Book Tour: Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore | Review, Playlist & Giveaway

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to be sharing this review and playlist with all of you today. But before getting to that, I wanted to thank Karina @Afire Page and HarperCollins Intenrational for allowing me to be part of this book tour and giving me an eARC of the book.

Title: Miss Meteor

Author: Anna-Marie McLemore & Tehlor Kay Mejia

Publishing date: September 22nd 2020

Published by: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Magical Realism

Pages: 320

There hasn’t been a winner of the Miss Meteor beauty pageant who looks like Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla in all its history. But that’s not the only reason Lita wants to enter the contest, or why her ex-best friend Chicky wants to help her. The road to becoming Miss Meteor isn’t about being perfect; it’s about sharing who you are with the world—and loving the parts of yourself no one else understands. So to pull off the unlikeliest underdog story in pageant history, Lita and Chicky are going to have to forget the past and imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough—they are everything.

Witty and heartfelt with characters that leap off the page, Miss Meteor is acclaimed authors Anna-Marie McLemore and Tehlor Kay Mejia’s first book together.

 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Book Depository

CWs: bullying, homophobic comments and xenophobic comments

Miss Meteor is one of the best books I have read in 2020. Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore deliver a beautifully written, magical story about two characters learning to be true to themselves.

Chicky and Lita, the main characters, have very strong and distinctive personalities. They are absolutely captivating characters and seeing them grow and develop throughout this book is beautiful. Also, the way they slowly rebuild their friendship is very emotional and meaningful.

The sisterhood in this book is lovely and the Quintanilla sisters own my heart. Chicky has four older sisters and they are all very different from each other, and even when they irritate each other, there is so much love between them and it is amazing seeing them be there for Chicky when she asks for help. Another relationship between siblings that is very complicated and interesting is between Cole and his sister and it was incredible seeing Cole be honest and ask someone he loves to do better and be accepting and loving not only with him but also with others, especially within the queer community.

The romances in this book are so cute and one of my favorite things about it, I was rooting for the two couples the entire book. The slow-burn, angsty friends to lovers romance between Chicky and Junior was everything that I didn’t know I needed and the sweet friends to lovers romance between Lita and Cole with its “oh” moment was very heartwarming.

Plot-wise, when it came to the pageant, I suffered the entire time I was reading this because I was just wondering what was going to go wrong, who was going to sabotage Lita or what faux pas was she going to make. It was funny too because Lita always found a way to do something unexpected that a lot of time didn’t go well for her, from tug wars and falling in a fountain with another contestant to wearing a scuba diving outfit to the swimsuit competition.

Something that this book does really well is addressing heavier subjects like messed up beauty standards, xenophobia and homophobia in a way that feels very organic. It doesn’t feel like a lesson on those subjects, it’s more about characters living their lives, encountering these things and having to process and deal with them. This book shows characters that have to learn to be true to themselves and stand up to people who try to make them feel small or weird or like outcasts.

If you want a book with adorable friends to lovers romances, heartwarming friendships, wonderfully complicated siblings’ relationships, a powerful message and amazing character development, Miss Meteor is for you!

PLAYLIST

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Have you read or are you plannign to read Miss Metero? What’s your favorite magical realism book?

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Blog Tour: Interview with Mark Oshiro, author of Each of Us a Desert

Hi everyone! I’m so happy and excited and grateful to be writing this post. I’m part of the book tour for Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro and I got to interview them! This is my first author interview, which makes it so special to me, and also Mark’s answers are great and I’m happy to be sharing them with you. My review of the book will be posted on Wednesday.

This tour was organized by Colored Pages and you can see the rest of the schedule for the tour here. Today is the first day of the tour, so make sure of checking out the other posts and support the release of this wonderful YA fantasy book that includes Latinx and Queer representation.

About the Book

Title: Each of Us a Desert 

Author: Mark Oshiro 

Publisher: Tor Teen 

Publication Date: September 15th, 2020

Genres: YA Fantasy

From award-winning author Mark Oshiro comes a powerful coming-of-age fantasy novel about finding home and falling in love amidst the dangers of a desert where stories come to life. Xochitl is destined to wander the desert alone, speaking her troubled village’s stories into its arid winds. Her only companions are the blessed stars above and enigmatic lines of poetry magically strewn across dusty dunes.Her one desire: to share her heart with a kindred spirit.One night, Xo’s wish is granted—in the form of Emilia, the cold and beautiful daughter of the town’s murderous conqueror. But when the two set out on a magical journey across the desert, they find their hearts could be a match… if only they can survive the nightmare-like terrors that arise when the sun goes down.

Goodreads | Amazon | Indiebound

The Interview

1. What should readers expect out of Each of Us a Desert?

Firstly: the book is almost unrecognizable compared to my debut, Anger is a Gift. I deliberately wanted to write a book that was, in every way possible, nothing like my first one. That was partly so that my readers—I have actual readers now, THIS IS SO EXCITING—would come to expect that every novel of mine is going to be a curveball. Even as I’m now working on YA #3, it’s nothing like my first two novels.

I also wrote a book that was very ambitious to complete. So on a craft level, it was a challenge in a way Anger was not. Desert is told with a unique framing device (the entire book is a single prayer); it’s technically in first and second person; it’s got a bunch of poems in Spanish; and there are short stories embedded within the text, too. Expect a very different experience reading a book!

2. How is your process different when you are writing a contemporary book like Anger is a Gift and a fantasy book like Each of Us a Desert?

Ooooh, this is a lovely question. There’s logistical stuff that’s different. I had to do way more planning before I ever wrote a word of the actual manuscript. You also have to put a lot of thought and care into the world you’re constructing so that it makes sense. With fantasy, you can’t assume the reader knows what you’re referring to, especially if it’s a detail or a worldbuilding tenet that hasn’t appeared on the page before. It forced me to consider how exposition would work, too! How was I to convey information about the world of Empalme and Solís to the reader without overwhelming them or making them feel cheated?

I only have the answer to that relative to this book. The framing device of the book helped me immensely because it actually meant I could skip over things! Xochitl didn’t need to narrate certain things because they weren’t relevant to the story she was telling her god. On top of that, because the book has poetry, prose, and short stories, I had to plot out where those all landed in the structure. So, the most general answer to this question is: Literally every part of this was harder, hahaha.

3. What was your favorite part about writing this book? 

Yo, writing fantasy means you can do WHATEVER YOU WANT! I know that probably seems obvious, but this is my first secondary fantasy story ever, and now I get why people spend their whole lives in the genre. You get to let your imagination run wild in a way that feels so beautifully freeing.

On specific thing I had so much joy writing was the pesadillas—the physical manifestations of sins. In this world, the longer a person goes without seeking a cuentista (like Xochitl, for example), the more likely it is that your sin comes alive and takes physical form. The book is creepier and more visceral because of that, but it also meant I could pull emotional threads in the cast of characters in really satisfying ways. For example: What does guilt look like if it comes alive? What about unprocessed grief? How can these appear as a threat while also allowing the reader to empathize or understand a character? So I got to lean heavily on horror tropes and techniques, and I’m a huge horror fan. It was a DELIGHT to write.

4. Is there a message you would like readers to take away from the book?

Generally, I love letting a work speak for itself, and I believe a story always takes a life of its own once it’s out in the world. It’s been really fascinating to see people’s interpretation of the book so far because they’re far more varied than the ones for Anger. Which makes sense! Anger was a remarkably straightforward novel, both in terms of the storytelling and the themes explored. This one has far more ambiguity and mystery to it.

That being said, if I was to assign any one intentional message, it’s that it’s okay to ask questions. The act of questioning the world around you is not how I was raised, and there’s some of that friction in the early part of the novel. I was very much in an environment where, as a kid, I was told things about the world and expected to believe them forever.

Xochitl believes certain things about herself and her powers because she doesn’t know to question them. And when the first domino falls and doubt enters her mind, it’s terrifying. So, I wanted to create a space where a teenager could question everything, where it was allowed, where it was rewarded.

5. What’s next for you? Any exciting new projects?

Oh, there are so many new things coming! I’m finishing up this interview the day after I turned in my first edit on The Insiders, which is my middle grade debut! It’s the story of a 12-year-old boy who discovers a magical closet while hiding from bullies, and it unites him with two other kids across the country who are dealing with similar issues. It’s my chance to really dig into some heavier themes (like bullying and who is complicit in it), but also just… fling myself into a wacky, chaotic adventure.

I’m working on my third YA book, which will see me returning to the contemporary world! But it’s also very, very dark, and what little I can tell you is that it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to writing about my childhood. I am currently pitching it as—and I promise you, the end result makes sense!—if Hereditary had no supernatural elements and was thrown in a blender with Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

And finally: I have short stories coming out in Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bite, From A Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology, That Way Madness Lies, and This Is Our Rainbow.

About the author

Mark Oshiro is the author of Anger is a Gift (Tor Teen), winner of the 2019 Schneider Family Book Award and nominated for a 2019 Lammy Award (in the LGBTQ Children’s/Young Adult category). Upcoming novels include Each of Us a Desert (Tor Teen), a YA Fantasy novel out September 15, 2020, and The Insiders (Harper Collins), a MG Contemporary with magical elements out Fall 2021. When they are not writing, crying on camera about fictional characters for their online Mark Does Stuff universe, or traveling, Mark is busy trying to fulfill their lifelong goal: to pet every dog in the world.

I hope you liked this interview, please go a preorder the book and support it, it’s truly a great story. Also, keep your eye on my review that will be posted soon!

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Blog Tour: Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale (Review + Playlist)

The official banner for the blog tour was designed by the wonderful Mana, feel free to check out her amazing portfolio right here!

Hi everyone! Today, I bring you my review and playlist for Small Town Hearts as part of the blog tour for the book. I received an ARC from the author in exchange of an honest review. A big thank you to Lillie Vale for the ARC and to Lili from Utopia State of Mind for hosting the blog tour!

Title: Small Town Hearts

Author: Lillie Vale

Published by: Swoon Reads

Publishing date: March 19th 2019

Genre: Contemporary

Pages: 336

Rule #1 – Never fall for a summer boy. 

Fresh out of high school, Babe Vogel should be thrilled to have the whole summer at her fingertips. She loves living in her lighthouse home in the sleepy Maine beach town of Oar’s Rest and being a barista at the Busy Bean, but she’s totally freaking out about how her life will change when her two best friends go to college in the fall. And when a reckless kiss causes all three of them to break up, she may lose them a lot sooner. On top of that, her ex-girlfriend is back in town, bringing with her a slew of memories, both good and bad.

And then there’s Levi Keller, the cute artist who’s spending all his free time at the coffee shop where she works. Levi’s from out of town, and even though Babe knows better than to fall for a tourist who will leave when summer ends, she can’t stop herself from wanting to know him. Can Babe keep her distance, or will she break the one rule she’s always had – to never fall for a summer boy?

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Trigger Warnings: manipulative friendship, mention of casual drug usage (weed, not shown on the page), alcohol consumption (on page) and alcohol abuse (a character drinks and parties to the point of dehydration and sleep-deprivation; two characters get wasted and are too drunk to fully consent to sex with each other).

Small Town Heart is an angsty book about love and friendship, but mainly about not holding so strongly to people that you don’t let them change and grow and that you don’t allow yourself to change and grow. The book is full of complex relationships and fascinating discussions about growing up.

The main character, Babe, is naïve, indecisive, scared of change and a pushover at the beginning of the book, but she develops as a character and I really enjoyed seeing that. She embraces the fact that people don’t always stay the same, they change, and she should be able to change to, she should be able to grow as a person. One thing that I abolutely loved about Babe and about this book is that she is unapologetically bisexual and eveyone accepts that, it’s normal, it’s not an issues and it’s fantastic.

The love interest, Levi, was sweet, honest and mature. I really liked him, and I didn’t quite understand why he put up with Babe being so indecisive for such a big portion of this book. Nonetheless, their relationship was thoughtful and sweet, and I enjoyed their scenes together.

Now, in terms of Babe’s best friends, Penny was a fascinating character to me because I hated her at the beginning, she was manipulative, insensitive and mean.  But as the book continues it’s evident that she is a more complex character, she makes some good points about change and about growing up that Babe needed to consider and accept. Nonetheless, that doesn’t excuse the way she behaved throughout the story and I liked the way this ended regarding her friendship with Babe. On the other hand, I don’t think there’s enough in this book about Chad to know him at all and the few scenes he has in this book made him look like an inconsiderate, pushover, oblivious guy.

I loved Babe’s coworker and friend, Lily and her boyfriend Lorcan. They are so cute and I really want a book about how everything started between them, because they are definitely one of my favorite part of the book.

The setting of this book is captivating, it’s this small seaside town, where everyone knows each other, where there are amazing sea food and desserts, beautiful landscapes, a sand castles competition and an awesome lighthouse where the main character lives. It honestly sounded like a magical place to live and it has a very big role in the story.

The plot gets a bit repetitive, the interactions between Babe and Levi always start cute and meaningful, but most of them end with Babe freaking out about Levi being a summer boy and getting weird and leaving, which I could understand at the beginning, but it kept happening again and again and it became a bit frustrating. Also, there is a point were the drama between Babe and Penny and Chad, got really repetitive as well.

Overall, Small Town Heart is a book for people who enjoy complicated firendships, sweet romances and books that have a bittersweet feel to them. 

The playlist has songs that remind me of Babe and her relationship with Levi, a song that reminds me of Penny and even a song that reminds me of Babe’s relationship with her ex-girlfriend. I hope you enjoy it!

Lillie Vale, upon discovering she could not be one of Santa’s elves or attend Hogwarts, decided to become a writer to create a little magic of her own. Enjoying the romantic and eerie in equal measure, she’s probably always writing a book where the main characters kiss or kill. Born in Mumbai, she has lived in many U.S. states, and now resides in an Indiana college town where the corn whispers and no one has a clue that she is actually the long-lost caps lock queen.

Small Town Hearts is her debut novel.

WEBSITE || GOODREADS || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM

FOLLOW THE REST OF THE BLOG TOUR FOR MORE CONTENT!

MARCH 11
Sprinkles of Dreams – guest post
Drizzle & Hurricane Books– interview
Eloise Writes – review + aesthetic
Flipping Through the Pages – review + creative
Annotated Paperbacks – creative

MARCH 12
Unputdownable Books – creative
Santana Reads – review + character aesthetics
Bookish in Texas – interview
Green Tea & Paperbacks – creative

MARCH 13
Bookish Wandress – review + a playlist
Bubbly Booknerd – creative
Bookmark Lit – review + creative
The Contented Reader – interview + review

Camillea Reads – review

MARCH 14
The Bookish Beagle – review + creative
Fannatality – review + creative
Syndneys.books – creative bookstagram
Word Wonders – review

Chasing Faerytales – review + creative

Utopia State of Mind – guest post

MARCH 15
Read by Tiffany – creative
Fangirl Fury – review + creative
Romie We Deserve Love – creative

Have you read this book? Are you excited to read it? Let me know in the comments!

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Blog Tour: Mirage by Somaiya Daud (Review + Giveaway)

I’m so excited to be part of the blog tour for such an amazing book! If you want to check out the other stops of the tour, here’s the tour schedule.

Book: Mirage (Book #1 in the Mirage series)

Author: Somaiya Daud

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Release date: August 28, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

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Mirage is a wonderfully written sci-fi story, with amazing characters and a rich setting, that provides a message about the importance of culture and traditions, especially for communities that have had a lot taken from them,  that it’s really important in the times we are living in. 

This is definitely a character driven story, the plot moves really slowly, not a lot of things happen and there’s no that much action. So if you prefer plot drive, action packed books, this may not be for you. BUT if you are like me and prefer character focused books, you’ll really enjoyed this one. I was absolutely captivated by the characters, especially Maram and Amani, the princess and the body double. In one hand, Amani is a relatable and likable character; she isn’t trained to be a fighter, she isn’t great at strategy, she is just a girl that is put in a difficult situation and manages to survive. On the other hand, Maram is cruel and arrogant, but as the story unfolds, her backstory is revealed and it’s easy to see that she is conflicted by a lot of the things that have happened and it’s trapped between what it’s expected of her and who she wants to be. Honestly, she is such a complex character and probably my favorite in this book. 

The romance is very prominent  in this story and, at the beginning, I didn’t know how to feel about it because I thought it was gonna be insta-love, but then as the story progresses, I realized there’s instant attraction, but then there’s enought moments and conversations between the two characters to show why they fell in love. They have a lot in common and they are in similar situations, so they understand each other.

Now, going back to the plot,  it was not the most original and unique plot. It follow the line of a girl from a lower class taken to the palace to perform some kind of task that put her life in risk to protect the conquering queen or king and then becoming friends with people in the palace and later on joining the rebelion.  BUT the fact that it is Moroccan inspired, added the uniqueness that was missing from the plot, there were so many elements of this wolrd, in term of history, religion and traditions that felt new and interesting and especial, because they haven’t been portrait in sci-fi before and that defintely made me enjoy this book more.

Another thing that I think it’s worth mentioning is that this felt a lot more like a fantasy than a Sci-fi book. I think that has to do with the fact that the plot has elements that are common in YA fantasy books and that maybe aren’t as common in Sci-fi. Also, there are mythological creatures and gods in this story and they are given a lot more attention than things like space travel and the technology behind the androids that serve as guards.

Mirage is beautifully written, it has complex and fascinating characters, Moroccan inspired setting and traditions that give it a unique touch, and a  mix between sci-fi and fantasy elements that also make it seem new and exciting. For those reasons I enjoyed my time reading it inmensly. 

Rating: 4,3 stars 

About the author:

 Somaiya Daud was born in a Midwestern city, and spent a large part of her childhood and adolescence moving around. Like most writers, she started when she was young and never really stopped. Her love of all things books propelled her to get a degree in English literature (specializing in the medieval and early modern), and while she worked on her Master’s degree she doubled as a bookseller at Politics and Prose in their children’s department. Determined to remain in school for as long as possible, she packed her bags in 2014 and moved the west coast to pursue a doctoral degree in English literature. Now she’s preparing to write a dissertation on Victorians, rocks, race, and the environment. Mirage is her debut, and is due from Flatiron Books in 8/28/2018

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Giveaway: 

• Prize: One finished copy of Mirage by Somaiya Daud (USA only)
• Starts: 8/22/18
• Ends: 8/30/18

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid (Review+Giveaway)

I was highly anticipating this book, it is the end of a series that I really enjoyed, but also it revolves around a couple that has been teased for a while and which I had been intrigued by for a long time. So imagine my surpise and my absolute joy when I recieved an email saying that I was getting an arc of this book as part of the blog tour. I was so excited that I felt like I was gonna start crying at my desk while all my coworkers were around me.  I say this to establish that my expectation for this book were extremely high, I’m not sure it enterily met those expectations but I was not disappointed either.

Title: Marriage of Inconvenience

Author: Penny Reid

Publishing date:  March 6th 2018

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Pages: 510

There are three things you need to know about Kat Tanner (aka Kathleen Tyson. . . and yes, she is *that* Kathleen Tyson): 1) She’s determined to make good decisions, 2) She must get married ASAP, and 3) She knows how to knit. Being a billionaire heiress isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it sucks. Determined to live a quiet life, Kat Tanner changed her identity years ago and eschewed her family’s legacy. But now, Kat’s silver spoon past has finally caught up with her, and so have her youthful mistakes. To avoid imminent disaster, she must marry immediately; it is essential that the person she chooses have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever and be completely trustworthy.
Fortunately, she knows exactly who to ask. Dan O’Malley checks all the boxes: single, romantically indifferent to her, completely trustworthy. Sure, she might have a wee little crush on Dan the Security Man, but with clear rules, expectations, and a legally binding contract, Kat is certain she can make it through this debacle with her sanity—and heart—all in one piece. Except, what happens when Dan O’Malley isn’t as indifferent—or as trustworthy—as she thought?

Goodreads | Amazon 

My favorite thing about this book is the main characters, Dan and Kat, and the relationship between them. Dan and Kat are very engaging characters that made me want to keep reading their story. I think Kat is relatable character with her shyness, anxiety and all her little quirks, but also with her caring nature and her strenght. On the other hand, Dan is patient, respectful and caring but also mischivious and funny. They complemented each other quite well and had some really good scenes together.  It was fun to watch their relationship grow as they became closer and as their bond became stronger. Also, the whole marriage of convenience is a trope that I really enjoy.

My second favorite thing about this book is that we got to see the camaraderie and loyalty between the women of the knitting group and their support of Kat throughout this story. They were there to defend her (there’s a scene where the ladies and their boyfriends/husbands confront Kat’s cousin and it’s such a great scene!). Also, they were there to help Kat through a very sad situation that she has to deal with. I think that’s what makes this series so especial to me: it’s about this group of woman supporting, loving and respecting each other throught all the ups and downs of life.

One of my issue with this book was the fact that it had some similar plot elements to other books in the series and since I read those books not so long ago, it felt like it was more of the same and it was a bit repetitive. Don’t get me wrong, there were things I liked: the  pharmaceutical  industry storyline was interesting ( even if it was solved a little too easily) and I think Penny Reid always chooses really thought provoking background themes for her novels. Nonetheless, elements like the kidnapping felt unneccesary and repetitive since it happens in a lot of the books in the series. Other issue I had with this book is that the villain of the story was not that smart, was not that interesting  and was pretty much one-dimentional.

Overall, the characters and the relationship between them is what makes this series , but particulary this book, so magical. Thanks to that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, even if I did have some issues with the plot.  Before finishing this review, I just wanted to mention that I really, really, really want a longer version of the epilogue to be publish, please!!

Rating : 3,8 stars

If you want a signed set of the entire Knitting in the City Series by Penny Reid, you can participate in the giveaway here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

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