Book Review - No Admissions by Brittany Geragotelis + Giveaway

 

Frankie discovers one of her classmate's inventions is stolen the day before a school wide competition, the renown international thief promises to make it right. She works her skills to help retrieve the project for her classmate. Frankie thought her mission was a completed but, she finds out that there's more to the story.

A group of wealthy parents are using their influence and money to guarantee that their kid gets into the most exclusive schools regardless of their kids' ability. They will stop at nothing to guarantee that their kids are set up for success.

The case seems easy to Frankie until she gets to know the parents and their kids. She then realizes that not everything is so black and white. Frankie decides to set her bar higher, and take down the mastermind who has been hired to get the kids into their schools.

This is the third book in the series and it follows the similar pattern of the other two previous books. The book can be read as a standalone. In this book, Frankie is still learning to "play nice" with others including, Ollie and her uncle. It was interesting seeing Frankie, who is normally calm under pressure be vulnerable with her feelings and trying to have empathy with others. While, Frankie still has ways to go before she can understand Ollie and her uncle, she has made great progress in this novel including, understanding that Ollie wants and needs to be an equal say in their antics. If you enjoyed the two previous books, you will enjoy this book. 

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

 

About The Book:

Title: NO ADMISSIONS (The Infamous Frankie Lorde #3)

Author: Brittany Geragotelis

Pub. Date: October 18, 2022

Publisher: Pixel + Ink

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 304

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

A group of parents looking to buy their less-deserving children into elite schools is about to learn a thing or two from a criminal mastermind in the third book in the Infamous Frankie Lorde series, perfect for fans of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls and Heist Society.

When Frankie discovers that a classmate’s invention has been stolen the day before a school-wide competition, the once-renowned international thief figures she might as well flex her skills to steal it back. But just when Frankie’s about to call her mission a success, she learns there’s more to the story than she’d originally thought.

A group of wealthy Greenwich parents are using their influence -- and wallets -- to guarantee that their kids get into the most exclusive institutions on the East coast, no matter how undeserving their kids are, or how far they have to go to ensure success. 

Easy peasy for Frankie to crack.  Until she gets to know these classmates of hers...and their parents...and everyone's real motivations and issues.  Frankie sets the bar higher, to take the scam down from the top.  The guy who's been hired to get the kids into their desired schools: "Mr. Admissions."  

Reviews:

"The action sequences are fun. . . ."—Kirkus Reviews

 

Grab the first 2 books in THE INFAMOUS FRANKIE LOURDE Series now!

 

About Brittany Geragotelis:

Brittany Geragotelis, a former Olympic-bound gymnast and magazine editor, is a self-professed pop culture junkie turned author. Her paranormal action book Life’s a Witch received 18 million reads on the writing site Wattpad.com. What the Spell is the first published book in the series, followed by Life’s a Witch and The Witch Is Back. The Infamous Frankie Lorde is her first series with Pixel+Ink. Brittany lives in Los Angeles with her awesome husband, two clever boys, one scaredy-cat, and a crazy dog.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a finished copy of NO ADMISSIONS, US Only.

Ends October 25^th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

10/10/2022	Mom with a Reading Problem	Review/IG Post
10/10/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
10/11/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
10/11/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review/IG Post
10/12/2022	Forthenovellovers	Review/IG Post
10/12/2022	BookHounds YA	Review/IG Post
10/13/2022	@hodophile_z	IG Review
10/13/2022	hauntedbybooks	Review/IG Post
10/14/2022	Ya Books Central	Excerpt
10/14/2022	Books and Zebras	IG Review

Week Two:

10/17/2022	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
10/17/2022	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt/IG Post
10/18/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
10/18/2022	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt/IG Post
10/19/2022	A Backwards Story	Review/IG Post
10/19/2022	@coffeesipsandreads	IG Spotlight
10/20/2022	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
10/20/2022	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
10/21/2022	@jacleomik33	IG Review
10/21/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review

Book Review - The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

 

Mark, Todd, and Zola decided to attend law school for their own different reasons. They are now third-year students who feel duped by the system. They borrowed eye dropping amounts of money to attend a low tier for-profit school that is so mediocre that its graduate rarely pass the bar exam or get any profitable jobs. The trio later find out that their school is a chain of for-profit schools owned by a shady businessman who also owns a bank specializing in student loans. They realize they are one of many  victims of "The Great Law School Scam".

They begin to feel hopeless and that they have no way out. They decide to concoct a plan that they can escape their debt, expose the scam along with making a few bucks in the process. However, they realize for their plan to work they would need to leave law school a few months shy of graduation.

This was my first John Grisham novel and I was excited to read it. However, I found the novel to be very boring and slow. I read more than one third of the book before I had to stop reading it. I had a hard connecting to any of the characters and I didn't care for the one female character. It was hard to feel sympathetic with characters who complain about being ripped off and then goes ahead and rips off other struggling people. They were also upset about being duped but, it looks like they didn't really do proper due diligence and feel angry that they are being taken advantage of. Apparently, the school has a wide reputation of being horrible, wouldn't they have figured that out by the first year? I felt like Zola was just made into a prop and rarely served a purpose. I felt like most of the book is ripped straight from the headlines with little addition from the author other than his social commentary.

Book Review - The Girl I Used to Be by Mary Torjussen

 

Real estate agent Gemma Brogan spent the night having dinner with a prospective client. The next morning, she is annoyed with herself for drinking so much and having a hangover.  During the span of a few days, Gemma starts receiving mementos from the night. There is a photo with her kissing someone. Then a video of her complaining about her family. The gifts start getting progressively worse and Gemma has no recollection of that night.

As Gemma starts receiving more threatening and compromising photos, she is worried about her already shaky marriage. She begins to feel helpless like her life is spinning out of control.  Gemma begins to remember a night that happened years ago that changed her life.

The book had an interesting premise but, it was a bit predictable. I was able to figure out who was behind the blackmail scheme. The blackmail scheme wasn't very serious but, more an annoyance. I am surprised that Gemma made it a bigger deal than it really was. I supposed that she was worried about the state of her marriage but, she was consistently telling bigger lies to cover up small truths.  The characters were okay but, I found myself annoyed at Gemma. She kept being timid and cowardly with everyone including her husband and employees. She let her own employees tell her what to do. I understand that this was relating to an incident in her past but, it didn't make it less enjoyable.  I may read other books by the author.

 

 

Book Review - Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

Photo Credit - Amazon

Alice never really believe in luck as she had her fair share of bad luck. However, she still believes in love. Alice has been in love with her best friend, Teddy for years. When Teddy's eighteen birthday arrives, she buys him a lottery ticket attaching a note professing her love for him. The unimaginable happens and Teddy wins the lottery.

Teddy and his mother are overjoyed by the news because they have been struggling financially At first, they are stunned by their good luck but, then  Teddy gets swept up in the fame and fortune of being the youngest winner of $140 million.  With Teddy's sudden influx of cash, things between him and Alice begin to change.

I found the novel to be a fun and entertaining read. It was interesting to see how different people would spend their lottery winnings. I enjoyed most of the characters but, did find them to be a bit annoying. Alice was so blinded by her grief and then her love for Teddy that she didn't take the time to considered other people around her. While I understand and appreciate her need to give money to the less fortunate (I loved Teddy's idea in the end on what to do with his wealth), I didn't like that she was trying to force her way on Teddy. Especially when she mentioned her main motivation behind volunteering. I wish there was more development on some of the characters but, overall it was a nice cozy young adult romance novel.

 **Disclosure -  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.**

Book Review - The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

Photo Credit - Amazon

Annika Rose is an English major at the University of Illinois. She becomes anxious in social situations and she finds it hard to decipher people's behaviors. She finds comfort in books and playing chess.

When newcomer Jonathan Hoffman joins the chess club, he plays his first match against Annika. After he loses his first match, he finds himself drawn to the beautiful but, shy Annika. Jonathan admires that Annika is able to be true to herself. They are both drawn to each other as they balance each other out. Together, they embark in tender love affair when a tragic accident tears them apart causing them to live separate lives.

A decade has passed and Annika and Jonathan has a fate encounter in Chicago. Annika is living the life as she wanted as a librarian. Jonathan is a recovering from a divorce and is a financial expert. The attraction between the pair is still strong. Together, they decide to rekindle their relationship. However, they quickly realize that their fears, quirks, and anxieties that first drove them apart, is threatening their relationship once again. Will Annika and Jonathan be able to work through their differences.

I found myself torn between thinking this book was "meh" to "I liked it". At first, I didn't quite like Annika because I was reminded of some uneventful childhood experiences. But, after learning more about her, I was able to understand her better. I thought Jonathan loved Annika but, sometimes I feel like he "tolerating" or with her because of how pretty she was. I felt like there was a lot of focus on how beautiful she was or that her beauty was "wasted" because of how she was. I didn't like how people were sometimes unnecessarily cruel to Annika because she couldn't understand the world around her. I think the novel was a tad boring, I wish it had more going on.

 **Disclosure - 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 any extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Book Review - Crow Flight by Susan Cunningham + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

Regina "Gin" Hartson loves computer modeling and trusts logic completely. She even created several programs to help her decide what to eat, how to dress and spend her time. Gin is completely focused on spending her time as efficiently as possible so, she can get into Harvard.  Except when she meets her new coding partner, Felix, everything changes.

She no longer relies on programs to her make everyday decisions. She rather makes decisions on how she feels. When she and Felix begins working on a modeling assignment, she notices anomalies in the behavior of crows. As she digs deeper into the data behind the crows' behavior, she discovers a secret that might jeopardize her relationship with Felix. Can Gin trust her logic is correct about the crows?

I enjoyed that Gin was top of her league modeler and that she work hard to get what she wanted. The young adult novel had the basic elements of a good novel, interesting characters, a love triangle, the unattainable rich love interest, and a secret. While, I did enjoy reading the book, I found that the book was a bit slow for my liking. I kept holding on for a big jaw dropping secret but, instead I found the secret to be predictable. However, if you like cozy young adult novels than this would be the perfect book for you.

There was one part of the novel that I didn't quite get and thought it was a bit unrealistic. That one character pulled away and just disappeared. Then the other character kind of just accepted that and was able to move forward. Perhaps, me being the drama queen that I am, I would have definitely caused a bigger fuss than that character did. Overall, a pleasant cozy young adult novel that ties up all loose ends.

 **Disclosure - I received a free uneditted 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 any extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Amberjack Publishing (December 11, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1948705168
ISBN-13: 978-19487051650

Praise for CROW FLIGHT

"You'll adore Gin, who's determined to apply her brilliant computer skills to the mysteries of love... and in doing so, finds herself caught up in high-stakes intrigue. We cheer her on as she learns to trust her gut and heart along with her tech-savvy mind. CROW FLIGHT is a soaring debut from an author to watch." ―Laura Resau, author of RED GLASS

"A timely, fun story that flies across the pages and into your heart. A romantic tale with intriguing content, Cunningham delivers a compelling read about the predictability of life and love. ―Donna Cooner, author of SKINNY and SCREENSHOT

"Crow Flight is a delicious novel. Gin has decided what her life should look like - and it involves logic, equations, computer models, coding, ambition, and over-achieving. An unexpected twist forces her to reconsider, and rather suddenly she finds herself in new territory - a path that calls forth the heart, the willingness to adventure, and most importantly, an effort at finding and honoring the immaterial truth. When an English teacher asks her to consider Victor Hugo's contention that 'One must have bread, but before bread, one must have the ideal,' she boldly launches forth into a world of discovery, romance, and danger. This book, like Gin's adventure, is a beauty." ―Laura Pritchett, winner of the PEN USA Award in Fiction

The curious flight patterns of crows lead a teen computer programmer down a path of mystery and romance. 

Gin trusts logic a little too much. She even designs programs to decide what to eat and how to spend her time. All that changes when she’s paired with a new transfer student, Felix, on a computer modeling assignment to explain certain anomalies in the behavior of crows.

As she enters Felix’s world and digs further into the data behind crow behavior, Gin uncovers a terrible secret. And the wrong decision could equal disaster squared . . .

You can purchase Crow Flight at the following Retailers:

        

Photo Credit: Kel Elwood Photography

Susan Cunningham lives in the Colorado Rocky Mountains with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys science nearly as much as writing: she’s traveled to the bottom of the ocean via submarine to observe life at hydrothermal vents, camped out on an island of birds to study tern behavior, and now spends time in an office analyzing data on wool apparel. She blogs about writing and science at susancunninghambooks.com.

        

PART TWO
FEBRUARY 23rd SATURDAY Bookish Kali REVIEW & GUEST POST
FEBRUARY 23rd SATURDAY Two Points of Interest REVIEW
FEBRUARY 24th SUNDAY TTC Books and More GUEST POST
FEBRUARY 24th SUNDAY Insane About Books REVIEW
FEBRUARY 25th MONDAY Port Jericho REVIEW & EXCERPT
FEBRUARY 26th TUESDAY Cover2CoverBlog REVIEW
FEBRUARY 26th TUESDAY Kelly P's Blog EXCERPT
FEBRUARY 27th WEDNESDAY Literary Meanderings TENS LIST
FEBRUARY 27th WEDNESDAY Pages and Pugs REVIEW

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review - Full Fusion (The Fusion Series, #1) by NJ Damschroder + Giveaway

Photo Source - Amazon

Roxie Sebastian is like every other teenager except she doesn't always feel like she belongs and she is missing something. While, she has a caring family, a loving boyfriend, and supportive friends, she can't help but feel that disconnected from the world around her. When on shopping trip with her friend, Lincoln, she narrowly manages to escape death when brilliant light misses her and blows up Lincoln's car instead. After seeing the brilliant light, she is drawn to it and can't help but feels she needs the light. However, it seems Lincoln knows more than he is letting on about Roxie and the light that almost killed them. What secret is Lincoln hiding? Why is the light so important to Roxie?


This young adult paranormal novel was an interesting read. The author did a good job making the characters feel authentic and age appropriately in their dialogue. The plot was fast moving and interesting but I felt like the description in the back gave away most of the important part of the story. Instead of being a description to entice readers into reading the book, I felt like it was a summary of the entire book. Overall, an interesting book for those who like paranormal novels but skip the description on the back otherwise you might ruin the book.

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

About The Book:
Title: FULL FUSION (The Fusion Series Volume 1)
Author: NJ Damschroder
Pub. Date: June 4, 2014
Publisher: Dragonsoul YA
Pages: 322
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Find it: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD, Goodreads

Eighteen-year-old Roxie Sebastian lives a charmed life, and she knows it. Too bad she can’t feel it.

All her life, she’s felt disconnected from the world around her. Everything changes just before graduation, when she’s drawn to an eerie, brilliant light-which narrowly misses her as it blows up her friend Lincoln’s car. Clearly someone’s after Roxie, and finally Lincoln tells her the truth: He and Roxie are angels, beings from another dimension, and that light is her soul, separated from her human body in a traumatic birth.

Once a skeptical Roxie rules out the other possibilities-like Lincoln created this delusion to escape his abusive father-she accepts her gut-deep knowledge of the truth. But someone has been screwing with her light, using it to commit crimes, and their actions are about to cause irreparable damage to two worlds: the one she lives in, and the one she can’t remember.

Aided by her best friend Jordan, her boyfriend Tucker, and Lincoln, Roxie tracks down the criminal and uncovers many more secrets not only of her past, but of the history of their race on Earth. And then Roxie faces a horrible dilemma-the only way she can stop them from ripping apart both worlds is to fuse with her light…which could be tainted by the evil with which it was used.

About NJ:

Natalie J. Damschroder is an award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance, with an emphasis on romantic adventure. She has had 24 novels, 7 novellas, and 16 short stories published by several publishers, most recently with Soul Mate Publishing, Entangled Publishing, and Carina Press. She recently debuted her Fusion Series, a young adult paranormal adventure series, with Full Fusion, as NJ Damschroder. Learn more about those books here.

Natalie grew up in Massachusetts, and loves the New England Patriots more than anything. (Except her family. And writing and reading. And popcorn.) When she’s not writing, she does freelance editing and proofreading. She and her husband have two grown daughters, one of whom is also a novelist. (The other one prefers math. Smart kid. Practical.)

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
 

Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a Box Set of the FULL FUSION Series, US Only.
Rafflecopter Link:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba2710/

Week One:

3/19/2018- Caffeine And Composition- Interview

3/19/2018- A Gingerly Review- Review

3/20/2018- Twirling Book Princess- Excerpt

3/20/2018- The Underground- Review

3/21/2018- Elley the Book Otter- Guest Post

3/21/2018- Wonder Struck- Review

3/22/2018- Am Kinda Busy Reading- Review

3/22/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

3/23/2018- BookHounds YA- Interview

3/23/2018- two points of interest- Review