Blog Tour: A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti ~ Review & Giveaway

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Source: Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti

When everything has been taken from you, what else is there to do but run?

So that’s what Annabelle does—she runs from Seattle to Washington, DC, through mountain passes and suburban landscapes, from long lonely roads to college towns. She’s not ready to think about the why yet, just the how—muscles burning, heart pumping, feet pounding the earth. But no matter how hard she tries, she can’t outrun the tragedy from the past year, or the person—The Taker—that haunts her.

Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and two friends (her self-appointed publicity team), Annabelle becomes a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to the trauma from her past. Her cross-country run gains media attention and she is cheered on as she crosses state borders, and is even thrown a block party and given gifts. The support would be nice, if Annabelle could escape the guilt and the shame from what happened back home. They say it isn’t her fault, but she can’t feel the truth of that.

Through welcome and unwelcome distractions, she just keeps running, to the destination that awaits her. There, she’ll finally face what lies behind her—the miles and love and loss…and what is to come.

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I've loved Deb Caletti's books for a while now--since before I started blogging for sure. So now I eagerly await her releases so I can read them and talk about them and love them. And A Heart in a Body in the World is definitely one to love.

I'm hesitant to say too much specifically because going into this one with nothing more than the blurb has a serious effect. The story builds and sneaks up on you and punches you in the feels in the very best way.

So I'm going to make a short list of things that make A Heart in a Body in the World a wonderful novel:

- The characters. Annabelle, whom I am in awe of and also feel for. Her family. Her friends. 

- The story. Poignant and timely and so very striking.

- The writing. Deb Caletti crafted this novel beautifully. The entire book has an atmosphere abut it that builds and builds and them BAM I was crying and I loved this book and wow.

- How this book made me feel. Obviously this point is subjective. But while this book was making my eyes sweat, it was also twisting my heart in ways that weren't entirely hurtful. You know, thanks to the beauty of this story.

Overall, A Heart in a Body in the World is a striking, poignant novel that is not to be missed. I loved this one by Deb Caletti and I absolutely cannot wait to see what she has coming next.

4.5 stars - A beautifully written, striking novel that is not to be missed.

Deb Caletti is an award-winning author and National Book Award finalist. Her many books for young adults include The Nature of Jade, Stay, The Last Forever, Essential Maps for the Lost, and Honey, Baby Sweetheart, winner of the Washington State Book award, the PNBA Best Book Award, and a finalist for the California Young Reader Medal and the PEN USA Award. Her books for adults include He’s Gone, The Secrets She Keeps, and her most recent release, What’s Become of Her.

Deb grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, and now lives with her family in Seattle.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads

Three (3) winners will receive A Heart in a Body in the World! (US only)

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This is a tour-wide giveaway. StuckInBooks is not responsible for selecting winners or sending out prizes.

My Not So Super Sweet Life by Rachel Harris ~ Tour Stop & Giveaway

I'd like to welcome Rachel Harris to StuckInBooks.  I love Rachel's writing and am excited to have her here today.

~~~~~~

Thanks so much for having me, Valerie! As I’m sure you know by now, I completely adore you, and love your enthusiasm for books. You’re to blame for a large part of my one-click addiction. But, as addictions go, I happen to think hoarding books is an excellent one.

My Not So Super Sweet Life is live, and I’m so excited. This fun, digital companion to the series came about last year, and I didn’t even get to write it until late fall. It was one hundred percent fan driven, and I sincerely hope readers enjoy the conclusion to Cat and Lucas’s story in this special dual narrative book. It’s a bit different from the previous two in that way, giving you the full picture of their relationship as they deal with mama drama, insecurities, and the paparazzi.

It was so much fun to write.

To give you a little taste of this book, I interviewed the two lovebirds and asked where they like to hang out. You know, when photographers aren’t chasing them.   

Lucas & Cat's Top Five Places to Visit

·       UCLA’s Murphy Sculpture Garden – This spot serves as a swoon-filled setting for the couple

in My Not So Super Sweet Life. Growing up, Lucas traveled back and forth from Milan to Beverly Hills, never quite staying in one place too long. But this is a special place for him, and after a certain day he spends with Cat, it means even more. Filled with sculptures and rich in inspiration, it’s easy to see a pint-sized Lucas lighting up at the art.

·       Lyric – In A Tale of Two Centuries, Lucas made his stand with Cat outside this all-ages nightclub. He put his feelings on the line and vowed he wasn’t giving up. Not until she told him to. His incredible speech, along with his gift of art pencils that showed he really saw her, won her over that day, and the two make an excuse to revisit that spot, and those memories, as often as possible.

    

·       Austin’s beach house –  A site for one of Alessandra’s more memorable challenges in A Tale

of Two Centuries, this house became an escape—a haven—for Cat and Lucas in My Not So Super Sweet Life. The fact that they shared one of their steamiest kisses ever on the beach may or may not be a factor in their decision ;)

·       McDonald’s – Don’t let their money fool you. Cat and Lucas don’t do fancy or uptight. These two are all about comfort, family…and milk shakes from Cat’s beloved golden arches.

·       Mr. Scott’s Art Class— Though not the place they first met (that would be Cat’s sweet sixteen in My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century), their joint art class became a favorite meeting spot for the two in A Tale of Two Centuries, and that continues in book three. While Cat gravitates toward sketching, painting, and photography, Lucas is into sculpting and ceramics. But their talents know no bounds. Sharing a class together fires up their competitive edges, along with a healthy, flirtatious rivalry

So there you have it, Lucas and Cats top five places to hang out. Where do YOU like to hang out with your swoony boyfriends?   

 My Not So Super Sweet Life by Rachel Harris

Cat Crawford just wants to be normal—or at least as normal as a daughter of Hollywood royalty can be. And it looks like fate is granting her wish: she’s got an amazing boyfriend, Lucas; her fabulous cousin, Alessandra, living with her; and her dad planning his second marriage to a great future stepmom. That is, until her prodigal mother reveals on national television that she has something important to tell her daughter…causing a media frenzy.

Lucas Capelli knows his fate is to be with Cat, and he’s worked hard to win her over once and for all. Unfortunately, Lucas has his own issues to deal with, including a scandal that could take him away from the first place he’s truly belonged.

As secrets are revealed, rumors explode, and the world watches, Cat and Lucas discover it’s not fate they have to fight if they want to stay together…this time, it’s their own insecurities.

Well, and the stalkerazzi.

Still just 99¢

About Rachel:

As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels. As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends.

She grew up in New Orleans, watching soap operas with her grandmother and staying up late sneak reading her mam's favorite romance novels. Now a Cajun cowgirl living in Houston, she still stays up too late reading her favorite romances, only now, she can do so openly. She firmly believes life's problems can be solved with a hot, powdered-sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations.

She homeschools her two beautiful girls and loves watching reality television with her amazing husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult Fun, Flirty Escapes, and LOVES talking with readers!  

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

****GIVEAWAY****

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/21/2014- Jenna Does Books- Review

4/21/2014- Coffee, Books and Me- Interview

4/22/2014- Meredith & Jennifer's Musing- Review

4/22/2014- Vi3tbabe- Excerpt

4/23/2014- Pandora's Books- Review

4/23/2014- Stuck In Books- Guest Post

4/24/2014- The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club- Review

4/24/2014- Library of a Book Witch- Excerpt

4/25/2014- Every Free Chance Book Reviews- Review

4/25/2014- Book Loving Mom- Excerpt

Week Two:

4/28/2014- The Book Belles- Review

4/28/2014- Mercurial Musings- Excerpt

4/29/2014- Mundie Moms- Review

4/29/2014- The Cover Contessa- Guest Post

4/30/2014- Book Angel Booktopia- Review

4/30/2014- Swoony Boys Podcast- Interview

5/1/2014- Bookaholics Anonymous- Review

5/1/2014- TSK TSK What to Read- Excerpt

5/2/2014- Once upon a twilight- Review

5/2/2014- Fantasy Book Addict- Guest Post

 

Out of Play by Nyrae Dawn and Jolene Perry ~ Review

Welcome to my stop on the Out of Play tour!

Book Description:

Rock star drummer Bishop Riley doesn't have a drug problem. Celebrities—especially ones suffering from anxiety—just need a little help taking the edge off sometimes. After downing a few too many pills, Bishop wakes up in the hospital facing an intervention. If he wants to stay in the band, he’ll have to detox while under house arrest in Seldon, Alaska.　

Hockey player Penny Jones can't imagine a life outside of Seldon. Though she has tons of scholarship offers to all the best schools, the last thing she wants is to leave. Who'll take care of her absentminded gramps? Not her mother, who can’t even be bothered to come home from work, let alone deal with their new tenants next door.

Penny’s not interested in dealing with Bishop’s crappy attitude, and Bishop’s too busy sneaking pills to care. Until he starts hanging out with Gramps and begins to see what he’s been missing. If Bishop wants a chance with the fiery girl next door, he’ll have to admit he has a problem and kick it. Too bad addiction is hard to kick…and Bishop’s about to run out of time.

 My Thoughts:




4 stars -Never has 300 pages disappeared so quickly - devoured this one!

I'm not sure if I just needed this book right now or if it was just that good, but I just never had a books pages turn so much without me noticing.  I was just so into the story that I didn't notice how much or how long I'd read.  Oh course, these two are both gifted authors and when you put them together magic is bound to happen.

I loved the characters.  Bishop is in denial about his issues with drugs.  He's talented but he has some anxiety about crowds.  Doesn't really work that well for a drummer in a rock band.  He uses the drugs to deal until they start controlling him.  Because he doesn't think he has a problem, he goes to Alaska with attitude and resistance.  There he meets hockey player and tough girl, Penny.  She doesn't take his grumpiness without giving things right back to him.  Between her and her Gramps, he begins to see things he hasn't before.

I love that Bishop is a guy dealing with anxiety.  I love that while he struggles with that he still has these great things about him.  He gets Penny like no one else.  He sees her.  He's talented and I love how he is with the guys.  His relationship with Gramps is the best.  I love how he accepts and helps.  I love how he grows.  It wasn't easy.  There are no real good answers for this kind of issue.  It was real.  What made me sad was something he had to leave behind in the end.  I so wished he didn't have to.  Maybe it's me being idealistic but I wanted so much for him to...I can't say without spoiling.  But that doesn't mean I don't get the ending or that I don't like it.  I was happy.  It was real.

Penny is fabulous.  She's one tough cookie.  Don't tell her she can't cause she's a girl.  You will be eating her snow behind that snow machine of her's or hearing it with the tongue lashing she's gonna give ya.  That girl has one fiery temper.  But she's just what Bishop needs and he's just what she needs.  That same little issue with the ending had me with her too but it's all good.

As I said the story zipped along and I really enjoyed it.  Anxiety and depression issues are often very hard for me to read.  There are family members that struggle with these things and I often steer clear of books about these things.  I wasn't clear that it was such a big part of this book or I probably wouldn't have read it.  But that would have been too bad because I think I needed this one.

If you like YA and a great read, then this is one to pick up for sure.

About the authors:

About Nyrae:

Writing has always been Nyrae Dawn’s passion. There have been times in her life where she wasn’t able to chase that dream the way she desired, but she always found her way back to telling stories.

One of her loves has always been writing about teens. There’s something so fresh and fun about the age that she loves exploring. Her husband says it’s because she doesn’t want to grow up. She doesn’t think that’s such a bad thing and luckily for her, he doesn’t either.

Nyrae gravitates toward character-driven stories. She loves going on emotional journeys with characters whether it be reading or writing. And yes, she’s a total romantic at heart and proud.

Nyrae resides in sunny Southern California with her husband (who still makes her swoon) and her two awesome kids.

When she’s not with her family, you can be pretty sure you’ll find her with a book in her hand or her laptop and an open document in front of her.

She writes for Entangled Publishing, Grand Central Publishing and is self-published.

Nyrae is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.

About Jolene:

Jolene grew up in South-central Alaska. She’s lived in Anchorage, near the Alyeska ski resort, on a cabin on an island on a lake, and then in a boring old house.

Jolene kissed a boy on her high school graduation night. One she’d wanted to kiss for a long time. They got married two years later, have built two homes together, survived military deployments, law school, student loan debt, and two children.

Jolene plays the guitar, takes pictures, and loves to hike. She doesn’t like rivers, but loves the ocean. She loves to fly, but gets motion sick. Her ultimate vacation would be to sail through the deserted islands in The Bahamas. Two years ago, she got that wish when her parents retired on a sailboat.

She taught high school French when she was only a few years older than her students, and then taught middle school math with her degree in political science and French.

She spends grocery money on designer fabric, shoes, and books.
Jolene cannot express how many times she wished she could write a whole novel. And now she has. Many times. Life is good.

 ****GIVEAWAY****

An annotated bound copy of OUT OF PLAY US Only
3 eBooks of OUT OF Play (International)

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