Blog Tour: Half in Love With Death by Emily Ross

Half in Love with Death
by Emily Ross
Publisher: Merit Press
Release Date: December 18th 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Synopsis
It’s the era of peace and love in the 1960s, but nothing is peaceful in Caroline’s life. Since her beautiful older sister disappeared, fifteen-year-old Caroline might as well have disappeared too. She’s invisible to her parents, who can’t stop blaming each other. The police keep following up on leads even Caroline knows are foolish.The only one who seems to care about her is Tony, her sister’s older boyfriend, who soothes Caroline’s desperate heart every time he turns his magical blue eyes on her.Tony is convinced that the answer to Jess’s disappearance is in California, the land of endless summer, among the runaways and flower children. Come with me, Tony says to Caroline, and we’ll find her together. Tony is so loving, and all he cares about is bringing Jess home. And so Caroline follows, and closes a door behind her that may never open again.Inspired by the disturbing case of Charles Schmid, ‘the Pied Piper of Tucson’, Half in Love with Death is a heartfelt thriller that never lets up.

Review:
I was a little iffy on this book when I first saw it. It didn’t look like something I’d be into, so I passed on it. Later, when I looked at the synopsis, I was very intrigued.

I took a chance with this book because normally historical fiction is not what I reach for when I want to read. However, after a slow start, this book hooked me in and did not let go of me the rest of the book. It was the kind of book you need to be patient with because it was a bit slow in the beginning and I found myself frustrated at both the pacing and the characters.

I think that’s why it took me so long to read a book that’s not even 300 pages.

Caroline was a fascinating character to me. She was maddening, but she also clearly loved her sister, so she was in a near constant state of conflict. Her parents were cold and distant with her. Maybe that was part of the 60’s parenting thing, I have no clue. Caroline also had boy problems. She had Billy, but she also starts falling for Jess’ boyfriend, Tony.

But is Tony innocent?

As the book continues, things get very creepy and questions begin to arise about Tony, about his friends and about whether or not Jess is actually in California like everyone else seems to think she is.

This book was a slow start, but it ended up being very enjoyable and it left me questioning everything and even wanting more after I finished reading it. I am giving it 4 stars because outside of the slow start, it was a VERY enjoyable book and I’m really glad I took a chance on it.

About the Author

Emily Ross’s YA mystery/thriller HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH is forthcoming from Merit Press(12/2015). She received a 2014 MCC Artist Fellowship finalist award for fiction, and is a graduate of Grub Street’s Novel Incubator program. When not writing she works as a web developer and is the mother of two millennials. Find out more at http://www.emilyrosswrites.com/ or https://twitter.com/emilyross816.

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Blog Tour: Very In Pieces by Megan Frazer Blakemore

Very in Pieces
by Megan Frazer Blakemore
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: September 29th 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

 

Synopsis:

 Very Sales-Woodruff is done being a good girl. Done being the only responsible one in a family that’s unraveling. Done being the obliging girlfriend in a relationship that’s sinking. Done saying no to what she wants—like Dominic, her rebellious classmate.

With her mom’s drinking, her dad’s extended absences from home, and her younger sister, Ramona, running wild, the path Very has always seen for herself doesn’t seem to matter anymore. At the same time, Very’s grandmother, a poet known less for her work and more for her exploits with the likes of Andy Warhol and Arthur Miller, is slipping away.

If everything else can fall to pieces, why can’t she?

Follow the Very In Pieces by Megan Frazer Blakemore Blog Tour and don’t miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Megan Frazer Blakemore is an author for children and young adults. She lives with her husband and children in Maine. She has worked in both school and public libraries, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in library science at Simmons SLIS.

2 winners will receive a signed copy of Very In Pieces and a signed copy of Secrets of Truth and Beauty by Megan Frazer Blakemore (US Only)

1 winner will receive a signed copy of Very In Pieces and a signed copy of Secrets of Truth and Beauty by Megan Frazer Blakemore (INT)

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Blog Tour: Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler

Book Title: Under the Lights (Daylight Falls #2)

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: June 30th 2015

Genre: GLBT, Young Adult/New Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents’ wealth, and the occasional modeling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls…opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he’s trying to charm her, of course.) Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he’s in the spotlight—on everyone’s terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.

Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents’ disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she’s painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van’s life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she’ll have to choose between the one thing she’s always loved…and the person she never imagined she could.

Guest Post

I have a slight confession: I’m not a huge movie person. I know that’s odd coming from someone who writes Hollywood YA, and it’s even odder if you know how frequently I saw movies during high school and seminary. But as an adult, my attention span somehow just won’t stay in place for a movie like it will for a book, which means every year I see maybe one or two, and then I’m one of those jerks livetweeting the Oscars with occasional mentions of how I have no idea what’s going on.

But I digress! I was asked to write about my favorite movies, and dammit, I will deliver. So what if they all came out prior to 2010? These are the best of the best, and as such, they’re truly timeless.

Legally Blonde: I actually just rewatched this with my critique partner, This is Where it Ends author Marieke Nijkamp, and I still absolutely love it. It’s just the most phenomenally feminist movie, with scene after scene of women supporting each other, working on advancing themselves career-wise, screwing up and owning it…and then you have this romantic storyline where the good, supportive, non-judgmental guy wins. It’s basically my favorite things, all rolled in to one.

The Usual Suspects: If you’ve read the Daylight Falls books, you might notice something they have in common—Josh watches this movie in both of them. It’s his favorite, and for good reason: it’s also mine! I could say more about why I love it so much, both personally and for Josh, but I have a no-spoiler policy on this one. Yes, even 20 years later.

Bring it On: I have seen this movie so many times, but while I have a lot of favorite parts involving cheers, romance, and the dearly departed Natina Reed, there’s a single dialogue exchange from this movie that blew my mind hwne I first heard it, and that I still think is so important, and actually really relevant to Vanessa in Under the Lights. When Torrance and Missy are in the car, Missy says, “Look on the bright side—it’s only cheerleading!” to which Torrance responds, “I am only cheerleading!” And I thought that was fantastic. Some people live and breathe their passions in a way that’s incredible to me, even when other people dismiss them as insignificant. They stand tall and proud for what they love, what’s in their bones. They’re obsessed. And I think that is so cool. To me, that’s exactly Van trying to explain to her parents why her acting is so important and how much she believes in what she’s doing. They don’t get it, and she can’t make them, but she also can’t stop, won’t stop.

Empire Records: I don’t even know how many times my friends and I watched this in our teens, but it was a lot. If there’s a movie more gloriously quotable on the planet, I don’t know it. I think Ally and Van would’ve loved watching it together if it wasn’t before their time. Damn kids—get off my lawn.

LA Confidential: I may write about thoroughly modern Hollywood, but this James Ellroy-novel based film Noir looking back on more glamorous times (though a veil of darkness and corruption, of course) was my first great intro into life “behind the scenes.” Of course, the bribery, masquerading, and deceit are a little more hardcore and high-stakes in the movie that really introduced Guy Pearce to America and reunited me with my Usual Suspectslove, Kevin Spacey, but I think Josh, Liam, and Van would be more than happy to participating in a reenactment!

Follow the Under The Lights by Dahlia Adler Blog Tour and don’t miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

I’m an Associate Editor of Mathematics by day, a Copy Editor by night, and I blog at The Daily Dahlia, YA Misfits, and the Barnes & Noble book blog. I also write contemporary YA (The Daylight Falls duology) and NA (The Radleigh University series). Rec-ing books is approximately my favorite thing in the universe, with macarons being a close second. Come say hi on Twitter, where I’m @MissDahlELama!

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