Blog Tours Archives - Page 9 of 16

Blog Tour: Country Road Series by Andrea Johnston | Reviews

May 12, 2017

Welcome to my stop on the Country Road series relaunch blog tour! I hadn’t heard much about these books until I read the synopsis and I was intrigued. One of my favourite troops is siblings best friend. I have decided to do mini reviews for both Whiskey & Honey and Tequila & Tailgates. Hope you enjoy. There is also a giveaway at the end!

I received free e-books of both Whiskey & Honey and Tequila & Tailgates by Andrea Johnston from Inkslinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the books.

Whiskey & Honey by Andrea Johnston

Pages: 266
Publish date: July 31, 2016
Publisher: –
ASIN: B01H32KF2U
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Kobo

Guys have rules. Rule #1: You don’t date your sister’s best friend.

Bentley Sullivan hasn’t found the one. He’s always been the good guy – the gentleman. With one quick, and possibly irrational, decision everything changes. After a case of mistaken identity and a drunken kiss, Ben is convinced that the one is finally right in front of him. Only, she’s untouchable.

Girls have rules. Rule #1: You don’t date your best friend’s brother.

Piper Lawrence has not been successful in love. Almost as quickly as she swears off men, he comes into her life. Her childhood crush and the man who has set the standards for every man she’s ever dated, he is also the one man she can’t have.

A single kiss changes it all.

Whiskey & Honey:

Whiskey & Honey by Andrea Johnston follows Bentley Sullivan and Piper Lawrence two people that once knew it each very well, but were never in the same circle. But when Bentley comes back into two everything changes.

Bentley just hasn’t found the one. He’s the good guy, but he wants to. He wants to fall in love and stay in love. When he moves back to his home he thought that he was going to take it slow and not fall in a relationship, but when he kisses a girl at a bar – things very much change.

Bentley was an easy character to get along with most of the time. He was a sweetheart most the time. I liked that he loved his family and thought about their feelings above his own. I love having this young male character that does show his love for his family and isn’t ashamed.

Piper was harder to get along with at times in Whiskey & Honey. For the most part, I did enjoy reading here, but her hesitation really got to me. I loved the friendship with Bentley sister Ashton. Throughout the book the reader is able to see how much her friendship means. I did dislike how much Piper was influenced by those around her and how easy manipulated she was.

The romance side of Whiskey & Honey was fast. Like way too fast for my liking. Bentley and Piper were never more than friends even that before he left and he comes back everything is jumped on. I think that if the romance was slowed down, then I would have really enjoyed the romance between the two. I wasn’t able to really see their connection, at times I thought I could see it, but then it disappeared.

Overall, Whiskey & Honey was an okay read. I liked the family aspects between Bentley and his family. I liked the friendship between Piper and Ashton. However, the romance wasn’t my favourite. I felt that it rush and there was no real connection between the two. Whiskey & Honey explores the notion of family, learning to love and friendship.

Tequila & Tailgates by Andrea Johnston

Pages: 266
Publish date: January 2017
Publisher:
ISBN: 0996630953
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Kobo

Four years ago, I took the biggest risk of my life and it blew up in my face. I learned my lesson – love sucks.

Now self-preservation and protecting my heart have become second nature. But Jameson Strauss… he’s my weakness.

Give me the occasional shot of tequila, a game of Truth or Dare, and I’ll do almost anything for that man.

Four years ago, I didn’t follow my heart. I let the one girl that consumed my soul walk away without a fight.

Now I go through the motions never truly living. But, the day Ashton Sullivan needed me was the day my world changed for the better.

Tequila, truths, and the occasional dare are all I need to show her how good we can be.

Sometimes the truth is in the dare.

Tequila & Tailgates:

Tequila & Tailgates Andrea Johnston follows protagonists Ashton and Jameson, who just can’t seem to get along. Ashton has a dig at Jameson ever chance that she can get. Jameson gives it right back and everyone around them is starting to get annoyed. But when a tree falls through Ashton’s house and she needs a place to stay – things just might come to the surface and change.

This was another fall for your siblings best friend type of novel and I do love this trope and while I think it was done sort of okay in Tequila & Tailgates, there book just didn’t hit the right spots.

Jameson, for the most part, was an okay protagonist. He didn’t annoy me as such, but I also didn’t fall in love with him either. I liked that he is going well in in his work and how he is making something for himself that way.

Ashton wasn’t my favourite character in this series. I found her really hard to get along with and very abrupt. I don’t really like the way that she treated Jameson for most of the book, the way that she insults him every time another woman is next to him. It was quite insulting – she was would treat both Jameson and the girls as trash.

The romance was okay-ish. I don’t know how I feel about because I wasn’t a massive fan of Ashton on a whole. There was a lot of miscommunication from the past that did make her the way she is, but it wasn’t acceptable. The reader is able to see that Jameson cares a lot for Ashton, but most of the books she is throwing insults at him.

Overall, Tequila & Tailgates was okay. There were parts that I somewhat enjoyed and some that just weren’t for me. Tequila & Tailgates explores the notion of second chance love, friendship, and family. We get to see some old characters and met some new, but it’s a super quick romance to read if you just want to read something.

GIVEAWAY

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Have you read any of these books by Andrea Johnston? What did you think of them? Are you planning on reading them? What are some of your favourite siblings best friend novels? Let’s Chat!

Blog Tour: Groupie by Susan Daugherty | Review

May 5, 2017

Groupie (Groupie #1) by Susan Daugherty

Pages: 257
Publish date: December 2nd, 2016
Publisher: Sanctuary Publishing
ASIN: B01N1OB1GF
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Moving to a new city isn’t the magic fix Lexie Travis hoped it would be. Sure, she put some mileage between herself and her feuding parents, her miserable dating history, and the memories of a life-altering injury. However, she still feels like a former shadow of herself, hiding behind her diminished confidence and her thorough disbelief in true love.
Everything changes when Lexie’s best (and only) friend drags her to a country music concert. Lexie loves country music, but she loathes the top-selling heartthrob who sold out the arena. Jack Morgan became a sensation with a string of degrading, shallow songs that she can’t stand.
After suffering through an evening surrounded by the playboy celebrity’s endless sea of admirers, a startling trauma lands Jack in the hospital, and Lexie is the physical therapist assigned to the VIP treatment of the very man she despises.
Jack is drawn to the one woman who appears resistant to his charms and who loves to check his ego every chance she gets, yet gives him the honesty he needs. She’s the opposite of his usual groupies. He can only continue his tour if he receives rehab on the road, and Lexie is the lone person Jack trusts for the job.
Reluctantly, she agrees to take the journey on his luxury coach, joining the wild cast of characters on his crew. Yes, she was given many incentives to take the assignment, but the reason she wants to ignore is the dangerous one. Jackson Morgan is growing on her. He’s shown her facets of his personality she never fathomed, and maybe she isn’t immune to his handsome charm after all.
At every turn, another challenge pushes her away from him. A woman returns from his past, along with new temptations at every concert. Jack’s manager clings to control over his artist and doesn’t like Lexie, or her growing influence. Media attention makes her want to run the other way, but she can’t escape it.
Stepping onto the tour bus is the domino that starts a chain reaction in their lives and challenges them both to change. Could they learn to believe in love and happily ever after?

Groupie:

I received an e-copy of Groupie by Susan Daugherty from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book. There is a giveaway at the end so stay tuned.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I picked Groupie up. I thought it was going to be okay, classic NA read. But, I was pleasantly surprised. Groupie explores the notion of family that isn’t by blood, friendship, life on the road. But, it also explores disability which you know that I love reading about.

Groupie is book 1 in a two-part series and follows protagonist Lexie Travis who thought that moving to a new city would wash away all her troubles. With her overbearing parents, no existent love life and a life-altering injury she thought that getting away would solve all her problems. But everything is still pretty much the same. When her new best friend drags her to a country concert all she wanted to do is get out and no listen to the heartthrob. However, when a horrible accident leaves Jack Morgan in her care – things just might change.

I enjoyed Lexie has a protagonist overall. At times I wasn’t her biggest fan, but for the most part, I really enjoyed following her journey. After moving away from her family and friends, Lexie wanted a fresh start and as a physical therapist, she got that. Lexie is good at her job and loves what she can do. Her roommate may be her only friend, but I thought was she was pretty good one. At times I felt that Lexie was a too judgemental of those around her and let her thoughts take over, without knowing the full story.

But the one thing that I loved about Lexie that she didn’t let her injury get the better of her. Throughout the novel we know that something is bothering her, we know that something has happened. And it’s not like she is hiding it, but because she doesn’t like to talk about it. Not because she hates herself for it, but because it changes her life so much and brought out some things in people that she thought loved her.

Jack Morgan – he is the typical, asshole musician. He has lots of groupies and hooks up with a lot of them. Or so we thought. As Lexie, because his physical therapist she starts to understand him a little more and when they hit the read sparks fly. Jack was a sweetheart when he wanted to be, but for most of the book, I wasn’t his massive fan. I liked how passionate he was about his music and what he wanted to do.

The romance like Jack as a touch and go for me. At times I really enjoy their connection and how they could just let everything out with one another. But, then it was like they were two different people. Both has personality changes that affected how their relationship worked.

Overall reading Groupie wasn’t a horrible experience. Although I felt that at times everything was a little rushed, I still enjoyed reading it. And yes there are some very cliché moments throughout the book. Lexie was an intriguing protagonist who stood up for what she believed in. Groupie explores the notion of family, friends and letting yourself live. It’s about believing in yourself and that looking back isn’t always the answer.

Have you read Groupie? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat.

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About the Author

Susan Daugherty is a freelance writer, and by some happy coincidence, also a licensed Physical Therapist and an APTA Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist. She is the author of the 2016 novel Groupie as well as its sequel, Muse. Her essay The Cycle of Inspiration was published in PT InMotion in April 2013. She is a member of Romance Writers of America. Raised in Kentucky, she now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee where she lives with her husband and two children.

Find Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Blog Tour: Just a Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi + Giveaway

Apr 27, 2017

Just a Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi

Pages: 256
Publish date: May 2nd, 2017
Publisher: Kids Can Press
ISBN: 1771387939
Purchase: Barnes & Noble – Amazon UK – Amazon US

It’s just a normal Tuesday for sixteen-year-old Kai, until suddenly it’s anything but. She’s received a letter from her beloved older sister, Jen, a letter that begins, My very bestest sister, Kai, if you are reading this, I am already gone. From that moment on, Kai’s life will never be the same, as she is forced to deal with the shock and horror of losing Jen to suicide.

Consumed with grief, Kai looks for answers, lashes out at people who love her and eventually turns to excessive drinking and drugs, all with disastrous results and no relief from her suffering. Struggling with their own sorrow, Kai’s parents realize she needs more help than they can give, and they enroll her in the Tree House, a “grief camp” for children. Though reluctant to go, once she’s there, Kai finally finds others who truly understand her loss. No longer alone, she’s able to begin dealing with her pain. And to see light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Kim Turrisi’s beautiful, wrenching young-adult novel sheds a much-needed light on the subjects of mental illness and suicide. Using the unique idea of a grief camp, Turrisi lays out a process for healing and moving forward for readers who have been touched by loss. But this book’s appeal reaches beyond that. With combined elements of tragedy and romance, compellingly told in Kai’s authentic voice, this ultimately hopeful story will be an unputdownable read for any teen.

A graduate of Florida State University, Kim Turrisi began her career in film and television. After a year of on-set production (getting coffee, wrangling actors and taking lunch orders) Kim segued to the development side of the business. First working as a development executive at Columbia-Tri-Star and eventually shepherding many projects in family entertainment for Disney, Viacom and Hallmark.

Kim created and wrote an online web series for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She wrote for ABC Family’s webisode series, Pretty Dirty Secrets, an internet companion piece to smash hit Pretty Little Liars.

While she’s always been a voracious reader and writer, she never thought about writing for teens until she immersed herself in the children’s publishing world as the Director of Special Projects for the Society of Book writers and Illustrators. There, reading children’s literature is a big part of her job.

Her debut Young Adult novel Just a Normal Tuesday is loosely based on the author’s own experience, the debut YA novel follows 16-year-old Kai as she struggles through the emotional aftermath of her sister’s suicide. Kai spends a month at grief camp, discovering a roadmap to piecing her broken heart back together.

One of Kim’s favourite parts of the writing process is to create playlists for her characters that she listens to when she writes. When she revises her manuscripts, she’s generally in mismatched plaid and her desk is riddled with junk food. She collects Chuck Taylor’s, Van’s, and has a killer sock collection.

Born in Hawaii, she credits her love of travel to her life as an Air Force brat moving every two years. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found obsessing over her dogs, Riley and Rocco.

Represented by Tricia Lawrence at EMLA

Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

3 winners will receive a signed finished copy of Just a Normal Tuesday & swag including a bookmark, magnet, & temporary tattoo, US Only.

1 winner will receive Just a Normal Tuesday swag including a bookmark, magnet, & temporary tattoo, US Only.

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Have you read Just a Normal Tuesday? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat! And don’t forget to check out the rest of the tour.