Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler

Title: Just Visiting

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Source: ARC from author

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Reagan Forrester wants out—out of her trailer park, out of reach of her freeloading mother, and out of the shadow of the relationship that made her the pariah of Charytan, Kansas.

Victoria Reyes wants in—in to a fashion program, in to the arms of a cute guy who doesn’t go to Charytan High, and in to a city where she won’t stand out for being Mexican.

One thing the polar-opposite best friends do agree on is that wherever they go, they’re staying together. But when they set off on a series of college visits at the start of their senior year, they quickly see that he future doesn’t look quite like they expected. After two years of near-solitude following the betrayal of the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart, Reagan falls hard and fast for a Battlestar Galactica-loving, brilliant smile-sporting pre-med prospective…only to learn she’s set herself up for heartbreak all over again. Meanwhile, Victoria runs full-speed toward all the things she thinks she wants…only to realize everything she’s looking for might be in the very place they’ve sworn to leave. 

As both Reagan and Victoria struggle to learn who they are and what they want in the present, they discover just how much they don’t know about each other’s pasts. And when each learns what the other’s been hiding, they’ll have to decide whether their friendship has a future.

I have yet to meet a book by Dahlia Adler that I haven’t loved. And every time I hear she has a new one coming out, I get really excited. It’s just one of those things. When I heard about Just Visiting, it had all the makings of a book I would love. And I did, in fact, absolutely love Just Visiting.

Reagan and Victoria have a plan: they’re going to finish high school and get out of Charytan, Kansas together to go to college. All they have to do is get through this last year and figure out which college they will go to. Or at least that’s always been their plan. But as they start visiting colleges, Reagan and Victoria realize that the plan might not be what they want anymore. Reagan is still determined to leave the trailer park behind and she won’t let herself fall for a boy again. Except for that one boy she meets on a college visit. She knows it’s never going to work, but she can’t help it. Victoria has been looking forward to the day where she will be in a city where she won’t be the only Mexican. Going away to college seems to be the solution. But the more colleges she visits, the more she realizes that what she wants might be in the place where she already is. As Reagan and Victoria figure out what they want, they can’t help but fear that what they discover about themselves and each other could mean the end of their friendship.

As I’ve already said, I’ve yet to meet a book written by Dahlia Adler that I haven’t loved. She just has a way of writing stories that works for me, no matter what they’re about. When I first heard about Just Visiting, I was so excited. Not only was it a contemporary romance (which, you know, Emilie bait) but it was one that put a strong focus on friendship. And not just any friendship, but awesome girl friendship. So yeah, I was excited and I want it to read it. And once I started reading, Just Visiting didn’t disappoint me. I loved how well Dahlia Adler captured that feeling that comes with choosing what path you’re going to take after high school, those feelings that come with thinking you know what you want but realizing that what you actually want is something completely different and not knowing what to do about it, and the confusion that comes from trying to make what you want line up with what everyone else around you wants. That combined with the romance and friendship just made for a compelling story and it just worked for me. 

On paper, Reagan and Victoria didn’t really make sense as friends and I think that’s why I loved them so much. Because their friendship wasn’t so much about what they had in common so much as it was about them being there for each other and supporting the other. And I loved that their friendship wasn’t perfect. It made it feel that much more real. It doesn’t hurt that Reagan and Victoria were also pretty fantastic outside of their friendship with each other. Even when she didn’t necessarily make it easy, I loved Reagan from pretty early on and I wanted the best for her. When I finally found out everything that had happened to her, my heart completely broke for her and it just reinforced how much I wanted her to get some good and happiness. And I understood Victoria on so many levels, especially when it came to fitting together what she wanted with what she thought everyone expected her to do. I admired her passion and her loyalty and I wouldn’t have minded having a friend like her. But who I really want to mention is Dev. I mean, can we take a moment to discuss just how adorable and sweet he was? Because he absolutely was and a smile broke out on my face anytime he made an appearance. 

Dahlia Adler’s Just Visiting was everything I had hoped it would be. This story perfectly balanced friendship and romance and truly captured the challenges that come with choosing what to do after high school. And it should obviously go without saying that if you haven’t yet read one of Dahlia Adler’s books yet, you should get on that.

Blog Tour - Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler

Title: Under the Lights (Daylight Falls #2)

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: June 30, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents’ wealth, and the occasional modelling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls…opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms (Not that he’s trying to charm her, of course). Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he’s in the spotlight—on everyone’s terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.

Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents’ disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she’s painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van’s life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she’ll have to choose between the on thing she’s always loved…and the person she never imagined she could.

It’s only just recently that I finally read Dahlia Adler’s Behind the Scenes, but as soon as I was finished reading I knew I needed Under the Lights. I was so excited about reading this story and I’m so happy it lived up to everything I built it up to be in my mind.

Josh Chester has a reputation as a Hollywood bad boy and he loves it. But lately, Josh is getting tired of the bad boy lifestyle. Especially when it involves being blackmailed by his own mother to be on a reality TV show. In an effort to get out of it, and to help out his best friend and help his own reputation, Josh takes a guest starring role on Daylight Falls, playing Vanessa Park’s new love interest. But unlike every other female in Hollywood, Vanessa is completely unaffected by Josh, and that only makes him more intent on charming her. For maybe five seconds, Vanessa was interested in Josh. But that was al on time ago. Now, she sees him for who she really is and the last thing she wants is to have to act opposite him on her TV show. She already has enough on her plate with her best friend having moved across the country for college and the feelings she’s been having for Brianna, her publicist’s new intern. There’s never been a single doubt in Vanessa’s mind about wanting to be an actor, but can she still do that while also being with the person she never could have imagined she would want. 

When I read Behind the Scenes a couple months ago, I read it in the span of a day. I got sucked into the story and I didn’t want to stop reading. So guess what happened when I started reading Under the Lights? If you guessed that I read it in a day, you would be right. It’s typically what happens when I read one of Dahlia Adler’s books. So Under the Lights. I was so excited to read it. But at the same time, I was curious as to how a story told in alternating perspectives by characters who aren’t love interests for each other would work. I mean, in my experience, when there’s alternating points of view, those two people tend to end up together. But that wasn’t the case with Josh and Vanessa. Instead, this ended up being a story about their friendship, which I pretty much loved. But outside of the unlikely (and at times very amusing) friendship between those two, this was obviously also about the romance. And that wasn’t a “traditional” romance. Dahlia Adler wrote a romance between two girls that felt completely real, and reading about it and the difficulties that came with it at times broke my heart. But what I loved most of all about the romance between Vanessa and Brianna was that Dahlia Adler wasn’t afraid to go places that you don’t necessarily see in other YA novels, even LGBTQ ones. So many of the scenes between Van and Bri were touching and heartwarming and ultimately that had a lot to do with the two girls themselves.

It didn’t take long at all for me to start rooting for Vanessa and Brianna. I already knew Vanessa from Behind the Scenes, but I didn’t know everything that was going on inside her head. How she was questioning every romantic relationship she’d had in her life because none of them had ever felt the way she was told they were supposed to feel. I could tell how much she was struggling and I wanted so much for her to find that thing she was looking for that she had heard so much about. And that’s where Brianna came in. Brianna knew exactly who she was, and who she wanted. But just like Van, Bri also had her own insecurities and struggles. And the two of them together were fantastic. I’ve said it already, but I was rooting for them right away. And then they broke my heart a few times. And then they put it back together. So I loved them. And then there was Josh. I’m not exactly sure how to put Josh into words. But as horrible of a human being as he could be, I liked him right away (don’t know what that says about me, though). And that’s because I knew that he wasn’t the asshole he let people believe he was. In his own way, he was there for the people he cared about, even if he sometimes didn’t know exactly how to show it. So I loved seeing him come into his own over the course of the book. I loved seeing him figure out who he was and who he wanted to be. And as I mentioned earlier, I loved seeing his friendship with Vanessa develop. A friendship between those two didn’t exactly make sense (he calls her K-drama because she’s Korean-American and an actress—and as offensive as it was, he meant lovingly…for the most part). But both of them needed that friendship in their lives, they just didn’t know it. But I loved it all the same. 

As you might have guessed by now, I absolutely loved Dahlia Adler’s Under the Lights. This was a beautiful story about a friendship between a boy and a girl, and a romance between two girls. But I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Favorite Quotes!

As part of the tour, I was asked to share some of my favorite quotes from Under the Lights. There were so many quotes that I could share, but here are three of my favorites, one each from Vanessa, Brianna and Josh.

Giveaway!

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Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler

Title: Behind the Scenes (Daylight Falls #1)

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: June 24, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

High school senior Ally Duncan’s best friend may be the Vanessa Park — star of TV’s hottest new teen drama — but Ally’s not interested in following in her BFF’s Hollywood footsteps. In fact, the only thing Ally’s ever really wanted is to go to Columbia and study abroad in Paris. But when her father’s mounting medical bills threaten to stop her dream in its tracks, Ally nabs a position as Van’s on-set assistant to get the cash she needs.

Spending the extra time with Van turns out to be fun, and getting to know her sexy co-star Liam is an added bonus. But when the actors’ publicist arranges for Van and Liam to “date” for the tabloids just after he and Ally share their first kiss, Ally will have to decide exactly what role she’s capable of playing in their world of make believe. If she can’t play by Hollywood’s rules, she may lose her best friend, her dream future, and her first shot at love.

Guys I love stories set in Hollywood. For real. All you need to tell me about a book is that it’s set in Holly or some part of it takes place in the TV and movie world and I am willing to read it. So why it took me so long to finally read Dahlia Adler’s Behind the Scenes, I will never know. But I am so, so happy that I finally did. 

Despite being best friends with an actress, Ally has never had any desire to lead the kind of life her best friend Vanessa does. The last thing Ally wants is to have paparazzi following her around and be recognized everywhere she goes. What Ally really wants is to move to New York to study at Columbia and study abroad in Paris. And she was on track for doing just that before her dad got sick and the medical bills meant her parents had to dip into her college fund. To make her dream happen, Ally is forced to take a job as her best friend’s on-set assistant. Getting to spend extra time with Vanessa isn’t too bad, and neither is getting to spend time with Liam, her co-star. And finding out just how much she has in common with Liam is even better. Until Vanessa and Liam’s publicist decides the two of them need to “date” to generate buzz for their new TV show. Can Ally be okay with seeing her best friend and her boyfriend kiss even if she knows it’s not real? If she can’t, Ally will be losing her best friend, her first chance at love and her dream future. 

Guys. How did I not read this book sooner? Late last year, I read Dahlia Adler’s NA debut, Last Will and Testament, and absolutely loved it so I don’t know why it took me so long to pick up her YA debut. I mean, really. This book has my name written all over it. This is a contemporary romance set in Hollywood with awesome best friends and swoony actors. It could not have been a more perfect book for me. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise at all that I loved Behind the Scenes and read it in a day. This story completely sucked me in. Sure, I was a sucker for the Hollywood aspect, but I also really loved reading about the friendship between Ally and Vanessa. There needs to be more awesome female friendships in YA, even if they aren’t the sole focus of the story. The one in Behind the Scenes made me wish for that kind of friendship (paparazzi and fake relationships, aside) and whenever there were scenes with Ally and Vanessa just being great friends it put a smile on my face. It should also go without saying that the romance was great. I mean, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing considering one half of the couple had to pretend to date the other half’s best friend. Things got messy, but that’s how relationships are so it felt real the whole time I was reading. And the fact that Ally and Liam were totally adorable together didn’t exactly hurt either. 

Right from page one, I loved Ally. Despite the fact that her best friend was a famous actress, she didn’t ever see herself as being in her shadow and I LOVED that. She was her own person outside her friendship with Vanessa and she was driven and had a determination that I really admired. I mean, this girl was willing to do what it takes to make her dreams happen. But what I loved about Ally was that I also got to see her more vulnerable side while I was reading. There were moments where she questioned everything, both in terms of her future and with what was going to happen to her dad. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that most of all I loved seeing her being all adorable and couple-y with Liam. And Liam wasn’t entirely who I thought he was going to be. It’s not like I expected him to just be a stereotypical actor-type, but he was so much more than I thought. And of course that just made me love him so much more. I loved how he just got to be Liam, teenage guy, with Ally and she didn’t expect him to be any more than that. And I really loved who that was. And I just loved Ally and Liam, that’s all there is to it. I will also say that what I got to see of Vanessa and Josh has made me plenty excited to read their story in Under the Lights.

Dahlia Adler’s Behind the Scenes was such a “me” kind of book and I loved every minute I spent reading it. This was the perfect contemporary romance and the Holly setting was just an added bonus. And I can’t wait to read more of this story in Under the Lights!

Bone Deep by Kim O'Brien

Title: Bone Deep

Author: Kim O'Brien

Publisher: SpencerHill Contemporary

Release Date: May 19, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

When Paige Patterson travels to Arizona to spend the summer with her archeologist father, she expects answers. Why did her parents divorce? Why did her father choose his career over family? She doesn’t expect to be reunited with her best friend Emily Linton, a girl she has always admired and secretly wanted to emulate, or to find herself falling for the project manager’s son, Jalen Yazzi.

But the summer takes a terrible turn when Emily vanishes. As the police struggle for answers, Paige sets out to find the truth.

The search takes Paige from Cliffside ruins of prehistoric Native Americans to the Navajo Nation to the horrifying possibility that the answer is much closer to home. Emily, it turns out, was not the only one good at hiding things.

Her father has no alibi of the night Emily disappeared. An intern with the motive insists he’s innocent. And Jalen has some secrets of his own.

Old bones might not be the only things buried in the ruins. As Paige digs deeper into Emily’s disappearance, she realizes that uncovering the truth may cost her everything—even her life.

I love stories with suspense and mystery, I just don’t tend to read them as often as I watch them on TV. But when I find out about one that interests me, I’m usually all over it. And that’s how I found myself reading Bone Deep by Kim O’Brien and getting sucked into the mystery.

Paige isn’t looking forward to spending the summer in Arizona on an archeological dig with her father. After he chose his career over her and her mother and moved across the country, Paige wants some answers about what exactly went down during her parents’ divorce. But her dad isn’t really ready and willing to give her the answers she wants. Instead, Paige is reunited with Emily, and to find herself falling for Jalen, the project manager’s son. Paige’s summer is shaping up to not be so bad after all. But then Emily disappears and everyone starts blaming everyone, especially Paige’s father who doesn’t have an alibi for the night Emily disappeared. Paige is trying to figure out what happened to her friend, but in the process she’s discovering more than she bargained for.

When it comes to my TV viewing habit, I watch a lot of TV shows that include an element of mystery or suspense. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that at least half of what I watch falls in that category. So, yeah, I love mystery and suspense. But when it comes to my reading choices, I find that I don’t read as much mystery and suspense. It’s not because I like it any less in book form, I just don’t gravitate to the books as much as I gravitate to the TV shows. But every so often, I will pick a book up that falls in that category, and that’s how I found myself reading Kim O’Brien’s Bone Deep. I was intrigued by the premise, about how archeology would play into the story and into the greater mystery. And it definitely turned out to be an interesting story. I loved hearing about the history of the site where they dig was taking place and seeing how that history fit into the greater mystery that was at the heart of the story. And on the topic of that mystery, I had some guesses as to who was responsible for Emily’s disappearance but I was never able to see it coming completely. And I loved that! So often, I’m able to guess the twists before they happen, but this time I didn’t figure it out until it was pretty much all laid out in front of me.

As much as I enjoyed Paige as a character by the end of the novel, I didn’t really think much of her at first. I could understand her being upset about her parents’ divorce and being forced to spend the summer with her father when all she really wanted to do was stay home with her mom, but it just felt like she complained a lot. But that eventually worked itself out, when Paige reluctantly accepted her faith for the summer and started spending time with Emily. And thinking that maybe she should do something about the feelings she may or may not have had for Jalen. But then Emily disappeared and Paige pretty much felt at a loss. But at the same time, she became determined to figure out what happened to her friend and I respect that. And I liked seeing her struggle with what to do with the information she was finding out, especially where her dad was concerned. Generally speaking, I really enjoyed seeing Paige’s evolution over the course of the story. She went from being this really closed off, angry person, to someone who was okay with letting other people in again and was willing to give a second chance to her father.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Kim O’Brien’s Bone Deep. If you’re looking for a book where the mystery will keep you guessing with a good dose of history thrown in, then this is the book for you.

Blog Tour - Bone Deep by Kim O'Brien - Character Interview + Giveaway

Today I'm taking part in the blog tour for Kim O'Brien's Bone Deep. If you're in the mood for a suspenseful story, then this is the book for you. To give you a little more insight into the story, I've had the pleasure of interviewing its main character, Paige. Keep reading to see what she had to say, to find out more about the book, and for a chance to win a copy of the book.

Your father is a famous archeologist so you’ve always been around archaeology. What do you love most about it?

Paige: Archeologists are obsessed with the prehistory of mankind and I guess I am too. Did you know that 99 percent of mankind’s development occurred within the prehistoric cultures, yet there are no written records? So it’s really exciting to bring something out of the earth that has been buried for hundreds of years and study it, try to figure out what it meant to the people who used it. 

Do you see yourself following in your father’s footsteps and becoming an archaeologist yourself?

Paige: Yes, but I’d like to become an anthropologic archaeologist. This would not only let me get involved with the site excavation but also let me study how past societies lived and explore more deeply the cultural aspects of things. Folklores, legends, and myths all fascinate me.

When you were little you made up stories for you and Emily as part of the game you played. How did you come up with all those elaborate stories?

Paige: Creating the stories was easy. All I had to do was think of something really scary and dangerous—something that our parents would have forbidden us from doing if they knew about it. The idea was to scare ourselves silly. We were looking for ways to break into the world of the supernatural and we believed that fear held a special kind of power. If we were frightened enough, we would have enough “power” to cut through that very thin veil we believed separated us from the dead.

What was your favourite story you ever made up?

Paige: I guess the one about the Caymans—dangerous beasts who were half-coyote and half-human. They were sort of like werewolves and came out after dark. They wandered the dearest looking for souls to steal so they could become human again. These Caymans possessed extraordinary powers that could be ours if we could lock eyes with them at night. Emily and I spent hours learning to imitate a coyote’s howl perfectly so we could try to call them to us. 

What three things should people know before reading yours story?

Paige: That the truth is not always what you think it is.

That Indiana Jones is a very skewed image of an archaeologist.

That ghosts are real—I’ve seen them.

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About the book

Add BONE DEEP on Goodreads

Amazon / B&N / Book Depository / IndieBound / Kobo

When Paige Patterson travels to Arizona to spend the summer with her archeologist father, she expects answers. Why did her parents divorce? Why did her father choose his career over family? She doesn’t expect to be reunited with her best friend Emily Linton, a girl she has always admired and secretly wanted to emulate, or to find herself falling for the project manager’s son, Jalen Yazzi.

But the summer takes a turn when Emily vanishes. As the police struggle for answers, Paige sets out to find the truth.

The search takes Paige from the Cliffside ruins of prehistoric Native Americans to the Navajo Nation to the horrifying possibility that the answer is much closer to home. Emily, it turns out, was not the only one good at hiding things.

Her father has no alibi for the night Emily disappeared. An intern with the motive insists he’s innocent. And Jalen has some secrets of his own.

Old bones might not be the only things buried in the ruins. As Paige digs deeper into Emily’s disappearance, she realizes that uncovering the truth may cost her everything. 

About the author 

Kim O’Brien grew up in an old Victorian house in Bronxville, NY. Her mother loved telling her bedtime stories, especially ones about the ghost in their attic. Kim not only believed the house was haunted but also fell in love with books and the art of storytelling.

At Emory University in Atlanta, Kim earned a B.A. in psychology. She then attained a M.F.A. in writing from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. She worked for many years as a writer, editor and speechwriter for IBM before becoming a full time fiction writer. She lives in Texas with her husband, daughters, and four-legged friend Daisy.

Kim is the author of eight inspirational romances and seven non-fiction children’s books. She loves to hear from her readers and can be found on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Release Day - Play On by Michelle Smith Excerpt & Giveaway!

Today is the official release day for Michelle Smith's absolutely fantastic Play On. I've been lucky enough to have already read this book and I absolutely loved it. You can read more about what I thought in my review. In honour of the book's release, I have an exclusive excerpt and giveaway to share with you guys. Keep reading to find out more about the book, the author and to get a sneak peak!

About the book

Find Play On on Goodreads

In the small town of Lewis Creek, baseball is everything. Especially for all-star pitcher Austin Braxton, who has a one-way ticket out of town with his scholarship to a top university. All that stands between him and a new start sone final season. But when Austin starts flunking Chemistry, his picture-perfect future is in jeopardy. A failing grade means zero playing time, and zero playing time means no scholarship.

Enter Marisa Marlowe, the new girl in town who gets a job at his momma’s flower shop. Not only is Marisa some home-schooled super-genius, she’s also a baseball fanatic more than willing to help Austin study. As the two grow closer, there’s something about Marisa that makes Austin want more than just baseball and out of Lewis Creek—the wants a future with her. But Marisa has a past that still haunts her, one that she ran all the way to South Carolina to escape.

As Austin starts to peel back the layers of Marisa’s pain, it forces him to look beyond the facade of himself and everyone he thought he knew in his town. What he sees instead is that in a small town like Lewis Creek, maybe baseball isn’t everything—maybe it is just the thing that ties them all together.

Get your copy of Play On today!

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About the author

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Tumblr

Michelle Smith was born and raised in North Carolina, where she developed a healthy appreciation for college football, sweet tea, front porches, and a well-placed “y’all.” She’s a lover of all things happy, laughs way too much, and fully believes that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.

Michelle lives near the Carolina coast with her family.

Excerpt!

In this excerpt, Marisa surprises Austin on the baseball field…in more ways than one.

     I pass the bat to her, watching her face light up like a full moon on a summer night. “Now, it’s a little heavy,” I joke. “Think you can handle it?”

     Her eyes widen. “I don’t know,” she says breathlessly. “I may need the help of a big, strong, baseball player. Because we both know that baseball is so superior to softball.”

     I shake my head. “That’s not entirely true. You balls are bigger.”

We start at each other. Stare. Stare some more. She’s the first one who breaks, bursting out laughing. It’s one of the best sounds I’ve heard in a long time.

     “Here,” I say, still laughing. I carefully place my hands on her hips, helping her square up over the plate. “In case, you know, you’re too out of practice.”

     She bites back a smile. “Yeah. Because I’ve totally forgotten how to square up for a pitch.”

     “Two years is a long time.” Resting my hands on her shoulders, I remind her, “And relax these. You’re too stiff.”

     She hands her head. “You’re killing’ me, Smalls.”

     I walked right into that one. She relaxes her shoulders. Slowly, my hands move down her arms until they rest on top of hers. They’re so warm, fit so perfectly in mine that it almost hurts to let them go. But I do, because, you know, friends.

     “There,” I say on an exhale. “Ready?”

     Her lips curve up. “Let me have it, Floral Prince.”

     My mouth drops open. “All right. No mercy, Marlowe.”

     I grab the ball and jog out to the mound. I gotta say, she’s the prettiest batter I’ve ever been up against. Taking a deep breath, I wind up and let my fastball fly.

     That girl smacks the hell out of the ball.

     Holy…I turn, watching it sail all the way back to the fence. When I while back around, she grins, pointing the bat at me.

     “And that’s how it’s done,” she calls to me, setting the bat in the dirt. She wipes her hands on her jeans.

     All I can do is gape. Some of the guys on our team could take a lesson from her. It’s not like I thought she would be bad, but damn. I pull of my cap as I walk toward her. As soon as I tug it onto her head, she laughs.

     “Are you going to have any of these left?”

     “I have an endless supply.” I nudge the brim of the cap, so I can see her eyes. “And you’ve earned that one.”

     She quirks her lips into this little half-smirk that makes me pure weak in the knees. Takes a step closer. Another. And another. I swallow hard. My hands ache to touch her, to pull her to me and kiss the daylights out of her.

     But friends, though. 

Giveaway!

Does Play On sound like something you want to read? Then enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win a copy of the book or some other great prizes! US only.

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Blog Tour - Play On by Michelle Smith + Giveaway

Title: Play On

Author: Michelle Smith

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / B&N / IndieBound

In the small town of Lewis Creek, baseball is everything. Especially of all-star pitcher Austin Braxton, who has a one-way ticket out of town with his scholarship to a top university. All that stands between him and a new start is one final season. But when Austin starts flunking Chemistry, his picture-perfect future is in jeopardy. A failing grade means zero playing time, and zero playing time means no scholarship.

Enter Marisa Marlowe, the new girl in town who gets a job at his momma’s flower shop. Not only is Marisa some home-schooled super-genius; she’s also a baseball fanatic and more than willing to help Austin study. As the two grow closer, there’s something about Marisa that makes Austin want more than just baseball out and out of Lewis Creek—he wants a future with her. But Marisa has a past that still haunts her, one that she ran all the way to South Carolina to escape.

As Austin starts to peel back the layers of Marisa’s pain, it forces him to look beyond the façade of himself and everyone he thought he knew in his town. What he sees instead is that in a small town like Lewis Creek, maybe baseball isn’t everything—maybe it is just the thing that ties them all together. 

I am a complete and total sucker for any book that involves sports. I will read pretty much any and all books that someone recommends if they feature sports in some way. I wish that were an overstatement, but it really isn’t. So Michelle Smith’s Play On? Totally up my alley.

Baseball has always been a part of Austin’s life and he knows it’s the only way he’s ever going to get out of Lewis Creek. He has it all planned out, so long as he gets through this final season, his scholarship is guaranteed. But with his chemistry grade dropping, Austin’s baseball future might not be as sure a thing as he thought. Falling chemistry would mean spending the baseball on the bench. And just when Austin is starting to get desperate, he meets Marisa, the new employee at his mom’s flower shop and chemistry genius. What starts out as simple tutoring, quickly becomes more as Marisa and Austin spend more time together. And much to his surprise, Austin quickly realizes he might want more than to just leave Lewis Creek and play baseball. With Marisa, he can see a future he never considered before. And that future is the one he wants.

I thought I knew what I was going to get when I first started reading Play On. I was totally expecting a cute romance story with baseball. And I was all over that. Because, hello, romance AND sports? This book had my name written all over it. So I started reading and I was getting all the adorableness I had come to expect from the description. And then I got to finding out about Marisa’s past as hinted at in the synopsis. And that’s when I went from liking Play On  to full on loving it. What you will not guess from reading the synopsis is that Play On deals with mental health in a way that felt completely realistic and organic. As a reader, I wasn’t hit over the head with the mental health aspect of the story. Instead, it was woven in throughout the story. As hard to read as some parts were, it just felt natural in the greater context of the story. Yes, there were some serious subject matters being dealt with, but never idd it make the story feel heavy. And that’s why I loved this story so much. Not only was the romance and adorableness completely on point, it dealt with mental illness in a completely realistic way.

How do I even begin to explain how much I loved Austin. I mean, he’s a baseball-playing, Southern momma’s boy. What was there not to like? It took absolutely no time at all for me to fall for his charm. He was basically the embodiment of all my weaknesses when it comes to book boyfriends (and real boys, if I’m being completely honest). So basically I loved Austin and I loved his voice. Reading his story, he just felt so completely genuine. And sweet. And goofy. And adorable. And kind. And considerate. And supportive. Austin was basically all I wan in a book boyfriend. Which I’ve said already, but that’s the point. Austin was great. And that was especially true when I saw him interacting with Marisa. These two were just so completely adorable together. Reading about them, I just had this big goofy smile on my face, I just couldn’t help it. Even in the more serious moments, I loved the way Austin and Marisa were together. They did their best and were there for each other as best as they could. Basically, they are one of my new favourite couples. I should also mentioned that I loved so many of the secondary characters. Even if they weren’t as big a part of the story, they all felt fully fleshed out. Would it be getting my hopes up to ask for a story about Jay and Brett? Because I would so totally read that. Or one about Eric. 

In case you couldn’t tell, I totally LOVED Michelle Smith’s Play On. This story was absolutely perfect. It was a mix of adorable, heart-warming romance and just the right amount of serious. I really couldn’t have asked for a better story. And I want more, plain and simple. 

About the author:

Michelle Smith was born and raised in North Caroline, where she developed a healthy appreciation for college football, sweet tea, front porches, and a well-placed “y’all.” She’s a lover of all things happy, laughs way too much, and fully believes that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.

Michelle lives near the Carolina coast with her family

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Tumblr

Giveaway!

Do you want to read Michelle Smith's Play On? Then enter the giveaway for your chance to win a paperback copy using the Rafflecopter form below. US only.

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One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin

Title: One of the Guys

Author: Lisa Aldin

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: February 10, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / B&N

Tomboy to the core, Toni Valentine understands guys. She’ll take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests over manicures. So Toni is horrified when she’s sent to the Winston Academy for Girls, where she has to wear a skirt and learn to be a lady while the guys move on without her.

Then Toni meets Emma Elizabeth, a girl at school with boy troubles, and she volunteers one of her friends as a pretend date. Word spreads of Toni’s connections with boys, and she discovers that her new wealthy female classmates will pay big money for fake dates. Looking for a way to connect her old best friends with her new life at school, Toni and Emma start up Toni Valentine’s Rent-A-Gent Service.

But the business meets a scandal when Toni falls for one of her friends—the same guy who happens to be the most sought-after date. With everything she’s built on the line, Toni has to decide if she wants to save the business and her old life, or let go of being one of the guys for a chance at love. 

I love stories where friends become something more, and I am always on the lookout for more stories like that. When I heard that Lisa Aldin’s One of the Guys was just that, I knew I had to read it. Not only that, but it sounded like it had the potential to be a fun stories. And it absolutely was!

Toni Valentine knows how to handle boys. After all, her three best friends are all guys. It’s girls she’s not sure how to handle. SO when a prank goes wrong and she finds herself being sent at the Winston Academy for Girls, Toni is terrified. She’s at home in basketball shorts and having belching contests with her friends, not while wearing a skirt and learning how to be a lady. But unlike Toni, the other girls at Winston don’t have access to boys the way she does. So when one of her new classmates has boy troubles, Toni volunteers herself to help, staging a fake date with one of her friends. Before long, everyone at Winston hears about what Toni did and they all want in on it. Now, Toni finds herself renting out her three best friends to her new classmates, the whole system quickly becoming a profitable business. And all is going well until Toni realizes that she might be falling for one of those friends, the one everyone is after. But is he going to see her the same way?

There is nothing I love more than a story featuring two friends who gradually become more. And I love stories that feature realistic friendships between boys and girls. That second part probably has a lot to do with the fact that my own best friend is a guy and I fully believe that guys and girls can be JUST friends. My best friend and I have been doing it for over a decade. But that’s not the point here. The point is that Lisa Aldin’s One of the Guys caught my eye because it feature boy-girl friendships AND because it’s about best friends falling in love.  Of course it also sounded like it had an interesting story. I mean, this girl ends up renting out her three best friends for dates—there’s just so much that can go wrong there and I was excited to see how it would all play out. At the end of the day, One of the Guys was just a fun story. One that I enjoyed from start to finish. It was just so fun to read about all the relationships that were developing, regardless of whether they were romantic or not. And of course all the drama surrounding the boy rental service was pretty fun to read about. But ultimately, what made me enjoy the story as much as I did (and as is often the case), were the characters.

Toni was a great character to read about. And in many ways, she kinda of reminded me of who I was in middle and high school. Though I’ve always been friends with girls, I’ve always gotten along better with guys and my closest friends were all guys. So that’s definitely something I could relate to while reading Toni’s story. And seeing her struggle to make sense of the girl world she entered at her new school was just entertaining to watch. At times, I definitely felt bad for because she seemed so confused about what was going on around her, but at other times her reactions to things and her inner monologue definitely had me smiling. Beyond just Toni herself, I loved finding out more about all the other characters in the story because none of them were who I first thought they were going to be. Emma in particular took me (and Toni for that matter) completely by surprise. She was just so different than what I thought she was going to be. And of all the boys in Toni’s life, Loch (well, Micah if you want to call him by his actual name), was my favourite. Without saying too much about him, I’ll just say that he wasn’t the kind of boy I expected and that worked out for the best. And his obsession with mythological creatures was just adorable. 

Lisa Aldin’s One of the Guys was a fun read about love and friendships. I really enjoyed seeing all the relationships evolved and grow, trying to predict what was going to happen. If you’re looking for a lighthearted contemporary story, than I strongly recommend this one.

Trailer Reveal: Frigid by J. Lynn

Today I have the pleasure of being part of the trailer reveal for J. Lynn's newest book, Frigid. If you haven't heard of the book before, be sure to check out the trailer and description below. 

Friendly piece of advice: you may want to watch the trailer someplace where someone can't walk behind and look over your shoulder...Frigid is new adult after all.

So without further ado, I give you the trailer for Frigid!

About the book:

For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn't anything new. They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the "man" in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to rio their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feel ins he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feel ins for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

Buy the Book: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

About the author:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories…which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney-Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Be sure to also check out Jennifer's blog for a pretty sweet Frigid-themed giveaway!