The Book Voyagers

Not Your Villain is one of my most anticipated releases. Luckly I already read this and it was so much more that I was expecting. This series is out of this world and so so fun to read. I want a thousand books in this universe and I hope we get more! Today marks the start of the blog tour for Not Your Villain the sequel and book two in the Sidekick Squad series by CB Lee. I hope you enjoy!


Title: Not Your Villain
Series: Sidekick Squad #2
Author: C.B. Lee
Publisher: Duet, the YA Imprint of Interlude Press
Release date: October 5, 2017
Cover Design: CB Messer

Synopsis:
Bells Broussard thought he had it made when his superpowers manifested early. Being a shapeshifter is awesome. He can change his hair whenever he wants and, if putting on a binder for the day is too much, he’s got it covered. But that was before he became the country’s most wanted villain. 

After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes’ League of Heroes, Bells and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance. Meanwhile, power-hungry former hero Captain Orion is on the loose with a dangerous serum that renders meta-humans powerless, and a new militarized robotic threat emerges. 

Sometimes, to do a hero’s job, you need to be a villain.


Goodreads | Interlude Press | Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo


I was lucky enough to get and early copy of this fabulous book. I immediately start it because it has been one of my most anticipated books this year. I wanted to know what happened next after NYS ended and I wanted to know Bells and see everything from his point of view. Let me tell you this was far the best 2017 book. You all don't have to miss it!

CB Lee tells stories so beautifully. The characters make the story beautifully tbh. And Sidekick Squad series has some of the most amazing characters I've ever met. I literally love every single one and I want to adopt them all. In NYV, we get Bells as a main character. We met him in NYS briefly, we knew something was going on and how it ended, we knew about Bells and Emma, we knew some little things. But definitely not everything.

Not Your Villain picks up way earlier than NYS. Bells is going to this training facility to become a hero, but no one knows except his family. Not Jess, not Emma. He is thrusted into this roll of being Chameleon the hero and what being a hero means to him. But then everything goes wrong (as we saw in Not Your Sidekick) and sadly Bells is now a villain. He is searched by the world. 

This book has action, lots more than the previous one. It has friendship to the max. We see more and more of the squad now because it has formed into the Sidekick Squad and we see a team, a fabulous team who kicks butt. #SidekickSquadFan We see all the old characters, all the ones we love and care for, but we also meet new fun ones. It's such a ride, yall. This book is worth reading, I recommend it 10/10, I talk about it a lot in my Twitter accout and there is a reason why. THIS. It's because it's simply one of the best books I've read in a while. 


“Ten weeks?” Emma’s hologram is positively indignant, and her heart-shaped face is scrunched up in horror. Bells can’t see anything other than her face in the projection above his wrist, but he knows her arms are probably crossed and she’s about to—yep, there she goes. A little furrow pops up between her eyebrows, as it does whenever she’s annoyed. “Bells, that’s almost the whole summer!” The hologram flickers in and out as Emma moves. She shakes her head; her curls bounce.

“I know. I know. I just—it was a last-minute thing. I mean, I was on the waitlist and then someone dropped out, and it’s a really cool opportunity, with a scholarship and everything! I’ve never been in the North; it’ll be so cool!” Bells grins, hoping his excitement will be infectious.

“I know it will be cool and I’m happy that you got into this art program, but I wish you would have told me! Ten whole weeks without my best friend! What will I do?”

She’s pouting, and Bells sighs. The effect of the Emma Robledo pout can be devastating. He touches the holo, and it blips, distorting the image. Emma does the same, and the tiny blue pixels of her fingers reach for his.

A pang of longing courses through him. He’s going to miss her terribly. It’s awful lying to his friends about where he’s been these past few summers. Last year, he told them it was a soccer camp. The year before that, he said he was visiting his cousins in the California region.

“Well, you have volleyball practice and aren’t you learning to drive? I mean, you haven’t stopped talking about it since your moms agreed to teach you, and they were gonna get you your own car, right? And Jess—”

“Jess! Have you told Jess?” Emma shrieks.

Bells barely has time to shake his head before Emma rolls her eyes and flicks at her wrist, and then he hears another comm link connect. Jess’ face blooms out of shimmering blue light.

Jess waves, and her ponytail bobs. “Hey! Are we still on for movie night?”

“No,” Emma says. “Bells is leaving us for ten weeks!”

“What? Why? When?” Jess frowns. Her hologram glitches and flickers, and the sound fizzes in and out. The reception in the Tran household is always shoddy for some reason.

He starts over. “I got accepted to that summer art program in Aerial City. You know, very prestigious, dorm rooms, classes every day, field trips to museums...”

“What program? I didn’t even know you applied to one!” Jess raises her eyebrows.

“Uh... I didn’t know if I would get in.”

That much is true, but there’s no art program. The fictional summer camp does sound cool, but not as cool as what he’s actually going to do, which is learn how to be a hero.


Book Tour Rafflecopter Giveaway: 
Grand Prize $25 IP Gift Card + Multi-format eBook of Not Your Villain // Five winners receive the multi-format eBook

a Rafflecopter giveaway


C.B. Lee is a bisexual writer based in California. She is a first-generation Asian American and holds a BA in sociology and environmental science, which occasionally comes in handy in her chosen career, but not usually. Lee enjoys reading, hiking, rock climbing and other outdoor pursuits. 

Not Your Sidekick (2016) was named a finalist for both the Lambda Literary Awards and the Bisexual Book Awards. Lee’s first novel, Seven Tears at High Tide (2015), was also a Bisexual Book Awards finalist. She is a Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellow.
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As I said yesterday, today is a very special day! I bring you my tour stop for ACTING ON IMPULSE, one of my favorite romances this year. I want everyone to read this one because one. it's super fun and the romance is epic, but also because we all need to support Latinx authors and more so than ever because it's Hispanic Heritage Month! One-click!


Title: Acting on Impulse
Series: Love on Cue
Author: Mia Sosa
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release date: September 19, 2017

Synopsis:

After a very public breakup with a media-hungry politician, fitness trainer Tori Alvarez escapes to Aruba for rest, relaxation, and copious amounts of sex on the beach—the cocktail, that is. She vows to keep her vacation a man-free zone but when a cute guy is seated next to her on the plane, Tori can’t resist a little harmless flirting. 

Hollywood heartthrob Carter Stone underwent a dramatic physical transformation for his latest role and it’s clear his stunning seat mate doesn’t recognize the man beneath the shaggy beard and extra lean frame. Now Carter needs help rebuilding his buff physique and Tori is perfect for the job. It doesn’t hurt that she makes his pulse pound in more ways than one. 

Sparks are flying, until a pesky paparazzo reveals Carter’s identity. Tori is hurt and pissed. She wants nothing to do with another man in the limelight, but she’s still got to whip him into shape. Can Carter convince Tori he’s worth the threat to her privacy that comes with dating a famous actor, or will Tori chisel him down to nothing before he even gets the chance? 

Grab the popcorn…


Goodreads | Google Play | iBooks


Acting on Impulse was the perfect mix of romance and lovable characters with a side of fabulous dialogue. Mia Sosa is such an amazing writer that she made me fall in love with Tori and Carter from the very first paragraph. When I first found out Mia was going to release this new series with Avon, I was OVER. THE. MOON. I am so happy Avon is publishing more and more authors of color and their stories need to be told!

What I love most about Tori and Carter's relationship and about this book is that they have such a gooood relationship, like such a good dynamic between them. They get along so well and are sassy together and they have the same humor that Tori even think it's perfect. My heart swoons so hard for these two. Even though they are flawed characters, they actually made a good perfect. 

Acting on Impulse should be in every romance list out there, should be in every romance lover TBR. It is a book that definitely feels so refreshing and new and so light and soft at the same time. It has the summer-y vibe if you are still missing summer because fall is upon us. It has a nice island getaway where two very different people meet and have a very good stay. One is a celebrity trying not to get noticed by the paps and the other is a fitness trainer who just got brokenhearted by a past relationship. Both are looking for that something /else/. I'm so pleased to say that this book is an adventure that will leave you wanting for more and craving this new world Mia Sosa created.

Thank you Edelweiss and Avon Impulse for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion. All my thoughts are my own.


Giveaway is running from 9/19 - 10/3. There will be one winner of $25 Gift Card. Giveaway is being hosted on Rafflecopter. Open internationally.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Contact the author:
Avon Romance | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

Mia Sosa is an award-winning contemporary romance writer and 2015 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® Finalist. Her books have received praise and recognition from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Library Journal, The Washington Post, Book Riot, Bustle, and more.

A former First Amendment and media lawyer, Mia practiced for more than a decade before trading her suits for loungewear (okay, okay, they’re sweatpants). Now she strives to write fun and flirty stories about imperfect characters finding their perfect match.

Mia lives in Maryland with her husband, their two daughters, and an adorable puppy that finally sleeps through the night. For more information about Mia and her books, visit www.miasosa.com.



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Hiiii. I am here to bring you a very special review of a very special book I recently read. It's my last read book to be honest for a while (because I haven't been reading and maybe it's Sanctuary fault because it was so GOOD that it left me in a slump). Here I am, sharing my feelings about this book, enjoy!

Title: Sanctuary
Series: Beards & Bondage #2
Author: Rebekah Weatherspoon
Release date: August 29, 2017

Synopsis:
When she needs a sanctuary…  
Targeted by a sadistic former client, attorney Liz Lewis needs a place to lay low. When a friend offers her his family farm as a safe house, she eagerly accepts, unaware that she’ll have to share the farm with her friend’s brawny, beautiful brother, Silas McInroy.
…she invades his…  
Weary of a world that doesn’t understand him, Silas just wants to be left alone to grow the best produce upstate New York has to offer. Still, he’s not going to toss a woman out when her safety is on the line. But the only way to explain her presence on his farm is to claim that they fell in love online…and the last thing he needs is a fake relationship that threatens to become more and more real every day. 
With her world turned upside down and danger on her trail, Liz knows that this temporary refuge can’t last forever…but leaving the comfort and ease of Silas’s arms and farm to face the reality of her life may be the hardest thing she’s ever had to do. 
*** WARNING: This book contains scenes of mild bondage and domination between a gorgeous lawyer and a sexy farmer who is terrible with women. And five farm dogs with varying degrees of loyalty to both the hero and heroine.***


Goodreads | Amazon  


Rebekah is simply amazing. Sanctuary, believe it or not, is better than Haven. I love both of them, but Silas and Liz's story has a big spot in my heart now. It was such a wild ride since the beginning, starting with a murder scene, no joke. Rebekah really knows how to take my attention and make me love the book from the start. 

As you all probably know I absolutely adore dogs in romance books, especially if the hero owns them. And Silas owns FIVE OF THEM in Sanctuary. From uninterested pups to want to play always pups, Rebekah wrote them all. As I said it is a simply beautiful book with a small town, fake dating romance, with two souls that need a little bit of each other. 

Silas has become my ultimate favorite and seriously I recommend everyone to pick it up for him. But also for Liz, because what I love most about Rebekah's books, and especially Haven + Sanctuary, is that Rebekah writes heroines that know in their hearts they need to figure out stuff by themselves, they don't need the hero to do anything for them and they need to heal by themselves in order to feel like they can do it? I mean the heroes are always there for the heroines but I love me some fab strong and independent heroines. Liz has PTSD because of the attempt murder on her life and she doesn't yet know how to feel about that scene, but what she does know is that some day it will come crashing down.

I already said I'm a big fan of Rebekah Weatherpoon and her books but if you do not who she is or any of her work I really hope you do pick them up. Liz is a plus size black beautiful Dom heroine, while Silas is a biracial beard-y small town mountain man? They will make your day brighter and your life fuller, no jokeee.

I hope Brooklyn and Mason gets their stories next? I just want more! This series is my new favorite and will forever be.
happy release day @RdotSpoon! SANCTUARY is out today and it's amazing *all the hearts*https://t.co/oCEKZynb0e pic.twitter.com/h6pMRoYX9L
— sil🌿 (@thebookvoyagers) August 30, 2017
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Hello, my wonderful travelers of the book world! You must have seen me scream about this book in Twitter a lot lately. You know why? Because it's so frigging good! Today I bring you to my tour stop in the blog tour of Heart of the Steal. And I hope I convince you to buy this book and read it because it will be one of your favorites as well. 

Title: Heart of the Steal
Author(s): Avon Gale, Roan Parrish
Publisher: Philtre Press
Release date: July 11, 2017

Synopsis:
Responsible, disciplined William Fox channeled his love for art and his faith in the rules into being an FBI Art Crimes agent. Right and wrong, justice and injustice—the differences are clear, and Will has spent his career drawing a line between them. Maybe his convictions have cost him relationships, but he’s not willing to compromise what he knows is right. Until the night he meets Amory Vaughn.
As the head of his family’s philanthropic foundation, Vaughn knows very well that being rich and powerful can get him almost anything he wants. And when he meets endearingly grumpy and slightly awkward William Fox, he wants him more than he’s wanted anything. Vaughn is used to being desired for his name and his money, but Will doesn’t care about either.
When Vaughn falls back on old habits and attempts to impress Will by stealing a painting Will admires, their nascent bond blows up in his face. But Vaughn isn’t willing to give up on the glimpse of passion he saw the night he took Will apart. Before Will knows it, he’s falling for the man he should have arrested, and Vaughn has to realize that some things can’t be bought or stolen. Love has to be given freely. But can a man who lives by the rules, and a man who thinks the rules don’t apply to him, ever see eye to eye?
Heart of the Steal is a standalone romance with a happy ending. It features a Southern gentleman who thinks he’s always right, a buttoned-up FBI agent who secretly likes his buttons unbuttoned, and wall sex. And desk sex. And picnic blanket sex.

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | iBooks



I am obsessed with Heart of the Steal. It is one book I couldn't stop reading since start to finish (only taking time for sleeping and eating). But I tell you all ~ this is one book you will definitely enjoy if you love adorable domestic ships, a cute kitten that is adopted, a rich southern art thief/philantropic business man, an fbi agent working in the arts crime department, some hate to love, lots of delicious food and fun soft times between these two.

I can't help to say that this book brought me feels just as much as Illegal Contact by Santino Hassell (coming out August this year). They both have a very adorable couple who just wants to be together forever and even *cough* Vaughn thinks of marriage at one point? This makes me so happy and it's so cute to see it in books.

Let's talk about my experience: First of all, this is my first time reading books by these two authors, I believe. Yes. And it didn't disappoint me AT ALL. I want to read more by them! I already have some Avon Gale book in my Kindle and I have some Roan's books in my WL ready for me to get them. I can say that this duo of authors is 10/10 in my list. If they write more books together, you bet I'm going to be there first in line to get their books. Heart of the Steal was fun and romantic and had some pretty sexy scenes in there as well. But most of all, what I enjoyed is the way it made me so happy to read about Will and Vaughn finding their way to each other.

The relationship starts as a light hate to love mainly because Vaughn steals a painting to impress Will though he didn't know Will worked as an FBI agent in the Arts Crime department. So Will of course gets really mad and conflicted because he has to go and arrest Vaughn. Let's skip all of the spoilers and I will just say that what comes after is very much a fun story about love and family and life, to be honest. The simple things almost always are the most important. 

Excerpt

“So, William. You came. But something tells me the sentiment behind my invitation has gone rather astray.”
“Then you admit that you left the Staunton painting and a note outside my apartment,” he said flatly, and my eyes narrowed.
“Have I miscalculated your interest?”
William looked like he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or yell. It was smoldering.
“You have miscalculated my profession,” he responded. We were standing close enough to kiss, and when he reached a hand into his jacket, my breath caught. I wanted to help him strip it off and kiss that spot of barbeque sauce off his perfect mouth.
But he didn’t take his jacket off. He slipped his hand out holding something from his pocket. A badge.
An FBI badge.
I was lightheaded. I spent three beats of my heart wondering what the medical diagnosis would be for dying of sheer irony.

Authors


Avon Gale wrote her first story at the age of seven, about a “Space Hat” hanging on a rack and waiting for that special person to come along and purchase it — even if it was a bit weirder than the other, more normal hats. Like all of Avon’s characters, the space hat did get its happily ever after — though she’s pretty sure it was with a unicorn. She likes to think her vocabulary has improved since then, but the theme of quirky people waiting for their perfect match is still one of her favorites. 

Avon grew up in the southern United States, and now lives with her very patient husband in a liberal midwestern college town. When she’s not writing, she’s either doing some kind of craft project that makes a huge mess, reading, watching horror movies, listening to music or yelling at her favorite hockey team to get it together, already. Avon is always up for a road trip, adores Kentucky bourbon, thinks nothing is as stress relieving as a good rock concert and will never say no to candy. 

At one point, Avon was the mayor of both Jazzercise and Lollicup on Foursquare. This tells you basically all you need to know about her as a person.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | FB group | Newsletter


Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre. 

When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique. 

She is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter
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Hello, voyagers! Today I bring you a review of one of my favorite books from this 2017. I hope when you finish reading my review, you'll pick this up asap because it is awesome and you are supporting an indie author of color! That's always important. But also this book is 10/10 beautiful and it's like a sit-com of the best stuff you can ever get to read.

Title: Bearly a Lady
Author: Cassandra Khaw
Publisher: Book Smugglers Publishing
Release date: July 18, 2017

Synopsis:
Zelda McCartney (almost) has it all: a badass superhero name, an awesome vampire roommate, and her dream job at a glossy fashion magazine (plus the clothes to prove it). The only issue in Zelda's almost-perfect life? The uncontrollable need to transform into a werebear once a month. Just when Zelda thinks things are finally turning around and she lands a hot date with Jake, her high school crush and alpha werewolf of Kensington, life gets complicated. Zelda receives an unusual work assignment from her fashionable boss: play bodyguard for devilishly charming fae nobleman Benedict (incidentally, her boss's nephew) for two weeks. Will Zelda be able to resist his charms long enough to get together with Jake? And will she want to? Because true love might have been waiting around the corner the whole time in the form of Janine, Zelda's long-time crush and colleague. What's a werebear to do?

Goodreads | Amazon  

An egalley was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bearly a Lady was such a funny and lovely novella. It has lots of content even though it's a short story, like it has room to grow SO MUCH. I loved every second of it and you all will enjoy it when you pick it up BECAUSE OFC YOU HAVE TO PICK IT UP!! (I recommend you to do it). 

What you can find inside the lovely pages of this book:
→ Bi woman of color as MC 
→ She's also a werebear!!! 
→ Her roomie is a vampire, and they have the best relationship wow 
→ Her neighbor is a werewolf who works at a zoo and she has had a big crush on him for so long 
→ She works at Vogue and she's such a fashionista I loveeee it 
→ She also crushes on her coworker, Janine 
→ There are so many great scenarios and characters in this book 

I would like maybe a romance for Liz? She sounds so awesome. Also for Zora. AND EVERYONE REALLY? I'm so ready to see more of these characters. Also I'm ready for everyone to stan this book and this author and these characters yall. You won't regret it! 
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Today I bring you my tour stop in the MATURE CONTENT blog tour. This book is amazing and you'll see all my thoughts about it in my review down below, but definitely get it, and if you haven't start this series, what are youuuu doooooing. The second book, Fast Connection, is currently on sale on Kindle. (They're all standalones)

Title: Mature Content
Series: Cyberlove #4
Author(s): Megan Erickson, Santino Hassell
Release date: June 2, 2017

Synopsis:

My life plan is to be brutally honest all the way to the bank. Don't believe me? I run a popular YouTube channel called TrashyZane, and my claim to fame is oversharing about every aspect of my personal life. Sometimes while tipsy. Not everyone loves my style, but I have a long history of icing out people who can't handle me. I have no time for judgmental foolishness.
Except, apparently, when it comes to Beau Starr. His channel is the polar opposite of mine, and so is he. Wholesome, inspirational, and clean-cut. Everything about him should turn me off, but when we hook up following a confrontation at a convention, my world flips upside down. Not only does Beau Starr turn me on, he uses the exact combination of dirty talk and roughness needed to turn me out.
But we still hate each other. I think.
Goodreads  | Amazon | BN | iBooks



Cyberlove series gets better with every new book. Though my favorite still is Fast Conection, Mature Content grabbed my attention really fast and I totally binge read it in one day/hours. It came really close, but Dom and Luke still have my heart. I did pull an all nighter and finished at 2 in the morning just to see that happy ending tho so Mature Content is SO GOOD.

It was so worth it. 

Zane and Beau have that hate to love relationship some of us enjoy so much in romance books. They truly hate each other and even say stuff that they regret later on and get call out and apologize for it. I love seeing hate/love relationships develop because when the characters realize they love one another it's like they are so surprised and don't want to but they can't stop feeling that luuuuuv. This happens with Zane and Beau, it starts as hate sex and then turns to something that really /means something/ for them. 

Also a little detail: If you're looking for Jewish MC, this book has it. Zane is Jewish and actually talks about it in some ways in the book. Zane is my favorite and can actually say that he is top #2 in my list of fave characters in this series, below Dominic. He's everything and he dresses with fishnet tights and lives his life fully. 

What I love most about this series is the central theme that is social media taking part of the relationships between the characters. This time is Youtube. Both of them are Youtube stars with thousands and thousands of followers. Each of them are so different in their channels so this is why they sometimes fight in the beginning. But they both learn and grow in the spam of the whole book so it's so great to see them do that. 

Me after finishing: Is there going to be another book *whispers*

Megan Erickson is a USA Today bestselling author of romance that sizzles. Her books have a touch of nerd, a dash of humor, and always have a happily ever after. A former journalist, she switched to fiction when she decided she likes writing her own endings better.

She lives in Pennsylvania with her very own nerdy husband and two kids. Although rather fun-sized, she's been told she has a full-sized personality. When Megan isn't writing, she's either lounging with her two cats named after John Hughes characters or... thinking about writing.

Website | Twitter | FB
Santino Hassell was raised by a conservative family, but he was anything but traditional. He grew up to be a smart-mouthed, school cutting grunge kid, then a transient twenty-something, and eventually transformed into an unlikely romance author. 

 Santino writes queer romance that is heavily influenced by the gritty, urban landscape of New York City, his belief that human relationships are complex and flawed, and his own life experiences.

Website | Twitter | FB
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Hello, you all! Today I bring you my stop in The Seafarer's Kiss blog tour. I adored this book and you'll see all the reasons why in my review. Plus I also have a pretty cool guest post written by the author Julia Ember. I hope you all enjoy!

Title: The Seafarer's Kiss
Author: Julia Ember
Publisher: Interlude Press/Duet Books
Release date: May 4th, 2017

Synopsis:
Having long wondered what lives beyond the ice shelf, nineteen-year- old mermaid Ersel learns of the life she wants when she rescues and befriends Ragna, a shield-maiden stranded on the merfolk’s glacier. But when Ersel’s childhood friend and suitor catches them together, he gives Ersel a choice: Say goodbye to Ragna or face justice at the hands of the glacier’s brutal king.
Determined to forge a different fate, Ersel seeks help from the divine Loki. But such deals are never straightforward, and the outcome sees her exiled from the only home and protection she’s known. To save herself from perishing in the barren, underwater wasteland and be reunited with the human she’s come to love, Ersel must try to outsmart the God of Lies.

Goodreads | Amazon | BookDepo | Interlude | B&N


The Seafarer's Kiss was an underwater adventure that filled my insides with so much joy. A retelling of The Little Mermaid with some Norse mythology in the mix, we have the story of a young mermaid trying to find freedom inside her frozen kingdom.

It's not a surprise I loved this book so much. I believe anything Julia writes, I'm going to be such a huge fan. This is definitely not different. While Unicorn Tracks took place in a safari tour in a reimagined Africa, The Seafarer's Kiss takes place in icy waters. In an ice kingdom. Ersel lives there with her mother and whales and many more merpeople. But she wants more than that, she wants freedom from that place and its monotonous life.

She befriends Ragna, a Viking maiden that is hurt and.... human. She has this weird tattoos of maps and she is very very enchanting for Ersel as well. Everything between them is so cute and I ship them HARD. Everyone does. I love that Julia wrote a bisexual MC and a fat mermaid because we almost always see mermaids in literature as skinny beings and that's so not the only way we can see them because I think it's important to show that you can represent every body type. And everyone wants to be a mermaid so it's great that Julia wrote Ersel. We have plot twists after plot twists and this book is just A+. As I said, anything Julia Ember writes you will see me first in line to read it. 

// VBT for Seafarer's Kiss //

A lot of people dedicate books to their parents. In my case, I have two 2017 releases, and each of my parents “get a book” so to speak. I love my mom and we have always had a close relationship, but Seafarer’s Kiss is “her” book in part because of a conversation we had in 2013. I’m going to talk about that conversation and the parental relationship in the book in this post.   

My mom and I have always looked and sounded incredibly similar. From middle school onwards, people assumed I was her when I answered the phone. We were often compared in pictures. We have the same small nose, round faces, freckles and rosy cheeks. We’ve also both been overweight to some degree throughout our teenage and adult lives.   

I want to preface this by saying that I was a fat child and teen. My parents were never overly critical or cruel about it, though they made it clear that they thought I’d be healthier if I would lose the weight.   

In my last two years of university, in 2010-2011, I maintained a pretty low weight for me.  I was riding horses competitively and additionally using the gym a lot. As a college senior who came into university with a lot of advanced credit, I had a pretty lax schedule in my final year. I didn’t diet, but the my weight was naturally lower because of how much exercise I was getting. Then, 2012 rolled around. I left the US and went back to Scotland to begin graduate school. I stayed fit, but I stopped riding competitively and no longer exercised three hours a day. My weight crept up and when I went home the next summer, my mom said she was sad because I had regained weight.   

When I pressed her about it, she said she was sad because she remembered what it had been like for her to be fat in her 20s. She said that she has gained weight in a slow progression since that time, and that I was so beautiful, and she didn’t want me to end up like her. I was dumbfounded. My mom is, and always has been, a beautiful woman. She is also effortlessly classy  -- a trait that genetics, sadly, could not give me. A fair number of my male friends and flatmates have had awkward, sometimes gross, crushes on her over the years. She was fat and she’d been fat my whole life. It never occurred to me that she thought she was ugly.   

In the conversation that followed, I realised that she had never thought she was pretty. Despite agreeing that many of her fat friends were beautiful, my mom didn’t even like her wedding photos.  It broke my heart.   

When I started outlining Seafarer’s Kiss, I knew from the outset that some of the story would depend on the strength of Ersel’s relationship with her mother. I didn’t know from the outset that Ersel would be a fat protagonist. It was after I wrote one of the ending scenes, where Ersel’s mother is prepared to give up everything for her daughter, that my 2013 conversation with my own mother came back into my mind. I decided I was going to make my mermaid fat and beautiful, both for myself and my mom. 

Ersel is probably the ‘sexiest’ protagonist I’ve ever written. Other mermaids covet her beauty. Sailors comment on it. She’s fought over by a Viking shield maiden and a hunky merman. Fat is the just the way she is. It’s never considered a negative in the book, and Ersel is intensely proud of her body. Although I wrote a fat love interest in my first book, Unicorn Tracks, Kara had hang-ups. She’d been teased and criticised for her size by people in her home country. I think society tells fat people that your body positivity is something you have to defend. Ersel very much does not fall into that. She loves who she is and she doesn’t defend it, and that is something I want for myself, my mom and every fat teen who picks up this book.

Grand Prize $25 IP Gift Card + Multi-format eBook of Hold // Five winners receive Storm Season eBook.

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Julia Ember is a polyamorous, bisexual writer and native of Chicago who now resides in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Seafarer’s Kiss is her second novel and was influenced by her postgraduate work in medieval literature at The University of St. Andrews. Her first novel, Unicorn Tracks was published by Harmony Ink Press.

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Title: Haven
Series: Beards & Bondage #1
Author: Rebekah Weatherspoon
Release date: April 25, 2017

Synopsis:
A week-long getaway… 
City girl Claudia Cade's carefree life is plunged into chaos when a camping trip with her brother in the national forests of Northern California turns into a deadly dash for her survival. 
A solitary world turned upside down… 
Nature photographer Shepard Olsen has resigned himself to a quiet existence, with only his dog by his side, until a woman in need of his protection shows up on his doorstep and throws his universe into disarray. 
Two lives linked by tragedy… 
Claudia is desperate to heal from her traumatic loss, but can’t stop thinking about her run-in with evil….or the grizzled mountain man whose quick thinking and good aim saved her life. When she shows up on Shep's doorstep again, she finds she isn't the only one who can't move on.
…saved by bliss. 
The two begin an intense, passionate relationship of Dominance and submission, pleasure and pain, but with dark memories haunting them and decisions about the future rapidly approaching, Claudia can’t help but wonder...how long can they be each other's haven? 
*** WARNING: This book contains a sexual relationship between a fashionista and a cranky mountain man who are dealing with physical and emotional trauma. And a very big, cuddly dog.***

Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo | The Ripped Bodice

Review

I seriously love every Rebekah Weatherspoon book. And I think I will forever love her and her work. They're always so amazing and entertaining. Plus the romance is one of the best I've ever read. I absolutely love that the heroes always ask for consent and this one also has a very Soft but hard hero.

This started up with a BANG. Like wow. I didn't expect all of that in the first chapters but Rebekah, as I said, knows how to get your attention and keep it that way. We meet our hero and I would think the main character, more than Claudia because we get Shep's POV more tbh. And he lives in this cabin on a mountain all alone with his very big dog. He's a photographer and he also a Dom. Shep is seriously the best and he is so sweet and caring. You'll fall for him quickly like I did definitely.

Claudia is a city girl, she's a fashionista and she is on the mountain to have a trip with her brother. But everything goes wrong really, really fast. She is suddenly escaping from very bad man and she ends up at the front of Shep's house and Shep is the one who saves her and oh my god it's so wild, but SO GOOD. I enjoyed it so much, Rebekah kept me at the edge of my seat, wow. 

We have various time skips and I do enjoy them very much. Claudia and Shep get to know each other and I love that they have this understanding between them that doesn't need words? It's so lovely and really great to read about since the start when they finally talk in the hospital and they have this connection that many can see means something (!!!) They also get into a Dom/sub relationship, it's a first for Claudia but she want to experience it with Shep and she knows everything will be fine. It does have BDSM so if you're not so comfortable I would rec to skip the scenes? But really Rebekah writes amazing romantic and steamy scenes, so def give it a chance!

Claudia also has PTSD and Rebekah writes this book in a way that Claudia needs to heal with the help of herself and she needs to take that step, it's not Shep and not love that heals her. It's herself and the power she has. 

I am so in love with this book, what more would you want to know.... Claudia is Caribbean, her mom was from Grenada. She's definitely a fat woman. Shep is a delicious bearded mountain man, he has tattoos (HELLOOOO). It's a really great dynamics and I cannot wait for more because that ending got my heart. I want to see how it is going for Claudia and Shep and meet the new couple yay ~

  • Rebekah did this HAVEN playlist and you can listen to it here x
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Title: Spirit Hunters
Author: Ellen Oh
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release date: July 25, 2017

Synopsis:
Harper Raine doesn’t like her new house from the moment she steps inside. It makes her skin crawl and her hair stand on end. There’s an energy to the house that just doesn’t feel right….
There are rumors that the Raine family’s new house is haunted. Unexplainable events and tragedy seem to have befallen every family who’s lived there before. Harper isn’t sure she believes those rumors until her younger brother, Michael, starts acting strangely.
The whole atmosphere gives Harper a sense of déjà vu, but she can’t remember why. Harper knows that the memories she’s blocking will help make sense of her brother’s behavior and the strange and dangerous sensations she feels in the house, but will she be able to put the pieces together in time?

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Review

An e-galley was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you HarperCollins. This not affect my rating or review. 

100% scary. 100% amazing. Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh is a fabulous story about a Korean-American girl who moves to a new house with her family after a series of events that happened in her past town. Suddenly weird stuff start happening in this new house and she finds out that the house is known as a haunted and scary house that actually people have died there. It's a perfectly good scary story for younger kids.

This is a book about family but also about friendships. I love every single member of the Raine family, especially Harper, our protagonist. She knows stuff are happening in the house. She doesn't know that happened in her past; she lost her memory a while ago about some events in her life and she can't seem to recall them. So she writes these diary passages and Ellen put them in the book and it's a really good way to cut between chapters.

Also Harper's brother, Michael, he is such a sweetheart but oh my god so many things happen in this book and you will feel for him and the family and get scared and you lit will not know what to do with so many emotions inside of you. This book is such a perfect example that Ellen Oh is an amazing author and her stories are unforgettable.

I'm very happy with the middle grade books I've been reading, all of them have been ARCs and I can happily say that all of them are on their top of their games. Middle grade is ON POINT this year, it's even better than YA to be honest. Between Spirit Hunters and so many awesome titles like The Gauntlet or Hello, Universe, kids are going to be so happy this 2017 to have so many books from different genres that have characters that are racially diverse and can see themselves represented in it. Because Spirit Hunters does have a Korean-American MC but not only that. Harper befriends a girl, and this girl is Jamaican which it's all the levels of amazing and 10 more reasons to get this book as soon as it comes out.

If you like ghosts, haunted houses, delicious food, great family dynamics and new friendships that feel so natural, this book is right for you.
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Title: Feels Like Summer
Series: Summer Storm #2
Author: Six de los Reyes
Cover design by: Porcupine Strongwill

Synopsis:

Five-minute girlfriend. This is what Jett signs up for when she meets Adrian and his band Arabella at beach music festival Summer Storm. One kiss and the attraction is too electric to ignore, but Jett has no room for love and Adrian is Mr. Relationship who's getting over his recent breakup. The solution? Keep it simple. Keep it casual. For three months (that's the rule about breakups, right?), Jett helps Adrian move on and Adrian shows up on Jett's bed whenever she wants.
Then the three months are up and neither of them are in a hurry to be the first to leave. Does Jett walk away from a potential disaster or does she finally let someone into her closely-guarded heart?


Goodreads | Amazon

Review


Six de los Reyes broke me into a million pieces. And it's such a beautiful feeling. 

Feels Like Summer brought me back to life. It's such a good romance book, you all. I literally recommend everyone to pick it up and read it. (It's on sale now!!!) Six writes really great otps and the interactions between them are some of the best I have read in books in general. She drews them out and makes us hurt and be in pain but in the end it's so worth it. I can assure you this. 

In this book there are rock boy bands and it's glorious. I love the camaraderie this whole group has. I want to be part of this family so badly, and whispers I want books for every single group member, please yes? We have our main love interest, Adrian, who I thought he was such a jerk at the beginning but fell in love with him really quickly after. He is such a PUPPY. He wants to make Jett very very happy in any way possible. He's always there when needed and he is shy and cute and a bossy person when he is with his band.

Jett is hands down one of my favorite female protagonists. She embraces her sexuality and she isn't here to take shit from no one. At the beginning she becomes Adrian's five minute girlfriend, because his ex is at the same event they all are and some of Adrian's bandmates ask Jett if she could maybe do them a favor and be Adrian's five minute girlfriend? It's such a wild ride since the beginning and it's so FUN. You never go down that roller coaster. You'll have so much fun reading this book and I recommend you do it in one go because you won't be able to wait to know more about and what will happen after every chapter ending. 

I love that Jett doesn't hate Adrian's ex. In fact they all hit it off really well. I love that she even helps Jett at the end and it's really freaking good to see women supporting women, especially in romance novels. I've read many books cough cough that the protagonists are misogynistic and dislike every woman that nears the hero. So it was a breath of fresh air to see Jett and Ellie become semi-friends.

And finally don't you just LOOOVE #romanceclass books? I love that sometimes authors write other characters from other books into the current book? Like I love even from the same author like past works. But sometimes it is much better because they add characters from OTHER AUTHOR'S WORKS. And they all meet!!!! So it was awesome to see Trainman in FEELS LIKE SUMMER. I didn't know them when I read it the first time, but when I finally read Jay's book, I was definitely having many feels inside my body. 
FEELS LIKE SUMMER by @sixdlr
• new adult
• sex positive ~ im so in love
• rock band cuties + they are fam
• swoony otp they fall HARD pic.twitter.com/oav4DpPUFh
— 💐 (@diversaesthetic) March 22, 2017
Highly recommend everyone to pick it up if you're in the mood for summer. It has those summer vibes, beach, music, romance, friendships and parties.
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Title: The Paths We Choose
Series: Lillac Town #2
Author: M. Hollis
Release date: April 6, 2017

Synopsis:
Lily Ferrari enjoys having control over every detail of her life. Ever since she left her parents’ house to gain her freedom, she decided to fully own her autonomy. But an unexpected visit from her little brother may change the path she chooses to follow.
Add to that a casual fling with the bright architect Mayte González, and Lily’s summer is turning out more interesting than she expected. It certainly beats the routine of working extra shifts at Johnson’s Bookstore. A few weeks before her college life begins, Lily needs to figure out if she’s wrong about the past or if she should continue to protect her heart at all costs.
Sometimes moving forward is only possible if you have the right people by your side.

Goodreads | Amazon

Review

Lillac Town series is the one series you need to read if you're searching for diverse New Adult books.

THE PATHS WE CHOOSE by @HeyChips
• new adult
• fat brazilian mc
• bi afro-cuban li
• so cute so precious
• girl friendships 100%
• f/f pic.twitter.com/nFq8m72QFM
— 💐 (@diversaesthetic) April 1, 2017

The Paths We Choose is the novella about Lily and Mayte. It's really cute and very very steamy. I highly recommend everyone to pick it up and ~if you have the chance to also pick up the previous books ~ they aren't sequels but companions so the characters are different, plus new couple to ship! (I believe Book #1 is FREE right now on Kindle!)

As always with Lillac Town, the novella was very very cute and soft. It has A+ friendships that were always supportive and there for each other. I'm in love! It's such a light and fresh story, with no drama or anything problematic that happens to the main ship, I mean there is some things happening but nothing too big like the typical New Adult books. This is just a story of two girls falling for each other and their friends being happy for them and just finding their way to one another. It's so adorable.

I highly recommend to picking up this series. The stories are very short, so you'll be done the same day! You will want more for sure, but we can wait together for the next book in the series!!! 
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