Blog tour (review): Catching Tatum by Lucy H. Delaney

ABOUT Catching Tatum

When high school heartthrob and star athlete Cole Jackson breaks Tatum’s heart, she makes a pact with herself to never be hurt again. She turns love into a game modeled after her family’s favorite pastime: baseball. Anyone brave enough to date her must step up to plate and get to each base by following her rules - or they're out.

Years later Cole, as handsome and charming as ever, makes an unexpected reappearance in her life with promises he’s a changed man. He’s got the story to prove it and says he’s willing to follow all of her rules just to have a second chance.

Complicating matters is the strong and steady Airman, Justin Parker, with a heartbreak story of his own. His friendship challenges all she ever knew of loving and being loved.

Will Tatum’s rules help her navigate two very different men, or will she strike out at her own game?

 

Here's my review:

NOTE: I received this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

To start this off, I want to say that this book was a surprise from the very first chapter. I didn't expect it to begin as it did (but I won't say more because I don't want to spoil it for you), or to develop how it did. What I can say is that I enjoyed the story, the characters, the truth of coming-of-age and how difficult it could be.

Most importantly though, this story doesn't feel like fiction, but like something you'd experience in real life. That's what really captivated me and drew me in.

About the characters... I can say that both Tatum and Cole started out as kids, but grew up as life moved on around them. There were moments when I didn't like how they acted, didn't approve of what they did, but like I said previously, that's why this felt like a real life story.

I really recommend this book to people who love reading new adult lit, but do keep in mind that you're in for something fresh. 

ABOUT Lucy H. Delaney

Lucy H. Delaney lives in the Pacific Northwest town of Leavenworth, Washington, nestled at the feet of the Cascade Mountains. When not tucked away in her writing room making up stories or standing in her cubicle in one of the offices of corporate America, Lucy spends her time with her family, former students, and friends.

Lucy loves to be in nature: She can often be found on her homemade backyard swing, curled up with a good book, hiking the surrounding mountains, or running country roads and game trails.

 

Connect with Lucy online

Twitter: @lucyhdelaney

Facebook: Lucy H. Delaney

www.lucyhdelaney.com

Add Catching Tatum to Goodreads

Blog tour (excerpt): One Song Away by Molli Moran

  
Book details:

One Song Away by Molli Moran
Publication date: December 1st 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

She needs a fill-in boyfriend. He needs a favor. It’s the perfect, no-strings arrangement until they both realize it’s too real…

Sophie-Claire Wright’s life is like a bad country song on repeat. She keeps running into her cheating ex, her songwriting career isn’t taking off, and her roommate just kicked her out of their apartment. With nothing to lose, she decides to do the one thing she said she’d never do: she moves back home. She left her small Southern town with big dreams, but now she’s going home with empty pockets.

Life moves at a slower pace in Sophie’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hometown, but her well-meaning, matchmaking mama doesn’t have a slow gear. Sophie invents a boyfriend to hold off her mother’s efforts, but she’s out of luck when her mom wants to meet him. Sophie panics until she runs into Jake Cooper. Her high school crush is back in town, too, and when he asks her for a favor, she agrees—on one condition. He says he’ll be her fill-in boyfriend, so it should be simple: introduce him to her family and then “break up” with him after a few weeks.

Sophie is sure she’ll be able to resist Jake this time and that their fake relationship will keep them both away from wagging tongues. Sure, she was in love with him years ago, but that was then. This is now, no matter how great he looks, or how she feels around him. But she didn’t bargain for moments that feel all too genuine. Dates that don’t seem fake. Kisses that leave her shaken and wanting more. And she didn’t count on old feelings resurfacing and complicating their arrangement—which is starting to feel less like acting and more like the real deal.

Soon, Sophie can’t tell which kisses are real or fake, but she knows she’s in deep…and she thinks Jake is, too. When she gets a chance to go back to Nashville and chase her dreams again, she has a choice to make: stay or go? Continue hoping that the life she wants is one song away, or write her own?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22398221-one-song-away?ac=1

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/One-Song-Away-Molli-Moran-ebook/dp/B00O8L83K6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418080268&sr=8-1&keywords=One+Song+Away

A sweet romantic excerpt:

“I think we should kiss.”

I look up so fast that I’m fairly sure I have whiplash. He gives me an innocent look and I glare at him. “What?” I take my hair out of the ponytail and the freed strands float to my shoulders. “Did you say we should kiss?”

Jake nods, but for some reason, he seems fixated on my hair. My eyes stray to his lips, and I frown. I can’t say I haven’t thought about it. Couples are affectionate and steal kisses. If we don’t hold hands or give each other a quick kiss, we won’t sell this couple thing. And I’ll be on a blind date with Mr. Double Major in Accounting and Boring faster than I can blink.

“O-okay.”

“Okay?” Jake shoots me an unreadable look.

“I said okay, didn’t I?” I stand, hands on my hips. “You’re not making this very romantic at all. You’re a horrible fake boyfriend.” I try to sound teasing, but there’s something in my voice I can’t define. I’m curious and I’m afraid. What if I kiss Jake and I don’t like it? What if we don’t have any chemistry?

What if we do?

There’s a reckless smile tugging at his mouth. “That so?” He takes three steps and he’s in front of me. When I breathe in, I smell his cologne. I’m stretched taut enough to snap in two when I face him.

“Yeah.” I smirk at him, moving closer. “That’s so.” I imitate his drawl. “In fact, you’re—”

Jake covers my mouth with his, and my words go as transparent as smoke. One of his arms is around my waist, and he’s cupping my cheek with the other. His fingers press against my skin, and before I can remind myself this is a bad, bad idea, I step into him and open my mouth. It’s not even worth trying to pretend I’m not just as into this kiss as he is. Not when his hand presses into the small of my back, urging me even closer. Not when his lips move against mine as though he’s the only one who’s ever kissed me.

Since I’m already melded against Jake’s chest, I go all in. I wrap my arms around his neck at the same time I touch my tongue to his, and he makes a very male, very appreciative noise. When he eases one thigh between my legs, I let him tangle us together, because I’ve waited too long for this to do anything else.

I’ve kissed more guys than I can count, but the way Jake kisses me is confident, his hand never leaving my face. It’s a complete turn-on. His mouth is hard and then soft on mine, changing by the second, and I can only go with him and try to hold my own. He bites my upper lip gently and I moan into his mouth. When he turns me, I bump into a chair. It scrapes across the floor, and like dreamers jerking awake, we separate.

His eyes are wide, and in the dim lights left on, the gold and brown in those eyes are battling for dominance. I press a hand to my chest, even though I can already tell my heart is thrumming. I’m out of breath, and I have no idea what to say. I just kissed Coop. And it was…

“That was intense.” His voice breaks slightly on the last syllable. He’s quiet for a few seconds, but then he shakes his head, his face animated. “We’re definitely going to pull off this couple thing.”

Fuck. My. Life. He thought it was all an act? The kiss felt damn real to me. It was intense, like he said. It was hot…and it was all pretend for him. Clearly, I got way too lost in the moment. I’m going to have to find some way of keeping that from happening again.

I nod, quickly gathering my things. “For sure.” I laugh, but it’s an octave higher than normal, and sounds like a needle screeching on a record, to me at least. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jake.”

Then I run away before he can notice how rattled I am.

So much for keeping my heart out of it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Molli is a Southern writer who doesn’t consider her day complete if she hasn’t written. She loves coffee and talking fast, things she attributes to being raised by Gilmore Girls. She’s a romantic at heart, and brings that to her books. When not reading or blogging, she can be found obsessing over Doctor Who, cuddling her various pets, or spending time with friends, family, or her girlfriend.

Author links:

http://mollimoran.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7543317.Molli_Moran

https://www.facebook.com/authormolliwrites

https://twitter.com/missmolliwrites

Giveaway:

Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)

• $25 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
• 5 E-copies of ONE SONG AWAY
• 2 ONE SONG AWAY Swag Packs 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Researching a Historical Novel, a guest post by Holly Lynn Payne

Researching a Historical Novel
Holly Lynn Payne

To create three dimensional, almost holographic characters and story worlds, I believe you have to inhabit your story as if you are living it yourself. That's the only way I know how to draw authentic characters. I have to travel deep into the story world on the page and in real life. I'm a trained journalist so research is a natural part of my work, and often what I love most about it.

I usually spend time in the location of my story world first, regardless of the time period. My books are set in fairly exotic destinations, which is just a great excuse for me to explore new cultures. I spent a winter and summer in Dubrovnik, Croatia for The Sound of Blue, my second novel set during the Balkan War in the early 90s. I needed to see the landscape, architecture, the light, the foliage, all the colors, smells and sounds. I absorbed so much more than I could have ever learned in a book or online. I made some friends and was able to ask questions about the war that I would have never been able to learn otherwise. That level of human interaction is the most valuable resource for any book I write. I need to immerse myself in the place and get to know the people first and foremost, even if I have to leap back in time while I write.

When I was writing my first novel, The Virgin's Knot, I spent many months traveling through Turkey over the course of a few years. I needed to know about the rug producing regions and meet the weavers, because my protagonist was a famous weaver in the 1950s. This brought me to Konya, Turkey—home of the Whirling Dervishes. I ended up at Rumi's tomb in Konya.

At the time, I had no idea who Rumi was, what he had written or what he stood for. Everything changed after that day. I literally felt a charge in the air at the tomb of the tekke, the dervish monastery that's been converted into a museum, where millions of people visit each year to pay homage to the great poet and mystic. I couldn't believe I had no idea who Rumi was and I was eager to learn as much as I could when I returned to the United States. Fifteen years later, I ended up writing Damascena: The tale of roses and Rumi.

It was during my travels in Turkey when also had learned about rose oil production. I had a friend and colleague who was traveling with a group of aromatherapists on a mission to buy rose oil—a powerful healing agent. I saw an article in the Turkish magazine, Cornucopia. The pictures blew me away. I had never seen so many rose petals. It was gorgeous. The writer said something about being able to smell roses as far as one mile from the distilleries. I couldn't believe that it took nearly four tons of rose petals to distill one kilogram of rose oil. I also couldn't believe that rose oil was the binding agent for all perfumes and could not be synthetically reproduced. No wonder it cost nearly $1000 for a kilogram of rose oil. I was immediately hooked and compelled to travel to the world's most famous rose production region, Bulgaria's Valley of The Roses to learn as much as I could for Damascena.

One of the most magical travel experiences of my life happened during that trip. I hired a translator, a young woman my age, who had never set foot in any of her country's villages. She kept kidding me, calling me "Crazy American lady," when after befriending some of the rose pickers in a field, I accepted their invitation to pick with them at 4 a.m. the next day. They were actually joking with me but that's why I had come. I wanted to know what it was like to pick the rosa damascena, the kind of roses that yield the most power rose 'attar' oil in the world.

Picking rose petals required my translator to accompany me, and we ended up in one of the rose picker's houses, sleeping shoebox style in a single bed, head to feet and feet to head. In the middle of the night, we left with the other workers to pick roses on a full moon. We climbed into a truck bed, covered with canvas, sitting knees to chest with only the cherry embers of cigarettes flashing in the darkness. When we arrived at the field, the workers continued to smoke, which only slightly masked the intoxicating scent of roses all around us. I would have never had this experience if I hadn't prioritized traveling for research, and I'm so grateful I did.

This is where you can find Holly:


Website:  http://www.hollylynnpayne.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hollylynnpayne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hollylynnpayne/
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21841179-damascena---the-tale-of-roses-and-rumi
Goodreads author page:  https://www.goodreads.com/HollyLynnPayne

Google Author Talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdoB1501gUc

 Book blurb:

Holly Payne's spellbinding tale brings the unparalleled poet, Mevlana Rumi, to life, and transports readers to the enchanting world of 13th century Persia. Simply but elegantly told, the story unravels the mystery surrounding a legendary orphaned girl, who discovers her gift of turning roses into oil. Named after the flowering rosa damascena, the girl reluctantly assumes the role of a living saint for the miracles she performs-longing for the only one that matters: finding her mother. Deeply wounded by the separation since birth, Damascena undergoes a riveting transformation when she meets Rumi and finally discovers the secret of the rose. Imbued with rich historical research and inspired by the devastating disappearance of Rumi's most lauded spiritual companion, Shams of Tabriz, Holly Payne has courageously opened herself to receive Rumi's teachings and offer a timeless love story. 
 
An excerpt of Damascena is available to read here:  http://hollylynnpayne.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Damascena-Excerpt.pdf
Buying Links

Amazon:   http://tinyurl.com/lng8mvp   
Barnes & Noble:  http://tinyurl.com/mjfvfqz

Book trailer reveal: The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

Hi folks!

Excellent news today! Entangled TEEN reveals the book trailer of THE BOOK OF IVY, the next big distopian title that comes out in November. I haven't seen the trailer myself, so I'll be watching along. And believe me, I can't wait to get to read the book!

ENJOY!




Excellent stuff, if I dare say so myself.
Now, if you want to learn more about this novel, keep on reading. And before I forget - there's a Goodreads giveaway running for 3 paperback copies of the book. Here's the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/111469-the-book-of-ivy 
Or you could just enter via the widget below:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Book of Ivy

by Amy Engel

Giveaway ends November 04, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Book synopsis:

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and return the Westfall family to power.

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…

Buy links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1mj5PXZ
B&N: http://bit.ly/BoIBN
iTunes: http://bit.ly/BoIiTunes
Kobo: http://bit.ly/BoIKobo 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20640755-the-book-of-ivy?ac=1

About Amy Engel:

Amy Engel was born in Kansas and after a childhood spent bouncing between countries (Iran, Taiwan) and states (Kansas, California, Missouri, Washington, D.C.), she settled in Kansas City, Missouri where she lives with her husband and two kids. Before devoting herself full time to motherhood and writing, she was a criminal defense attorney, which is not quite as exciting as it looks on TV. When she has a free moment, she can usually be found reading, running, or shoe shopping.

Find Amy online:
Website: http://amyengel.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/aengelwrites