Blog Tour – Courting Carlyn by Melissa Chambers

CCTOUR

Hello bookaholics! Welcome to my Blog Tour stop for Courting Carlyn by Melissa Chambers hosted by Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours. I’m really excited to share my review with you and hopefully when you’re done reading my thoughts and feelings, you’ll end up falling in love with Carlyn and Vaughn like I did.

COURTING CARLYN by Melissa Chambers

Publication Date: August 6, 2018

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Sports, Romance

addongoodreads

Vaughn Yarborough is ready to trade the fame and glory of the international junior pro tennis circuit for college and a more settled life. First stop: spearhead a summer camp for underprivileged kids. The girl who’s agreed to run it with him has Vaughn more intrigued by the minute, but with the strict no-fraternizing rules, he’s got to figure out how not to fall for her.
When the boy Carlyn Sadowski has crushed on for years asks her to work with him for the summer, she has to pinch herself. When his world-famed coach offers her training for free, she can’t believe her luck. He could actually help her follow in her mother’s footsteps by playing college tennis. But when she finds out the catch is she’s got to convince Vaughn to go pro, Carlyn will have to decide between her dreams and the boy currently stealing her heart.

purchaselinks

Amazon | Amazon Australia | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

reviewrating

4halfhearts

Smashingly Addictive, Swoontastic, and Summery Funtastic 

reviewthoughts

You guys… this book was just so adorable and touching! It was lighthearted, humorous, entertaining, and delightfully heartwarming. I smiled the entire time reading this novel and believe it or not, I even had a few drop of tears.

When I saw Courting Carlyn on Netgalley, I was instantly interested in reading it because my boyfriend plays and loves tennis. He isn’t pro cause he started late, but I think he’s pretty damn good. He also tried to teach me a few times, but my coordination is not that great. I just do a lot of watching and from time to time, hit the ball over the net to help my boyfriend warm-up. Anyway, I just have to say that watching my boyfriend play is really sexy, hot, and thrilling. I may be biased, but honestly watching tennis matches is incredibly intense. I’ve seen a few live matches at Indian Wells and it was utterly exhilarating! So, of course I couldn’t pass up reading this book. Not to mention the forbidden romance between two rising teen tennis players in a summer camp setting just sounded so fun and seemed like the perfert summer book.

And you know what… Melissa Chambers had me hooked from the very beginning and my oh my… This book totally ACED EVERYTHING I enjoy in contemporary romances. The writing style was superb and fantastically engaging. I really enjoyed both the POVs. The plot was really entertaining and had plenty of action, thrills, swoons, and kisses. The characters were really likable and a lot of fun. I absolutely adored Carlyn and Vaughn. I loved their easy going and adoringly cute chemistry. They were just so darn precious and their sweet moments together had me smiling like a fool… a fool in love with this story. The romance…completely loved it!! So deliciously fun and wonderfully developed. And the ending was absolutely perfect… Really really love this book. I was expecting to have some fun reading this, but it was also surprisingly emotional and gave me a good warm feeling in my heart.

I fell so hard for Carlyn and Vaughn and enjoyed all their scenes together. Vaughn was athletic, hard-working, funny, and definitely a more than meets the eye kind of guy. I loved his confidence and his gentle sweet side was just too adorable! He definitely made my heart melt and had me swooning. Carlyn was very relatable and I really enjoyed her character development. She’s very smart, a little sassy, quite funny and just someone I see myself being friends with in high school. They just fit so well together and like I said, their chemistry was just so amazing. Watching them try not to fall for each other was also nostalgic for me. I don’t want to give too much away, but there was a scene with pillows that my boyfriend and I totally did when we first met. There were so many sweet moments that I just can’t… these two are sooo cute together!

I also really liked the side characters and relationships in the book. Fred and Nancy were great and the ending scene with them was just so heartwarming. Carlyn’s father should get the Father of the Year award for trying to be supportive, loving, and the best father he can be. Jeffrey may come off a bit selfish, but his intentions were good and he really cared about Vaughn. I  also liked how Trinity and Carlyn got along so well and the kids at the summer camp were all quite interesting and fun too.

This book was smashingly addictive, wonderfully thrilling and such an adorably sweet summery YA contemporary romance that will have you zooming through the pages. I truly had a fantastic experience reading Courting Carlyn and can’t recommend it enough.

I most definitely told my boyfriend about this book. 

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher and author in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


authorbio2

Melissa-Chambers

 

Melissa Chambers writes contemporary novels for young, new, and actual adults. A Nashville native, she spends her days working in the music industry and her nights tapping away at her keyboard. While she’s slightly obsessed with alt rock, she leaves the guitar playing to her husband and kid. She never misses a chance to play a tennis match, listen to an audiobook, or eat a bowl of ice cream. (Rocky road, please!) She serves as president for the Music City Romance Writers and is the author of the Love Along Hwy 30A series and the Before Forever series (YA).

 

followtheauthor2

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

followthetour2

CLICK HERE

 

Chapter-by-Chapter-blog-tour-button


Thanks for stopping by loves! I hope you get to meet Carlyn and Vaughn and join them on their adorable journey to finding friendship, following their dreams, and falling in love.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

cropped-sincerelykarenjoendsign2.jpg

Blog Tour – Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga Review + Favorite Quotes

BANNER

Hello fellow book lovers and welcome to my Blog Tour Stop for Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. Today, I have my review and some of my favorite quotes to share with you. Don’t forget to stay until the end, join the giveway, and check out the rest of the tour for more reviews and other fun stuff.

d25b6015-eb88-45aa-bc9e-0a33a59c7adc

aboutthebook2

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release Date: July 3, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

addongoodreads

In the war against the Forces of Darkness, the Royals are losing. Princess Ivy is determined to end this centuries-long conflict once and for all, so her new battle partner must succeed where the others failed. Prince Zach’s unparalleled skill with a sword, enhanced by Ivy’s magic Kiss, should make them an unstoppable pair—but try convincing Zach of that.
Prince Zach has spent his life preparing for battle, but he would rather be branded a heretic than use his lips as nothing more than a way to transfer magic. A kiss is a symbol of love, and love is the most powerful weapon they have—but try convincing Ivy of that.
With the fate of their world on the line, the battlefield has become a testing ground, and only one of them can be right. Falling for each other wasn’t part of the plan—but try convincing their hearts of that.

purchaselinks

AMAZONBARNES & NOBLEBOOK DEPOSITORYKOBOINDIEBOUNDiBOOKS

reviewrating

5hearts

A Creative, Magical, and Delightfully Spellbinding Read

reviewthoughts

Sooo in LOVEEEE! Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga is a wickedly entertaining and enthralling fantasy story filled with magic, myths, monsters, and royal princes and princesses battling forces of evil one KISS at a time.

I love romance stories, fairytales, and the idea that a “True Love’s Kiss” can defeat anything that is evil. When I first saw this book, the gorgeous cover and the title had me immediately intrigued. However, it was the unique premise that totally sealed the deal for me. I thought the idea about magical kisses and two unlikely heroes slowly falling in love as they battle Forces of Darkness was creative and so much fun. I expected to laugh, to swoon, and to have an epically awesome journey and I was not disappointed. In fact, I was so desperately charmed and hooked the entire time.

Some may find the idea of this book somewhat silly, and even cheesy, but I thought Lindsey Duga did fantastic at creating a world that’s different and undeniably enticing in its own magical way. The writing was mesmerizingly detailed and breathtakingly captivating that I was easily sucked into the story and could picture myself right beside the characters as they fought evil dwarves, griffins, wraiths, and curses. While some parts felt a bit slow, there were so many amazing surprises, thrilling battles, hilarious scenes, and heartwarming moments that made me excited and pleasantly entertained. I really enjoyed this story and the characters and that ending… I absolutely loved that ending.

The characters were incredibly badass, really fun, and likable. They had spunk, wit, and determination. Princess Ivy was powerful and the best in her Legion. She was stubborn and guarded, but also fierce, loyal, brave, and as much as she denied it, Princess Ivy let herself feel.  Prince Zach won me over instantly with his charming personality, humor, and heart of gold. He was definitely my kind of hero – strong-willed, but adorably sweet, and courageous, but also vulnerable. I also really liked Brom and Millennia and enjoyed the roles they played in the story.

The romance was really slow burn in this one and I have to admit… I did get somewhat impatient a few times. Just when I thought this it for Ivy and Zach… after all the wait and pages and pages of me hoping for it…it’s finally going to happen…And then BAM. Nothing. I’m suddenly thrown off and the story moves on again. That being said, the anticipation and the delicious little tease here and there had me ridiculously swooning. It was frustratingly soooo good. I don’t want to say anymore, but my heart exploded into a million different FEELS and at the end of the day, that slow burn was definitely worth it.

This was a delightfully spellbinding read that kept me up late into the night! It was whimsical, fascinating, hilarious, and magical. It’s a wonderfully written YA fantasy story with exciting adventures, awesome fighting scenes, engaging characters, and swoony kisses. I loved this book and highly recommend to everyone who’s looking for something creative and fun.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley and for participating in a Blog Tour hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

favequotes

I have SO MANY favorite quotes from this book and it was really difficult to choose. I tried to narrow it down to 5, but as you can see, I definitely ended with more than that. Hope you enjoy reading them all! Let me know which one is your favorite(s) in the comment below. 

“Isn’t the irony hilarious? The girl I love begging me to kiss her every day and I have to refuse. And I have to. Not just for my own beliefs and this golden theory, but for my own sanity. Because a kiss would mean nothing to you, while it meant everything to me.”

“I couldn’t let you go alone. Or with anyone else. You wouldn’t be safe with someone like Amias. Someone who wanted you only as a weapon. To make themselves stronger by using you. […] They wouldn’t make you feel wanted for just being you.”

“Bond wasn’t a strong enough word for what I felt for him. It was a force, a magic that defied all reasons, and logic. Love was the only thing strong enough to describe him to me. I loved him with all my heart. All my soul.”

“It’s completely and utterly irrational. It can’t be understood, and it can’t be explained. It’s unreasonbable – which is probably why the Legion doesn’t to believe it exists. It’s falling for someone even when you know they can’t love you back. […] Love is sacrifice. It’s painful. It’s wishing that you could have one more day together, one more minute, one more second together, and hoping it lasts a lifetime, and then believing maybe it could.”

“I don’t know how Love… – happens.”

“That’s the thing. It just does. No reason at all. Or maybe it’s all the reasons.”

“I want so much more than your lips, Ivy. I want your heart. Because I love you… desperately.”

“That’s what Love does right? It makes you feel pain, but courage, too.”

“Love does exist. I saw it in the way you talked about him. You still love him. You always will. And it makes you stronger. You’re not weak […] You didn’t cut out your heart or abandon your feelings — you embraced them.”

“I focused on that one sensation. That I still had hold of someone

Someone who stood with me, hands on a sword, burning in black flames, to save the kingdoms.

Someone who loved me when I cried.

Someone who loved me even if I yelled at him.

Someone who loved my freckles and my imperfections.

Someone who wanted to love me and did.”

followthetour2

June 25th

Pink Polka Dot Books– Welcome Post

June 26th

Book Slaying– Review & Favorite Quotes
The Clever Reader– Q&A

June 27th

Feed Your Fiction Addiction– Guest Post
Library of a Book Witch– Review

June 28th

Flyleaf Chronicles– Review
Velvet Spade Reads– Review & Favorite Quotes

June 29th

Rambling of A Book Nerd– Q&A
The Reading Corner for All– Review

June 30th

Jill’s Book Blog– Review
Sincerely Karen Jo– Review & Favorite Quotes

July 1st

The Reading Faery– Creative Option
Donnie Darko Girl– Review

July 2nd

Vicarious Bookworm– Review & Favorite Quotes
The Lovely Books– Review

July 3rd

BookCrushin– Creative Option
Rattle the Stars– Guest Post

July 4th

F A N N A– Review
The Book Dutchesses– Review

July 5th

The Bibliophagist– Review & Favorite Quotes

authorbio2

15853318

Lindsey Duga is a middle grade and young adult writer with a passion for fantasy, science fiction, and basically any genre that takes you away from the real world. She wrote her first novel in college while she was getting her bachelor’s in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University.

Other than writing and cuddling with her morkie puppy, Delphi, Lindsey loves catching up on the latest superhero TV show and practicing yoga.

followtheauthor2

WEBSITEGOODREADSTWITTERFACEBOOK – INSTAGRAM

 entergiveaway2Prize: Win 1 copy of KISS OF THE ROYAL by Lindsey Duga. Ends July 10, 2018

 

 Rafflecopter Giveaway

 

flyingbookclub


Hope you enjoyed reading my review! I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed and loved this book. If you love adventure, magic, romance, lovable characters, then add this book to your TBR!

Have a wonderful weekend loves!!! Until next time.

cropped-sincerelykarenjoendsign2.jpg