tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23074565180715898162024-03-14T06:56:19.441+01:00Alice Reedsand her storiesAlice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-80086085402115116262020-08-03T18:50:00.000+02:002020-08-03T18:50:00.459+02:00ramblings in times of a pandemic<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Hi!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's been a while, hasn't it? I'd love to claim it's because I've been so busy, so productive, that I just didn't have the time to post anything. But that would basically mean lying, and I'm not really fond of that. The sad truth is, ever since C*VID arrived, my productivity, creativity and motivation have steadily been reaching new all time lows, over and over and over. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Despite trying many things, I haven't yet figured out how to get myself out of this funk. Which is a shame since a time where we're all advised to stay at home and away from other people sounds like a great one for writing and doing creative things, but alas...I can't seem to do it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyone have tips they'd be willing to share? Some advice?</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4aVyPG2IiVY/Xn4Kx2FgeMI/AAAAAAAACJQ/zGZ2-bpUBNEK-FGKhlGeUvfXaIbcxFGwgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Fractures_1600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4aVyPG2IiVY/Xn4Kx2FgeMI/AAAAAAAACJQ/zGZ2-bpUBNEK-FGKhlGeUvfXaIbcxFGwgCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Fractures_1600.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course not everything has been bad. After all, on June 2nd <i><a href="https://www.alicereeds.com/p/my-novels.html" target="_blank">FRACTURES</a></i> was released. I wish it could've been the way it was with <i>ECHOES</i>, as in having the possibility of going to a bookstore and signing copies, hang out with friends to celebrate, share some pictures of the day with you on IG. But alas, that day was nothing like that</span>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Due to C*VID <i>FRACTURES</i> currently only exists as digital version, so ebook, kindle, and nook, while the paperback is only print-on-demand. That means none of us have a physical copy to match the <i>ECHOES</i> paperback, not even me. Which is a shame, but I hope once C*VID passes and we'll settle into whatever out new normal will look like, the possibility of having a paperback will be a thing again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Either way, I'm still super happy (and a little sad) that this duology is now over. <i>ECHOES</i> and <i>FRACTURES</i> have been with me for a long time, just like Miles and Fiona, who went through several changes (personality and plot wise) over the years but I'm so happy with how everything turned out in the end. It's so much better than what I imagined many, many years ago, and I'm even more overjoyed by the positive reception both books have received. Thank you so, so much for that! I never expected my writing to be so liked and that so many people would read it. It really is a dream come true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In other news, because what would an Alice ramblings post be without them being mentioned, BTS are having a new single called DYNAMITE out on August 21st completely in English and I, just like all other ARMY, am very excited and curious. The fandom energy for this song, the hype and happiness, is honestly unreal making this such a fun time despite everything. Maybe there's a story to be writing somewhere in there, something about people in fandom in their mid twenties and how that's like as opposed to fandom in YA about teens. Based on my own experience, it certainly is very different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps one day when my creative energy returns, I'll think about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But, all in all, that is really everything that's noteworthy when it comes to the last couple of months of my life. I kind of wish there was more to share, but there really isn't. How have you guys been in recent months? Are you doing okay? I hope so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until next time! Take care, stay healthy, be careful!</span><br />
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-44267893081647189122020-02-04T16:26:00.000+01:002020-02-04T16:26:22.352+01:00Review: Malice by Pintip Dunn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VnrCEdITT_w/XjmIZklwvNI/AAAAAAAACIs/6C4lceR60J00meeFwW7ARph93KVeDalCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/37638107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VnrCEdITT_w/XjmIZklwvNI/AAAAAAAACIs/6C4lceR60J00meeFwW7ARph93KVeDalCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/37638107.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Malice by Pintip Dunn</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Expected Publication:</b> February 4th 2020 by Entangled: Teen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 400 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>What I know:</b> a boy in my school will one day wipe out two-thirds of the population with a virus.<br />
<b>What I don’t know:</b> who he is.<br />
In a race against the clock, I not only have to figure out his identity, but I’ll have to outwit a voice from the future telling me to kill him. Because I’m starting to realize no one is telling the truth. But how can I play chess with someone who already knows the outcome of my every move? Someone so filled with malice they’ve lost all hope in humanity? Well, I’ll just have to find a way—because now they’ve drawn a target on the only boy I’ve ever loved...</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37638107-malice" target="_blank">Goodreads.com</a>)</i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>* Thank you to Entangled TEEN for providing me with </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion *</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> You know me, I see Pintip's name on a book, I have to read it. Easy as that. And once more I wasn't disappointed! Perhaps this wasn't my fave--admittedly it's very hard to beat her <i>Forget Tomorrow </i>Trilogy--but it was still really, really good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Pintip Dunn has a knack for dystopian worlds, as well as a way with words that simply grabs and pulls you in and won't let you go until the end. Alice was an interesting main character (we also happen to share a name which made it extra funny at times) and I really enjoyed reading her thoughts and seeing her emotions evolve and change, the way she handled certain situations and events.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The basic idea of a deadly virus threatening to eradicate most of the population isn't anything new, and yet Pintip found a way to make it different and fresh in her own style. This idea of basically having to make certain choices and sacrifices which ideally you wouldn't want to make yet it's either that or the end of the world, it was very interesting and makes you wonder what you'd do in her place. The suspense and mystery were really well done overall and there was only a bit of romance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Overall I would certainly recommend Malice if you're looking for a suspenseful and thrilling read with a great main character and premise. And also if you're looking for this type of read that's a standalone instead of part of a trilogy or series.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I give Malice by Pintip Dunn 4 out of 5 stars.</span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-82337422969595022852019-12-17T18:58:00.001+01:002019-12-17T18:58:27.540+01:00FRACTURES cover and synopsis!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Hey everyone!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry. But, today I'm dropping by to show you the cover and synopsis of the ECHOES sequel, FRACTURES, coming next year. I'm so excited for you to read it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> In the comments below, let me know what you think!</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O2opZzsD7eQ/XayUOsvi3aI/AAAAAAAACH8/7N69eA5lhygjfZxwpwPC6McgyJsEV_KUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fractures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O2opZzsD7eQ/XayUOsvi3aI/AAAAAAAACH8/7N69eA5lhygjfZxwpwPC6McgyJsEV_KUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/fractures.jpg" width="266" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fractures by Alice Reeds</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Expected publication: </b>June 2nd 2020 by Entangled Teen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i></span><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">They survived a plane crash.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> They survived life on a deserted island.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> They survived being hunted.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Now they must survive the truth—they are not who they think they are.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> One minute they’re in Poland, subjected to gruesome tests they keep failing. No friends to support them. No family to claim them. No hope of ever living a normal life again.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Then suddenly, they’re trapped on an abandoned freighter in the middle of the ocean and forced to fight for survival. No food. No drinkable water. No way to get home. And strange memories of another life they don’t understand.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> But how can they be living two separate lives, trapped in two separate places, at the same time? They’ll have to find the connection and uncover secrets that someone went to great lengths to keep hidden...if they’re going to survive long enough to find out who is behind it all.</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Add it on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47828079-fractures" target="_blank">GoodReads now</a>! :)</span></b></div>
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<br />Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-76458769533505782642019-04-07T14:30:00.000+02:002019-04-07T14:30:12.901+02:00Blog Tour: Interview with Emily A. Duncan (Wicked Saints)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Hi everyone!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Welcome to my stop of the <i>Wicked Saints</i> blog tour! This book was one of my most anticipated/I'm most curious about for 2019, which doesn't really come as surprise to anyone at this point, does it, since you know I like dark and twisted stories. And, as Slav myself, I'm always interested in Slavic stories or ones inspired by Slavic cultures, folklore, mythology, and our beautiful countries. Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me the opportunity of being part of this and sharing a small interview with Emily with you. But, before we get into that, let's check out the book first!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> April 2nd 2019 by Wednesday Books</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 385 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> Yes, #1 in the <i>Something Dark and Holy </i>Trilogy</span></div>
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<a href="https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/wicked-saints/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Buy it now.</i></b></span></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Prepare for a snow-frosted, blood-drenched fairy tale where the monsters steal your heart and love</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>ends up being the nightmare.” - Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of </i>The Star-</b><b>Touched Queen</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A prince in danger must decide who to trust.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i>Wicked Saints<i> is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic </i>Something Dark and Holy trilogy<i>. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36118682-wicked-saints" target="_blank">Goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Interview with Emily</span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> When developing the plot and world of Wicked Saints, why did you decide to create two</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">countries inspired by Poland and Russia, besides the obvious historical conflicts between them</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in real life?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It was because of the historical conflict between them in real life! I had a book about the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-20 and that was what seeded the idea in my brain. Obviously this book isn’t remotely Soviet, it’s far further back and more anachronistically medieval, but that was where it all started.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> What was the easiest and what the hardest part about writing Wicked Saints, and has the story </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">changed over time or did the plot and arcs stay more or less the same from first idea to final </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">manuscript?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The hardest part of this book was just making it work. The first draft had no Tranavia, no Serefin, no Malachiasz, and no, uh, anything but Nadya, Rashid, and a handful of gods. Then there were drafts with Tranavia and Serefin, but no Malachiasz (these were particularly bad). It wasn’t until I had been toying with the book for a few years that I got a full draft out of it and once I figured out what was missing (it was Malachiasz) it all came together. It was never an easy book to write, by any means, but it’s always been fun.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> How excited and/or nervous are you that soon everyone will be able to walk into a bookstore </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(or visit the online retailer of their choice) and buy your book?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It’s definitely both excited and nervous! I love this book, but moreover this cast of characters, a lot and I’ve poured many years of work into it and I’m really excited for it to be out in the world. And for everyone to meet my monster kids. They're weird, I'm a big fan.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mj7SSG5-1dQ/XKiWyjk5CrI/AAAAAAAACGc/QiUTPgKLkXAKrOwq7n8IotNKr4ozCDvvgCLcBGAs/s1600/Emily%2BA.%2BDuncan.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mj7SSG5-1dQ/XKiWyjk5CrI/AAAAAAAACGc/QiUTPgKLkXAKrOwq7n8IotNKr4ozCDvvgCLcBGAs/s200/Emily%2BA.%2BDuncan.jpeg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">About the Author</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> EMILY A. DUNCAN works as a youth services librarian. She received a Master’s degree in library science from Kent State University, which mostly taught her how to find obscure Slavic folklore texts through interlibrary loan systems. When not reading or writing, she enjoys playing copious amounts of video games and dungeons and dragons. <i>Wicked Saints</i> is her first book. She lives in Ohio.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://eaduncan.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/glitzandshadows" target="_blank">Twitter</a> // <a href="http://glitzandshadows.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> // <a href="https://www.instagram.com/glitzandshadows/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to check out Emily and her book. If you decide to read it, let me know because I'm curious of your thoughts! </span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-74858044568125397332019-03-31T20:30:00.000+02:002019-03-31T20:30:23.013+02:00What I read in January 2019<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Hi Everyone!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Am I late to writing this by like 2 months? Yes. Am I writing this right now because I'm stalling on finishing my preparations for Camp NaNo? Maybe. But hey, better late than never, right? For the fact that I originally set 5 as my Goodreads goal for 2019 (I've changed in to 10 by now, but I think I'll raise it to 20), I'm doing an okay job so far. My reviews have also gotten much shorter so I thought I'll post monthly reviews up instead of separate ones. For some books I've also decided against assigning star ratings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> ANWAY, enough talking lets jump into what I read in January!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> January 10th 2019 by Penguin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 327 Pages (Paperback)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Ellery's never been to Echo Ridge, but she's heard all about it. It's where her aunt went missing at age sixteen, never to return. Where a Homecoming Queen's murder five years ago made national news. And where Ellery now has to live with a grandmother she barely knows, after her failed-actress mother lands in rehab. No one knows what happened to either girl, and Ellery's family is still haunted by their loss.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Malcolm grew up in the shadow of the Homecoming Queen's death. His older brother was the prime suspect and left Echo Ridge in disgrace. His mother's remarriage vaulted her and Malcolm into Echo Ridge's upper crust, but their new status grows shaky when mysterious threats around town hint that a killer plans to strike again. No one has forgotten Malcolm's brother-and nobody trusts him when he suddenly returns to town.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Ellery and Malcolm both know it's hard to let go when you don't have closure. Then another girl disappears, and Ellery and Malcolm were the last people to see her alive. As they race to unravel what happened, they realize every secret has layers in Echo Ridge. The truth might be closer to home than either of them want to believe.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> And somebody would kill to keep it hidden. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40099425-two-can-keep-a-secret">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> WOW. As much as I enjoyed <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32571395-one-of-us-is-lying" target="_blank">One Of Us Is Lying</a></i>, I absolutely LOVED this one. So many twists and turns, so many possible suspects, and the tension was through the roof the entire time. The characters were great and interesting, the sibling dynamic between Ellery and her twin Ezra was awesome, the writing really good, even better than in her debut, and just...WOW. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET is an amazing (murder) mystery thriller that I just couldn't get enough of, so if you're in the mood for a twisty thriller, definitely check this one out.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pnyJke47TkQ/XKD-TXPdBXI/AAAAAAAACF4/KQzbOOQC_xgHwJfzSQPJRbYpGZIZXSyVACLcBGAs/s1600/38623441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pnyJke47TkQ/XKD-TXPdBXI/AAAAAAAACF4/KQzbOOQC_xgHwJfzSQPJRbYpGZIZXSyVACLcBGAs/s320/38623441.jpg" width="213" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> May 8th 2018 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Byr</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 323 Pages (Paperback)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> From the author of </i>I Believe in a Thing Called Love<i>, a laugh-out-loud story of love, new friendships, and one unique food truck.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad's business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind? With Maurene Goo's signature warmth and humor, </i>The Way You Make Me Feel<i> is a relatable story of falling in love and finding yourself in the places you'd never thought to look. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38623441-the-way-you-make-me-feel">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> The Way You Make Me Feel</i> was exactly what I wanted it to be, cute, fun, and with a core I could relate to in ways I rarely can when it comes to families in YA. The characters were fun and interesting, the setting different (a Korean-Brazilian food truck) and something I haven't read about before, and the writing style fit Clara's voice really well. I finished it in less than 8h because I simply had to know what happens next and how it'll end. Maurene Goo is definitely an author I'll watch out for in the future, and also want to read the books she's already published in the past.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> November 20th 2018 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 288 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Soon to be a major motion picture in March 2019!</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><i><b> In this moving story that’s perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, two teens fall in love with just one minor complication—they can’t get within five feet of each other without risking their lives.</b></i></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><i> </i>Can you love someone you can never touch?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><i> Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.</i></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><i> The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.</i></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><i> Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.</i></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><i> What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too? (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38926328-five-feet-apart" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Reviewing <i>Five Feet Apart</i> is hard for me simply because I know this book and movie mean a lot to actual patients with CF (Cystic Fibrosis) and for the cause of bringing awareness toward CF, which was an illness I didn't know of until I saw the trailer for the movie on Instagram, of all places.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Going into the story I expected for it to be similar in feeling and emotionality to The Fault in Our Stars, but unfortunately that wasn't really what I got. For most of the book I felt like it stayed close to the surface, barely allowing for the characters to dig deeper into their feelings and what was happening around them. Because of that, I didn't feel particularly attached to any of them, or drawn in by the romance the way I hoped to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> There were a lot of good moments, pieces that even I could relate to as someone who doesn't have CF but also has an incurable illness, but there were also things I had an issue with. The last 80-60 pages felt wrong to me in many ways, because I felt like the events that happened across those pages were far too dramatic, even melodramatic, and could've easily been dealt with differently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> All in all, this is certainly a book I would recommend, even if only to educate people on CF and what it means to have it and live with it. I learned a lot about the disease and, after finishing it, went on YouTube to learn more. If you're interested in doing the same, this is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIqBIqx-iKAkXJRbalprIEg" target="_blank">channel I discovered</a> that offers a great insight into CF (since he is a CF patient) and also just great content overall.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">RATING WITHHELD </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> And that's it. Three (3) books read in January. As for the fact that I've been in a major reading slump for most of 2018, that's not a bad result. I know some people read like 20 books a month, but honestly, I have no idea how they do it. I wish I could do that as well, it would definitely help decrease my TBR, but alas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> In the comments, tell me what books you've read in January, or what your favorite book has been so far in 2019!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Thank you so much for reading! Have an awesome day!</span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-57698357314053344792019-01-15T19:33:00.000+01:002019-03-10T19:03:37.472+01:00Hello 2019!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who's totally late to post something for the start of the new year? Me, of course. I'm sorry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, this is it, 2019, a new year with new possibilities, changes, opportunities, and lessons to be learned. I don't know about you, but I didn't do anything special for New Year's Eve, just watched a movie on Netflix (I finally got it after missing out on so much, took me long enough, huh?) and trying to calm down my dog. As for new years resolutions, I have a few, but I've decided against having big ones that count for the entire year--let's be real, most of them we'll abandon after two weeks anyway--and instead I split them into quarterly goals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don't think I'll tell you about them, well, maybe I will but only once I'll actually manage to meet them and have something fun to share. Otherwise, should I fail, it'll just make me feel worse and that's not a good self-care choice, is it?</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J7ogg5fuvTY/XD4gkz0mxJI/AAAAAAAACEY/36l0zxevJQQmekn7wTOQ9biNiXi1fimggCLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled%2Bdesign-19.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J7ogg5fuvTY/XD4gkz0mxJI/AAAAAAAACEY/36l0zxevJQQmekn7wTOQ9biNiXi1fimggCLcBGAs/s200/Untitled%2Bdesign-19.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But, 2019 is off to quite the exciting start for me. If you follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/Alice_Reeds" target="_blank">twitter</a> and/or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alicereedsbooks/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> you might've already seen me talk about this, but if you haven't, <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36065377-echoes" target="_blank">Echoes</a></i> became a <i><b>#1 Best Seller </b></i>on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1640632476/" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. I honestly didn't think I'd ever get to see that orange banner next to it and yet, there it was. I was excitedly texting all my friends feeling overwhelmed and just so happy. It actually remained #1 for over 24h which made it even more insane to me. My book above <i>Six of Crows</i> by Leigh Bardugo? I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I was sure I'd wake up the next day and the banner would be gone, but it wasn't.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thank you, to all of you, for your support and for giving my book a chance. I know it's a bit different, and not necessarily as straight forward as some would wish it'd be, but I love that story, and I'm beyond happy that so many of you do too, and I honestly cannot wait for you to read the sequel. You thought <i>Echoes</i> was wild? Just you wait and see. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On a somewhat related note, I haven't read a single book in 2019 yet, and we're already two weeks into the year. Who even am I? But, I totally have a plan (reading all the books in February). For now my top priority is finishing up my draft of <i>Fissures</i> and making my deadline, and after that, I'll set my plan into motion. I'm looking forward to it so much!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don't know what 2019 will have in store for me, but I'm curious to find out, write new stories, work on WIPs, explore new possibilities, listen to all the K-Pop I can find, and just hope it'll be a better year than 2018. I'm not complaining though, don't get me wrong, <i>Echoes</i> was released last year and that was amazing and I'm so grateful for all the support and love it received, but besides that, it was a hard year, draining both mentally and physically, so hopefully 2019 will be a bit easier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What about you? What are your plans, goals, hopes for 2019? Tell me in the comments below or on <a href="https://www.alicereeds.com/p/contact.html" target="_blank">social media</a>. I always try my best to respond to all the tweets and DMs I get. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thank you so much for reading and cheers to a new year! </span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-36773192399558980702018-11-17T20:24:00.000+01:002018-11-17T20:24:43.398+01:00Big News!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Happy Saturday everyone!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Today I'm coming to you with big news in regards to my writing. Ever since <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36065377-echoes" target="_blank">Echoes</a></i> came out in August, and even before that, people have been asking me if I was planning on writing more. <i>Will there be a sequel? Please write more.</i> I saw it in kind messages sent to me personally, and was told about these requests and wishes being voices in reviews. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> For weeks and weeks I didn’t have an answer, and even when I said something, it was just some vague, wishy-washy deflection along the line of ‘there’s potential but I don’t know’. The truth is, a sequel was in discussion for a while. Once <i>Echoes</i> came out, I started working on a synopsis and everything for what the sequel could potentially be. But things weren’t set in stone for a while, until they were. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Three days ago the following announcement went live — </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6vhGKZejCD4/W_BoksE3-SI/AAAAAAAACDs/6YV1CA3J3AYHxW5V4smp-JM6wLEls-z9ACLcBGAs/s1600/Fissures%2Bdeal%2Bannouncement.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="479" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6vhGKZejCD4/W_BoksE3-SI/AAAAAAAACDs/6YV1CA3J3AYHxW5V4smp-JM6wLEls-z9ACLcBGAs/s1600/Fissures%2Bdeal%2Bannouncement.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> FISSURES, the sequel to ECHOES, is coming winter 2020!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I know, 2020 is still a while away, but I hope the wait will be worth it. Thank you to each and every one of you kind readers who got interested in <i>Echoes</i> and decided to buy it, read it, and sometimes even review it. Thank you also to everyone who reached out to me on IG (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/alicereedsbooks/" target="_blank">@alicereedsbooks</a>) or twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/Alice_Reeds" target="_blank">@Alice_Reeds</a>) to let me know how much you enjoyed the story and fallen in love with Miles and Fiona. Your support means so much to me, and certainly helped to make the sequel happen. Thank you for giving my book a chance, and thank you to my amazing publisher, Entangled Teen, and brilliant editor, Lydia Sharp, for giving me the opportunity and support to write the sequel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I can't wait for you to read FISSURES, even if the wait seems long now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Thank you and have a lovely weekend!</i></span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-3902026654300826572018-10-19T01:36:00.000+02:002018-10-19T01:36:46.921+02:00BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Berlin, 10.17.18<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7J9YWWMPa44/W8jxpSDTFtI/AAAAAAAACBg/cNKBtnngpJcv9tyOOSniqc8-mF59qy3NgCLcBGAs/s1600/bts2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7J9YWWMPa44/W8jxpSDTFtI/AAAAAAAACBg/cNKBtnngpJcv9tyOOSniqc8-mF59qy3NgCLcBGAs/s640/bts2018.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I've been a fan of K-pop for years now, thanks to <i>Girl's Generation </i>and <i>SHINee</i></b> (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">my forever bias among all Idols is Taemin, just saying</span>). Right around the time when <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmE9f-TEutc" target="_blank">Blood, Sweat & Tears</a></i> came out in 2016 I noticed everyone talking about the video and BTS in general. I didn't really pay attention to it at first, but at some point I wanted to know why everyone was so obsessed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>And that's when everything was over--or began, depending on who you ask.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For those of you who might not know them, BTS <i>(Bangtan Sonyeondan/Bangtan Boys/Beyond the Stage)</i> is a K-pop band made up of seven members, as you can see from the above picture, called J-Hope, V, RM, Jungkook, Jimin, Jin, and Suga. Since 2013 they've slowly but steadily taken over the world. They are the currently biggest boyband in the world, are on the TIME magazine cover as 'Next Generation Leaders' and have spoken before the UN as UNICEF Ambassadors. Not bad, right? </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AMThraGk-JA/W8j5bNSuPvI/AAAAAAAACBs/IXczWbUVTU0sEGTSXAs7m7t8AROhAwoYQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_4232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AMThraGk-JA/W8j5bNSuPvI/AAAAAAAACBs/IXczWbUVTU0sEGTSXAs7m7t8AROhAwoYQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_4232.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimin during the introduction.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They are known for their sharp choreographies, lyrics dealing with real life issues that are rather uncommon in K-pop (for example depression), and their music incorporates several different styles, especially since four members are singers and three rappers which gives them a lot of space to play with. Fun fact: they are involved in the production of their songs and also in the lyrics, another rather uncommon thing in the K-pop industry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, when I heard that BTS were coming to Europe, and Berlin specifically, I knew this was my chance to finally see them on stage. I mean, how often do K-pop bands come to Europe, right? ...But then I saw the ticket prices and I felt discouraged. What kind of price? The cheapest tickets were 75€. And there was also the fact of both Berlin concerts selling out in nine minutes or less, which didn't help much either since it basically gave me no time to think about it.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J-Hope during one of the first songs.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I accepted my fate of having to rely on concert recordings on YouTube and fancams and livestreams that would happen during the concerts, which isn't too bad either, you know? Not as awesome, but better than nothing. But, because I am surrounded by the best people in the world (and have fast internet on my phone) I was lucky enough to buy a ticket (one of the two cheapest options) on the day of the second Berlin concert when last minute ones were put up on eventim. THANK YOU.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hours later I arrived at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin with half an hour until the concert started. Luckily, as someone with a seated ticket, I didn't have to wait in line with everyone else, but could basically walk in immediately. I had no idea where exactly my seat was (since you couldn't choose) but turns out I got an amazing spot with a great view and no one directly in front of me. Perfect! Unlike during European or American artist's concerts, there was no opener, instead different BTS music videos were playing on the giant screens off to the right and left of the stage, until the arena suddenly went dark and the screaming turned basically deafening once the guys stepped on stage.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jungkook during the introduction.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Just before the concert started an announcement was made that Jungkook was still dealing with his heel injury and thus had to sit out all the choreographies. I'm pretty sure everyone in the arena would agree with me when I say that I prefer him sitting on his stool, or just walking around, than pushing himself and only getting himself more injured. It was lovely to see though how the guys still incorporated him into everything, danced around him or stood next to him, so he wouldn't feel left out or even worse than he already was (he mentioned feeling embarrassed and guilty for letting ARMY (the name of their fans) down). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To my surprise the setlist was different than the one for the previous day (which I only knew because of the aforementioned fancams) but nonetheless it was jam-packed with hits and lesser known songs, fast party tracks but also slow ballades, a perfect mix for the fans and the band themselves. The choreographies in their videos? Yeah they do those live as well and it's even more amazing and mind blowing. Especially when you consider the fact that they're on stage for 2.5h(!) and as former dancer I know how hard it is to just dance for that long, let alone dance and sing at the same time.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jin during his solo song.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The structure of the concert was made up of a few opener songs, followed by an introduction (which included the band members attempting to greet the arena in German), group songs but also sections where each of the members performed a solo song (V's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJY01GMsBso" target="_blank">Singularity</a></i> was my favorite from all the solos simply because of the sensuality of the song itself but also V's voice and way of performing it, simply gets me every time), and then finished off by the singers doing a song (<i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TdR1qR_qHc" target="_blank">The Truth Untold</a></i> is one of my absolute favorite BTS songs ever) and then the rappers, before coming together for a 'final' song. They leave the stage and then come back for the encore dressed in jeans and casual black shirts goofing around, filming each other with a GoPro on a selfie stick, and having fun. At some point they all say a few words, thank the audience for coming, some doing it in English and others in Korean with a translator coming over the speakers. It's interesting how it's not just them saying a sentence and then letting the next person talk, but it's usually like a minute or two per member with each saying something different, relating it to themselves or the audience, the city they're at, or something that's on their mind. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RM during his solo.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You know how Beyonce frequently changes her outfits throughout her concerts? BTS do that as well. The different group sections have different outfits, and all the solo performances, the stage and props are changing as well. All their outfits are amazing and harmonize with each other, be it gorgeous black and gold suits, all white, bedazzled shirts, or all black with leather harnesses. A funny moment was during RM's solo performance. He forgot to close his belt, which I at first thought was a planned move, but no, it was a honest mistake. OOPS. My favorite outfit, besides the one for the opening (the one you saw on the first picture of Jimin), was Jimin's (is it too obvious that he's somehow turned into my bias?) bedazzled shirt and loose red 'bow'. It's so pretty and sparkly! Unfortunately my picture doesn't do it any justice (I'm sorry). </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimin.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And then, before I knew what was going on, the concert was over. Never had 2.5h passed so quickly, but wow, some of the best hours I've ever had at a concert. It was completely different than any other concert I've been at before, the crowd louder than I imagined possible (at some point I saw a staff member close to me with a device that measured how many decibel it was, around 110 as far as I saw at one point), the space illuminated by so called ARMY Bombs (basically glowing snow globes on sticks synchronized via bluetooth and an app) creating different patters or, at some point, even the German flag. There were people of different ages, genders, heights, skin colors, and walks of life present, all brought together by their love for BTS, their music, and K-pop in general. A night they would never forget, many later said on twitter, the best one of their entire life, an experience they would still talk about during the weeks, months, and even years to come.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BTS backstage after the concert with the signs BTS ARMY Germany made.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A final thought: I love BTS, and I love the concert, BUT personally I think the ticket prices were a bit much considering</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a0YiZScT0PM/W8kQpDDzHhI/AAAAAAAACC4/t73GmuzHeK0uaLUnz4zpUgLATsel42JmgCLcBGAs/s1600/44202284_2379677535380828_1504006906069385216_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a0YiZScT0PM/W8kQpDDzHhI/AAAAAAAACC4/t73GmuzHeK0uaLUnz4zpUgLATsel42JmgCLcBGAs/s320/44202284_2379677535380828_1504006906069385216_o.jpg" width="311" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> they have a young audience (and I don't mean just teen girls as the German press tried their very hardest to make it seem, many people in the crowd were early or mid twenties, something I count as relatively young as well) who might not have that much money because they still go to school, university, or don't have the best paying jobs in the world (which isn't to say that some of course can easily afford it, but you get the point), so paying 200€+ for GA (general admission) is a bit...much. Also, the merch prices? 50€ for a shirt? In comparison, my <i>Placebo</i> shirt was 20€ at the same venue a year prior. Then again, I get it, they're a huge act right now, come with a giant stage with different features, screens, backup dancers, a big wardrobe, all things that need to be paid for and I can't imagine any of the shipping and transportation costs being small, yet when you play two sold out shows to a combined 34.000 people, I'm sure tickets for half the price, or even just the merch, would do the job just fine as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course BTS themselves don't make any of these decisions, the management and organizers do, so I'm not saying this as 'hate', but rather as salty/sad fan who simply couldn't afford both tickets and merch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Overall, as you might've deduced from this post, I had an amazing time at the concert and loved every minute of it, spent the entire rest of the evening, and the following day, telling everyone about it and how great it was. BTS are amazing performers and entertainers, and what I got was definitely worth my money. It was an amazing feeling to be surrounded by an ocean of smiling happy faces of ARMYs singing along and just having the time of their lives. Lyrics in Korean? Easy! Fanchants? Even easier! Do I hope that BTS will return in the coming years (especially since they've just announced that they've extended their contracts by 7 years)? YES!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And that's it! Thank you so much for reading! In the comments, tell me if you like BTS, if you've ever been to any of their concerts or if you'd want to go?</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oft9G1tqz_Q/Vz5RIho03qI/AAAAAAAABko/86GfKqXzzJU5UuCvQGgLeBDit_iBElCQQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Alice.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="87" data-original-width="190" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oft9G1tqz_Q/Vz5RIho03qI/AAAAAAAABko/86GfKqXzzJU5UuCvQGgLeBDit_iBElCQQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Alice.png" /></a></div>
Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-86844397544215374352018-09-10T16:46:00.000+02:002018-09-10T16:46:46.422+02:00Blog Tour: Interview with Lucia DiStefano<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ELxR9t6K_aE/W45euF5TPPI/AAAAAAAAB_k/I1oQ-Pqp_DIGNoB3618PtgfNMAfxhkS5gCLcBGAs/s1600/41107829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ELxR9t6K_aE/W45euF5TPPI/AAAAAAAAB_k/I1oQ-Pqp_DIGNoB3618PtgfNMAfxhkS5gCLcBGAs/s320/41107829.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Borrowed by Lucia DiStefano</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Expected Publication:</b> November 1st 2018 by Elephant Rock Productions, Inc. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 264 Pages (Paperback)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Love, mystery, and danger collide in this new literary thriller with the dark heart of a Gillian Flynn novel and the lyrical prose of Jandy Nelson's </i>I'll Give You the Sun<i>. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> An triumph of authenticity, grace, and nail-biting suspense, Lucia DiStefano's ingenious debut is an unflinching, genre-bending page-turner.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> As seventeen-year-old Linnea celebrates the first anniversary of her heart transplant, she can't escape the feeling that the wires have been crossed. After a series of unsettling dreams, inked messages mysteriously appear on her body, and she starts to wonder if this new heart belongs to her at all.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> In another Austin neighborhood, Maxine braces for a heartbreaking anniversary: her sister Harper's death. Between raising her brothers and parenting her grief-stricken mother, Max is unable to ignore her guilty crush on Harper's old flame or shake her lingering suspicion that her sister's drowning wasn't really an accident. With Harper as the sole connection, Linnea and Maxine are soon brought together in fantastic and terrifying ways as the shocking truth behind Harper's death comes to light. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41107829-borrowed" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Today I'm really excited to bring you an interview I did with Lucia about <i>Borrowed</i>. Honestly, I loved this book (find my review <a href="https://www.alicereeds.com/2018/09/review-borrowed-by-lucia-distefano.html" target="_blank">here</a>) and was really excited when I got to exchange a few emails with her and also do this interview. I'm always curious to find out more about the authors behind the books I enjoy, so I hope you'll enjoy this one as much as I did. Thank you also to Elephant Book for this opportunity and to Lucia for taking the time to answer my questions!</span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Interview with Lucia DiStefano</span></h2>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 1 – Describe Borrowed with a haiku (or twitter pitch).</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The heart she carries</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> --not the heart she was born with--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> will carry her home</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 2 – What sparked the idea for <i>Borrowed</i>? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I've always been fascinated by the topic of personal identity and how malleable it may or may not be. When I heard about the phenomenon of cellular memory in heart transplant patients (how aspects of the donor's personality might make it into the recipient's psyche), I knew I wanted to work it into a story somehow.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 3 – What was the most challenging about writing this story and which scene was the most fun to write?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The most fun was definitely the scene between Linnea and Daniel in the bakery. I loved how Linnea was both nervous and bold, and I loved how sweet Daniel was toward her (pun intended...there were cupcakes involved, after all). The most challenging was the cabin scene in the third act. I realize there are technically several scenes that take place in a cabin, but the one that was the hardest to write will always be "the" cabin scene to me. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 4 – What do you like most and least about your main characters, Linnea and Maxine?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Linnea: I like her perseverance most, and how she doesn't let her medical history define her future. I think at times she can be self-absorbed, though (I can say the same about myself!), so I think that's what I like least. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Maxine: What jumps out at me most about Max, and what I like best, is how fiercely she loves her family, and how responsibly she cares for her little brothers. What I like least is that she has a tendency to be less than forthcoming, and one of the secrets she kept before her sister's death comes back to haunt her afterwards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> 5 – In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about the story or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> As happy as I was to type "the end," I tend to be one of those perpetual revisers. I would love nothing more than an opportunity to revise annually (ha...I know publishing doesn't work that way). With that said, though, I am happy with the final product. I worked hard, and Jotham, my amazing editor, worked hard, and he prepared me for the time when we'd have to stop massaging the manuscript. So if I did have the chance to keep reworking, I think it would be small stuff. Sometimes a phrase or a detail will pop into my head and I'll think, "Dang, I wish I had included that in the novel!"</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 6 – How much research did you have to do to write the story both in terms of all the wonderful sweet pastries mentioned throughout the story, but also about heart transplantation and cellular memory? Was it important to you to stay true to reality, or did you focus more on using it in a creative manner to tell this certain type of story?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Because I wanted the look at cellular memory to be more "what if?" than hard science, I tried not to get bogged down in too much research. There is much anecdotal evidence of cellular memory, especially with heart transplant patients, but because it's difficult or impossible to confirm it or explain it within the current bounds of science, it's still hanging out in that nebulous gray area. So I started with the germ of cellular memory, but I used creative license (and suspension of disbelief) to think of a scenario even more dramatic than any I'd read about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Oh, and the sweets: I love to bake. And eat. So that part was pure, self-indulgent fun!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 7 - What are some of your favorite books?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Ah, my favorite question, and yet one of the hardest to answer (unless I can stay here all week!). Because it feels impossible to narrow the list of my fave novels enough to respond succinctly, I'll instead limit my choices to books on the creative life. My favorites in that category: <i>The War of Art</i> by Steven Pressfield, <i>Bird by Bird</i> by Anne Lamott, and <i>Big Magic </i>by Elizabeth Gilbert.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> 8 – Do you have a writing routine or do you write whenever creativity strikes?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> My day job is ghostwriter, so I'm always writing in some fashion (and I certainly can't wait for the muse to arrive before working on projects for my clients). I try to work on my own personal projects first thing in the morning, before I turn my attention to the work-for-hire assignments. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 9 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Approach writing with the mindset of 'play,' and you just may surprise yourself (and you'll likely have much more fun, too). </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 10 – If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Ah... bionic hearing. Think of all the quirky snippets of dialogue I'd pick up that way!</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Pre-order</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1732414106/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> // <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/borrowed-lucia-distefano/1129254618?ean=9781732414105" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> // <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Borrowed-Lucia-DiStefano/9781732414105" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Check out the rest of the blog tour for </i>Borrowed<i>:</i></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">August 1: Cover reveal at <a href="http://www.yainterrobang.com/borrowed-lucia-distefano-cover-reveal/">YA Interrobang</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">September 4: Review at <a href="https://www.alicereeds.com/2018/09/review-borrowed-by-lucia-distefano.html">Alice Reeds</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">September 10: Author interview at <a href="https://www.alicereeds.com/">Alice Reeds</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">September 24: Cover reveal at <a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/">BubblersRead</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">October 15: Review at <a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/">BubblersRead</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">October 21: Author interview at <a href="http://yaoutsidethelines.blogspot.com/">YA Outside the Lines</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">November 5: Author interview at <a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/">BubblersRead</a><a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/"></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">November 12: Author guest post at <a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/">BubblersRead</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>And more to come!</i></span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-66572759694963357842018-09-04T13:03:00.000+02:002018-09-04T19:26:54.192+02:00Review: Borrowed by Lucia DiStefano<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ELxR9t6K_aE/W45euF5TPPI/AAAAAAAAB_k/I1oQ-Pqp_DIGNoB3618PtgfNMAfxhkS5gCLcBGAs/s1600/41107829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ELxR9t6K_aE/W45euF5TPPI/AAAAAAAAB_k/I1oQ-Pqp_DIGNoB3618PtgfNMAfxhkS5gCLcBGAs/s320/41107829.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Borrowed by Lucia DiStefano</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Expected Publication:</b> November 1st 2018 by Elephant Rock Productions, Inc. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 264 Pages (Paperback)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Love, mystery, and danger collide in this new literary thriller with the dark heart of a Gillian Flynn novel and the lyrical prose of Jandy Nelson's </i>I'll Give You the Sun<i>. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> An triumph of authenticity, grace, and nail-biting suspense, Lucia DiStefano's ingenious debut is an unflinching, genre-bending page-turner.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> As seventeen-year-old Linnea celebrates the first anniversary of her heart transplant, she can't escape the feeling that the wires have been crossed. After a series of unsettling dreams, inked messages mysteriously appear on her body, and she starts to wonder if this new heart belongs to her at all.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> In another Austin neighborhood, Maxine braces for a heartbreaking anniversary: her sister Harper's death. Between raising her brothers and parenting her grief-stricken mother, Max is unable to ignore her guilty crush on Harper's old flame or shake her lingering suspicion that her sister's drowning wasn't really an accident. With Harper as the sole connection, Linnea and Maxine are soon brought together in fantastic and terrifying ways as the shocking truth behind Harper's death comes to light. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41107829-borrowed" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>* Thank you to Elephant Rock Books for providing me with an </i></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>eARC in exchange for my honest review *</i></span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Borrowed</i> was nothing like what I expected it to be, and I mean that in the best way possible. This is a tale of grief, life, bodily autonomy, toxic masculinity, and survival told through the eyes of fascinating protagonists in a story filled with thrill and plot twists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The story starts out innocent enough with a feeling of coming-of-age and a look into the lives of two girls one year after one lost her sister and the other got a second chance thanks to a heart transplant. But, soon the story begins to twist and turn, accompanied by a writing style that will capture you and won't let you go until you're done. I had a couple of guesses along the way for what would happen next or who did it, but I never got it quite right and there were many things I didn't see coming, which I always appreciate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Linnea and Max were great protagonists and I loved getting to know them better, see Max trying her best to keep her family alive, take care of her younger brothers and her mother, and Linnea wishing to become a proper pastry chef and go to school for it. Both had distinct voices, making it easy to differentiate between their chapters even if you forgot which name was at beginning, and sounded their age.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Ezra, Daniel, and Chris were also very different and played varyingly big roles in the story leaving me wishing we could've gotten to know some more than others. Some were the types of guys you'd want to date, or see your sister date, and others the very type you'd never want to come across even in your worst nightmares. But, that's the reality of things, men like the monster in this story exist and they are even more horrifying in reality than a story can make them seem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I've read <i>Borrowed</i> in less than two days and I've absolutely loved it. Lucia's writing style and way with words was captivating and enchanting, simple at times yet more than enough overall without giving you multi-paragraph descriptions or on the nose explanations, instead making you see what's between the lines and putting the pieces together right along with the characters. The story also taught me something I didn't know before about heart transplantation and cellular memory, which was both incredibly interesting and creepy. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I'm really happy I got to read this book early and spread the word about it because it's amazing and I recommend it to everyone, though there are a few trigger warnings that probably should get mentioned for violence, and especially violence against women (psychological as well as physical), so if you're sensitive to that, please be careful or come back to it at a different time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jWE3eT3_B8g/U0_XLYVhB0I/AAAAAAAAAeU/EFjI7oJsUZgjh6UP6NmAubg_SUaUCh0wgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/my%2Brating%2B5%2Bstars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="1279" height="73" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jWE3eT3_B8g/U0_XLYVhB0I/AAAAAAAAAeU/EFjI7oJsUZgjh6UP6NmAubg_SUaUCh0wgCPcBGAYYCw/s320/my%2Brating%2B5%2Bstars.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give <i>Borrowed</i> by Lucia DiStefano 5 out of 5 stars.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Pre-order</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1732414106/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> // <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/borrowed-lucia-distefano/1129254618?ean=9781732414105" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> // <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Borrowed-Lucia-DiStefano/9781732414105" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Check out the rest of the blog tour for </i>Borrowed<i>:</i></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 1: Cover reveal at <a href="http://www.yainterrobang.com/borrowed-lucia-distefano-cover-reveal/">YA Interrobang</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">September 4: Review at <a href="https://www.alicereeds.com/2018/09/review-borrowed-by-lucia-distefano.html">Alice Reeds</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">September 10: Author interview at <a href="https://www.alicereeds.com/">Alice Reeds</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">September 24: Cover reveal at <a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/">BubblersRead</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">October 15: Review at <a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/">BubblersRead</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">October 21: Author interview at <a href="http://yaoutsidethelines.blogspot.com/">YA Outside the Lines</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">November 5: Author interview at <a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/">BubblersRead</a><a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/"></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">November 12: Author guest post at <a href="http://bubblersread.blogspot.com/">BubblersRead</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>And more to come!</i></span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-43357292855315714622018-08-07T15:00:00.000+02:002018-08-07T15:00:03.047+02:00ECHOES IS OUT NOW<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> On <a href="https://www.alicereeds.com/2017/03/so-this-happened.html" target="_blank">March 21st 2017</a> I announced that I signed with Entangled Teen and after more than a year of rewriting, outlining, brainstorming, and waiting, the day has finally come! My YA mystery Thriller, <i>Echoes</i>, is finally out today and you can get it online or in stores (if you're in the US or Berlin, Germany). All the links will me at the bottom of this post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> For a very long time I've dreamed of seeing this very story on shelves and being read by people, receiving positive reviews and just pulling readers into its spell. I'm so happy I didn't shelf this manuscript and instead gave it another chance and that it's finally here. It took over 3 years, but it was more than worth all the hours of 'lost' sleep, anxiety, nerves, and creative elation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Yesterday I actually went to Dussmann / The English Bookshop in Berlin, Germany, to sign the copies of <i>Echoes</i> they had in stock. It was a surreal experience that I can barely put into words properly. Seeing something you worked so hard on in a bookstore just waiting for someone to pick it up and buy it, it's amazing and mind blowing. I couldn't stop smiling while I signed book after book, though I was also worrying that I might spell my name wrong or my signature might turn out ugly haha. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This entire experience was simultaneously everything I wanted it to be, so exciting and fun, but also extremely scary and downright terrifying. Launching a book, waiting for the release day to come, it's something I still can't properly put into words. My feelings were torn, all over the place, a wild cocktail of simultaneously wanting for the day to just finally be there while also hoping to have just a little more time, to prepare some more. But then, the day is finally here, and it feels like I signed the contract just yesterday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> But, at the end of the day, this book wouldn't be a book without a number of people helping me along the way and making this dream a reality, and this experience so much fun despite also being endlessly terrifying, so I think it would only be appropriate if I'd say thank you:</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvkulXylB5s/W2llATzPHSI/AAAAAAAAB_M/v0S2BDDUbmY2jRzaLeUhjLXpxkZySscDQCEwYBhgL/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvkulXylB5s/W2llATzPHSI/AAAAAAAAB_M/v0S2BDDUbmY2jRzaLeUhjLXpxkZySscDQCEwYBhgL/s320/1.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Thank you to my brilliant team at <a href="https://www.entangledteen.com/" target="_blank">Entangled Teen</a>. Everyone did an amazing job at answering all my questions (no matter how silly or long my emails), setting up interviews and guest posts, blog tours and getting ARCs into people's hands. THANK YOU for everything you've done for me and I can't tell you just how happy I am that I got to work with all of you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I couldn't have done this without my mom and her endless support in form of words of encouragements, an infinite supply of coffee, brainstorming with me, or just letting me talk at her until I found whatever solution I was looking for. I love you so much!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A big thank you also goes to my CP, Mia, for her marvelous feedback and help while I was trying to get <i>Echoes</i> up to speed, for all her encouragements and DMs. Thank you for being a wonderful friend and making me feel like I can do it even when I wasn't so sure. The same also goes to you, Judi. You're amazing and a kickass friend and mentor. Thank you for being there for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> And finally, my friends (y'all know who you are you amazing beings) who didn't give up on me despite how much time I spent writing and working instead of answering texts or getting with them. Y'all are amazing and I am grateful for everything you've done for me. Cheers to more years of friendship!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> They wake on a deserted island. Fiona and Miles, high school enemies now stranded together. No memory of how they got there. No plan to follow, no hope to hold on to.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Each step forward reveals the mystery behind the forces that brought them here. And soon, the most chilling discovery: something else is on the island with them.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Something that won't let them leave alive.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Add on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36065377-echoes" target="_blank">GoodReads</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Amazon (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1640632476/" target="_blank">US</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/dp/1640632476/" target="_blank">UK</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/dp/1640632476/" target="_blank">CAN</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/dp/1640632476/" target="_blank">AUS</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.de/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/dp/1640632476/" target="_blank">DE</a>) // <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/echoes-alice-reeds/1126974546?ean=9781640632479#/" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> // <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/9781640632479" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://romancing-the-book.com/2018/08/playlist-alice-reeds.html" target="_blank"><b>Playlist</b></a></span></div>
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<br />Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-38626533503624489442018-06-13T22:49:00.000+02:002018-06-13T22:49:01.881+02:00Mini Reviews #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>All of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> May 15th 2018 by HarperTeen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 432 Pages (Hardcover)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Miri Tan loved the book Undertow like it was a living being. So when she and her friends went to a book signing to meet the author, Fatima Ro, they concocted a plan to get close to her, even if her friends won’t admit it now. As for Jonah, well—Miri knows none of that was Fatima’s fault.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Soleil Johnston wanted to be a writer herself one day. When she and her friends started hanging out with her favorite author, Fatima Ro, she couldn’t believe their luck—especially when Jonah Nicholls started hanging out with them, too. Now, looking back, Soleil can’t believe she let Fatima manipulate her and Jonah like that. She can’t believe that she got used for a book.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Penny Panzarella was more than the materialistic party girl everyone at the Graham School thought she was. She desperately wanted Fatima Ro to see that, and she saw her chance when Fatima asked the girls to be transparent with her. If only she’d known what would happen when Fatima learned Jonah’s secret. If only she’d known that the line between fiction and truth was more complicated than any of them imagined. . . . (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36039617-all-of-this-is-true" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This story was wild, there is no other way to put it. It was also highly addictive. I was certainly intrigued by the premise of four teens befriending their favorite author (I mean that's kind of the dream, isn't it?) and things turning out not quite how they expected or hoped it would in the end. I really enjoyed the way the story was told through both interviews and excerpts from Fatima's new book, and the way you could see all the pieces coming together. It was fascinating to see how Fatima manipulated herself into the heads of those teens and made herself appear like their best friend and so interested in what they had to say and what was going on in her lives while knowing the reason why, and also how it made all of them feel and how they looked on it later on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This was the first time I read anything by Lygia Day Peñaflor and I really loved it. Despite my reading slump this year, I just couldn't put it down and finished it in about a day or two. I highly recommend it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give <i>All of This Is True</i> by Lygia Day Peñaflor 5 out of 5 stars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> September 7th 2017 by Walker Books</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 290 Pages (Paperback)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never met, never even spoken to – someone who is light years away?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Their only communication with each other is via email – and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone . . . (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32601841-the-loneliest-girl-in-the-universe" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This book was certainly not what I expected it to be based on the description, but I was blown away by the story and how it unfolded. It alternates between emails and Romy's narration and it builds slowly, things come together piece by piece, the tension rises at the perfect pace, and it's also mixed with a bit of space science and a study on the mind when you're literally the only person in a radius of years instead of miles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I liked the fact that Romy sounded her age, but that her mind and knowledge also showed that she really could be someone born in space and training to be fit for the mission she was born into. Seeing her get to know J and also her love for her favorite show and even the (slightly cringy) fan fics she wrote for them, it was so much fun. But it was also genuinely thrilling, creepy, and downright terrifying, especially in the second half, even more than just thinking about being alone day and night for years on a spaceship. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Absolutely amazing read full of twists and turns and mind games.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give <i>The Loneliest Girl in the Universe</i> by Lauren James 5 out of 5 stars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> May 30th 2017 by Greenwillow Books</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 385 Pages (Hardcover)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31931941-eliza-and-her-monsters" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Francesca Zappia is one of my auto buy authors, though I'll admit that it took me way too long to actually pick this one up and read it. I absolutely loved her debut, <i><a href="http://alicereedsbettgeschichten.blogspot.de/2015/06/review-made-you-up-by-francesca-zappia.html" target="_blank">Made You Up,</a></i> and I loved this one just as much, though for different reasons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“I made </i>Monstrous Sea<i> because it's the story I wanted. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I wanted a story like it, and I couldn't find one, so I created it myself.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The idea of being someone whose art and story can spark such a vast interest, create a fandom and be something you can live off of, that's the dream of every author and artist, isn't it? So it was fascinating to actually read about a character like that, see how she sees her fame, how reluctant she is to claim it, show who she truly is, her doubts and worries, and how her friendship forms with someone who is an actual real life fan of her web comic. I loved Eliza and Wallace, how reluctant Eliza was at first to interact with him and what a beautiful thing became of it, how she didn't judge him for the fact that writing came easier to him than speaking, and all these other small things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The fact that the art in the book came from Francesca was even cooler so kudos to her for doing it. Both the main story, and the snippets we saw of Eliza's web comic, were absolutely fantastic and I can only recommend this book to everyone. Read it, you won't regret it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I give <i>Eliza and Her Monsters </i>by Francesca Zappia 5 out of 5 stars.</span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-164699423876920702018-05-11T15:39:00.000+02:002018-05-11T15:41:40.946+02:00Review - Neanderthal Opens The Door To The Universe by Preston Norton<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Neanderthal Opens The Door To The Universe by Preston Norton</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> May 22nd 2018 by Disney-Hyperion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 400 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series:</b> No</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Cliff Hubbard is a huge loser. Literally. His nickname at Happy Valley High School is Neanderthal because he's so enormous-6'6" and 250 pounds to be exact. He has no one at school and life in his trailer park home has gone from bad to worse ever since his older brother's suicide.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> There's no one Cliff hates more than the nauseatingly cool quarterback, Aaron Zimmerman. Then Aaron returns to school after a near-death experience with a bizarre claim: while he was unconscious he saw God, who gave him a list of things to do to make Happy Valley High suck less. And God said there's only one person who can help: Neanderthal.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> To his own surprise, Cliff says he's in. As he and Aaron make their way through the List, which involves a vindictive English teacher, a mysterious computer hacker, a decidedly unchristian cult of Jesus Teens, the local drug dealers, and the meanest bully at HVHS--Cliff feels like he's part of something for the first time since losing his brother. But fixing a broken school isn't as simple as it seems, and just when Cliff thinks they've completed the List, he realizes their mission hits closer to home than he ever imagined. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36105772-neanderthal-opens-the-door-to-the-universe" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>* Thank you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing me with </i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">an eARC </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in exchange for my honest review *</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Neanderthal Opens The Door To The Universe</i> is a marvelous read about grief, friendships, the struggles of high school and the ups and downs of life narrated with an authentic sounding teenage voice filled with pop culture references, funny but also heartfelt, thoughtful moments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Cliff and Aaron are fascinating and multi-faceted characters and their friendship was crazy and unique from beginning to end. Their conversations and the situations they get into together are hilarious but also scary at times, but luckily everything works itself out in the end, even if the way there is filled with twists and doubts. Their relationships with the other characters were interesting and watching them evolve over time was amazing. Cliff and Tegan were great together, the nerd squad with their love of all things geeky and debates about Apple were brilliant but also so true to life, Aaron and Lacy definitely had a lot of issues they certainly needed to work through but watching it all slowly happen over the course of the book was great. Nothing felt rushed or forced or unrealistic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> As previously mentioned the voice of the narrator, being Cliff, was incredibly on point and perfectly represented a sixteen year old boy's thoughts and reasonings. They were a bit weird and wtf inducing at times, but that's how teenagers are, not every decision they make is perfect, or even reasonable at times. Honestly I loved Cliff as narrator and seeing him slowly grow, evolve, learn and change across the story was amazing, his character arc perfectly and realistically paced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I can easily say that <i>Neanderthal Opens The Door To The Universe</i> was one of my favorite 2018 releases and I'm really happy I got a chance to read it way earlier. It's one of those contemporary stories that, upon first glance, seem silly or just plain dumb, like some sort of comedy no one will take serious, but this story is so much more than that. I highly recommend it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give <i>Neanderthal Opens The Door To The Universe</i> by Preston Norton 5 out of 5 stars.</span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-83000204938818139492018-05-09T18:00:00.000+02:002018-05-09T20:40:33.849+02:00On writer pressure and self care<i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Hey everyone!</span></b></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Today I want to write about something a little different. Usually I'm all about blog tours, reviews or interviews, but I recently had a few amazing conversations with writer friends about the daily pressures we put on ourselves to write more, faster, better, so I thought why not write a post/discussion about it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y63b6sC-GB8/WvMExhrM9OI/AAAAAAAAB9s/o4c5Y2x9GO8_dS82qJoovbU3GdxF6LdYwCLcBGAs/s1600/32087189_1849233995136175_7142372768904904704_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="640" height="198" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y63b6sC-GB8/WvMExhrM9OI/AAAAAAAAB9s/o4c5Y2x9GO8_dS82qJoovbU3GdxF6LdYwCLcBGAs/s200/32087189_1849233995136175_7142372768904904704_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> When asked, I'm the sort of person who will immediately tell you to not stress yourself out about writing on a daily basis too much, to take it easy and have fun with it. But, unfortunately, when it comes to applying that same idea to myself, it's a struggle. On certain days I feel like if I don't write 2-3k words, it's a wasted day and that I'm a failure, that I should just quit because I will never be good enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> That, of course, is very counterproductive. I know that, you know that, everyone does, but it's easy to get caught up in such a mindset. If I don't write XYZ amount of words, what even am I doing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Setting realistic word count goals</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This is something I feel like is very important. A goal is something you can work toward and that will give you this feeling of satisfaction and having achieved something once you reach it. But, it's very easy to set that goal much too high and start to panic when you're having one of those days when the words aren't coming to you easily or you just feel too exhausted to write due to other things going on in your life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> As a good friend of mine said, it's better to set a small goal that you can use as motivation and know that step by step the story will get done eventually, instead of just not writing at all because you're too afraid of not hitting your target word count goal. If you set it as 200 or 500 words, that's usually an amount that's more than doable on a daily basis. It's easy to tell yourself <i>just sit down and write 200 words, it won't take long but you'll know you wrote something</i>, and once you hit those 200 words, chances are you'll feel good about yourself and motivated to continue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Meanwhile if you sat your goal as 3k or the world will end, it will become this daunting thing looming over your head like some kind of monster. Instead of being something you enjoy, writing will become more of a chore, something you dread and that makes you anxious, and that's not good, right? Plus, compared to 200 words, 3k takes far more time. 200 words is something you can quickly write during your break at work, in public transport or even while on the toilet, quick and easy. With 3k, yeah, not so much.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Be kind to yourself</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This one can be hard sometimes, especially in the era of social media and twitter when you follow all these other writers who seemingly always write more than you do and, instead of seeing it as motivation or something to work yourself up to, it turns into only more reasons of why you start to feel like a loser compared to them. But in all of it you have to remember that everyone has different lives. While some authors write full time and are able to dedicate the better part of their day to writing, others don't have that luxury, have to work or take care of their family. Does that mean they are less of a writer because their circumstances don't allow them to write as much as full time authors? No, of course not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It's easy to lose yourself in this idea that you have to be like your favorite authors, that you have to be able to write X amount of books every year, but really, do you?</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9p_ji6hbf8M/WvMFTwTJ2WI/AAAAAAAAB90/nLKJecnryZ8YL2-6zO37wZcferDTMP-jwCLcBGAs/s1600/32152755_1849236458469262_5858964711827046400_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="640" height="197" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9p_ji6hbf8M/WvMFTwTJ2WI/AAAAAAAAB90/nLKJecnryZ8YL2-6zO37wZcferDTMP-jwCLcBGAs/s200/32152755_1849236458469262_5858964711827046400_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It's okay to find a routine that works for you, to allow yourself to have worse days where you only write a little bit or nothing at all and not see those days as wasted. Sometimes our brain and creativity just need a break and that's totally fine. You will have better days, and not so good days, and that's completely okay. Instead of seeing a seemingly low word count as waste of time or something that makes you a lesser writer, see them as successes. You've written something, and isn't that much better than not having written anything at all?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Maybe it will take you longer to write that first draft if you 'only' write 200 words every day but eventually that draft will be completed. Who cares if it takes longer, it's still something many people will never achieve, and if you are kind to yourself, you will feel much better along the way. Sure, writing 3k or more on a daily basis looks great as twitter updates, I would know, but putting that kind of pressure on yourself, it will only do more harm than good in the long run.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>The moral of the story</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Find whatever works for you and don't compare yourself to others, especially full time authors. If you're slower than them, that's completely fine. If you 'only' have time to write for an hour or less every day, that's still amazing. If you wrote 'just' 200 words, that's still 200 words more than you had yesterday. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to see even small things as successes instead of shortcomings and set yourself goals that are achievable so they will motivate you instead of stressing you out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I struggle with this a lot myself and I'm trying to get better at it, so maybe, writing this and sharing my thoughts will remind me, too, that I should be kind to myself, and that every new word is one word more than I had yesterday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Writing books isn't a race.</span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-64790416133819804022018-04-02T18:00:00.000+02:002018-04-02T18:00:19.795+02:00Cover reveal: Star-Crossed by Pintip Dunn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sqs-tdu3JP8/WsGSmMcQwRI/AAAAAAAAB9Q/y1Zh-8Pg_uszQcUzyqkBHwxOT49hdsTlgCLcBGAs/s1600/Star-Crossed%2BCover%2BReveal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sqs-tdu3JP8/WsGSmMcQwRI/AAAAAAAAB9Q/y1Zh-8Pg_uszQcUzyqkBHwxOT49hdsTlgCLcBGAs/s400/Star-Crossed%2BCover%2BReveal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> As you guys know I <i>love</i> Pintip Dunn's writing ever since I first read <i><a href="http://alicereedsbettgeschichten.blogspot.com/2015/10/review-forget-tomorrow-by-pintip-dunn.html" target="_blank">Forget Tomorrow</a></i>. I've loved that trilogy and everything else she wrote, so when I heard she had a new book coming out later this year and that I could help reveal the cover, of course I couldn't say no. So, thanks to Entangled Teen, I am bringing you the amazing cover for <i>Star-Crossed</i>:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Star-Crossed by Pintip Dunn</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Expected Publication:</b> October 2nd 2018 by Entangled Teen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 400 Pages (Hardcover)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Only one can survive...</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38088038-star-crossed"><img alt="add-to-goodreads" class="aligncenter wp-image-3420 size-full" src="http://www.entangledteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/add-to-goodreads.jpg" height="62" width="143" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Star-Crossed-Pintip-Dunn/dp/1633752410/">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fit-to-die-pintip-dunn/1121817848?ean=9781633752429">B&N</a> | <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/star-crossed/id1324089090">iBooks</a></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">About the Author</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. Pintip's debut novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. In addition, it is a finalist for the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, the Japanese Sakura Medal, and the MASL Truman Award. THE DARKEST LIE was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her other books include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, the novella BEFORE TOMORROW, and GIRL ON THE VERGE. She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.pintipdunn.com/welcome">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/pintipdunn">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorPintipDunn">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pintip_dunn/">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://entangledpublishing.com/author/pintip-dunn">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pintip-Dunn/e/B00U6A2C7S/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1522503354&sr=1-2">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://entangledpublishing.com/author/pintip-dunn">Entangled Publishing</a></span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-1211948085441670622018-03-28T19:18:00.000+02:002018-03-28T19:44:26.380+02:00Excerpt and giveaway: True Storm by L. E. Sterling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o37j5jgpe9Y/WrvMgReqajI/AAAAAAAAB88/QJdKL79LUi4gGpdjOdUh3kycONvtAOI4wCLcBGAs/s1600/thumbnail_True%2BStorm%2BExcerpt%2BReveal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o37j5jgpe9Y/WrvMgReqajI/AAAAAAAAB88/QJdKL79LUi4gGpdjOdUh3kycONvtAOI4wCLcBGAs/s400/thumbnail_True%2BStorm%2BExcerpt%2BReveal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Today I'm bringing you a short but very exciting excerpt from L.E. Sterling's upcoming release, <i>True Storm</i>, which is the third and final book in the <i>True Born</i> trilogy and comes out May 1st 2018. Additionally, if you live in the US, check out the giveaway below for a paperback copy of <i>True Born</i>, the first book in this trilogy!</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tQ68P6tapys/Wm9GQb7CJRI/AAAAAAAAB7I/sI4aEFo7JNkvOYLCHZko_Ii4XHoyMH_SACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/thumbnail_TrueStorm_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tQ68P6tapys/Wm9GQb7CJRI/AAAAAAAAB7I/sI4aEFo7JNkvOYLCHZko_Ii4XHoyMH_SACPcBGAYYCw/s320/thumbnail_TrueStorm_500.jpg" width="213" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">True Storm by L.E. Sterling</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Expected Publication:</b> May 1st 2018 by Entangled Teen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of pages:</b> 400 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Lucy’s twin sister, Margot, may be safely back with her—but all is not well in Plague-ravaged Dominion City. The Watchers have come out of hiding, spreading chaos and death throughout the city, and suddenly Lucy finds herself under pressure to choose her future: does it lie with her handsome new friend, Alastair; her guardian, the enigmatic True Born leader Nolan Storm; or the man who makes her heart trip, her savage True Born bodyguard Jared Price?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> But while Lucy ponders her path, fate has other plans. Betrayal is a cruel lesson, and the Fox sisters can hardly believe who is behind the plot against them. To survive this deadly game of politics, Lucy is forced to agree to a marriage of convenience. But is the DNA of her will stronger than the forces opposing her? Can she turn the tide against the oncoming storm??</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> As they say in Dominion, can rogue genes ever have a happy ending? (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36104608-true-storm" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><i> And now, are you ready for the excerpt...? Well, here it is:</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> His hands still on my face. “I’m sorry,” I manage to say, trying to control a nervous need to giggle like a hyena. “Are we fighting? Maybe I didn’t notice because it’s all we ever seem to do.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A wicked grin lights his features. “That’s not all we seem to do,” he whispers, seconds before he replaces his thumb with his lips.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It’s a soft kiss at first, tentative. Like someone asking your name. But it lights me up, sending fire shooting through my body, heat curling through my belly. I must sigh because Jared pulls back for just a moment, a question in his eyes and hunger written all over him. Then he claims my lips again, holding my face in his hands as the earth spins away from me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>GIVEAWAY</b></span></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="1cb554951242" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1cb554951242/" id="rcwidget_nflfo726" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Want to read more? Pre-order your copy of <i>True Storm</i> by L.E. Sterling today!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36104608-true-storm"><img alt="add-to-goodreads" class="aligncenter wp-image-3420 size-full" src="http://www.entangledteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/add-to-goodreads.jpg" height="62" width="143" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/True-Storm-Born-L-Sterling-ebook/dp/B076H7JZ8D/">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/true-storm-le-sterling/1126974660?ean=9781640631779">B&N</a> | <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/true-storm/id1296845642">iBooks</a> | <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/true-storm">Kobo</a> | <a href="https://entangledpublishing.com/true-storm.html">Entangled Publishing</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">About the Author</span></h2>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0qWdI89b8A/Vy0NKA5d23I/AAAAAAAABkI/3asj_ptzxKIYN__3zUUJXDpP6uZukvzjwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/7121486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="621" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0qWdI89b8A/Vy0NKA5d23I/AAAAAAAABkI/3asj_ptzxKIYN__3zUUJXDpP6uZukvzjwCPcBGAYYCw/s200/7121486.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> L.E. Sterling had an early obsession with sci-fi, fantasy and romance to which she remained faithful even through an M.A. in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literature – where she completed a thesis on magical representation. She is the author of two previous novels, the cult hit YA novel <i>The Originals</i> (under pen name L.E. Vollick), dubbed “the Catcher in the Rye of a new generation” by one reviewer, and the urban fantasy Pluto’s Gate. Originally hailing from Parry Sound, Ontario, L.E. spent most of her summers roaming across Canada in a van with her father, a hippie musician, her brothers and an occasional stray mutt – inspiring her writing career. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://le-sterling.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/le_sterling">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LESterling22/">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7121486.L_E_Sterling">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/L.E.-Sterling/e/B00EAE01WE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1517184735&sr=1-1">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://entangledpublishing.com/author/l-e-sterling">Entangle Publishing</a></span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-41738389370734101142018-03-18T13:56:00.000+01:002018-03-18T13:56:38.982+01:00Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Expected Publication:</b> April 24th 2018 by Wednesday Books</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 352 Pages (Hardcover)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series: </b>No</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> OND ELDR. <i>BREATHE FIRE.</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34726469-sky-in-the-deep" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>* Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion *</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> That cover, along with the description and the fact that it's a viking inspired YA Fantasy story? I was immediately hooked, and very happy when I saw that I got approved for an ARC. I've never read a book like this before, one that stepped away from your typical fantasy setting of kings and castles and witches, and instead followed two different clans and their beliefs and mentalities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Unfortunately I didn't love this nearly as much as I hoped I would, which isn't to say that I disliked it, which I didn't, but certain parts just fell really flat for me. I enjoyed finding out more about the Aska and the Riki, about what made them different, why they fought each other, about Eelyn and the pain she felt over losing her brother, Iri, the bond between her and her clan and her god, Sigr. It was fascinating, and felt different from the stories I've read before this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The world building was intriguing and lush, filled with little details that made the world feel full and lived in. The different rituals and traditions were interesting to read about, as well as the Scandinavian inspired setting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> A problem I did have was that basically the first half of the story felt like the plot was just kind of happening around Eelyn and she was just kind of dragged along, angry and crying, wanting to do something but not really doing anything to achieve that. It simply felt very reactive. In the last 40% of the book that did change, at least to a certain extend, but something just didn't click for me about Eelyn and her character for a while. She was interesting, don't get me wrong, but there was just so much crying and anger that didn't really do anything much. Of course you can be a fierce warrior and cry, that's totally fine and normal, everyone has a wide range of emotions, but just the sheer amount of it kind of contradicted what she was trying to be portrayed as.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Fiske was an interesting character, very stoic and hard, harsh and quiet. I liked the scenes between him and Eelyn, as well as Iri. Finding out about how Iri even ended up with the Riki to begin with, how he survived and what happened across the years, it was nice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I also liked some of the secondary characters, but most I really didn't care about or didn't trust because of certain signs, that ultimately didn't lead anywhere which was a bit unfortunate. The romance was subtle enough and felt fine, not really the type of romance I'd scream about and swoon but that's okay. The story wasn't about the romance, it was about the clans and fighting and action.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Speaking of which, <i>Sky in the Deep</i> was very action packed with a lot of fight scenes and blood and chaos. I will admit that at some point I felt tempted to skim some of them because some of those fight scenes just stretched a little too much for my liking and to hold my attention, but I didn't do it. I still read them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The writing style was very nice and I enjoyed it a lot. I liked some of the language that was used in the story, the Scandinavian sounding names and places. It made everything come together nicely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> All in all I enjoyed <i>Sky in the Deep</i> and I would recommend it, even though it wasn't quite what I hoped it would be. I read most of it in one sitting since it's not that long and a relatively quick read. So if you're interested in some YA fantasy with a viking setting, this might be for you.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dOlaYNsmR9I/U11mhOmqbiI/AAAAAAAAAfs/13POo3CeHwY2lBsRHDobruVDXiNOFefuwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/my%2Brating%2B3%252C5%2Bstars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="926" height="109" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dOlaYNsmR9I/U11mhOmqbiI/AAAAAAAAAfs/13POo3CeHwY2lBsRHDobruVDXiNOFefuwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/my%2Brating%2B3%252C5%2Bstars.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I give <i>Sky in the Deep</i> by Adrienne Young 3.5 out of 5 stars.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oft9G1tqz_Q/Vz5RIho03qI/AAAAAAAABko/86GfKqXzzJU5UuCvQGgLeBDit_iBElCQQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Alice.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="87" data-original-width="190" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oft9G1tqz_Q/Vz5RIho03qI/AAAAAAAABko/86GfKqXzzJU5UuCvQGgLeBDit_iBElCQQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Alice.png" /></a></div>
Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-83206338473480444052018-03-12T18:30:00.000+01:002018-03-12T18:30:29.271+01:00Cover reveal: Echoes <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GvpqyE76EXs/WqaVKXqufUI/AAAAAAAAB7g/mpAor-CzpOMNHyRSaAG9gm9EJOJhW-H-gCLcBGAs/s1600/Echoes-Cover-Reveal-Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GvpqyE76EXs/WqaVKXqufUI/AAAAAAAAB7g/mpAor-CzpOMNHyRSaAG9gm9EJOJhW-H-gCLcBGAs/s640/Echoes-Cover-Reveal-Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I'm beyond excited for this day, I can't even begin to describe how much I've been waiting to finally be able to reveal the cover for ECHOES. Eleven months ago I signed with Entangled and now the cover is finally here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The cover is honestly everything I ever hoped for and so much more. It fits the story perfectly, the color scheme and general aesthetic is perfect and it just mirrors the mood of the story wonderfully. The cover designers at Entangled Teen did a brilliant job and I honestly couldn't be happier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> So, without further ado, here is the cover for ECHOES, my YA Thriller!</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NGGvubPjheA/WqaWuFX0Z3I/AAAAAAAAB7s/e9tArCIn_I4mntKgzdCtuN1O9mt6o1FhgCLcBGAs/s1600/Echoes_catalog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NGGvubPjheA/WqaWuFX0Z3I/AAAAAAAAB7s/e9tArCIn_I4mntKgzdCtuN1O9mt6o1FhgCLcBGAs/s640/Echoes_catalog.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Echoes by Alice Reeds</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Expected Publication:</b> August 7th 2018 by Entangled: Teen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 400 Pages (Paperback)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Genre:</b> YA Thriller</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36065377-echoes" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>Goodreads</b></i></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Pre-order:</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/dp/1640632476/" target="_blank">US</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.de/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/dp/1640632476/" target="_blank">DE</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/dp/1640632476/" target="_blank">CA</a> </span><br />
<a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Echoes-Alice-Reeds/9781640632479" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Book Depository</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/echoes-alice-reeds/1126974546?ean=9781640632479" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Barnes and Nobel</span></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> "Fast-paced and thrilling. ECHOES is a heart-pounding and addictive love story." —Mia Siegert, author of </i>Jerkbait</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> They wake on a deserted island. Fiona and Miles, high school enemies now stranded together. No memory of how they got there. No plan to follow, no hope to hold on to.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Each step forward reveals the mystery behind the forces that brought them here. And soon, the most chilling discovery: something else is on the island with them.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Something that won't let them leave alive.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i>Echoes<i> is a thrilling adventure about confronting the impossible, discovering love in the most unexpected places, and, above all, finding hope in the face of the unknown.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> What do you think? Let me know all your thoughts about the cover in the comments below, or via twitter (@Alice_Reeds), because I'm super curious to know if you love the cover just as much as I do. I honestly can't wait for you to read the book in August!</span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-44942720430105943012018-03-10T15:13:00.000+01:002018-03-10T15:13:13.501+01:00Review: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> June 27th 2017 by Katherine Tegen Books</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 513 Pages (Hardcover)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series: </b>Yes, #1 in the Guide duology (?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29283884-the-gentleman-s-guide-to-vice-and-virtue" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“God bless the book people for their boundless knowledge absorbed </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>from having words instead of friends.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Whenever there is a lot of hype around a book, I'm weary of picking it up. Usually extremely hyped books are either a complete flop for me, or prove to be worth every praise. I was prepared to not really be into this, since historical fiction isn't my thing at all, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself hooked after just half of the first chapter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <i>The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue</i> is hilarious and filled with twists and turns, adventures, action, and cute moments, as well as some that make you want to shake some sense into Monty, the protagonist and POV character. As we follow Monty, his best friend Percy, and Monty's sister, Felicity, across Europe the story turns more and more intriguing and we get to know the 1700's version of Europe, so different than now yet so much more interesting than I honestly expected when going into this, lots of characters and settings that were fascinating and fun to read about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> "Just thinking about all that blood." I nearly shudder. "Doesn't it make you a bit squeamish?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> "Ladies haven't the luxury of being squeamish about blood," she replies, and Percy and I go fantastically red in unison.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I picked up the audiobook version of this, since I was sick and my eyes hurt, and it was the best choice I could've made. The narrator, Christian Coulson, did a brilliant job of nailing Monty's personality and giving all the other characters distinct and fitting voices. It made everything even more fun and Monty seemingly even more snarky and sarcastic than he already was.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Speaking of which, Monty was such a fun character and he went through quite a bit across the story. Finding out more about his relationship with his father, piece by piece, was heartbreaking yet it explained so much about him. His relationship with Percy was amazingly developed and transformed quite a bit from the beginning to the end of the story, and his pining was honestly everything. Definitely one of the cutest romances I've read about in a while, hands down. Felicity was also a brilliant character, and I'm so happy there will be a sequel with her as main character. She was strong and smart in ways I hadn't seen coming at the start of the story. She went and smashed through all social norms for girls at the time, a fierce feminist, and I was so here for it. The secondary characters were very well developed, for the most part, and I would've loved to find out more about some of them, especially the pirates.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“Against the sky, the stars crown him, marking the edges of his </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>silhouette like he is a constellation of himself.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <i>The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue</i> is an amazing read, but despite its air of hilariousness, quick wit, sass, and adventure, it also deals with more serious topics such as child abuse, illness, ablism and racism. As much as for Monty it's no big deal that Percy has dark skin, since they grew up together and everything, it was sad to see how other characters looked at, treated, and spoke to Percy, see Monty slowly realize that not everyone thought the way he did and that the lives of non-white people were so very different than the life of privilege he grew up in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> There was also the fact that Felicity was interested in medicine, wanted to go to school and get a proper eduction, but school for girls didn't really include any of that eduction she craved. I loved reading about how Monty got to know a side of his sister he didn't think she had, realize that she wasn't reading stupid romance novels but actually soaked up anything about science and educational she could get her hands on, hiding it behind the covers of romance novels so she wouldn't be questioned about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go courting trouble, is all.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“We’re not courting trouble,” I say. “Flirting with it, at most.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> All in all <i>The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue</i> was more than worth all the hype it received and I don't know why it took me so long to finally read it. It was the perfect blend of a brilliant lead trio, an adventurous and intriguing plot, a historical setting, and just a whole lot of fun. I never thought I'd love a historical fiction book just this much, but this one completely blew me away and I couldn't stop listening to it. So good! I definitely recommend it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give <i>The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue</i> by Mackenzi Lee 5 out of 5 stars!</span></div>
Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-22275926904861039482018-02-01T21:44:00.002+01:002018-02-02T02:03:20.467+01:00Most Anticipated 2018 Reads (Part 1)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Hey everyone!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> As always, to no one surprise really, I'm totally late to the game and posting this about a month late but, hey, at least I am posting it so that should have to count for something. Anyway, today I want to talk about all the releases of the first half of 2018 that I am looking forward to. In typical me fashion most of them are either YA contemporaries or sci-fi, which just goes to show once again how those two might be my favorite genres currently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Among all these books there is of course one that I am looking forward the most, for totally none obvious reasons *loud coughing*, which is a <a href="http://www.alicereeds.com/p/my-novels.html" target="_blank">YA Thriller</a> that you should totally consider checking out and maybe even pre-order.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Anyhow, lets jump right into my list:</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g8PCXd8aqtc/WmZOxLMHpMI/AAAAAAAAB4M/dkTVtXoJTsU2LOJxsRMv6nFuoc3pb6HLgCLcBGAs/s1600/32941343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g8PCXd8aqtc/WmZOxLMHpMI/AAAAAAAAB4M/dkTVtXoJTsU2LOJxsRMv6nFuoc3pb6HLgCLcBGAs/s200/32941343.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32941343-unearthed"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Published: January 9th 2018 by Disney-Hyperion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 336 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Sci-Fi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I really, really enjoyed <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13138635-these-broken-stars" target="_blank"><i>These Broken Stars</i></a> from this amazing duo so I can't wait so see what they've come up with this time. I mean anything YA sci-fi from this duo is basically a must buy tbh. </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TsgLKINL204/WmZRaRihMUI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/9X6U6K3LL9IZHh0PX8HubaB6Gm8WuRmrACLcBGAs/s1600/34921588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TsgLKINL204/WmZRaRihMUI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/9X6U6K3LL9IZHh0PX8HubaB6Gm8WuRmrACLcBGAs/s200/34921588.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34921588-by-a-charm-and-a-curse" target="_blank">By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: February 6th 2018 by Entangled: Teen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 300 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Fantasy (?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I've been meaning to read some kind of circus related or centric book for ages and this seems like a good one to start off with. Curses/charms and traveling across Texas, figuring how to break said curses etc, sign me up! It definitely sounds like a fun read.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6QhWDKPw9Fw/WmZU6eIPJ_I/AAAAAAAAB4w/4FYx8xf79d07lJd_8o93bPWuvAavOo9kACLcBGAs/s1600/29736467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6QhWDKPw9Fw/WmZU6eIPJ_I/AAAAAAAAB4w/4FYx8xf79d07lJd_8o93bPWuvAavOo9kACLcBGAs/s200/29736467.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29736467-the-beauty-that-remains"></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29736467-the-beauty-that-remains"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: March 6th 2018 by Delacorte Press</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 352 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Contemporary </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This one sounds absolutely fantastic and that color is amazing, so colorful and pretty. A story containing music as its central piece and some kind of tragedy sticking and almost tearing a group of friends apart? Now that's guaranteed to be an emotional read and, honestly, I'm all about that.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lzJI2TMtjnE/WmddkuNBonI/AAAAAAAAB5A/0zvomVv-sbQmErnegs7iapN4TcA4gwB6ACLcBGAs/s1600/36058466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lzJI2TMtjnE/WmddkuNBonI/AAAAAAAAB5A/0zvomVv-sbQmErnegs7iapN4TcA4gwB6ACLcBGAs/s200/36058466.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36058466-the-exact-opposite-of-okay"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: March 8th 2018 by Electric Monkey</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 352 Pages (Paperback)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Contemporary </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This one sounds amazing, exciting and just like a truly intriguing read I certainly want to get my hands on. Also that cover is, again, gorgeous and I am simply weak for books with pretty covers (than again, isn't everyone?).</span></div>
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<b>* * *</b></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIRoJ_9Gm78/WmgEtC7IWaI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/-UB7RzUVBmwLPPgYOMG5v7fhGA5SSDE1QCLcBGAs/s1600/24909347-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIRoJ_9Gm78/WmgEtC7IWaI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/-UB7RzUVBmwLPPgYOMG5v7fhGA5SSDE1QCLcBGAs/s200/24909347-2.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24909347-obsidio"></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24909347-obsidio"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3)by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: March 13th 2018 by Knopf Books for Young Readers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 608 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Sci-Fi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It's absolutely no secret that I LOVE <i>The Illuminae Files trilogy</i> so I cannot wait to have <i>Obsidio</i> in my hands, have it on my shelf next to <i><a href="http://alicereedsbettgeschichten.blogspot.de/2015/06/review-illuminae-by-kaufman-kristoff.html" target="_blank">Illuminae</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.alicereeds.com/2016/10/review-gemina-kristoff-kaufman.html" target="_blank">Gemina</a></i>, and to read it, obviously. I'm always a bit weary of trilogy finales since there is a lot of room for left down expectations, accidentally left unanswered questions or not sufficiently or convincingly, but I have A LOT of faith into Amie and Jay that this will be just as brilliant as the previous two books, easy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35604686-the-astonishing-color-of-after"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: March 20th 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 480 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Magical Realism</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A story set in Taiwan containing magical realism, angst, and feels, sign me up. Usually I'm not big on magical realism but this one sounds absolutely amazing, and reading books set in countries I've never been to, getting to know different cultures and lives, if that doesn't sound great, I don't know what does. I'm definitely very intrigued.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PVHbtWT1C-k/WmgMa72-xKI/AAAAAAAAB5s/vcEYIt68k7U6pOnjFip3V-fGciWsGOZcQCLcBGAs/s1600/35960060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PVHbtWT1C-k/WmgMa72-xKI/AAAAAAAAB5s/vcEYIt68k7U6pOnjFip3V-fGciWsGOZcQCLcBGAs/s200/35960060.jpg" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35960060-picture-us-in-the-light" target="_blank">Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: April 10th 2018 by Disney-Hyperion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 368 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Contemporary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This sounds absolutely amazing and I simply need it. Family secrets that get uncovered and friendships that might potentially be more than that, hi, yes, I'm in need! And that cover, yes!</span></div>
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<b>* * *</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36204669-ship-it"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ship It by Britta Lundin</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: May 1st 2018 by Freeform</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 384 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Contemporary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Now THIS one just speaks straight to my fangirl heart and grabbed my attention immediately. It just sounds like such a fun story that's inspired by probably every fangirls dream--meeting the cast of whatever you are a fangirl of--but also nightmare--things turning out to be different than your shipper heart thought. I'm definitely curious how the show will handle the discussion of fannon vs cannon, and generally the whole issue of fans having certain expectations and how the show runners deal with the moments when expectations aren't met or things just go downhill for whatever reason. I need this like yesterday, tbh!</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068735-all-of-this-is-true"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: May 15th 2018 by HarperTeen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 432 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Contemporary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A story about a group of teens being fans of a certain author and somehow ending up in said author's next book with horrible consequences, and all that told through interviews, diary entries and more? Yes please! I love books that use alternative narrative methods, and honestly this one just sounds fantastic!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29456569-lifel1k3" target="_blank">LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: May 29th 2018 by Knopf Books for Young Readers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 416 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Sci-Fi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> While I'm not into the cover, the book itself sounds so interesting and intriguing, and also pretty damn epic. Besides I have a lot of faith in Jay Kristoff and his writing after loving <i>The Illuminae Files</i> (even if those were co-authored).</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36307683-the-body-paradox" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Body Paradox by Natasha Neagle</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: June 4th 2018 by Entangled Teen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: TBA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Sci-Fi</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This sounds pretty damn amazing if you ask me, and also I certainly am bias towards the enemies to lovers trope (obviously) so that only adds more to this. Also the idea of sharing a body with another person, hi, I'm intrigued, so I need this like today.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NX7lKD387Jk/Wku7Q4Bm6XI/AAAAAAAAB3w/sC6ck8PvDWIq4A2Jp8My_bDRoG8iDT-zQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Bildschirmfoto%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="277" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NX7lKD387Jk/Wku7Q4Bm6XI/AAAAAAAAB3w/sC6ck8PvDWIq4A2Jp8My_bDRoG8iDT-zQCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Bildschirmfoto%2B2.png" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36065377-echoes"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Echoes by Alice Reeds</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: June 5th 2018 by Entangled Teen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 400 (Paperback)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Thriller</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> ECHOES is the story of two high school enemies finding themselves stranded on a mysterious and deadly island where nothing is quite as it seems, not even reality. I am very much bias, since this is my own book, but this is definitely the book I'm looking forward to most and I seriously cannot wait for you guys to pick it up and read it. This story has been my brain child of years and I just truly hope you'll love it just as much as I do.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kUyzXtoRwyk/WmgSpyOxIBI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/8s5xHpz8k-058Sp4RzsZOdmdJBsUNxW6gCLcBGAs/s1600/36389267-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="230" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kUyzXtoRwyk/WmgSpyOxIBI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/8s5xHpz8k-058Sp4RzsZOdmdJBsUNxW6gCLcBGAs/s200/36389267-2.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36389267-a-thousand-perfect-notes" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: June 7th 2018 by Orchard Books</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 300 Pages (Paperback)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Contemporary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> As someone who loves PaperFury's blog (and twitter) I am really curious for her book. I have really high hopes for it and can't wait to read it! Also it contains music and has a pretty cover, that's already two very convincing arguments for me, plus it surely also has all the feels and is an emotional read, so basically all my favorite things in one place (which sounds awful, doesn't it?).</span></div>
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<b>* * *</b></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WV0IO16aVtc/WmgS7GHuyRI/AAAAAAAAB6U/IrVGiDwuGMU7LaN3qYYODqkABuz9PV1HgCLcBGAs/s1600/36220551-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WV0IO16aVtc/WmgS7GHuyRI/AAAAAAAAB6U/IrVGiDwuGMU7LaN3qYYODqkABuz9PV1HgCLcBGAs/s200/36220551-2.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36220551-a-flicker-in-the-clarity"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Flicker in the Clarity by Amy McNamara</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Expected Publication: June 12th 2018 by HarperTeen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number of Pages: 432 Pages (Hardcover)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YA Contemporary </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I loved <i><a href="http://alicereedsbettgeschichten.blogspot.de/2015/02/review-lovely-dark-and-deep-by-amy.html">Lovely, Dark and Deep</a></i>, and Amy is basically a auto-buy author for me because of it, so like me being excited for this one is basically a given. I need it in my life asap even though I'm sure it'll be just as much of an emotional read as her debut.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> And that's it! If I actually manage to read even half of these in 2018 I'll be very proud of myself tbh. Which books are you looking forward to the most? Let me know down below or via twitter (@Alice_Reeds).</span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-42979881271068539202018-01-29T18:05:00.000+01:002018-01-29T18:05:08.953+01:00Cover Reveal: True Storm by L.E. Sterling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nSjwx1zWIn8/Wm9FoRmDL-I/AAAAAAAAB64/daY5rDHcMyc9feXMcDR7Gphlw4QzNmAnQCLcBGAs/s1600/thumbnail_True%2BStorm%2BCover%2BReveal%2BBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nSjwx1zWIn8/Wm9FoRmDL-I/AAAAAAAAB64/daY5rDHcMyc9feXMcDR7Gphlw4QzNmAnQCLcBGAs/s400/thumbnail_True%2BStorm%2BCover%2BReveal%2BBanner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Hi everyone!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Today I am bringing you the amazing cover for the final book in L.E. Sterling's YA Sci-Fi trilogy, <i>True Born</i>, called <i>True Storm</i>. I've been loving the trilogy so far (review book <a href="http://www.alicereeds.com/2016/08/3yb-triple-review.html" target="_blank">#1</a> and <a href="http://www.alicereeds.com/2017/04/blog-tour-review-true-north.html" target="_blank">#2</a>) so when I got the opportunity to help revealing the cover and getting word out, of course I had to do it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Anyway, without further ado, here is the beautiful cover for <i>True Strom</i>!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">True Storm by L.E. Sterling</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Expected Publication</b>: May 1st 2018 by Entangled: Teen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Number of Pages</b>: 400 Pages (Hardcover)</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> If you can't beat them, change them...</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Want to read more? Pre-order your copy of <i>True Storm</i> (True Born Trilogy, #3)<i> </i>by L.E. Sterling today!</span></h3>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36104608-true-storm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="add-to-goodreads" class="aligncenter wp-image-3420 size-full" src="http://www.entangledteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/add-to-goodreads.jpg" height="62" width="143" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/True-Storm-Born-L-Sterling-ebook/dp/B076H7JZ8D/">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/true-storm-le-sterling/1126974660?ean=9781640631779">B&N</a> | <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/true-storm/id1296845642">iBooks</a> | <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/true-storm">Kobo</a> | </span><a href="https://entangledpublishing.com/true-storm.html"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Entangled Publishin</span>g</a></h3>
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<strong><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">About L.E. Sterling:</span></i></strong></h3>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0qWdI89b8A/Vy0NKA5d23I/AAAAAAAABkI/3asj_ptzxKIYN__3zUUJXDpP6uZukvzjwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/7121486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="621" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0qWdI89b8A/Vy0NKA5d23I/AAAAAAAABkI/3asj_ptzxKIYN__3zUUJXDpP6uZukvzjwCPcBGAYYCw/s200/7121486.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> L.E. Sterling had an early obsession with sci-fi, fantasy and romance to which she remained faithful even through an M.A. in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literature - where she completed a thesis on magical representation. She is the author of two previous novels, the cult hit Y/A novel The Originals (under pen name L.E. Vollick), dubbed “the Catcher in the Rye of a new generation” by one reviewer, and the urban fantasy Pluto’s Gate. Originally hailing from Parry Sound, Ontario, L.E. spent most of her summers roaming across Canada in a van with her father, a hippie musician, her brothers and an occasional stray mutt - inspiring her writing career. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://le-sterling.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/le_sterling">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LESterling22/">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7121486.L_E_Sterling">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/L.E.-Sterling/e/B00EAE01WE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1517184735&sr=1-1">Amazon</a></span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-38143795153726621992018-01-05T15:30:00.000+01:002018-01-05T15:30:27.098+01:00Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> June 17th 2014 by Henry Holt and Company</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 427 Pages (Paperback)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series: </b>Yes, #3 in the Grisha Trilogy or Grishaverse</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Since this is the third and final book in this trilogy I won't post the summary here, since it certainly contains spoilers, so head on over to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22718800-ruin-and-rising" target="_blank">goodreads</a> if you want to read it.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I was more than ready to love this book, hoped that the ending would live up to all the positive reviews I'd seen on YouTube and on goodreads from bloggers and booktubers I trust. But, unfortunately, I was left feeling disappointed and annoyed at a lot of what happened. I will try to talk about my opinions in a way that won't contain any spoilers, or at least I'll try.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I hope you weren't looking to me to be the voice of reason.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret.” </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <i>Siege and Storm</i>, the second book in this trilogy, already left me feeling more neutral and underwhelmed than I expected after I'd LOVED <i>Shadow and Bone (<a href="http://www.alicereeds.com/2017/12/review-shadow-and-bone-by-leigh-bardugo.html" target="_blank">review</a>)</i>. I truly hoped that things would change in the finale, that the answers we'd hopefully get would make the mediocracy of the second book okay, but unfortunately that didn't happen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The beginning, as in about the first 100 pages or more, were very slow. There was just a lot of nothing, just some conversations, sitting around, thinking, some more conversations that didn't really amount to anything much. Then the plot finally picks up once Nikolai shows up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> To be quite honest, Nikolai was the reason I didn't give up on <i>Siege and Storm</i>, and I hoped he would once more play a bigger role in this book, but that wasn't the case. We get a lot of tension between Alina and one of the main male characters, a lot of angst and emotional struggle, which I found just a bit annoying after a while, though not quite as bad as in <i>Siege and Storm</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Just as I hoped we did get some background informations that did explain some things, some relations between characters and history, and that was great. I liked how everything was tied together and how it certainly explained a few of the key things. It showed that all those things hadn't been just said along the way but that there'd been a purpose all along, hints that now finally made sense and created the big picture we'd waited for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Unfortunately the story did a great job of having amazing characters, and then just not using them, sending them away or other, and that was just really a shame. There were so many other ways in which those characters could've been used more effectively for a bigger impact than this. When the first major character related plot twist happened, I know we were all supposed to probably be shocked and sad, but I was just very annoyed. I liked that character, damn it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Ironically later down the line we had another major character twist (I'm avoiding actually saying what it was but I think once you'll read it you'll know what I mean) and, again, I'm pretty sure we were supposed to be sad, feel the pain of that event. Well, I don't know what it says about me, but I was pretty happy and smiled, though my happiness was short lived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“</i>Na razrusha'ya.<i> I am not ruined. </i>E'ya razrushost<i>. I am ruination.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Then there is generally the ending of <i>Ruin and Rising</i>, and thus also the trilogy as a whole. Did I like it, did it live up to my expectations and leave me satisfied? Nope. I really didn't like the ending and I'm not sure if I feel like it made sense in the grand scheme of the characters but I know others loved it so theres that. When I started <i>Shadow and Bone</i> I was in love with this world Leigh Bardugo had created and these really intricate characters, yet the ending of <i>Ruin and Rising</i> left me wondering if maybe I should've just stopped and only read <i>Shadow and Bone</i>. That isn't to say that <i>Ruin and Rising</i>, as well as <i>Siege and Storm</i>, didn't contain any awesome stuff, because they most certainly did. The writing was brilliant, the world building very interesting and (at least some of) the characters were well characterized and great to read about. Some of the secondary characters fell a bit flat and I probably didn't care about them as much as I should have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Speaking of which, let's talk about the main characters. Alina, who seemed like such a strong character most of the time, had so many emotional struggles because of a certain someone that I was just amazingly annoyed by (even more when I spoiled myself on with whom she would end up). Seeing darker sides manifest inside of her, this desire for more power, for something that the old her would've thought was wrong or too greedy, that was amazing. I loved how caring she was about the people she traveled with, her friends, and she tried to do whatever she could to save her country. In the end she was ready to sacrifice everything to do it, though I hated how torn she was. On one side she was ready to sacrifice so many people, but on the other side she wasn't ready to sacrifice a single specific one to save everyone else. HM.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I'm the Sun Summoner. It gets dark when I say it does.” </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> If you've followed my updates on goodreads you know that I REALLY didn't like Mal. From the moment on that it was said that he has feelings for Alina back in <i>Shadow and Bone</i>, until the very last page of <i>Ruin and Rising</i>. He was whiny, jealous, controlling, and sure he was a great tracker and he meant well, was ready to give his life for Alina, but most of the time I just wanted someone to punch him. He didn't fit in, he wasn't like Alina and the Grisha, and, wow, he truly had to obsess over that, behave so incredibly annoyingly because of it like your average typical 'I don't fit in with the crowd and I don't want to' teenager reminding us of that again and again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> When it comes to his relationship with Alina, I truly felt like what they had was more of a best friends vibe, and not a romantic one, which was probably why I just couldn't with their romantic relationship. I felt like Alina had much better chemistry with other characters than with him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“You never know," said Nikolai. "I've been busy. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I might have some surprises in store for the Darkling yet."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Please tell me you plan to dress up as a volcra and jump out of a cake."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Well, now you've ruined the surprise.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Nikolai was simply brilliant, snarky, intelligent and just an overall fascinating character from the moment he entered the story until the very last page. I loved him and just whenever a scene contained him, whenever we saw him interact with Alina, it was just so much fun! I could honestly read an entire separate book just about him and his crazy adventures. Unfortunately I feel like his potential as character was completely wasted in <i>Ruin and Rising</i> which was a shame and, once again, left me annoyed.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"> (If you'd take a shot every time I said annoyed in this review, I think you'd probably have quite the problem, I'm sorry.)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Then there was the Darkling, whose real name we've finally found out. As someone who usually favors the evil characters, I was quite fond of the Darkling. Yes, he was a horrible man who did horrible, unspeakable things, I am not denying that, but as character he was just incredibly intriguing and fascinating. He was so well characterized and had this certain something about him that I just loved. Did he deserve what he got? Hell yeah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> All in all, even if <i>Ruin and Rising</i> left me ultimately disappointed and annoyed for the last 100 pages, it was still a good read and I enjoyed parts of it greatly. This is a great trilogy and probably the first fantasy trilogy I've enjoyed in a very long time. I adored the fact that Ravka was inspired by old Russia, though some of the last names drove me insane because they didn't follow the 'rules' for last names in Slav countries. If you're a Slav like me, Morozova would be a female for you, right, because of the -a ending. But in this universe it's a male last name, or maybe last names don't even make an ending distinction like they do in real life. ANYWAY, that isn't really important, just a little something I thought I'd mention. Oh and also all the traveling that happened in this story, that just got a bit boring after a while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Despite all of this I still recommend this trilogy, especially to people like me who usually don't really enjoy fantasy because this story doesn't contain any elves or witches or orcs or any of that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give <i>Ruin and Rising</i> 3 Stars.</span><br />
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-84878017276994024782017-12-02T12:13:00.000+01:002017-12-06T01:04:23.148+01:00Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Published:</b> June 5th 2012 by Henry Holt and Company</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Number of Pages:</b> 358 Pages (Paperback)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Series: </b>Yes, #1 in the Grisha Trilogy or Grishaverse</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Alina Starkov doesn't expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, she is sure of only one thing: her best friend, Mal--and her inconvenient crush on him. Until the day their army regiment enters the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. When their convoy is attacked and Mal is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power not even she knew existed.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Ripped from everything she knows, Alina is taken to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. With Alina's extraordinary power in his arsenal, he believes they can finally destory the Fold. Now Alina must find a way to master her untamed gift and somehow fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. As the threat to the kingdom mounts and her dangerous attraction to the Darkling grows, Alina will uncover a secret that could tear her heart--and her country--in two. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16059492-shadow-and-bone" target="_blank">goodreads.com</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I've heard a lot about this book and the trilogy over the years since it came out. It was all over booktube and bookstagram, and everyone recommended it, but despite buying it surely two years ago, I hadn't gotten around to picking it up until the end of November '17. Oops. I didn't really know much about the story before going in, purposefully avoided reading the synopsis, so I just kew that the world was inspired by 19th Century Russia (present me with a book set in Russia or a world inspired by Russia and I will read the shit out of it) and that it contained a character called Darkling and 'magicians' call Grisha. That's it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I got sucked into the story easily after maybe two chapters or less and finished the entire book in like two or three days (I mostly got around to reading for an hour or two at night) and loved it! The world was intricate and captivating, the characters three dimensional and interesting (at least most of them), and Leigh Bardugo's writing simply amazing. The way she led certain scenes or moments in the story, it was brilliant. I can definitely understand why everyone was so obsessed with this trilogy because honestly <i>same</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Alina was a really interesting and fun protagonist and experiencing the story and world through her eyes was great. We got to watch her go through quite the transformation across the story, make mistakes and try to fix them, navigate a society she never thought she would ever be part of, and somehow survive even if the chances were minimal to none. <i>(As slavic person myself and used to how last names work in Russia, the fact that Alina's last name is Starkov instead of Starkova will probably never stop irking me even if it's such a small, unimportant detail.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The Darkling was a fascinating character that I'd easily read an entire book about, just have him narrate his everyday life and I'd still read that asap. His particular brand of evil was well crafted and I cannot wait to see how things will develop across the entire trilogy. The Darkling is the sort of evil character that you know you shouldn't like but you can't resist because he is interesting and captivating and marvelously written.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Out of the three people caught in this love triangle (yes the story unfortunately contains a love triangle, I wasn't a fan when I realized that while reading, I'll admit that) was Mal. It wasn't that he was a bad character or not well written, I just didn't particularly like his sudden change of heart when it comes to Alina. I guess I'll probably warm up to him as the story will continue, or at least I hope so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Even though I'm not the biggest fan of magic in books, the way the Grisha were portrayed and explained was amazing, that it was science instead of actual magic, just manipulating the elements around them instead of making things just happen out of thin air. I really enjoyed that a lot. The whole part about the Shadow Fold and how it came to be and what it does, the scenes set within it, now those were amazing and creepy and really creative.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Leigh Bardugo definitely wrote a brilliant beginning to what promises to be a marvelous trilogy and I honestly cannot wait to continue with <i>Siege and Storm</i>, the sequel to <i>Shadow and Bone</i>, as soon as my copy arrives in the mail. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give <i>Shadow and Bone</i> by Leigh Bardugo 5 out of 5 stars.</span></div>
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Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-70250894327992674122017-11-21T18:56:00.000+01:002017-12-06T01:05:13.617+01:00Grand Prix Series - Internationaux de France de Patinage 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Welcome to the fifth events of the Grand Prix Series in Grenoble, France. If you watched the Grand Prix last year, you know that Trophee de France (as this event was called before this year's name change) was a bit of a mess. Somehow the French organizers managed to make it even more of a mess this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> After witnessing the Internationaux de France de Patinage I truly wonder, along with basically everyone else on twitter, why the ISU is still giving this event to France even though they have shown, time and time again, that they really shouldn't be hosting a Grand Prix event. In one of my tweets (here) I've summed up a few of the differences between this year and last year, how this event continues to be a mess time and time again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> My list went a little something like this:</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Last year</b> - No flags at all <i>(yes, the national anthem of the winner was played simply played just like that, no flag to look at, nothing. Everyone was rightfully confused)</i></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>This year</b> - shitty animated flags on a screen <i>(It seemed like the organizers decided that it was easier to full flag gifs off of the internet instead of spending a very small amount of euro to buy a handful of different flags. What even.)</i></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Last year</b> - Paper medals <i>(yes, as far as I've heard, the organizers hadn't managed to get the medals ready in time, so as substitutes the medalists received what seemed to be laminated paper with what the medals would look like printed on them. It was ridiculous.)</i></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>This year</b> - Plastic stars in four different colors and three different sizes (I have a billion questions starting at have they just reused the 'medals' from some novice or junior competition and hoped no one would notice, or did they hire some French hipster designer who wanted to be edgy and different and thought that handing out pink/magenta stars to the ladies, blue to men, yellow to ice dance and green to pairs seemed like a good idea. I think not.)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Personally, as well as many other people, I really think, and in a way hope, that the ISU will look at all of this and reconsider if France really is the right choice for this Grand Prix event. Maybe giving it to a different EU country would be a better idea, like maybe Spain or Germany or something, just not France.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> But, enough about what went wrong when it comes to the organization, let's instead talk about the medalists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Men</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> During his final season, Misha Ge of Uzbekistan finally managed to win his first Grand Prix title with an outstandingly beautiful bronze performance during both the short program and free skate. Misha is one of those skaters who might not have the quads but instead have the artistry that reminds you of what figure skating is really about. When you watch Misha perform you feel everything he wants you to feel, you see that thoughts went into the programs and choreographies, that every move and gesture is perfectly timed with the music, and it is just such a delight to watch. I am very happy that he got onto the podium and received bronze for this, though I truly would've wished that he would've gotten an actual medal instead of a plastic star.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Javier Frenandez on the other hand continues to be something like a problematic favorite of mine. I know he is a really damn good skater, he has the technical skill, he can perform beautifully if he wants, but both of his programs are still simply not it for me. I thought that maybe, as the season would continue, I'd warm up to them, but that just isn't the case. His short continues to be goofy and comical, appropriate for the fact that it is Charlie Chaplin themed, and his free skate tries to be comical too, but instead of giggling and smiling, enjoying watching it, I just sit there and cringe. The costume is awful too just saying. He has the technical abilities but I think he tries too much to be like Nathan Chen (all quads and chasing the points) instead of like Misha Ge (more artistry and fines instead of quad gambling) which is a shame.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This, unfortunately, is also slowly the case for Shoma Uno. I love him to pieces. He is a fantastic skater and I love both of his programs, but as the season continues I begin to find it exhausting to watch him because you worry, every single time, if he will make all the jumps, if he will hurt himself somehow and hinder his own success in this very important Olympic season, or will he make it. I think, if he would switch out some of his quads for triples and put more of a focus on presentation, he could still win and it would be less of a nervous train wreck for the viewers, and possibly also for him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> With all the quad chasing and point grinding in the men field, it does make me wonder how healthy all these jumps are for their bodies and what the long term effects might end up being cause I can't imagine anything good coming from it.</span></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Ladies</span></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The ladies were a mess during the short program, then again everyone was because of the (as far as I heard) bad ice quality and even practice time issues because great French organizers, but the free program brought things back closer to the level you'd expect during the Grand Prix of an Olympic season.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Personally I am happy for Alina Zagitova that she won this event. I like both her Black Swan short and Don Quichot free, her balleteque tutu costumes and the music choices. I've already once complained about how backloaded her free program is with all the jumps in the second half, but somehow this time around I didn't mind it quite as much. I definitely think she is very talented and has a lot of potential and could, in the future, really challenge the current reigning Queen Evgenia Medvedeva.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Maria Sotskova, there is something about her programs and her skating that I struggle with. For this event she had new costumes, which I dubbed pink candy princess and blue boredom, but they didn't help much either. Maybe it's the fact that Maria seems to have much longer limbs than many of her competitors, maybe it's how awkward it looks when she has her arm raised during some of the jumps, I don't know, but I can't really warm up to her, though I think she has good chances to make the Russian Olympic team.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Finally, taking bronze, we had Kaetlyn Osmond from Canada. As the season progresses I am actually starting to like her. She is definitely a good skater and I can't wait to see her in competition when all the ladies will be present, see how her scores will compare to the other top competitors etc.</span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Pairs</span></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I am still very, and I mean <i>very</i> salty about the fact that Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France were basically robbed of their gold medal, or rather big green star. Their performances were amazing, even with Vanessa two footing (I think) the landing of their quad throw. They definitely deserved that top podium spot and I won't get over that any time soon.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I can't stand Tarasova's and Morozov's free skate. Their costumes are hideous with their yellow and black polka dot aesthetic, and the music cut and selection of it, don't even get me started on how questionable and in poor taste that is. I don't know if maybe the person who chose it just didn't pay attention to the lyrics, or if maybe they didn't completely understand it, but honestly those are not lyrics I thought would be appropriate for something that will be skated during the Olympics, if these two will make the team. Not a fan, at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> And that is, all my saltiness and a few nice words about the Grand Prix event in Grenoble, France. I am very excited to see how the final event, Skate America, will be and who will make it into the Grand Prix Final!</span></div>
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<br />Alice Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13622312236497040957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307456518071589816.post-60524972448275759192017-11-04T18:40:00.000+01:002017-11-04T18:40:28.485+01:00Grand Prix Series - Audi Cup of China 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Welcome to the third event in the <i>Grand Prix Series</i>, the <i>Audi Cup of China 2017 </i>in Beijing, China. I've wondered why I've seen people call it the 'Cup of Disasters', but after I watched the short programs and free skates of the men, ladies and pairs, I certainly understood where people were coming from. A lot of strong performances but also a lot of flaws, mistakes, falls and disappointments, so lets just jump right into the medalists and my thoughts on them.</span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Men</span></h2>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mikhail Kolyada - Russia - 279.38</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Boyang Jin - China - 264.48</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Max Aaron - USA - 259.69</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The first day was quite the surprise filled event for the men with Mikhail Kolyada taking the surprise lead with more than a nine point advantage over Boyang Jin and thirteen over Javier Fernandez, skating a clean and magnificent program that resulted in (I believe) his first score above the 100 point mark, 103.13 to be precise. I, as well as a lot of people on twitter, was very happy about the results of the first day, and actually thought that the final results and the podium would look a little like this at the end.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The fact that Javier Fernandez only came in 6th at the end of the competition was a true surprise. Something about his two programs just doesn't seem to work, and despite everyone seeming to love them, I dislike both. The Charlie Chaplin short program has its comedic, reference type moments but little else, in my opinion. His free skate isn't much better, and looking at his results for the free skate, merely 162.49 points, it should definitely give him quite a bit to think about. It also makes me wonder if maybe at a certain point, and age, skaters are possibly just not able to squeeze Nathan Chen amounts of quads out of their bodies anymore.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Boyang Jin also seemed to have some troubles with his programs, both not really convincing me, though I know a lot of people love his free skate because of the partial <i>Star Wars</i> music used for it. I thought he was much stronger last season, but I hope he'll manage to return to the same level of skating, at least. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The fact that Max Aaron made it onto the podium, well, I have quite a few thoughts on that, but I will leave it at - I think it should've been Han Yan from China (who came in 5th with only 5 points behind Aaron) because his free skate was truly amazing.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> On the other hand, as I mentioned before, Kolyada was quite the surprise, at least during his short program. His free skate on the other hand, well, it went a little in the same direction as the previous time we've seen him perform it. Maybe it was the pressure of being in the lead that he just wasn't quite able to deal with well, or just bad luck or the need for more practice, but despite popping two jumps (and I think falling once?) he still managed to win. This is actually his first Grand Prix title so it's truly exciting and I am very happy for him. He definitely earned it!</span></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Ladies</span></h2>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alina Zagitova - Russia - 213.88</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wakaba Higuchi - Japan - 212.52</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Elena Radianova - Russia - 206.82</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The ladies competition was on fire during the free skate, the quality just getting better and better and each lady set the bar higher and higher. If this is giving us an idea of what we'll see during the Olympics in February 2018, I am even more excited. We have seen amazing performances, clean and marvelous to look at. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Alina Zagitova definitely caught my eye with her <i>Swan Lake</i> short program, and the amazing costume she paired it with that looked like she could wear it on the ice but then also join a ballet company and fit right in. Her skating is marvelous and she will definitely try to give Evgenia Medvedeva a run for her money, not that she would actually be able to beat Evgenia, but push her to somehow be even better than she already is. Her free skate was also marvelous, though I will admit I wouldn't have given her gold.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Wakaba Higuchi and her <i>Skyfall</i> free skate were it for me. She had the speed perfectly showing her skills, the jumps and just the overall presentation. She is an artist and I am loving both her programs. How the judges gave her lower PCS (presentation scores) than Zagitova is beyond me, but I loved watching those two perform nonetheless.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Elena Radionova was also pretty damn good, though certainly not as good as the two ladies above her, which shows in the point difference she has to them. I definitely liked her programs the least out of these three, but that doesn't mean they were bad by any means. She is a very good skater, I will give her that, so third place definitely seemed appropriate.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I have a feeling we will certainly see quite the fierce competition this season once you'll also place Medvedeva, Osmond, and Kostner in the ring along with them.</span></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Pairs</span></h2>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wenjing Sui / Cong Han - China - 231.07</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Xiaoyu Yu / Hao Zhang - China - 205.54</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro - Canada - 194.52</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It is safe to say, and certainly easy to see, that the Chinese pairs dominated this competition on their home turf, and Sui/Han won very much rightfully. They are the reigning World Champions and they were untouchable in this competition. I mean, have you noticed that almost twenty six point advantage they have over the silver medalists?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Watching Sui/Han perform both programs was mesmerizing, captivating and simply awe-inspiring in every way you could think of. The ease with which they skated, as if it was the easiest thing ever and it wasn't a competition but just the exhibition skate or something, the chemistry between them, the quality of their jumps, spins and throws, their figures and costumes, everything was utter perfection (even if Sui slightly messed up one of their jumps). I could watch them all day, every day, and I so hope that they will not only win every competition leading up to the Olympics, but also Olympic gold.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The other two pairs were great, too, but they definitely stood in Sui/Han's shadow without any chance of getting even close to them. Maybe seeing their points, watching their programs and performances will push all the other pairs to improve even more, strive after them, even though I am sure they all stand no chance of ever actually reaching them.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> And that's it, my thoughts on the medalists of the <i>Audi Cup of China 2017</i>. Of course ether was also Ice Dance, but I didn't watch it so I can't share any of my thoughts with you on that, sorry! What did you think about the competitions, the winners and 'losers'? Let me know in the comments below or on twitter (@Alice_Reeds).</span></div>
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