Hello and welcome to my tour stop for
HOLDING COURT by K.C. Held
as hosted by Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours and Entangled: Teen!
I have a review of the novel for you today, plus there is a tour wide giveaway for a swag pack for the novel, so be sure to keep scrolling to enter to win!
But first, let's learn more about the novel...
HOLDING COURT
Author: K.C. Held
Source: eARC via the Publisher
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Publication Date: March 1, 2016
Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Jules Verity knows exactly what's in store at her new job at castle-turned-dinner-theater Tudor Times. Some extra cash, wearing a fancy-pants dress, and plenty of time to secretly drool over the ever-so-tasty--and completely unavailable--Grayson Chandler. Except that it's not quite what she imagined.
For one, the costume Jules has to wear is awful. Then there's the dead body she finds that just kind of...well, disappears. Oh, and there's the small issue of Jules and her episodes of what her best friend calls "Psychic Tourette's Syndrome"--spontaneous and uncontrollable outbursts of seemingly absurd prophecies.
The only bright side? This whole dead body thing seems to have gotten Grayson's attention. Except that the more Jules investigates, the more she discovers that Grayson's interest might not be as courtly as she thought. In fact, it's starting to look suspicious...
Purchase:
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Let me start off by saying, if you are on the fence about this one, but like a good mystery and a girl who randomly blurts out the future: this one is for you. I really enjoyed this one and found myself giggling like a madwoman at some points because it was too true and too hilarious. There were even some points where I felt such second hand embarrassment for Jules that I had to put the book down and wait a couple minutes before continuing. This is such a fun read and I recommend it!
Jules is such a fun and easy to like character. She has her issues and her (tad bit) dysfunctional family, but she knows how to work it. I like that even though she sees these premonitions as a flaw in getting dates, she doesn't always see them as a flaw in herself. Sure, she is upset about it sometimes, but really who wouldn't be. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to randomly yell the future at somebody. But she was so much fun and tried to take matters into her own hands. I also liked that it wasn't about trying to solve the murder for her -- it was about proving herself as a person.
I kinda liked that it was just known in town that some people had "gifts" rather than Jules trying to hide what she could do. Not that she really could per say. But I like when the magic and the fantasy intertwine nicely as a part of life rather than trying to figure out how it could work. Like, I would be okay living in a world where someone could randomly tell me the future even if it didn't really make sense. And I did like that everyone was pretty open to taking it. I feel like this made the world that much more interesting. I would like to live in this town that Jules comes from.
I had some of the mysteries figured out from pretty early on but I would like to reread this one so I could see how Jules's physic premonitions helped play into the mystery itself. As much as I tried to really pay attention to them, some of them were so funny that I found myself laughing rather than taking note. And this leads into the one thing I didn't like: that there wasn't more. There were some open threads (i.e. the ketchup, the auras, the play!) that I wanted to know about. I wanted some sort of resolution for these, so if Held wants to write a sequel, I will read said sequel. But as it stands, some of these threads leave the ending feel a bit unsatisfying.
I could go on and on about the things I liked about this one, but really you should see them for yourself. This is one of those novels that is most definitely cheesy, but is still a super fun read. And the romance wasn't overbearing so there's that too! But I don't want to go into detail about that because I might spoil it. Anyway, this one is available now (and only $6! WORTH IT), so you should pick it up!
Jules is such a fun and easy to like character. She has her issues and her (tad bit) dysfunctional family, but she knows how to work it. I like that even though she sees these premonitions as a flaw in getting dates, she doesn't always see them as a flaw in herself. Sure, she is upset about it sometimes, but really who wouldn't be. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to randomly yell the future at somebody. But she was so much fun and tried to take matters into her own hands. I also liked that it wasn't about trying to solve the murder for her -- it was about proving herself as a person.
I kinda liked that it was just known in town that some people had "gifts" rather than Jules trying to hide what she could do. Not that she really could per say. But I like when the magic and the fantasy intertwine nicely as a part of life rather than trying to figure out how it could work. Like, I would be okay living in a world where someone could randomly tell me the future even if it didn't really make sense. And I did like that everyone was pretty open to taking it. I feel like this made the world that much more interesting. I would like to live in this town that Jules comes from.
I had some of the mysteries figured out from pretty early on but I would like to reread this one so I could see how Jules's physic premonitions helped play into the mystery itself. As much as I tried to really pay attention to them, some of them were so funny that I found myself laughing rather than taking note. And this leads into the one thing I didn't like: that there wasn't more. There were some open threads (i.e. the ketchup, the auras, the play!) that I wanted to know about. I wanted some sort of resolution for these, so if Held wants to write a sequel, I will read said sequel. But as it stands, some of these threads leave the ending feel a bit unsatisfying.
I could go on and on about the things I liked about this one, but really you should see them for yourself. This is one of those novels that is most definitely cheesy, but is still a super fun read. And the romance wasn't overbearing so there's that too! But I don't want to go into detail about that because I might spoil it. Anyway, this one is available now (and only $6! WORTH IT), so you should pick it up!
K.C. HELD was born and raised in California with stopovers in Honduras, Mexico, and France. Married to her high school sweetheart, and mom to two avid bookworms, she holds an MFA in costume design and is an accomplished seamstress with a background in opera, theater, film, and television. Although she once spent a summer working in a castle, there were no dead bodies involved.
Connect with the Author:
One (1) winner will receive Holding Court swag pack containing a magnetic prophecy kit, signed bookplate, coloring postcard with stacked coloring pencil, and a bookmark.
Aw Jamie, I love your review!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds pretty fun, with psychic abilities and a mystery to boot. I think I'll definitely check this one out if it appears in my library! The world seems extra interesting too. I totally agree with you - I definitely wouldn't mind living in a world like the one in this book!
- Aila @ One Way Or An Author