Blog Tour: Finding Center by Katherine Locke - Guest Post & Giveaway

Finding Center by Katherine Locke
New Adult, Contemporary Romance
District Ballet Company #2
Expected Publication: August 17th, 2015

Zed and ballet are my two greatest loves.

But a tragic accident ripped them from Aly's life six years ago and it took all her strength to get them back. She’s had a long road to recovery and has returned, dancing full-time for The District Ballet Company and carrying Zed’s child. But Aly is slipping. Each day becomes a fight to keep her career from crumbling under the weight of younger talent, the scrutiny of the public eye, and the limitations of her ever-changing body. A fight she fears she’s losing.

I’m scared Aly is broken to her core.

Zed recognizes signs, but he doesn’t know how to fix her. The accident left him with his own demons, and while he wants nothing more than to take care of Aly, it’s getting harder the further she spirals. When Aly’s life is threatened and Zed’s injuries prevent him from saving her, he’s never felt so useless, so afraid he is no longer capable of being the man Aly and their child needs.

With new life comes new hope. And with their fractured lives already hanging by a thread, Aly and Zed must discover if they have what it takes—both together and apart—to rebuild and carry on.

Purchase:

Amazon | B&N

______________________________________________________

About the Author

Katherine Locke lives and writes in a very small town outside of Philadelphia, where she’s ruled by her feline overlords and her addiction to chai lattes. She writes about that which she cannot do: ballet, time travel, and magic. When she’s not writing, she’s probably tweeting. She not-so-secretly believes most stories are fairy tales in disguise. She can be found online at katherinelockebooks.com and on Twitter: @bibliogato.

______________________________________________________

Guest Post

Hey all! I’m here today with my characters Aly and Zed for a somewhat unusual and fun interview! Hopefully everyone will behave. This will be spoiler-free and some of the questions came from our readers!

Zed: We have readers. That’s so strange.
Aly:  It’s not really that strange.

Zed: You’re used to having fans. I’m not. Let me bask in the moment .

Aly: I’m a fan of yours.

Zed: Look at you, trying on sentimental for a change.

Aly: First time for everything.

Zed: (snickers)

Katherine: oookay, if you two are quite done…first question comes from Silvana, a reviewer at Hopeless Bookies, who is a big fan of yours. She wants to know when both of you knew you were in love.

Zed: I mean, probably when I first met her, but that sounds cheesy and we were so young…I think Amsterdam. Like, I felt it, it had been there a long time, but I didn’t register it as love until Amsterdam.

Aly: I admit it probably took longer for me to fully recognize it? But I remember a night after Amsterdam, back in Philadelphia when I think we were both afraid it was going to fall apart, eating gummy bears in bed, watching Netflix…I thought that that moment was what all those songs and books were about.

Zed: Until you slept on a gummy bear and it gooped up your hair and you freaked out.

Aly: I didn’t freak out.

Zed: There were tears.

Aly: Okay, maybe that was a little bit traumatizing.

Katherine: Next question! Cookies or cupcakes?

Zed: CUPCAKES

Aly: Cookies.

Zed: She’s wrong. Listen to me, readers. CUPCAKES.

Katherine: I agree with Zed here. Alright, more importantly—Zed, how’d you end up in DC? We know Aly went there because her mom was there but you?

Zed: Shhhh don’t ask questions I can’t answer! Kismet? Fate? Who knows? The rehab place I went is pretty close by in Virginia, and then I stayed in the area for meetings and classes. Found a job and stayed. Worked out, didn’t it?
Katherine: Very much so! Alright. Aly, favorite part of dancing again?

Aly: I’m supposed to say it makes me feel whole, right? But also, I kind of have the best job. I don’t have to wear real people clothes, I have the best coworkers (except for that one, but you know…you can’t win them all), and I don’t have to bring work home with me at night.

Zed: Rub it in why don’t you

Aly: I could…

Katherine: OKAY. Hands to ourselves. What’s it like being in DC ahead of a presidential election?

Aly: It won’t be a circus until next year. I think we’ll probably go away for inauguration.

Zed: By away, she means we’ll probably just stay holed up in our house and grumble a lot about tourists.

Aly: It’s the DC way.

Katherine: This is from Maf, another big fan of yours. What Harry Potter House would you sort each other into?

Zed: Aly is Slytherin.

Aly: OUCH.

Zed: HEY. It’s true! You’re ambitious and cunning. It doesn’t mean you’re a Death Eater.

Aly: ugh. Um, I’ve never read the books, only seen the movies. Zed’s probably a Hufflepuff.. Or a Ravenclaw.

Zed: Ravenpuff. I’m basically Divergent.

Aly: I don’t know what you’re talking about now.

Zed: You don’t teach teenage girls.

Aly: And for that we’re all grateful.

Katherine: Okay another Harry Potter question! This one’s from Sil. What object would you turn into a Horcrux?

Aly: Those are the pieces of Voldemort’s soul, right?

Zed: DON’T SAY HIS NAME.
Aly: Zed.

Zed: I’d probably turn a piano into my Horcrux.

Aly: Pointe shoes.

Zed: but which pair?! It’s a great hunt. You have to stab all of them with the sword or a basilisk fang to know!

Aly: oh my god, you’re such a nerd.

Katherine: Okay, this is from Sue! Have any pet peeves about each other?

Zed: She snaps her fingers when she’s anxious. And taps things, like spoons or something against the counter. And she’s a blanket hog.

Aly: He’s entirely too cheerful in the mornings. And he’s not exactly the tidiest person on the planet. Sometimes he forgets I’m not his maid.

Katherine: This one’s from Kristin at Reading is My Treasure. If you guys had to dedicate a song to each other, what would those songs be?

Aly: Oh my god.

Zed: Mess is Mine by Vance Joy.  You’re the reason I feel so strong, the reason that I’m hanging on, you know you gave me all the time, oh did I give enough of mine? Hold on, darling. This body is yours, this body is yours and mine. Well hold on, my darling, this mess was yours, now your mess is mine.

Aly:  You and Me by You+Me, that project that Pink and Dallas Green from City and Colour did.  They say everything it happens for a reason, you can be flawed enough but perfect for a person. Someone who will be there for you when you fall apart, guilding your direction when you’re riding through the dark. Oh that’s you and me.

Zed: Someone’s cutting onions.

Aly: Can this interview be over? I have to take him somewhere and kiss him until I feel better.

______________________________________________________

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

______________________________________________________

Inside Game by Collette West - Playlist! (Blog Tour)

Inside Game by Collette West
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Expected Publication: July 10th, 2015

Third baseman Drake Schultz is the undisputed bad boy of the New York Kings. So it's no surprise when Major League Baseball suspends him for taking performance-enhancing drugs. Furious with their superstar, the front office issues an ultimatum: either work with their sober companion or kiss the rest of his quarter-billion-dollar contract goodbye. Cocky and arrogant, Drake resists being saddled with a live-in babysitter—even one he's insanely attracted to.

Drake is Eva Sloane's first celebrity client as a substance abuse counselor, and she knows she's in trouble when he starts tempting her at every turn. The way he looks at her is as hot as sin, but she refuses to become his new drug of choice. Slowly, she helps him realize he has to face the demons from his past and heal his tortured spirit before he can even think about satisfying any craving he has for her. 

Purchase

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | iTunes

________________________________________________________

Playlist

1. Everybody Hurts, R.E.M.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijZRCIrTgQc

When you're sure you've had enough

Of this life, well hang on

Don't let yourself go

'Cause everybody cries

And everybody hurts sometimes

There’s a moment in Chapter 8 when Drake is experiencing a dark night of the soul and in order to ease his anguish Eva reveals a painful secret about her past. He soon comes to realize that they’re not so very different after all, and it becomes a major turning point in their relationship.

2. Another Day, Rent soundtrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidzfBu-cJY

Little girl, hey, the door is that way

You better go you know the fire's out anyway

Take your powder, take your candle

Your sweet whisper, I just can't handle

Well take your hair in the moonlight

Your brown eyes, goodbye, goodnight

This is a playful duet on some very serious subject matter. And in Chapter 5, Drake thinks by making light of his troubles (in a highly *provocative* way), he can get Eva to leave him alone. But it doesn’t quite work out that way.

3. Every Breath You Take, Sting and The Police

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs

Every game you play

Every night you stay

I'll be watching you

O can't you see

You belong to me

How my poor heart aches with every step you take

In Chapter 3, it’s revealed that Drake met Eva before—eight years ago. It was only a brief encounter, but he kept the attraction alive by keeping an eye on her…without her knowing it.

4. The A Team, Ed Sheeran

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAWcs5H-qgQ

Go mad for a couple grams

And we don't want to go outside tonight

And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland

The imagery evoked in these lyrics paints quite a mental picture. Eva has been down this road before, watching addicts waste away to nothing, leaving her powerless to help them (as mentioned in Chapter 6). Yet this time around, she’s determined not to let Drake meet the same fate. 

5. Thank U, Alanis Morissette

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgpT5rEKIU

Thank you terror

Thank you disillusionment

Thank you frailty

Thank you consequence

Thank you thank you silence

How bout me not blaming you for everything

How bout me enjoying the moment for once

How bout how good it feels to finally forgive you

How bout grieving it all one at a time

”Thank you.”

When Drake says these two, simple words to Eva at the end of the book (Chapter 38), it’s quite an emotional moment. It serves as a beautiful reminder of just how far they’ve come as a couple.

It’s also a nice tie-in to Chapter 34 (a reader favorite) that features a touching scene between Drake and the rest of the guys on the team.

________________________________________________________

About the Author

Collette West grew up as somewhat of a jock-nerd hybrid. Entering the world three weeks premature, her dad nearly missed her birth because he had seats behind the dugout for a sold-out, highly-anticipated match-up between two of baseball's biggest rivals. Not to be outdone, her book-loving mom taught her how to read by the time she was three. A love of the game coupled with an appreciation for the written word were instilled in Collette's impressionable brain from a young age. No wonder her characters believe in the philosophy: sports + romance = a little slice of heaven.

Splitting her time between the Pocono Mountains and Manhattan, Collette indulges her inner fangirl by going to as many games as she can from hockey to baseball and downloading every sports romance novel in existence onto her iPad. When she's not clicking away on her laptop, she enjoys walking her dog in Central Park, satisfying her caffeine craving at the Starbucks on Broadway and keeping an eye out for Mr. Right. But above all, she loves dishing with her readers. Email her at collette_west@yahoo.com.

She is the author of NIGHT GAMES, GAME CHANGER and GAME ON.

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Newsletter sign-up 

Amazon | Purchase official New York Kings Fan Gear

________________________________________________________

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW: Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

Publication: 09 June 2015
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Format: Hardcover from library

Overall: ★★★

goodreads | amazon | barnes & noble

Summary: Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.

I am quite the fanatic of K-Pop and K-Dramas. If you know me, you know that's not a secret. So when I heard about a book involving the two, I had to read it. Though, I won't lie... I was a little disappointed in that aspect.

I will start by saying the beginning reads like a K-Drama would play out--I was waiting for the back hug, or piggy back rides. Then it starts to go a little downhill for me. That being said, it was fun, quirky and just a simple read.

Grace was the kind of girl who was driven to form her own path, but was still lost in the naivety of her own mind. She inspired me when she would just go and do things, but in the same breath annoy me when she came close to a wall. It was like she would turn around and go back. Never trying to scale it, go around or even jump. Just Oh well, I at least got here.

I was hoping for a book that would pull me in and make me never want to put it down. I was waiting for as many Kpop references as possible. I was waiting for the fangirl/boy feels that most Kpoppers feel just by seeing their bias blink. But it felt a little dull on that end.

I'm not opposed to insta-love, but I am also not opposed to the feeling YUP! THESE TWO, TOGETHER. SHIPS HAVE SAILED!, ya know. . . something like that. And I didn't even get close to that. I didn't really feel much of a connection. I actually felt more for the second lead. Then again, I usually do. I don't know if it's the writers, or I'm always cheering for the underdog.

Grace's roommate Sophie was the fun in this book for me. I loved everything about her. And I felt like she and Grace's sister, Jane, were the only minuscule glimpses at what a fangirl is/can be. And it wasn't enough.

I hope Sophie gets her own story. I think it would be nice to see the way her mind works. Maybe a few years in the future. [ahem, Katie.]

When Grace pushed Jason away, we get why. She explains why... in her head. But when she'd decide to hang out with him, write songs, or whatever, she was fighting the urge to tackle him. And I'm not sure about Jason, but even I had whiplash.
And the fact that she was there for as long as she was, in school taking the KOREAN LANGUAGE class and not learning anything but "hello", "thank you" and "pretty"... SERIOUSLY!?
It was obvious at times when the author would talk about a famous Korean star and you'd know immediately who she meant. Storm... aka RAIN! Uh huh!

The ending was a bit too cutesy and curt for me. It felt like she was running out of ideas, time, paper...something and just ended it.


If you're looking for a cute book without too much character development or anything too deep and one cute Asian guy; this one is for you.
If you're looking for KPOP, KDRAMAS, good times with friends, exploring a new country and culture, romance, or just sexiness... this one isn't for you.
However, I hope this opens a new door for authors that take fads and make them into books that could be great. I know there are a lot of great fanfic works out there.... but I'm hoping for more about all new people.

Hello! I'm Katie, and I write Young Adult books. My debut is called Hello, I Love You, and it releases with St. Martin's Press on June 9, 2015!
I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, but I have a passion for travel, which has taken me all over the world. I've lived in Thailand and England, and I've visited five continents. I love Southern sweet tea and English sticky toffee pudding, and I work in social media and marketing for a Christian charity.

website | twitter | instagram | pinterest

Blog Tour Teaser & Giveaway: Hide Me by Lexi Scott

Hide Me by Lexi Scott

New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Silver Strands #1

Expected Publication: July 7th, 2015

Sometimes it's easier to run...

Ripped apart by guilt and grief, nineteen-year-old Whit Conrad grabs her stuff and runs from her super-conservative home and family in Pennsylvania and hauls ass for sunny California. All she wants is escape. Now she has a craptastic apartment, a job at a tattoo parlour, and even a friend-who's-mostly-benefits. Then she meets a sexy, inked, surfer-dude who has the potential of capsizing everything...

Deo Beckett is adrift. Underemployed and over-boozing, Deo knows he should be doing something more with his life. Being something more. All it takes is a pin-up hottie with a smart mouth—and a bruised soul—to force Deo to start looking below the surface. To wonder if there's more to life than being a beach bum. Now he's falling for Whit...and hard.

But Whit ran from home for a reason, and she'll go to any lengths to keep Deo from learning the truth...

*previously released under Lengths in 2012  

Amazon | B&N | Entangled 

_______________________________________________

Teaser

_______________________________________________

About the Author

Lexi Scott is the combined forces of authors and best friends, Liz Reinhardt and Steph Campbell. Together, they write new adult and contemporary romance featuring strong, smart, feisty women and the swoon worthy, good guys who love them. The grew up on opposite coasts‐ one on the east, one of them on the west, but somehow, both ended up married and raising their families in the Southern U.S. They love traveling, good food, wine and hoarding books.

Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

_______________________________________________

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway