Why I Love Courtney Summers' Books + Giveaway

Just yesterday, a bind-up of two of Courtney Summers' novels, What Goes Around, released. I am positively thrilled to be able to share the beauty of Summers' writing with one of my readers, as St. Martin's Griffin has generously offered a giveaway copy for one of my readers living in the US or Canada. If you want, skip down to the bottom of the post and enter now.

However, though this is in essence purely a promotional post, I don't want to just stick up a post with a giveaway. I want to tell you why I'm willing to put up a promo post for this omnibus, even though I've not actually yet read either book within it and even though I do not, as a rule, put up any purely promotional posts. The short answer is that I'm really impressed with Courtney Summers' novels.

Flashback a couple of years and my reading tastes were a bit different, narrower. I really thought that I hated contemporary fiction, with the odd exception for some light-hearted, humorous romances. Dark, depressing books could gtfo. Why be depressed by fiction when real life is often disheartening enough? One of the books that helped me discover that I actually really do love a good contemporary, particularly one that will break my heart, is This Is Not a Test. Now, I can hear you all right now: "But, Christina, that's not a contemporary!" Yeah, yeah. It's a zombie book and zombies aren't real. However, TINAT is not really about the zombies. It's about a girl in a zombie apocalypse who sees the zombies as salvation because dying would help her escape from her horrible life. This book broke me a little bit. If you look at my review, you'll actually see that I rated it 4 stars, because my body basically was not ready. That was a 4.5 or 5 star book, but I needed more time to process it. I thought about that book pretty much daily for months afterward. That is NOT a normal thing for me, because a) I read a lot and b) my memory for books is not great in the long term.

Since, I've read Fall for Anything, which I did enjoy, though it did not stick with me the way that TINAT did. Reading a second novel of hers, though, really solidified to me that she is an author whose books I will stalk. She writes dark, unflinching contemporaries of just the sort that I love. If you like these sorts of books, you WANT What Goes Around. You can bet that I will be getting started on these as soon as I have the time, which will hopefully be toward the end of the month.

Join me in being a huge Courtney Summers fan, if you're not already. If you'd like to check out samples of the novels, the first three chapters of each are up HERE.

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What Goes Around
Cracked Up to Be / Some Girls Are

Author: Courtney Summers (Facebook|Goodreads)
Pages: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Description from Goodreads:
Courtney Summers fans are in for a treat! Two of her most critically acclaimed titles bound together for the price of one. In Cracked Up To Be, Perfect Parker Fadley isn’t so perfect anymore. She’s quit the cheerleading squad, she’s dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games…but what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, is that a horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. In Some Girls Are, climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome. And just like the other members of this all girl clique, she was both feared and revered by the students of Hallowell High... that is until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.

Giveaway:
Entering is simple. Just fill out the Rafflecopter. Only thing to note: this giveaway is US/Can only.
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July: Month in Review & Monthly Box Giveaway

Announcements:
In case you don't know, the plan is for A Reader of Fictions to move to Wordpress sometime in August, complete with a new shiny design. I have no idea what that will do to my scheduling, so just a warning that it's coming and to bear with me!

In other news, as of August 4, I'll have been blogging here for THREE YEARS! I'm not doing an official celebration until I move, and I might still be too lazy, but I'll probably do some sort of hurrah post on the day. :D

Books Reviewed in July:
Most of my ratings are really high this month! Yay! Let's ignore the fact that this stems from the fact that I did unprecedentedly little reading, so I used some of my saved up reviews, which are pretty much all positive. What matters is that there are so many good books!

4.5 Star:
The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty
The Distance Between Us - Kasie West

4 Star:
Fun Home - Alison Bechdel
45 Pounds - K. A. Barson
A Darkness Strange and Lovely (Something Strange and Deadly #2) - Susan Dennard
OCD Love Story - Corey Ann Haydu 
Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) - Katie McGarry
Dairy Queen (Dairy Queen #1) - Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) - Patrick Ness
The Beginning of Everything - Robyn Schneider

3.5 Star:
All the Truth That's in Me - Julie Berry
Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1)  - Teri Brown
Cold Steel (Spiritwalker #3) - Kate Elliott
Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1) - Rhiannon Frater
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
The Path of Names - Ari Goelman
The Virgin Cure - Ami McKay
Starglass (Starglass #1) - Phoebe North
The Boy on the Bridge - Natalie Standiford
Ink (The Paper Gods #1) - Amanda Sun
Countdown City (The Last Policeman #2) - Ben H. Winters

3 Star: 
Catching Liam (Good Girls Don't #1) - Sophia Bleu
Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking - Erin Dionne

2.5 Star:
Replica (Replica Trilogy #1) - Jenna Black
The Mirrored World - Debra Dean

2 Star:

Shadowcry (Wintercraft #1) - Jenna Burtenshaw
Dune (Dune #1) - Frank Herbert

1 Star:
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Between #1) - April Genevieve Tucholke

Monthly Box Giveaway
This giveaway is open to US readers only, as I will be shipping the books myself and cannot afford international postage. You can enter to win your choice of any or all of the following books:

To enter to win, just fill out the Rafflecopter!
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sidekicked Blog Tour: Cover Artist Interview & Giveaway

Sidekicked

Author: John David Anderson
Pages: 384
Publisher: Walden Pond Press
Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Read: June 22
Source: Won from Walden Pond Press

Description from Goodreads:
With not nearly enough power comes way too much responsibility.

Andrew Bean might be a part of H.E.R.O., a secret organization for the training of superhero sidekicks, but that doesn’t mean that life is all leaping tall buildings in single bounds. First, there’s Drew’s power: Possessed of super senses – his hearing, sight, taste, touch, and smell are the most powerful on the planet – he’s literally the most sensitive kid in school. There’s his superhero mentor, a former legend who now spends more time straddling barstools than he does fighting crime. And then there’s his best friend, Jenna – their friendship would be complicated enough if she weren’t able to throw a Volkswagen the length of a city block. Add in trying to keep his sidekick life a secret from everyone, including his parents, and the truth is clear: Middle school is a drag even with superpowers.

But this was all before a supervillain long thought dead returned to Justicia, superheroes began disappearing at an alarming rate, and Drew’s two identities threatened to crash head-on into each other. Drew has always found it pretty easy to separate right from wrong, good from evil. It’s what a superhero does. But what happens when that line starts to break down?
 

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Today I'm thrilled to be a stop on the blog tour for the adorable, funny middle grade novel Sidekicked by John David Anderson. I've got an interview for you with the cover artist, who dared to enter the realm of Cover Snark. Meet Shannon!

C: I love the cover for Sidekicked. It's adorable and bright. Did Andrew Bean always have blue skin on the cover?

S: I'm so glad you like the cover illustration! I should probably clarify that his skin is only blue on the cover.

Since Andrew is a rather sensitive kid (it's part of his power!), I wanted to highlight that by choosing colors that would express his nature. So, I submitted several color sketches to illustrate that concept to the folks at HarperCollins. We bounced ideas back and forth for a bit and ultimately chose blue, because cooler colors tend to be more passive, illustratively speaking. I also wanted to suggest the classic hero trait of an anonymous altar ego. So, I made both Andrew's skin and the background shades of blue, so he could blend in.

C: Did you have the basic cover concept from the beginning or were other possibilities considered?

Cover designed by Alvin Lustig

S: In the development phase of any project, concepts come and go. However, I had two ideas from the start-draw inspiration from the bold, simple graphics of Alvin Lustig and Saul Bass and reference an iconic superhero image (Clark Kent's transformation into Superman).

Hopefully, you can see both influences in the final cover.

C: Any other good stories about the evolution of the final cover?

This was actually my first book cover, so the whole process was a big adventure. My day job is slightly different as I'm a director for Laika Animation, so I have to switch gears AND styles at the end of the day when I'm doing illustration work. It can get quite schizophrenic at times!

C: I've always wondered: as the designer, do you read the book before you do the cover design or are you given a brief run-down of the main points?

S: It depends on how much time I have. For SIDEKICKED, I read the synopsis and brief excerpts from the book and then got right into it.

C: The illustrated covers on middle grade books are absolutely charming. Why do you think they're not as popular on adult or teen novels?

S: I don't know. I think because the tone tends to be lighter in middle grade books, it allows for a bit more "charm" or whimsy.

C: Are you a superhero fan yourself? Have a preference between Marvel and DC? Favorite comic?

S: I've been a HUGE comic fan since I was three (yes, that young). The first comic I ever owned was an early Walt Simonson THOR, which made me, forever and always, a mighty Marvel fan! However, I also love manga and would have to say my favorite comic ever is Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's masterpiece, LONE WOLF AND CUB.

C: Would you be a superhero, a sidekick or a villain? Any ideas what your name would be?

S: I'd definitely be a super hero. I might be called The Multi Tasker, because I'm always juggling so many things at once! lol


C: Would you mind sharing some of the other covers you've designed or other work you've done, so that we can admire it?

S: The other covers I'm working on are under wraps right now, but I'd be happy to share some of my work outside of publishing!

C: Thanks so much! They're gorgeous. Make sure you click on them to see the larger image. Totally worth it for the detail.

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Shannon's Bio:
Emmy® award-winning artist and 4 time Annie Award nominee, Shannon Tindle, began working in the film industry in 2000. Since then he has established himself as a highly sought after designer, story artist and director for both television and feature films. Shannon has worked at Dreamworks, Disney, Cartoon Network, and Universal Studios collaborating on a wide range of projects including FOSTER'S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS, THE CROODS and the upcoming TURBO.

After creating character designs for the Oscar nominated CORALINE, Shannon returns for his second tour of duty at Laika to direct an original film.

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Giveaway:
For US readers only (sorry!), the publisher is offering a giveaway of a signed hardcover of Sidekicked. Just fill out the Rafflecopter to enter, but, remember, you can check out the other stops on the tour for more chances to win! 
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

June: Month in Review + Monthly Box Giveaway

Books Reviewed in June
Obviously, I'm not doing so well with my plan to post once a day. I'll try to do that, but I have review deadlines to meet, so I have to do what I have to do, and I will regret nothing. It was a pretty great month for reviews, since only two reviews were negative and the rest ambivalent. Success!

5 Star:
Golden Boy - Abigail Tarttelin

4.5 Star:
Faking It (Losing It #2) - Cora Cormack
Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

4 Star:
Sidekicked - John David Anderson
The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1) - Soman Chainani
Cold Fire (The Spiritwalker Trilogy #2) - Kate Elliott
The Apprentices (The Apothecary #2) - Maile Meloy
The Chaperone - Laura Moriarty
Imaginary Girls - Nova Ren Suma

3.5 Star:
Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1) - Melina Marchetta
The Wells Bequest (The Grimm Legacy #2) - Polly Shulman
The Milk of Birds - Sylvia Whitman

3 Star: 
Death Watch (The Undertaken #1) - Ari Berk
Emma Emmets, Playground Matchmaker - Julia DeVillers
Famous Last Words - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
How My Summer Went Up in Flames - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die - April Henry
The Wig in the Window - Kristen Kittscher
One (One #1) - Leigh Ann Kopans
Charm & Strange - Stephanie Kuehn
By Referral Only - Lyla Payne
Zits: Chillax - Jerry Scott
Wild Awake - Hilary T. Smith
Defiance (Defiance #1) - Stephanie Tyler

2.5 Star:
The Original 1982 - Lori Carson

2 Star:
Solstice - P.J. Hoover

.5 Star:
The Summer Garden (Tatiana and Alexander #3) - Paullina Simons

Monthly Box Giveaway
This giveaway is open to US readers only, as I will be shipping the books myself and cannot afford international postage. You can enter to win your choice of any or all of the following books:

To enter to win, just fill out the Rafflecopter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

May: Month in Review & Box Giveaway

Announcement
I'm back from BEA! What you can expect:

• The triumphant return of Cover Snark
• A post about what I learned at BEA 2013
• A series of book haul vlogs for the books once my shipments arrive (hopefully all safe and sound, otherwise you shall hear of my tears).

Books Reviewed in May
This is the first month of less reviews posted and my new rating scheme in action. Woo. I forgot to post a couple of times while I was at BEA, due to lack of interwebs and reading time, but regularity will be back. Thanks for sticking with me!

5 Star:
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) - Brandon Sanderson

4.5 Star:
Losing It (Losing It #1) - Cora Carmack
Better Nate Than Ever - Tim Federle
The Boyfriend App - Katie Sise

4 Star:
Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) - Susan Ee
The Planet Thieves - Dan Krokos

3.5 Star:
Tatiana and Alexander (Tatiana and Alexander #2) - Paullina Simons
The Perfume Collector - Kathleen Tessaro
The Ability (The Ability #1) - M.M. Vaughan

3 Star:
The One and Only Ivan - Katherine Applegate
Heart of Glass (Cross My Heart #2) - Sasha Gould
The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #1) - Julie Kagawa
Sight Reading - Daphne Kalotay
The Sword Dancer - Jeannie Lin
The End Games - T. Michael Martin
Reboot (Reboot #1) - Amy Tintera
The Collector (Dante Walker #1) - Victoria Scott
When You Were Here - Daisy Whitney

2.5 Star:
Maya's Notebook - Isabel Allende
The Ward (The Ward #1) - Jordana Frankel

2 Star:
Invisibility - Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

.5 Star:
Sky on Fire (Monument 14 #2) - Emmy Laybourne

Other Pop Culture in May

Happy Endings, season 1
This is one of the favorite shows of a very dear friend, so I've been dying to try Happy Endings for ages. The first season is funny, but not as much of a hit with me as I'd been hoping. My problem is that, though I find the basic premise and the dialog amusing, most of the characters seriously annoy me. Oh well, on the plus side, I don't have to spend money to acquire more seasons, since this isn't on Netflix. Glad I was able to borrow season one and check the show out, but I'll be okay if I don't get more.

Arrested Development, season 1
I'm refreshing myself before I watch the new season, though I won't get all the way through beforehand. This show is fabulous. Watch it if you haven't!

Monthly Box Giveaway
This giveaway is open to US readers only, as I will be shipping the books myself and cannot afford international postage. You can enter to win your choice of any or all of the following books:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

April: Month in Review & Box Giveaway

Some Changes on A Reader of Fictions:
Okay, so there are some big changes in the works right now, and I wanted to outline them without a whole post, so here goes.

Less Posting
I will be posting less, not because I'm cutting back on blogging, but because general consensus seems to be that more than one post a day can be overwhelming. I'm going to try to cut back to one post a day for a while and see how that goes. I might have to up to double-posting a couple times a week to get reviews up, but we'll see how it goes! This may change again. This is an experiment, and it's already begun. If you have thoughts on the change, let me know!

This doesn't mean I'm reading less. Just that I will not be posting the reviews I have as frequently.

Giveaways
In an effort to have more giveaways open to international readers, I'm changing up how I do giveaways. For now, I will be offering, so long as I can afford to, a giveaway copy (to be shipped from TBD) of the books I rate a 4.5 or a 5. If I have a month with a bunch of those, obviously, I will have to pick and choose at my discretion. I will be trying to give away a copy of books I loved that were sent to me free for review to support that author/publisher in their awesomeness, but, since I am funding these myself (I don't have ads or earn any money from this blog), I can only do so much.

All the ARCs and finished copies I read but do not keep for myself will go into a box. US readers only can enter to win said box. These will generally be books that I did not love, unless I receive duplicates. The winner, once chosen, may elect to receive all of the books or pick and choose.

Ratings
Also, I've updated my ratings scheme in my head. You might notice a slight change in ratings, particularly on the low end of the scale in the future, because I've solidified what they mean to me. To reiterate, anything 3 and above I liked to varying degrees (so do not tell me 3 is a negative rating, even if I do rant a bit in the review, because I still liked it) with books from 4-5 entering loved territory. Books receiving a 4.5 to a 5, I had an emotional connection with, so some books that get a 4 are essentially flawless but I just didn't bond with the MCs. Now, for the changes to the lower ratings:

2.5: This is pretty much the same. These are books that I can't say that I liked or disliked precisely. Generally, they were a bit uneven with some good elements and some bad.
2: Not for me. Books that receive 2 stars are ones that I think have merit, but that did not personally work for me, due to writing style, characters, subject matter, whatever.
1.5: Not very good. I don't have much positive to say about this book, aside from the fact that it didn't make me mad.
1: Might have had promise if it didn't make me want to punch the wall. From this month on, books receiving a rating of 1 made me angry, but do have something solid to recommend them, like good writing or plotting.
0.5: This book not only made me angry, but it was bad besides.

I'm an emotional reader, so it makes perfect sense for the bottom two ratings to be reserved for emotional reactions the way my top two ratings are. This does mean that my ratings when averaged will be lower, but I think they're a better reflection of my feelings and I'll know better how to rate the books I didn't like.

Reviews Posted in April:

4.5 Stars:
Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) - Leigh Bardugo

4 Stars:
White Lines - Jennifer Banash
Tuesday's Gone (Frieda Klein #2) - Nicci French
Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths #1) - K.A. Tucker

3.5 Stars:
The Calling (Darkness Rising #2) - Kelley Armstrong
The Rising (Darkness Rising #3) - Kelley Armstrong
One Plus One Equals Blue - M.J. Auch
Adorkable - Sarra Manning
The Sea of Tranquility - Katja Millay
Anatomy of a Boyfriend (Anatomy #1) - Daria Snadowsky
Anatomy of a Single Girl (Anatomy #2) - Daria Snadowsky
The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) - Rick Yancey

3 Stars:
Dear Cassie (Pretty Amy #2) - Lisa Burstein
House of Secrets (House of Secrets #1) - Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzini
InterWorld (InterWorld #1) - Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves
Arclight - Josin L. McQuein
The Silver Dream (InterWorld #2) - Michael Reaves & Mallory Reaves
The Bronze Horseman (Tatiana and Alexander #1) - Paullina Simons
How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True - Sarah Strohmeyer

2.5 Stars:
The Shadow Girl - Jennifer Archer
The Essence (The Pledge #2) - Kimberly Derting
The Symptoms of My Insanity - Mindy Raf

2 Stars:
A Corner of White (The Colors of Madeleine #1) - Jaclyn Moriarty

1 Star:
The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones - Jack Wolf

0.5 Stars:
Sever (Chemical Garden Trilogy #3) - Lauren DeStefano

Other Pop Culture from April
This goes back to before April, but in deference to less posts, I'm adding my What I've Been Watching posts into the monthly round up. From now on, it shouldn't be so extensive.

The Vampire Diaries, seasons 1-3

Because of the cult following, I decided to return to this show which I DNFed back when it first came out while I was in grad school. Let's just say that I can tell why I quit watching it initially. I really hate pretty much all of the characters, especially Stefan and Elena, ESPECIALLY Stefan and Elena when they're together. However, season three actually got interesting, with the introduction of morally ambiguous vampires who are not in love with Elena. Yay! Of course, I also got into the show right at the end of the last season currently available on Netflix. Sigh. My favorite characters: Caroline and Klaus.

What's Up?

This is one of the weirder kdramas I've watched. What's Up? follows a bunch of freshmen studying musical theater in college. It's sort of like Glee kdrama style, which means random musical numbers, only with the added bonus of such kdrama staples as teacher/student romance, cancer, a friendly ghost, and dark pasts. The show is made even more absurd by its sampling of themes from RENT and Les Choristes. While I did get some joy from watching it, I can't say I'd really recommend it.

Shut Up, Flower Boy Band

Yay! Another kdrama that I just want to hug and love forever. This one came highly recommended by Laura Moss, and, at first, I was like why the eff did she love this?, but I gave it a couple of episodes and all became clear. Basically, someone had to be hit by a bus and then the show stopped just being about boys punching each other and showing off their manliness, all while wearing guyliner and leopard print of course, because, duh, Korea. Anyway, once that person dies, the show is awesome all the way through the solid finale, a rare find in the kdrama world. Also, there are a couple of SUPER adorable couples who I ship so hard.

Felicity, seasons 1-2

Honestly, I think this show is sort of horrible, but it is a bit addictive. I spend a lot of time laughing about how it's basically New Adult by today's standards, though it worked just fine as a teen show back in the day. I would like this way more if the whole thing weren't a love triangle between Felicity, Ben, and Noel. Both guys have done such annoying stuff just by the end of season two that I want her to go find someone else, and I doubt that's happening. There's also a lamentable lack of hot boy on this show, though that can also be a plus as the actors look like real people. On the whole, there's just been too much jumping the shark sort of stuff, all of which makes the show campy, as opposed to a remotely realistic depiction of the issues in a student's life. Entertaining, but not what it should be. I will be finishing out the show, but I doubt I'll ever watch it again.

Panda and Hedgehog 

Guys, I didn't expect much from this but it turned out to be so adorable. Also, it made me the hungriest ever, because it's about pâtissiers, aka people who make cake for a living. This show is so funny and sweet, almost entirely light-hearted, until the last few episodes when the looming drama reared it's ugly head. Also, this love triangle is actually handled well, with the girl making her decision pretty quickly, actually telling everyone, and settling happily with her chosen guy. Woo!

Monthly Box Giveaway:
Now for the first of the monthly box giveaways! This is open to US readers only, but there will be more international giveaways on A Reader of Fictions in the future. You can win any or all of the following books:

Since I read in a wide range of genres and didn't like all of these books, the winner has the option to ask for all of these or as few as one. Anything not claimed by the winner will go into Cuddlebuggery's Little Blogger Big Ambitions, donated to the library, sold (if it was a finished copy I purchased), traded, or gifted, so don't feel bad if you don't want them all.

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March: Month in Review & Book of the Month Giveaway

Reviews Posted in March
All told, I published 30 reviews in March, which I'm pretty proud of. My average rating for the month was 3.38, which isn't too bad.

5 stars:
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

4.5 stars:
Earth Girl (Earth Girl #1) - Janet Edwards
Things I Can't Forget (Hundred Oaks #3) - Miranda Kenneally
Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) - Robin LaFevers
The Trouble with Flirting - Claire LaZebnik 
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland #1) - Catherynne M. Valente

4 Stars:
Pretty Girl-13 - Liz Coley
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest - Charles de Lint
Whispers in Autumn (The Last Year #2) - Trisha Leigh 
The Lost Girl - Sangu Mandanna
Circles of Time (Passing Bells #2) - Phillip Rock 

3.5 Stars:
MILA 2.0 (MILA 2.0 #1) - Debra Driza
Impulse (Jumper #3) - Steven Gould  
Fang Girl - Helen Keeble
The Tragedy Paper - Elizabeth LaBan
Marco Impossible - Hannah Moskowitz
Broken at Love (Whitman University #1) - Lyla Payne

3 stars:
The Midnight Spell - Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story - Sean Howe
A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
A Future Arrived (Passing Bells #3) - Phillip Rock
Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors - Andrew Shaffer
The Murmurings - Carly Anne West 

2.5 Stars:
Unremembered (Unremembered #1) - Jessica Brody
The Rogue's Princess (The Lacey Chronicles #3) - Eve Edwards
Children of Liberty - Paullina Simons 
Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters - Suzanne Weyn 

2 Stars:
Fade to Black (Rojan Dizon #1) - Francis Knight
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow - Rita Leganski 

1 Star:
Wasteland (Wasteland #1) - Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan  

Book of the Month Giveaway:

March's Book of the Month is Rainbow Rowell's absolutely beautiful Eleanor & Park. As you can tell, it earned one of my very rare five star ratings, because, on finishing and writing up my review, I could come up with not a single point of criticism, not even a minor one. I am so excited to see YA novels branching out like this. Oh, also, the hipster part of me wants everyone to know that I reviewed it before it received the John Green seal of approval. Just saying.  

To win a copy, fill out the Rafflecopter. This giveaway will be shipped from The Book Depository, so it's international.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post + Giveaway: The Mapmaker and the Ghost

In honor of the paperback release of one of my favorite reads of last year, I have Sarvenaz Tash here on the blog today! Make sure you check out my review of The Mapmaker and the Ghost as well. It's a great story for any middle grade readers! You can enter to win a copy of the pretty paperback edition, cover shown below, while you're here. Leave Sarvenaz some love too, because she's a darling!

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All About the Ghost in
The Mapmaker and the Ghost
by Sarvenaz Tash

The Mapmaker and the Ghost has – spoiler alert – a ghost in it. It's not just any ghost however: it's the ghost of my protagonist's explorer hero, Meriwether Lewis of Lewis & Clark fame.

I went through an exorbitant number of drafts of this book before I got to the final published version – 28 by my last count. I can tell you that 24 of those drafts did not have a ghost in it at all. My 24th draft had a lot of similarities to the final version but it was too short and it just needed something to punch up the story…

The idea of the ghost of Meriwether Lewis came to me one night and, once I plopped him into the story, it was like he was always meant to be there. He truly was the missing puzzle piece to my book.

So why Meriwether Lewis? Well, Goldenrod's heroes had been Lewis & Clark from pretty early on. I decided that she'd feel more of a kinship with Meriwether Lewis because, as she puts it, he'd had to deal with a name that was as equally ridiculous as her own. And in all honesty, I really liked his name too. It just sounded like something that belonged in my book.

Once I started doing research on Meriwether, I found all sorts of fun and interesting facts that just fit into the story. He was probably the most fun character to write and I actually had an easy time finding his voice.

I will say that one of the most interesting stories I read about Meriwether is how he died: he died of gunshot wounds and it has been widely debated whether it was suicide or murder. It's all rather mysterious.

I so wanted to include some of that in The Mapmaker and the Ghost. After all, a ghost thinking about how he died would be logical. But, unfortunately, it was just too dark of a subject matter to have any place in my story. And, ultimately, Meriwether works more as a sidekick helping Goldenrod complete her quest then dealing with his own issues!

All in all, The Mapmaker and the Ghost owes a lot to the fascinating life of Meriwether Lewis. I immensely enjoyed learning about him and I hope the readers of my book learn a bit more about him too.

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Sarvenaz Tash was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up on Long Island, NY. She received her BFA in Film and Television from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. This means she got to spend most of college running around and making movies (it was a lot of fun). She has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting. Sarvenaz currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. The Mapmaker and the Ghost is her debut novel.

Links:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads

To purchase The Mapmaker and the Ghost:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
The Book Depository

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Giveaway: 
Sarvenaz is offering a signed paperback copy of The Mapmaker and the Ghost for one of my U.S. readers! Just fill out the Rafflecopter to enter!
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February: Month in Review & Book of the Month Giveaway

Reviews Posted in February:
During February, I posted 26 reviews, 15 of which were for dystopian titles. My most common rating was 4 stars, which is awesome, but I also had quite a few unfortunate reads too. Oh well. The average of my ratings for the month is 3.3. Not too shabby!

4.5 Stars:
Shadow on the Crown (Emma of Normandy #1) - Patricia Bracewell
In the Shadow of Blackbirds - Cat Winters

4 Stars:
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself - Alan Alda
When We Wake (When We Wake #1) - Karen Healey
Because I Said So! - Ken Jennings
Prodigy (Legend #2) - Marie Lu
Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) - Beth Revis
Breaking Point (Article 5 #2) - Kristen Simmons
Orleans - Sherri L. Smith
Fall for Anything - Courtney Summers
Kiss Me Again (If We Kiss #2) - Rachel Vail

3.5 Stars:
Not Exactly a Love Story - Audrey Couloumbis
Rootless (Rootless #1) - Chris Howard 
Legend (Legend #1) - Marie Lu 
The Kassa Gambit - M.C. Planck 
Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection - Don Roff 

3 Stars:
Obernewtyn (The Obernewtyn Chronicles #2) - Isobelle Carmody
Gamers (Gamers #1) - Thomas K. Carpenter
Whispers in Autumn (The Last Year #1) - Trisha Leigh
Shards & Ashes - Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong, eds.
Firebrand (Rebel Angels #1) - Gillian Philip

2.5 Stars:
Ashes of Twilight (Ashes Trilogy #1) - Kassy Tayler

2 Stars:
The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) - Alexandra Bracken

1.5 Stars:
The Neverending Story - Michael Ende
The Prey (The Hunt #2) - Andrew Fukuda

1 Star:
Modelland (Modelland #1) - Tyra Banks  

Book of the Month Giveaway:
Each month, I hold an international giveaway for one of my favorite books reviewed during that month. This month, I had a lot of good reads (and some unfortunate ones). I'm putting the spotlight on debut author Cat Winters' In the Shadow of Blackbirds, a must-read for historical or paranormal fiction fans. Check out my joint review discussion with Lenore Appelhans here and here for more information. 

In the Shadow of Blackbirds doesn't come out until April, so I'll preorder the book for the winner. If the winner lives in the US, I'll give the option of choosing the ARC instead, so they can read it early. If shipping the ARC costs more than a nice, shiny finished copy, I just don't see the point. Fill out the Rafflecopter to enter! 

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Signing with Lenore Appelhans, Megan Shepherd, Victoria Schwab, Beth Revis & Meagan Spooner

Hello, dear readers! I've been teasing you with this post for almost a week now. I promised a giveaway, and it's at the end of this post. On Saturday, I drove three and a half hours up to Asheville, NC from my home in Atlanta to attend this signing. Why did I go so far? Because Lenore and I are besties and she totally made me, or something like that. Anyway, it was well worth it, even though it was snowing on Sunday morning, which freaked out my poor Georgia peach self with images of black ice and impassable mountains.

Their books, so that you can go check out their delightful debuts (or, in Beth Revis' case, third book).

• The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1) - Megan Shepherd (my review)
• The Archived (The Archived #1) - Victoria Schwab (my review)
• Level 2 (The Memory Chronicles #1) - Lenore Appelhans (my review)
• Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) - Beth Revis (my review)
• Skylark (Skylark #1) - Meagan Spooner

I failed to be a good blogger and take notes, so I'm pretty much just going to show you pictures accompanied by the occasional factoid. Be aware that I'm not Lenore's stalker, but she was the only one that I could take photos of easily from my seat, so I sort of became her personal paparazzi.

Megan Shepherd explains The Madman's Daughter. During question and answer later on, she shared that the most difficult aspect of turning The Island of Dr. Moreau into a YA novel wasn't adding a female character, but trying to achieve classic-feeling language that isn't dense and boring.

Obviously, I failed at getting a photo of Victoria Schwab's reading. But she's making a great face here, so there's that.

Unlike the others, Beth Revis declined to read from the start of Shades of Earth, partly because it's the third in a trilogy and spoilers would happen, but also because she doesn't like doing readings. She did read a page, though: the blank one. She's a funny lady, Beth Revis is.

The signing line, because I also failed to get a non-blurry photo of Meagan Spooner's reading. I should have brought my nicer camera. Lesson learned too late. Here are all of the ladies as the signing line goes by!

Victoria Schwab, author of The Archived, talking about the crazy faces she always ends up making when people take her photos.

Alright, to balance out that last photo, here's one of Victoria looking unquestionably adorable while Megan Shepherd, author of The Madman's Daughter, looks on.

Another cute photo of them!

Lenore grinning. The reason for this innocent-looking smile: she just made a ridiculous face for a photo a friend was taking. This is her deceptively evil grin of triumph.

Beth Revis signing the hardcover of Shades of Earth that one of you will be winning!

And there's Meagan Spooner signing Skylark!

All five authors! Beth Revis, Meagan Spooner, Lenore Appelhans, Victoria Schwab, and Megan Shepherd.

Since it's Dystopian February, I'm offering up signed hardbacks of the books by these ladies: Skylark by Meagan Spooner, Shades of Earth by Beth Revis, and Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans. This giveaway is US/Canada only, because I'm footing the bill for shipping. However, international folks, scroll on down for a chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For the international crowd, I have a TBD giveaway, so as long as they ship to you, you can win as well. Though I can't get you guys signed copies, the international winner has the bonus of getting to choose which three books you would like. Choose from any of the authors' books, including Across the Universe and A Million Suns by Beth Revis, and The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab.

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