Blog Tour + Giveaway: The Slope Rules by Melanie Hooyenga

I am excited to be a part of The Slope Rules blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. I love YA books that mix sports with romance, throw in a beautiful snowy background and what could go wrong? Also, be sure to check out the awesome giveaway listed below!

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The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: February 24, 2017

Publisher: Left Handed Mitten Publications

Fifteen-year old Cally accepted her fate as one of the guys, so when she meets Blake, a hot snowboarder who sees her for more than her aerials on the slopes, she falls fast and hard. But their romance can only last as long as vacation.

Or so she thinks.

A twist of fate—well, her Dad opening another brewery in a new town—lands her in Blake’s school, but the charismatic boy she fell for wants nothing to do with her, and worse, the Snow Bunnies, the popular clique, claim her as their newest recruit.

Cally must learn to be true to herself—all while landing a spot on the ski team and figuring out who she is without her old friends. And when she finds out what Blake is hiding, she learns the rules on the slopes apply to more than just skiing.

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Let me just start off by saying I have never skied or snowboarded a day in my life. Heck, I've only ever seen snow like two times, but there's just something magical about reading love stories that take place in the snow. I blame Lorelai Gilmore.

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When 15 year old Cally vacations in Colorado, she meets super dreamy boarder, Blake. Used to being seen as just one of the guys, Cally is unprepared for the attention Blake showers on her. Even though they're only together a short while, Cally falls for him and is heartbroken when she has to go back home. Even more heartbroken when Blake suddenly stops talking to her. Then, to add to her misery, her father drops a bombshell - they're moving to Colorado where her father plans to open up another brewery. When Cally arrives at her new school, imagine her surprise when she sees Blake in her English class - especially when he told her he lived in California. 

This read like Mean Girls: Snow Bunnies.Cally is immediately surrounded by the rich and popular kids, although one girl seems to have ulterior motives for friendship. With Blake ignoring her still and her new "friends" laying down all of these rules to follow, Cally isn't sure about anything and quickly starts losing who she is as a person. 

What I liked was Cally's bravery and strength. She'd been through a lot in her life - losing her mother at an early age, moving across the country. etc. But, even though it takes her a little time, she stands up for who and what she believes in. She accepts that she'll never be a girly girl and she's okay with that. We need more young girls like her in YA.

What fell a little flat were just minor things - why Blake lied so much and then ignored her, the over-dramatic scenarios that popped up,  the mean girls (it literally made no sense why people followed them). But there were other side characters who made up for these and ultimately, I enjoyed the book.

I would normally say that this would be a perfect cuddle up by the fireplace type of book, but if you're like me and live in California where it's currently 80 degrees already, I would call this a lovely park day read. 

Thank you to YA Bound Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour.

Blog Tour + Giveaway: Castaways by Jessika Fleck

I am happy to be joining YA Reads in their blog tour for the debut novel from Jessika Fleck titled The Castaways. Be sure to also check out the giveaway below!

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: April 3, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Teen
320 Pages

The Castaway Carnival: fun, mysterious, dangerous.

Renowned for its infamous corn maze…and the kids who go missing in it.

When Olive runs into the maze, she wakes up on an isolated and undetectable island where a decades-long war between two factions of rival teens is in full swing.

Trapped, Olive must slowly attempt to win each of her new comrades’ hearts as Will—their mysterious, stoically quiet, and handsome leader—steals hers.

Olive is only sure about one thing: her troop consists of the good guys, and she’ll do whatever it takes to help them win the war and get back home.

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 The Castaways is a fantasy of sorts. I mean, it involves a carnival that can magically transform you to an island. That sounds pretty cool, right? Well, what if this island was in the middle of a war and you just unwillingly chose sides?

When the Castaway Carnival rolls into town, Olive agrees to take her little brother with one rule - no going in the corn maze. Because, see, kids go missing in the maze and Olive is not about to take that chance. But when she's cornered by a group of mean girls from school who's life mission is to torment her, Olive unwillingly runs into the maze. And then finds herself on an island. She quickly discovers that island is inhabited by missing kids from all eras and that they never age. Also, there's a war. 

Fleck does a good job of bringing this mysterious island to life and it plays it's own part in the book as if it's a character in itself. It seems to give and take as it pleases - both protecting and endangering the kids as they try to find a way back home. 

Then there's the kids themselves. Duke and Will were the first on the island (well, in this group at least). They arrived as enemies and stayed that way which leads to the island war going on when Olive arrives. As the book progresses, we learn about each character and what brought them to the island. They realize that there's a theme: they were all running from something when they vanished. Olive believes that since they all were brought under similar circumstances that this must be some key to getting home, however, before she's able to fully test that theory the war blows up. 

To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Olive. Her constant lying from the moment she arrived on the island literally drove me nuts. Like, all of these people laid bare their stories and she just lied. This book, for me, was more about the background characters. Jude, Lewis, Bug, Tilly - they were all so much more interesting than Olive and kept me reading the book.

Overall, a good debut. Something a little new and I look forward to more from the author.

Thank you for YA Reads and Entangled Teen for allowing me to be a part of this Blog Tour. I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.