. I don't normally like third person but had just read and loved The Probability of Miracles which is a very well done third person YA book, so I knew it could be done well and I kind of assumed Sara Zarr could do it.

This book is so stinking beautiful and it makes you ask so many questions about your own life. My favorite question asked in the book is: What do you love? Because what we really truly love is life itself. One thing I love? Sara Zarr's simple, perfect prose. And how she seems to makes her stories seem effortless even though you know her whole heart and soul went into the pages...the very opposite of effortless.

BOOK BLURB:

Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain.

That was all before she turned fourteen.

Now, at sixteen, it's over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. That leaves her talented ten-year-old brother, Gus, to shoulder the full weight of the Beck-Moreau family expectations. Then Gus gets a new piano teacher who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy rekindle her love of piano -- on her own terms. But when you're used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself?

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr takes readers inside the exclusive world of privileged San Francisco families, top junior music competitions, and intense mentorships. The Lucy Variations is a story of one girl's struggle to reclaim her love of music and herself. It's about finding joy again, even when things don't go according to plan. Because life isn't a performance, and everyone deserves the chance to make a few mistakes along the way.

Read more about it HERE. Has a teeny tiny bit of swearing, but is noticeably clean.

DIVING IN, THE ART & COLL SERIES: KATE CANN

I haven't posted in ages, because I haven't read anything worth posting in ages. It has been a real reading slump. I have had these little gems to keep me afloat these last weeks as they arrived in the mail. This was such a great series and I was surprised as I started reading them that they were written in 1999! I would have loved reading about Art & Coll's romance if I had read it then (although of course I still loved it now).

Some reasons you might love it too? You love British teens, you love great well rounded secondary characters, and you love to read a voice that tells it to you straight. 

Kate Cann has also published an eBook that ties up the series and gives Art's side of the story. It is short, but I found I just had to read it and it is a free lend if you are an Amazon Prime member. Search for Art's Story.

BOOK BLURB: (BOOK ONE)

Coll thinks the boy she sees swimming every Thursday night is completely gorgeous - long and lean, powerful and strong. He becomes the fantasy that takes her out of her ordinary day-to-day existence. And then he asks her out, and the dream becomes reality. Art is strong and powerful, and he's also quite pushy. Just what is Coll getting into? 

There is drinking, sex (not overly graphic but some detail), and mild swearing.