Friday, May 25, 2018

The Lost Noble Nerd Blast


Today on my blog I have The Lost Noble nerd blast. On my stop there is a spotlight and giveaway.


In the world of Edenarth, faerie technology has advanced the realms immeasurably. Crystal ball communications, magic mirror displays, and portals for fast travels are just some of the things that faeries have engineered to allow for human consumption – at the right price, of course. Politically, countless kingdoms and realms vie for power and prestige. It is a world filled with mysterious mermaids, fearsome ogres and trolls, clueless humans, terrifying dragons, syndicates and pirates, faeries and magic.

In the realm of Kelemer, Adella lives a life of peasantry with her parents, always hiding from a shadow no one will name. One night, she is visited by a grandmother whom she never knew existed: Queen Cassandra Everheart, ruler of the kingdom of Adamaris, the neighboring ocean realm to the south. After years of hiding, Adella learns why her family has been hunted as Cassandra apologizes for banishing Adella’s father for marrying outside of the royal blood line. Adamaris has since been bereft of an heir, and with Adella being the rightful crown princess, she is presented with the choice to leave and attend Royal High, a finishing academy for royals.

Naturally, Adella is stunned, but reluctantly agrees, and soon finds herself in the halls of Royal High along side other young royals from across the realms. But a strange darkness haunts Adella in the shadows of the school, and through a series of increasingly threatening events, Adella finds that not everyone is as they appear in the world of royals. For under the surface of all kingdoms, a terrible and dark force is rising. An ancient race of dragons, once thought vanquished by five guardians of light, are fighting to break free from their thousand year exile.

Can Adella understand what her dreams are telling her before it is too late? Or will the darkness consume everything she loves?



Having been born into a family of nerds from a slice of The Shire in Northern California, Rachel Litfin cultivated a love of all things fantasy from a very young age. Inspired by dressing up with her family at renaissance faires, to losing herself in Tolkien, to playing World of Warcraft into the wee hours of the morning, Rachel created the very beginnings of The Chronicles of Royal High in her freshman English class. You can find her today in the realm of Southern California, often adventuring her way through Disneyland, reading by firelight, swimming in the ocean like a mermaid, and, of course, writing about the many stories that exist within Edenarth.

PHOTO CREDIT: ED LITFIN 



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Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I would like to say Thank you to Jean for letting me participate in this nerd blast. Don't forget to enter the giveaway below. 

~Sabrina

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Hooper Blog Tour


Today on my blog I have the Hooper tour. On my stop there is a spotlight, guest post, and giveaway.

From Geoff Herbach, the critically acclaimed author of the Stupid Fast series, comes a compelling new YA novel about basketball, prejudice, privilege, and family, perfect for fans of Jordan Sonnenblick, Andrew Smith, and Matt de la Peña.

For Adam Reed, basketball is a passport. Adam’s basketball skills have taken him from an orphanage in Poland to a loving adoptive mother in Minnesota. When he’s tapped to play on a select AAU team along with some of the best players in the state, it just confirms that basketball is his ticket to the good life: to new friendships, to the girl of his dreams, to a better future.

But life is more complicated off the court. When an incident with the police threatens to break apart the bonds Adam’s finally formed after a lifetime of struggle, he must make an impossible choice between his new family and the sport that’s given him everything.


Praise for HOOPER

“Lessons on small-town politics and what it means to be a good friend abound in this well-plotted work.” ―Booklist

“Herbach’s ability to expand the narrative from solid game play to confronting racial injustice is remarkable. No one here is perfect, and their failures make readers cringe yet root for success. Hoops and so much more.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“There’s much to love in this sports tale. Fast-paced play-by-plays vividly depict the speed and beauty of the game. Adam’s backstory is heartrending and with immigrant mistrust and nonviolent protests in the national spotlight, this is a timely and realistic teen drama and swish—nothin’ but net.” ―School Library Journal

“This sports/school/domestic drama checks all the boxes. What could be another boilerplate basketball novel benefits from a tight cast of well developed secondary characters who surpass their expected stereotypes.” ―Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Fresh, funny, thoughtful, subversive, and totally absorbing. Book of the year!” ―Robert Lipsyte, Margaret A. Edwards award-winning author of The Contender

“Funny, gut-wrenching, and spilling over with heart, Hooper is an uplifting breath of joy, and gives us all cause to be hopeful. I loved it!” ―Andrew SmithMichael L. Printz Honor and New York Times Bestselling author of Winger and Grasshopper Jungle

“Hooper is a slam dunk! A sports novel with incredible action and tons of heart. I challenge you not to fall in love with these terrific, flawed characters, and just try to put this one down once you start. Impossible.” ―Bill Konigsberg, Award-Winning Author of Honestly Ben

“Raw, funny, and deeply honest, Geoff Herbach gifts us a story about the messiness of life and the importance of talking about it—ultimately showing us how to not only trudge through it, but to soar.” ―Gae Polisner, author of In Sight of Stars and The Memory of Things

“Author Geoff Herbach has a remarkable ability to create characters who make us laugh and think, sometimes within the same sentence. Read Hooper and let your self be changed.” ―John Coy, author of Gap Life 


Geoff Herbach is the author of the award winning Stupid Fast YA series as well as Fat Boy vs the Cheerleaders. His books have been given the 2011 Cybils Award for best YA novel, the Minnesota Book Award, selected for the Junior Library Guild, listed among the year’s best by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association and many state library associations. In the past, he wrote the literary novel, The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg, produced radio comedy shows and toured rock clubs telling weird stories. Geoff teaches creative writing at Minnesota State, Mankato. He lives in a log cabin with a tall wife.


PHOTO CREDIT: KATHERINE WARDE 


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Guest Post: 


Ten reasons to read HOOPER
1.      Regan and Margery, the crazy little girls who jump off the back of the couch to “Slay” Adam, the “Dragon.”
2.     A heartfelt romance between Adam and Carli.
3.     Carli is better at basketball than Adam!
4.     Barry’s funny, fluffy mustache.
5.     Barry’s beautiful growth and his loyalty.
6.     Renata, Adam’s mom, who is human, so flawed, but so powerful.
7.      Devin, Adam, and Khalil playing basketball at the Y.
8.     Adam understanding what a privilege it is to be so good at a game people value and using that understanding to do good in the world.
9.     Adam learning from Devin’s strength, Devin’s protest to support Khalil, to make a heroic stand for his poor, mustachioed pal, Barry.

10. Carli’s beautiful three-pointer at the end of the book, because, after all, Hooper is about basketball. 



    Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I would like to say Thank you to Geoff for the guest post and say Thank you to Jean for letting me participate in this blog tour. Don't forget to enter the giveaway below. 

    ~Sabrina