Blog Tour & Giveaway: THE DAEMONIAC by Kat Ross

The Daemoniac (A Dominion Mystery, #1)
by Kat Ross
Publication Date: October 12th 2016
Genres: Historical, Mystery, Young Adult
Find it On: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Follow the full tour here!

Synopsis:

It’s August of 1888, just three weeks before Jack the Ripper will begin his grisly spree in the London slum of Whitechapel, and another serial murderer is stalking the gas-lit streets of New York. With taunting messages in backwards Latin left at the crime scenes and even more inexplicable clues like the fingerprints that appear to have been burned into one victim’s throat, his handiwork bears all the hallmarks of a demonic possession.

But consulting detective Harrison Fearing Pell is convinced her quarry is a man of flesh and blood. Encouraged by her uncle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry hopes to make her reputation by solving the bizarre case before the man the press has dubbed Mr. Hyde strikes again.

From the squalor of the Five Points to the high-class gambling dens of the Tenderloin and the glittering mansions of Fifth Avenue, Harry and her best friend, John Weston, follow the trail of a remorseless killer, uncovering a few embarrassing secrets of New York’s richest High Society families along the way. Are the murders a case of black magic—or simple blackmail? And will the trail lead them closer to home than they ever imagined?

The V Girl: Blog Tour & Review

The V Girl by Mya Robarts
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Genres: Dystopian, New Adult, Romance
Find it On: Goodreads / Amazon / iBooks / Kobo

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Synopsis:

In post-apocalyptic North America, sexual slavery is legal. Lila Velez desperately wants to lose her virginity before the troops visit her town and take it away by force. She makes plans to seduce her only friend. Lila does not love him, but he is the only man who has shown her true affection, an affection she is willing to take as a substitute for love. 

Lila’s coping mechanism to cope with her mother’s loss is her secret. A secret that will bring her closer to Aleksey Fürst, a foreign, broody man who she distrusts because of his links to the troops and his rough, yet irresistible appearance. He offers Lila an alternative to her plans, a possibility that terrifies her…and tempts her in spite of herself. 

With threats looming at every turn and no way to escape, Lila fears that falling in love will only lead to more heartache. The consequences of laying down her arms for Aleksey and welcoming hope might destroy more than her heart. They might force her to face the worst of her nightmares becoming a reality. Is love possible in a world that has forgotten what the human touch is? 

Painting Sky: Blog Tour & Review

Painting Sky by Rita Branches
Publication Date: April 25, 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Find it On: Goodreads / Amazon(ahttp://ritabranches.wordpress.com/ne's 

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Synopsis

Nobody ever said life was easy...

People pleaser Jane Skylar wants nothing more than to earn her art degree, start her life, and bask in the bliss of living with her boyfriend.

But things don't always go as planned...

Struggling with her creative side, Jane finds herself in turmoil, often confiding in her roommate - another, more talented art student, Keith Hale. Keith just so happens to be her boyfriend's older, brooding brother. After a devastating breakup, Jane turns to Keith for comfort. But when the lines blur between roommate and lover, life becomes more complicated than ever before.

When Keith's past comes back to haunt him, their lives all get turned upside down, forcing the truth to surface. Now Jane must fight for what she wants--even if it hurts everyone she loves.

How I Ruined My Life: Blog Tour & Review

How I Ruined My Life by T. L. Bainter 
Publication Date: February 12th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Find it On: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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Synopsis:

Kyle has gone unnoticed for the vast majority of his life and he’s always preferred it that way.
Homeschooled, shy, and only attending church because he’s forced to, there’s not really anything outstanding or interesting about him. That changes, however, when he meets James Porter. The two are fast friends, but Kyle isn’t sure if that’s a good thing or not. While some of the experiences resulting from their friendship are grand, many other experiences leave Kyle broken, angry, and depressed. Is Kyle’s friendship with James really such a good thing, or would he have been better off if he’d simply remained the quiet, lonely boy that no one seemed to notice?

 About The Author:

T. L. Bainter was born in 1994 and began writing short stories not long after that. Since the age of six, he has been churning out short story after short story. After receiving an award from the renowned Writers of the Future competition for his short story Edwin, T. L. Bainter found the confidence and encouragement that he needed to write and publish his first novel: How I Ruined My Life. Currently, he resides in Kansas City with his cat, Sooba.

Find him on his website, Facebook, or Twitter. 

My Review:

How I Ruined My Life by T.L. Bainter was a gritty, smack you in the face kind of novel about the hardships of teen life. In many ways it's kind of like a worst-case-scenario of the American teenager: what if your parents are sheltered and overprotective? What if you have a freak accident? What if your parents' marriage is a disaster? What if you're too popular or what if you're not popular enough? Without ruining the excitement of the story unfolding, the plot explores many of these extremes in a tidal wave of the best kind of teen angst.

The main character, Kyle, is an averagely smart, average looking teen whose main oddity is that he his homeschooled by very protective parents. When I say "very protective," I mean that they consider him going to a co-op school a few hours a day a few days a week is taking away from their family time. Kyle's main struggle is to live his life and be who he wants to be within their parameters, and the best opportunity to do that comes from meeting his best friend James through a youth group.

James' life is everything Kyle's isn't: he goes to real school, has a lot of friends, a girlfriend, and relaxed parents. Unlike what the title suggests, Jame's isn't a bad influence. In fact, it's through being around him that Kyle goes through a ton of character growth and grows up. Sometimes, that's by going to parties and hanging out with James' friends, and other times it's actually doing the exact opposite of what James does. The cool thing about this novel is that while James is sort of the poster child, Kyle doesn't live his entire life trying to be James, it's more that Kyle steadily gains a better understanding of what "normal" is through their friendship.

The other great thing that Bainter did was to not paint Kyle's parents as bad guys. Personally, I thought they were awful and the way they were raising Kyle was stifling and cruel. The whole time I was expecting the other hand to drop and for Kyle to totally flip out on them, but he never really does. There are some things he does in complete opposition to them--dating before graduating college (yes, college! You read that right!), for one. But for the most part he truly loves and respects them, and more than anything wants their approval in his choices.

My biggest issue with this book was that the summary and title make it so dramatic: how I ruined my life. Yet the novel is a winding sort of growing up tale, with all kinds of ups and downs along the way, and there really is no big cataclysmic event that changes his life in one major way. Certainly the Kyle we end with is different than the fifteen-year-old Kyle that we met at the beginning, but it seems like most of the changes he makes are for the better. I wonder: is Bainter making some kind of larger moral statement, that Kyle the man grew into someone Kyle the boy wouldn't like? I'd assume not since the book ended on a bittersweet yet happy note. More likely I'd advice Bainter and his publicity team to re-evaluate their angle because I think the title is selling him short.

Rating: 3.5/5. A great read for anyone who likes realistic teen fiction, coming of age, or atypical story lines that don't have one straightforward plot.

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Blog Tour: Whatever It Takes by Lindsey Pogue

Title: Whatever It Takes (Nothing But Trouble #1)

Author: Lindsey Pogue

Publication Date: January 22, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Purchase: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

Four years ago, I thought my life was pretty normal for a teenager. Three years ago, my world was shattered, and now I’m just trying to hold the pieces together.But regret and anger aren’t so easy to ignore. 

I just need to catch my breath … For it all to go away … 
I thought I might finally be ready to move on from that horrible night, but then he decided to come back. 
He can’t come back … he’ll ruin me completely. 
One horror-filled night changes the course of Samantha’s seemingly normal life. She’s ruined everything. Despite her determination to keep the family ranch up and running, her guilt makes it impossible to completely move on or forget. 
Sam takes comfort in her quirky, endearing friends as she tries to balance between the girl she was and the woman she wants to become. Just when she thinks she’s finally making amends with her past, someone she never thought she’d see again returns, and Sam’s life is once again turned upside down. Both her head and her heart want different things, so she’s lost when, once again, she’s forced to make a decision that will inevitably change her life.