Cover Reveal: Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott + Giveaway!

Author: Victoria Scott

A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother’s life—and her own. 

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can’t determine what’s wrong, her parents decide to move to the middle of nowhere for the fresh air. She’s lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she’s helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It’s an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother’s illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there’s no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can’t trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

Victoria Scott’s breathtaking novel grabs readers by the throat and doesn’t let go

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Victoria was kind enough to do a swag giveaway for my Blogoversary and this one is International! 😀

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Review: Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend + Giveaway! (North America only)

Author: Louise Rozett

Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year—everything is going to be different. This year, she’s going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around…

…but if she’s not careful, she’s also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the “good girl” who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed goes unpunished) and possibly worst of all…the almost-girlfriend.

When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself.

REVIEW:

It’s weird. I’m disappointed when I look in the mirror but it’s not because I don’t like what I see. I mean, I don’t, but that’s not what bugs me. What bugs me is that what I see in the mirror doesn’t match what I see in my head. In my head, I’m prettier than I am in real life, so when I look in the mirror and see what I see, I feel let down. And also a little crazy.

Rose isn’t crazy about how she looks. She made the website for her father but it turns out that her mother doesn’t approve of it and wants her to shut it down, her brother who was supposed to be there for her, is in college doing drugs. What about her friends? Holly has transformed from a caterpillar to a butterfly over the summer and Tracy has started a fashion blog which has become popular overnight. But Rose is still the same. Still trying to find her place. And, Jamie you ask, well he like always, is mysterious and closed off. One moment he is telling her to stay away and the next he is kissing her. So yeah, there’s that. 

As you see, Rose is knee-deep into problems. I was scared for her, I was angry at people for  being too hard on her. I just wanted to protect her. She is still grieving over her dad’s death, over all the changes that happened in her life. All of it can make anyone go crazy.

Rose is not a perfect character, she has flaws, sometimes you will hate her because she tends to say the wrong things and is still dealing with her anger issues. She is also awkward and then there is High School drama. How thankful am I to be done with that? But the thing about Rose is, that she is self aware.

‘”His life sucks right now,” Jamie says.“Yeah, well, so does mine,” I answer.“No shit,” Jamie says, making it completely clear that he doesn’t understand my lack of compassion.I don’t either, to be honest.

She tries to be a better person and that’s not always easy. The right thing is not always that obvious. It can sometimes lead you into a bigger mess. She doesn’t like interfering in other people’s life but she ends up getting tangled in their problems and that’s because she has a good heart and wants to help.

Sometimes people help each other, and get messed up in each other’s business; sometimes we stay out of it and let people find the way themselves. It’s always right to offer help, but not all help is right.

Everybody around Rose is going through something, they are all fighting their own problems and nobody is really the bad guy. It’s just the situation which sucks. I was on Rose’s side all along but I could understand everyone else’s perspective too. 

I think the author has done a great job with the book. It’s better than the first one. It’s more emotional and there is more depth to the characters. I hated Regina in the first book but in this one all I saw her vulnerable side and it makes sense why she is the way she is.

The romance, it’s really sweet but with Jamie comes a lot of uncertainty because you just don’t know what’s going in that boy’s mind. He is great. He cares about people, is loyal and has his heart in the right place but he needs to not be so confusing. It’s great that he helps others out but if he loves Rose, he needs to show it.

In the end, it was Rose’s journey to find herself and accept who she is. I’m so happy and feel like a proud parent, you know, when she finally realizes that if Jamie isn’t going to give  her a chance, it’s his loss. 

Wonderful book and I definitely recommend the series. 

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MiraInk was kind enough to sponsor this giveaway. You can choose between Confession of an angry girl or Confessions of an almost girlfriend. It’s North-America only. 

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Blogoversary: Day 2: Giveaway! (INT)

I kind of stumbled into blogging. It happened because I loved books and wanted to talk about them but I never thought anyone would read it. I still can’t believe that I’ve been doing this for a year. That’s kind of a big deal, right?

I still remember the day I found Goodreads. I couldn’t believe that there was a site, for people like us, who liked living in books. It opened me to new genres, to better books, it opened me to a new world. 

To meet authors, to talk to them, to get autographed books, to have tweets and emails written to you by people you admire. To just have found a world, where finally, I belong. Yeah, these things kinda make blogging the best thing that I ever stumbled upon.

What’s your blogging experience been like? How did it start?

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Blogoversary: Day 1: Guest post + Giveaway! (INT)

I’ve been blogging for a year, now and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I’ve met some awesome people, had some great experiences and discovered some truly amazing books. I would like to thank all my readers and followers for their constant love and support.  

Today, I have vvb from vvb32 reads talking about her blog. 

HAPPY Blogoversary to I Talk Books!

As I recall, the first year of book blogging was the most fun. It was exciting to try to figure out how and what books to share. The memes are a great way to interact along with entering contests and giveaways. 

Being a blogger since 2009, I have received the most enjoyment from creating virtual book events at my site at vvb32 reads. What is a virtual book event? Basically, it is a celebration of books and authors that are in keeping with a theme created which may include guest posts and giveaways. Audience participation is encouraged and most welcome. I just completed two virtual book events last month. One was called Flappers at Floyd’s which was based on the book and recent film The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerabled and included books with the 1920s theme (YA and general fiction titles).  The second event was, Tea at Pemberley, which was based on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. For samples, see various event schedules here

Please stop by July 20-24 and check out my next event Tea at Downton Abbey which will include books relating to that popular tv series and genre.

Thanks so much to Atmika of I Talk Books! for letting me share a bit about my blog. And again, have a happy blogoversary this month 🙂

Cheers,

v v b

P.S.:  feel free to contact me ( vvb32(at)yahoo(dot)com ) if you would like to talk more about setting up a virtual book event of your own.

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