Book Review - 10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston + Giveaway

 

It's Senior Party Week, the magical time between after classes has ended but before graduation. It's filled with get together, parties, and last - minute bonding. Olivia is excited to start her next steps at LSU and give her speech as the class salutatorian.

As Olivia begins to celebrate with her family, she receives an email about a missing P.E. form. If Olivia doesn't get the form signed in time, she won't graduate with the rest of her friends. She realizes she has only one week to set things straight without letting her family know. Olivia decides to volunteer at a local golf tournament to help get her needed credit. However, her phone is equipped with a tracking app so, her mom will know her every move. She realizes the only way she can pull it off if she asks for help from the Fab Four. Will Olivia be able to pull off her stunt before anyone else finds out?

I read the author's previous book, 10 Blind Dates and I liked it. This book had the same basic formula but, it failed to keep my attention. The book was very predictable and I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I find it hard that a scholar who is dedicated to her schoolwork wouldn't put much thought into a course she took or even kept ditching the class. Olivia was constantly late and disappointing the coach even though she got a second chance. I also felt that it was unrealistic how much her mom texted her and kept tabs on her. Overall, this book seem had a lot of "fake drama" to create story.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.**

 

 

 

About the Book:

Title: 10 TRUTHS AND A DARE

Author: Ashley Elston

Pub. Date: May 4, 2021

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

This companion to Ashley Elston's beloved 10 Blind Dates follows Sophie's high-achieving cousin Olivia as she juggles last-minute P.E. credit, end-of-year parties, and a secret new romance in the chaotic week before graduation.

It's Senior Party Week, that magical in-between time after classes have ended but before graduation, chock-full of gimmicky theme parties, last-minute bonding, and family traditions. Olivia couldn't be more ready. Class salutatorian and confident in her future at LSU, she's poised to sail through to the next phase of her life.

But when the tiny hiccup of an unsigned off-campus P.E. form puts Olivia in danger of not graduating at all, she has one week to set things straight without tipping off her very big and very nosy extended family. Volunteering to help at a local golf tournament should do it, but since Olivia's mom equipped her phone with a tracking app, there'll be no hiding the fact that she's at the golf course instead of all the graduation parties happening at the same time. Unless, that is, she can convince the Fab Four--her ride-or-die cousins and best friends Sophie, Charlie, and Wes--to trade phones with her as they go through the motions of playing Olivia for the week.

 

Praise for 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston:
2020 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Top Ten Title

2020 Florida Teens Read Book List

"POSITIVELY DELIGHTFUL—all caps—from beginning to end."—NPR

"This piece-by-piece romance doesn't need its Christmas theme to sell, but it makes it glitter all the more."—Booklist

"A fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family."—Kirkus Reviews

"In a funny holiday romance that has Sophie dog-sitting in a hockey rink, watching porn at a drive-in theater, and playing the Virgin Mary in a middle school Nativity, Elston cleverly reflects the family members' personalities through their choices of dates for Sophie."—Publishers Weekly

Grab 10 BLIND DATES now!

 

About Ashley:

Ashley Elston is the author of several novels including: 10 Blind Dates (a Top Ten ALA Quick Pick and the companion to this book), The Rules for Disappearing (a finalist in the Best Young Adult Novel category of the International Thriller Writers Thriller Awards), This Is Our Story, and The Lying Woods. She has a liberal arts degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and worked for many years as a wedding photographer before turning her hand to writing. Ashley lives in Shreveport with her husband and three sons. For more information about Ashley and her books, please visit www.ashleyelston.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of 10 TRUTHS AND A DARE, US Only.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

5/1/2021

The Book View

Review

Week Two:

5/2/2021	What A Nerd Girl Says	Excerpt
5/3/2021	YA Books Central	Excerpt
5/4/2021	Fire and Ice	Review
5/5/2021	BookHounds YA	Excerpt
5/6/2021	YA Book Nerd	Review
5/7/2021	Lifestyle of Me	Review
5/8/2021	Moonlight Rendezvous	Review

Week Three:

5/9/2021	Jenguerdy	Review
5/10/2021	Ficticiouswonderland	Review
5/11/2021	Book-Keeping	Review
5/12/2021	Amani’s Reviews	Review
5/13/2021	booksaremagictoo	Review
5/14/2021	Eli to the nth	Review
5/15/2021	Emelie's Books	Review

Week Four:

5/16/2021	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt
5/17/2021	Zainey Laney	Review
5/18/2021	onemused	Review
5/19/2021	Midnightbooklover	Review
5/20/2021	amandainpa	Review
5/21/2021	Geauxgetlit	Review
5/22/2021	two points of interest	Review

Week Five:

5/23/2021	Book Briefs	Review
5/24/2021	Momfluenster	Review
5/25/2021	Star-Crossed Book Blog	Review
5/26/2021	michellemengsbookblog	Review
5/27/2021	Rajiv's Reviews	Review
5/28/2021	Do You Dog-ear?	Review
5/29/2021	Books and Zebras	Review

Week Six:

5/30/2021	My Fictional Oasis	Review
5/31/2021	Popthebutterfly	Review

Book Review - The Pretender: A Blackguard in Disguise (The Caselli Family #1) byTa`Mara Hanscom

Photo Credit - Amazon

On a snow day in 1975, Tillie Caselli was given the opportunity to show her artwork in a Junior Artist Competition. While visiting a new city, her fellow students sneak out to a bar. Worried that something happened to them, Tille and her friend, Ginger venture into the bar to bring them back to the hotel. Tillie crosses path with bad boy biker, Noah Hansen and  their lives will never be the same. Is Noah the perfect knight for Tille or is he a blackguard in disguise?

When reading the description, the novel seemed very interesting. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get into the book. The conversations between the characters didn't feel real and the writing style was painful to read. The love story between Tille and Noah also felt unrealistic. They fell in love in two days and wanted to get married, but then when something happens, instead of trusting each other and their feelings, one of the characters just completely abandon the relationship. How can someone go from being head over heels in love and then completely ignore their love interest? There was also too many random events and characters which were very hard to keep track of along with the story just droning on and on. 

The author lost credibility in my opinion when she used one of the characters, Tara to call Tillie a "waif". Which means "neglected or abandoned child", and from reading the novel, we all know Tillie is anything but neglected. She has a family that loves and cares for her and she had several suitable prospects. I also didn't like how the family was quick to judge people and call them either blackguards or knights, when they themselves didn't act respectable at times. The Casellis knew their daughter wasn't interested in her prom date, but told her to go anyways, so she has someone to take her there and that Tillie can just be with her friends during the prom instead of her date. Well, the story finally picked up towards the end, I am very hesitant to pick up another book by the author because of the lack of story and poor editing.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**