Introducing Brooding YA Hero: The Novel!

Today we're here with Carrie, the mastermind behind the amazingly hilarious Twitter account @BroodingYAHero! She sat down and answered some interview questions for us, and she also gave us some info on her new book, inspired by the Twitter feed itself, which will be out later this year!

First, The Interview!

So, what exactly is @BroodingYAHero?

Brooding YA Hero is... complicated! He started as a Twitter account, which shows the thoughts and opinions held by Broody McHottiepants, the character archtype behind all of those brooding, swoony, heroes we love (and love to hate) in YA fiction.

Broody isn't any one character. He's been a football superstar, a mysterious paranormal being, and a hot young rock star.  Because of that, he has thoughts on many different YA stories, and is impossible to describe... too much.

He's also the star of the book! In Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (almost) as Awesome as Me, Broody decides he's going to write his own book. So, the novel is full of his helpful tips on how to transform yourself into a main character. But at the same time, his evil ex is plotting to steal Broody's secrets to change herself into a heroine. Will she succeed? You'll have to read it!

What made you want to start that Twitter account in the first place? And what made you keep it going for this long?

Mainly, I started it to make my friends laugh! And since it seemed to be working, I kept going. I love being able to make people from around the world crack up with a Tweet.

Where do you come up with all of the content for the Twitter account? Do you ever run out of ideas?

They come out of the magical and strange place known as my brain. I've yet to run out of ideas. Sometimes, they even hit me when I'm doing something totally unrelated to writing. All of my friends have seen me scribble down a tweet idea while we're out to dinner, for example.

When/why did you finally make the decision to branch off and write a book based off this experience? 

It just seemed like the right time. Broody as a character has a lot to say, and it was so fun giving him an entire book to be himself. Plus, I think we could all use a little more laughter this year.

What's been your favorite part of the writing process for this book and why?

Well, I have to say for this book, it's seeing the illustrations!

Linnea Gear has done an amazing job capturing Broody's personality, and the book's sense of humor. Her art is here, (linneart.tumblr.com) and if you're lucky, she might post a sneak preview of some Broody art!

Do you think you'll be writing more books in the future, including ones that aren't based off of @BroodingYAHero?

Absolutely. In fact, I'm working on something pretty awesome right now. Stay Tuned. ;) 

About the Brooding YA Hero Book

Title: Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me

Author: Carrie DiRisio

Illustrations: Linnea Gear

Publisher: Skypony Press

Publication Date: October 3rd, 2017

Kindle Book

Summary: Have you ever wished you could receive a little guidance from your favorite book boyfriend? Ever dreamed of being the Chosen One in a YA novel? Want to know all the secrets of surviving the dreaded plot twist? Or maybe you're just really confused about what "opal-tinted, luminous cerulean orbs" actually are? Well, popular Twitter personality @broodingYAhero is here to help as he tackles the final frontier in his media dominance: writing a book. Join Broody McHottiepants as he attempts to pen Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me, a "self-help" guide (with activities--you always need activities) that lovingly pokes fun at the YA tropes that we roll our eyes at, but secretly love. As his nefarious ex, Blondie DeMeani, attempts to thwart him at every turn, Broody overcomes to detail, among other topics, how to choose your genre, how to keep your love interest engaged (while maintaining lead character status), his secret formula for guaranteed love triangle success, and how to make sure you secure that sequel, all while keeping his hair perfectly coiffed and never breaking a sweat.

Amazon / Goodreads / Twitter

About The Author

Carrie Ann DiRisio is a YA writer and creator of @BroodingYAHero. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with one large fluffy cat, and is currently pursuing her masters in Digital Marketing, although her true dream is to become a Disney Villainess, complete with a really snazzy gown.In addition to writing and plans for world domination, she also enjoys running, coffee, Krav Maga, and knitting. 

Personal Twitter / @BroodingYAHero / Website / Instagram

***INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY***

One (1) lucky winner will be receiving this awesome and adorable tote from @BroodingYAHero! Open internationally; information & link/widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We'd like to once again thank Carrie for being so awesome and talking with us and stopping by the blog today! If you aren't following @BroodingYAHero on Twitter yet, you definitely need to be -- it certainly gives you plenty of laughs!

And it pretty much goes without saying that if this book isn't on your TBR already, it definitely should be, because it's going to be a hilarious time for all readers involved. We're definitely looking forward to it!

ARC Review: A Map For Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor

Title: A Map For Wrecked Girls
Author: Jessica Taylor
Publisher: Dial Books
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Hardcover, 368 Pages
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017

Summary: Emma had always orbited Henri, her fierce, magnetic queen bee of an older sister, and the two had always been best friends. Until something happened that wrecked them. Then the unthinkable occurs—a watery nightmare off the dazzling coast. The girls wash up on shore, stranded. Their only companion is Alex, a troubled boy agonizing over his own secrets. Trapped in this gorgeous hell, Emma and Alex fall together as Emma and Henri fall catastrophically apart. To find their way home, the sisters must find their way back to each other. But there’s no map for this—or anything. Can they survive the unearthing of the past and the upheaval of the present?

 

Emily and I both received ARCs of A Map For Wrecked Girls at BookCon (after waiting in several particularly long lines!), and I'm so glad that we did, because I have been excited to get my hands on this book for a long time. It was even one of our Waiting on Wednesday picks in the past! So, needless to say, I was eagerly awaiting the moment when I would get to start it. That moment came a few days ago when I spent the entire day at the beach -- which was the perfect setting, since that's where a majority of the book takes place!

As the summary explains, Emma and her older sister, Henri, have always been super close. They did everything together, told each other their secrets, and spent as much time together as possible. As Henri always told Emma, she couldn't ever see herself loving anyone other than her sister. But then a whole mess of drama goes down (which I won't spoil for you!), and then their relationship is never the same. And then, to make matters even worse, they end up stranded on an unmarked tropical island out in Puerto Rico with Alex, a boy with troubles of his own, and they have to take some pretty risky measures to survive. 

There were so many things that I enjoyed about this book. For starters, I am absolutely in love with the color, with all of the bright colors and flowers and the stark black background and all of that. I love it so much that it was one of the books that my boyfriend and I both picked to take professional pictures of for the blog's social media! (Shown below!) I mean come on guys, just look at it. *heart eyes*

Image Credit: Santiago Rolon

As for the story itself, I thought it was the perfect amount of thrilling, romantic, and even scary at times. It was interesting to see how Emma, Henri, and Alex utilized the island's resources to survive, and they even got pretty creative with tools and resources when things started to take a turn towards desperate. I in no way ever want to be stranded on an island, don't get me wrong, but watching the way they all banded together and used their scare resources to survive was pretty interesting to follow throughout the story.

This book took me through an emotional roller coaster from start to finish. There were several moments when I was reading where I gasped out loud, laughed, cried, and even dropped the book in shock. (It got to the point where I was beginning to get the idea that my mom was sick of sitting next to me while I was reading.) If you're looking for a book that grabs you and actively keeps you engaged from start to finish, A Map For Wrecked Girls is the book for you.

The only thing that I didn't like about this book was Henry's character herself. I thought she was manipulative, stubborn, a bully, and definitely a b*tch. I don't think that's any problem with the writing or anything, just a character in the story who was definitely meant to be that way, but I didn't like her all the same. Even through her ups and downs, Henri left a bad taste in my mouth. She was mean when it wasn't necessary, stubborn when it was literally a matter of life and death, and just all around not a good person. She was definitely my least favorite character.

Alex and Emma, however, were my favorites, and I totally shipped them from the get go. I thought they were adorable even with their own problems, and the way they worked together and worked so hard on the island made my heart feel warm inside. So yeah, I definitely loved those two a lot more than I loved Henri. 

Overall, I really enjoyed A Map For Wrecked Girls. I'm glad that this was one of the books that I waited on line to get. I read this book in a less than two whole days because I couldn't tear myself away from it. I'm a sucker for survival stories, and when it's a story like Jessica Taylor's with extra doses of drama and disaster, it makes it even better. I'll definitely be reading more of Jessica Taylor's books in the future, because I really, really liked this one -- it was the perfect amount of danger, romance, and thrills to kick off the summer! If this book isn't on your TBR, guys, it definitely should be. You won't regret it!

Waiting On Wednesday: Top Ten by Katie Cotugno

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine where we highlight some of the upcoming books we can't wait to read!

Emily's Waiting on:

Title: Top Ten
Author: Katie Cotugno
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: October 3,2017

Summary: Ryan McCullough and Gabby Hart are the unlikeliest of friends. Introverted, anxious Gabby would rather do literally anything than go to a party. Ryan is a star hockey player who can get any girl he wants—and does, frequently. But against all odds, they became not only friends, but each other’s favorite person. Now, as they face high school graduation, they can’t help but take a moment to reminisce and, in their signature tradition, make a top ten list—counting down the top ten moments of their friendship: 
10. Where to begin? Maybe the night we met.9. Then there was our awkward phase.8. When you were in love with me but never told me…7. Those five months we stopped talking were the hardest of my life.6. Through terrible fights…5. And emotional makeups.4. You were there for me when I got my heart broken.3. …but at times, you were also the one breaking it.2. Above all, you helped me make sense of the world.1. Now, as we head off to college—how am I possibly going to live without you?

I'm an avid reader of YA and New Adult contemporary. I'm also a huge fan of Katie Cotugno and am so excited to read this. Be sure to look out for a review and let us know which of Katie's books is your favorite!

What are you waiting on this week? Leave your links so we can stop back!

Top Ten Tuesday: My All Time Favorite Series

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which we create bookish lists about everything from our favorite characters to love triangles and everything in between!

This Week's Topic: My All Time Favorite Series!

Hey guys! For this weeks post, I'm going to list my top ten favorite series (I'll post the first book in each series). I feel like all I read are series. Having the stories go on for three, sometimes even six, books, is one of my favorite things about reading. Be sure to click the cover to take to the the books Goodreads page!

1. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl

2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

4. Shadowlands by Kate Brian

5. Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

6. Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout

7. Lailah by Nikki Kelly

8. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

9. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

10. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

So these are the series that I love the most! If any of these are your favorites or you have a different favorite, let us know!

Cover Reveal: No Limits by Ellie Marney!

Hi guys! We're here today on the blog (a little late in the afternoon!) to show you the cover reveal that we've been working with Ellie Marney, and we're so excited to show you this awesome cover. 

Here comes the reveal. Are you ready?


....


.....


..........


Here it comes...

.....

......

.....

I'm really a fan of the all black/white/gray with the yellow thrown in there to contrast and pop out. I mean...come on guys. Look at this. *heart eyes*

Boozer, brawler, ladies’ man – nineteen-year-old Harris Derwent is not a good guy. His one attempt to play the hero – helping out his old flame, Rachel Watts – has landed him in hospital. Now injured, broke, and unemployed, he’s stuck back in the country, at his father’s mercy. Harris needs to pay off his dad’s debts, and fast. But working as a runner for a drug cartel is a dangerous path – especially if Harris agrees to narc… Eighteen-year-old Amita Blunt is the perfect police sergeant’s daughter – practical, trustworthy, and oh-so responsible. Getting involved in Harris’s case was never part of the plan. But working at the hospital, she’s invisible – which makes her the ideal contact for a boy feeding information back to the police… Harris and Amie’s connection is sizzling hot – but if the cartel finds out about them, things could get downright explosive. Backed into a corner, with everything at stake, it’s time for Harris and Amie to find out if love really has no limits…

“A novel of bruising empathy and excitable romance…This is modern Australia for so many growing up on the periphery right now, picked apart with exquisite and smart insight from one of Australia's best crime and YA writers.” – Danielle Binks, Begin End Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology

The book is a standalone (although if you’ve read some of Harris’s story in Every Move – nice one!), and is pitched towards older YA readers.

The release date is August 14th, 2017, and pre-orders will be available starting August 1st! 

The book will be released on ebook and print on demand on Amazon – and you can order your copies (including print copies) there. More platforms where the book will be available will be coming soon!

And if you want more updates on the book or Ellie's writing in general, don't forget to check out her website, which is www.elliemarney.com

We'd like to thank Ellie Marney for teaming up with us and allowing us to be a part of this cover reveal! The summary of this book seems super interesting and I can't wait to get my hands on it! 

Comment your thoughts on the cover down below!

Book Blitz & Giveaway: The Right Fit by Daphne Dubois

The Right Fit
Daphne Dubois
Publication date: April 12th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

She’s sworn off love, he’s sworn off sex, but together they’ll score the goal of a lifetime.
When Maxine Nicholls discovers her fiancé is cheating, she turns to fast food and nighttime soap operas, but her sister has a plan—unbridled rebound sex with a stranger.
As one of Toronto’s hottest players, Antony Laurent tallies scores on and off the ice, but when the chiseled defense man hits a slump, rumors of a trade to the minor league send him to ambush a managers meeting at a posh club.
That night a chance encounter ends up as an unforgettable evening of passion. But Maxine and Antony are about to discover a game of casual hook ups can lead to something neither one of them thought they deserved—the right fit.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

She dropped her gaze and stared at his hands. God, they are big hands. Big hands, big… “Do you want a coffee?” she blurted out.
“A coffee? Non.”
“Or maybe you need the washroom?” She pointed down the short hallway that lead to her bedroom.
He looked down the hallway, then back to Maxine. “You want me to use washroom?” he asked seriously.
“No.” She backed up a few steps until she reached the kitchen counter. The heat under her dress was now slick and uncomfortable. She glanced down and saw a mint leaf sticking out of her cleavage. Classy lady.
The romance cover model ran a hand through his hair again, making his biceps strain under the t-shirt sleeve. Maxine suspected he’d practiced that move in the mirror a few times. “Then what do you want?” he asked.
A burst of nervous laughter escaped, but then her smile faded. “No one has asked me that in a very long time,” she said. Slipping off his jacket, she laid it on the counter, letting her finger trace the stitching along the zipper, trying to build up her courage. “Why did you follow me into the cab?”
“Because no one has ever run away from me before.”
Rolling her eyes, Maxine looked up and saw that he was smirking. “Rejection is a new thing for you, I’m guessing.”
“Is that what you call inviting me here?” He tossed the ball cap and it landed perfectly on the dining table. The floorboard creaked as he took a step closer to her. There was a spark of anticipation in his eyes.
“Hold on, cowboy,” she said, putting a hand on his chest. My God! His muscles are rock hard under his shirt. Who the hell is this guy? She cleared her throat. “What makes you think you can kiss me again?”
He was still as stone under her touch, but Maxine could feel herself falling into his stare. “You kissed me,” he said, his voice ridiculously smooth. “There is a difference, I promise.”
It wasn’t only the French accent, but the confidence in his voice that made her knees almost unhinge. Her hand was flat on his chest; his racing heart was keeping time with hers. “That sounds like a proposition,” she said.
“It can only be decided one way.” Then he repeated his earlier question. “What do you want?”
He was so close she could see the faint brown and black colors of his stubble. There was a cleft in his chin. What do you want? An image of the long white box hidden in the closet was ignored; all Maxine wanted at that moment was to mold herself into his arms and forget about the last four years. “Kiss me,” she said.
His fingers grazed her cheek, tucking a wave of hair behind her ear. “Un moment,” he said. “A man should be prepared.” He peeled the last mint leaf off her chest then placed it in his mouth.
Maxine giggled through a surprised expression, which faded into a sigh.
Then, with deliberate care, he brought his lips down to hers, perfectly fitting their mouths together. He gently moved his chin starting a slow pace, controlled but with a sense of held back urgency.
This was nothing like the hastily stolen kiss at the club.
The cautious seduction was almost too much for Maxine. She wanted to taste him fully, kiss him back hard—tackle this moment like Alexis Colby.

Author Bio:
Daphne Dubois writes contemporary romance and believes the right book at the right time can make all the difference. When she's not putting her characters in compromising positions (ahem), she works as a registered nurse. A member of the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia, she lives in Eastern Canada, the most romantic place in the world.
You can also find her writing for teens as B.R. Myers.

Website / Goodreads / Facebok / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

We'd like to thank XPresso Book Tours for allowing us to be a part of this awesome giveaway and blitz! This seems like an awesome book that we can't wait to add to our TBR!

Review: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Title: Always and Forever, Lara Jean
Author: Jenny Han
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Hardcover, 336 Pages
Published May 2nd, 2017

Summary: Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding. But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind. When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to? 

I've been a big fan of Jenny Han ever since I read To All The Boys I've Loved Before, so when I found out that she was going to be at BookCon signing copies of Always and Forever, Lara Jean, I was beyond excited. I was happy to begin with because this series was never expected to be a trilogy, so this was a nice little ending that tied up all of the loose ends that I wasn't expecting, and as always, the Song girls are always a delight to read about.

So at BookCon, Emily and I were walking around and just exploring the show floor before some signings, when we came across a short-looking line that didn't require much waiting, and we decided to jump on it just because. We couldn't see what the line led to, because it was around the bend...but it turns out that it was Jenny Han and Morgan Matson doing photo ops with fans, and then they were also serving coffee and cookies to fans, and giving away some super adorable swag and nail decals and stuff, so I got a chance to meet Jenny (and Morgan!) in person, and she was so sweet and adorable and was wearing the cutest outfit, and there entire little meetup was so great to go to, even if it was stumbled upon accidentally! Honestly, it was one of the highlights of the first day of BookCon for me.

Morgan, Me, and Jenny!

My boyfriend also took some adorable pictures of my swag and my signed copy of the book that I got at the event, and he takes really great photos, so check it out!

Image Credit: Santiago Rolon

Okay, now onto my actual review of the book itself. This is the final book in the trilogy, and it pretty much covers Lara Jean's senior year of high school. There are college applications (and then, of course, college decisions), prom, graduation, and even a wedding. Her and Peter's relationship seems to be on the upswing, but then something happens that they don't account for (which I won't spoil for you!), and things just get...tricky. Lara Jean, who absolutely hates change -- which I can totally relate to, because I'm the same way -- isn't ready for all of the ways that her life is about to 

As for what I really liked about this book, as always with Jenny Han's books, is that it's an adorable romance. I've shipped Peter and Lara Jean's relationship from the very beginning, even when things were a little rocky between them, and I especially loved how adorably Peter got along with Lara Jean's younger sister, Kitty, and just her family overall. I also see a lot of myself in Lara Jean, specifically with how she loves to get creative and plan things, and, as I just mentioned, how she hates change. I found this book very easy to relate to, possibly because I was in her shoes last year, with college decisions, actually going away to school (rather than only being 15 or so minutes from home, I'm a good hour and a half or so), people she was leaving behind, and all of the common stress and anxiety that just comes with going away to school. So I understood everything that Lara Jean was feeling, and all of the worries that came along with it.

It was just refreshing for me to look back through the senior year feelings and events that happened to me over an entire year ago. It felt nice to revisit them, which is what I really liked. Call me crazy, but I actually miss college applications, getting decisions, yearbooks, prom, and graduation. Today is actually an entire year since my graduation party, so yeah, I can definitely confirm that I miss it. And who better for me to experience it again with than Lara Jean? This book was honestly so adorable and lighthearted (even though it contained some serious moments), and I enjoyed it a lot. I finished this book in less than a day because I kept wanting to read more and more of Lara Jean's final story, and I just couldn't tear myself away. 

By the time I finished the book, I felt satisfied. I'm usually pretty sad when a series is over for good, but I feel like all of my questions were answered. There are no loose ends left untied -- Jenny Han makes sure of that. I closed this book with a feeling of finality and satisfaction, while also feeling just the tiniest bit sad that this series and these characters that I have gone on to know and love are officially moving on. But I'm happy with the way that the book ended. I really am.

There was really only one thing that I wasn't crazy about this book, and that's what kept me from giving this book a little bit higher of a rating. I don't know if it's just something that I'm reading into too much (haha, #bookpuns), or if that was Jenny Han's intention all along, but at times I felt like Lara Jean was a lot less mature than she should be for her age. It just made the story hard to read at times, because during certain scenes I felt like Lara Jean's narrative voice sounded more like somebody who was in middle school than somebody who was about to graduate college and go off into the world as an adult. Maybe that's just Lara Jean's style, because it's definitely consistent throughout the three books, but that's really the one thing about her that I wasn't entirely in love with. 

Overall, I liked Always and Forever, Lara Jean. I feel like Jenny Han wrapped up the trilogy perfectly, and like I said, although I'm sad to see Lara Jean go, I'm glad that we got an extra book out of her adorable world and story. If Jenny Han writes some more stories in the future, you know that I'll definitely be on board to read them.

Review: Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium (Delirium #2) 
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Sci-fi/Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: In this follow-up to Delirium, Lena is on a dangerous course that takes her through the unregulated "Wilds" and into the heart of a growing resistance movement.

After reading Delirium, I had so many questions as to what happens next. Pandemonium did answer some of those but now I have even more questions! I honestly think the questions will never end.

There wasn't much of a summary to this book which I found slightly confusing because you always want some sort of summary, right? Pandemonium was told in two alternating perspectives; then and now. The then portion covers the events that take place right after Lena makes it over the wall and gets taken in by group from the Wilds. Here, Lena learns about their Homestead and how things work in the Wilds. The now portion covers the events that take place while Lena is in Manhattan as she takes part in the resistance.

Lena is told to follow Julian Fineman, the youth leader of the DFA (Deliria Free America), during a major DFA rally. After an unexpected attack, Lena, determined to stick to what she was told to do, follows Julian underground. After searching for Julian, the unthinkable happens, forcing Lena and Julian to work together for there own safety. After Lena finds out what was really going on, she takes a major risk to try and save the ones she cares for most.

Okay, to begin, I felt the "then" parts of the book were not needed. Maybe if the book was split into two parts it would have made more sense or if there was even just a prologue explaining how Lena was saved and by who in the beginning. The switching back and forth confused me before I realized what it was and I really only wanted to read the parts of the book where Lena was in Manhattan as part of the resistance. 

Minor spoilers (skip to last paragraph)

I did like that Julian was able to set aside him and Lena's differences in order to work together. I felt he basically knew right away that Lena wasn't actually cured. I mean they really only had each other. I also loved that Lena was so willing to risk her own safety to try and save Julian.

Although that ending had me wanting to rip my heart out and stomp all over it, I enjoyed the second book. Like I said some parts weren't needed and some I loved. Now I'm hoping the final book is the best of them all.