Bunt! Was such a fun read! I’ve been loving the graphic novels coming out recently, and Bunt! was no different. Molly pulls together a ragtag team of art students to create a softball team with hopes of gaming their college’s financial aid system.
I adored all of the characters in this, each of them unique, and I would love to part of this friend group (minus the whole softball thing).
SYNOPSIS: Molly Bauer’s first year of college is not the picture-perfect piece of art she’d always envisioned. On day one at PICA, Molly discovers that—through some horrible twist of fate—her full-ride scholarship has vanished! But the ancient texts (PICA’s dusty financial aid documents) reveal a loophole. If Molly and 9 other art students win a single game of softball, they’ll receive a massive athletic scholarship. Can Molly’s crew of ragtag artists succeed in softball without dropping the ball?
The author of the New York Times best-selling Check, Please series, Ngozi Ukazu returns with debut artist Madeline Rupert to bring an energetic young adult story about authenticity, old vs. new, and college failure. It also poses the question: “Is art school worth it?”
This was such a sweet book. The illustrations are gorgeous and this definitely has me wanting to make some soup.
SYNOPSIS: This rhythmic, joyous picture book from Natalie Daise, the co-star of the hit Nickelodeon show “Gullah Gullah Island,” celebrates a special day of father-son cooking, and serves up a love letter to food, family, Gullah Geechee culture, and tradition—and includes the author’s own recipe! For fans of Fry Bread, My Papi Has a Motorcycle, and Thank You, Omu!
Papa has something special planned for tonight’s family dinner—and Bobo can’t wait! Excited to learn how to make okra stew like his ancestors, Bobo helps Papa pick veggies from the garden, catch shrimp from the creek, rain down rice in the pot, simmer the stew, and even make a tasty side of cornbread. When the stew begins to bubble and pop, Bobo and his family gather around for a mouthwatering feast.
I’m currently reading Mermaids Never Drown – an anthology of stories about mermaids. I have absolutely been loving each author’s version of the mermaid tale.
14 Young Adult short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors make a splash in Mermaids Never Drown – the second collectionin theUntold Legends series edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker – exploring mermaids like we’ve never seen them before!
A Vietnamese mermaid caught between two worlds. A siren who falls for Poseidon’s son. A boy secretly pining for the merboy who saved him years ago. A storm that brings humans and mermaids together. Generations of family secrets and pain.
Find all these stories and more in this gripping new collection that will reel you in from the very first page! Welcome to an ocean of hurt, fear, confusion, rage, hope, humor, discovery, and love in its many forms.
Say I Do, Sunshine was such a fun, feel good, reverse grumpy-sunshine romcom read.
I loved Bellamy – all sass and not afraid to speak her mind. Definitely one of my favorite characters! And while the romance and steam were great, I would totally read a buddy comedy between Bellamy and her friend and business partner Veronica.
Thank you to Turn the Page Tours and Taylor Wilson-West for having me on the tour for Taylor’s debut novel!
Favorite quote:
And for the record, I don’t need a diet to look better than you in that gaudy dress.
Let the record show: Fat girl 1, jealous Barbie, 0.
SYNOPSIS: A plus-size, chronic people avoider is blindsided by an upbeat, never take no for an answer Veteran who is determined to break down her walls and claim her flaws and all.
Bellamy Drummon doesn’t have time for relationships. She’s too busy making a life for herself outside of the toxic environment she grew up in. Now part of a renowned wedding planning duo with her best friend, ‘Fixin’ To I Do’ gets their very first celebrity client. If this wedding goes perfectly, they may end up with a storefront and clientele of their very own.
Veteran Aaron Lark just wants to find his purpose again. After nearly ten years in the military, he never thought of life…after. When his sister’s company gets a celebrity bridal client and she hires him for private security, he can’t believe his luck. Because the beauty who told him off at the bar just the night before happens to be one of the bride’s wedding planners. He’s immediately drawn to the assertive woman who speaks her mind and obviously can’t stand him.
Will Bellamy remain impassive to Aaron’s charms? Or will their forced time together blossom into something…more?
I find there are some stories that are so much more poignant as graphic novels than the could ever be as regular novels. Thien Pham’s Family Style is one of those stories.
It’s amazing how food can bring back memories and define a time in your life. While this is a story about finding happiness, it is also about how food can create a sense of belonging.
For Thien, its potato chips when the family moves to California. In my area, cheesesteaks and water ice oooh…and Wawa!) are what bring a community together.
SYNOPSIS:
A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy’s search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do!
Thien’s first memory isn’t a sight or a sound. It’s the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It’s the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam.
After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don’t get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien’s mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity.
Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search– for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream.
Thank you Turn the Page Tours for having me on this tour! Family Style is available now – head to the link in my bio to order your copy.
If you’re looking for hot firefighters, colleagues romance/forced proximity, I cannot recommend The Firefighter’s Dilemma enough. Stephanie Diaz and Eli Ward are both firefighters in Colorado and are invited to participate in the first ever streaming Battle of the First Responders.
While the duo is in tough competition amongst other first responders, feelings build behind the scenes between Diaz and Ward. The smexy scenes were steamy – Diaz and Ward had some serious chemistry between them!
I honestly fell in love with these two. I was routing for them in the Battle of the First Responders challenges and as a couple.
The Firefighter’s Dilemma is the third book int the Mile High Firefighters series, but can definitely be read as a standalone!
Thank you to Turn the Page Tours for a copy of this book and including me on this tour (even if I am really late posting the review!).
Firefighter Stephanie Díaz won’t let anyone stop her from becoming the youngest female fire chief in Denver. Not the jerks who’d like to see an ambitious Latine woman admit defeat. Not the ultra-bro firefighters she has to work with. And definitely not her ridiculously hot and often infuriating, fellow firefighter Eli Ward. Now Stephanie has the chance to prove to everyone that she’s got what it takes…but there’s one helluva catch.
The Battle of the First Responders is a live, balls-out competition in the secluded Rockies and Stephanie has been selected—along with Ward as her partner. On the line are their reputations, a whole lot of cash…and the promotion they’ve been fighting for. Teaming up is the perfect chance to finally settle their never ending one-upmanship, but it also exposes the smoldering attraction they’ve held at bay.
Now their days are fueled by a high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled competition. Their nights are filled with sizzling deep kisses that steal her breath away. But this sexy little fling is about to set off a five-alarm blaze she can’t control…
A Little Too Familiar was a cute read! I absolutely loved Lou and her friends and little found family. Granted, the ferrets stole every scene they were in and turned out to be some of my favorite characters in this book.
There were a couple of twists thrown in, but I guessed them pretty early on. That’s didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride, though.
Thank you to Turn the Page Tours and Lish McBride for the review copy!
Synopsis:
Love brings out the animal in you.
Louise Matthews has got it good. Wonderful job? Check. Loving family? The best. Roommates? Pretty fantastic, thank you. All of this helps her stay focused on what she wants: to finish out her apprenticeship and become a fully licensed Switch-an animal mage who bonds familiars to their witches.
Only a problem has just moved in-a hot, occasionally wolf-shaped problem.
Declan Mackenzie doesn’t want to be a lone wolf, but he doesn’t have a choice. Girlfriend? Gone. Sister? Starting a new life. Parents? In prison where they belong, thankfully. All he wants is a fresh start-new home, new job, new life. What he gets is a house full of witches, a fledgling phoenix named Dammit, and rogue ferrets who won’t stay out of his business.
And he could handle all of that if it wasn’t for Louise. It’s not great to crush on your roommate. It’s even worse when you realize she wields the kind of magic that sends you running for the door.
Still, Declan is no pup, and he’s not going to let this set him back..
Until the past comes back to haunt him-the parents he put in jail have busted out. They want revenge.
And the only thing standing between them and Declan is Louise and the very magic he vowed never to go near again.
Lish McBride is a writer, former bookseller, and amateur goblin living in the PNW. In the crime of the century, she tricked not one but two universities into giving her degrees, ending up with an MFA from the University of New Orleans. (They cannot have it back, either, as she has invoked the ancient law of “no backsies.”) When she is not writing or reading, she’s usually hanging out with her family and friends…and talking about writing or reading. Her ultimate dream is to have her own castle and one of the libraries with the wheely ladder.
You can find her online in all of the usual places under the handle @lishmcbride, usually posting pictures of her dogs.
I’ve recently found that I haven’t enjoyed YA romance as much as I used to. However, All the Right Reasons was definitely an exception to this – as the romance for the main character was definitely secondary to the rest of the story.
When Cara and her mom are cast for a dating reality show, they go into the show knowing there’s a payout on the other end. What they don’t expect is producers meddling in budding relationships.
I really enjoyed reading this book – although a lot of the conflicts could easily have been solved with a little communication. The budding relationship between Cara and Connor was super sweet and honest, and seeing how Cara’s mom, Julia, was considering her potential suitors.
I did really like the ending. Although I did kind of guess the surprise twist, I still swooned and couldn’t read it fast enough.
What happens when Hope Vale, an aspiring Vitiligo make-up artist who wants to eradicate the market of whitening products meets Spes Zrey, an arrogant Hugo-Boss awardee struggling to shape her Designer dream, as they envision reshaping Asia into the next fashion empire together?
Set in Malaysia, this Contemporary Fiction is all about the grueling ambition against all hurdles of reality to break the confinements of Gender and the stereotypes of preferred white beauty in Asia.
Kingston has moved back to Echo City, the last place his father was seen alive, and King is determined to find his father again. Except King’s Mom wants nothing to do with magic in their lives anymore.
But when King sees a reflection that looks like his Dad in the closed down theater he was last seen in, he makes a plan with his friends to break in and figure out what’s going on.
There were so many twists and turns in this book, and I was on the edge of my seat so often! I could not believe this was a middle grade book!
Leann Reads Books 