Tuesday, September 29, 2020

BLOG TOUR: ELEANOR, ALICE, AND THE ROOSEVELT GHOSTS by Dianne K. Salerni

 


I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the ELEANOR, ALICE, AND THE ROOSEVELT GHOSTS  by Dianne K. Salerni Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About the Book:

Title: ELEANOR, ALICE, AND THE ROOSEVELT GHOSTS

Authors: Dianne K. Salerni

Pub. Date: September 1, 2020

Publisher: Holiday House

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 240

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, AudibleB&NiBooks, KoboTBD, Bookshop.org

Murderous ghosts and buried family secrets threaten young Eleanor and Alice Roosevelt in this thrilling middle-grade novel that puts a supernatural spin on alternate history.

It's 1898 in New York City and ghosts exist among humans.

When an unusual spirit takes up residence at the Roosevelt house, thirteen-year-old Eleanor and fourteen-year-old Alice are suspicious. The cousins don't get along, but they know something is not right. This ghost is more than a pesky nuisance. The authorities claim he's safe to be around, even as his mischievous behavior grows stranger and more menacing. It's almost like he wants to scare the Roosevelts out of their home - and no one seems to care!

 Meanwhile, Eleanor and Alice discover a dangerous ghost in the house where Alice was born and her mother died. Is someone else haunting the family? Introverted Eleanor and unruly Alice develop an unlikely friendship as they explore the family's dark, complicated history. It's up to them to destroy both ghosts and come to terms with their family's losses.

 Told from alternating perspectives, thrills and chills abound in Dianne K. Salerni's imaginative novel about a legendary family and the ghosts that haunt their secrets.

 A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

"A spooky, fast-paced, and inventive tale. Salerni expertly blends fact and fiction, providing a glimpse of Eleanor and Alice Roosevelt's childhood that is so compelling, you almost wish the ghost parts were true."—Erin Bowman, Edgar Award–nominated author of Contagion and The Girl and the Witch's Garden

"This mix of history and fantasy creates a nifty setting for a middle-grade mystery"Kirkus Reviews

About Dianne:

Dianne K. Salerni is a former elementary school teacher living in Chester County, Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters.

Dianne's first novel, We Hear the Dead (Sourcebooks 2010), recounts the true story of Maggie Fox, a teenaged girl credited with the invention of the séance in 1848. A short film based on We Hear the Dead and titled The Spirit Game premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Her second novel, The Caged Graves (Clarion/HMH 2013), is inspired by a real historical mystery in the mountains of Pennsylvania and was named a Junior Library Guild Selection, a finalist in the Tome Society IT List, and a Best YA Historical Novel for 2013 by BookPage.

The Eighth Day, a middle grade fantasy about a secret day of the week, is the first in a series by HarperCollins, which also includes The Inquisitor's Mark (Book 2) and The Morrigan's Curse (Book 3). The Eighth Day has been featured on state reading lists in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Maine, Minnesota, and Indiana.

Dianne's sixth novel, Eleanor, Alice, & the Roosevelt Ghosts, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, releases from Holiday House on September 1, 2020.

Photo taken at the grave of Sarah Ann Boone in Catawissa, Pennsylvania

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of ELEANOR, ALICE, AND THE ROOSEVELT GHOSTS, US Only.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/28/2020

What A Nerd Girl Says

Excerpt

9/28/2020

Bookhounds YA

Excerpt

9/28/2020

Log Cabin Library

Excerpt

9/29/2020

Lifestyle of Me

Review

9/29/2020

Kait Plus Books

Excerpt

9/30/2020

Nerdophiles

Review

9/30/2020

Oh Hey! Books

Excerpt

9/30/2020

Miss Elizabeth

Review

10/1/2020

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Excerpt

10/1/2020

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Instagram Stop

10/2/2020

Girl Who Likes To Read

Review

10/2/2020

onemused

Instagram Stop

10/2/2020

Pine Enshrined Reviews

Review


Week Two:

10/5/2020

Bri's Book Nook

Review

10/5/2020

Twirling Book Princess

Review

10/6/2020

popthebutterfly

Review

10/6/2020

popthebutterfly

Instagram Stop

10/7/2020

lenissahhreads

Review

10/7/2020

History from a Woman’s Perspective

Review

10/8/2020

Do You Dog-ear?

Review

10/8/2020

Do You Dog-ear?

Instagram Stop

10/8/2020

Two Points of Interest

Review

10/9/2020

Nays Pink Bookshelf

Review

10/9/2020

Nays Pink Bookshelf

Instagram Stop

10/9/2020

Eli to the nth

Review


Sunday, September 27, 2020

Review: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

 


I have been looking forward to reading this book for years. Ever since it got leaked on the web back in the early 2000's. I have always wanted to know everything from Edward's perspective and how his history and background was. 

When I first started reading and two chapters in, I was so fucking bored with his thoughts. It was all about the "v" between Bella's eyebrows and the burn of his throat from Bella's intoxicating scent. I ended up rating this a 2 out of 5 stars. I was just so annoyed with the repetitive thoughts of his mind and how it was basically a reprint of Twilight. I did really enjoy the background of his life and of the other's. I loved reading about how Alice basically orchestrated the fake hotel window scene and the rental cars. It was so freaking fascinating. 

I really want a book all about Alice from the time she woke as a vampire to the time she found the Cullens with Jaspar. 

There has been an announcement that Stephenie Meyer is going to be writing more books from the Twilight universe and I am dreading that it is going to be another reprint.  

Friday, September 25, 2020

Review: Saga Volume 4-6 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples *spoilers*

 SAGA VOLUME 4

I am in love with this series. I love pretty much all the characters. I love Alana and Marko's personalities. Alana trying to be an actress to support her family and getting hooked on Fadeaway was saddening. Marko being a house husband and taking care of Hazel was cute, but when the gymnastics instructor tried to cozy up to him, that hit a little close to home especially when he ran to her after Alana told him to leave.

I laughed way to loudly when King Robot was introduced. Of course it would be a flat screen TV on a fat body. Then seeing Prince Robot IV basically in a orgy session after his wife just had a baby. The quote that the madame says about the Prince and his wife also hit close to home. 

"Nothing drives a man to new pussy faster than seeing a kid come out the old one"



SAGA VOLUME 5


The amount of Lying Cat in this installment had me giddy. I love Lying Cat. Also, Ghus the seal is my second favorite character. He is just to freaking cute. This is the first volume that has not gotten 5 stars because of the gross masturbation scene with the male dragon. He was sucking his self off and I can never un-see that. 

Marko with facial hair was a really good look and made him more manly. I feel that this one was mainly a filler because nothing drastic happened besides Dengo calling in the last revolutionaries to turn in Hazel but nothing came to fruition with that except Hazel being put into school. 

SAGA VOLUME 6


We start off with Marko and Alana in disguises trying to find a way to rescue Hazel. They get into a disagreement and it is revealed that they have not touched or kissed each other since Hazel was kidnapped. That changes with them having sex. 

The Will is back and he has become fat. He is searching for Prince Robot IV who has been summoned by Marko and Alana to help get Hazel. The Will is having hallucinations of Stalk and he gets into a fight with Ghus who is looking after the Princeling or Squire while Prince Robot IV is away.

I was not expecting Hazel to be with her grandmother and she has to hide her wings. Her teacher tries to help her escape and there is a moony that is a woman and a man who is not liked among the inmate population. Hazel is eventually rescued by her parents.

I wanted to cry at the end because Marko's mom refused to leave the women and she wanted to continue to lead her little rebellion by continuing to read the Heist novels aloud. It is revealed by the dude woman that Alana is pregnant again.  

DUN DUN DUN!!!

Thursday, September 24, 2020

BLOG TOUR: Lazarus by Maryanne Melloan Woods



I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the LAZARUS by Maryanne Melloan Woods Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:


Title:
 LAZARUS

Author: Maryanne Melloan Woods

Pub. Date: September 8, 2020

Publisher: Owl Hollow Press

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 230

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&N, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

 

Margo and Hank are two teens in tiny, god-forsaken Lazarus, Nebraska. They have a profoundly deep relationship; the only hitch is that Hank has been dead for two months. Somehow he has remained in limbo— no doubt due to the sheer force of their love, and unfinished work to be done.

 

When the pair get tangled up investigating the latest local murder— with Margo doing the everyday detective work and the late Hank spying on suspects unseen—they discover nothing and no one in Lazarus are as they seem. The investigation becomes more dangerous, and it’s up to Hank to protect Margo—as much as a ghost-bodyguard-boyfriend can. While clinging to each other, the teens uncover the sinister secrets of the people they’ve known all their lives, reopen the cold case of Margo’s mother’s death, and learn how to face their past—and how to move on.


About Maryanne:


Maryanne Melloan Woods is a novelist/ screenwriter/ playwright currently living in the New York area. She received a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Drew University and an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

 

As a TV writer/producer, Maryanne has written shows for networks including Showtime, NBC, ABC, Fox, the WB, Nickelodeon and ABC Family.

 

Maryanne’s plays have been produced by HBO’s New Writers Project, the Mark Taper Forum, and many theatres around the country. Maryanne has won the New England Theatre Conference’s John Gassner Playwriting Contest and the Venice (CA) Playwrights’ Festival. She also received a playwriting grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Her play, Smells Like Gin, was the first play produced by Writers Theatre of New Jersey, and she recently won “Best Comedy Script” in the Nashville Film Festival’s screenwriting competition for her screenplay Steve.

 

She has taught screenwriting at the Gotham Writers Workshop in New York, UCLA and the American Film Institute, and served as a panelist for TV writing seminars at NYU and the University of Wisconsin. Maryanne was also a mentor/teacher for The Unusual Suspects, a playwriting workshop for at-risk teens in L.A.

 

Maryanne is represented by Liza Fleissig of Liza Royce Agency.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 winners will receive a Finished Copy of LAZARUS, US Only.


Tour Schedule

Week One:

9/21/2020

BookHounds Ya

Excerpt

9/22/2020

YA Books Central

Excerpt

9/23/2020

Oh Hey! Books

Excerpt

9/24/2020

Lifestyle of Me

Review

9/25/2020

The Phantom Paragrapher

Review

 

Week Two:

9/28/2020

Infinite Lives, Infinite Stories

Review

9/29/2020

Smada's Book Smack

Review

9/30/2020

Buried Under Books

Review

10/1/2020

A Gingerly Review

Review

10/2/2020

Rajiv's Reviews

Review


Monday, September 21, 2020

Review: My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows


 

Another Jane retelling from the Lady Janies. This time we are following Jane Eyre and her ability to see dead people. The Lady Janies also added Charlotte Bronte into the story as Jane's best friend and it was a grand ole time. I have never read Jane Eyre and reading this along with a graphic novel about Charlotte Bronte's life last year has made me more intrigued about this character.

Jane and Charlotte meet at the Lowood boarding school as orphans. Jane has a dead best friend who is a ghost named Helen. One night Jane sneaks out to the local pub where she hears that the RWS, or the Society for Relocation of Wayward spirits will be to remove a problematic ghost. Once in this pub, the said problematic ghost becomes obsessed with Jane and gets bopped on the head with a pocket watch by Mr. Blackwood, the star agent of the society.

Mr. Blackwood learns that Jane is a beacon and is desperately needed for the society. Jane turns down the position and instead becomes a governess for Mr. Rochester's charge, a little girl named Adele. Upon arriving at Thornfield Hall, Jane immediately hears screaming and her alarm is dismissed by Mr. Rochester and his staff. 

Things get more darker and sinister from there. I ended up giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars. While there were funny bits and some witty banter, I found that it was no gut wrenching the same as My Lady Jane and the bit where it has characters from My Lady Jane are passing comments and it made me sad. i was really annoyed and bored with all the propriety between the men and the women. 

You definitely do not need to read My Lady Jane to read this one, but I recommend My Lady Jane over this one if you want laugh out loud laughter. 


Friday, September 18, 2020

BLOG TOUR: Feeling Great by David D. Burns

 


I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the FEELING GREAT by David D. Burns, M.D. Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:


Title:
 FEELING GREAT

Author: David D. Burns, M.D.

Pub. Date: September 15, 2020

Publisher: PESI Publishing & Media

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 454

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&N, TBD, Bookshop.org

 

Crush Anxiety and Depression

with Ultra-Rapid New Technique

 

San Francisco, CA, September 14, 2020 - Nearly 40 years ago, David D. Burns, M.D ., a pioneer in the development of cognitive therapy, wrote a book with an uplifting message: When you change the way you THINK, you can change the way you FEEL. Since its debut, Feeling Good has sold more than 5 million copies, and cognitive therapy has become the most popular and extensively researched form of psychotherapy in the world.  Now in Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety (September 2020; ISBN: 9781683732884; $26.99, Hardcover), Dr. Burns brings us a book with another uplifting message: negative feelings like depression, inadequacy, and anxiety do not result from what’s WRONG with you, but what’s RIGHT with you.

 

We all know that many people have lived with depression and anxiety for years without tangible change. Why? Freud tried to solve this riddle, but failed. Forty years of research on how psychotherapy actually works have finally revealed the answer, and Dr. Burns shares innovative new techniques that make ultra-rapid change possible, even in a single, two-hour therapy session.  Feeling Great is based on the paradoxical notion that your negative thoughts and feelings are NOT the result of some defect, like a chemical imbalance in your brain or a “mental disorder,” but from what’s most beautiful and awesome about you and your core values. And the moment you realize this, recovery will be just a stone’s throw away.

 

In Feeling Great, you will:

 

1.    Discover that depression and anxiety say something really good—or even great—about you and your core values!

2.    Pinpoint and eliminate the powerful forces that keep you stuck

3.    Learn that your thoughts, and not the circumstances of your life, create all of your feelings

4.    Discover why depression and anxiety are the world’s oldest cons

5.    Crush the ten types of distorted thoughts that rob you of happiness and self-esteem

6.    Learn why self-acceptance is the greatest change a human being can make.

7.    Let go of the idea that you have a “self” that is flawed, defective, inferior or just not good enough


About David D. Burns:


DAVID D. BURNS, MD, is currently Adjunct Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. More than 50,000 mental health professionals have attended his workshops for mental health professionals throughout the United States and Canada. His weekly Feeling Good Podcast (two million downloads) provide therapists and the general public alike with tips to overcome depression, anxiety, relationship conflicts, and habits and addiction. To learn more, visit www.FeelingGreattheBook.com.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive an eBook of FEELING GREAT, International.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/14/2020

Rockstar Book Tours

Spotlight

9/15/2020

Two Chicks on Books

Spotlight

9/16/2020

Jaime's World

Spotlight

9/17/2020

Lifestyle of Me

Review

9/18/2020

Her Book Thoughts

Review


Week Two:

9/21/2020

BookHounds YA

Spotlight

9/22/2020

BookHounds

Spotlight

9/23/2020

Fire and ice

Review

9/24/2020

Lilly's Book World

Review

9/25/2020

Rajiv's Reviews

Review


Week Three:

9/28/2020

Lisa-Queen of Random

Spotlight

9/29/2020

TMBA Corbett Tries to Write

Spotlight

9/30/2020

Reese's Reviews

Review

10/1/2020

Smada's Book Smack

Review

10/2/2020

Jena Brown Writes

Review


Review: Is This A Cry For Help by Emily Austin

  DNF at 40%. I could not continue this whiplash. I was expecting some big drama surrounding the ex but finding out that she broke up with h...