REVIEW: The Daughters Join The Party by Joanna Philbin (Want my copy? )

Book Description

Series: Daughters | Publication Date: November 7, 2011

They didn't ask for fame. They were born with it.
In the third Daughters novel, The Daughters Take the Stage, Hudson found her own place in "the family business," aka: show business. Now, for the first time, readers will meet Emma Conway, daughter of a powerful New York State Senator.

Emma has never fit into the sweater-set-wearing world of her political family, opting for purple hair and Chuck Taylors to keep herself out of countless photo ops, but when she accidentally lets her father's presidential plans slip on national television, Emma finds herself thrown into the spotlight. Facing pressure to be the perfect First Daughter-in-training, Emma must learn to speak up for herself and for what she believes in. Thankfully, she has her new friends and fellow daughters - Lizzie, Carina, and Hudson - to help her along the way.

About the Author

Joanna Philbin was born in Los Angeles and grew up in New York City. She is the daughter of television host Regis Philbin and started her first novel at the age of seven, but only got as far as the second chapter. She went on to receive her BA from Brown University and an MFA. from the University of Notre Dame. Joanna now lives in Los Angeles, California. 

Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Poppy (November 7, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031617968X
• ISBN-13: 978-0316179683

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Emma is in hot water again after getting kicked out of boarding school, so she is returning to New York to attend her brother Remington's super ritzy private school.  The school is filled with the rich elite where everyone's parents are someone.  Remington is a legend at this school and Emma soon finds out a lot is expected from her and her recently dyed "Burgundy" hair color is the first that has to go since her father is about to declare his candidacy for president.  Which Emma kind of tells everyone while she is covering for her brother during a speech.  This small action propels her to the front of a campaign she doesn't really have her heart behind.  Once again, she finds herself on the outside, but with three good friends now standing behind her, it makes things a bit easier.

Things are getting really weird for her since her father has declared his candidacy and she finds herself struggling to retain her own personality while trying to fit in and help her father.  I want to cheer her on every time she acts out by showing up in inappropriate clothes, hair color and makeup or speaking her mind. Emma is in such a tough place and on top of this, she finds her perfect brother has a few dark secrets of his own.  Another strong plot point is how Emma deals with her own issue of being dyslexic and her use of humor as a coping mechanism.  Emma trying to conform to the perfect first daughter to be is like putting a square peg in a round hole.  She tries, but she can't do it since she has to be true to herself.  I really loved when she ignores the speech writers and speaks straight from her heart on the campaign trail which, not surprisingly, have the most impact on people.

This is one of my favorite series to recommend  since it speaks so clearly to teens.  It hits on several important issues like teenage drinking, body image, staying true to your friends and yourself.  Sigh, I am going to miss Emma since she has such a spark and seems so real.  This series is a bit like getting an inside take on the whole political - society world that you really only read about in tabloids.  I guess I just hate to say good bye, but this is the last one in this series.  Don't despair though, Philbin has a new book for next year! 

WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK? 

 Contest is open to anyone over 13 years old with a reliable mailing address (PO Boxes OK!)
This ends 11.20.11 midnight Pacific Time and the winner will be chosen by Random.org on 11.21.11.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen
This giveaway is sponsored by me for ONE WINNER.

Complete the below form

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Cool Authors, Haute Dogs: JOANNA PHILBIN author of the Daughter's Series

Edie

PLEASE WELCOME JOANNA WITH EDIE

About the Author

Joanna Philbin was born in Los Angeles and grew up in New York City. She is the daughter of television host Regis Philbin and started her first novel at the age of seven, but only got as far as the second chapter. She went on to receive her BA from Brown University and an MFA. from the University of Notre Dame. Joanna now lives in Los Angeles, California. 

Where to find Joanna

Web Address: www.joannaphilbin.com

Facebook:  HERE
Twitter:  HERE

Do you have another book in the works?

Yes!  I’m working on a book about two 17 year-old girls spending the summer in East Hampton.  Isabel is the rebellious daughter of a very wealthy family, and Rory is the hard-working niece of the family’s housekeeper.  Isabel has never had a boyfriend she couldn’t wrap around her finger; Rory has never had a boyfriend, period.  Despite their radically different backgrounds, Rory and Isabel help each other through summer romances that turn their worlds upside-down.  It’s called THE RULES OF SUMMER and will come out just in time for summer of 2013. 

What are you reading right now?

THE ART OF FIELDING by Chad Harbach.  It’s about baseball, which I know nothing about, but the writing is beautiful and the characters are so likeable and well-drawn.  I just finished BUNHEADS, by Sophie Flack, which I loved. 

How many books a year do you read?

About 25. 

What does your dog like to do while you write or read?

She loves to sleep (and snore) somewhere close to me.

What is your dog’s favorite activity? 

Running on the beach.  A lot of people think pugs are couch potato dogs, but Edie loves to run – and I get a workout just trying to keep up with her!

Book Description

Series: Daughters | Publication Date: November 7, 2011

They didn't ask for fame. They were born with it.
In the third Daughters novel, The Daughters Take the Stage, Hudson found her own place in "the family business," aka: show business. Now, for the first time, readers will meet Emma Conway, daughter of a powerful New York State Senator.

Emma has never fit into the sweater-set-wearing world of her political family, opting for purple hair and Chuck Taylors to keep herself out of countless photo ops, but when she accidentally lets her father's presidential plans slip on national television, Emma finds herself thrown into the spotlight. Facing pressure to be the perfect First Daughter-in-training, Emma must learn to speak up for herself and for what she believes in. Thankfully, she has her new friends and fellow daughters - Lizzie, Carina, and Hudson - to help her along the way.

GIVEAWAY & REVIEW: Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle (ARC)

Description

REASONS TO BE HAPPY
21. Cat purr vibrating through your skin
22. Jumping on a trampoline in the rain
23. Raw cookie dough
24. Getting yourself all freaked out after a scary movie
25. Dancing like an idiot when no one is watching
What happened to the girl who wrote those things? I miss that girl. She used to be bold and fun. Now she's a big chicken loser.
How could so much change so fast?
Let's see, you could be the plain Jane daughter of two gorgeous famous people, move to a new school, have no real friends, and your mom could get sick, and, oh yeah, you could have the most embarrassing secret in the world.
Yep, that about does it.
So, the real question is, how do I get that girl back?

About the Author

Katrina Kittle's reasons to be happy include
1.) her overflowing garden in Dayton, OH
2.) her fat cat Joey
3.) coffee
4.) dark chocolate
5.) zombie movies and
6.) starting every morning in her writing office doing what she loves most.
She once had a goat under her bed in Ghana.

Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; Original edition (October 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402260202
• ISBN-13: 978-1402260209

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT

Hannah the daughter of two famous celebrities in Hollywood where looks rule over substance.  Normal teenage body issues are magnified because of who her parents are -- beautiful, talented, rich and very well known.  She falls subject to peer pressure trying to be what she is not and while her body is still developing, she turns to bulimia to control the fears and insecurities all teens face.  While the story is heartbreaking, Hannah shows the readers that there is hope for recovery when she travels to Ghana to be with her aunt while she is directing a documentary.  It is only there, that Hannah truly finds herself. 

What an absolutely beautifully written story!  This book should be on all young adult and middle school library shelves since it is exactly what girls on the cusp of maturity need to know and how to deal with this touchy subject.  I know a few girls from high school that bulimia claimed:  one lost teeth, another now has osteoporosis and they still have self esteem issues to this day.  This disease is nothing new, but at least now it is finally being talked about in the open.  If you like Lauren Myracle, then you will truly love this story. 



WANT TO WIN THIS *ARC* BOOK? 

 Contest is open to anyone over 13 years old with a reliable mailing address (PO Boxes OK!)
This ends 11.18.11 midnight Pacific Time and the winner will be chosen by Random.org on 11.19.11.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen
This giveaway is sponsored by me for ONE WINNER.

Complete the below form

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AND THE WINNER IS: Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

NICOLE

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Waiting on Wednesday: Hushed by Kelly York @entangledpub

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2011

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn't protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn't matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed. Then along comes Evan, the only person who s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is. But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn't get what she wants... And what she wants is Evan s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

 

Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (December 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1937044742
• ISBN-13: 978-1937044749

 

About the Author

Kelley writes anything from dark to light, contemporary to paranormal. She was born and raised in central California where she still resides with her lovely wife, daughter, and an abundance of pets. (Although she does fantasize about moving across the globe to Ireland.) She adores all things furry, be them squeaky, barky or meow-y, is a lover of video games, and likes to pretend she's a decent photographer and artist. Her life goal is to find a real unicorn. Or to at least write about them.

GUEST POST! Jus Accardo author of Touch

My Brain Might Be Broken — But I Like It that Way…

"I'm fine in the fire

I feed on the friction

I'm right where I should be

Don't try and fix me"

--10 Years - Fix Me

A lot of blogs ask authors to talk about writing. Their process, their
inspiration—all of it. How did you this and why did you that. And that’s
all cool. Those questions are awesome and they always interest me in other
writer’s posts, but I have to be honest—I always felt stupid. Don’t get me
wrong—I can answer them most of the time—but I always felt like a hack.

I saw all these other writers talking about their process—the outlining
and the beat sheets and the extensive written background for each
character—and I was sure I’d been doing it wrong. Missing a crucial step
or skipping something that was going to equal big time fail in the end. I
knew a woman two years ago that, when she found out I didn’t plot,
insisted with the passion of a thousand fire ants, that was the reason I
couldn’t sell my book (the one I queried before TOUCH) Granted she’d read
the book, loved it and saw no gaping plot holes or inconsistencies in the
characters, but still. I hadn’t plotted it extensively so that made it an
autofail. If I didn’t outline and plot and spend weeks preparing before I
started writing, I’d never sell a book. (side note – NeeNerNeeNerNeeNer :D
)

For awhile before I started TOUCH, I actually believed her. I spent weeks
trying to do as she did. I wrote up pages of back story for each
character, made a detailed scene outline (or tried to) and plotted all the
major points and plot twists. Then, I started to write.

It. Sucked. Monkey. Ass.

Really. Everything was forced. The plot was predictable and boring. The
characters were cardboard and lacked depth. I spent more time staring
blankly at the screen in a haze than I did getting words out. After two
weeks of writing, I had barely 20k (which is a joke for me) and the
biggest collection of crap I’d ever seen.

And this is when I had an epiphany. To hell with the rest of the world.
Nothing in my life has followed the norm, why should writing be any
different? So my creative process isn’t the same as everyone else’s? Big
deal if my characters form before the plot. So what if my major plot
points and super twists come to me as I’m writing the scene.

Why? Because it works for me. It might seem like the most insane,
crazysauce way to write a book, but it works for me. If you could peek
inside my brain (I don’t advise this, FYI. It's scary in there!) you’d
probably see what looks like a chaotic mess of disorganized insanity—but I
get it. It’s the only way things make sense to me. I’ve got my own way of
doing things, and I’m okay with that now.

Author Bio:

Jus Accardo is the author of YA paranormal romance and urban fantasy
fiction. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her
husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald. Her first book,
Touch, is due out in November 2011 from Entangled Publishing. She is
represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

Touch Blurb:

"When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet,
seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity
to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue
eyes home.

Except there's something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower,
is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she'll
turn to dust if he touches her. It's not until Dez's father shows up,
wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez
realizes there's more to this boy - and her father's "law firm" - than she
realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation - an organization devoted
to collecting "special" kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons -
his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. Dez and Kale team up
with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they're
caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez
has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect."

Title: Touch by Jus Accardo
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-44-2
Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-45-9
Release Date: November 1, 2011

Buy Links:

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Touch-Denazen-Novel-Book-1/dp/1937044459/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320098205&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/touch-jus-accardo/1105812249?ean=9781937044459&itm=1&usri=touch%2bby%2bjus%2baccardo

Website: http://www.jusaccardo.com/

Blog: http://www.jusaccardo.com/category/blog/

BOOK TRAILER TUESDAY: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa COVER SHOOT

I love these behind the scenes videos...just very fun!