WHEN SUMMER ENDS by Jessica Pennington Official Blog Tour

THE TOUR SCHEDULE 

  

SYNOPSIS

Aiden Emerson is an all-star pitcher and the all-around golden boy of Riverton. Or at least he was, before he quit the team the last day of junior year without any explanation. How could he tell people he's losing his vision at seventeen?

Straight-laced Olivia thought she had life all figured out. But when her dream internship falls apart, her estranged mother comes back into her life, and her long-time boyfriend ghosts her right before summer break, she's starting to think fate has a weird sense of humor.

Each struggling to find a new direction, Aiden and Olivia decide to live summer by chance. Every fleeting adventure and stolen kiss is as fragile as a coin flip in this heartfelt journey to love and self-discovery from the author of Love Songs & Other Lies. 

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Praise for WHEN SUMMER ENDS

“Bringing the small-town Michigan setting evocatively to the forefront, Pennington’s sophomore novel captures the pleasures of new love.” ―Kirkus Reviews

Praise for LOVE SONGS & OTHER LIES 

“A captivating read and a great pick for fans of Morgan Matson and Emery Lord!” ―RT Book Reviews

“Filled with lyrics, love, and late nights, Pennington's debut novel will appeal to romance fans of Sarah Dessen and Susane Colasanti.” ―School Library Journal

“Pennington’s debut is a light road-tripping romance about redemption and the love of music.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Reading Cam & Vee's past and present romance reminds me of This is Us! This is going on my keeper shelf.” ―Simone Elkeles, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author

Love Songs & Other Lies is a music-infused romance about a pair of perfectly imperfect teenagers who will have readers rooting for their happily ever after.” ―Katy Upperman, author of Kissing Max Holden

“Boys in bands, second chance romance, and pitch-perfect chemistry. Love Songs & Other Lies hits all the right notes!” ―Gina Ciocca, author of Last Year's Mistake

“Fun and full of heart, with a hero who stole my heart!” ―Katie McGarry, author of Pushing the Limits  

My Review

A perfect love story for the summer.

This story begins with the end of Junior year for Olivia and Aiden. Both had a life plan, both plans were crushed by circumstances out of their control, both had no clue what to do next.

Of course Olivia and Aiden knew each other, they went to the same small high school. However, their paths never really crossed until they both started working for Aiden's family business when summer vacation started.

As they start to become friends, they start to trust each other and open up about their secrets. Olivia always being conservative, decides to let chance decide her fate this summer.

When Summer Ends, is a story that gives you butterflies. It is beautifully written with true emotions that tugs at the heart. All the characters have a charisma that draws you deeper into the story with a plot all readers can relate to. A perfect read for sitting by the beach, or cuddled up on the couch, you have to read this book.

It is told from both Olivia's and Aiden's point of view which I absolutely loved. It was great to witness their feelings for each other bloom with innocence and understanding.

If you are looking for a fast flawless read, this is the perfect choice for the summer!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica Pennington is no stranger to the combination of love and drama. She’s a wedding planner, after all. A writer since the age of ten—when she sought publication for her poem about a tree—Jessica likes the challenge of finding the humor in a sad situation or highlighting the awkwardness in a romantic one. She lives in a Michigan beach town suspiciously similar to the one in her novel, with her husband Josh and their son, Rory. Love Songs & Other Lies is her debut novel.  

PHOTO CREDIT: SHEENA PEARCE

WEBSITE: http://itsjess.com/

TWITTER: @jessnpennington
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15193340.Jessica_Pennington
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicapennington
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jessicapennington/

--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter

- 10 Winners will receive a Copy of WHEN SUMMER ENDS by Jessica Pennington.

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SOMEDAY WE WILL FLY by Rachel DeWoskin Official Nerd Blast

NERD BLAST LINK

  

SYNOPSIS

Warsaw, Poland. The year is 1940 and Lillia is 15 when her mother, Alenka, disappears and her father flees with Lillia and her younger sister, Naomi, to Shanghai, one of the few places that will accept Jews without visas. There they struggle to make a life; they have no money, there is little work, no decent place to live, a culture that doesn't understand them. And always the worry about Alenka. How will she find them? Is she still alive?

Meanwhile Lillia is growing up, trying to care for Naomi, whose development is frighteningly slow, in part from malnourishment. Lillia finds an outlet for her artistic talent by making puppets, remembering the happy days in Warsaw when they were circus performers. She attends school sporadically, makes friends with Wei, a Chinese boy, and finds work as a performer at a "gentlemen's club" without her father's knowledge.

But meanwhile the conflict grows more intense as the Americans declare war and the Japanese force the Americans in Shanghai into camps. More bombing, more death. Can they survive, caught in the crossfire? 

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Praise for SOMEDAY WE WILL FLY

★ "DeWoskin explores a rarely depicted topic. . .A beautifully nuanced exploration of culture and people." ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "An unusual portrait of what war does to families in general and children in particular . . . affirms the human need for art and beauty in hard times." ―Booklist, starred review

"A provocative exploration of what resilience means when you’re pushed to the edge." ―BCCB

“With pathos and a fine eye for historical detail, DeWoskin (Blind) relates the story of Shanghai’s Jewish refugees during WWII, when Shanghai was under Japanese occupation. DeWoskin captures the crushing destruction of war and occupation, the unfathomable resilience communities can muster through cross-cultural friendships and acts of kindness, and the power of the performing arts to foster hope in times of struggle and desperation.” —Publishers Weekly

"A provocative exploration of what resilience means when you’re pushed to the edge." —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

DeWoskin vividly captures this fraught time of dislocation and turmoil, and deftly connects the anguish of Jewish refugees and the agony of the Japanese occupation, elevating this beautiful novel into a clarion call for peace. —The National Book Review

“Rachel DeWoskin’s storytelling features an extraordinary combination of curiosity and kindness, on top of a belief that everyone can have an impact on the world they find themselves in. Someday We Will Fly is powerful, adventurous story of a teenager who confronts the brutal history with courage, love, and imagination. I could not put it down.” —Aleksandar Hemon, author of Nowhere Man and The Lazarus Project 

“An engrossing and beautifully-rendered plunge into less-known Holocaust history, featuring the plight of Jewish World War II refugees in Japanese-occupied Shanghai.” —Julie Berry, Printz Honor-winning author of The Passion of Dolssa

“Though I have written extensively about the Holocaust in novels, a picture book, poems, I had never before heard of the 23,000 Jews who fled to Shanghai for the duration of the war. Starvation, rough treatment by occupying Japanese troops, the teenagers turning to all kinds of difficult work (including gentlemen's clubs as dancers and prostitution) to make money for their devastated families. Rampant disease, and early deaths were their daily lot. In Someday We Will Fly Rachel DeWoskin has taken the horrors and turned them into a YA novel that is terrifically moving and full of a kind of poetry in motion that is both terrifying and uplifting in equal measure.” —Jane Yolen, author of Mapping the Bones, The Stone Angel, Devil’s Arithmetic, Briar Rose
Fleeing Poland 1941, Lillia and her circus preforming family become split: her mother is left behind while the family travels to the last city that will take Jewish refugees: Shanghai. This unique view into a forgotten part of history is told with candid, yet lovely prose. While some aspects of the story are embellished, the book holds true to history. A great companion to Salt to the Sea. —Readers Books 

“Someday We Will Fly is an intense and immersive novel.” —TeenReads

OTHER HONORS
● Junior Library Guild selection
● Kirkus “Historical Fiction Gems” selection (January 2019)
● Bookish January 2019 Book Club Pick

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel DeWoskin has spent much of her life in China, including childhood summers with her parents and brothers, excavating ancient Chinese musical and medical instruments for her dad’s research. Rachel lived in Bejing for most of her twenties, where she became the unlikely star of a Chinese soap opera called Foreign Babes in Bejing. She spent the last six summers in Shanghai, where she researched and wrote Someday We Will Fly.

Rachel lives in Chicago with her husband, playwright Zayd Dohrn, and their two daughters. She is on the fiction faculty of the University of Chicago and is an affiliated faculty member in Jewish studies and East Asian Studies.

PHOTO CONTENT FROM RACHEL DEWOSKIN

WEBSITE: http://racheldewoskin.com/home/
TWITTER: @racheldewoskin  
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15274.Rachel_DeWoskin
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/www.racheldewoskinbks/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/racheldewoskin/

--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter

- 3 Winners will receive a Copy of SOMEDAY WE WILL FLY By Rachel DeWoskin.

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DRAGONSLAYER by Duncan M. Hamilton Blog Tour

THE TOUR SCHEDULE

SYNOPSIS

In his magnificent, heroic, adventure fantasy, Dragonslayer, Duncan M. Hamilton debuts the first book in a fast-moving trilogy: a dangerous tale of lost magics, unlikely heroes, and reawakened dragons.

Once a member of the King's personal guard, Guillot dal Villevauvais spends most days drinking and mourning his wife and child. He’s astonished—and wary—when the Prince Bishop orders him to find and destroy a dragon. He and the Prince Bishop have never exactly been friends and Gill left the capital in disgrace five years ago. So why him? And, more importantly, how is there a dragon to fight when the beasts were hunted to extinction centuries ago by the ancient Chevaliers of the Silver Circle?

On the way to the capitol city, Gill rescues Solène, a young barmaid, who is about to be burned as a witch. He believes her innocent…but she soon proves that she has plenty of raw, untrained power, a problem in this land, where magic is forbidden. Yet the Prince Bishop believes magic will be the key to both destroying the dragon and replacingthe young, untried King he pretends to serve with a more pliable figurehead. 
Between Gill’s rusty swordsmanship and Solene’s unstable magic, what could go wrong?  

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Author of one of BuzzFeed 's Greatest Fantasy Books of 2013 

Do you have what it takes to be a Dragonslayer? In this epic, adventure fantasy series, an unlikely hero, Guillot dal Villevauvais, must overcome his disgraced past as a failed member of the King’s guard and hunt down a ferocious beast thought long extinct. A dangerous quest, led by the swordsmanship of Gill, the magical powers of Solène, a barmaid nearly burned to the stake, and the goodness of Prince Bishop. From the critically acclaim fantasy author Duncan M. Hamilton, this fast-moving series is a must-read for fans of epic, sword-and-sorcery adventures.  

My Review

Dragonslayer is a new fantasy that captures your imagination and turns a simple time into a whole new world of adventure.  

In this world, centuries after Dragons were slain and magic is repelled, the people live a simple life with little worries, except to pay taxes. However, magic is feared, and any person who shows signs of possessing it, are hunted down and executed. The only member left of the Chevaliers of the Silver Circle is a lazy drunk, who has fallen out of grace with the King. Gill only cares about his next bottle.

When a new order is created in secret with the King's permission, the members start to search for something of great importance, and disturbs the last dragon.

So I really, really don't want to give any spoilers to this story....it was so fun and fast paced it's best to go into it with little knowledge about it other than it is so good!  The Dragon is so more than a beast.  It feels confusion and heartache....something totally unexpected...Gill is a character that you will start to love, as you learn more about his past throughout the story and understand him completely.  Solene becomes stronger and longs to just belong...to feel she has a place in this crazy world.  There is fire and destruction...how can there not be with a dragon, and TONS of action that will keep you at the edge of your seat. Deceit and surprising loyalties spiral constantly.

I thought this story was very well written and the story fantastic...it reached into my imagination and wrenched so many emotions...fulfilling my craving for an epic fantasy!

With a super cool twist that made me EXTREMELY happy at the end, this trilogy is just getting started...and I can't wait to ride the journey.

Duncan M. Hamilton is the Amazon best selling writer of fantasy novels and short stories, including The Wolf of the North and the Society of the Sword trilogy. He has Master’s Degrees in History and Law, and practised as a barrister before writing full time. Duncan is particularly interested in the Medieval and Renaissance periods, from which he draws inspiration for his stories.

He lives in Ireland, near the sea, and when not writing he enjoys sailing, scuba diving, windsurfing, cycling, and skiing.

His debut novel, ‘The Tattered Banner (Society of the Sword Volume 1)’ was featured on Buzzfeed’s 12 Greatest Fantasy Books Of The Year, 2013.

Duncan is a member of The Society of Authors, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). He is represented by DongWon Song of Howard Morhaim Literary.

PHOTO CREDIT: JASON CLARKE

WEBSITE: http://duncanmhamilton.com/

TWITTER: @DuncanMHamilton
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6979427.Duncan_M_Hamilton
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/DuncanMHamilton/  

--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter

- 6 Winners will receive a Copy of DRAGONSLAYER by Duncan M. Hamilton.

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