Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Book Spotlight - Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain by T.X. Troan + Giveaway


About The Books:

Title: SOPHIA FREEMAN SERIES

Author: T.X. Troan

Pub. Date: March 25, 2019, June 11, 2021, & June 30, 2022

Publisher: Rise Publishers

Formats: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook (book 1)

Pages: 150, 186, & 172

Find it: 

Book 1- Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/SophiaFreemanAndTheMysteriousFountain

Book 2-Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/Sophia-Freeman-and-the-Gate-of-Jade

Book 3-Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/Sophia-Freeman-and-the-Era-of-Darkness

Grab all 3 books for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited Membership or get your eBooks for .99 for a limited time!

What begins as a special trip for eleven-year-old SOPHIA FREEMAN and her billionaire father, leaves her trapped on a mysterious island with a tree boy and other fantastical creatures.

The moment Sophia thinks her situation can’t get any crazier, she is shocked to learn the island is under a deadly eternal curse. All living things are rapidly decaying and soon nothing and no one—including herself—will be left alive.

From competing in a three-round yearly held competition to reviving a long-lost magical spell, Sophia and her new companions must gather every ounce of courage, wit and skill as they are stepping closer to breaking the 150-year-old curse. But will they make it in time while surrounded by enemies and traitors aiming to stop them at any cost?

Book Trailers:

Book 1:

 

Book 2:



 

About T.X. Troan:

Thuan Doan is an award-winning author of the Sophia Freeman series. He conceived his first middle-grade fantasy novel, Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain, during a trip to Gabriola Island, British Columbia in the summer of 2013. Then he took his work and settled in a small town of Enderby, where it’s peaceful and quiet. 4 years later, the story was complete. While book one, two and three are being shared with the world, he's writing and illustrating book four of the series.

Thuan is writing under a pen name of T.X. Troan. “X” stands for Xu, his grandmother’s name who passed away. And “Troan” is a combination of his parents' names.

“No matter how this turns out, I want my family to be a part of this wonderful journey.”

T.X. Troan married Sarah, his original fan and longtime love, in 2016. They live in Enderby with their pack dogs!

Subscribe to T.X.’s newsletter! Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

24 winners will receive an eBook of Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain, International.

Ends May 6th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/1/2023

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Excerpt/IG Post

 Week Two:

4/3/2023

Mythical Books

Guest Post/IG Post

4/4/2023

Cara North

Excerpt/IG Post

4/5/2023

Crandom

Excerpt/IG Post

4/6/2023

YA Books Central

Guest Post/IG Post

4/7/2023

@jael_and_jenessa_reads

Review/IG Post

4/8/2023

Rajiv's Reviews

Review/IG Post

 Week Three:

4/10/2023

GryffindorBookishNerd

Review/IG Post

4/11/2023

Two Chicks on Books

Guest Post/IG Post

4/12/2023

Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's

Guest Post/IG Post

4/13/2023

Breysreviews

IG Review

4/14/2023

@froggyreadteach

IG Review

4/15/2023

@stargirls.magical.tale

IG Review

 Week Four:

4/17/2023

The Momma Spot

Review

4/18/2023

More Books Please blog

Review/IG Post

4/19/2023

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

4/20/2023

Two Points of Interest

Review

4/21/2023

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

4/22/2023

Review Thick And Thin

Review/IG Post

 Week Five:

4/24/2023

Brandi Danielle Davis

IG Review/TikTok Post

4/25/2023

@evergirl200

IG Review

4/26/2023

OneMoreExclamation

Review/IG Post

4/27/2023

@doublethebooksmagazine

Review/IG Post

4/28/2023

@enjoyingbooksagain

IG Review


Sunday, April 23, 2023

Book Review - At Home on Marigold Lane by Debbie Mason

 


At Home on Marigold Lane by Debbie Mason is about a young woman returning home to recuperate after a serious injury and a failed marriage. To add insult to injury, she then runs into the man that broke her heart years ago. Brianna MacLeod is a Family and Marriage Therapist and she feels embarrassed that she has to return home to Highland Falls after her marriage had imploded.

Bri is ashamed that she missed the red flags in her abusive relationship and feels that she isn’t qualified to be a therapist anymore. However, she loves helping others and it is second nature to her. When Bri gives up being a therapist she feels that she lost her purpose in life and she is giving up something she loves. Bri decides to move out of the inn she shares with her sister and grandfather to live by herself. Unfortunately, her plan is dashed when she finds out that she has a roommate and it’s someone she would never expect to see again.

 

Bri and her roommate concoct a plan to keep Bri’s sister from worrying about her. In the process of creating the plan, Bri ends up counseling her roommate and her neighbors. She didn’t expect that it would lead to her reconnecting with her first love.

 

Caleb Scott feels that his failed marriage to Raine is tough on his stepdaughter, Izzy. He feels that Izzy needs someone to talk to and work through her emotions with. However, he wasn’t expecting that person to be Bri. Caleb thought his feelings for her were gone when she broke his heart years ago but he finds himself falling for her. Unlike his marriage to Raine, being with Bri feels like home and comfortable. The only problem Caleb has is trying to convince Bri that their relationship deserves a second chance.

 

The novel is the fifth book in the series and it can be read as a standalone. However, I felt that there were some character nuances and storylines that were referenced that went over my head because I didn’t read the previous books. I felt that the novel started out strong and then slowly fizzled out because they were parts of the story that were connected to the previous books. The book also had a lot of characters that were mentioned once or twice in the beginning and then they would make another appearance later in the book. It was hard keeping track of these minor characters and how they related to the story.

 

The book was filled with characters who were trying to find their own paths to happiness but they could be annoying. I enjoyed reading about most of the characters but I found Raine to be very annoying. There were points in the story when she garnered some unwarranted sympathy and seemed selfless such as with her drive to build a new trauma center. However, there were many points in the story that Raine would stop at nothing to get what she wants even if it means throwing other people into the fire. 

 

Then we have two characters who seem to have something going on between them but nothing is disclosed or goes further with their chemistry. I felt that this side story did not add to the main plot and detracted from the story. I didn’t care for Caleb’s best friend, Josh. Josh seems to support Caleb but Josh never seems to be able to keep his mouth shut or read the room. Josh knows Caleb is trying to keep a secret from the town but yet Josh manages to tell everyone the secret within a few minutes of meeting the person. He then always wants to know the story but then can never keep it to himself. I am not even sure why they keep telling Josh anything since he can’t keep a secret to save himself.

 

My other annoyance is with Caleb and Bri. They know they should be keeping their relationship a secret but yet they can never seem to keep their hands off each other in public. Instead of limiting their physical embraces in public, they go at each other like teenagers as if they want to be caught. And they kept getting caught on multiple occasions but they continued acting like lovers in public. I felt like this type of behavior was unrealistic and the continuous references to previous storylines prevented me from completely enjoying and immersing myself in the book.

Friday, April 21, 2023

Book Review - Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You're the F-ing Worst by Laura Belgray

 

 


Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You're the F-ing Worst by Laura Belgray is part memoir and part self help book written by an award winning TV writer. Laura relates engaging laugh out loud stories about her childhood and adult years as she tries to navigate her life and find a career she enjoys.

Laura talks about being bullied in 6th grade and then “hate-following” her bully years later on social media. She mentions being self conscious of her body and then questioning her self worth when no boys wanted to kiss her during parties. She struggled with finding friends and fitting in with the popular kids. She didn’t have much of a social life or went out as much as her classmates when she was growing up.

Things didn’t really change for Laura after she graduated from college. She still had no idea what she wanted to do and she seemed to be moving through life listlessly. She moved back home to stay with her parents and she spends her days sleeping in while her nights are reserved for spending time at bars. She hoped to become a bartender but was having a hard time finding a bar that would give her a chance to try out her bartending skills.

 

She dabbled in unhealthy relationships including a relationship with a married man who bought her no joy but she still found herself obsessed with him. Laura measured her self worth by how many hookups she had with bartenders and other people. She figured if people are willing to sleep with her that she must have been worthy of something. While it wasn’t the best way to spend her time, she admits that she was able to make connections and gain opportunities that she wouldn’t have otherwise.

 

After a failed stint as a bartender, Laura decided to become an intern at a magazine. She was one of the worst interns there but she succeeded in building industry connections. She did discover that she did like certain parts of her job and that helped serve as a guide for her career path. Laura mentions that when she was let go from the job, she was late to the discovery of the Internet but ended up finding a profitable niche that she was able to build a successful business out of.

 

The book was a very relatable and laugh out loud read. The book did offer some advice but it wasn’t on the nose or trying to change a habit. Instead, Laura talked about her life and choices and then explained how things worked out for the better (sometimes). I feel like the book shows readers that it’s okay to make mistakes and learn as you go because sometimes that can lead to connections that would help you later in life.

 

I like that the book encourages readers to be weird and take their time in learning and finding themselves. Sometimes, we are made to feel insufficient or we could be doing more with our lives. And that if we are not on some Forbes list, that we are failures or not good enough. I feel that when Laura was describing her experiences it was encouraging to see that success is not always a straight path. I enjoyed reading about the author’s struggles and her triumphs as it was written in an engaging way.

 

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Book Spotlight - A Whole Song and Dance by Sarvenaz Tash + Giveaway

 

About The Book:

Title: A WHOLE SONG AND DANCE

Author: Sarvenaz Tash

Pub. Date: April 4, 2023

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/A-WHOLE-SONG-AND-DANCE

Sarah Dessen meets Abigail Hing Wen in this heartwarming romantic comedy starring Nasrin Mahdavi, an Iranian-American college freshman who's a triple threat on Broadway—but who's living a double life.

It’s her first semester majoring in musical theater at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, and Nasrin spends her days prepping for auditions, sweating through dance classes, and belting her heart out for the viral streaming show she’s been cast in. But on calls with her maman and baba, she’s the golden child who put her theater dreams aside to follow in their entrepreneurial footsteps as a business major. 

At least her whole life isn’t a lie—she is taking a single business course. Except she’s kind of failing it. Nasrin needs to bring her grade up fastif she’s going to keep her parents in the dark, so she grudgingly signs up for tutoring with the infuriatingly smug and annoyingly attractive Max. And yet . . . as the semester rushes by, the sparks of anger that first flew between them start to turn into a very different kind of spark. The kind she definitely does not have time for.

Except when Nasrin’s charmingly devious cousin takes an interest in Max too, Nasrin has to figure out exactly what has been an act, and what’s for real. Can Nasrin decide what—and who—is truly worth fighting for, and find a way to step into the spotlight as her full self?


About Sarvenaz Tash:

Sarvenaz Tash is the author of The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love (an Amazon Best Book of the Year, YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant YA Readers), A Whole Song and DanceVirtually YoursThree Day SummerThe Mapmaker and the Ghost and the co-author of Ghosting: A Love Story and Hollywood Ending (as Tash Skilton). She was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up on Long Island, NY. She received her BFA in Film and Television from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, which means she got to spend most of college running around and making movies (it was a lot of fun). She has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting for the likes of Bravo and MTV. Sarvenaz currently lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of A WHOLE SONG AND DANCE, US Only.

Ends May 6th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/1/2023

The Bibliophilic World

Review/IG Post

 Week Two:

4/2/2023

I'm Into Books

Excerpt

4/3/2023

YA Books Central

Excerpt/IG Post

4/4/2023

Lifestyle of Me

Review

4/5/2023

Reads by Radus

Excerpt/IG Post/TikTok Post

4/6/2023

@stargirls.magical.tale

IG Review

4/7/2023

Review Thick And Thin

Review/IG Post

4/8/2023

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

 Week Three:

4/9/2023

@bookishlifeofkels

IG Post

4/10/2023

Tracey Reads and Rambles

Review/IG Post

4/11/2023

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

4/12/2023

Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's

Review/IG Post

4/13/2023

A Backwards Story

Review/IG Post

4/14/2023

The Book View

Review/IG Post

4/15/2023

pluvioreads

Review/IG Post

 Week Four:

4/16/2023

Breysreviews

IG Review

4/17/2023

popthebutterfly

Review/IG Post

4/18/2023

More Books Please blog

Review/IG Post

4/19/2023

zaineylaney

TikTok Review/IG Post

4/20/2023

Two Points of Interest

Review

4/21/2023

Brandi Danielle Davis

Review/IG Post

4/22/2023

@froggyreadteach

IG Review

 Week Five:

4/23/2023

@carlysunshinebooks

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

4/24/2023

@lexijava

Review/IG Post

4/25/2023

OneMoreExclamation

Review/IG Post

4/26/2023

@travelersguidetobooks

IG Review

4/27/2023

Author Z. Knight’s Guild

Review/IG Post

4/28/2023

Midnightbooklover

IG Review

4/29/2023

@My.Bookish.Mind

IG Review/TikTok Post

 Week Six:

4/30/2023

@drew_ambitious_reading

Review/IG Post


Monday, April 17, 2023

Book Review - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

 

 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow is a spellbinding fantasy about a young girl trying to connect with her estranged father and finding her place in the world. In the early 1900’s, January Scaller was a curiosity and an outsider. She looks and acts different from everyone else. She lives in a giant mansion with her caretaker, Mr. Locke. The house is filled with treasures and priceless artifacts, and January sometimes feels that she is something that Mr. Locke has collected. She is well looked after thanks to Mr. Locke being wealthy, but she always feels ignored and out of place.

One day, January was searching through Mr. Locke’s treasures when she came across an old book. She finds herself drawn towards the book and she spends every free moment reading her newly found lifeline. January is entranced with the characters and wants to use the book as a way to escape from real life.

 

The book tells of secret doors to other worlds that allows people to travel between them. The worlds are vastly different from January’s current world and some worlds even have magic. As January delves deeper into the book, she realizes that the story is connected with her. She first thought the story was a work of fiction but then realizes the story might be true. January decides to follow her heart and search for her own magical door.

 

I thought the book was an interesting and magical read. The story did move slowly during some parts of the book where it describes January getting older but nothing noteworthy would occur. The author wrote in a beautiful lyrical prose that was overwhelming at times. I felt that it covered up the fact that there was little story progression.

 

The first two thirds of the book does move very slowly. The story starts picking up in the last few pages and the twist is very predictable. The evil mastermind is easy to guess very early on. While the book was an entertaining read, I felt like I had a hard time connecting with the protagonist. Instead of the magical doors being a gateway to an exciting adventure, the majority of the time the characters use the doors to reconnect with a loved one. The book does have an opening for a second book which seems like it would be a good read if it focuses on January’s adventures in different worlds.

 

Saturday, April 15, 2023

Book Review - Batcat by Meggie Ramm

 


Batcat by Meggie Ramm is a graphic novel for young readers about a creature who is struggling with their identity. They like being a homebody and spending their time alone in their house on Spooky Island. Batcat enjoys eating snacks while watching TV or playing video games.

Everything was going fine until Batcat finds themself haunted by a ghost who doesn’t understand personal boundaries. The ghost is always in Batcat’s way and is eating all of their snacks. Batcat is desperate to get rid of their unwanted visitor so they decide to visit the local Island Witch for assistance.

 

Batcat has to travel all over Spooky Island to gather the ingredients for the spell. They visit the Cavernous Cave where Batcat asks the resident bats for help to locate the ingredient. The bats tell Batcat that they are too round to be a bat. At the Whispering Cemetery, the resident cats will only help Batcat if they prove that they are a true cat. However, Batcat is neither only a bat or cat and that’s what makes them special, right? 

 

I thought the graphic novel was a cute and fun read. The illustrations were bright and vibrant. The graphic novel is geared towards young readers and has many important life lessons. It teaches children about identity and that they can be anything they want to be. Also, that a person’s identity can be made up of multiple facets.  As in the case of Batcat, they are both a cat and a bat.  A person doesn’t have to fit into one category perfectly.  It illustrates that everyone at some point in their lives is trying to find their place in a community and also struggles with self-acceptance. I think it would be a great gift for any young reader in your life.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Book Review - He Said He Would Be Late by Justine Sullivan

 


He Said He Would Be Late by Justine Sullivan is about a woman who suspects her beloved husband is cheating on her. Liz Bennett knows that she is lucky to snag her husband, Arno. When they first met, Arno was wealthy, charismatic and attractive. He is a supportive husband to her and a devoted father to their daughter, Emma. He is an all-star employee and everyone loves him at the top banking firm he works at in Boston. He has a promising career and he is in line for a promotion.

In Liz’s mind, Arno is the perfect example of a great husband and he’s one of the reasons why she feels that she has the perfect life. Liz’s life comes crashing down when she sees a text on Arno’s phone with a kissy face emoji. Liz becomes anxious and her wildest imagination takes over. She is worried that her best days of her marriage are over and that her husband is cheating on her.

Liz’s anxiety and worries consume her thoughts and are affecting her sleep. She spends every waking moment thinking about the text and trying to decipher Arno’s behavior. Liz is trying to see if she can catch Arno in a lie. 

Liz tries to track down the mysterious woman that sent the text. Liz’s obsession with the text message has started taking over Liz’s life and infected all aspects of her sanity and mental wellbeing. She believes in her intuition and that she must find out the truth even if it means ending her “perfect” marriage.

 

The book was a thrilling roller coaster ride of answering the question of: is he cheating or not? As the story progresses, we see Liz unravel from a relatively sane person to someone who is consumed by anxiety, distress, and suspicion over her relationship with her husband. The reader is taken on a journey as we try to decide if Liz's instincts are incorrect or is there more to the text message that Arno received.

 

Liz was an interesting character. She was a flawed and relatable person. It was suspenseful reading about her inner turmoil. However, I wish there was more background information to her character and whether or not this is the life she really wanted. Liz went from a woman who was happy with her current life and then she became unbalanced and nothing brought her joy. At times, the story did get repetitive and didn’t progress much. I didn’t like that it ended abruptly and the reader was left to draw their own conclusion. I wish we could have known about the aftermath of what happened after Liz makes her discovery.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Book Review - Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa

 


Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa is about a Mexican witch trying to open her own speakeasy during the Roaring Twenties, while providing for her family and coming to terms with her heritage. Luna, or Rose, depending who is asking, is a caucasian-looking daughter of an immigrant Mexican woman. Luna’s mother wants her to pretend to be White so Luna can have the best opportunities life can offer. They’ve both seen how society treats people who are different.


Luna is a descendant of a long line of magical witches which are based off of Mexican folktale. However, she is struggling to control and expand her abilities like her talented grandmother.  She wants to rely on her budding powers to make progress in her life, but it doesn’t seem that she is able to control her powers.


Luna is struggling to come to terms with her two different personalities along with handling her magical abilities.  During the day, “Rose” is a part time reporter at a newspaper. During the night, “Luna” is a partial owner of a nightclub.  Luna wants to own her own jazz nightclub outright, as she is tired of dealing with the crooked politicians and the deadly mobsters who run the underground nightlife. Even though Luna looks like a White woman, her loved ones still get targeted with violence because of the rampant sexism and racism. Luna wants to mitigate these risks by owning her own business with no ties to mobsters.


Utilizing her magical powers of charm, she is able to negotiate with criminals to keep her business running smoothly. As she’s making progress, she finds herself in the crosshair of someone who wants to harm her and her business to a greater degree than her “business partners”.  Luna is used to depending on herself but she finds herself overwhelmed. Will she be able to turn to her loved ones for help?

 

It was engaging seeing how Luna was trying to manage the two different sides of herself and trying to combine her heritage and her new life into one. I liked reading about her dreams of running her own business and how she overcame the people who were trying to stop her.

 

The book was packed with action on every page but it felt overwhelming at times. There were points though that I had a hard time following along. I felt the Spanish phrases and the terminology used during that time period made it hard to keep up with the pace. I would have liked a glossary or a translation of what something meant.

 

I also felt at times that the writing was choppy. A scene would transition to another scene without much warning or heads up that the story was moving in another direction.  It seemed as if the author wanted to broach many different social issues such as racism and sexism, but she touched the surface and didn’t really go anywhere with it.

 

I had a hard time connecting with the main character. I felt that the reader got a one dimensional look to her. The author didn’t spend much time giving her a background or explaining her magic in more detail. I felt like the novel lacked proper world building, which was confusing since she used a lot of 1920’s jargon. Luna’s thoughts were so muddled and repetitive that it made it confusing to me. The book had a lot of potential but it needed to be better edited to make the story easier to follow.

Friday, April 7, 2023

Book Review - Dangerous Beauty by Melissa Koslin

 

Dangerous Beauty by Melissa Koslin is about a chance encounter uniting two people from different walks of life. 


Liliana Vela refuses to think of herself as a victim. She is a fighter and survivor. She will not let the past dictate how she lives her life.  Liliana witnessed her family being brutally murdered in her impoverished Mexican village before being kidnapped by the human traffickers. She was able to escape before the men made the exchange with her buyer.  Liliana is determined to take back her life after escaping from the men who held her hostage.  However, she realized that she has no connections or anyone to help her in America.  She feels she is all alone.


Meric Toledan decided to stop for water at a service station when he noticed Liliana needing help from some men that are following her.  He decided to help rescue her from these men, who he realizes are traffickers. When he realized that she had no one to rely on for help in a new country, he decided to marry her to keep her safe from the traffickers. The mysterious buyer refuses to let his prize be stolen away by someone else. Will Liliana be able to live her life free from the buyer in the end?


The book was an absolute borefest with almost no thrills or action. Liliana and Meric were one dimensional and dull. The two main characters always seemed to say the perfect thing to each other and they could do no wrong. The story got repetitive and moved slowly, with nothing happening plot wise. The author used the word “cold” to describe Meric’s personality in almost every other sentence.  I also found it weird that Meric is described as a cold, withdrawn, and prudent person, but then marries and wills all of his assets to someone who is practically a stranger to him. 


I felt that the plot and twists were unrealistic. It is mentioned that Meric isn’t a “people” person even with the people that work for him or are “close” to him. But Meric goes out of his way for Liliana, whom he just met but he simply found her too beautiful. Multiple times during the novel, it’s mentioned that Meric can’t be near her because her beauty is so overwhelming to him and he is afraid he can’t control himself. It all seems so shallow. I felt that if Liliana wasn’t beautiful he wouldn’t be willing to give her his entire fortune and help her with her predicament. The author’s description of Liliana’s beauty and Meric’s cold personality was repeated constantly to the point that  it got annoying. I felt that the author should have used that time and space to add more to the story’s plot.


The ending seemed far fetched and everything was neatly tied up in a bow. I felt that the ending didn't seem plausible. It left me with more questions about the validity of Meric’s familial connections. There were a lot of side stories that didn’t add value to the main storyline.  Liliana met a group of elderly residents and they seemed to be having fun and they even had an outing together. However, after an incident that wasn’t directly related to them, they were written out of the story with no additional mention of them. It made me wonder what the point was of including these characters for a few chapters. The book felt lackluster because the characters were bland, the story was long winded, and the plot didn’t feel feasible.