Blog Tour: Pride and Prep School by Stephanie Wardrop

Pride and Prep School by Stephanie Wardrop

Title: Pride And Prep School (Snark And Circumstance #3)

Publication date: October 15, 2013

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.

Author: Stephanie Wardrop

Blurb: Georgia can’t figure out why the burden of a Y chromosome seems to make guys so hard to understand. First, there’s the handsome but slippery Jeremy Wrentham. After Georgia shared some pretty devastating kisses with him, she found her way home and he found her sister!

And then there’s Michael Endicott, who never fails to let her know that her family’s quirkiness lies too far outside the pale for this preppie townie. But if he really feels that way, why is he in Georgia’s kitchen, asking her out? And why don’t boys come with instruction manuals?

Giveaway:

·        Two (2) sets of the full trilogy – one in Kindle Format, one in Nook Format:  (INT)

o   Snark and Circumstance

o   Charm and Consequence

o   Pride and Prep School

·        One (1) DVD copy of EMMA, starring Gwyneth Paltrow (US Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 An e-copy of this book has been provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Review: 
Pride and Prep School was a short, sweet story. The writing style was interesting and the execution was done pretty well. I wish instead of breaking out this book into so many parts, it was just compiled into one single proper book because I was genuinely disappointed when it ended so abruptly.

Anyway, the characters were funny and even though I found Georgia very very judgmental and annoying sometimes, I didn't exactly mind it because the title of the novella does have the word Pride in it and I had been expecting the snarkiness. That still didn't change the fact that she treated Micheal like crap (just when I was actually beginning to like the guy, nonetheless) and that grated on ym nerves big time.
Even after that, I still couldn't stop reading it as I was curious to find out what'll happen next. Unfortunately, by the time Georgia realized her mistakes and things actually started getting fun, the story finished off. Whatta buzzkill. -.-

Overall, Pride and Prep school was an okay read. Too short for my taste, honestly but if you loved Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (like me) then I'd say you should definitely try this one! Although, it'd be better if you kept all three of the novellas with you and read them back to back. (it literally took me an hour to finish this one :P)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stephanie Wardrop grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania where she started writing stories when she ran out of books to read. She’s always wanted to be a writer, except during the brief period of her childhood in which piracy seemed like the most enticing career option—and if she had known then that there actually were “girl” pirates way back when, things might have turned out very differently. She currently teaches writing and literature at Western New England University  and lives in a town not unlike the setting of Snark and Circumstance with her husband, two kids, and five cats. With a book out—finally—she might be hitting the high seas any day now.

Links:  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads 

Review: Merch Girl by Rebecca Lewis

Merch Girl by Rebecca Lewis
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Blurb: 
Seventeen-year-old Lacey Kind doesn’t have the guts to talk to cute boys, isn’t a size two, and would rather stay home and listen to music than go to a party. But in the summer before her first year of college, she ends up thousands of miles away from home, in the back of a tour bus, underneath the half-naked body of the hottest teen rock star in the country.

When Lacey and her best friend Trina sneak into a Boston nightclub to see their favorite band, they not only get to watch their rock gods perform for the first time, but score a chance to meet the band too. Lacey’s heart races as she comes face-to-face with her idol, nineteen-year-old lead singer, Logan Shire.

The girls charm their way into being hired to sell merchandise on Lansdowne’s first summer tour. As “merch girls” Lacey and Trina quickly find themselves transported from their ordinary, suburban life to an exhilarating few months on the road. But they soon realize that life on the road isn’t always a smooth ride...
An e-copy of this book has been provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Merch Girl was a fun, quirky read. Believe it or not, I've never been to a live band performance but this book gave me a pretty good idea what it might be like. The writing style was awesome and kept my interest throughout. I mean, the way the author described the whole tour and the band made it seem so...realistic. The story-line was exciting and something different from the other stories I've read so far.

The protagonist, Lacey seemed slightly annoying in the beginning. I don't know whether it was her demure personality or just the helpless way she carried herself but as the story moved on, I actually started liking her.
However, the opposite happened with Lacey's best friend Trina. In the beginning, she seemed upbeat and so supportive. She dragged Lacey around with her to all of Lansdowne's events as she got closer to one of the band members of Lansdowne and I felt that that was actually pretty sweet of her, but slowly, she just became exhausting to read about. Her jealous, snobby attitude and insecurities were super irritating and the abrupt way she relationship started, then ended and then started again was a little too fast for my taste.

Thankfully, Lacey's relationship with Logan was much steadier. Initially, I'd thought that Lacey might turn out to be the dumb-protagonist after all but no, that didn't happen. She turned out to be quite level-headed and clear on what she wanted. I liked how she remained calm (or atleast tried to) as Logan's fans fawned all over him.

As for the guys, well, Ms. Lewis did an amazing job there. Logan was definitely swoon-worthy and I loved the way the story ended.

All in all, Merch Girl was a pretty good. I would've given it 4 stars had it not been for the part where I initially didn't like Lacey and the part where I almost wanted to throw eggs on Trina's obnoxious head. Anywayyyy, I'd say this definitely a fun summer read, and might just turn out to be perfect for you if you love music-themed novels.

Tour: Lost And Found by Nicole Williams

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Lost and Found

Author: Nicole Williams

Release date: May 7, 2013

Publisher: Nicole Williams

Age Group: Mature Young Adult/New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

Blurb:
There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.

After numbing pain for the past five years with boys, alcohol, and all-around apathy, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus to nowhere Montana the summer after she graduates high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen’s dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch. Cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn for a couple dozen ranch hands and mucking out horse stalls are the last things in the world Rowen wants to spend her summer doing.

Until Jesse Walker saunters into her life wearing a pair of painted-on jeans, a cowboy hat, and a grin that makes something in her chest she’d thought was frozen go boom-boom. Jesse’s like no one else, and certainly nothing like her. He’s the bright and shiny to her dark and jaded.

Rowen knows there’s no happily-ever-after for the golden boy and the rebel girl—happily-right-now is a stretch—so she tries to forget and ignore the boy who makes her feel things she’s not sure she’s ready to feel. But the more she pushes him away, the closer he seems to get. The more she convinces herself she doesn’t care, the harder she falls.

When her dark secrets refuse to stay locked behind the walls she’s kept up for years, Rowen realizes it’s not just everyone else she needs to be honest with. It’s herself.


Giveaway:
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About the Author:

I'm a wife, a mom, a writer. I started writing because I loved it and I'm still writing because I love it. I write young adult because I still believe in true love, kindred spirits, and happy endings. Here's to staying young at heart *raises champagne glass* . . . care to join me?

Author Social Media Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nwilliamsbooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nwilliamsbooks

Blog: http://nicoleawilliams.blogspot.com/

Tour schedule link: http://wp.me/p20ttU-1vc

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My Review: Lost and found was an engrossing read. From the moment I started it, the book immediately pulled me into Rowen's life. It was pretty obvious that Rowen's gonna go through some major personality changes as the story proceeds but at the same time I was curious as to how those changes occur, especially after our gorgeous tom boy, Jesse makes a swoon-worthy entry.

Rowen was different from most of the other female protagonists that we usually read about in books. She wasn't a total goth or an absolute emo even if her appearance might fool you into believing otherwise. But reading her POV made it clear from the beginning that this wasn't going to be a bland, simple story. Rowen had a fun, caring and really adventurous side which she kept hidden from the world but upon reaching Willow Springs, I could see that side immediately popping out of the deep layers she'd put around herself. The reason behind her skeptic, mean and dark side was somewhat of a mystery though I figured it out pretty early, though that didn't make the story any less interesting.

Jesse was like sunshine to Rowen's darkness. Wherever he went, he left a trail of smiles and a few broken hearts because well, he was smokin' hot (honestly, which male protagonist of a book isn't?). He made the story a lot more funny and intriguing. His personality was charming and it was no surprise that he balanced Rowen completely. Both of them made an awesome couple and it broke my heart when Rowen kept pushing Jesse away so rudely. It was a little irritating to see her so unsure and whiny. Jesse kept his cool throughout anyway and eventually it all became alright.

The story had some common and some not-so-common elements. The mix of that made it a compelling read. I enjoyed almost every part of this book. All the characters were well built-up. Though Rowen's mother still remains a mystery to me and so does her and Rose's friendship. It was a bit confusing but maybe that's just the way how Ms. Williams wanted it to be. The main focus was always on Jesse and Rowen so I didn't mind that minor tweak.

All in all, Lost and Found is a well written and an extremely enjoyable red. It made me laugh a lot of times and made me a little misty eyed a few times. It wasn't difficult to connect with the characters and Ms. Williams has truly done an awesome job at this one and I'm already excited to read more of her books!