PICTURE PERFECT ~ Blog Tour, Giveaway & Review

Good morning.  Today I am taking part in the PICTURE PERFECT Blog Tour.  This novel is New Adult and it's graphic, so if you're looking for a YA review, read no further.  But if you don't mind a heaping dose of steamy with your "issue" novels, then this may be the book for you.

Fashion design major Cat Mitchell has a closet full of gorgeous clothes - and not a single thing fits. After two years of runway modeling for easy cash, an accident shattered her lower leg bone and her self-esteem in just one swift fall. Ten months of no exercise, prescription steroids, comfort eating and yoga pants meant returning to campus as a size twelve instead of her former size two. When her gorgeous long-time friend with benefits sees her for the first time after her accident and snubs her in front of all her friends, Cat’s self-image hits rock bottom. Her sorority sisters all insist that she looks gorgeous, but all Cat sees is the roll of her stomach when she sits down, or the dimpling at the back of her thighs that wasn't there last year. Cat’s therapist prescribes something radical to stop the downward spiral - nude modeling for a nearby college's human form drawing classes. When Cat faces her fears and bares it all for the class, she realizes that she's posing naked in front the most gorgeous, buffest guy she's ever seen in her life. He asks her out after the class, and after one steamy night together, Cat's absolutely smitten.

Nate’s pretty close to perfect – he takes Cat rock climbing when he discovers that it makes her feel strong and becomes a great chef after he learns that the perfect pesto sauce makes her swoon. Cat starts to feel like her old self again - confident and beautiful - as long as Nate's around. Even when he discourages her from entering the Real Woman Project, a design competition for plus-sized apparel, she reasons that he's just trying to prevent old body image wounds from splitting wide open again. But when Cat goes home with Nate for Thanksgiving, she discovers something shocking from his recent past that proves that he hasn’t always been so encouraging of women of all shapes and sizes. Cat has no idea what to think, but she does know one thing - this might destroy their relationship before it's even had a chance to get off the ground.

Before Cat can figure out whether the real Nate is the sensitive, adoring guy she fell in love with, or an undercover asshole, she'll have to finally feel comfortable in her own skin - even if it means leaving him forever.

My Review:

It's hard for me to articulate how I feel about this book. It's an interesting blend of being a really important "issue" book about body image and new adult, full with graphic descriptions of sex. I must say that I've never read a contemporary "issue" book like this one and the message is SO important. As someone who hasn't (and sometimes still isn't) comfortable in her own skin, this book was very real, and often painful to read because I knew all too well what Cat was feeling and how self-conscious you can be even when others don't see you that way. 

For any woman who's ever needed reassurance that she's beautiful no matter how her body looks, this is a great book. The problem, of course, is that the younger audience (teens) will miss this message because the book simply is not appropriate for them. The characters are college juniors, doing things college kids do - like sleeping together on the first date. There is also profanity sprinkled throughout.

My only other criticism is that I would have liked to see Cat's metamorphosis unfold a little more at the end of the book. I don't feel like you can decide to love your body purely out of spite for someone else. That may be the catalyst, but the full level of insecurity wouldn't disappear that quickly IMO.

Otherwise, I really did enjoy reading the novel and it reminded me of the beauty in all women regardless of body shape. Plus, the steamy scenes were smoking hot. :)  This book is appropriate for 17+ woman who enjoy romance novels, but also want some depth to their plots.

Author Bio:

Alessandra Thomas is a New Adult writer who swears she was in her twenties yesterday. Since she's not, she spends her time looking back on her college years fondly, and writing sexy stories about guys and
girls falling in love and really living life for the first time. When she's not writing, you can find her with a spoonful of ice cream in one hand and the newest New Adult release in the other.

Links:

Goodreads  |  Twitter  |  Facebook

And now for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Debut YA Birthday Celebrations ~ Spring Break Edition

Hello everyone and happy Spring!  Here in Florida, our January was warmer than the week of Spring Break, so it's a bit disappointing.  This weekend has been nothing but rain to the point that I had waves on my back porch.  Sigh.  If it were just me, I'd take advantage of the rain with lots of reading time, but my hubby and kids go stir crazy, so that's not good.

How's your spring break looking?  Anyone have big fun plans?  Before you answer that in the comments (and I hope you do!), check out these two new debut YA authors whose books are taking the stage this week.

DEAR LIFE, YOU SUCK by Scott Blagden

“The shrinkadinks think I have a screw loose. Ain’t playing with a full deck. Whacked-out wiring. Missing marbles.” 

Irreverent, foulmouthed seventeen-year-old Cricket is the oldest ward in a Catholic boys’ home in Maine—and his life sucks. With prospects for the future that range from professional fighter to professional drug dealer, he seems doomed to a life of “criminal rapscallinity.” In fact, things look so bleak that Cricket can’t help but wonder if his best option is one final cliff dive into the great unknown. But then Wynona Bidaban steps into his world, and Cricket slowly realizes that maybe, just maybe, life doesn’t totally suck.

IF YOU FIND ME by Emily Murdich

There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

Cover Reveal ~ NO ATTACHMENTS by Tiffany King

Tiffany is just the sweetest author.  I was lucky to meet her in Decatur last fall and was thrilled to learn that Florida gets to take credit for housing this talented author.  Today, I'm excited to show you the cover for Tiffany's new NA novel, NO ATTACHMENTS, coming April 30th.  Ready?

Ashton Garrison walked away from a privileged life in order to hide from the one thing she's not willing to face. She knows she left behind a trail of pain, but in the long run, her betrayal will hurt less than the truth. She now has one goal: Live life to the fullest with no regrets and no attachments. She has high hopes that a move to new surroundings will provide the escape she desires, but what Ashton doesn't count on is how fate always seems to find a way to screw up any good plan. Sometimes, when love comes knocking, the pull is too strong not to answer. Suddenly, what she thought she wanted to escape from is what Ashton now wants more than anything.

Nathan Lockton has one mission: find his target and complete the task he was hired to do—no attachments and no emotion necessary. He's done it over and over again. What he thought was a typical lost-and-found job has turned into a life examining moment as Nathan is forced to deal with something he has always ignored--his feelings. Now faced with a decision, Nathan must choose to either follow his heart or complete the job.

Love can come when you least expect it. The question is: If the odds are stacked against you, how far are you willing to go for the one you love?

The lovely cover was done by Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations.  Do you like it?

ABOUT TIFFANY KING:

Tiffany King is the author of The Saving Angels Series, Wishing for Someday Soon, Forever Changed, Unlikely Allies, Miss Me Not and Jordyn: A Daemon Hunter Novel book one. Writer by day and book fanatic the rest of the time, she is now pursuing her life-long dream of weaving tales for others to enjoy.

She has a loving husband and two wonderful kids. (Five, if you count her three spoiled cats). Her addictions include: Her iphone and ipad, chocolate, Diet Coke, chocolate, Harry Potter, chocolate, and her favorite TV shows. Want to know what they are? Just ask.

LINKS:

Twitter- @AuthorTiffany

Facebook- Tiffany King

Pintrest- Tiffany King

Blog- authortiffanyjking.blogspot.com

Goodreads- Tiffany King

Train Thursdays - Mermaid

This is a weekly post I have been wanting to write for a LONG time.  It's not talking about trains as in locomotives.  It's talking about the band Train.

And no, I'm not that fan girl.

This is a post really examining the lyrics of Train songs.  Why?  Because they are bad.  Just downright ... bad.  The music is catchy and I'm still always hoping for a stroke of genius like they had when they launched with "Drops of Jupiter."  The lyrics there were weird, but that seemed to be the point.  It worked.

But as I've been listening recent lyrics, it makes me think about how, as writers, we have to be so careful not to just string words together that sound "pretty," but that also have some meaning beneath their surface.  So, I'm going to be examining Train songs, one by one, for fun!! and maybe even to help my own craft as a writer.  (Nah - this is really more about having fun.)

So, in the spirit of Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs (one of the funniest books EVER!!), I present the first edition of Jessie Harrell's Blog of Bad Train Songs.

Can’t swim so I took a boat

To an island so remote

Only Johnny Depp has ever been to it before.

(Pause: While I do like the Pirates of Caribbean pop culture reference here, wouldn't you have to take a boat to an island that remote anyway, whether or not you could swim?)

Stayed there 'til the air was clear.

(Clear of what? You're in the middle of nowhere.)

I was bored and out of tears,

Then I saw you washed up on the shore.

(So now the mermaid can't swim too?)

I offered you my coat,

Thank goddess (really?) love can float

(good to know - apparently unconscious mermaids remain buoyant. At least, I presume she was unconscious in order to "wash up on the shore")

Crazy how that shipwreck meant my ship was comin’ in.

We talked 'til the sun went down.

Love on the Puget Sound.

(Okay -let's stop right there. Puget Sound is in Washington, near Vancover - nowhere near the Caribbean for those of you keeping track. It has been inhabited since 1833, meaning it is not "remote" - or even an island, actually, but an estuary.)

My treasure map was on your skin.

CHORUS

Beauty in the water,

Angel on the beach.

Ocean’s daughter.

I thought love was out of reach

'Til I got her.

Had I known it could come true

I would have wished in ’92

(At first I thought this was a totally clever reference to the movie Splash. Until I realized that the movie came out in '84.  Disney's The Little Mermaid was out in '89.  Some research reveals that Golden Films did release a direct to DVD animated version of The Little Mermaid in '92.  Unless this is what they're referring to, it appears that the only significance '92 has is that it rhymes with "true" and "you")

For a mermaid just like you, whoa,

Just like you, whoa.

Sharks green with envy, they wonder what you see in me

(Maybe we have entered an animated film, seeing as how fish now have feelings.)

Funny but sometimes can’t help but wonder that as well

(Based on the quality of your lyrics, we're all wondering at this point.)

Now life is a holiday, making up for the years I paid

The way to this heavenly bay it went through hell

Rescued you by the banyan tree,

All the girlfish in the sea

(STOP! Girlfish? Is Pat Monahan letting his 10 year old nephew write the lyrics now?)

Couldn't hold a candle to you,

They don’t have a handle on you,

They don’t have a scandal on you

I love Ecco Sandals on you

(Dude. This is truly LOL stupid. How does a mermaid - get that: mermaid, as in tail but no feet - get sandals on a remote island no one has ever been to?)

Saving me was B-I-G,

(I thought you saved her by the banyan tree?)

All the boyfish in the sea

(Seriously, girlfish wasn't enough?)

They all wish that they could be me

(I know I sure do.  If I could make millions for writing this inane crap, I'd be a jazillionaire by now.)

Here's my takeaway from the song.  It's about an animated children's movie in which a lost Caribbean treasure hunter finds himself stranded 1/2 way around the world in the Puget Sound with a mermaid who is swimming-challenged and likes to try on sandals despite her lack of feet.  All the other mermaids are gossipy bitches or jealous jerks (as are the sharks).  The hero and heroine fall in love on the first day they meet.  Sound about right?

And there you have it, my first running commentary to Train lyrics.  I hope you enjoyed this (and are not offended!) and will come back and join me next Thursday, as we deconstruct more god-awful Train lyrics.

Debut YA Book Birthdays

On deck for birthday celebrations this week are ...

The Art of Wishing by Lindsey Ribar

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

Margo McKenna has a plan of attack for everything, from landing the lead in her high school musical to dealing with her increasingly absent parents. But when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the opportunity to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Especially since Oliver--not blue-skinned, not bottle-dwelling, but a genie nonetheless--can see more than what she's willing to show him. With one peek into her mind, he can see the wishes that even Margo herself doesn't know she wants.

But Oliver comes with more than just mind-reading abilities, a flair for magic, and the prettiest eyes Margo's ever seen. Someone from his past is hunting him--someone bent on killing him, along with all the other genies in the world, for the sake of honor. And as Margo soon discovers, it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more. 

Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley
This isn't "technically" Liz's YA debut, since she has another Indie novel out there.  But it appears to be largely un-read (at least based on Amazon reviews), so for all intents and purposes, Pretty Girl-13 will be Liz's introduction on the YA stage.

Pretty girl
13 when she
went missing

lost
to her family
to her friends
to the world

found
but still missing
her self

In Liz Coley's alarming and fascinating psychological mystery, sixteen-year-old Angie Chapman must piece together the story of her kidnapping and abuse. Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing—and ultimately empowering—page-turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

OCD, the Dude and Me by Lauren Roedy Vaughn
With frizzy orange hair, a plus-sized body, sarcastic demeanor, and "unique learning profile," Danielle Levine doesn't fit in even at her alternative high school. While navigating her doomed social life, she writes scathing, self-aware, and sometimes downright raunchy essays for English class. As a result of her unfiltered writing style, she is forced to see the school psychologist and enroll in a "social skills" class. But when she meets Daniel, another social misfit who is obsessed with the cult classic film The Big Lebowski, Danielle's resolve to keep everyone at arm's length starts to crumble. 




Also, this released last week and I missed it.  So in case you did too... here's
Brianna on the Brink by Nicole McInnes

Popularity didn't come easily for sixteen-year-old Brianna Taylor. She didn't wear the right clothes or come from the right family. In fact, she didn't come from any family at all, unless you counted Jolene, who just wasn't that much into being a mom. So when Brianna joins the cheerleading squad, she finds herself suddenly popular. But then a one-night stand has life altering consequences, and Brianna must accept help from the one person closest to her mistake.

No longer in control, Brianna must reevaluate all that she thought was important and learn the true meaning of family.

Do any of these sound interesting to you?  The genie book sounds right up my alley!!