Fresh Fiction Reviews (23)

I haven't done one of these posts since last year. And I have quite a few books to share.

"From Burnout to Belonging: A Satisfying Final Visit to Rome, Kentucky"

"Calling all Anne girls"

"A Typewriter. A Wish. Consequences No One Saw Coming."

"Tennis Anyone?"

"An insider's look at Buckingham Palace"

"So much love for the library cozy series"

"Fun Fresh Rom-Com"

"Murder in a Small Town"

"The Perfect Summer Read"

"Fantastic start to a new series"

Review: Out Of Our League

 

If you're a sports reader - this one is for you!

There are 16 sports short stories - all different sports from YA lit. While they are all wildly different, some do connect with names from other stories. 

The one problem I have with short stories is that I want more; I want them to become books.

In addition to sports, there is romance, friendship, and family drama.

There truly is something for everyone in this book. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Comfort Reads

 This week's topic is comfort reads. With America being a trash fire, my comfort reads these past few years have been romance books. Yes, they follow a formula (as do most books). Most importantly, they all have a happy ending. 

Which of course is very comforting!

Here are some recently read and highly recommended romance novels:

YA:

 

Adult:

 

 

If you read these, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. 

Review: Finding Her Edge

 

Adriana Russo is figure skating royalty.

With gold-medalist parents, and her older sister headed to the Olympics, all she wants is to live up to the family name and stand atop the ice dance podium at the Junior World Championships. But fame doesn’t always mean fortune, and their legendary skating rink is struggling under the weight of her dad’s lavish lifestyle. The only thing keeping it afloat is a deal to host the rest of the Junior Worlds team before they leave for France.

That means training on the same ice as her first crush, Freddie, the partner she left when her growth spurt outpaced his. For the past two years, he’s barely acknowledged her existence, and she can’t even blame him for it.

When the family’s finances take another unexpected hit, losing the rink seems inevitable until her partner, Brayden, suggests they let the world believe what many have suspected: that their intense chemistry isn’t contained to the ice. Fans and sponsors alike take the bait, but keeping up the charade is harder than she ever imagined. And training alongside Freddie makes it worse, especially when pretending with Brayden starts to feel very real.

As the biggest competition of her life draws closer and her family’s legacy hangs in the balance, Adriana is caught between her past and present, between the golden future she’s worked so hard for, and the one she gave up long ago. - summary from the publisher

My Thoughts: OK, it's hard to talk about this one. Because I loved it so much. I'm a big fan of figure skating but I confess, I don't know much about ice dancing. This book made me want to learn more about it! I loved the Adrianna. I loved how this was a Persuasion re-telling (and it was SO good!). I loved the angst between all the partners. I loved the love triangle (which is not something I say often). I really liked how Adriana came from a family of skaters, but how she made her own mark on the sport. I like how she held everything and everyone together. Such a great book, I didn't want it to end. I can't wait to see what Jennifer Iacopelli writes next! She's quickly become a favorite author of mine. 

Cover Thoughts: Adorable 

Source: My library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your school and public libraries. 

Ice Skating Books: Check out this list

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Wishes

 This week's topic is all about book wishes. I have to be honest, I've been terrible at reading ARCs lately. There's never enough time to read all the books I want to read. That being said, here are 10 books I would love the chance to read early.

The start of a new series plus a Christmas book = sold!

Christmas and YA - so here for it. I wish there were more Christmas books in YA published. So excited for this one!

I loved the first two books in this series

Always happy to read more from Jennifer Lynn Barnes - but can't wait to read this book!

Love royals

Donuts and Romance!

Love Little Women - this looks fantastic!

Loved the first two books!

Will read anything Sarah writes!

Ice Dancing with Olympic goals and romance!

Are any of these on your list?

Review: Break the Fall

Audrey Lee's dream came true - she's going to the Olympics! She can't believe it - and she's going with her best friend Emma. The two of them have been working towards this goal forever. She just hopes her back will be strong enough to last through the last little bit of her competitive life.

But everything changes on the first day of training camp. The FBI swarms the building and her coach is taken away in handcuffs. Now everything is up in the air and rumors are swirling.

Audrey's supposed to keep her head in the game, but how can she when everything is happening? Her teammates don't support each other. Audrey's not sure what to believe about her coach, but she starts to understand the signs. Her new coach isn't letting the girls practice as much as they would be. And she's falling for a boy who is off limits.

With a month left until the biggest days of her life, how is she supposed to hold it all together and bring home the gold medal she's been working towards her entire life?

My Thoughts: I LOVED this book; I couldn't put it down. It gave me the biggest book hangover. I'm a huge fan of gymnastics, so I loved reading about this sport (especially at such a high level). I loved the teamwork and the sisterhood - even though not all teammates were supportive. I loved the story how they came together. I loved Audrey's determination, her strength, and her ability to focus. My heart broke for the girls as I read about the abuse at the hands of their coach. I love how that wasn't glossed over but everything happened off page.  I loved the reality of the ending. I adore the eyeshadow part. I can't wait to read more from Jennifer Iacopelli!

Cover Thoughts: Awesome - I love the chalk
Source: My library
Library Recommendation: A must have book for your school and public library.

If You Like:

Game. Set. Match: Blog Tour

About the Book:
Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game's biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.
Who will rise? Who will fall?
Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH. is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.

Check out the book trailer:



About the Author:
Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no plans to leave...ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands on, but her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, L.M. Montgomery and Frances Hodgson Burnett all of whom wrote about kick-ass girls before it was cool for girls to be kick-ass. She got a Bachelor's degree in Adolescence Education and English Literature quickly followed up by a Master's in Library Science, which lets her frolic all day with her books and computers, leaving plenty of time in the evenings to write and yell at the Yankees, Giants and her favorite tennis players through the TV.


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Game Set Match Cover Reveal

Game. Set. Match. Synopsis:  Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH., is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world. It comes out May 1st. 

Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game's biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.

Penny Harrison, the biggest rising star in tennis, is determined to win the French Open and beat her rival, the world’s number one player, Zina Lutrova. There’s just one problem, the only person who’s ever been able to shake her laser-like focus is her new training partner. Alex Russell, tennis’s resident bad boy, is at OBX recovering from a knee injury suffered after he crashed his motorcycle (with an Aussie supermodel on the back). He's hoping to regain his former place at the top of men’s tennis and Penny’s heart, while he’s at it.

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. Her parents have seven Grand Slam championships between them and she’s desperate to live up to their legacy. Her best friend is Teddy Harrison, Penny’s twin brother, and that’s all they’ve ever been, friends. Then one stupid, alcohol-laced kiss makes everything super awkward just as she as she starts prepping for the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

The Classic is what draws Indiana Gaffney out of the hole she crawled into after her mom’s death. Even though she’s new to OBX, a win at the Classic is definitely possible. She has a big serve and killer forehand, but the rest of her game isn’t quite up to scratch and it doesn’t help that Jasmine Randazzo and her little minions are stuck-up bitches or that Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and oldest brother, is too hot for words, not to mention way too old for her.

Who will rise? Who will fall? 

Thoughts from the Author: 
My cover artist is the INCREDIBLE Erin Fitzsimmons, who also designed (and redesigned) the covers for Lauren Oliver's Delirium series! I love how it focuses on the girl, because the girls are truly the heart of this series, plus the couple really looks like Penny and Alex, one of the three couples featured in the OBX series. That's one of my pet peeves, when the models don't look anything like the characters! And of course, the kiss, because really, who doesn't a love a little kissing?! I adore the title treatment. The yellow brightening to the green brings out a fun tennis color scheme. So yes, lots of love from my end, but I fully admit, I may be a little biased. 


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Goodreads link for Game. Set. Match: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16082871-game-set-match

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