Thursday, June 27, 2013

Review: The Quarryman’s Bride by Tracie Peterson

Published: June 1st, 2013 (Bethany House)
Pages: 352
Rating: 5/5
Source: NetGalley
Emmalyne Knox and Tavin MacLachlan were destined to be together...until the tragic deaths of Emmalyne's youngest sisters. Family tradition mandates that the youngest daughter should remain single to care for her parents in their old age, and now that daughter is Emmalyne. Her father unyielding, Emmalyne surrenders to her duty, heartbroken. Tavin leaves town, equally devastated.

Years later, Emmalyne's family moves, and she and Tavin meet again. Their feelings for each other are as strong as ever, but their painful past and Emmalyne's father still stand between them. Soon both families are in the midst of the growing conflict rising between the workers at the granite quarry that Tavin's father owns and operates. When a series of near-fatal accidents occur, Tavin must figure out who is behind the attacks before someone gets killed.

Bound by obligation, yet yearning for a future together, can Emmalyne and Tavin dare to dream that God could heal a decade-long wound and change the hearts of those who would stand in the way of true love? [Description from Amazon]
I haven’t read anything by Tracie Peterson in I can’t tell you when. I’ve always enjoyed her novels, made up of a perfect combo of romance and history, sometimes with a bit of a mystery thrown in. Now, I’m not a big fan of “2nd time around” romances (as opposed to first love stories); the characters are usually older and sometimes hurt emotionally (from first love). This is just not my cup of tea. But Peterson, as always, wove a brilliant story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
You might think it’s funny I’m mentioning this rather trivial aspect early in the review, but I loved the Scottish language. It was so much fun to read, and really brought the story to life. Yet, it wasn’t overbearing- I could understand the gist of what they were saying without getting confused. This, my friends, is often the difference between a well-written book and a poorly-written book. If another tongue or accent is used to liven up the dialogue, often times its waaaay overbearing and just ruins the whole book by confusing you to pieces. Thankfully this was not the case with The Quarryman’s Bride.
Something that irked me for about 2/3 of the book was Tavin. His anger was such a turn-off. He had reason to be angry, but he was so, so bitter about something that happened a long time ago, and it just seemed a little extreme. He seemed like a hothead, which is why I didn’t like him for a while. In fact, I liked Dr. Williams much better. He, on the other hand, seemed to genuinely care about Emmy, which made me like him better than Tavin. Then I started having these weird superstitions about Dr. Williams’ true intentions and overly-kind attitude, but that amounted to nothing, haha. Anyway, long story short, I ended up liking Tavin in the end (he learned to forgive and put aside his anger).
This is definitely what I’d call “fluff” reading. It’s light and romantic and relatively quick to read. And I enjoyed every bit of it. Peterson has written yet another incredible romance that will stay with us long after we turn the last page.

Quick Content Review: *may contain spoilers*
Language: None
Violence: Mild (a mentally unstable woman commits suicide)
Sexual: Mild (some innocent kissing)

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Book Blast: The Disneylanders by Kate Abbott (Spotlight + Giveaway)


The Disneylanders by Kate Abbott
Pages: 184
Released: May 12th, 2013 (Theme Park
Press)
In DISNEYLANDERS, 14-year-old Casey
Allison, on the brink of starting high
 school, struggles to find a new identity on
 her family’s annual summer vacation, but
with the help of an outgoing boy she
 meets while waiting in line, she discovers
 that Disneyland is the one place where her overprotective
 parents let her have the freedom to grow up.




About the author…
Disneylanders is Kate Abbott's first novel. She received an MFA in creative writing from UC Riverside, Palm Desert. Kate lives in Northern California with her husband, son, terrier, and tiny parrots.

*Giveaway*





Waiting on Wednesday #23

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
Release date: August 1st, 2013
Pages: 320
When aspiring music journalist Ren Kingston takes a job nannying for a wealthy family on the exclusive island of Nantucket, playground for Boston's elite, she's hoping for a low-key summer reading books and blogging about bands. Boys are firmly off the agenda. What she doesn't count on is falling in with a bunch of party-loving private school kids who are hiding some dark secrets; falling (possibly) in love with the local bad boy; and falling out with a dangerous serial killer...[Description from Amazon]

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Leave a comment or link below.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Cover Reveal: My Own Mr. Darcy by Karey White




After being dragged to the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice by her mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth’s life changes when Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy appears on the screen. Lizzie falls hard and makes a promise to herself that she will settle for nothing less than her own Mr. Darcy. This ill-advised pledge threatens to ruin any chance of finding true love. During the six intervening years, she has refused to give any interested suitors a chance. They weren’t Mr. Darcy enough.



Coerced by her roommate, Elizabeth agrees to give the next interested guy ten dates before she dumps him. That guy is Chad, a kind and thoughtful science teacher and swim coach. While she’s dating Chad, her dream comes true in the form of a wealthy bookstore owner named Matt Dawson, who looks and acts like her Mr. Darcy. Of course she has to follow her dream. But as Elizabeth simultaneously dates a regular guy and the dazzling Mr. Dawson, she’s forced to re-evaluate what it was she loved about Mr. Darcy in the first place.






Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.



She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.












Excerpt 1

Janessa folded her arms and looked at me for so long I started to
squirm. “What?”

“I wish you’d look at yourself. You’re ruining your life with this stupid
obsession.”
“I’m not obsessed.” I stood up quickly, nearly tipping my chair over. I
rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher. I could feel Janessa’s eyes on me
the entire time, but I refused to look at her. “And just because I’m not
interested in this guy doesn’t mean my life is ruined.”
“Let me guess. Was he blond?”
“Knock it off.”
“Too short?”
“He wasn’t short. I’ve got to go.” I left the kitchen with Janessa on my
heels.
“Was he too cheerful?”
“Oh brother. I’m not having this conversation with you.”
Janessa grabbed my arm and turned me toward her. “Yes, you are.”
“I’m going to be late for work.”
“Then we’d better talk fast.”
“I don’t have anything to say,” I said.
“Then I’ll talk. You listen. You have to start giving these guys a
chance.”
I folded my arms tightly. “I give them a chance.”
“You give them one date, two at the most. But you’re not really giving
them a chance because your mind’s already made up before you even go out.”
I was getting annoyed. “I don’t have time for this conversation again.”
Janessa was practically reciting word for word what she’d said after my last
date. And the one before that.
“Lizzie. If you don’t want to have the same conversation, do something
different. Shake things up a little.” She smiled and did a little shimmy. I
refused to smile no matter how silly she looked.
“How do you suggest I do that?”
“If this guy… What’s his name?”
“Chad.”
“If Chad calls you back, go out with him again.”
“I don’t see the point.”
“Did you get a serial killer vibe from him?”
“No, I got a nice-guy-that-doesn’t-deserve-to-be-led-on vibe from him.”
“Nice guys are good. So you’ll say yes, right?”
“If I’m not interested, it wouldn’t be fair to say yes.”
“Oh knock off the baloney. You haven’t been fair to a guy since high
school. You’re just afraid if you get to know a guy, you might like him. And
wouldn’t that be awful? Was Chad funny?”
“Yes, he was funny.”
“Handsome?”
I sighed. “I don’t know if I’d call him handsome, but he was cute.”
“Cute is good. Especially if he was funny. So go out with him again.”
“You act like it’s all up to me.” I walked to the closet and collected
my purse. Like a tiger leaping on her prey, Janessa pounced at the bowl on the
entry table and grabbed my car keys. “This isn’t funny, Janessa. I’m going to
be late for work.”
“Then let’s make a deal. You agree to go out with him ten times before
you toss him aside and I’ll give you your keys.”
“Ten times? No way.”
“That’ll give you time to get to know him.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m serious, Lizzie. Ten is a good number. In that amount of time, you
can make a real decision. Instead of one based on a stupid movie.”
Now Janessa was skipping through a minefield. “It’s not a stupid movie
and I’ve got to go.”
“It’s the stupidest movie in the world if it ruins your life.”
“Nothing’s ruining my life and I’m going to be late. Give me my keys and
we’ll talk about this later.” A little tussle ensued as I tried to rescue my
keys from her clutches. I almost had them when she darted to the bathroom and
shut the door hard and fast, locking it behind her. “This is real mature.”
“I don’t care about mature. You’re my best friend, Lizzie.  I love
you and I’m trying to save you from yourself.”
I banged on the door. “Give me the keys. Now.” My voice had become
shrieky.
“I’ll give you the keys as soon as you promise you’ll go out with him
ten times.”
“I doubt he’ll ask me out again.”
“Why? Were you a jerk?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
I hesitated, knowing I hadn’t been very good company. “I’m pretty sure.”
“If he doesn’t ask you out, you have to ask him.”
“No way am I asking out a guy ten times. No way!”
“You just have to ask him out once. If he doesn’t return the favor you
can move on. But you have to be nice to him and give him a reason to want to
ask you out again.”
“This is the dumbest idea you’ve ever had.”
“Listen Liz, I’m doing this for you. Give a guy a chance before you give
him the old heave-ho.”
I leaned my head on the door. “Just give me the keys. Please.” Now I was
whining.
“You’re the one keeping yourself from your keys. And probably true
love.”
I looked at my watch. Now I’d have to risk a speeding ticket or get to
work five minutes late. I wasn’t sure which was worse—a ticket from a police
officer or a tongue-lashing from Delia.
“Fine. I’ll go out with him again if he asks me.”
“And?”
“If he doesn’t ask me, I’ll ask him?”
“Right. And how many times will you go out with him?”
“Way too many,” I said under my breath.
“I can’t hear you.”
“Ten times. If he asks me.”
The door cracked open. “And you’ll be nice to him?”
“Whatever you say. Now give me the keys.”
Janessa emerged from the bathroom and triumphantly dropped my keys into
my outstretched hand.
“You’re an idiot,” I said.
“An idiot that loves you and wants you to be happy,” she said. She
turned and headed down the hall. “Someday you’ll thank me,” she sang.
“If I don’t kill you first.” I slammed the door behind me.



Excerpt 2

It was a busy Monday morning.
I was looking out at the line of waiting customers when he walked in. I gasped,
shut my thumb in my cash drawer, and then tried not to cry while Mr. Sandoval
from a hearing aid store asked me if I was okay.
When I finished Mr. Sandoval’s
transaction, I looked at him again. He was taller than anyone in the room. Of
course. His hair was dark and a little disheveled. It was hard to see from
where I was, but his eyes looked like they were blue. And best of all, he
didn’t smile. He looked gorgeously unpleasant and impatient. He looked around
the room and his eyes met mine. Still he didn’t smile. My heart was racing. He
looked perfect.
I did my best to time it so I’d be
his teller. I went a little too fast with one customer and accidentally shorted
her a twenty dollar bill. I tried to concentrate as I corrected the
transaction. I slowed way down on the next customer, but just when I thought I
was finished and would be able to help him next, my customer asked me to break
a ten into change. He walked up to Courtney’s window while I counted out
nickels and dimes. Furious, I stomped my foot. Not too loudly but enough to
release a little of my frustration.
I listened closely as Courtney helped
him to see if I could learn anything, but he hardly spoke. He gave a terse nod
when Courtney thanked him for coming in and turned on his heel and left. He had
excellent posture and a nice, confident stride.
I finished with my customer, and then
before anyone else could step forward, I picked up the phone and dialed
Courtney’s extension. She glanced at her phone’s display and looked over at me
curiously.

            “Who was
that?” I whispered when she picked up the receiver.
“Elizabeth, look how many customers
there are.”
“I know. Just tell me who that was.”
I watched as Courtney picked up her last transaction slip.
“His name is Matt Dawson.”
“Is he married?”
“I have no idea,” Courtney said.
“Was he wearing a ring?”
“I didn’t look. What’s going on,
Lizzie?”
“I just need to know about him.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about
him and Delia’s watching us. I’ve gotta go.”
Matt Dawson. Matt. Matthew. Like
Matthew Macfadyen. Dawson. It was pretty close to Darcy. The only way it could
be better is if his name was Fitzwilliam but I’d never met a Fitzwilliam in my
life.
Matt Dawson.
This had to be a sign.  




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Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
In no particular order…
1) Altered by Jennifer Rush. The cover alone…*shiver*
2) Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi. All that I expected it to be.
3) Nevermore by James Patterson. Left. Me. Reeling.
4) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. There’s a reason it’s won a ton of awards.
5) The Essence by Kimberly Derting. Even better than The Pledge.
6) Forty Days by Stephanie Parent. Loved this take on Noah’s Ark.
7) Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock. The perfect spring/summer read.
8) Though My Heart is Torn by Joanne Bischof. Very heart-wrenching.
9) Anomaly by Krista McGee. A Christian dystopian. More, please!
10) The Program by Suzanne Young. See my review from yesterday…fantastic.
Share your Top Ten in the comments below!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Review: The Program by Suzanne Young

Published: April 30th, 2013 (Simon Pulse)
Pages: 408
Rating: 4/5
In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.
Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.
Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them. [Description from Amazon]
I was very excited about The Program when I first heard about it and couldn’t wait to read it. I’ve had little interest in reading any other books by Suzanne Young, but I can honestly say I enjoyed her writing style. I was unsure about The Program when I first started it, because it seemed very dark (which it is) but the story, the characters, and the idea of a suicide epidemic really intrigued me and before long, I was hooked.
I found this book rather different from other books of the same genre. For instance, usually hatred towards the antagonist (The Program, in this case) is developed, but in this book, it was immediate. Sloane hates The Program for what it does to hurting people. This hatred had to be reignited after she went through The Program, though, because her memories (her hates and likes) were erased. Another example of it being different is that the love interest (James) is introduced immediately rather than having a relationship develop over the span of the book. More often than not, a love relationship develops over the entire book, but this obviously wouldn’t have worked in this case. We’re given brief flashbacks of the development of James’ and Sloane’s relationship, though, throughout the book. I’m really glad the author included these, because otherwise, I’m not sure I’d have been convinced of their “mad” love for each other.
I’m a dystopian nut, and memory erasing is an idea I really love to read about. It’s a core aspect in one of my NaNoWriMo novels, and something I’d really like to play around with in future novels. So the idea of The Program really interested me.
I found it ironic that in order to rebound suicidal depression, The Program took Sloane’s memories; yet in doing so, it killed her in a completely different way. Someone who’s had their memory wiped or been through The Program (called a “returner”) has to rewrite their lives. They know nothing about themselves or who they used to be. It’s like being reborn. Some things are familiar, but anything linked to their past that might have caused the initial depression is taken from their minds. Maybe not absolutely scientifically possible, but an interesting (though morbid) idea nonetheless.


Now. For the characters. Oooooh goodness. For starters, I was a little irritated with how the parents were portrayed. I felt like all of them were portrayed as ignorant, robotic, and stupid. I mean…really? So, that’s that. My second irritation was James. Now, Sloane says over and over how she loves his cocky spirit, but honestly, it got on my nerves. The guy’s an arrogant, hormonal douche bag. He seems bi-polar when he meets Sloane again after being in The Program. One minute he’s flirting with her (in his own cocky way) and the next he’s spewing insults. And then it’s explained later on that he was just “afraid of getting hurt.” Bad excuse, buddy. Bad excuse.
Anyway, there’s my rant. I liked Sloane’s character, though she was a bit clingy and desperate when it came to James. She’s snarky, though, and I liked that about her. Realm was another one of my favorites. I liked him soooo much better than James. He seems to respect (and even love) Sloane more than James did. He was mysterious, yet he had all the answers. He wanted what was best for Sloane; he wanted to protect her. I would have loved to see Sloane and Realm end up together, but that wouldn’t have worked for the book. Besides, there’s always book 2, right? (Ya hear that, Suzanne?)
I ended up really enjoying The Program. I sped through those 400 pages pretty darn fast, so that tells you how much I liked it (slow readers FTW!). There were some character issues that irked me, as well as some rather mature content (see Quick Content Review below), which results in four stars rather than five. That said, I highly recommend The Program to mature teen readers/adults.
Quick Content Review: *may contain spoilers*
Language: Moderate (Several b-words, a few f-words, etc.)
Violence: Moderate (mention of teens committing suicide in various ways- poison, slitting wrists, drowning, etc.)
Sexual: Heavy (Characters casually sleep together; some heavy kissing).

Saturday, June 22, 2013

In My Mailbox #5

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Gabrielle Carolina over at The Mod Podge Bookshelf.
This week’s haul was pretty minuscule. *sadface* But maybe that means next week’s will be a whopper?! We can always hope.


Bought: (all of these were free on Amazon)
After The Sky Fell Down by Megan Nugen Isbell
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

What’s in your mailbox this week? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Book Talk: Judging a Book By Its Cover

Like my homemade banner? *wink*
Because I’ve recently posted several rants that would classify as “discussions,” I’ve created a new meme-ish type thing called Book Talk. It’s not necessarily going to be weekly; I’ll just post whenever I have a topic I want to talk about. Feel free to comment on this post or any future Book Talk post with any topic you’d like me to discuss.
Book Overload
This week’s topic is judging a book by its cover. Just an FYI: we live in the age of information. We are constantly bombarded with ads, commercials, information about anything and everything. To survive without having a constant headache, we have to pick and choose where we place our attention. This goes for books as well. With self-publishing on the rise, virtually anyone can put books on the market. You don’t even have to speak very good English (though it’s advisable to have decent grammar if you’d like to actually sell copies of your book). How is one to possibly wade through the thousands of books that are published each year? I’m sure all of us do it. Instead of wasting our lives away reading synopsis after synopsis, we simply stereotype books based on their covers. Easy. As. Pie.
The Importance of a Good Cover
Recently I’ve really noticed how much value I put into a book based on its cover. If I’m scrolling through books on Amazon or Goodreads, or even browsing at a bookstore, I’m constantly and instantly judging books based on how they look (we often do this with people as well, rather unfairly, I might add). I think it’s part of our nature. Maybe it’s worse with visual people (like me) but I’m going to assume we all do this at least once in a blue moon.
I don’t feel bad about doing this at all. Why should I? A cover is the primary way for the artist to convey the genre and essence of the book to the book’s audience. Authors and publishers alike know good and well that no one has the patience or interest to read the synopsis before making a judgment call about the book. That’s the cover’s job: to give us a visual of what the book might be about, to peak our interest, to make us pick it up and read the back cover.
That puts a lot of pressure on the cover, doesn’t it? The quality of your cover can make or break your book. Let me repeat that: The quality of your cover can make or break your book.
Self-published Book Covers
Sometimes I don’t really think self-published authors really get this fact. I mean, there are some awful looking covers out there. By awful I mean amateur. If you are looking to self-publish your book, one of the most important things you can do is get a nice looking cover. I don’t care how much it costs, just do it. Do whatever you can to catch the eye of readers when they’re scrolling through page after page of books. Personally, if I see a cover that I like or think is pretty or sophisticated, I’ll stop and read the synopsis. Often times if the book is free on Amazon or something like that I’ll just go ahead and buy it after skimming the synopsis. *sheepish grin* If it’s not on sale but I really truly like it, I might buy it. If I’m on Goodreads and I see a cover I like, I do the same thing: skim the synopsis then add the book to my to-read shelf.
What I Like In a Cover…
I’m a cover nut, if you can’t tell by now. If I had all the money in the world, I’d buy books just so I could pull them off my shelf and look at the covers every now and then.
Personally, I like a lot of sunlight on the cover. Especially if it illuminates part of an object or a person (like the person’s face). Dark covers are good, too, but only if it properly illustrates the book.
I also like funky fonts. Like the font on The Infinite Moment of Us, for example. Curly-cue fonts are awesome, as are gothic fonts and chalk-like fonts (like on the cover of The Fault In Ours Stars).
Let me point out one thing: covers don’t have to make sense. Sometimes the less sensible they are, the better. Like the cover of Avalon, which was just revealed this week. Like, what in the world? It looks like someone hung a bunch of glass and sharp pointy objects from the ceiling, and this guy is walking beneath it. Whaaaa??? But it’s a cool cover nonetheless, and it drew me in. Guess what? It’s now on my TBR list.
To conclude this rant, I guess I should say this: judging a book by its cover is something we all do (DON’T DENY IT). Thus, covers are a pretty big deal. They are a huge aspect in helping us decide if we like a book or not. What are some of your favorites? What do you like/look for in a cover? Share your thoughts below!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Blog Tour: Solstice by P.J. Hoover (Guest Post + Giveaway)


Today we have author P.J. Hoover on the blog talking about the many cover changes of her new book, Solstice! After reading her post, be sure to check out the massive giveaway hosted by the author, as well as the tour giveaway below.
SOLSTICE: THE STORY OF A COVER
Hi! P. J. Hoover here, author of the upcoming dystopian/mythology YA novel, Solstice (Tor Teen, June 18, 2013), and today I’m talking about book covers. As an author, I have very little say about the cover that ends up on my book. That said I feel like with Solstice I won the book cover lottery for real.
For those who don’t know, Solstice was originally independently published with the help of my agency, Andrea Brown Lit, back in 2011. (Just a side note that yes, there have been changed to Solstice on the inside, too. But that’s a story for another day). Anyway, back then, Andrea Brown Lit hired a cover designer, and this is what the cover designer came up with.
Pass 0.5:


The designer did a really great job, and I think that, although the cracked earth to hint at the dystopian world is shown at the bottom, the cover speaks romance. It’s all about a mysterious girl who is searching for answers and searching for her true love.
When Tor bought Solstice, I got all excited when they started talking about covers. Very exciting was when they sent me links to two different cover models and asked me which one I thought looked more like my main character. And then they did a photo shoot. So cool. Anyway, they sent me an initial pass at the cover which was this.
Pass 1.0:

Pretty awesome, right from the start, right? So Cerberus in the sky had to go (way too busy), and the phallic building under Piper was also not a win, but otherwise, I was in love. I had very little to contribute. I did request that the city skyline be changed to Austin since that was where the story took place. Also, I wondered how Piper would look in a skirt.

Pass 2.0:

Yay, Austin! Yay, my picture on the back. The skirt? Not so much. The consensus was that she looked like Supergirl. The request had been made to add some plants near her feet to hint at the hope that plants could grow in the dying world once again.

Pass 3.0:

Done. Wrap it up and ship it because I am totally in love with this cover. The girl looks like she could kick some butt. The colors pop off the shelf. And—can I just say it—cities under domes. I adore cities under domes.
The end J
About Solstice:
Piper's world is dying. Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.
About the author...
P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing kung fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice (Tor Teen, June 18, 2013), takes place in a global warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade novel, Tut (Tor Children's, 2014), tells the story of a young immortal King Tut, who's been stuck in middle school for over 3,000 years and must defeat an ancient enemy with the help of a dorky kid from school, a mysterious Egyptian princess, and a one-eyed cat. For more information about P. J. (Tricia) Hoover, please visit her website www.pjhoover.com.
*Check out the massive giveaway (42 books, awesome swag, and some sweet treats) P.J. is hosting over at her blog! Click on the Red Zone image below to enter.*

Tour Giveaway:





Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the tour! Each day features two stops with guest posts, spotlights, interviews, and more!
Team Myth:

18th Character Spotlight: Shayne @ JessaBella Reads
19th Solstice Depicted @ In Bed With Books
20th Solstice: The Publishing Journey Guest Blog @ Water Color Moods
21st Setting Spotlight: Elysian Fields @ Books Beside My Bed
22nd Solstice Excerpt @ Through the Looking Glass
23rd Character Spotlight: Melina @ Evie Bookish
24th Author Interview @ Cuts of Paper
25th Author Writing Process Guest Blog @ Best Books Ever
26th 5 Inspirations @ Ruby Reads
27th Setting Spotlight: Asphodel Meadows @ A Dream Within A Dream
28th 5 Favorite Myths @ Book Swoon
29th Character Spotlight: Tanni @ Leanna
30th Playlist @ Unofficial Book Addiction

Go Team Dystopia!!! Woooo!


Team Dystopia:

18th Character Spotlight: Piper @ Swoony Boys Podcast
19th Solstice Depicted @ Girls in the Stacks
20th Cover Changes Guest Blog @ Gobs & Gobs of Books
21st Setting Spotlight: Botanical Haven @ Books, Bones & Buffy
22nd Excerpt @ ReadingTeen
23rd Character Spotlight: Chloe @ Paperback Princess
24th Author T-Shirt Addiction Guest Blog @ Addicted Reader
25th The Character of Names @ The Mod Podge Bookshelf
26th 5 Inspirations @ Readergirls
27th Setting Spotlight: The Drag @ The Bookish Daydreamer
28th 5 Favorite Dystopians @ Frellathon
29th Character Spotlight: Reese @ YA Midnight Reads
30th Playlist @ Reviewing Shelf