Blog Tour: Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell by Taj McCoy

Summary:
Savvy Sheldon spends a lot of time tiptoeing around the cracks in her life: her high-stress and low-thanks job, her clueless boyfriend and the falling-apart kitchen she inherited from her beloved grandma—who taught her how to cook and how to love people by feeding them. But when Savvy’s world starts to crash down around her, she knows it’s time for some renovations.
Starting from the outside in, Savvy tackles her crumbling kitchen, her relationship with her body, her work–life balance (or lack thereof) and, last but not least, her love life. The only thing that doesn’t seem to require effort is her ride-or-die squad of friends. But as any home-reno-show junkie can tell you, something always falls apart during renovations. First, Savvy passes out during hot yoga. Then it turns out that the contractor she hires is the same sexy stranger she unintentionally offended by judging based on appearances. Worst of all, Savvy can’t seem to go anywhere without tripping over her ex and his latest “upgrade.” Savvy begins to realize that maybe she should’ve started her renovations the other way around: beginning with how she sees herself before building a love that lasts.

Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for a review. I am a part of the blog tour team for this book.
This story follows Savvy Sheldon, who has just been dumped by her boyfriend of several years. He tells her that she’s let herself go and says some pretty hurtful things as he’s breaking her heart. So, Savvy decides she is going to get herself a revenge body. She’s going to get herself back into shape and start doing the things she loves again so that he will see what he’s just lost.
This book is pitched as a rom-com and I sort of don’t think that’s accurate. It’s less a rom-com and more a story about Savvy finding herself. She’s rediscovering the things that make her happy. She’s doing only good things for herself. I enjoyed this journey so much. I really loved following Savvy as she rekindled her love for tennis and spent more time with her best friends. Honestly, Savvy and her friends were one of the best parts of this book. They were an absolute riot. I loved every page where the three friends were together.
There is a romance in this story too. It was one that I had no problems rooting for. I really liked how they took things slowly since Savvy had just gotten out of a relationship. They had some really believable chemistry. But also I couldn’t stop laughing at how Savyy thought he was homeless when she first met him.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved seeing Savvy find her happiness, happiness that didn’t depend on a man. I loved the food and cooking aspects of the story. I liked the romance. The friendships were hilarious and my favorite. I even liked the workout parts of the story. I definitely think this one will be well-loved by readers.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blog Tour: The Iron Sword by Julie Kagawa

Summary:
As Evenfall nears, the stakes grow ever higher for those in Faery…
Banished from the Winter Court for daring to fall in love, Prince Ash achieved the impossible and journeyed to the End of the World to earn a soul and keep his vow to always stand beside Queen Meghan of the Iron Fey.
Now he faces even more incomprehensible odds. Their son, King Keirran of the Forgotten, is missing. Something more ancient than the courts of Faery and more evil than anything Ash has faced in a millennium is rising as Evenfall approaches. And if Ash and his allies cannot stop it, the chaos that has begun to divide the world will shatter it for eternity.

Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This review is a part of the promotional blog tour for The Iron Sword’s release.
The Iron Sword follows Ash’s point of view. I was mistaken in my assumption (which I mentioned in my review of the first book) that this spin-off series was all going to be from Puck’s perspective. I’m not going to lie, I was a little bummed when I realized that this book wasn’t from Puck’s perspective, but I absolutely see and appreciate what Kagawa seems to be going for here with each book being from a different character’s point of view. It makes me very curious as to who we will be experiencing the third book through.
I think the plot of the story was compelling and engaging. We’re solving the mystery of “where did Kierran disappear to?” But that mystery brings up quite a few other questions and all of these things roll together into the plot of this book. I think it was engaging enough to keep my interest. But also, I had enough questions answered along the way that I never felt frustrated that getting the answers was taking too long. I do have to say, holy cliffhanger (also, like, literally, hahah.)
Overall, I thought this was a quick read and I really enjoyed being back with a cast of characters that I know and love. But, like I said in my review for the first book, I would have liked some new characters to follow and root for in this world. It felt like I was plopped right back into the original series aside from the fact that Ash emphasized that Kierran was his son, and brought up all the things they’d been through and struggled with in the previous books as reminders that this series now spans many, many years. We did get to see some other familiar faces (like Ethan and Kenzie) which was an absolute joy. I will forever love this world. So, I cannot wait to see how this trilogy will end.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blog Tour: Light Years From Home by Mike Chen

Summary:
Every family has issues. Most can’t blame them on extraterrestrials.
Evie Shao and her sister, Kass, aren’t on speaking terms. Fifteen years ago on a family camping trip, their father and brother vanished. Their dad turned up days later, dehydrated and confused—and convinced he’d been abducted by aliens. Their brother, Jakob, remained missing. The women dealt with it very differently. Kass, suspecting her college-dropout twin simply ran off, became the rock of the family. Evie traded academics to pursue alien conspiracy theories, always looking for Jakob.
When Evie’s UFO network uncovers a new event, she goes to investigate. And discovers Jakob is back. He’s different—older, stranger, and talking of an intergalactic war—but the tensions between the siblings haven’t changed at all. If the family is going to come together to help Jakob, then Kass and Evie are going to have to fix their issues, and fast. Because the FBI is after Jakob, and if their brother is telling the truth, possibly an entire space armada, too.
The perfect combination of action, imagination and heart, Light Years From Home is a touching drama about a challenge as difficult as saving the galaxy: making peace with your family…and yourself.

Review:
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I am a part of the blog tour for this book so thank you to MIRA books for the opportunity to share my thoughts about this one!
I’ve read all of Chen’s previous novels and while they are all technically science fiction stories, they are all so different from one another that I never really know what to expect going into them. That was accurate for this story as well. I sort of thought I was getting into a hard sci-fi story full of action and adventure and space wars. But this is really the story of three siblings: Jakob, Evie, and Kass. Jakob’s disappearance fifteen years earlier fractured this family so much that when the three are finally reunited fifteen years later, it might not be possible for them to mend what’s been broken. Especially considering that Jakob has returned with stories of a war that’s raging between aliens and while Evie absolutely believes him, Kass thinks it’s more likely that Jakob is suffering from a mental illness. I definitely didn’t think this was going to turn into an “is it really aliens or is it actually mental illness” story, but the author totally had me convinced when I was reading the chapters from Kass’ perspective.
Since we get three points of view, one from each sibling, it felt like we really got the whole story. We really got to know each of these siblings. I really enjoyed that. I think having all three voices really made the story what it was because if it had just been from Jakob’s perspective it would have been a totally different story. Each sibling brought something different to the story. I liked all three of the main characters. It was interesting because when I was reading Evie’s chapters, I totally agreed with her resentment of her older sister, but when I was reading Kass’ chapters, I also totally agreed with her disdain toward her siblings. I think Chen did an excellent job with these characters.
Overall, I loved the blend of family drama with the science fiction genre. The threat of an alien war coming to earth unless Jakob can get certain information to them raised the stakes of the story and set the pace. But the characters were absolutely what made this book what it was. The family dynamics were compelling and the issues between the siblings weren’t resolved with a nice neat bow, which I appreciated. I think there will be some mixed reviews on this one from those that are expecting more of a sci-fi story. But I will definitely be continuing to recommend Chen’s work.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blog Tour: Love at First Spite by Anna E. Collins

Summary:
Falling in love is the ultimate payback in this delightful romcom about an interior designer who teams up with an enigmatic architect at her firm to get revenge on her ex the only way she knows how: by building a spite house next door
They say living well is the best revenge. But sometimes, spreading the misery seems a whole lot more satisfying. That’s interior designer Dani Porter’s justification for buying the vacant lot next to her ex-fiancé’s house…the house they were supposed to live in together, before he cheated on her with their Realtor. Dani plans to build a vacation rental that will a) mess with his view and his peace of mind and b) prove that Dani is not someone to be stepped on. Welcome to project Spite House.
That plan quickly becomes complicated when Dani is forced to team up with Wyatt Montego, the handsome, haughty architect at her firm, and the only person available to draw up blueprints. Wyatt is terse and stern, the kind of man who eats his sandwich with a knife and fork. But as they spend time together on- and off-site, Dani glimpses something deeper beneath that hard veneer, something surprising, vulnerable, and real. And the closer she gets to her goal, the more she wonders if winning revenge could mean losing something infinitely sweeter…

Review:
Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you also to HarperCollins for inviting me to be on this blog tour.
Love at First Spite follows Dani, who has just been cheated on by her fiancé. The story opens with her destroying her wedding gown in the absolute best way. Dani is an interior designer for a big company, so we get a lot of the details of her work life. But we also get to know her friends. Mia is Dani’s cousin and also her best friend. And there’s Iris who becomes Dani’s landlady/roommate. But most importantly, there’s Wyatt. He’s our love interest. He works with Dani at the same company, but he’s an architect. So, when Dani, Mia, and Iris buy the property right next door to Dani’s ex-fiancé to build a spite house, Wyatt ends up being the architect that helps design said spite house.
I really liked Dani as the main character. I loved her friendship with Iris and Mia. These three women were hilarious. Mia doesn’t hesitate to call Dani on her shit when she needs it. And Iris is delightfully vague and unhelpful when Dani goes to her for advice. The three together were absolutely one of the highlights of this story. Most of all, I enjoyed Dani’s growth and development. She’s learning that she shouldn’t compare things to her past relationships and that maybe building a spite house isn’t the healthiest way to move on from her ex.
The romance was one I was easily engaged in. The chemistry between Dani and Wyatt was obvious right from the start, despite Dani actively disliking Wyatt when the story started. I loved Wyatt more and more as we got to know him better through Dani. The two of them together were a couple that I became invested in right away. I also really liked the way that the third act break up was handled.
Overall, this absolutely was a fun story to read. All of the antics that Iris, Mia, and Dani got up to while planning and building the spite house made me smile and laugh. The romance was enjoyable and easy to root for. I will definitely be recommending this book in the future.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Blog Tour: The Kindred by Alechia Dow

Summary:
To save a galactic kingdom from revolution, Kindred mind-pairings were created to ensure each and every person would be seen and heard, no matter how rich or poor…
Joy Abara knows her place. A commoner from the lowly planet Hali, she lives a simple life—apart from the notoriety that being Kindred to the nobility’s most infamous playboy brings.
Duke Felix Hamdi has a plan. He will exasperate his noble family to the point that they agree to let him choose his own future and finally meet his Kindred face-to-face.
Then the royal family is assassinated, putting Felix next in line for the throne…and accused of the murders. Someone will stop at nothing until he’s dead, which means they’ll target Joy, too. Meeting in person for the first time as they steal a spacecraft and flee amid chaos might not be ideal…and neither is crash-landing on the strange backward planet called Earth. But hiding might just be the perfect way to discover the true strength of the Kindred bond and expose a scandal—and a love—that may decide the future of a galaxy.

Review:
Thank you, NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I was invited to be a part of the blog tour for this book by HarperCollins and I’m so glad. I absolutely adored The Sound of Stars and I had high hopes for Dow’s sophomore novel. I absolutely was not disappointed.
The Kindred follows Felix and Joy in alternating perspectives with the occasional memory included. Felix is a duke, but he shies away from any sort of responsibility. He wants to play music and travel. Joy is a poor girl that is about to marry Maxon (a huge jerk) because it’s what she’s “supposed” to do. But Felix and Joy are one another’s Kindred. In this society, everyone is paired with another, their Kindred, at birth. But due to the political maneuvering of others, Felix and Joy are not allowed to meet. They’re not allowed to love one another the way that many other Kindred do. And then all hell breaks loose when the rulers of this society are assassinated. Secrets are revealed and Joy and Felix must meet and flee to keep themselves safe.
I really liked both Joy and Felix. Joy really struggles with her sense of self. She doesn’t think very highly of herself. So, her gaining confidence and finally disregarding the things she’s believed about her body was incredibly satisfying to follow. Her emotional growth was one of my favorite things. I also enjoyed Felix starting to take things more seriously. He seems like a party boy when the story starts, but as the story picks up, we see him take charge and responsibility. I think both characters had really well-done development.
My favorite thing about this book was the world and the ways that it connected to The Sound of Stars. I think the world was incredibly well built. It’s clear that Dow put a lot of work into creating this universe and its history. The history and culture of this book were so interesting. I loved how intricate and detailed the story was about the settings and religions.
The plot of the story was engaging and compelling. We find Joy and Felix, two aliens, crash landing on earth and that’s when the connections to The Sound of Stars being to reveal. I didn’t realize that this book was going to be related to her previous book in any way, but this was almost a prequel and I absolutely loved it. I think the story was really fast-paced and I really liked that. It was a quick read or felt like it because of the pacing of the story.
Overall, I cannot wait for more books from Dow. I hope there’s another set in the same universe that includes all these characters that I’ve come to love. I think the characters were easy to care about. I think the world and culture were fascinating. I loved the outcome of the story. I also really loved the messages of the story. It’s a story that speaks to the necessity of compassion and love. We need these things in the world and this story is all about that. I absolutely recommend this book and I think it will be a very loved story.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith

Summary:
Adam Stillwater is in over his head. At least, that’s what his best friend would say. And his mom. And the guy who runs the hardware store down the street. But this pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to protect it from Philadelphia’s newest tech mogul, who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafés.
Whitney Mitchell doesn’t know how she got here. Her parents split up. She lost all her friends. Her boyfriend dumped her. And now she’s spending her senior year running social media for her dad’s chain of super successful gaming cafés—which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town.
But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between them seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place. But what happens when the storm stops?

Review:
I’m a part of the blog tour for You Can Go Your Own Way. So, thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy to read and review honestly.
This was a fun story full of love and nods to the city of Philadelphia. I’m from New England and I’ve never been to Philly, but Smith’s love for the city definitely shone through. I could, however, absolutely related to the weather problems that the characters had to deal with in the story. Adam and Whitney get ‘trapped’ in Adam’s family arcade during a blizzard. The thing with the weather though is that they had warning, they all knew the snow was coming. I’m not sure what the snow is usually like in PA, but in New England, if there’s a risk of a blizzard, everything is shut down. From what it sounded like, they don’t do a super great job clearing and salting the roads. So, one would assume that they would close everything down as well (which eventually happened, but way too late to be realistic in my experience).
Despite my personal issues with the weather, I liked both Adam and Whitney as individuals. They both have things that they’re dealing with and needing to work through. For Adam, he’s still grieving his father but he also really needs to learn to move on and let things go. He’s letting himself get stuck in the past and unable to look toward the future. Whitney is a people pleaser, specifically her father. She craves his attention and the only way she thinks she can get it is by working for his business (a rival to Adam’s family arcade.) But running the social media and worrying about her father’s business is negatively affecting the rest of her life. Her friends are really not great. Her boyfriend breaks up with her. Adam and Whitney are connected by their past. They’re childhood friends that drifted when they got to high school.
The synopsis was a little misleading since I thought the whole book was going to be the day/night they were trapped in the arcade, but there’s so much more to the story than that. I really enjoyed the book. I think Whitney and Adam were interesting and well-developed characters. I liked them as individuals and how they came back together to be friends again and then more than that. I loved the setting. I especially liked the bits we got to see of the business’s social media interactions with one another. They were really funny at times. I definitely think this will be a hit for fans of YA contemporary books.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg – Blog Tour!

Hello, lovelies! Today I’m here to talk to you about a new release that I’m very excited about. I haven’t read it yet, so today I’m here with a spotlight post just to share a little bit of information about Spellbreaker and Charlie Holmberg. This book will be releases on November 1st, 2020. Now, let’s get into it.

Spellbreaker Synopsis

The orphaned Elsie Camden learned as a girl that there were two kinds of wizards in the world: those who pay for the power to cast spells and those, like her, born with the ability to break them. But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood.

Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. Working together, Elsie’s trust in—and fondness for—the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation about the rise in the murders of wizards and the theft of the spellbooks their bodies leave behind.

For a rogue spellbreaker like Elsie, there’s so much to learn about her powers, her family, the intriguing Bacchus, and the untold dangers shadowing every step of a journey she’s destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it’s too late to save everything she loves?

Where you can buy it:

Amazon

Signed Editions: 

Goodreads

Book Depository

Bookbub

Author Bio

Charlie N. Holmberg is the author of the Numina series and the Wall Street Journal bestselling Paper Magician series, which has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. She is also the author of five stand-alone novels, including Followed by Frost, a 2016 RITA award finalist for Best Young Adult Romance, and The Fifth Doll, winner of the 2018 Whitney for Speculative Fiction. Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, and owns too many pairs of glasses. She currently lives with her family in Utah.

Where you can find her:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Website

Let me know if you think this book sounds good!

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

A Whole New Me Blog Tour

Hello, lovelies! I don’t usually do blog tours here, but I’m beyond excited to hype this book that a good friend of mine wrote! A Whole New Me by Adrianna Schuh is a new adult romance that follows the main character, Tessa.

Synopsis

Tessa has something to prove and she wants to use Ricky to do it.
She’s not surprised when he agrees to her friends with benefits plan, but she is surprised when it seems like Ricky wants more than she’s willing to give.
Can she keep Ricky without giving him hope for something more?
Because Tessa won’t let this be love.

If that sounds interesting to you, then continue reading friend! I am here to share with you an excerpt of this book which I will be adding below (along with some links to preorder if you’re loving what you’re reading like I did.)

Excerpt

It’s clear we’re not the only ones headed to a party tonight. As the bus is packed full of groups of students, dressed in their best casual party attire. We all try to stick together and when our stop comes up we all take a minute to make sure everyone in the group has arrived in one piece. 

Bronte has hung onto my hand the entire time so we don’t get separated. I’ve never really had a friend like her, I’m pretty sure of that even though we just met. We just kind of click. 

The house is just down the street from the bus stop so it only takes a minute to arrive. Somehow I end up being the one to get to the door first. I raise my hand to knock, even though I’m sure no one will hear it, but before I can get there the door swings open. And standing on the other side is the one person I’d planned to avoid here tonight, and he’s giving me that damn smile. Crap.

“Hey Diner Girl,” he says with a smirk. I’m beginning to believe that’s his signature look, it’s how he gets the girls. 

“You’re looking especially gorgeous.” 

Of course he had to be the one opening the door, had to be the first person I see tonight.  And he’s staring at me, so I say the first thing that pops into my head. 

“Hey loser.” And I have absolutely no idea why I said that. I’m cringing inside as Ricky lets out a barking laugh, clutching his chest in mock pain. I hear Bronte openly laughing behind me so I push past Ricky and make my way into the house, anything to escape this painful encounter.

I walk further into the entryway that’s filled to the brim with partygoers, and glance back to see that Ricky still has his eyes on me.

I actually like the way he’s looking at me. Like he really does think I’m gorgeous. Usually when guys say that to me, accompanied with a look, it makes my skin crawl. Because I know they don’t have good intentions, they usually just want in my pants. But Ricky is looking at me like he appreciates all of what he sees, not just my body. 

He’s looking at me like he actually wants to get to know me in every way. I’m not sure how I can tell, but I’m confident I’m right. And unfortunately that actually makes Ricky more appealing to me. I like the way the look on his face makes me feel.

If this sounds like some you’re interested in reading (I’m currently reading the ARC because I’ve been devouring nothing but romance and I’m so excited to love Adrianna’s debut novel), please preorder using this link! Also, add it to GoodReads here!

Now, I will leave you all with a little bit of information about Adrianna so you can find her on all the social medias!

Author Bio

Adrianna is a 27-year-old wife, mommy, book lover, and librarian. She has a deep love for romance books and an unhealthy obsession with iced tea. She can quote almost any Disney movie, she’s in love with Kylo Ren, and she lives for Harry Potter. When she’s not reading or writing, she loves spending time at home with her son, husband, 5 cats, and one tiny dog.

Find her here:

Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
GoodReads
Blog

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.