BLOG TOUR: Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick- Review, Interview & Giveaway

Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release Date: May 5th 2015
Rate: 4 STARS! 

Synopsis: When Oakley Nelson loses her brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she’ll never recover. Between her parents’ arguing and the battle she’s fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend the summer in California with Aunt Jo, Oakley isn’t sure that a change of scenery will alter anything, but she’s willing to give it a try.

In California, Oakley discovers a sort of safety and freedom in Aunt Jo’s beach house. Once they’re settled, Mom hands her a notebook full of letters addressed to her—from Lucas. As Oakley reads one each day, she realizes how much he loved her, and each letter challenges her to be better and to continue to enjoy her life. He wants her to move on.

If only it were that easy.

But then a surfer named Carson comes into her life, and Oakley is blindsided. He makes her feel again. As she lets him in, she is surprised by how much she cares for him, and things get complicated. How can she fall in love and be happy when Lucas never got the chance to do those very same things?

With her brother’s dying words as guidance, Oakley must learn to listen to and trust herself again. She soon realizes that second chances are ways to learn from the past, and you don’t always have to leave the past behind to find happiness in the future.

"I miss you when you go home for the night. I'll never tell you that to your face, since'd you'd stay as long as I want you to, but it's true. I miss you when you leave. You're the one I'm fighting for."

Love Lucas, to sum it up, is a brilliant, quick paced, emotion filled book with the power to break your heart, and somehow, piece it all together again.

The synopsis tells you everything you need to know, and so the only thing I can tell you is if you love books with ALL THE FEELS, then Love, Lucas should DEFINITELY be your next read. The characters are brilliantly developed, especially Oakley. And Lucas. And Carson. Okay, everyone. I love how their fears and problems are portrayed, how they're each struggling with something different, and how they realize that they need each other, and will always remember each other- because that's what love is.

Eternal. And Chantele Sedgwick does it SO perfectly, that even though the book was so fast paced, it had me catching my breath at so many places and tearing up my eyes at so many others.

So, GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS BOOK. NOW.

We would love to know more about you:

1. Five fun facts nobody knows about you:

 Most people don't know I play the harp,

I was in the show choir in high school (Yes, I was a choir girl), 

I have a phobia of grass, 

I line up my M&M's by color and eat them in order from Brown through the color of the rainbow, 

I'm a list maker. :)

2. What does it feel like to actually have your book out there? 

Every time I let a book out into the world I have a mini panic attack. Reviews can be brutal. But I learned a long time ago that you can't please everyone. So, happiness is one feeling and relief that another book is finished and out of my hands is another. It's a bitter-sweet feeling.

3. The cutest/ most romantic thing that has ever happened to you:

Hmmm...I'd say when the hubby proposed. Dinner, sandy beach, beautiful ring and an amazing guy. *sigh* What could be more romantic? :)

4. Tell us a little about Love, Lucas- your inspiration, your characters, your world: 

My inspiration for Love, Lucas happened really different than any of my other books. I had a thought come to me one day about a brother writing letters to his little sister. I wrote some of the letters down, which actually made it into the book, and then it all started from there. Lucas was the protective and popular older brother and his best friend was his sister. Oakley came to life after that and it all just fell into place. I've never written a book as fast as this one, but it was so easy for me to write. It flowed from beginning to end, the letters especially. It was a pleasure to be able to write their story, and I'm so happy with how it turned out. Lucas has my heart forever.

5. Do a Love, Lucas description (one adjective for each letter of the title!)
Lonely
Oceanic
Vast
Encouraging
Likeable
Understood
Calm
Adventurous
Strong

“A deeply moving tale of unimaginable loss and the redemptive power of love. Sedgwick masterfully delves into the painful details of losing a loved one, breaking your heart even as her beautiful words stitch you back together. Romance and friendship, true growth and authentic healing, this story blew me away. It takes a special book to bring tears to my eyesand make me swoon... Love, Lucas? Yeah, this book is special.” —Rachel Harris, New York Times bestselling author

“An emotional summer of love, hope, and healing! Love, Lucas is easy to adore with Sedgwick’s real relationships, sweet romance, and tale of renewal.” —Lizzy Charles, author of Effortless With You

"Chantele Sedgwick navigates the dark waters of grief with a deft hand and plenty of heart.Love, Lucas will drag readers under before bringing them back to the surface for a life-saving breath of hope." —Amy Finnegan, author of Not In the Script

Follow the Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Chantele Sedgwick is a YA author, harpist, wife to one and stay-at-home mom to four. She loves happy endings, Kit Kats and judging by her book shelves, buys way too many books.

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Death Wish by Megan Tayte- Review, Interview and Giveaway

Title: Death Wish
Author: Megan Tayte
Publication Date: February 7th 2015
Part of A Series?: Part 1 of 5 of the Ceruleans Series
I Got A Copy Through: The Author:)

Blurb Description: IN SEARCH OF THE MEANING OF DEATH, SHE’LL FIND THE MEANING OF LIFE. 

Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Blake is haunted by death. Her estranged sister has made the ultimate dramatic exit. Running away from school, joining a surfing fraternity, partying hard: that sounds like Sienna. But suicide? It makes no sense.

Following in her sister’s footsteps, Scarlett comes to the isolated cove of Twycombe, Devon, with grand plans to uncover the truth. Alone. But she hasn’t reckoned on meeting two boys who are determined to help her. Luke: the blue-eyed surfer who’ll see the real Scarlett, who’ll challenge her, who’ll save her. And Jude: the elusive drifter with a knack for turning up whenever Scarlett’s in need.

As Scarlett’s quest for the truth unravels, so too does her grip on reality as she’s always known it. Because there’s something strange going on in this little cove. A dead magpie circles the skies. A dead deer watches from the undergrowth. Hands glow with light. Warmth. Power.

What transpires is a summer of discovery. Of what it means to conquer fear. To fall in love. To choose life. To choose death.

To believe the impossible. 

Website || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Pinterest

Purchase: Amazon || Amazon Book1

**GIVEAWAY**

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We Would Love To Know More About You:

1. The strangest thing that has ever happened to you:

I was in Nice, in the French Riviera, with my husband, having a lazy day on the beach. I went in for a paddle, but went under. It was probably only a minute or so that I fought to get upright again, but it felt like an eternity. When I did finally get on my feet, I realised I was only a few metres from the shore, and all around me people were playing quite happily in the water. Children, even. My husband, nearby, was totally bemused as to why I was in a state. ‘Look at the depth here,’ he said. ‘You could have just stood up.’ But the weird thing was, I couldn’t – I really couldn’t, and for a short while I knew the fear of drowning. I used that strange and unsettling experience in the first chapter of Death Wish, when Scarlett ought to be able to swim in the ocean, but somehow can’t.

2. The cheesiest line someone has ever fed you:

‘Do you like raisins? How do you feel about a date?’ Answer to the literal question: Yes, and yeurk. Answer to the figurative question: Yes, and yeurk.

3. This or That:

--Dresses or Pants

I’d love to say dresses. I have a mental image of myself always wearing bright, colourful, flowing dresses with funky, chunky jewellery. But the honest answer is pants, every time. Jeans, usually. (Incidentally, had I interpreted your question strictly in British English, my answer would have had to be dress. I try to avoid going out and about just in my underpants…) 

-- British Accents or American Accents

I’d have to say British – Scottish – out of loyalty to my husband, who hails from a town outside Glasgow. I’ve always loved his Ewan McGregor-esque accent, and along the way I’ve picked up some of his turns of phrase – I say ‘wee’ and ‘aye’ a fair bit. Still, I don’t always understand his lingo. When we first met he took to calling me tumshee which, I assumed, was a term of endearment. Later, I discovered its Scots for turnip.

-- Horror or Chick Flicks

Chick. Definitely. I learnt in my mid-teens I can’t take any level of horror. I watched The Shining on a sleepover and was a wreck afterwards. I’ve still never got to the end of Jaws, or – ah-hem – Gremlins… But chick flicks are as comforting as cocoa and fluffy pjs. The more romantic, the better, although I love funny ones too. Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids makes me belly laugh.

And now, onto your masterpiece:

4. Tell us a little about your books, and your characters:

The Ceruleans series explores one big question: If the might of the heavens were in your hands, would you be sinner or saint? The Ceruleans are regular people with an amazing power: to preserve life, or to take it, with a single touch. With such power comes a whole host of potential, but also, as the characters discover, responsibility and limitation.

It’s a story of light and darkness, heaven and hell, life and death; and at its heart is a girl, Scarlett, coming of age. Falling in love. Fighting for love. Fighting for truth. Believing in herself, and those she loves. Believing in the impossible.

5. What was your inspiration to start writing them:

The Ceruleans series began life as four discrete ideas that I planned to make into four discrete books. Then one day as I was walking (something I do when I’m looking for inspiration) the ideas knitted together, and from there the overall story arc of the series took form.

There are many inspirations for the book. The story is quite personal to me, based on a mix of experience and fiction woven from my imaginings and ponderings. The setting – in a part of coastal Devon where I spent every summer as a child – was a key inspiration. But the story is based on my own efforts to make sense of a world in which people close to you can die; in which being true to yourself can be incredibly difficult; and in which love – for people, for places, for a way of being, for a passion and an ethos – is the only reason to hold on.

6. Describe Death Wish (one adjective for per letter)

Dark. Enigmatic, Agonising Twisting, Hopeful

Wistful, Intimate, Soulful. Heartfelt

**MY REVIEW**

“Without her, I was simply a shadow no one could really see, let alone love.”

Scarlett Blake was the quiet one. The one in the shadows, covering from her sisters too bright light. Sienna was the star. The social one. The one with a whole posse of boys. The one with the confidence, the friends, the attitude. She has everything.

Well, had. Because Sienna Blake, on one fine day, walked into the ocean, and never walked out.

“Death is nothing at all… I have only slipped away into the next room… I am I, and you are you… Whatever we were to each other, that we still are.”

But suicide? For a girl so full of life, and joy for the living? For a girl who saw everything as an opportunity; an adventure; A girl happy to play life's games? How could she? Why did she? And so, Scarlett Blake is in the town that she died in. To find answers. To learn the truth.

To find Sienna. 

But along the way, in this beautifully told book, she finds herself- With friends who would take a bullet for her, the ocean and all the peace a tiny town can bring her, and two very special boys. 

“And though my feet were planted firmly on stone that had stood solidly for centuries, in that moment I fell. I fell for him, I fell in love. I fell, and I didn’t want to be saved.”

But what does a living person do, in the search of death?

“Blackness. It’s consuming, and I do fight it, sis, you know I’m a fighter, but I can’t hope to win. Such a rush! Such power! All these years of prison, now I’m free – now I’m something. The end is coming; no escape. But I mustn’t fear it, we mustn’t fear it”

Death Wish is a brilliant, first book in a planned series of five. This one is kore contemporary than paranormal, with a cliff hanger ending, leaving you pining for the next- and wanting it RIGHT AWAY! The characters were brilliant, relate-able, and SO swoon worthy! I couldn't give it a higher recommendation!

BLOG TOUR: Lies Like Love by Louisa Reid- Review and Giveaway

Title: Lies Like Love

Author: Louisa Reid

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publisher: Penguin

Format: Paperback

Published: July 3^rd 2014

Summary: LIES 'There were a few problems . . . bullying . . . a fire . . .'

LIKE I think she's verging on psychosis . . . now she's lashing out.

LOVE She's got no one else to fight for her.'

Sixteen year-old Audrey just wants to be normal. She's trying to fit in. But what happens when the person closest to you suffocates you with their love? What happens then?

 Goodreads || Amazon

 Author Information

Louisa Reid is a writer and teacher living on the Fen Edge. Her debut novel, BLACK HEART BLUE was published in 2012 by Penguin and was shortlisted for the North East Teen Book Award and longlisted for the Carnegie and Branford Boase awards. Her second novel, LIES LIKE LOVE was published in July 2014 by Penguin.

Author Links: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Goodreads

Tour Schedule

Monday 20^th April Fiction Fascination || An Awful Lot of Reading

Tuesday 21^st April Hyper Ashley || Writing from the Tub

 Wednesday 22^nd April Ya Yeah Yeah || Uncorked Thoughts

 Thursday 23^rd April Eat Read Glam || A Thousand Words, A Million Books

Friday 24^th April Books for Birds || Bookish Outsider

  Saturday 25^th April Tales of Yesterday || The Little Munchkin Reader

 Sunday 26^th April The Book Moo || Serendipity Reviews

There is a tour wide giveaway during the tour.

The prizes include;

One Signed Lies Like Love, One Signed Black Heart Blue, One Bundle of Swag

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**MY REVIEW**

This is Louisa Reid's second book that I've read. And it's just as brilliant as the first- no. It's better than the first...

Lies Like Love is a story. A heart breaking, gut wrenching, slow paced, exciting story, filled with all the feels a mortal heart can take. 

Audrey has always had problems. Bullying, a fire. Audrey's mother has spent her life, energy and money taking care of her- herding Audrey and her baby brother Peter all over. But now, she wants things to change. Or wants to try. In this new town, where nobody knows anything about who she used to be, and the things that happened. On this new town where she can be whomever she chooses.

Except, that's easier said than done. Teenagers are hard to get to know, but even more so when you're terrified of them. But Audrey meets a boy. A boy who can see past her glasses, and her awkward exterior. A boy who wants to get to know her. The real her.

Louisa Reid is a BEAUTIFUL writer. Her characters are so complicated and brilliant, With so may layers and so many sides to them. There is this hint of instability in Audrey's writing, that makes the reader question whether to believe her, or what her mother says; this hint of paranoia, or that she's making it all up or that's she's exaggerating- that keeps you guessing, and in a book like this- it was the best part!

A bit slow paced, but a book worth reading all the same!

BLOG TOUR: The Lives and Loves of Jesobel Jones by Anna Mainwaring- Review

Title: The Lives and Loves of Jesobel Jones

Author: Anna Mainwaring

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publisher: Portal Press

Format: Paperback and E-Book

Published: 25th March 2015

Summary: Jesobel Jones can bake. In a truly triumphant, appearing-on-TV kind of way. But this means nothing to the rest of the world, because apparently all that cake mix is starting to show – in all the wrong places. So when she lands an invite to the Party of Year by the Boy of Her Dreams, she wonders whether it’s time for a new, improved Jess. But will life still taste as good?

Anna Mainwaring's debut is a light-hearted and sometimes poignant take on the pressures that face teenage girls. It's hard to smile in all those selfies when you don't like the girl who looks back at you. But which is more important - looking perfect or being happy?

Goodreads || Amazon

Author Information

Anna Mainwaring first read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ when she was seven and she hasn’t stopped

reading since. 

Her debut novel, “The Lives and Loves of Jesobel Jones”, follows Jess through the joy and pain of being a teenager in the modern world; first love, friendship, embarrassing families, and asks the big questions in life: how much cake is it really acceptable to eat?

After studying English at university, Anna made the foolish decision to work in corporate finance, not the best career choice for someone who a) is number dyslexic b) hates anything corporate. After travelling, Anna re-trained as an English teacher and works in a girls’ school in Cheshire. When not writing, teaching, or looking after her children, Anna can generally be found walking up a big hill, looking for inspiration.

 Author Links:  Website || Twitter

Tour Schedule

Monday 6th April Writing From the Tub

Tuesday 7th April Luna’s Little Library

Wednesday 8th April Ya Yeah Yeah || A Daydreamer’s Thoughts

Thursday 9th April Fiction Fascination

Friday 10th April Live to Read. Read to Live.

Saturday 11th April Serendipity Reviews || Joshua J Stories

Sunday 12th April A Thousand Words, A Million Books || Becca Talks YA

Monday 13th April Chrissi Reads || Marie’s Journal

Tuesday 14th April An Awful Lot of Reading

Wednesday 15th April The Book Moo || A Daydreamer’s Thoughts

Thursday 16th April Music, Books and Tea

Friday 17th April The Page Starts Here

Saturday 18th April Snuggling on the Sofa

Sunday 19th April Tales of Yesterday

**MY REVIEW**

The Lives and Loves of Jesobel Jones is the MOST brilliant book- and DEFINITELY the most realistic one that I've read in ages! Anna Mainwaring has this incredible talent of writing a story- making it seem like they're your friends and you family going through the situation, and then gives you just the right amount of crazy, the right amount of fun and the right amount of love- making this the most PERFECT contemporary ever written!

Okay, I don't even think that that made sense. But Anna's writing and Jesobel's voice struck such a personal chord within me- for I am exactly like Jesobel- overweight with image issues (well, with the exception of the amazing baking- my most accomplished feat in cooking is a simple toast) and the things she faces right down to the father who supports her regardless and the mother who passive aggressively suggests that she's not good enough- and to read something SO alike to well, my life and SO SO perfect that I fear I'm to go into a book hangover very soon.

"That's the invisible rule, isn't it? If you're a teenage girl, you should hate your body, hate food and hate yourself."

"It's like you have to choose between life and beauty.
And to be beautiful, you have to conform.
And I don't wand to conform.
But I do want Matt Paige to kiss me."

5 Golden, glowing stars from me- and if it wasn't already obvious- GO READ THE BOOK!

Review: Blackfin Sky by Kat Ellis

Title: Blackfin Sky

Author: Kat Ellis

Publisher: Firefly Press

Publication Date: May 14th 2014

Part of A Series?: Standalone

I Got A Copy Through: The Guardian Children's Books

Blurb Description:When Sky falls from Blackfin Pier and drowns on her sixteenth birthday, the whole town goes into mourning – until she shows up three months later like nothing happened.

Unravelling the mystery of those missing months takes Sky to the burned-out circus in the woods, where whispers of murder and kidnapping begin to reveal the town’s secrets. But Sky’s not the only one digging up the past – the old mime from the circus knows what happened to her, and he has more than one reason for keeping quiet about it.

**MY REVIEW**

“Nobody really believed Skylar Rousseau would accidently kill herself…”

For three months, she was dead. Three whole months, that she thought she was alive for, but actually wasn’t. And now, she has to deal with the repercussions of living in an offbeat town, being the girl that people used to be in awe of, even before she came back from the dead.

During these three months, her parents have split, her best friends spend most of their time at her grave, and he best friend’s brother, who she just happened to have a major crush on, feels responsible. And now, she’s back, like nothing ever happened- like the months of pain that those closest to her felt, never existed at all, leaving all of them to face the biggest question of all-

How is Skylar alive?

With everyone harbouring secrets, about the day she ‘died’, about their feelings towards her, and even about who she is, the only thing Sky wants now, is answers. Answers that she will have to go out of her way to get- inside a house stained with the blood of the past, inside a forbidden forest with a crazy gypsy woman, and to another time altogether…

Getting her answers, however, must happen fast. For Sky is fading out, losing time, and memories of a strange circus and sinister people plague her dreams along with wolves, fires and amber skulls.

Blackfin Sky was NOTHING like I expected to be, but EVERYTHING you would look for in a paranormal/ fantasy book. It will make your heart pound faster, your fingers flip the pages faster and your brain trying to process the mastery that Kat Ellis has managed to produce!

5 stars!

Stacking The Shelves #3 (The I WON #YASH Version)

Hey Everyone! And welcome to my third Stacking The Shelves. I've been waiting to do this since FOREVER- and I kept delaying it, waiting for all 25 books to arrive, but they haven't yet- so here I go!

I WON #YASH- The Blue Team October 2014 Version! Which means- 25 SIGNED Paperbacks and Hardcovers, with SWAG! I squealed, happy danced, and then squealed again after receiving the email! But, unfortunately, I live in India, and things tend to get lost A LOT when shipping internationally (as I've obviously come to learn recently) and as of January, I still had to receive 11 books! Well, it's April- and I've received five more- so hopefully, I'll get the others soon:)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

So, here I go!

The WHOLE STASH!

BOUGHT:

1. Starcrossed by Josephini Angelini

2. Dreamless by Josephini Angelini

3. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Mass

4. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Mass

5. The Jewel by Amy Ewing

6. Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly

7. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

8. The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow

9. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski 

RECEIVED:

1. Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz (Secret Santa Gift;)

YASH:

1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Arpil Genevieve

2. Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori Lee

3. Get Even by Gretchen McNeil

4. Unremembered by Jessica Brody

5. Doon by Carey Corp and Lorey Langdon

6. The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

7. Evidence of Things Not Seen by Lindsey Lane

8. The Body in the Woods by April Henry

9. Astray by Amy Christine Parker

10. Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond

11. Alienated by Melissa Landers

12. Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summers

13. Control by Lydia Kang

14. Solstice by P. J. Hoover

15. Ennara and the Fallen Druid by Angela Myron

 Thanks for stopping by! Do link you STS's down in the comments and I'll be sure to visit:) Oh, and if you want to win a set of 20 books like me- then the YASH April hunt is ongoing and you can enter HERE