Monday, July 30, 2018

Book Review - Resurrection Men by T.K. Welsh

Photo Credit - Amazon

 In the 1830s, twelve-year-old Victor is an orphan in a cold and dangerous world. Death by disease and accidents are common. However, to Mr. Tipple and Mr. Biggs, a death of a child is a commodity that can fetch a high price. While a fresh specimen can fetch an even higher price. Victor must uncover who is behind the body snatching before it is too late. Will Victor be able to figure out who the murderer is?

I originally picked up this book based on the glossy black and red cover. I thought the novel was going to have a stronger focus on "Resurrection Men" but, the novel seems to be more about Victor's life. I thought it was interesting that the author based a book on a historical occurrence that isn't well known (at least to me). I would have enjoyed if they novel had included background information on the historical topic. Overall, a decent book but, it left me wanting more.

Friday, July 27, 2018

Book Review - Like Never and Always by Ann Aguirre + Giveaway


Photo Credit - Amazon

Liv Burnham and Morgan Frost are best friends. Liv always thought she knew everything about Morgan. When a terrible accident happens, she realizes she never knew Morgan, at all.  Liv wakes up in a hospital but, everyone keeps calling her Morgan. When the bandages come off, Liv realizes she sees Morgan's face. As she continues to spend time as Morgan, she realizes that Morgan has a dark secret. Will Liv be able to help Morgan solve a long-buried murder? Why is Liv trapped in Morgan's body?


The novel was a delicious read filled with twists and intrigue. I like the idea of a soul fusing with another body. I thought the author did a good job portraying both Liz's and Morgan's personality and thoughts as two people in one body. Overall, a great beach read!

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




About the Book:
Title: LIKE NEVER AND ALWAYS
Author: Ann Aguirre
Pub. Date: July 17, 2018
Publisher: Tor Teen
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 336
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonB&NiBooksTBD

On a hot summer night, a screech of brakes and shattering glass changes two lives forever.

Liv wakes in the hospital, confused when they call her Morgan. She assumes it’s a case of mistaken identity, yet when the bandages come off, it’s not her face in the mirror anymore. It’s her best friend Morgan’s.

Morgan always seemed to have the perfect life, yet Liv must navigate endlessly disturbing secrets of the criminal and murderous variety—and a romance that feels like a betrayal. Torn between the boy she loved as Liv and the boy she’s grown to love as Morgan, Liv still has to survive Morgan’s last request.



About Ann:
Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. She likes books, emo music, and action movies. She writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens.



Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a Kindle Oasis, US Only.
5 winners will win a finished copy of LIKE NEVER AND ALWAYS, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter link:


Tour Schedule:
Week Four:
7/23/2018- Under the Book CoverReview
7/24/2018- Confessions of a YA Reader- Review
7/25/2018- Moonlight RendezvousReview
7/26/2018- Simply Daniel RadcliffeReview
7/27/2018- Two points of interestReview

Book Spotlight - Scream All Night by Derek Milman + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon


Chapter 1: Return to Moldavia
Slightly before dinner, Keenan House, the group home where I live, gets a call that my homosexual exorcism is scheduled to take place next Thursday at four.
“But I’m not homosexual. And I’m not possessed,” I say to Len, my counselor.
“You sure?” says Len. He cracks open a PBR and takes a long, gurgling sip.
“Bet you’re both,” says my roommate, Jude, lacing up his boxing gloves.
“Actually,” says Len, belching, softly punching his gut, “I think it’s your brother calling.”
Oren. Of course.
Late-afternoon sunlight smears across the cinder-block walls through broken, yellowed blinds. I throw down my graphic novel, which I was actually half enjoying, and roll out of my sagging lower bunk with a groan. I walk down the hall and grab the phone.
“Why are you calling me?”
“’Cause I know you have lots of homo demons inside you,” says Oren, stifling one of his loud, chirpy laughs. “And I thought maybe it was time for a devil cleanse.”
“Uh-huh.” I hear projected voices in the background—like announcements on a PA or something. “Where are you?”
“Hospital.”
“What?”
“We’re burying Dad next week. Funeral is Thursday.”
“Dad died?”
“No, no.”
My dad has been slowly dying for forty years. Emphysema, hairy cell leukemia, diabetes, arthritis; it’s like he just went shopping one day for chronic diseases and never made any returns. More recently, he’s been sliding into dementia.
Thing is, this might really be it. The doctors are pretty sure. “He has two weeks max,” says Oren.
“Shit.” I bite my thumbnail—an old nervous habit instantaneously reborn. I’m suddenly terrified that my family, who I was legally emancipated from three years ago, might be planning something deeply, morbidly insane. But it’s not as bad as all that.
Just a live funeral.
“A what?” The phone slips out of my hands. I juggle it back to my ear.
“Dad’s final wish was to be buried alive,” says Oren.
 



About the Book:
Title: SCREAM ALL NIGHT
Author: Derek Milman
Pub. Date: July 24, 2018
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 400
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonAudibleB&NiBooksTBD

A darkly hilarious contemporary realistic young adult novel about growing up and finding your place in the world, perfect for fans of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Running With Scissors.

Dario Heyward knows one thing: He’s never going back to Moldavia Studios, the iconic castle that served as the set, studio, and home to the cast and crew of dozens of cult classic B-horror movies. It’s been three years since Dario’s even seen the place, after getting legally emancipated from his father, the infamous director of Moldavia’s creature features.

But then Dario’s brother invites him home to a mysterious ceremony involving his father and a tribute to his first film—The Curse of the Mummy’s Tongue. Dario swears his homecoming will be a one-time visit. A way for him to get closure on his past—and reunite with Hayley, his first love and costar of Zombie Children of the Harvest Sun, a production fraught with real-life tragedy—and say good-bye for good. But the unthinkable happens—Dario gets sucked back into the twisted world of Moldavia and the horrors, both real and imagined, he’s left there.

With only months to rescue the sinking studio and everyone who has built their lives there, Dario must confront the demons of his past—and the uncertainties of his future. But can he escape the place that’s haunted him his whole life?



About Derek:
Derek Milman was born in New York City, but grew up in Westchester, NY, where he wrote and published a successful underground humor magazine that caught the attention of the New York Times, who wrote a profile on him at the age of 14.

Derek studied English, Creative Writing, and Theater at Northwestern University. He began his career as a playwright (his first play was staged in New York City when he was just out of college), and earned an MFA in acting at the Yale School of Drama.

Derek has performed on stages across the country, and appeared in numerous TV shows and films, working with two Academy Award winning film directors.

Scream All Night is Derek's debut YA novel. He currently lives in Brooklyn where he is hard at work on his next book.



Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a signed finished copy of SCREAM ALL NIGHT & swag, US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter link:


Tour Schedule:
Week Two:
7/23/2018- The Clever ReaderReview
7/23/2018- Smada's Book SmackReview

7/24/2018- Lisa Loves LiteratureInterview
7/24/2018- THE BOOK NUTReview

7/25/2018- A Gingerly ReviewReview
7/25/2018- Two Chicks on BooksExcerpt

7/26/2018- Daily WaffleInterview
7/26/2018- Don't Judge, ReadInterview

7/27/2018- Two Points of Interest- Spotlight
7/27/2018- Book-KeepingReview