BLOG TOUR - The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts (Spotlight & Giveaway)

The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts

Publication Date: September 6, 2016

Publisher: Entangled TEEN

Synopsis:

True love can’t be strategized.

After book blogger Vivian Galdi’s longtime crush pretends their secret summer kissing sessions never happened, Vivian creates a list of safe crushes, determined to protect her heart.

But nerd-hot Dallas, the sweet new guy in town, sends the mission and Vivian’s zing meter into chaos. While designing software for the bookstore where Vivian works, Dallas wages a counter-mission.

Operation Replacement Crush is in full effect. And Dallas is determined to take her heart off the shelf.

Purchase Links:

Amazon US / B&N / iBooks / Kobo / Amazon UK / Amazon CAN / Entangled Publishing

About the Author:

Lisa Brown Roberts still hasn't recovered from the teenage trauma of nearly tweezing off both eyebrows and having to pencil them in for an entire school year. This and other angst-filled memories inspire her to write YA books about navigating life's painful and funny dramas, and falling in love along the way.

Her almost forever home is Colorado, though she occasionally pines for the days when she lived within walking distance of the Pacific Ocean. Her house is full of books, boys, four-legged prima donnas, and lots of laughter.

Links:

Author Website: www.lisabrownroberts.com

Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/LBrownRoberts

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorLisaBrownRoberts/

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8287979.Lisa_Brown_Roberts

One (1) winner will receive:

· A signed copy of The Replacement Crush 

· Nerd glasses necklace 

· Button 

· Signed poster 

· Bookmark 

· Spock Funko Pop!

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Blog Tour: Broken Dreams Series by Elodie Nowodazkij

A Summer Like No Other (Broken Dreams: Em & Nick #1)

by Elodie Nowodazkij

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance (novella)

Pages: 125

Release Date: July 30th 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all.

They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting.

Sixteen-year-old Emilia Moretti’s goal for the summer is simple: forget her brother’s best friend—Nick Grawsky—ever existed. It should be easy: He’s spending his summer in the Hamptons, adding girls in tiny bikinis to his list of broken hearts. Guarantee he won’t be telling them they’re like his little sisters. This summer, Emilia won’t stay awake at night thinking about him. She’ll need flawless ballet movements to have a shot at next year’s showcase, and she’s finally ready to search for her birth parents. But when Nick decides to stay in the city, Emilia’s resolve disappears in a pirouette. Maybe it’s the spin they needed to be together. As long as she doesn’t get stuck believing in happily ever after…

Nick is tired of pretending to be the happy, let’s-have-fun guy. His father wants him to change his career from professional dancer to…lawyer. He needs to put all of his focus on dancing to prove to Daddy Dearest he’s good enough to make it big. And he may have a case of the bluest balls in history courtesy of Emilia. She’s off-limits: The bro code with Roberto even forbids the dirty thoughts he has about her. Besides, he’s not boyfriend material. He only has time for flings, for girls who don’t expect much, for girls he doesn’t want to kiss goodnight. He knows he should resist her, but he’s not sure he wants to…

At least for this summer.

It’s going to be a summer like no other.

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon around the world * B&N * Kobo * iTunes

Always Second Best (Broken Dreams: Em & Nick #2)

by Elodie Nowodazkij

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 10th 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

Sometimes being first isn’t what you expected.

Seventeen-year-old ballerina Emilia Moretti is tired of always being second best. And she’s going to prove the world she deserves to be first. In her upcoming School of the Performing Arts showcase. In the eyes of her birth parents. And in the heart of the guy she loves. She spends hours rehearsing, hours dreaming about becoming number one, hours imagining how her entire life is about to change. But when nothing goes the way she planned, she’ll need to realize what it really means to be first.

Eighteen-year-old Nick Grawski doesn’t want to follow Daddy Dearest’s rules any longer. He's going to prove he's meant to be a dancer—not a lawyer—and he is not going to stay away from Em just because his father demands it. He needs to show Em that—this time around—he’s there to stay and that he won’t break her heart again. Even when her world goes down to shit, even when he finds out his dad may have been trying to protect him all along, even if being there for one another is harder than falling in love.

ALWAYS SECOND BEST is a novel of hope and heartbreak and broken dreams. It’s a novel about falling in love and discovering that being first isn’t always what matters.

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Buy Links:

Amazon – B&N – iTunes - Kobo

About the Author

Elodie Nowodazkij was raised in a tiny village in France, where she could always be found a book in hand. At nineteen, she moved to the US, where she learned she’d never lose her French accent. Now she lives in Maryland with her husband, their dog and their cat.

She's also a serial smiley user.

Author Links:
Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

My Review

3/5

This series is cute and light to read with elements of seriousness and heartbreaking issues.

The multi-facetedness of the storyline is what drew me into reading this and also kept me reading. I liked that there was some conflict and family drama rather than just boy drama (which was also included, I admit).

I think the characters could have used a bit more depth. I had been hoping from the title and summary that there would be a lesson in the books about realising that is perfectly fine to not be perfect. Em spends her whole life determined to be absolutely perfect, and though this is a common problem with people that feel lost in their place in life, it is not addressed enough, in my opinion, by the other characters. Her family seem loving enough and Nick supposedly knows her better than anyone yet they have not tried to hinder her from feeling like this for years. Instead they just tell her that she's beautiful or perfect. Not exactly the right thing to say to someone with that mental issue.

Nick's life confused me. He didn't want to be cut off so he became a glorified escort. That is basically what his father had him doing. Seriously?! Is that even, in any way, realistic? Regardless, it lends to the drama and heartbreakingness of the storyline, so I tried to ignore it. I felt like the characters actions were a bit flakey, as they would claim to believe in one thing or feel something but then just not care about it later on.

The plot had so much potential. Nothing like a good adoption twist to make a story interesting. And for the most part I liked this element of the book. I just wish there had been a bit more. Just more. I would have liked to have seen more depth into this part of the story.

In conclusion, I think that is my real problem, I just wanted more from it. More depth into the characters and more from the story. If it had been teased out a bit more then I might have given a higher rating.

-Tia

Giveaway

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BLOG TOUR - Not Okay, Cupid by Heidi R. Kling (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Not Okay, Cupid  by Heidi R. Kling

(High School Heartbreakers #1)

Published by: Entangled Crush 

Published on: January 11th, 2016 

 Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy 

Blurb:

Her wicked revenge, or his wicked heart…

Hazel McCallister loves her life. Perfect grades. Perfect best friend. Perfect boyfriend. Until her perfect boyfriend cheats on her with her perfect best friend. Now Hazel’s in free fall—until her best friend’s brother, Felix, gives her the perfect idea. Reclaim her power by taking revenge on her cheating ex. 

Felix James loves his life. Casual relationships. Loads of surfing. He’s as drama-free as they come. But he can’t stand by when his sister steals her best friend’s boyfriend, and the dude insists it was Hazel’s fault. So Felix vows to help turn Hazel into a girl her ex can’t resist—so then she can break his heart. 

With an alliance in place, Hazel’s revenge is all but assured. But with each piece of payback, she feels a stronger attraction to Felix, even though revenge will turn her into a girl Felix could never be with. And soon Hazel has to make an impossible choice: revenge…or Felix, the boy who’s stolen her heart.

WARNING! This book contains betrayal, revenge, and that most tempting vice of all, the bad boy you know you can’t have.

Links:

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / Entangled Pub

I watched in horror as Kimmy’s lips grazed Jay’s ear. He leaned back and laughed. What the heck was going on?

“Oh God!” Hazel said, grabbing my hand. “Look at her hand.”

Kimmy’s hand was riding high up Jay’s shorts. High, high. Like top of thigh high. The kind of move that usually let me know a girl was ready to get down to business.

“Dude,” I said, because what else could I say?

Hazel swallowed. “Did you know about this?”

“Me? No way. Hell no. I’ve been looking for her all day, too. Look, Baze, don’t overreact. We don’t know anything. Who knows. He might have…lost a match and she’s…comforting him. Or his turtle died and they’re planning a eulogy together?” I was grasping and we both knew it, but I couldn’t stand to see that pained look on her face. “I once heard the best eulogy for a frog. It was amazing. It was all about the life cycle from tadpole to amphibian to…”

“Shut up, Felix.”

“Shutting up.”

Hazel brushed past me and barreled toward them. It was no turtle eulogy, and I knew it. I mean, I didn’t know I knew it, but I knew the look of two people who were digging on each other, and those two were certainly all about the other one. God, poor Hazel.

Oh no. There she goes.

I had to follow her. I had to help.

“Excuse me,” I said to a group of three ladies in my way. Two of them grinned at me, one glared. The glaring one was a girl I’d forgotten to call back. I ducked, sheepishly, with a little apologetic wave, and came out on the other side.

I’d never even heard Hazel raise her voice, never mind cry. Never mind cry in public. But I didn’t need to use my astute Sherlock skills to see Hazel was on the verge of doing all three. She stopped close to Jay and Kimmy, like she was verifying what she was seeing was real.

One more intimate touch from Kimmy on Jay and that was it. Hazel moved in for the kill.

a #Heartbreak tank top that looks like this and was inspired by Not Okay, Cupid (as the series name for this book is High School Heartbreakers): https://shirtmeuptees.com/product/smu-02-hash?shirt_style=womenstank&customtext=heartbreak

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About the Author: 

After earning her BA in Literature & Creative Writing Literature from UC Santa Cruz and finding her voice in YA, Heidi went on to earn her MFA in Writing for Children from The New School. She has directed and written children’s theatre on both coasts and lives with her husband and two children in Palo Alto, CA. 

Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2936539.Heidi_R_Kling 

Website: http://heidirkling.com 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeidiRKling 

Tumblr: http://heidirkling.tumblr.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heidi.r.kling

BLOG TOUR - The Fix Up by Tawna Fenske (Excerpt & Giveaway)

The Fix Up by Tawna Fenske

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: 14th December 2015

BLURB:

Uncovering this sexy geek’s charm is easy. Keeping her hands off of him is impossible.

While he may look like the love child of a movie starlet and an NFL linebacker, Ben Langley has the people skills of a half-drowned porcupine. Why socialize when there are chemistry labs and bad sci-fi flicks? If he has any hope of taking the helm as CEO of the family business, Ben needs an image makeover. Pronto.

Enter Holly Colvin, owner of First Impressions public relations and branding firm, and the woman who just saved Ben from the clutches of an over-attentive sales clerk. Holly’s rebranded hundreds of companies in her career, but she’s never rebranded a person. The guy clearly needs help, though, and she’s just the woman for the job.

With the clock ticking for them both, Holly and Ben face off over wardrobe malfunctions and business jargon that sounds a lot sexier than it should. But can Holly make Ben into the man he thinks he should be without losing the man she’s starting to love?

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon / iBooks / B&N / Kobo / Amazon UK

The saleswoman turned and scurried away, leaving Ben to stare down at the wife now affixed to his arm. She tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced the direction the saleswoman had retreated.
“I hope I read that right.” The brunette scooted out from under his arm, and he instantly missed her softness. She looked up at him with those odd violet-gray eyes and smiled. “You looked like you were being eaten alive there, but too polite to tell her to back off.”

“Eaten alive,” he repeated, a little mesmerized by the woman’s eyes. “I’m not entirely sure.”

“Seemed like that’s what was going on. Salesgirl sees a big guy with a big budget and big—” she paused, then gave a small shrug. “Well, sometimes it brings out the worst in women.”

“Thank you,” he said, meaning it. “I’ve been flying back and forth between cities all week, so I’m a little jetlagged and distracted. I guess I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure I was being—uh—”

“Hit on? Ogled? Mentally undressed?”

“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Not until you pointed it out. Thanks for the rescue.”

“No problem. Pay it forward sometime.”

“Is that real? It’s huge.”

She blinked, then glanced down at the paperweight-sized rock adorning her ring finger. “Nah, I keep it in my purse for when I want to avoid getting hit on at ladies’ night.”

“Does it work?”

“Not with the real jackasses, which probably defeats the purpose, huh?”

He nodded, not sure what to say to that. “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

“Holly. Holly Colvin. I’m the owner of First Impressions.”

“First Impressions?”

“We’re a public relations and branding firm that specializes in creating and remaking corporate identities.” She fished into her purse to pull out a business card. She held it out to him and Ben started to reach for it, but Holly withdrew her hand.

“Shit. Vampira the Sales Queen is headed back here.”

Before he could say anything, Holly was sliding her hand around to cup his ass. For a few beats, he thought she was copping a feel, and he hoped like hell she kept doing it. Then he realized she was tucking her card into his back pocket. She grinned and tilted her head back to look up at him.

“Gotta commit to the role, right?”

“Right,” he murmured, staring down into those slate-speckled eyes. “We certainly do.”

“I suppose we could throw in a little something extra if you really want her to buy it.”

“Like what?”

Her lips parted slightly, almost like she was braced for a kiss. Or was that his imagination? It seemed hot in here, and he was getting dizzy, and now all he could think about was claiming those perfect lips.

 “I’m sure you’ll come up with something,” she murmured.

Her mouth looked so soft, so inviting, and he could have sworn her lashes fluttered low the way they might if she were waiting for him to make a move. A big move.

He knew what he needed to do. What he wanted to do.

And with that, he bent and kissed her.

Author Bio:

Tawna Fenske is a romantic comedy author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Her offbeat brand of romance has been praised by Booklist as “A tame Carl Hiaasen on cupid juice,” and RT Book Reviews nominated her debut novel for contemporary romance of the year. Tawna is a fourth generation Oregonian who can peel a banana with her toes and who loses an average of 20 pairs of eyeglasses per year. She lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband, step kids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets.

Links:

Author Email: tawnafenske@yahoo.com

Author Website: http://www.tawnafenske.com

Author Blog: http://tawnafenske.blogspot.com

Author Twitter: @tawnafenske

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TawnaFenskeBooks/?fref=ts

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BLOG TOUR - The Queen B* and the Homecoming King by Crista McHugh (Review & Giveaway)

The Queen B* And the Homecoming King 

by Crista McHugh

Series: Queen B* #3

Genre: YA Contemporary

Date of Publication: December 1, 2015

Blurb:

The Queen B*, Alexis Wyndham, has only three rules when it comes to dating that star quarterback, Brett Pederson:

1) No obligations to spend every waking moment with each other.

2) No public displays of affection while at Eastline High.

3) And absolutely, under no circumstances, will she ever go to the Homecoming dance.

But as her life is completely upended time and time again, she begins to wonder if some rules are meant to be broken.

I'd never greeted a Monday morning with dozens of giddy butterflies in my stomach. Usually, I reserved my most dramatic sighs and biting comments for Mondays because—let's face it—they suck. But this Monday morning was different.

I, Alexis Wyndham, was officially Brett Pederson's girlfriend.

But I still wasn't ready to announce that to the world.

As we floated in a canoe among the water lilies in Lake Washington yesterday, I lay down a few ground rules to help me ease into this unprecedented (and unimaginable) situation. After all, it's not every day the Queen B* and the Quarterback become a couple. Dropping that bomb on our classmates could cause a rift in the space-time continuum.

Or at least cause my nemesis, Summer Hoyt, to have one very public and dramatic meltdown.

Rule number one: I refused to be one of those disgustingly cute couples that were joined at the hip between classes. We were dating, not merging our lives and identities into a single life-form. Brett had his group of friends and I had mine, and until recently, they never intertwined because I despised most of the in-crowd. If I hadn't gotten to know the real Brett during a class project, I would've continued to write him off as a dumb jock.

Lesson learned, but still…

Rule number two: no public displays of affection at school. Not that I had any problem with PDAs with Brett. I liked kissing him. But I also had been known to lose control when I was with him…and lose articles of clothing. And after having that awkward run-in with my mom and her boyfriend's PDA on our living room couch last week, I'd rather not make a spectacle of myself in front of everyone. It opened up the doors to ridicule.

Rule number three: I wouldn't go to Homecoming with Brett. I'd made it this far through high school without plunging into that cheesy sea of balloons and crepe paper while wearing a silly sequin-laden dress, and I wasn't going to cross that line during my senior year.

Buy Links:

Amazon (Kindle) / Barnes & Noble

About Crista McHugh:

Crista McHugh is an award-winning author of fantasy and romance who writes heroines who are smart, sexy and anything but ordinary. She currently lives in the Audi-filled suburbs of Seattle with her husband and two children, maintaining her alter ego of mild-mannered physician by day while she continues to pursue writing on nights and weekends. 

She is an active member of the Romance Writers of America (including the Greater Seattle Chapter and the Seattle Eastside Chapters), and Romance Divas. 

Just for laughs, here are some of the jobs she's had in the past to pay the bills: barista, bartender, sommelier, stagehand, actress, morgue attendant, and autopsy assistant. 

And she's also a recovering LARPer. (She blames it on her crazy college days) 

Find Crista McHugh Online:

Website / Goodreads / Amazon / Facebook / Twitter

4/5

It's not over is it?? I don't want it to be over! I am enjoying this series so much, I just want it to keep going. Alexis really is a fantastic character. She has come a long way since book one and I loved watching her grown and learn to let Brett in. They make an awesome couple and even though they still have obstacles to overcome, they come out stronger than ever.

Another thing I really like about this series though is how it doesn't just focus on the realtionship between Alexis and Brett. There are so many secondary stories going on that I was never bored. McHugh explores so many different topics and tackles them all brilliantly. The series as a whole deals with all the highs and lows of teenage life in a very realistic way.

I really hope there will be more books. I'm not ready for this series to be over yet. A definite must read!

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BLOG TOUR - The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel (Review & Giveaway) @aengelwrites @entangledteen

**Spoilers if you haven't read book one**

The Revolution of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #2)

by Amy Engel

Release Date: 11/03/15

Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

Ivy Westfall is beyond the fence and she is alone. Abandoned by her family and separated from Bishop Lattimer, Ivy must find a way to survive on her own in a land filled with countless dangers, both human and natural. She has traded a more civilized type of cruelty--forced marriages and murder plots--for the bare-knuckled brutality required to survive outside Westfall's borders.

But there is hope beyond the fence, as well. And when Bishop reappears in Ivy's life, she must decide if returning to Westfall to take a final stand for what she believes is right is worth losing everything she's fought for.

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Pre-Order Links:

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The Book of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #1)

by Amy Engel

Release Date: 11/04/14

Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books│iTunes│Google Books

Book Trailer:

About the Author:

 Amy Engel was born in Kansas and after a childhood spent bouncing between countries (Iran, Taiwan) and states (Kansas; California; Missouri; Washington, D.C.), she settled in Kansas City, Missouri, where she lives with her husband and two kids.  Before devoting herself full-time to motherhood and writing, she was a criminal defense attorney, which is not quite as exciting as it looks on TV.  When she has a free moment, she can usually be found reading, running, or shoe shopping. The Book of Ivy is her debut YA novel. Find her online at http://amyengel.net/ or @aengelwrites.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter

5/5

It's over!! *cries* I can't believe it's over. I seriously love this series. I didn't think it could get any better because I absolutely adored book 1. But I was wrong. The Revolution of Ivy was amazeballs! Packed with action and suspense, I could not put it down. Ivy goes on such a journey through this book. She grows so much, I loved watching her become her own person and become so strong. And the relationship between Ivy and Bishop? One of the best ones I have ever read about. They are absolutely perfect, each others pillar of support. And I did not think I could love Bishop any more than I already did. He pushed Ivy when she began to close off, and he was never afraid to tell her exactly what she needed to hear. He is just amazing. And I adored the new characters, Ash and Caleb. They were such great friends to Ivy. 

I won't tell you anything about the actual story other than the ending is just all kinds of perfect. It is heartbreaking, bittersweet, and the best way to end the series. I am so sad to say goodbye to these characters, I have come to care for them so much. Thank you Ms Engel for creating such beautiful books. They are going to stay with me forever.

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