Blog Tour: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess | Interview | Giveaway

Welcome to our stop on the A Shadow Bright and Burning tour for Jessica Cluess. This tour is hosted by Rockstar Book Tour.

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A Shadow Bright and Burning
Author: Jessica Cluess
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Released: September 20th 2016
Review Source: Random House BFYR

I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer. The prophesied one. Or am I?

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. When she is brought to London to train with Her Majesty's sorcerers, she meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, young men eager to test her powers and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As Henrietta discovers the secrets hiding behind the glamour of sorcerer life, she begins to doubt that she's the true prophesied one. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city--and the one she loves?

Interview

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your book?

I’m a Los Angeles native who lived in Chicago for seven years, but moved back when it got too cold. When I’m not writing, I’m a writing instructor for kids and teens, which is a job I love. As for my book, A Shadow Bright and Burning is about a young girl in an alternate Victorian England who is brought to train with an elite, all-male enclave of sorcerers in order to battle hideous monsters from another dimension. So it’s very subtle.

What was the hardest scene for you to write in A Shadow Bright and Burning and why?

There’s a scene towards the end where Henrietta’s expectations are upset. She has terrible trust issues, which I can relate to. So writing that scene was a little like opening a wound.

What’s the most interesting/exciting thing you’ve done in the name of research?

My hope is I’ll be able to go to Cornwall and Yorkshire in early 2017 for some more hands on research. Fingers crossed that it happens! 

What encouragement helped you along the way? 

I was very lucky that my family was so supportive. I have some friends who struggle with getting their family to accept their writing, but I’ve always been surrounded by people who are excited about what I do. Two of my friends, Brandie and Alyssa, read over ASBAB when it was still fairly rough, and gave great advice. Their belief really motivated me to query the book. It made me believe I could do it, with enough time and patience.

To which Hogwarts House do you belong?

Gryffindor! It’s funny, because nowadays it feels like being a Gryffindor is boring to a lot of people. But I can’t help what I am.

What are you working on next?

I’m revising the sequel to ASBAB right now, and then I’m going to have to get started on book three. I’ve got my hands full at the moment, but I have an idea for another YA fantasy that I’m excited about. I’ll get to it in time.

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Jessica Cluess is a writer, a graduate of Northwestern University, and an unapologetic nerd. After college, she moved to Los Angeles, where she served coffee to the rich and famous while working on her first novel. When she’s not writing books, she’s an instructor at Writopia Lab, helping kids and teens tell their own stories.

3 winners will receive a signed copy of A SHADOW BRIGHT AND BURNING, US Only.

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FOLLOW THE TOUR

9/19/2016- Princessica of Books- Review

9/20/2016- Brittany's Book Rambles- Guest Post

9/21/2016- All Things Urban Fantasy- Review

9/22/2016- Owl Always Be Reading- Excerpt

9/23/2016- Seeing Double In Neverland- Review

August Google Hangout with James Dashner!

Come join this month’s Google Hangout with James Dashner And Editor Krista Marino as they talk about THE DEATH CURE!

AND…maybe James will read from the much-talked about page 250…

Wednesday, August 31st at 8pm EDT

https://plus.google.com/u/4/b/115020835543123360597/events/csdttftq3cgidth9gopin2d4v1o

Book Review: Smash and Grab by Amy Christine Parker

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Smash and Grab
Author: Amy Christine Parker
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: July 19, 2016
Review Source: Random House Books for Young Readers

LEXI is a rich girl who loves a good rush. Whether it’s motorcycle racing or BASE jumping off a building in downtown Los Angeles, the only times she feels alive are when she and her friends are executing one of their dares. After her father’s arrest, Lexi doesn’t think twice about going undercover at his bank to steal the evidence that might clear his name. She enlists her hacker brother and her daredevil friends to plan a clever heist.

CHRISTIAN is a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. The local gang has blackmailed him and his friends into robbing banks, and he is desperate for a way out. When the boss promises that one really big job will be the last he ever has to do, Christian jumps at the chance for freedom. In fact, he’s just met a girl at the bank who might even prove useful. . . .

Two heists. One score. The only thing standing in their way is each other.

Told in alternating points of view, this caper is full of romance and fast-paced fun. Hand to fans of Perfect Chemistry, The Conspiracy of Us, and Heist Society.

The story:  Smash and Grab is about bank robbers from two completely different worlds. Lexi and her group of wealthy friends, are a bunch of adrenaline junkies pulling off crazy stunts for fun. When her father is arrested for fraud, she does what it takes to clear her father's name from the bank he worked. Christian, has been threatened and blackmailed to rob banks and is only doing it because he's forced into it. The two cross paths when they end up at the same bank.

The likes:  I loved how the story started with the Lexi and her friends on top of the building. It caught my attention from the very beginning. I like that the story was told from dual points of view.  There were many points where I was biting my nails wondering what was going to happen and if they were going to get caught.  I really liked Christian's character. He goes through so much and just wants to succeed in life and go to college.  I like the chemistry between the two main characters. It was a very subtle romance, which was OK with everything going on in both of their lives. It was believable.

The dislikes:  When I started reading I thought the author was going to go into more detail and development of Lexi's group of friends/family because of how tight they seemed but I was left wanting more.  Another issue is the fact that they are all in high school....robbing a bank and doing crazy things.  It was a little difficult to wrap my brain around that aspect to enjoy it fully.  I didn't connect with Lexi as much as I did to Christian because of the whole "rich, spoiled girl" qualities that came out.

The rating:  my rating for this book is 3.5. I really enjoyed this book and would read more books from Amy Christine Parker.

Book Review: Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein

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Shuffle, Repeat
Author: Jen Klein
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: May 3, 2016
Review Source: Random House

When Harry Met Sally for YA romance readers. This opposites-attract love story is perfect for fans of Huntley Fitzpatrick, Stephanie Perkins, and Jenny Han.

June wants high school to end and real life to begin. Oliver is soaking up senior year’s glory days. They could have coasted through high school, knowing about—but not really knowing—each other.

Except that their moms have arranged for Oliver to drive June to school. Every. Single. Day.

Suddenly these two opposites are fighting about music, life . . . pretty much everything. But love is unpredictable. When promises—and hearts—get broken, Oliver and June must figure out what really matters. And then fight for it.

Oliver and June. I love the sound of those names together. Oliver and June. Those names alone are just meant to be together. Which was not the case when I dived into Shuffle, Repeat. Both Oliver and June's mom were long time bff's. June and her mom just moved into a new house and since June doesn't drive they decided Oliver (who now lives close by) would pick her up every morning for school. This is their senior year by the way. THE year everyone waits for during their high school career. Oliver is all jock and full of school spirit and June is all "I can't wait for bigger and better things" and "high school means nothing."

Their first interaction (and pretty much every interaction actually) will make you swoon. These two could not be more opposite and it only takes a second for them to see that. They soon come up with a game. Each time Oliver makes a great and valid point of why time in high school matters he gets to add a song to a playlist they will listen to every morning. And, each time June makes a solid point as to why high school and the memories you make mean nothing she gets to add a song.

Slowly Oliver begins to unravel June. I. Love. Them. Together. Apart, not so much. At least not June. She's kind of mean at times but you'll understand why and you'll still root for her.

Shuffle, Repeat is the cutest YA story I've read so far this year! It was a fast and easy read, you'll find yourself done with the book before you know it.