Showing posts with label tattoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tattoo. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Book Review - Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka + Giveaway

 

 

Chloe is a seventeen-year-old who had her entire life planned out. She was going to work hard and get into a good college. However, during a cross-country meet, she passes out and wakes up in the emergency room. She is told that she needs a new heart and all the plans she made goes out of the window. Fast forward eight months after the surgery, everything in Chloe's life has changed. She now has to attend summer school with underachievers. All she wants to do is grab her surfboard and surf which is weird because she had no interest in surfing before. As a bonus, Kai, her instructor is cute and caring.

Chloe keeps having a strange and vivid recurring nightmare of her crashing a motorcycling and dying. She is also seeing people and places that she doesn't know but, recognizes. She also has memories that she doesn't remember experiencing. As she searches for answers, she finds herself drawn to Kai and she starts to question everything she thought she knew.

I thought the novel was an interesting read. I wasn't expecting the novel to have a sci-fi twist. While I enjoyed the story, I wasn't a fan of the characters. I found their behavior annoying and ungrateful. Some parts of the book were a bit slow but, overall it was a good read.

   **Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**




Hardcover : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 1536207764
ISBN-13 : 978-1536207767
Publisher : Candlewick (October 13, 2020)
Language: : English

Praise for EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I KNEW

“Everything I Thought I Knew is a page-turning, mind-bending story of hope and healing. The reader will root for Chloe from page one as she navigates her world post–heart transplant and tries to meld her prior reality with her new one. I couldn’t put it down; it is a beautiful debut from a talented new voice in YA.” —Alexandra Ballard, author of What I Lost

The thoughtful balance of self-discovery, humor, and realistic relationships will bring in fans of John Green and Nicola Yoon. Readers looking for a good, cathartic cry will love Chloe’s journey from losing everything she thought she was, to finding the person she was meant to be. —School Library Journal

Romance and quantum physics intertwine in this frothy introduction to multiverse SF. —Kirkus Reviews

This is a satisfying soaper that combines pleasing romance with an enticing touch of the otherworldly. —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books


A teenage girl wonders if she’s inherited more than just a heart from her donor in this compulsively readable debut.

Seventeen-year-old Chloe had a plan: work hard, get good grades, and attend a top-tier college. But after she collapses during cross-country practice and is told that she needs a new heart, all her careful preparations are laid to waste.

Eight months after her transplant, everything is different. Stuck in summer school with the underachievers, all she wants to do now is grab her surfboard and hit the waves—which is strange, because she wasn’t interested in surfing before her transplant. (It doesn’t hurt that her instructor, Kai, is seriously good-looking.)

And that’s not all that’s strange. There’s also the vivid recurring nightmare about crashing a motorcycle in a tunnel and memories of people and places she doesn’t recognize.

Is there something wrong with her head now, too, or is there another explanation for what she’s experiencing?

As she searches for answers, and as her attraction to Kai intensifies, what she learns will lead her to question everything she thought she knew—about life, death, love, identity, and the true nature of reality.

You can purchase Everything I Thought I Knew at the following Retailers:
        

Photo Content from Shannon Takaoka

Shannon Takaoka is a young adult fiction author who wrote her first book at age 12, when she blatantly ripped off C.S. Lewis with an epic fantasy inspired by THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. (Well, maybe it wasn’t that epic — do 10 pages count?) Madeline L’Engle, Charlotte Brontë, Neil Gaiman and a host of other authors inspired her lifelong love of reading, and she’s especially into all things gothic, weird and nerdy. If a story involves time travel, strange science-y stuff or alternate realities, she’s in.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Shannon now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two children and one very needy dog, who is probably leaning on her right now as she’s pecking away on her keyboard. Her debut novel, EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I KNEW, about a 17-year-old girl questioning everything about who she is and who she wants to be following a heart transplant, will be published by Candlewick Press on 10/13/2020 and Walker UK in 2021. She promises that it’s a little weird — but in a good way.

        
WEEK ONE - REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS
NOVEMBER 9th MONDAY JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW
NOVEMBER 10th TUESDAY BookHounds YA REVIEW & INTERVIEW
NOVEMBER 10th TUESDAY Twirling Book Princess EXCERPT
NOVEMBER 11th WEDNESDAY Two Points n Interest REVIEW
NOVEMBER 11th WEDNESDAY Crossroad Reviews REVIEW
NOVEMBER 12th THURSDAY Movies, Shows, & Books GUEST POST 
NOVEMBER 12th THURSDAY We Live and Breathe Books REVIEW
NOVEMBER 13th FRIDAY Nay's Pink Bookshelf REVIEW
NOVEMBER 13th FRIDAY Kalisbookishrambles REVIEW 

WEEK TWO - REVIEWS
NOVEMBER 16th MONDAY Ya It's Lit REVIEW 
NOVEMBER 17th TUESDAY A Court of Coffee and Books REVIEW 
NOVEMBER 17th TUESDAY Pages and Pugs REVIEW 
NOVEMBER 18th WEDNESDAY Emelie's Books REVIEW 
NOVEMBER 18th WEDNESDAY Welcome to MLM Opinion's Reviews REVIEW
NOVEMBER 19th THURSDAY Books and Zebras REVIEW
NOVEMBER 19th THURSDAY Author Kelly Risser REVIEW
NOVEMBER 20th FRIDAY My Fictional Oasis REVIEW 
NOVEMBER 20th FRIDAY Reading Adventures of a Book Dragon REVIEW

*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*

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Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Book Review - Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart + Giveaway



Ava Lee has lost her parents, her home, her best friend, and even her face in a moment's notice. She doesn't need to look in a mirror to know how she looks like because she sees it in the eyes of everyone around her. After nearly a year after the fire,  her aunt and uncle decide that she should go back to high school. They want her to have a "normal" life being surrounded by other people instead of feeling isolated. 

However, Ava feels that life will never feel normal for her again. And she could forget about making friends because no one wants to be seen with the Burned Girl. Things change when Ava meets another survivor named Piper. She begins to feel that she doesn't have to face the nightmare alone anymore. Piper likes to push Ava outside of her comfort zone and even introduces her to Asad, a boy who loves the theater just as much as she does. Slowly, Ava starts to feel connected to life again but, when Piper starts to struggle, will Ava be able to step up to the challenge?

 I thought this novel was a great and a emotional read. The characters were all well developed and likable. I love how each of the characters helped each other grow and become better versions of themselves.  The novel is an endearing read of someone facing psychological issues after a traumatizing event while finding herself again.

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

 
About the Book

Title: SCARS LIKE WINGS
Author: Erin Stewart
Pub. Date: October 1, 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 352

Relatable, heartbreaking, and real, this is a story of resilience--the perfect novel for readers of powerful contemporary fiction like Girl in Pieces and Every Last Word.

Before, I was a million things. Now I'm only one. The Burned Girl.

Ava Lee has lost everything there is to lose: Her parents. Her best friend. Her home. Even her face. She doesn't need a mirror to know what she looks like--she can see her reflection in the eyes of everyone around her.

A year after the fire that destroyed her world, her aunt and uncle have decided she should go back to high school. Be "normal" again. Whatever that is. Ava knows better. There is no normal for someone like her. And forget making friends--no one wants to be seen with the Burned Girl, now or ever.

But when Ava meets a fellow survivor named Piper, she begins to feel like maybe she doesn't have to face the nightmare alone. Sarcastic and blunt, Piper isn't afraid to push Ava out of her comfort zone. Piper introduces Ava to Asad, a boy who loves theater just as much as she does, and slowly, Ava tries to create a life again. Yet Piper is fighting her own battle, and soon Ava must decide if she's going to fade back into her scars . . . or let the people by her side help her fly.

"A heartfelt and unflinching look at the reality of being a burn survivor and at the scars we all carry. This book is for everyone, burned or not, who has ever searched for a light in the darkness." --Stephanie Nielson, New York Times bestselling author of Heaven Is Here and a burn survivor

About Erin:
Erin Stewart is the author of SCARS LIKE WINGS, her debut novel. Erin is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern and a BYU undergraduate who works as a freelance writer and editor, as well as a weekly columnist in Salt Lake City.
Erin lives in Utah with her husband and three children. She is represented by the amazing Brianne Johnson of Writers House.


Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of SCARS LIKE WINGS, US Only.


Rafflecopter link:


Tour Schedule:
Week One:
10/1/2019- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review
10/2/2019- BookHounds YA- Review
10/3/2019- Lifestyle of Me- Review
10/4/2019- Fictitious Fox- Review

Week Two:
10/7/2019-  Fire and Ice - Review
10/8/2019- Moonlight Rendezvous- Review
10/9/2019- Fictitiouswonderland- Review
10/11/2019- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

Week Three:
10/14/2019- Treestand Book Reviews- Review
10/15/2019- Smada's Book Smack- Review
10/16/2019- Riddle’s Reviews- Review
10/17/2019- Jena Brown Writes- Review
10/18/2019- Book-Keeping- Review

Week Four:
10/21/2019- A Bookish Dream- Review
10/22/2019- Life Within The Pages- Review
10/23/2019- Portrait of a Book- Review
10/24/2019- The Pages In-Between- Review
10/25/2019- Paper Reader- Review

Week Five:
10/28/2019- Southern Girl Bookaholic- Review
10/29/2019- Do You Dog-ear?- Review
10/30/2019- Novel Novice- Excerpt
10/31/2019- Two points of interest- Review
 

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Book Review - The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green


Photo Credit - Amazon

Julianne Chevalier is a 25 year old midwife loves her job. Unfortunately, after a mistake has happened and her client dies, Julianne is thrown into jailed and receives a tattoo signalling that she is a convict. When news travels that John Law are looking for women to transport to New Orleans to build a new colony, she trades her life sentence in hopes to locate her lost brother; her last living relative.

However, nothing is gained for free as Julianne is about to find out the hard way. She is forced to wed a fellow convict in hopes to populate the new colony for good of France. When, she arrives to New Orleans with her new husband, she finds out Benjamin is no longer in New Orleans. In her journey to find out the truth about her brother, she crosses path with military captain Marc-Paul Girard who knows more about Benjamin than he lets on.  Will Julianne be able to reunite with her brother? What dark secrets is Marc-Paul hiding? Will Julianne be able to live her life or will she be branded a convict?

The novel was an interesting read. It was filled with mystery, death and romance (love triangle). It was a bit slow in the beginning and middle. However, I kept reading on to see how the story ends and it doesn't disappoint for those who live happy endings! 

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