Blog Tour: A Messy, Beautiful Life

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Hello lovelies and welcome to my stop for the A Messy, Beautiful Life Blog Tour. I’m really excited to be part of this tour. This book is so achingly beautiful and I can’t wait to rave about it! If you’re new to my blog, welcome to Sincerely Karen Jo. Hope you enjoy reading my review and don’t forget leave a comment down below.

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5 ★ – SO ACHINGLY BEAUTIFUL
PUBLISHED BY ENTANGLED TEEN OCTOBER  2, 2017
GENRE(S): YOUNG ADULT, ROMANCE, PARANORMAL, FANTASY
PAGES: HARDOVER 300 PAGES

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Synopsis

LIFE IS FUNNY SOMETIMES.
AND NOT ALWAYS THE HA, HA KIND. LIKE THAT ONE TIME WHERE A HOT GUY TRIED TO KISS ME AND I FELL. DOWN. HARD. AND THEN FOUND OUT I HAD CANCER.
I’M TRYING TO BE STRONG FOR MY FRIENDS AND MY MOM.
AND I’M TRYING SO HARD TO BE “JUST FRIENDS” WITH THAT HOT GUY, EVEN THOUGH HE SEEMS TO WANT SO MUCH MORE. BUT I WON’T DO THAT TO HIM. HE’S BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE WITH HIS FAMILY, AND I’M NOT GOING TO LET HIM WATCH ME DIE.
SO, I TELL MYSELF: SMILE ELLIE. BE FUNNY ELLIE. DON’T CRY ELLIE, BECAUSE ONCE I START, I MIGHT NOT STOP.

Review 

This book is INCREDIBLY AMAZING. How can something so upsetting and heartbreaking be so full of life and laughter?! Dealing with cancer will never be easy. I knew going into this book that I would get very emotional. I was so ready to bawl my eyes out, but instead of crying till my eyes swelled up, I actually laughed…A LOT. I mean there were plenty of tears involved, but A Messy, Beautiful Life filled my heart with so much hope and joy. By the end, I just wanted to give everyone I love a big hug and never let go.

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It’s actually been a few days since I finished reading this book and I still haven’t stopped thinking about everything that’s happened. I LOVEEEE this book so much…SO MUCH that I know this will be one of my top ten favorite reads in 2017. The cover is ridiculously gorgeous. The title is utterly perfect. The writing is exceptional and the story… it’s so so BEAUTIFUL and I just can’t get over all the FEELS.

I absolutely love Ellie and Jason. Ellie is a fantastic character. She’s loving and caring. She’s extremely talented, hilarious and witty. She’s also very strong, inspiring and full of life that I wanted to be around her. I just love that girl so much and rooted for her the entire time. Jason… this guy will always have a special place in my heart. He’s charming and sweet. He’s the perfect gentleman and I fell so hard for him. Watching these two interact together is really fun! Their chemistry is simply amazing. I love all the cute flirting, playful bantering, sexy kisses, and tender moments between them. Their romance is super adorable, and swoony and will make your heart so full of happy.

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The other characters are wonderful and I adore them to pieces. Ellie’s stepbrother, Craig, is very thoughtful, caring, and awesome. He makes me heart melt into a puddle of goo and I just love him. Ellie’s mom is just the BEST and I want to hug her! The mother-daughter dynamic/bond is definitely goals. Hana and Quinn are totally kick ass and the most amazing best friends ever. The relationships between the characters are just so great! I don’t want to give too much away, but there is seriously so much love in this book. Not to mention the characters are well-developed, genuine, and believable.

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A Messy, Beautiful Life by Sara Jade Alan is a lovely story about learning to find humor in life despite dealing with something really terrible. It’s riveting, deeply affecting, and very inspiring. While some parts are heartbreaking and just really sad, this book is also filled with so many fun, hilarious, and heartwarming moments that will make you smile and laugh out loud. Everything about this book is just so achingly beautiful. I love this story with all my heart and can’t recommend it enough. Alan’s writing is phenomenal and I’m absolutely excited to read whatever she writes next!

P.S. – Ranma ½ is the BEST and one of my favorites! I used to watch that anime with my brother when we were young. Definitely got nostalgic and made me miss those days.

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

 

sara_jade_alanAbout the Author

Sara Jade Alan wrote her first comedy sketch during second grade recess, then cast it, directed it, and made costumes out of garbage bags. Since then, she has performed in over a thousand improvised and scripted shows all over the country. When she lived in New York City with her college improv group, she worked as an assistant to a best-selling author of young adult novels featuring strong female heroes and was completely inspired by her books and the awesomeness of her teen fans. Spending a year on crutches, Sara turned to writing her own young adult stories and was hooked. Currently, she is one-half of the comedy duo, The Novelistas, who perform about writing and teach performance to writers. Hailing from a suburb of Chicago, Sara now lives in Colorado with her husband—who she met in that college improv group—and daughter, who they waited a bunch of years to make. She is a member of and guest instructor at Lighthouse Writers Workshop.

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A Messy, Beautiful Life prize package

A Messy, Beautiful Life Prize Pack, which includes A Messy, Beautiful Life tote bag, DVD of the anime rom-com Ranma 1/2, Disco ball keychain, Bag of Marshmallow Mateys cereal.

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Thanks for reading lovelies! I hope you add this amazing book to your TBR and fall in love with Ellie’s story.

Sincerely Karen Jo

Blog Tour: Seize Today

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Book covers have the power to entice readers and make lasting impressions. It is after all the very first thing readers see. Personally, I love books with gorgeous covers that immediately draw me in. I’m actually guilty of buying plenty of books just because I’m mesmerized by the cover’s design and detail. Totally no shame in cover buys. Plus, it’s quite difficult to find a book that isn’t… well pretty. Almost every YA books nowadays have unique and beautiful covers. 

Today I have a special guest, Pintip Dunn, author of the Forget Tomorrow series. She’s here to talk about the reasons why she loves her book cover. So read on to find out what she has to say.

Why do you love your cover?

I absolutely love all my book covers in the FORGET TOMORROW series, and this one is no exception. In fact, this one might even be my favorite of the four, which is fitting since SEIZE TODAY represents the culmination of a story that I started six years ago.

First, the color is gorgeous. This shade of turquoise used to be my favorite when I was a kid, and I think the way that the color changes as it nears the edge is stunning.

Secondly, I love the moth that is depicted. Not only is it visually beautiful, but this idea also represents the idea of the moth who approaches the flame, even though this very same fire will eventually kill it. Throughout my series, I explore Fate and free will and the cyclical nature of time. In this book, in particular, my characters must figure out how to live in the present — when they have no future. Like the moth, they must learn to seize today. As one of my characters asks near the beginning of the book: “Would you rather live a long, uneventful life, or seize the moment and leave this world in flames?”

I feel giddy every time I see this cover, and I hope my readers will love Olivia and Ryder as much as I do. 

Seize Today

(Forget Tomorrow 3)

Pintip Dunn

Seize Today Cover

Publication Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Teen

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Seventeen-year-old Olivia Dresden is a precognitive. Since different versions of people’s futures flicker before her eyes, she doesn’t have to believe in human decency. She can see the way for everyone to be their best self-if only they would make the right decisions. No one is more conflicted than her mother, and Olivia can only watch as Chairwoman Dresden chooses the dark, destructive course every time. Yet Olivia remains fiercely loyal to the woman her mother could be.
But when the chairwoman captures Ryder Russell, the striking and strong-willed boy from the rebel Underground, Olivia sees a vision of her own imminent death…at Ryder’s hand. Despite her bleak fate, she rescues Ryder and flees with him, drawing her mother’s fury and sparking a romance as doomed as Olivia herself. As the full extent of Chairwoman Dresden’s gruesome plan is revealed, Olivia must find the courage to live in the present-and stop her mother before she destroys the world.

Enjoy this Excerpt!

“Are you sifting through my possible pathways?” he asks, his voice husky.

I freeze. But if I’m a block of ice, his fingers do their job, tracing my lips again and again until I melt. “How…how do you know?”

“Your eyes,” he says. “They dilate when you’re reaching into the future. I’m starting to learn when you’re not here.”

I blink. Nobody’s ever told me that before.

“You…noticed?” I ask.

“I notice everything about you,” he says easily. “So, tell me. What did you see in our possible futures?” His voice is low and liquid, and it reaches inside me and caresses parts I didn’t know existed. “What did I do? More importantly, what did you like?”

Heat floods my face. “What, exactly, are we talking about?”

“I don’t know.” His eyes gleam wickedly. “What do you think we’re talking about?”

“Future pathways,” I snap. If I have to electro-whip my attention back on track, I’ll do it, damn the Fates. “I see everything from me slapping you to…” I trail off, and my cheeks flame even hotter. Oh my. I can’t possibly put into words the images flying through my head like a hailstorm.

“Now I’m really intrigued.” He moves his hand to my hair, tugging slightly. I feel the tension all the way to my toes. “Are you really not going to tell me? Because, you know, then I’ll have to guess.”

“I’m not going to tell you,” I whisper.

His lips curve in a mischievous grin that makes me want to tuck him in my pocket and keep him forever. And then, while I’m still reeling from his cuteness, he leans in.

I’m not ready. My mouth is partway open, and I’m in the middle of a breath. He kisses me anyway. I shut my mouth in a hurry. Lips, so soft. His back and shoulders, so hard. Holy Fates, that was his tongue. His tongue, slipping between my teeth. Sparks. So many sparks, igniting in the air around us.

“How’s this?” he whispers against my mouth. “Did you see this in our future?”

I nod helplessly.

He moves closer, scooping me up and shifting me on the mattress so that he can lie next to me. Our foreheads touch; so do our knees. “And this? Was this in some of our pathways?”

I nod again, but that doesn’t seem to satisfy him anymore. His eyes intent on mine, he catches my lower lip between his teeth. “Do you like it?”

Do I like it? What kind of question is that?

I’ve tasted every emotion in our world. I know the sorrow a mother feels when she clasps her deceased baby to her chest. I know the pride of a gold-star athlete when he stands on a podium and accepts North Amerie’s highest honor. I know the rage that silences the heart of a murderer as he cuts short another’s life.

I even know kisses—hot, frenzied, passionate, fumbling, sweet, aching, innocent kisses. I’ve seen them all in other people’s futures, thousands of kisses, millions of kisses, as varied as the pathways themselves.

And yet…and yet…I’ve felt nothing like kissing Ryder. Even the vision of this moment itself.

So, yeah, I like it. It scares me how much I like it.

Other Book in the Series

pintip_dunnAbout the Author

Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. Pintip’s debut novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. In addition, it is a finalist for the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, the Japanese Sakura Medal, and the MASL Truman Award. THE DARKEST LIE was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her other books include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, the novella BEFORE TOMORROW, and GIRL ON THE VERGE. She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at http://www.pintipdunn.com

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Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

Sincerely Karen Jo