In Her Skin Blog Tour: Author Guest Post and Giveaway

ABOUT THE BOOK

In Her Skin by Kim Savage
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Release Date: April 17, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery

Synopsis: A dark, suspenseful young adult novel about crime, identity, and two girls with ever y- thing to lose.

Fifteen-year-old con artist Jo Chastain takes on her biggest heist yet — impersonating a missing girl. Life on the streets of Boston these past few years hasn’t been easy, and s he hopes to cash in on a little safety, some security. She finds her opportunity with the Lovecrafts, a wealthy family tied to the unsolved disappearance of Vivienne Weir, who vanished when she was nine.

When Jo takes on Vivi ’ s identity and stages the girl ’ s miraculous return, the Love-crafts welcome her with open arms. They give her everything she could want: love, money, and proximity to their intoxicating and unpredictable daughter, Temple. But nothing is as it seems in the Lovecraft household — and some secrets refuse to stay buried. When hidden crimes come to the surface and lines of deception begin to blur, Jo must choose to either hold on to an illusion of safety or escape the danger around her before it ’ s too late. In Her Skin is Kim Savage at her most suspenseful yet.

GUEST POST / MINI INTERVIEW

I asked the author Kim Savage to talk more about her writing process for a mystery/heist novel. Here are her answers to my questions/

What are the steps to writing a heist novel?

1. Create a character who is savvy but vulnerable. The reader needs to care!
2. Give her skills that can only get her so far.
3. Give her a formidable opponent to create conflict. Dear reader, meet Temple Lovecraft.

How do you start?

With In Her Skin, I started with the motivation of the Lovecrafts. How could they be fooled by an obvious con? Jo’s eyes are a different color than Vivi’s, she doesn’t recall the same memories, and her kidnapping story has holes. I realized the question wasn’t how they could be fooled, but why would they choose to be.

Do you have to plot it out or can you pants it?

I write chapters with bullets, then lay down the bones of a story in a messy first draft. You really can't pants suspense, or you'd end up with logic problems. At least I can’t!

I hope that has interested you in reading the book. Having finished it myself I can definitely say she achieved that goal in writing a book about why someone would want to be tricked. If you want more info on my thoughts on the book, come back tomorrow for my full review.

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads /  Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository / Kobo / IndieBound / iBooks

TOUR SCHEDULE

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KIM SAVAGE is the author of three critically acclaimed young adult novels, After the Woods, Beautiful Broken Girls (named by Kirkus as one of the 10 Best YA of 2017), and In Her Skin (releasing March 27, 2018), all with Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Macmillan. He r novels have been published in Spain, Brazil, and Turkey, and have been optioned for TV. Kim presents at conferences and book festivals natio n- wide; has been featured on NPR, Herald Radio, and on local cable stations; and she reads from her novels at bookstores across the country. A former reporter with a Master degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, Kim's stories are based in and around Boston. She lives with her family near Boston, not far from the real Middlesex Fells Reservation of After the Woods. Kim and her husband have three children, each of whom beg to appear in her books. They shouldn't.

GIVEAWAY

Prize :1 finished copy of IN HER SKIN by Kim Savage (US Only)

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Waiting on Wednesday: The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Cheerleaders Published: July 31, 2018 by Delacorte (Random House) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook. First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost. That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all. There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

Why I'm Waiting:

I have read Thomas' first two YA mysteries and they were both really good. I loved the way they unfolded, laying out clues, and then hit us with a surprising twist. They're also really love the way that she creates atmospheric settings and think they make the perfect tone for mysteries. All that just makes me really interested in reading another of her mysteries

But even if I wasn't interested in reading another book by this author I would still want to read this book. First of all there is a really interesting mystery here. I am so intrigued about what happened to the cheerleaders in this town and why. I feel like there is definitely going to be a really dark story here which I am all about. It sounds really fantastic.

I love ready mysteries in the summer, they are my perfect beach reads. I can't wait to read this one. I'm hoping to get approved for an e-ARC of this one on Netgalley. I'm excited for my beach trips now that I am back in Rhode Island. This will absolutely a book I bring with me.

What about you? What are you waiting for this Wednesday? Are you waiting on The Cheerleaders along with me? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Loved but Would Not Read Again

A weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

1.) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
This book is amazing and I seriously loved it but it was also super traumatic. Like it wrecked me for a really long time and I don't really want that pain again. I'm sure you can understand.

2.) The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak
Speaking of not wanting the pain again, this book was also super traumatic. It took me a really long time to read it even after hearing nothing but amazing things even from people who don't really read a lot of fiction. It was worth the wait but never again.

3.) Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham
I loved this book so much it was one of my favorite books of last year. But I don't honestly have much interest to read it again. It was really good though.

4.) Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
The best part about this book is the big reveal. You would lose something if you read it a second time because there isn't any big surprise, just all the clues you didn't see the first time around.

5.) A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
I may actually reread this one but the series is seriously so long. If Winds of Winter ever gets a release date and I have a month to devote to the series then sure.

6.) The Luxe Series by Anna Godberson
I read this series a really long time ago and loved it. But I have a feeling that if I were to read it again I wouldn't like it as much. I want to have an idealized view of this series.

7.) The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
This is another book which has a big twist in the end which would be totally wrecked if I read it again. I mean frankly I am a little interested because the ending was super confusing and reading it again may clarify things.

8.) The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Another mystery. Are you noticing a trend? You just can't reread a mystery. This one was really good and I loved it but I think if I were to read it again it would become far less complex.

9.) Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
It took me a really long time to read this book. In fact, it took me two tries to finish it. I loved it in the end and I'm really glad I did finish it, but I definitely will not read it again.

10.) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Started with a book that was traumatizing, and finished with a book that was traumatizing. This book was great but also really upsetting, so upsetting that I don't want to restart it.

There you have it. All the books I loved but won't read again. What books made your list? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Book Review: The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenborough

Title: The Game of Love and Death Written by: Martha Brockenbrough Published: April 28, 201 by Scholastic (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Antony and Cleopatra. Helen of Troy and Paris. Romeo and Juliet. And now... Henry and Flora. For centuries Love and Death have chosen their players. They have set the rules, rolled the dice, and kept close, ready to influence, angling for supremacy. And Death has always won. Always. Could there ever be one time, one place, one pair whose love would truly tip the balance? Meet Flora Saudade, an African-American girl who dreams of becoming the next Amelia Earhart by day and sings in the smoky jazz clubs of Seattle by night. Meet Henry Bishop, born a few blocks and a million worlds away, a white boy with his future assured—a wealthy adoptive family in the midst of the Great Depression, a college scholarship, and all the opportunities in the world seemingly available to him. The players have been chosen. The dice have been rolled. But when human beings make moves of their own, what happens next is anyone’s guess. Achingly romantic and brilliantly imagined, The Game of Love and Death is a love story you will never forget.

I have wanted to read this book for awhile now. It sounds like a book totally up my alley and I have heard really good things from people. And even after I was given a copy of the book as a gift almost a year ago I still didn't take the time to read it until now. I honestly regret that because this book was completely fantastic!

One of the things I liked most about this book was the characters. This book had seriously fantastic characters. When we are talking about a book that involves Love and Death you have to know that there was going to be some complex characters and they definitely were. Love and Death were intimately involved in the book and I seriously loved them both. It would have been so easy for them to make Death a completely evil character and Love to be a completely good but the author didn't do that. She made Death incredibly sympathetic at the same time she was devious and terrible. And she made Love make some incredibly bad decisions making him much more odious than you would expect. I loved that about this book and it made for some great characters.

Speaking of great characters, there were the main characters who I totally loved. As their champions. they were just as complex as Love and Death. Flora was tough and determined despite her circumstances, but she was also kind and loving. Henry was smart, compassionate, and a great friend but he was also sometimes selfish and with tunnel vision. But they were both very likable. In the course of the book you got incredibly invested in them and their struggles. There are some books where you have characters who seriously can't catch a break and this was one of them. It made the characters all the more sympathetic. And it made the romance all the more enjoyable. Yes, that's right, I liked the romance. It wasn't perfect but by the end I was so invested that I just had such unexpected feels.

Speaking of that ending, it was a really fantastic one. The plot on the whole here was really fantastic. It was kind of a subtle plot. It's not really the kind of book with thrilling adventure scenes or major suprises but it did have a few moments of the two. And it's also not the book that is a quiet character driven read. It kind of walks the line between the two and it does it brilliantly. It was the kind of book that draws you in with it's plot. I do think that it airs more on the side of character-driven though. it's the kind of read where the decisions characters make impact the story and the lives of others. None more so then Love and Death. it was kind of reminiscent of Classics where the gods would mess with lives of humans for their own enjoyment or because they had other reasons. I loved that about those stories and this one. It made for a completely engaging read.

But I read this book as part of my historical fiction month so I have to talk about the historical setting. For one thing this is the second book I read recently that involved planes and while that one was much more detailed and historical, this was had just as good a setting. I loved being able to see the jazz clubs and some of the other more specific things that were happening during 1937. I loved how the author took well known events like the crashing of the Hindenburg and Amelia Earhart going missing in the context of Love and Death's meddling. I love when books take real events and add fiction aspects and this book did that really well. It also did a really good job of incorporating some themes of the time. It didn't beat you over the head with them, it just really let you know what the world was like at the time.

All in all this was a completely brilliant and engaging read. I loved the complex characters, the engaging plot development, and an interesting historical setting. I totally loved it and I wish that I had read it years ago, it was great.

I give The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough 9.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. If you haven't read this book yet and you like historical fiction then definitely pick this book up. But even if you don't like the genre and want to read a character-driven read with complex characters. I seriously loved this book and would recommend it to everyone.

Have you read The Game of Love and Death? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: Nothing But Sky by Amy Trueblood

Title: Nothing But Sky Written by: Amy Trueblood Published: March 27, 2018 by Flux (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: "Amy Trueblood takes an overlooked page in history, folds it into an intense drama, and sends it soaring. Post World War I wing walker Grace Lafferty is the kind of spunky, stubborn heroine that will make readers feel like the sky's the limit." —Stacey Lee, award winning author of OUTRUN THE MOON A 2018 Junior Library Guild selection. Grace Lafferty only feels alive when she's dangling 500 feet above ground. As a post-World War I wing walker, Grace is determined to get to the World Aviation Expo, proving her team’s worth against flashier competitors and earning a coveted Hollywood contract. No one’s ever questioned Grace’s ambition until Henry Patton, a mechanic with plenty of scars from the battlefield, joins her barnstorming team. With each new death-defying trick, Henry pushes Grace to consider her reasons for being a daredevil. Annoyed with Henry’s constant interference, and her growing attraction to him, Grace continues to test the powers of the sky. After one of her risky maneuvers saves a pilot’s life, a Hollywood studio offers Grace a chance to perform at the Expo. She jumps at the opportunity to secure her future. But when a stunt goes wrong, Grace must decide whether Henry, and her life, are worth risking for one final trick.

When I first heard about this book I instantly knew I needed to read it. It's a total me book, between the historical setting and unique plot with complex characters. And while I did enjoy aspects of this book it didn't really blow me away.

One of the only things that did work for me was the historical setting. I love reading historical fiction novels that involve a historical period or something from history that isn't often discussed and talked about. This book did exactly that. Books set in the 1920's are not uncommon but books about barnstorming totally are. It's a concept that I didn't know much about and loved learning about here. The author clearly did her research and immersed the reader in the world of what it was like for aviators at the time period. I will say, there was a lot of information that got a little too technical at times but I don't think it was too overwhelming. It made for an interesting and really engaging setting for this book.

Unfortunately it didn't quite deliver on the next part of that world-building which was the plot development. It had a really good jumping off point with the barnstorming and World Aviation Expo but it didn't quite take it all to the next level. Now don't get me wrong, there were plenty of action packed moments that had me totally engaged but those moments were few and far between. On the whole I think the plot felt a little basic and not completely developed, which made for a really fast read but not as an in-depth read that I would have hoped.

But I think my biggest issue with this book was with the romance. You guys know me, I am a cold-hearted romancephobe and it takes a lot to impress me. This books seriously did not impress me in the romance department. I don't know if it's because I didn't ever really like the romantic lead or because it just developed out of nowhere. It wasn't necessarily instalove, it just escalated so quickly. And the romance really did take a lot of focus of the book. I could have been okay if it had been more minimized.

The other thing that exacerbated my dislike of the romance was my feelings on the characters. On the whole, there were some super odious character which I usually appreciate. Here there were some characters I liked more than others. Some were complex and surprising while others were just frustrating. Like for example, I kept thinking how the male lead had been a total misogynist earlier in the book. He had okay development but it never quite won me over. I did like main character though. She was completely likable and I admired her determination to do more for herself and others. The fact that I liked her and disliked him made the romance even more frustrating. I just think I didn't love these characters.

All in all I think this was an okay read but I just didn't love it. It had a great setting and historical aspect but the plot was basic and the characters were a bit hit or miss for me.

I give Nothing But Sky by Amy Trueblood 7.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow/Bypass. If you are a fan of historical romances and are looking for a fast and basic read maybe snag this one from the library. I didn't love it but it was an interesting enough read.

Have you read Nothing But Sky? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Top Ten Tuesday - Characters I Liked from Books I Didn’t Love

A weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

1.) Nora in The League of American Traitors by Matthew Landis - My Review
I was super pumped to read a historical mystery about traitors and dealing a bit with the American Revolution. There were some really great odious characters in this book especially Nora. She was my favorite.

2.) Kate in Girl in Disguise by Greer Mcallister - My Review
After reading this book I realized I just don't like this author's style. But I did really like the main character of Kate. How could the first female Pinkerton detective not be amazing (spoiler: she was amazing).

3.) Alex in Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova - My Review
I had super high hopes for this YA Fantasy but it didn't impress me as much and I would have hoped. But I did enjoy the main character. Her desire to get her family back and make up for her mistakes was super relatable.

4.) Lucy in Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung - My Review
I didn't love this book because it was a little bit slower and more character-driven than I usually like. But I did like Lucy as a main character. She's compassionate and caring which made it easy to like her.

5.) Anna in American Girls by Alison Umminger - My Review
This book was fine, I liked it enough, but it didn't blow me away. What I did like about the main character though was that she was a totally realistic teenage girl. She was kind of an unlikable protagonist but that is why I liked her.

6.) All the secondary characters in Cure for the Common rUniverse by Christian Heidecker - My Review
I really did not like this book. One of the main reasons was because I did not like the main character, he was the literal worst. The secondary characters were great though. They were fun and likable.

7.) Fei in Soundless by Richelle Mead - My Review
I didn't think the plot in this book was great but I did like the characters. Fei was a good main character in that she was an unlikely heroine and I am a fan of that.

8.) Mori in Lock and Mori by Heather W. Petty - My Review
Probably I didn't like this book because I don't like Sherlock Holmes (DON'T AT ME!). Probably I liked Mori because I didn't like Lock.

9.) Cyn in The Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Hermann - My Review
I did not enjoy this book. There were way too many character perspectives and because of that some characters got more attention than they should have and others got less. I wanted more from Cyn. She was fascinating.

10.) Aaron in More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera - My Review
I didn't hate this book. In fact I liked it way more than I thought I would based on some of the things that happened. But I did like the main character. He was geeky and relateable.

11.) Bree in Taken by Erin Bowman - My Review
I've loved Erin's historical novels but her dystopians were not great. And this is one of those books where I did not like the main character but the secondary characters were really interesting.

12.) Ridley in Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - My Review
I really did not like this book. It was predictable, cliché, and the way it ended was super frustrating. I didn't like most of the characters but Ridley was super fun.

March Wrap Up and April TBR

Read in March: Historical Fiction

Well, all things considered that wasn't too bad a month. I read a total of 12 books, which for what I did last month that is huge. I'll be honest, I didn't do a lot of posts and I read a lot of short books and rereads but it is actually good to have read a dozen books in a month. I have not been reading a lot lately so the fact that I had a decent month in March, one that felt more like my reading output a year ago.

For challenges, this year I'm sort of only low key doing challenges. I set a Goodreads goal of reading 120 books in a year. I am surprisingly on track for that with 30 books total for the year. I still want to pick up steam a little but I feel good about it. For the rest of the challenges I only low key set them. I want to read 20 debuts this year. I read two this month so I'm at 5 total for the year which is also on track. I want to read 36 books from Netgalley and Edelweiss and I read 3 this month which brings my total up to 6 for the year. I haven't really been reading e-books lately so I am still behind on this one but we'll see. I also want to read 20 backlist books. This month I read 2 which brings my total to 6 for the year so I'm doing well on that.

The Books

 

1.) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Rating: 9.5 out of 10 [Original Review]

2.) The Radical Element by Jessica Spotswood and more Rating: 9 out of 10 [My Review]
3.) Opal by Maggie Steivater  Rating: 8.5 out of 10
4.)  Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Rating: 9/5 out of 10 [My Review]
5.) The Wicked Deep by Shae Earnshaw Rating: 8.5 out of 10 [My Review]
6.) Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff  Rating: 10 out of 10 [My Review]
7.) Chaotic Good by Whitney Gardner Rating: 8.5 out of 10 [My Review]
8.) The Arsonist by Stephanie Oakes Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars [My Review]
9.) Bygone Badass Broads by Mackenzi Lee Rating: out of 10 [My Review]

10.) Runaways Vol. 7: Live Fast by Brian K. Vaughn,
Adrian Alphona, and Mike Norton Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
11.) Nothing but Sky by Amy Trueblood Rating: 8 out of 10 stars [Review to Come]
12.) The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenborough
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars [Review to Come]

To Be Read in April: Contemporary

My goal was to read a dozen books in March and I did just that. yes, sure, I didn't read all the books I planned to read but still. I'd like to do that again in April so let's see. There are a few books I am super excited about  and I have a handful of audiobooks planned so I may be able to do it. Let us see.

Books for Review

In Her Skin by Kim Savage  - Add to Goodreads

I started this one over the weekend and I am not too far in but I am enjoying it. It's a short read and I am hoping to finish it by the end of the week.

Sky in the Deep by Adrian Young - Add to Goodreads

I am so excited for this book. It is my most anticipated debut and I have been waiting to read it! It is finally the time and I CAN'T WAIT!

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian  - Add to Goodreads
Another debut I am really excited to read that I have been waiting on. This book comes out later in the month and I am excited to read it. I mean I love a good YA fantasy.

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles - Add to Goodreads

I have an e-ARC of this one and it sounds like a really interesting and diverse contemporary. I am hoping to get to it if I can get through some of the other e-books first.

New Releases

Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter - Add to Goodreads

I love me some Ally Carter and I am super excited for her next contemporary mystery/thriller. This book came out a week ago and I have a copy I need to read. 

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli - Add to Goodreads

I love me some Becky Albertalli books. She is so great at balancing the fun and lighthearted with serious. I'm so pumped for a Leah book too.

People Like Us by Dana Mele - Add to Goodreads
This is another mystery/thriller I am really excited to read and another debut I am exited about. I mean I love that it's a mystery and it takes place at a boarding school.

Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray - Add to Goodreads
I loved Defy the Stars and I am super excited for the sequel. I am probably going to snag the audiobook for this one when it comes back tomorrow.

White Rabbit by Caleb Roehring - Add to Goodreads
I loved Caleb's debut and I am really interested to read his next book. It comes out at the end of the month and I may or may not pick up a copy.

Backlist Books

This Darkness Mine by Mindy McGinnis - Add to Goodreads
I have been wanting to read this book for ages. I loved Mindy's last contemporary and I want to read this one. I mean I've had a copy for so long and still haven't read it.

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia - Add to Goodreads
I love books with nerdy characters and books which balance fun and light with serious. I feel like this book is like that. Plus I feel like I will definitely be able to relate a little to Eliza.

The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne - Add to Goodreads
I have been wanting to read this since before it came out and I always have some excuse for why I can't. Hopefully this month I won't have any excuses.


There you have it. Some of the books I hope to read in April. As always, these are subject to change. I may read all of these or I may only read a few and then read a bunch of different ones. But honestly I think this list I can stick to. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!