Mini Review: The Dolls by Kiki Sullivan

Advertised as "sultry, seductive [and] irresistible", the second book in this series, MIDNIGHT DOLLS, comes out September 1st 2015. Who of you has this fall release on their wishlist?

The Dolls by Kiki Sullivan

Eveny Cheval hasn't been to the town of Carrefour in a long time. That's the place she was born; also the place where her own mother died many years ago under unresolved circumstances. So when she returns to Carrefour with her aunt, her arrival is met not only with curiosity but rumours and hidden agendas, too.

Back in Carrefour Eveny meets Peregrine and Chloe. Being known as the Dolls the two consider themselves the universal centre of attention. They are beautiful, rich and popular so it's no wonder they are ruling the school. Every boy loves them and they even have their own henchmen. Whatever the girls want, their spells buy them. Together they are constantly trying to persuade Eveny to join them because she is a Doll, too. So a great part of the story is made up of the three girls practicing spells and introducing Eveny to the world of magic.

   Eveny was an acceptable protagonist, but I really couldn't care less about Peregrine and Chloe's superficiality and promiscuity. There might be more to them than one first notices, but overall I perceived them as rather annoying and dull characters. With the intention to add a bit more excitement to the story than a girly and cliché group dynamic, Kiki Sullivan sent an unknown killer after the Dolls. 
   At first I was intrigued by the scenery and the city of Carrefour, a magical town in the South. Its city gates only open for people who are in possession of a magic key. Eveny lives in an old house with a mysterious housekeeper. Set in Louisiana the story carries a certain mysterious and atmospheric feel to it. Just not as much as I'd hoped for. Furthermore I would have wished for the girls to be more adult and serious characters. Overall I guess THE DOLLS just wasn't my kind of story. 

2,5/5 **/* THE DOLLS - Equipped with lip gloss, high heels, a snake and a bunch of old spells, Eveny, Chloe and Peregrine are fighting evil.

Being a fan of the Tv show Pretty Little Liars I was very much looking forward to read THE DOLLS. I had hoped for Kiki Sullivan's novel to be an even darker and more atmospheric read than mentioned Tv show but with the same girl power and drama. Sadly, it wasn't at all what I'd hoped for. The concept of the Dolls is rather dull, Eveny's love story is weak and all the potential Southern gothic flair mostly wasted.  

 

Publisher: Usborne Publishing

Publishing Date: March 1st 2015

Length: 432 pages

Keywords:YA, thriller, romance, mystery, magic

Source: Publisher
Goodreads Summary  
The Dolls Excerpt  

Author's Homepage

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Mini Review: The Two of Us by Andy Jones

Today I'm back with a mini review of THE TWO OF US by Andy Jones. Since the blog has been a bit too quiet for my taste in the past months, I've decided to post a few mini reviews in the next weeks in order to get caught up with my review schedule and rebuild a blogging routine. Really hoping this plan works. Let's do this!

The Two of Us by Andy Jones

Andy Jones' newest fiction release tells the story of Ivy and Fisher who have known each other for about nineteen days. Yet they both carry a strong conviction to spend the rest of their lives together. It's not only that they have to convince their friends and parents about the validity of their plan and feelings, but the reader and above all themselves as well. Their feelings for each other aren't always easy to admit, their approaches at honesty and loyalty not always fully comprehensible. Yet, Ivy and Fisher's romance is as comfortable and relatable to readers as it is, because their story just feels real.   Told from Fisher's perspective we are learning bit by bit about the beginning of Ivy and Fisher's love story and how their feelings for each other change and intensify over time. Great pick of a pov! Fisher is funny and committed, a fabulous protagonist. Just like him we never know entirely what is going on in Ivy's mind. Sometimes I was a tad glad, we don't. Based on her often reserved and withdrawn behavior I couldn't always be sure about her next move. Some parts of the story were definitely weaker than others and that's why I couldn't name THE TWO OF US a favourite read, despite enjoying it as an overall quick contemporary read. My favourite part about this book probably are the secondary characters that make THE TWO OF US extra special. I assure you, you'll love El!

3,5/5 ***/* THE TWO OF US - A surprising everyday love story, with a relatable narrator and a very moving side plot!

THE TWO OF US is a fast-paced read, even though there isn't really that much action to the story. Despite a few weak points to the story and its female protagonist, it's the exceptionally ordinary characters and quirky dialogues that make for a likable contemporary read. You should give it a try!  

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Publishing Date: May 7th 2015

Length: 400 pages

Keywords: romance, chick-lit, friendship, family, drama

Source: Publisher
Goodreads Summary  
The Two of Us Excerpt 

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Vacation Reads

 

 

Can you believe it's July already? 2015 has been crazy so far and I have no idea what happed to my intended blogging time. I spent three months interning at a publisher's house in Hamburg, went on vacation to Denmark and recently threw a big birthday party for my grandfather. It's been a great time, but I really do miss blogging and talking about books here on the blog and on Twitter. Here's at least an attempt at returning to a more constant and frequent blogging schedule. So I thought it would be fun to share a few pictures from my Denmark vacation and the books I read in the three weeks on the beach.

First I read all six books in the BLOODLINES series by Richelle Mead. It took about a week. And I had a massive Adrian Ivashkov hangover after that epic binge read, I assure you. Out of the six BLOODLINES books I liked SILVER SHADOWS best. It had action and certainly the best parts of Syndey and Adrian's romance. This series is definitely a must-read for everyone who enjoyed the VAMPIRE ACADEMY books!

   After vampires and a great series I decided to read the second VERONICA MARS book, MR. KISS AND TELL by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham. It was so good to be back in Neptune because Veronica still rocks! Another YA thriller I read was THE KILLING WOODS by Lucy Christopher which was a complete disappointment. I'm not even sure I want to write a review about it.

   WHEN YOU WERE HERE by Daisy Whitney and SAINT ANYTHING by Sarah Dessen and #SCANDAL by Sarah Ockler where all quite enjoyable reads, not entirely what I expected them to be though. 

So far I haven't had so much luck with picking brilliant five-star reads in 2015. I would have expected to find most of them among my summer reads, but out of the eleven books I read while on vacation I would only name SILVER SHADOWS a true 5-star read. I'm really counting on your summer reads recommendations in the comments!

Q! I could really use a few more awesome YA contemporary reads. What have you read so far this summer? 

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Release Tour: One Prince, Two Kingdoms by Jana Grissom

One Prince, Two Kingdoms
by Jana Grissom




Release date:

May 12th 2015







My forehead’s throbbing. One minute this girl is yelling at me for giving up and the next, she’s laughing. Whiplash.

I squint my eyes at Danielle and whisper with my lips firmly in place, “I will never give up.”

Her voice is high and cheerful, “So what’s your plan?”

Johnny Boggs is a teen with trouble to spare who has learned one thing in life - trust no one. Paranoia befriends him as he moves into his fifth foster home and discovers no one appears as they are, his dreams are not just dreams, and he is supposedly the Prince of Shamayim.

On Johnny’s sixteenth birthday, fate requires him to leave the protection of this world but allows for him to choose to reign over the light or turn to the darkness. A vicious competition begins as two kingdoms fight for his loyalty while two beautiful girls, Danielle and Shay, fight for his attention. Time is running out; a decision must be made. Johnny finds it impossible to resist the beauty of his dreams, nor can he turn away from the one who has his heart.



AMAZON US | GOODREADS | TATE PUBLISHING

EXCERPT

Footsteps enter my bedroom and approach my bunk. Not. Right. Now. I pretend to be asleep. A cold chill covers my body, making every hair stand on end. Then the bedroom door slams shut. I’m not in the freaking mood! Expecting to see one of my annoying foster brothers, I jerk my head toward the door and punch my fist into the mattress. “What!” I yell out, but no one’s there.

My eyes dart all around the room. Maybe there’s a draft, or someone shut another door causing this one to slam. Doubt it. I’m sure it’s just JC and Miguel trying to get even. “Hilarious, guys, I’m so scared. Now get the hell outta here.” I throw my pillow at the door and myself back on my bed.

An abnormal silence plays with my mind. I decide to reach for my headphones, but I can’t move. My heart jumps. No matter how hard I flex, my arm is stuck to the mattress. My lungs suck in air while every other organ aches under the pressure. An uncontrollable trembling takes over. What. The. Heck. Is. Going. On. My eyes blink over a hundred miles per hour. I can’t move, I can’t speak, I can’t, and then I realize I only have one ability left — sight.

Next to my bed stands a huge man with solid black corneas full of swirling dark fog in his vacant orbs, the Hollow Man. He’s staring me down again, but this time we’re the only ones in the room—no queen, no Camaro, no Mom. This can’t be real. It’s just another one of my crazy dreams. I go along for the ride, like I have a choice. The Hollow Man stands there clenching his fists, causing his abnormally large pecs to flex. My heart races, and my stomach threatens to return my lunch. An intense pain surges as he’s controlling every cell in my body without touching me.

The Hollow Man speaks, “Prince, why are you lying here as if you are a helpless child?” He turns off his death stare, and I feel an instant release followed by the familiar ache of a four-hour football workout in the Texas heat. Is this guy serious? Prince? And how am I supposed to fight something that isn’t really there? My chest tightens, and I try to wake up.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Jana Grissom is a middle school teacher, an advocate for foster children and at-risk teens, a mom of two amazing teens, and married to Roy, her high-school sweetheart.
Jana holds a Master of Education in Administration and Policy Studies and offers professional development in bullying identification, prevention, and intervention. She is available to speak to students at secondary schools about the writing process or bring a message that challenges them to S.T.O.P. bullying and suicide.
Jana is a Texas girl who loves the outdoors, flip-flops, chocolate, and sweet tea. In her spare time, she loves escaping to imaginary worlds through the magic of books.



WEBSITE | BLOG | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN

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Blog Tour: The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski - Deleted Scene

Welcome to the Jersey Shore! A very fabulous summer lies ahead of you. And if you want to make it perfect you just have to grab a copy of Jennifer Salvato Doktorski's newest book! As part of the Sourcebooks Fire blog tour I'm sharing a deleted scene from the original draft of THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME today. Enjoy!

Will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?

For Lucy, the Jersey Shore isn’t just the perfect summer escape, it’s home. As a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in during Memorial Day weekend, crowding her costal town and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Still, she can’t help but crush on charming Connor Malloy. His family spends every summer next door, and she longs for their friendship to turn into something deeper.

Then Superstorm Sandy sweeps up the coast, bringing Lucy and Connor together for a few intense hours. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm, and Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and her broken home. Time may heal all wounds, but with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, Lucy’s summer is sure to be filled with fireworks.

About the Author:

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski is the author of two YA novels and is a freelance nonfiction writer. Her first paid writing gig was at The North Jersey Herald & News, where she wrote obituaries and began her lifelong love of news and coffee. She lives in New Jersey with her family.

Want to buy a copy? Here are some links: Amazon | Apple | BAM  |  B&N  |  Chapters  | Indiebound

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The Sumer After You and Me - Deleted Scene

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski: "A few scenes from THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME didn’t make the cut. This is one of them. In the original draft, Connor convinces Lucy that she and Andrew should go on a double-date with him and his girlfriend, Bryn. The two couples drive together to a party “OTB” (Over the bridge) in Toms River, which is the town across the Barnegat Bay from Seaside Park. In this scene, Connor, Bryn, Lucy, and Andrew are returning home from the party in Connor’s father’s car. They’ve just pulled into the driveway that separate’s Connor’s house from Lucy’s."

“Who’s that?” Bryn asks as the car rolls past Liam toward the detached garage in back of the Malloy house. It’s funny how their garage survived the storm but our guest cottage didn’t. The devastation caused by the storm is disturbing on so many levels, but the randomness compounds everyone’s frustrations and feelings of futility.

“My brother,” I say.

“Really? You look nothing alike.”

We’ve heard that one all our lives. If you ask me, he got the better deal in the DNA shuffle. Mom’s blue eyes, Dad’s jet black hair, skin that turns mocha brown. It trumps brown eyes, dirty blond hair that needs heavy doses of sunlight to turn golden, and skin that requires SPF of fifty or above.

“They’re twins,” Andrew says as he opens his car door.

“Really?!” Color Bryn shocked. “I guess they’re not identical,” she says.

Should I bother to tell her boy/girl twins are never identical? It’s another thing that gets so old.

“Boys and girls can’t be identical twins.” Connor sounds annoyed as he opens his door. “They’re always fraternal.”

“That’s what I said.” Bryn says once she’s out of the car. “They look nothing alike.”

I roll my eyes at Andrew and slide across the seat to get out on his side of the car. For some reason, I don’t want to end up standing next to Bryn.

Connor puts out a hand to shake Andrew’s. “Thanks for coming man,” he says.

“Thanks for the ride,” Andrew says. “We should do it again. I may be working at Rafferty’s this summer. You should come hang out.”

No, no, no! There will be no hanging out with Connor and Bryn. It’s already too weird, confusing, unnecessary and… what else? There’s got to be more. Bryn joins us on our side of the car puts her arm around Connor’s waist and snuggles against him. Oh, yeah. Depressing.

“Well, good night!” I say, desperate to wrap things up and walk over to my yard. “Have a safe trip back and enjoy the prom.”

“When’s your prom?” Andrew asks. “Ours is June fourteenth.”

“Bryn’s is the night before,” Connor says.

“A Thursday?”

“Friday is senior cut day,” Bryn explains. “Everyone goes away for a long weekend after prom.”

That’s right. Connor mentioned they’d be here for prom weekend. Maybe Andrew and I should go away. Yeah, right. My parents aren’t letting me go anywhere overnight with a boy. Even if that boy is Andrew.

“Well, see ya,” I say. Making a second attempt to end this night.

“Later,” Andrew says.

When we’re finally in my yard, Andrew walks me with onto the back porch and kisses me goodnight at the kitchen door.

“Coming to the annual Clark Memorial Day par-tay tomorrow?” Andrew asks.

“Please tell me you don’t use the phrase par-tay around anyone but me.”

Andrew pretends to get all serious. “I’m sorry I can’t do that. So are you coming or what?”

“Of course. Right after work. I wouldn’t miss it.”

My parents and Liam usually go too. The Clarks throw quite a bash. I’ve always envied Andrew’s parents fun-loving ways. They seem happiest when they have a house and yard full of people. My parents don’t exactly go out of their way to entertain.

“See you tomorrow,” I say before I close the door.

“Text me when you’re leaving work.”

“I will.”

Yay for work! I’m thrilled that I won’t be around at all tomorrow. Won’t have to see Connor and Bryn getting into his pick-up together and driving off toward the Garden State Parkway.

I lock the backdoor then surreptitiously peek out front to see if Liam’s still on the porch. He isn’t. I lock the front door since Liam didn’t of course. At the landing on the top of the steps, I pause and listen for signs of movement in Liam’s room. Hearing the familiar discordant thrum! I know he just plunked down his acoustic in its stand. Good. He’s in there. Locking my brother out would be bad.

As quickly and quietly as possible, I scamper up to my room. Avoiding Liam feels wrong. So did double-dating with Connor. I wasn’t exactly honest with Andrew about how that came about. So yeah, I get why Liam’s annoyed with me, but I haven’t really forgiven him for sabotaging and severing my connection to Connor back in the fall. My brother has no right to be angry with me, not when he was the one who caused the unsettling turn my love life has taken.

My eyes cut to my bedroom window. Before turning on the light, I cross the room to pull down the shade. Outside Connor is alone in his driveway. He’s leaning against the trunk of his father’s car, looking down at his phone. I watch the top of his head for a few seconds, wondering if he’s going to look up. My vantage point, both the height and the angle, remind me of that day in October. I paused at the top of the grand staircase when I saw Connor near the entranceway studying a framed seascape in muted pastels. I held my breath. Wondering if he’d meant everything he’d just said and trying to picture waking up every morning and finding him there. He must have felt me staring. For once, I wasn’t being sneaky about it and the expression on his face when our eyes locked told me I didn’t have to be, not anymore.

I felt like we covered so much ground that day; that we became an “us”. Look at me now, I think as I stand hidden in the shadows of my room, back where I started. I guess it’s where I belong. I wait one second more for Connor to look up. When he doesn’t, I pull the shade down and go to bed.

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Great Pre-Order Campaign + Excerpt: Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally

Any Miranda Kenneally fans here? I know I am a huge fan of her books and will definitely pre-order a copy of her newest book, JESSE'S GIRL, coming July 2015. So have you heard about the huge pre-order campaign Sourcebooks is running? You don't want to miss this! I'm sharing the details below and have a fun excerpt of JESSE'S GIRL for you, too. 

 Practice Makes Perfect.

Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.

But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo? 

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Pre-Order Campaign

In celebration of Miranda’s new book, Sourcebooks Fire is offering some really cool stuff for readers, fans, etc.

Everyone who emails teenfire@sourcebooks.com will automatically receive an email of the EXCLUSIVE Jesse’s Girl Playlist, and will be invited to attend a LIVE online author event on July 6, the day before Jesse’s Girl goes on-sale!

In addition, if you pre-order the book and send your proof of purchase (and mailing address) to teenfire@sourcebooks.com, you’ll not only get the exclusive playlist and event invite, but you’ll also receive a signed/personalized bookplate, a super-cute custom guitar pick, and entered to win a $300 gift card to TicketMaster so you can go to a concert or musical or some other fun event.

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Jesse's Girl - Excerpt

As much as I love music, I am generally not a fan of country. I don’t like banjos. I don’t like sappy lyrics about trucks and hauling hay. Dolly Parton is my mortal enemy—my mom plays “Jolene” over and over and over and over, and it makes me want to chop my ears off like van Gogh. Yeah, yeah, I’m from Tennessee, where it’s a crime if you don’t love country, but I like deep, rumbling beats and singing loud and fast and hard. I do not like closing my eyes and crooning to a cow in the pasture. Yet here I am at a Jesse Scott concert, getting ready to meet him and to see if he’ll let me shadow him next Friday.

My school requires every senior to “shadow” a professional for a day. It’s their way of helping us figure out what kind of career we want. Like, if you want to be president when you grow up, you might get to shadow the mayor. Want to be a chef? Have fun kneading dough at the Donut Palace. When I said “I want to be a musician,” I figured they’d send me to work in the electronics section at Walmart.

I certainly never expected to shadow the king of country music.

It turns out that Jesse Scott is my principal’s nephew. Jesse won TV’s Wannabe Rocker when he was ten and has gone on to become very successful. In sixth grade, every girl in class—myself included—took the Teen Beat quiz: “Would Jesse Scott Like Your Kissing Style?” (Obviously the answer was yes.) In middle school, I had a Jesse Scott poster on my ceiling. It’s hard to believe he’s only eighteen, because he’s already won three Grammys. When he was younger, his songs were about family, fishing, and playing baseball, but lately they’re about love and making love and all things sexy.

I wouldn’t say I’m a fan anymore, but I would never give up an opportunity to learn from a professional with such a gorgeous, pure voice. I want to learn what it’s like to perform day in and day out. Despite what everyone and their mom says—that I’ll struggle as a musician—all I want is to play guitar in front of a crowd and hear people cheer for me.

I can’t believe I’m backstage at the Grand Ole Opry! I bounce on my toes. Jesus, is that an archtop Super 4, the model Elvis played? I’ve never seen one in real life. It probably cost more than my house. I’m ogling the guitar when Jesse Scott comes out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. He pads across the room to the couch, wearing nothing but a pair of rugged jeans with more holes than Swiss cheese. The lighting is dim, and he doesn’t seem to notice I’m here, which is good, because I’ve moved from ogling the guitar to ogling him.

Who wouldn’t? He was one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” and it is a truth universally acknowledged that you should stare at people who’ve made that list. The guy’s gorgeous. Like in the boy-next-door way. His wet, wavy, brown hair curls around his ears and nearly hits his shoulders, and while he doesn’t have a six-pack or anything, his body is fit. I wish he’d look my way so I can see his famous brown eyes. They always remind me of those caramel chews Poppy gives me when I visit. Jesse has some sort of Gaelic symbol tattooed on his left shoulder blade. I want to reach out and trace the design.

God, get ahold of yourself, Maya. Don’t be a horndog. Besides, he’s so not my type. I don’t do pretty boys.

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Cover Reveal: One Prince, Two Kingdoms by Jana Grissom

One Prince, Two Kingdoms
by Jana Grissom




Release date:

May 12th 2015







My forehead’s throbbing. One minute this girl is yelling at me for giving up and the next, she’s laughing. Whiplash.

I squint my eyes at Danielle and whisper with my lips firmly in place, “I will never give up.”

Her voice is high and cheerful, “So what’s your plan?”

Johnny Boggs is a teen with trouble to spare who has learned one thing in life - trust no one. Paranoia befriends him as he moves into his fifth foster home and discovers no one appears as they are, his dreams are not just dreams, and he is supposedly the Prince of Shamayim.

On Johnny’s sixteenth birthday, fate requires him to leave the protection of this world but allows for him to choose to reign over the light or turn to the darkness. A vicious competition begins as two kingdoms fight for his loyalty while two beautiful girls, Danielle and Shay, fight for his attention. Time is running out; a decision must be made. Johnny finds it impossible to resist the beauty of his dreams, nor can he turn away from the one who has his heart.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Jana Grissom is a middle school teacher, an advocate for foster children and at-risk teens, a mom of two amazing teens, and married to Roy, her high-school sweetheart.
Jana holds a Master of Education in Administration and Policy Studies and offers professional development in bullying identification, prevention, and intervention. She is available to speak to students at secondary schools about the writing process or bring a message that challenges them to S.T.O.P. bullying and suicide.
Jana is a Texas girl who loves the outdoors, flip-flops, chocolate, and sweet tea. In her spare time, she loves escaping to imaginary worlds through the magic of books.



WEBSITE | BLOG | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN

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