31 Oct 2017

#CoverReveal: PULSE by Danielle Koste + #Giveaway

31 October 1 Comments
Hello and welcome to the cover reveal for

PULSE by Danielle Koste! 

You will get to see the cover for this book, learn more about it, and enter to win a signed copy of the book plus a $25 Amazon gift card! Check all that out below and let me know what you think of the cover in the comments. Come back in December for a review of the book!

PULSE

Author: Danielle Koste
Series: N/A
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: January 1, 2018

Summary:
Rowan Platts is addicted to success.

When she's presented with the chance to work on a top secret project fronted by her idol, renowned virologist Dr. Margot Miller, Rowan signs her life away without second thought. The realization she’s gotten in over her head comes only after the subject of their study is revealed: a boy with a bad attitude and an uninhibited taste for human blood.

He's a medical anomaly. Having the ability to crush metal with his bare hands and hear a heartbeat from across the room, it would make Rowan’s career if she was the one to discover what made him so unusual.

Easier said than done, with a subject who prefers snapping necks over answering questions.

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12 Oct 2017

ARC #Review: THE NOWHERE GIRLS by Amy Reed

12 October 0 Comments

THE NOWHERE GIRLS

Author: Amy Reed
Series: N/A
Source: ARC via Publisher
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
Three misfits come together to avenge the rape of a fellow classmate and in the process trigger a change in the misogynist culture at their high school transforming the lives of everyone around them in this searing and timely story.

Who are the Nowhere Girls?

They’re everygirl. But they start with just three:

Grace Salter is the new girl in town, whose family was run out of their former community after her southern Baptist preacher mom turned into a radical liberal after falling off a horse and bumping her head.

Rosina Suarez is the queer punk girl in a conservative Mexican immigrant family, who dreams of a life playing music instead of babysitting her gaggle of cousins and waitressing at her uncle’s restaurant.

Erin Delillo is obsessed with two things: marine biology and Star Trek: The Next Generation, but they aren’t enough to distract her from her suspicion that she may in fact be an android.

When Grace learns that Lucy Moynihan, the former occupant of her new home, was run out of town for having accused the popular guys at school of gang rape, she’s incensed that Lucy never had justice. For their own personal reasons, Rosina and Erin feel equally deeply about Lucy’s tragedy, so they form an anonymous group of girls at Prescott High to resist the sexist culture at their school, which includes boycotting sex of any kind with the male students.

Told in alternating perspectives, this groundbreaking novel is an indictment of rape culture and explores with bold honesty the deepest questions about teen girls and sexuality.
Purchase:
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and decided to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion of the book.

I loved this one a lot but also had a couple issues with it that I hope are changed in the finished copy. But there was such a powerful story here with giving us three narrators and women who are not usually depicted in mainstream media or feminism so we got to see intersectionality and ingrained racism in a way I have not seen before in a novel with this topic. I liked the vignettes that showed us just how hard it is to be a teenage girl and how other girls struggled with the same things that Grace, Rosina, and Erin had to deal with in their own lives. However, please be warned that this book is triggering if you have dealt with sexual assault, racism, and there is a line that is transphobic that I hope is edited before final printing. 

2 Oct 2017

Jamie Travels to Prague, Czech Republic! Part 2

02 October 0 Comments
Last time on Jamie Travels to... Jamie had just recapped her first week, ending it by saying she was going to bed so she could celebrate her 25th birthday in style! Find out about the rest of her trip to Prague in today's post!

I am here to tell you all about my trip to Prague, Czech Republic which took place from September 8th to 25th, 2017. I was there for a school course that also included guided tours, lots of food, and maybe some indulgence in beer (I mean, it is cheaper than water there). So here is a bit of information about what I did, what I saw, and some tips and tricks if you want to visit and do bookish things (although I didn't do a tour of the sights in Daughter of Smoke and Bone cause I did not like that book)!

September 17th, 2017

It was my 25th birthday and I went out for a nice brunch and spent the day working on my paper. Sure, that seems lame, but I really need to get this done if I want to graduate on time. I also realized that if I went out that night, I would be tired all week and we had a full schedule for my last week in Prague that I didn't want to miss out on because I was tired and hung over. One thing I will say about the actual course is that I felt like a lot of people forgot we were there for a course and school. I was representing my university and my country - I didn't want to be incapable of participating.

September 18th, 2017

This was probably the most interesting day for me. We learned about Czech Republic Foreign Policy from two different sources: academic and from the Minister of Foreign Affairs himself. It was such a juxtaposition to see the differences in how someone who held office had to discuss the positions versus how someone who was free to critique did.
Group shot!

We were also given a tour of the Foreign Affairs building which was really cool. They had high ceilings and that is definitely something I love more than anything else in this world. I really enjoyed this day.
Look at me really paying attention while also knowing the camera was on me and posing