Blog Tour: Never Say Die

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Alex Rider is back in action! His new mission? Rescue an entire bus filled with children belonging to wealthy families. At stake are not only the lives of each child, but the very future of the terrorist organization known as SCORPIA. Thrilling action and pulse-pounding heroics make the pages fly.

The world's greatest teen spy is back in action in a thrilling new mission: destroy once and for all the terrorist organization SCORPIA. Following the events of Scorpia Rising, Alex relocates to San Francisco as he slowly recovers from the tragic death of his best friend and caregiver, Jack Starbright, at the hands of terrorists working for SCORPIA. With Jack gone, Alex feels lost and alone, but then, out of the blue, he receives a cryptic email--just three words long, but enough to make Alex believe that Jack may be alive. Armed with this shred of hope, Alex boards a flight bound for Egypt and embarks on a dubious quest to track Jack down. Yet SCORPIA knows Alex's weakness. And the question of whether Jack is alive soon takes a backseat to a chilling new terrorist plot--one that will determine the lives of many. From Egypt to France to Wales, from luxury yachts to abandoned coal mines, Alex traverses a minefield of dangers and cryptic clues as he fights to discover the truth. The #1 New York Times bestselling series, perfect for fans of James Bond and Jason Bourne, is back with a vengeance!  

My Thoughts:

I Love Alex Rider and I'm so glad he's back. I wasn't crazy about the ending of the last book, so I'm grateful for more books about him. I loved this one. I enjoyed watching him struggle to fit into a new life, knowing that he doesn't belong. There are just some people not meant to have a normal average life and Alex is one of them.

Interesting but creepy villains add to the novel as their evil plan fools MI6. Their plan was ingenious and diabolical. I really liked their identical nature. It's easy to hate villains because of their evilness, but you have to admire their ruthlessness 

I love the settings, from the West Coast, to Egypt, to England, and to Wales. I love the differences between the places. And as someone of Welsh descent, I love the part in Wales. 

I love how the anonymous email spurs him into action. The action and danger never let up, creating plot twists and turns kept me turning the pages quickly. I also wanted to discover if Jack was alive.

I hope this new book adds more fans to the Alex Rider series and I'm happy that at least one more book is coming next summer! 

AUTHOR BIO

Anthony Horowitz (anthonyhorowitz.com) is a world-renowned screenwriter for film and television, having received multiple awards. And he is, of course, the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Alex Rider novels, which have spawned a major motion picture and a line of graphic novels. Anthony was also commissioned by the Conan Doyle Estate to write two Sherlock Holmes novels, the critically-acclaimed The House of Silk and Moriarty. Most recently he was commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate to write the James Bond novel Trigger Mortis, incorporating never-before-published material from 007's creator. Anthony lives with his wife in London, England; they are parents to two grown boys. He will be touring the US for the publication of NEVER SAY DIE.

Anthony Horowitz is coming to CT in two week, I'm excited to finally meet him!

Blog Tour: Dragons Love Tacos 2

 ABOUT THE BOOK: 

Our dragons' favorite snack is in danger of going extinct in this laugh-out-loud, time-traveling sequel to the New York Times bestseller Dragons Love Tacos.

Listen, don't freak out, but I have some terrible news: There are no tacos left anywhere in the entire world! That's a huge problem because, as you know, dragons love tacos. We've got to do something! I know, let's fire up that time machine in the garage and go back in time, to before tacos went extinct. Then we can grab lots of tacos and bring them back with us. Just be sure you don't grab any tacos with spicy salsa. You remember what happened last time…

Check Out the Book Trailer:

https://www.facebook.com/penguinkidsbooks/videos/1657796170916443/

Where would you go if you could travel back in time? 
If I had to search for tacos, I would go back to Ancient Rome  

Dragons could use shields to save their tacos from being eaten by anyone else. Or they could pile their tacos high on the shields like a plate to bring them back to current times to plant taco trees.

Shield Facts: 
1. Were designed to protect against swords and spears
2. Shields were curved to protect your body better
3. You could knock someone over with your shield
4. You could kneel and use your shield for cover while fighting
5. You could use the shields together to build a wall so your enemy couldn't get through.


Make your Own Shield:

Instructions 

ADAM RUBIN BIO:

Adam Rubin is the New York Times best-selling author of a half dozen critically-acclaimed picture books including Secret Pizza Party and Robo-Sauce. He spent ten years working as a creative director in the advertising industry before leaving his day job to write full time. Adam has a keen interest in improv comedy, camping and magic tricks.

DANIEL SALMIERI BIO:

Daniel Salmieri has illustrated many fantastic picture books, including the New York Times bestseller Robo-Sauce. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, constantly drawing and painting images of ninja turtles, dinosaurs, and fighter jets (not in the same scene...), and graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

GIVEAWAY LEGAL COPY:

Enter for a chance to be one (1) grand prize winner and receive a set of Dragons Love Tacos and Dragons Love Tacos 2 (ARV: $17.99 each), or to be one (1) of five (5) second place winners to receive Dragons Love Tacos 2 (ARC: $17.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on May 1, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 29, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about June 2, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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Read A Dessen: The Truth About Forever

I adore Sarah Dessen's books so I'm happy to be part of the #ReadADessen blog tour from Penguin. Tons of blogs will be talking about her books, leading up to her newest book which I can't wait to read: Once and For All coming out June 6th.  It's So far away, but there's still time to re-read her backlist if you seriously can not wait any longer! 

If you're stuck on where to start, I wrote up this blog post last year. Take a look.

About the Book:

As bubbly as champagne and delectable as wedding cake, Once and for All, Sarah Dessen's thirteenth novel, is set in the world of wedding planning, where crises are routine.

Louna, daughter of famed wedding planner Natalie Barrett, has seen every sort of wedding: on the beach, at historic mansions, in fancy hotels and clubs. Perhaps that's why she's cynical about happily-ever-after endings, especially since her own first love ended tragically. When Louna meets charming, happy-go-lucky serial dater Ambrose, she holds him at arm's length. But Ambrose isn't about to be discouraged, now that he's met the one girl he really wants.

Sarah Dessen’s many, many fans will adore her latest, a richly satisfying, enormously entertaining story that has everything—humor, romance, and an ending both happy and imperfect, just like life itself.

About the Author:
Sarah Dessen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels for teens, which have received numerous awards and rave reviews. Her books have been published in over thirty countries and have sold millions of copies worldwide. She is the recipient of the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for outstanding contribution to young adult literature for her novels: Keeping the Moon, Dreamland, This Lullaby, The Truth about Forever, Just Listen, Along for the Ride, and What Happened to Goodbye. Her newest novel, Once and for All, will be released in June 2017. An NC native, she currently lives in Chapel Hill with her family.

It's always hard to pick a favorite book by an author you love. But as soon as I read The Truth About Forever, I knew it was a different kind of love. So I happily re-read it to remember all the reasons I fell in love with it the first time.

Of course, it didn't disappoint me. 

10 Reasons I adore this book:
The Truth Game
The Chaos in the Kitchen
Macy learning not to be perfect
Wes
Wes's sculptures
 Gotcha Game
Kristy's outlook on life
Monica's word count
Healing from Grief
The horrible library girls

There are so many reasons to love this book. The words just washed over me as I read it. I felt a connection to the chaos and finding yourself free in your choices.

It's the type of book I want to hug after reading it.
I tried thinking of a sentence or two to pull out from it to share as my favorite quote, but there are simply too many.

So Read it for yourself and let me know what you think of it.

I hope you love it as much as I do.

Giveaway of Sarah Dessen's paperback books:

Enter for a chance to win one (1) set of Sarah Dessen’s books in paperback (ARV: $132.00).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on April 17, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 29, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about June 1, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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Blog Tour: Dragons Love Tacos

I really adored this book, so I'm happy to be a stop on this blog tour. 

Here's some info about the book. 

Stay tuned for the Missing Tacos 

Add your name to the giveaway 

Check out book 2 

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. So if you want to lure a bunch of dragons to your party, you should definitely serve tacos. Buckets and buckets of tacos. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. And if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa . . . oh, boy. You're in red-hot trouble.

ADAM RUBIN BIO:

Adam Rubin is the New York Times best-selling author of a half dozen critically-acclaimed picture books including Secret Pizza Party and Robo-Sauce. He spent ten years working as a creative director in the advertising industry before leaving his day job to write full time. Adam has a keen interest in improv comedy, camping and magic tricks.

DANIEL SALMIERI BIO:
Daniel Salmieri has illustrated many fantastic picture books, including the New York Times bestseller Robo-Sauce. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, constantly drawing and painting images of ninja turtles, dinosaurs, and fighter jets (not in the same scene...), and graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. 

The Tacos are Missing!

What if the dragons came to party and the tacos were missing?

They might be angry. But don't worry, reassure them that you'll find them. 

You just need to search together.

Where would you look first?

Probably the kitchen right?

The tacos aren't there, but you do find pieces of lettuce. You're on the right track, but you'd have to search the rest of the house.

What about the library?

Nope. Don't worry about those three dragons, you can get them down when you find the tacos.

Are they in the bedroom?

I can't see any, but that bed sure looks fun. 

Maybe they're out by the pool.

Nope. But you do find a taco float. 

What about the dining room?

Nope, just an empty table with a smudge of red.

One lick tells you that it's a spot of salsa. Few, it's not spicy. That's great because dragons can't handle anything spicy. 

What about the living room?

Nothing, except a stack of empty plates. 

Oh no. Where will you look next?

Your eyes glance around the room. There's a small door in between the windows. On closer inspection, you notice there's a green smudge on the door handle. It's a clue! 

You turn the handle. You go down the stairs. And that's when you see it! A pantload of tacos stacked on the tables. Oh, the tacos are safe. You better grab the plates. 

Now this party can get started:

GIVEAWAY:

Enter for a chance to win one (1) of five (5) Dragons Love Tacos Book and Toy Sets (ARV: $17.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on April 3, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 1, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about May 5, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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BOOK 2 IS COMING SOON: You don't want to miss it!