Blog Tour: Thornhill by Kathleen Peacock

THORNHILL
By: Kathleen Peacock
Published By: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: Sept. 10, 2012
Pages: 352
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Mac can’t lose another friend. Even if he doesn’t want to be found.

The ripple effect caused by Mac’s best friend Amy’s murder has driven Mac’s new love, Kyle, to leave Hemlock and disappear from her life forever. But Mac knows that Kyle plans to enroll in a rehabilitation camp, where he can live with other werewolves. She refuses to accept his decision, especially since the camps are rumored to be tortuous. So she sets out in search of Kyle with a barely sober Jason—and Amy’s all-seeing ghost—in tow.

Clues lead Mac to find Kyle in a werewolf den in Colorado—but their reunion is cut short by a Tracker raid. Now Mac and Kyle are trapped inside the electric fences of Thornhill, a camp for young werewolves. As she devises an escape plan, Mac uncovers dangerous secrets buried within the walls of Thornhill—and realizes that the risk to the people she loves is greater than ever before.(From Goodreads)

You can read my review here.



~INTERVIEW~


I'm very excited to have Kathleen Peacock here today! Kathleen Peacock spent her teen years crushing on authors and writing short stories about vampires. She put her writing dreams on hold while attending college, but tripped over them when office life started leaving her with an allergy to cubicles. Her debut, HEMLOCK, is coming May 8th, 2012 from Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, and will be published in the UK under the title DEADLY HEMLOCK from Simon and Schuster Children’s Books. Please take a few minutes to learn more about this amazing author and her books!


How would you describe THORNHILL in three words?

Secrets! Kisses! Adrenaline!

What were the different challenges in writing a sequel from writing your first book?

I wanted Thornhill to be accessible to people who hadn't read Hemlock, but I didn't want to bog readers down with unnecessary details about what had happened in book one. Finding that balance was tricky. There were times when I wished I could start the book off with a video—one of those "Last time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" things.

Setting up clues and plot points for the third book was also a challenge. There was an entire chapter that came back from my editor with the suggestion that I leave all of the details it contained for book three.

Which character in the Hemlock world do you enjoy writing the most? The least?

I like writing Jason the most. He just has this snarky edge that's really fun to play with. My least favorite characters to write are villains because they can be so maddeningly challenging. I think writing a good villain is, in some ways, harder than writing a hero. I try to write bad guys who are more shades of gray than pure black and whose actions, while not forgivable, are sort of understandable; that can be a hard line to walk.

What is your favorite quote?

I'm going to cheat and pick two,

"I love you above all things, even pie." Christopher Moore, Fool

"Of what use was it to be loved and lose one's beauty and become Real if it all ended like this? And a tear, a real tear, trickled down his little shabby velvet nose and fell to the ground." Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

What was your favorite book as a child?

Probably The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch because I loved the idea that a girl could slay the dragon and save the prince. I also really, really loved The Velveteen Rabbit. As a teen, my favorite books were The Mirror of Her Dreams/A Man Rides Through by Stephen R Donaldson, The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, and anything by Douglas Adams.

What can you tell us about your next project?

I'm still working on the third Hemlock book, but I have a few new ideas—some young adult, a few new adult—in the works.


Find Kathleen Peacock Online:
Author Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads



~GIVEAWAY~

There are many exciting prizes to be won as part of this blog tour, including a signed copy of Thornhill! To enter, use the Rafflecopter code below.

For First Place (International):

"Unlock the wolf within" Thornhill necklace (engraved stainless steel pendant on a silver-plated chain (
Signed copy of Thornhill
Signed swag

Runners Up (International)

3 runners up will get swag packs (stickers, bookmarks, signed bookplates)

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Don't miss any of the tour stops for Thornhill! Find the full schedule below:

Week 1
9/2/2013 - Book Chic - Review
9/3/2013 - In the Best Worlds - Interview
9/4/2013 - Fall Into Books - Guest Post
9/5/2013 - Portrait of a Book - Interview
9/6/2013 - The Book Life - Review

Week 2
9/9/2013 - The Reader's Antidote - Guest Post
9/10/2013 - Auntie Spinelli Reads - Review
9/11/2013 - The Book Belles - Review
9/12/2013 - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
9/13/2013 - Mundie Moms - Interview

Blog Tour: PODs by Michelle Pickett

PODs
By: Michelle Pickett
Published By: Spencer Hill Press
Release Date: June 4, 2013

Goodreads Summary: Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.



Today is the beginning of a blog tour for PODs by Michelle Pickett! Throughout the week there will be a variety of fun posts across several blogs, so be sure to check out all of the posts! You can find the schedule below:

Monday, July 8 - The Reading Vixens
Tuesday, July 9 - Books Complete Me
Wednesday, July 10 - K-Books
Thursday, July 11 - Curvy Writer
Friday, July 12 - Total Bookaholic
Saturday, July 13 - BlookGirl
Sunday, July 14 - Cari’s Book Blog



~GIVEAWAY~

As part of the blog tour, there will be one signed copy of PODs for a giveaway! You can enter using the Rafflecopter code below.

This contest is open to US residents only. Must be 13 to enter. Please see my Contest Policy for more information.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Trailer Reveal: Rush by Eve Silver

RUSH
BY: Eve Silver
Published By: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: June 11, 2013

Goodreads Summary: So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.



I'm very excited to be one of the blogs featuring this new book trailer! This book sounds like it will be great. But don't take my word for it - enjoy an excerpt from Rush below!

There’s a flash of light, blindingly bright. Colored haloes obscure my vision. They dance and flicker and then disappear, leaving only a rectangle of light boxed in by the dark doorframe.

I see then that the door’s gone and in front of me are people. No…they aren’t people. They have limbs, hair, faces, but they aren’t human. After the first glance, they don’t look even remotely human. They’re pure, painful white, so bright they throw off a glare. They look like they’ve been dipped in glass, smooth and polished, but fluid. And their eyes…they’re a silvery color, like the mercury in the antique thermometer that my mom used to have at the side of the front porch.

When I was ten, I knocked that thermometer off with my wooden kendo sword, shattering the glass. The little blobs of mercury went all over the porch. I was a kid. I didn’t know better. I touched them, prodding the little balls until they joined the bigger blob. My mom swooped down on me and snatched me away, telling me it was poison. It could kill me.

I stare at the things in front of me: the Drau. I can’t look away.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember Jackson talking about Medusa. Don’t look at their eyes.

Their mercury eyes.

They’re poison.

They will kill me.



And now the moment you have been waiting for: the book trailer!





~ GIVEAWAY ~

If you're excited to read Rush by now, then don't miss this giveaway! Enter below for a chance to win a signed finished copy of Rush!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE CURSED by Page Morgan

It was bizarre and inexplicable, and after it happened, Ingrid Waverly was forced to leave her life in London behind. She had to trade a world full of fancy dresses and society events for exile in gothic Paris with her mother and her younger sister, Gabby.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and disturbingly, the house rented by Ingrid's twin brother, Grayson, isn't a house at all. It's an abbey. A creepy, old abbey with a roof lined in stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And to top it all off, Grayson is missing.

Yet no one seems to be concerned about Grayson's whereabouts save for Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant who has some deep and dark secrets of his own.

There's one secret about the city that even Luc can't keep hidden, though: there's a murderer on the loose. And every day that Grayson is missing means there's less chance he's still alive.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn't dead--she can feel it deep in her soul--but she knows that he's in grave danger, and that it's up to her and Gabby to find him before all hope is lost.

And yet the path to him is more dangerous than she could ever imagine. (From Goodreads)



~INTERVIEW WITH INGRID~

I was very excited to have the opportunity to ask Ingrid from The Beautiful and the Cursed a few questions. Take a few moments to learn more about the heroine!

If you could have sent a telegram to anyone after discovering the truth about The Dispossessed, who would you have contacted and what would you have said?

If I had still been on speaking terms with my best friend Anna (I’m quite sure she hasn’t yet forgiven me for setting fire to her ballroom), I would have sent a telegram to her, asking her to come to Paris and assure me that I was not, in fact, losing my mind.

Are there days when you wish you could trade the life you found in Paris for the safe, normal life you had in London?

Only when I’m feeling frustrated or particularly cross. Honestly, my life in Paris is so much more exciting than the one I led in London. The truth is, there are demons everywhere and I know I’m safest here, in Paris, with Luc. Besides, I don’t think my life—whether it’s spent in Paris or in London—will ever be considered ‘normal’ again.

What is one of your favorite childhood memories with Grayson?

Grayson and I preferred our country estate, Glendale Manor, to our London residence, Waverly House. There was this little swimming pond that we’d wade into, armed with nets and pails, and we’d try to catch frogs. We’d always choose the fattest, leggiest frog to sneak back into the manor. We’d then let it loose and settle back and laugh as the servants tried to find the source of all that wretched croaking. One time our cook found the frog in her soup tureen and fainted!

What nickname would you give yourself, since you don't like Griddy?

I don’t believe there is a respectable nickname for Ingrid at all. Even my middle name, Charlemagne, is atrocious.

What is your favorite thing about Luc?

I think I’m drawn to how intense he is about his duty: to keep my family and me safe. I know he doesn’t truly have a choice—the Angelic Order forces him to protect us—but I also know that he wants to be here with us. With me. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s insanely good looking.

Is there anything you want to do in Paris that you haven’t been able to do yet?

I haven’t been up into the Eiffel Tower just yet or to the l’Opera. Maybe I’ll have time for sightseeing and a show soon!

What do you think your biggest challenge will be in the future?

I’m not sure which will be the biggest challenge—having a relationship with a gargoyle, or learning how to handle my new, strange ‘abilities.’ At least I won’t be alone for any of it. I have Grayson and Gabby, Vander and the rest of the Alliance, and of course, Luc. I’d say I’m in good hands.

There you have it! You can learn more about Ingrid and her family and friends by reading The Beautiful and the Cursed! And for even more information, you can find the author, Page Morgan, here:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads



~GIVEAWAY~

There are two giveaways for this blog tour! The first involves trivia questions and answers that you can find scattered on all of the participating blogs. Here are the details from Books Complete Me:

To enter this giveaway, you'll need to follow a few steps, but trust us, it will be worth it! Each blog participating in this tour will have trivia question or a trivia answer. They will be broken down between two teams, TEAM DISPOSSESSED and TEAM WAVERLY, with each blog having either one question or one answer from each team.

Match up as many correct TEAM WAVERLY and TEAM DISPOSSESSED trivia questions and answers as you can, and when you're sure you've got them right send an email to: TBandTCgiveaway@gmail.com with all your answers paired up. There will be a few clues scattered throughout the tour to help you in finding the correct answers, but you do not wait until the last day of the tour to enter. You may enter at any time during the tour. However, once you've emailed in your answers, you may NOT enter again, so be sure to wait until you're certain.

Here are the trivia question and answer:

Team WAVERLY Trivia QUESTION: Ingrid has fled London because of a scandal. What did she do?

Team DISPOSSESSED Trivia ANSWER: livery boy/stable boy

The second giveaway is for five swag packs. Enter using the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest is closed.

Blog Tour: Thorn Abbey by Nancy Ohlin

Today is the final stop for the Thorn Abbey blog tour, hosted by Mundie Moms. If you've missed any of the stops, you can see the official schedule here.


Nothing is as it seems in this darkly romantic tale of infatuation and possession, inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.Becca was the perfect girlfriend: smart, gorgeous, and loved by everyone at New England’s premier boarding school, Thorn Abbey. But Becca’s dead. And her boyfriend, Max, can’t get over his loss.

Then Tess transfers to Thorn Abbey. She’s shy, insecure, and ordinary—everything that Becca wasn’t. And despite her roommate’s warnings, she falls for brooding Max.

Now Max finally has a reason to move on. Except it won’t be easy. Because Becca may be gone, but she’s not quite ready to let him go…



~ GUEST POST ~

How I Started (and Re-Started) Thorn Abbey

The other day while digging through my computer, I found one of my earliest drafts of Thorn Abbey (with the working title The Return). The opening chapter was entirely different from what it is now, and it began with this scene:

I wonder if any of this would have happened if my mother hadn’t been a People addict. The magazine, that is—not actual human beings. For my mom, the celebrities in People are everything she aspires to be: stylish, beautiful, famous, talked-about. Every Monday, the second she gets home from the grocery store, she makes a beeline for the couch with the latest issue and an icy bottle of white wine spritzer. The bags of groceries will wilt on the kitchen table as she reads about Sandra Bullock’s divorce or Justin Timberlake new SoHo condo or Heidi Montag’s new boobs. It is practically a religion for her. Last summer, she was doing just this when a particular story caught her eye. The daughter of some European royal had just graduated from Grace Abbey, which I knew then to be an uber-exclusive boarding school for the children of zillionaires.

“Do you know who should be going to this school?” she said, stabbing her acrylic-tipped index finger at the page. “You.”

“That’s funny, Mom.”

“No, really. You’re just as pretty as this girl, or you could be, if you showed any interest.”

… and so on.

I worked on this opening scene for weeks. I liked it because: (1) it established Tess as a smart but insecure girl with a shallow, critical mom, and (2) it set up Tess’s transition from public school (and living at home) to boarding school (and living in an unfamiliar setting with strangers).

And yet the scene felt wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on why; it just did. Nevertheless, I was determined to beat it into submission and make it right. I wrote and re-wrote; I tweaked and re-tweaked. At one point I set it aside and moved on to the next chapter. I figured I could come back to it with a fresh perspective later on.

Which I did. But it still felt wrong. I couldn’t find Tess’s character in those words. She seemed as distant and unreal to me as a photograph in People.

One day, out of desperation, I did something completely different. I decided to mentally scrap the scene and start from scratch. I was terrified of letting that scene go; I had been so invested in making it work. So I told myself I was just goofing around. I even lay down on the couch with my laptop propped up on my legs, as though I was watching Netflix.

I then started typing away without a plan or outline or any preconceived notion whatsoever.

(I even labeled the document: “novel.EXPERIMENT.firstdraft.docx,” with the word “experiment” in all caps.)

Lying there and free-associating on my keyboard, what came to me out of the fuzzy creative ether was the famous opening line of the very novel I was attempting to retell: “Last night I dreamt I was in Manderley again.” In Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, the main character dreams about the magnificent mansion where she and her husband Maximilian used to live—the same place he used to occupy with his former (and now dead) wife, Rebecca.

Taking that opening line as a cue, I wrote a new scene that later became the prologue for Thorn Abbey, pretty much in one sitting (or one lying-on-the-couch, anyway). It was entirely different from the People magazine scene I’d originally envisioned, and I immediately realized that it was The One. It hinted at Tess and Max’s romance; it set up Becca as Tess’s rival; it showed Tess’s deep insecurity; and it warned of grave danger. Plus, it was eerie and Gothic, full of cold gray mist and pounding ocean waves.

But even more than those individual elements, the scene just felt right. And (to paraphrase a writer friend), I didn’t have to wrestle my computer to the ground to achieve it.

All of which is to say that for me, starting and re-starting Thorn Abbey taught me that writing is a lot about instinct. And faith. And surrendering control. And knowing when to walk away from a scene, even if it’s one you’re totally and 100% invested in.

About Nancy Ohlin


I am the author of Thorn Abbey, a YA retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and Beauty. a YA retelling of the Snow White tale.

I've also contributed to several celebrity novels, including a New York Times-bestselling YA trilogy.

I'm currently hard at work on my next YA novel, which will be as romantic and mind-bending as Thorn Abbey (I hope!).

My favorite cures for writers' block are long walks, long showers, popcorn, chocolate, and really expensive coffee. I talk to myself a lot while I write (you know, to make sure the dialogue zings).

Find Nancy Ohlin online:
Author Website | Twitter | Facebook



~ GIVEAWAY ~

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, blog tour followers can enter to win a copy of Nancy's THORN ABBEY! Be sure to follow the tour and enter to win below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Go Indie: Excerpt and Giveaway of Chemistry by Jodi Lamm

There are so many good indie books being published, but sometimes it's hard to know where to start with these books. I'm always interested in recommendations of books that are must-reads but that haven't gotten much press, and I also wanted to help promote indie authors and their works. Hence Go Indie was born. This is a new feature on Portrait of a Book that will showcase some of these indie titles in a variety of ways, from excerpts to guest posts and interviews with indie authors.

Authors: If you're interested in having your book featured as part of Go Indie, fill out this form.

Without further ado, here is today's feature!




CHEMISTRY
By: Jodi Lamm
Published By: Self-Published
Release Date: Oct. 29, 2012
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: You don’t want to read this book. I’m warning you. This isn’t a heartwarming, boy-meets-girl, high school romance. I wish it were—God, do I ever. No, if you read this, you’re going to be angry… with me, mostly. You’ll probably yell at me, if you’re the type of person who yells at books. You’ll tell me not to be so stupid, but I won’t listen. I’ll be exactly as stupid as I need to be to destroy everything I love because that’s who I am: a walking, talking tragedy. That’s who I’ve always been. But if you’re determined to read on despite my warning, I may as well introduce myself. My name is Claude Frollo, I’m nineteen going on ninety, and this is my story. It isn’t pretty, but it’s honest. And it’s the only story I have left to tell.



Enjoy this excerpt from CHEMISTRY!

The first sensation I have upon my arrival at the Valentine’s Day Dance, besides nausea, is an unbearable chill. The importance of the cold in this place is something I can’t possibly exaggerate. I’m standing in the darkest corner I can find, wearing a suit I likely can’t afford, with Valentine, who’s wearing a specially-tailored tux I most certainly can’t afford. Still I bought it for him. Remember that, as this story progresses. Remember I loved him better than I loved myself.

Every guy in black and white. Every girl in pale blue or pink, dark mauve or evergreen. The colors in this place are chilling. Even the little white lights strung everywhere, which I guess are supposed to resemble stars, are more reminiscent of snowflakes to me. I can’t stand the cold. I hunch over in my corner and shiver.

Then I see a fire.

It’s Esmeralda. She’s dressed in orange and red and gold. She’s burning with color and warmth. It’s the warmth that draws me from my corner and forces me closer to her. I can’t help it. She’s dancing alone, and it’s unlike any dance I’ve ever seen. While every other couple clings to each other, bouncing or swaying together depending on the music, she twirls alone. Her arms are in the air. Her hands move like birds over her head. She’s spinning and laughing, and after a while, everyone stops to watch. The guys let go of their dates and stare at her. Even the girls can’t help watching. And I feel myself tense at the sight of that many eyes on her.

She’s so warm. I know I’m drawing closer to her than anyone else dares. I know it, but I can’t stop myself. Valentine tugs on my sleeve, but God help me, I brush him aside. I can hear Peter behind me, calling my name. All I can do is mutter, “Just… Just let me…” though I doubt he can hear me over the pounding music. I don’t care. I want, just once in my life, to know what it’s like to tremble with something other than cold.

And that’s when I see Phoebus staring at her from across the dance floor. He’s a lion watching a gazelle: determined, planning, hungry. He’s spotted his prey, and soon he’ll move in for the kill. I’m sick with worry and useless anger. I can’t stand it. How dare anyone watch her they way he does, the way all of them are watching her, the way I am… I shake the thought from my head.

This won’t do. She probably doesn’t even realize she’s attracting this kind of attention. She wouldn’t continue dancing if she did. So, thinking I will give her a quick word of caution, I reach out and touch her. And that is the first of many, many mistakes. If I were to choose a point at which everything begins to fall apart, this would be it. Because, as everyone knows, touching a fire only gets you burned.

Esmeralda stops dancing, which is exactly what I want, right? Only she’s giving me a look that makes me shrink back from her. She folds her arms and waits to hear what I have to say. Good, I tell myself. Talk to her. Explain yourself, so she doesn’t think you’re just some pervert who wanted to touch her.

“I… I…” I’m such a fool. “You should just… stop.” Idiot. “People are staring at you.” What people? People like you, Claude? Is that what you mean? You’re staring at her, and you don’t like how that makes you look? Or maybe you don’t like how that makes you feel. That must be it, Claude. You don’t like knowing you’re no better than Phoebus. He’s the lion and you’re the jackal, just waiting for a taste of his kill.

Her response to my intrusion is kinder than my own. “Leave me alone,” she says. But it scorches me far worse than any of the terrible things I said to myself.

Find Jodi Lamm and CHEMISTRY online:
Author Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon


~GIVEAWAY~
I am very excited to have one copy of Chemistry to give away! Please note that this book is only available as an ebook, as a .mobi or .epub file.

The contest is open internationally. Must be 13 to enter. Please see my Contest Policy for more information.

This contest will close on Saturday, April 13 at 12:01 AM.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review and Giveaway: Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison

NOTES FROM GHOST TOWN
By: Kate Ellison
Published By: Egmont USA
Release Date: Feb. 12, 2013
Series: None
Pages: 336
Genre: Mystery / Paranormal
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Publicist
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: They say first love never dies...

From critically acclaimed author Kate Ellison comes a heartbreaking mystery of mental illness, unspoken love, and murder. When sixteen-year-old artist Olivia Tithe is visited by the ghost of her first love, Lucas Stern, it’s only through scattered images and notes left behind that she can unravel the mystery of his death.

There’s a catch: Olivia has gone colorblind, and there’s a good chance she’s losing her mind completely—just like her mother did. How else to explain seeing (and falling in love all over again with) someone who isn’t really there?

With the murder trial looming just nine days away, Olivia must follow her heart to the truth, no matter how painful. It’s the only way she can save herself.



I really enjoyed Kate Ellison's first novel, The Butterfly Clues. It was a mystery that really revolved around the characters, and that was the case in Notes from Ghost Town as well. Even though the mystery was present, it was Olivia's journey that made the book memorable.

"I thought that all my mourning and pining for Stern meant that there was no room for another person. But maybe the heart is an organ on constant-ready, always waiting to try again, always open to the next best thing."

Olivia Tithe never expected to lose her best friend and first love. But she did. In the aftermath of everything, Olivia fears that she's losing her mind, just like her mother did. She's going colorblind, finding herself trapped in the "Gray Space" her mother always talked about, and she's powerless to stop it, powerless to bring Stern back, powerless to help her mother. Until Stern's ghost appears to her and says that the police have the wrong killer. As Olivia works to uncover the true person behind the murder, she finds herself caught up in emotional struggles she wasn't prepared for - trying to come to terms with her father's new marriage, trying to hold on to Stern, trying to move forward like everyone tells her to, all while trying to stay sane. Time is running out, and if she isn't careful, Olivia could end up losing everything - even herself.

"I stare up with him at that same blackness, the bigness of it spinning all sorts of strange philosophies through my head. All the usual, corny stuff about how small we all are and how far the ocean goes and how getting swallowed up in the unendingness of it all is both the loneliest sensation in the world and also the most comforting."

Notes from Ghost Town left me with mixed feelings. I already knew that I enjoyed Kate Ellison's writing, and the opening of the book was so striking, that I expected to love it. However, I kept finding myself pulled out of the story by little things, even though I wanted to be engrossed in it. It was fairly easy to guess the actual murderer early on, and although I had been excited to see the ghost element incorporated, it somehow didn't turn out to be what I hoped for. Her losing her sight and her seeing Stern never seemed to be connected, and I wish that those could have been integrated more.

Beyond the mystery element, however, the story was very emotional. Olivia had an overwhelming amount of change to deal with, and I sympathized with her through everything, especially her fighting her lingering feelings for Stern with her growing crush on Austin as well as her colorblindness impacting her ability to do art. Yet Olivia was stronger than she gave herself credit for, and I appreciated this. Even though she was struggling, and even though she was tempted to push everyone away, she still wanted to help her mother when everyone said she could no longer be helped, and despite the issues she had with her stepmother-to-be, she always loved Wynn, her future stepsister. But what really made this book was the writing, the inner monologue and insights that Olivia had. When I felt myself being pulled out of the story, the more introspective moments would pull me back in again. Everything else aside, these moments alone would make the book worth reading.

"You remember that it is important to be alive because there is love, even if you cannot touch it with your hands or your lips. There is love."

Although it is a paranormal mystery, Notes from Ghost Town is, at its heart, a book about the power of love - the strength it has, the strength it gives, and the importance of giving, receiving, and allowing love into your life. Kate Ellison certainly has a memorable way with words, and I'll look forward to seeing what she writes next.






~GIVEAWAY~
I am very excited to have one hardcover copy of Notes from Ghost Town and one paperback copy of Kate Ellison's previous book, The Butterfly Clues, to give away! Please note that the book will be coming directly from the publisher; please allow ample time for the book to arrive if you win.

The contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only. Must be 13 to enter. Please see my Contest Policy for more information.

This contest will close on Friday, March 15 at 12:01 AM.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Young Adult Giveaway Hop

Welcome to this stop of the Young Adult Giveaway Hop, hosted by I am a reader, not a writer and BookLove101.

As someone who loves YA books, I am thrilled to have a chance to give away some great YA titles! The beauty of YA books is that there is often something for everyone in almost every book.



~GIVEAWAY~

In order to include international followers, this giveaway will be for a YA book of the winner's choice (up to $15) from Book Depository.

The contest is open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to your country. Must be 13 to enter. Please see my Contest Policy for more information.

Must be a GFC follower to enter.

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Don't forget to visit the many other stops on this hop!

The Dead and Buried Blog Tour: Fantasy Casting with Kim Harrington

Welcome to this stop of The Dead and Buried blog tour! Part of the fun of reading is imagining who would play the characters. Today, both Kim Harrington and I have picked actors and actresses who would play Jade, Kayla, Kane, and Donovan. But first, some info about the book!



A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer? (From Goodreads)

Find Kim online:
Author Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook
And now, on to character choices from Kim and myself!


Jade


Kim's Pick: Chloe Moretz

For Jade I would want someone who has a little bit of vulnerability to their look, but also the capacity for great bravery. Chloe Moretz could rock this. Plus, she's no stranger to horror.


My Pick: Katija Pevec

Even though she hasn't been in many things recently, I think she has the characteristics that Kim described.



Kayla


Kim's Pick: Victoria Justice

Victoria Justice, if only because Kayla is the complete opposite of the characters she normally plays. I think she has it in her, though. She'd probably have a blast playing the ultimate mean girl.


My Pick: Alexandra Daddario

In all of her pictures, she seems to have the right look and feel for Kayla. Plus, after playing in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Dead and Buried would be right up her alley.



Kane


Kim's Pick: Chris Zylka

Chris Zylka. Athletic pretty boy who looks like he just fell out of an Abercrombie catalog? CHECK.


My Pick: Austin Butler

Something about this picture just made Austin Butler seem like the perfect choice for Kane.



Donovan


Kim's Pick: Nicholas Hoult

In the book he is described as having dark hair and stunning bright blue eyes. He's not a cocky jock, he's a quiet artist. This picture of Nicholas Hoult is perfectly Donovan. Plus, that boy can ACT.


My Pick: Jordan Nichols

In addition to having darker hair and blue eyes, something about his expression here says that he's been through a lot, and to me that matches Donovan well.

What do you think of all the picks? Do you have some of your own? Be sure to let us know in the comments!



~ GIVEAWAY ~

As part of the blog tour, we will be giving away three galleys of The Dead and Buried! Believe me, this is a book you don't want to miss. Enter below for your chance to win!

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Make sure you don't miss any of the stops on the blog tour! There are many more exciting posts planned!

January 1st: Mandy @ YA Books Central – Intro & Review

January 2nd: Gabrielle @ Mod Podge Bookshelf – Author Interview

January 3rd: Giselle @ Xpresso Reads - Review

January 4th: Savannah @ Books with Bite – Author Guest Post – Top 5 Ghost Books/Stories

January 7th: Jen @ Hypable - Review

January 8th: Christin @ Portrait of a Book – Fantasy Casting

January 9th: Rachel @ Fiktshun – This or That with Donovan & Kane

January 10th: Amber @ Page Turners Blog – Review

January 11th: Yara @ Once Upon a Twilight – Scenarios & Gemstones

January 14th: Heidi @ YA Bibliophile - Review

January 15th: Andrea @ Reading Lark – Mini Review & Author Interview

January 16th: Julie @ Bloggers[heart]Books – Review

January 17th: Katie @ Mundie Moms – Playlist

January 18th: Damaris @ Good Choice Reading – Interview