Into a Million Pieces - Blog Tour

Allison McKready is a succubus. So is her twin sister. But while Allison spends her summer break hiding in the library behind her Goth makeup, Jade fools around as often as she can. Allison can’t believe Jade would ignore their mother’s fatal example so recklessly, but concealing a cursed bloodline and its dangerous effects is far from Allison’s only problem. Mean girl Julie’s snob mob is determined to ruin her summer, and Aunt Sarah’s Bible thumping is getting louder. Only her new friend, Ren Fisher, offers safe haven from the chaos of her life.

When one of Jade’s risky dates leads to humiliation and sudden tragedy, Allison reels, and Ren catches her. But as her feelings for him grow, so does her fear that she’ll hurt him—or worse—in an unguarded moment. The choice is coming—love him or save him—but Allison might not live to make it. One way or another, the curse will have its due.

Review:

It's tough being a teenage girl in high school, especially when your family has been cursed by the devil himself. For Allison, dressing in black and snapping at anyone who comes near, usually means she's safe from accidentally killing someone. Into a Million Pieces by Angela Cook shows that it isn't really that easy. Add a twin sister who loves the flirtation, the extra energy, and is prone to showing off and it becomes damn near impossible. 

Allison is a loner, by choice. She makes up rumors about herself on purpose and dresses like a freak (her words) in order to keep people away from her. But underneath the crafted facade is a teenage girl who wants friends, the chance at love, and any semblance of normalcy. Now that, readers can relate to. Being a succubus on the other hand... makes it a little difficult. Not all of us can relate to the difficult situation Allison has been born into, but readers are, if anything, understanding. Allison is a nervous, uncertain, self-conscious teenager. The basic foundation of her character is something that everyone has been through. Her wit, intelligence, and caring nature will build on the bond initially created with readers. The crazy summer she experiences keeps readers intrigued and entertained, maybe even a little scared and nervous, while getting to know Allie and what it's like being a teenage succubus. 

The plot of the novel is quite a roller coaster with a huge twist to finish it off. Allison's twin sister Jade is a very popular girl who is known to toy with more than her fair share of boys. In hopes that she will one day convince her sister to calm down, Allison tries to make Jade understand how potentially bad their lives could become if they gave in to their succubus desires. But Allison is about to meet Ren, a very nice, understanding, sweet boy who knows that there is more to Allie than the rumors and loner status. When Allie realizes that she actually likes a boy, she starts to understand Jade. And then Jade gets into a whole heap of trouble.  Don't want to give away too much, but my mouth dropped open in a capital O more than once. Okay, more than twice. And here's to hoping we soon see a sequel on the horizon... not sure Allison's story is complete. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Meet the Author:

Angela V. Cook lives a very unexciting, but never boring, life with her husband and two children just outside of Detroit. Like most writers, she’s been making up stories for as long as she can remember and can’t imagine a life that doesn’t involve creating worlds.

Angela loves to write novels for teens because it’s the best outlet for her sarcastic personality, immature sense of humor, and love of romantic firsts. Her idea of the perfect day involves a quiet house, a good book, and a piece of cheesecake. Or two.

Download an Excerpt

Purchase Into a Million Pieces

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple / Google

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Love and Peaches

After a not-quite-peachy year apart, three Georgia peaches come home to Darlington Orchard

When Murphy chose New York City, she left her first love behind. Now, a summer in Bridgewater means trading subway trains for pickup trucks and facing the boy she turned her back on.

Leeda expects her trip home to be over faster than her new Manhattan boyfriend can hail a cab--until a surprising inheritance saddles her with a huge responsibility.

Birdie's heart led her all the way to Mexico, and heartbreak brings her back to the orchard. But when the Darlington family decides to leave peach trees for palm trees, Birdie gets a crash course in letting go--and learning when to hold on.

Together for another juicy summer, carefree Murphy, perfect Leeda, and big-hearted Birdie return to the place that allowed them to bloom. Brimming with all the charm, humor, and heart of Peaches and The Secrets of Peaches, this satisfying conclusion to the series reunites three unlikely best friends for a final sweet farewell.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Jodi Lynn Anderson ends her tale of three Georgia peaches in the final book of the trilogy, Love and Peaches. Though it was nice to witness the end, I wanted more. I didn't feel satisfied with the way everything wrapped up. I needed more juice, more meat, more peach fuzz. Did I go too far with that analogy? Okay, I needed more details! The first two books were detail specific and Anderson gave readers every ounce of information. Disappointingly, the details in this installment skimmed the surface and disappeared before I could even get a handle on them. 

Murphy comes home to Bridgewater and the summer leads up to an absolutely life changing moment. Her mother knows who her father is and refuses to tell Murphy. Add that problem to the fact that Rex, her ex-boyfriend, is leaving town and wasn't even going to tell her and you get one emotional Murphy who struggles to show it. Readers will connect with Murphy through her uncertain feelings for her ex. She does still love him but doesn't know what to do with that love since she's always dreamed of living in NYC. Readers will also strongly empathize with Murphy in her desire to know her father. 

Leeda returns for the reading of her Grandmother's will and plans on returning to NY very quickly. But her Dear deceased Eugenie has other plans for Miss Leeda as she inherits her pet ponies. Her task is to use her $500,000 inheritance to take care of the ponies until new homes can be found for all of them. Then the rest of the money is hers. With this rather large kink in her plan, Leeda must remain and take care of the ponies and the other animals who show up on her doorstep with the help of Grey, a wandering eighteen year old who her grandmother hired. Readers will learn more about Leeda in this book, including her love for animals. She becomes more focused, dedicated, and open to the world in this final novel which will undoubtedly allow readers to make a deep connection with her. 

Birdie experiences quite a bit in this short book. She becomes engaged, runs away from her fiance, lives in a tree house, works the orchard for the summer, tries to return to her fiance and finds herself without a home. Like I said, quite a bit. Though most of the situations are briefer than they should be based on the seriousness of the action, readers will discover a deeper side to Birdie and witness her bloom into adulthood as she goes through these trials. 

The plot is well organized. All three girls return to Bridgewater on summer vacation and the story shares their summer of discoveries and loss. In the epilogue, Anderson shares what each girl goes on to do, which I highly appreciated. However, with a certain personality I had a hard time believing that her life would be like that. Maybe it's just me. I definitely enjoyed reading about what happened to the peaches but I wanted more from the third book. I expected more. And I was a little let down. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

    

I'm Not Her

Tess is the exact opposite of her beautiful, athletic sister. And that’s okay. Kristina is the sporty one, Tess is the smart one, and they each have their place. Until Kristina is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess is the center of the popular crowd, everyone eager for updates. There are senior boys flirting with her. Yet the smiles of her picture-perfect family are cracking and her sister could be dying. Now Tess has to fill a new role: the strong one. Because if she doesn’t hold it together, who will?

*May Contain Spoilers*

Janet Gurtler writes a novel brimming with intensity from the first word of I'm Not Her. Tess loves to hate her sister. She's everything a daughter should be, and everything Tess isn't. When Kristina finds out that she has a cancerous tumor growing in her leg and it may result in death or amputation, the world Tess is used to fitting into is destroyed. 

Tess is an incredibly strong character in this novel. It's almost like the ending cycle of her evolution. She emerges from her shell with more bravery and courage than she could ever hope for. Readers will connect with her based on the openness in which she shares her emotions. They'll also relate to the bigger picture of the novel: she's faced with a life-altering situation and must adapt. I love the sarcastic nature of Tess along with her blunt honesty. It's refreshing to have a character that tells it how it is. Not to say she isn't awkward at times, or that I liked her at every point in the novel, but I did relate to her.

The plot of the novel follows Kristina's diagnosis with bone cancer up to what happens after treatment. Looking through the eyes of Tess, the book grows in emotional intensity as the plot climaxes and ends with a heartbreaking death, of a character you don't expect. I enjoyed reading this book. I really did. It was passionate, honest, and consuming. But it was also incredibly depressing. After every reading session my entire mood had changed. I felt like this was happening to me. Maybe it's because I become absorbed in what I'm reading, or the author is just that good at conveying emotion. Either way, though I recommend this novel, it isn't for everyone. Know your emotional limits and if this book is too much for them, then honor that.

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

Entangled (Spellbound #1)

"Twin witches Graylee and Charlene Perez agree on one rule: No dating warlocks. Not so easy when a certain rogue warlock is convinced he and Graylee belong together and will use anything, including magic, to try and impress Gray. When Charlene's boyfriend dumps her, she threatens to kill either herself or the girl who stole Blake. Somehow, Gray ends up dead.

A Resurrection Spell Gone Wrong

Two months after dying, Gray wakes up in Charlene's body. As a witch, can anyone blame her mother for attempting to bring her daughter back to life? Only now Gray's stuck sharing her sister's body 50/50 in twenty-four hour shifts. The race is on for Gray to find a way back inside her own body before Charlene purges her from existence. Raj McKenna is rumored to meddle in the black arts, not to mention he's after Gray's invisibility spell and worse - her heart. But Raj might be the only one powerful enough to save Gray from fading away forever." - Amazon Blurb

* *

Nikki Jefford's first entry in the Spellbound series, Entangled, is an enchantment that readers will love. Not to mention, they won't be able to put it down. The bond between readers and characters begin to form throughout this novel, and will only increase in strength with the following installments. 

Graylee is your typical teenage witch. Perhaps a little on the selfish side, but not as bad as her twin sister, Charlene. She's the easiest character to connect with because most of the novel is told from her point of view. Readers will find themselves wanting to help Gray get her life back, after she mysteriously dies at age 17 and her mother brings her back. The mission to separate Graylee from her twin's body evolves into a necessity to reclaim her life, as she realizes that her sister has been keeping her subdued. 

Charlene is the character that readers will love to dislike. She's incredibly selfish, superficial, and controlling. She's also using her magic, as a young witch, to outshine her sister. But how far would she really go to be the more popular and loved twin... perhaps the only twin? 

The narrator, other than Gray, is Raj. He's a warlock with a bad boy reputation and his sights are set on Graylee. He'll do anything to help her and readers will come to see that what's underneath the bad boy persona isn't what they expect. A strong connection will form between readers and Raj, as his back story comes to light, and will (hopefully) continue through the next book in the series. 

Entangled (Spellbound #1)

on Amazon

rating: 4/5 cups