Month: March 2022

Mirrors and Mysteries (Fairy Tales of the Magicorum, #9)
Christina Bauer
Publication date: March 24th 2022
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Rapunzel meets Jane Eyre in the epic conclusion of this fairy tale romance!

Grayson Eyre has left her old life behind. She’s no longer stuck serving Lady R, a sadistic Rapunzel from the Lowood clan of elves. Instead, Grayson now teaches at the Thornfield home for shifter orphans. Even better, her boss is none other than the sexy alpha, Dex. It’s all good until a mysterious witch, Jocasta, appears in a nearby tower, demanding that Dex and Grayson discover the true nature of all Rapunzels. If not, Lady R will return to claim Grayson… and Thornfield will be wiped out by the evil Prism Master. Can Dex and Grayson discover the truth in time? And what will it mean for their growing attraction?

Secrets are revealed and feelings explored in this epic conclusion to the story of Dex and Grayson!

Fairy Tales of the Magicorum. Modern fairy tales with sass, action, and romance
1. Wolves and Roses
2. Moonlight and Midtown
3. Shifters and Glyphs
4. Slippers and Thieves
5. Bandits and Ball Gowns
6. Fire and Cinder
7. Fairies and Frosting
8. Towers and Tithes
9. Mirrors and Mysteries
10. Love and Ether

Before I begin my review I quickly have to thank Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this book tour.

I have been on various tours for this series. Since being on various tours I have to say that I really enjoy reading the Fairy Tales of the Magicorum. It’s sad to see that it’s almost over. All the books in the series are quick and light reads. I always manage to read them in one sitting.

I love reading retellings of fairy tales and ones that bring a new twist to them. This one shows the darker side of Jane Eyre and Rapunzel. I have to admit that I have yet to read Jane Eyre and after reading this I think it’s time I pick it up to read to give more context to this storyline.

Before I begin my review I should mention that you need to read the previous books to truly understand the storyline and what is going on. With that being said I will try to keep my review spoiler-free.

Each member of the Magicorum is either a shifter, a faerie, or a witch.

Mirrors and Mysteries follow Dex and Grayson. Dex is a shifter and he is the future Brutus and Grayson is also a shifter. The book opens up with Lady R (Rapunzel) who is the current Rapunzel. putting a blinding spell on Dex. After Dex is unable to break this spell and is left alone in the middle of the woods and he needs to navigate his way home. His wolf instinct kicks in and he is able to navigate his way. On his way back he stumbles into Grayson. She knows the powers of Lady R all too well and thankfully she is free of her.

Grayson is heading to Thornfield in hopes of landing a job. Dex offers her a position as a teacher to help teach the young cubs. You know that the more time Grayson and Dex spend together you know what will happen. I loved their interactions together. Dex was so patient, caring, and compassionate to Grayson. Grayson is struggling because even though she is free from Lady R, she still hears Lady R in her head. Will Grayson be able to overcome it and finally break free of Lady R? Will she be able to believe in herself?

About the Author:

Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too. 

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.

Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates

Blog: http://monsterhousebooks.com/blog/category/christina
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBauer/
Twitter: @CB_Bauer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina_cb_bauer/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-bauer-481b12139/
Web site: http://monsterhousebooks.com/authors/cbauer

Giveaway:

Tour-wide giveaway (INT)
A copy of Mirrors and Mysteries and more!

Paste this code in your post’s HTML to share the grand prize giveaway (this giveaway is set up and managed by author, not Xpresso Tours):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f7ec85e742/

Tour Schedule:

March 28th
–A Soccer Mom’s Book Blog>Excerpt
–Life With No Plot >> Review
–Rockin’ Book Reviews >> Guest Post

March 29th
–diary of a wannabe writer >> Review
–Adventures in Writing >> Excerpt
–@chrissie_gerber_reader >> Review

March 30th
–Living in a Bookworld >> Excerpt
–Rants N Scribbles >> Excerpt

March 31st
–Angel’s Guilty Pleasures >> Excerpt
–Cindy’s Love of Books  >> Review

April 1st
–The Reading Life >> Excerpt
–The Avid Reader >> Review
–Westveil Publishing >> Review

—

April 4th
–Aubrey Wynne: Timeless Romance >> Excerpt
–The Book Junkie Reads . . . >> Review

April 5th
–Movies, Shows, & Books  >> Excerpt
–LenniLand >> Review
–Wottaread >> Excerpt

April 6th
–Ilovebooksandstuffblog >> Excerpt
–Books, Tea, Healthy Me >> Review
–Lynn’s Romance Enthusiasm >> Excerpt

April 7th
–So Many Books, So Little Time >> Playlist
–Deborah-Zenha Adams >> Interview

April 8th
–fundinmental >> Excerpt
–Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author  >> Excerpt

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AND I’M IN MY BATHING SUIT by Justin A. Reynolds Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AND I’M IN MY BATHING SUIT

Author: Justin A. Reynolds

Pub. Date: April 5, 2022

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible,
B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Twelve-year-old Eddie Gordon Holloway has concocted his most genius plan ever to avoid
chores… especially the dreaded L-A-U-N-D-R-Y. If he can wear all the clothes he owns, he’ll only have to do the laundry once during his school break.

On the day of the highly anticipated Beach Bash, Eddie’s monstrous pile of dirty laundry is found by his mom. And Eddie’s day has just taken a turn for the worst. Now he’s stuck at home by himself, missing the bash, and doing his whole pile of laundry. But mid-cycle, the power goes out!

With his first load of laundry wet and the rest of his stuff still filthy, he sets out to explore the seemingly empty neighborhood in his glow-in-the-dark swim trunks, flip-flops, and a beach towel. He soon meets up with other neighborhood kids: newcomer Xavier (who was mid-haircut and has half his head shaved), Eddie’s former friend Sonia (who has spent her entire break trying to beat a video game and was mid-battle with the final boss), and siblings Trey and Sage (who are dealing with major sibling drama).

As they group up to cover more ground and find out what happened, they realize that their families aren’t coming back anytime soon. And as night falls, the crew realizes that they aren’t just the only people left in the neighborhood, they might be the only people left… anywhere.

Book Trailer:

Before I begin my review I quickly have to say thank you to Rockstar Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this book tour and to Scholastics for graciously providing me an eArc of the book to read for my review stop today.

This was definitely a fun and funny read and one that I highly recommend if you have a middle-grade boy as I am sure they would appreciate the humor in this.

The main character is a twelve-year-old boy named Eddie and he is starting summer vacation. Eddie has made a deal with his mom and stepdad to be more responsible this summer with keeping up with doing his laundry if they promise to give him a little more freedom. Eddie has a plan that each day he will wear his clothes once and hid them so that they think he is doing laundry with the hopes of doing it once.

Well yes, that sounds like a good plan, but you must know that all good plans don’t go according to plan, and that’s exactly what happens to Eddie. He gets busted by his mom. The worse part is that he gets busted on the eve of the summer bash and she gives him two choices of you either do the laundry or you can’t go to the summer bash. Eddie wants to go so he decides to try and butter up his stepdad in hopes he will go against his mom because he really doesn’t want to spend the night washing/drying his clothes, but stepdad stands his ground. So Eddie has no choice but to haul all his clothes to the basement and wash them. Although he does realize he can speed up the process.

Now we all know that this might be a quick and easy solution to the problem but the karma Gods will come and bite you in the butt just like they did Eddie because no sooner is he in the process of washing and drying his clothes the power goes out. This is not good so when it doesn’t come back on Eddie goes to investigate what is happening. He bumps into his friends on the street and they soon realize they are the only ones out. What is going on? Where is everyone?

Definitely excited to see where this will go.

About Justin A. Reynolds:

JUSTIN A. REYNOLDS has always wanted to be a writer. Opposite of Always, his
debut novel, was an Indies Introduce selection, a School Library Journal Best
Book, has been translated in 17 languages, and is being developed for film with
Paramount Players. He hangs out in northeast Ohio with his family and likes it,
and is probably somewhere, right now, dancing terribly. His second novel, Early
Departures, published September 2020. In spring 2021, he teamed up with
Marvel and Graphix to release his debut graphic novel, Miles Morales: Shock
Waves. You can find him at justinareynolds.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner
will receive a finished copy of IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AND I’M IN MY BATHING SUIT, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Princess No Knots by Deborah Dillon
Target Age: Children (4-10 years)
Genre: Picture BooK
Publication Date: November 2021
Purchase Link: – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Princess-No-Knots-Deborah-Dillon/dp/1399905589/

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Princess No Knots LOVES her long golden hair as much as she LOVES her bath time, but she does NOT love having it brushed. When her flowing locks end up in knots, the King tells her they will have to be cut and takes away her crown. Enter a world of determination, sprinkled with a small dose of magic, to find out if the strong-willed Princess finds a way to get back her crown, keep her name and save the hair she so loves. A must read rhyming picture book for any parent who struggles with the dreaded ‘hair wash’ night!

Before I begin my review today I quickly have to thank Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for sending me a copy of the book to read and for allowing me to be on the blog tour for this super cute children’s picture book. I highly recommend picking this up.

The illustrations were eye-catching and gorgeous from start to finish. The rhyming is perfect for this. It’s such a cute picture book. Princess No Knots loves having her bath but hates having her hair brushed. Her father the King has had enough and tells his daughter that she is no longer Miss No Knots and tells her, her hair must be cut because it’s one big knot. Then proceeds to take her crown and tells her that once her hair is knot-free she will have it back.  This of course upsets the little princess because to her that is her name. She tried to brush out her hair but to no avail. The knots would not come out.

Then out of the blue comes a little fairy who offers the princess a way to get back her crown and the knots out of her hair. Will the princess get her crown and name back? Will the king have to cut his daughter’s hair?

Author Bio –

Deborah Dillon’s love of books, poems, and storytelling stems from her Granddad Jim who always used to make up stories at bedtime when she was young. Every story would take her to a crazy world of adventure and friendship, each story sprinkled with a tiny bit of determination.

Since having children of her own Deborah has continued this family tradition but rather than keeping all the stories in her head, she decided to write them down. As her children were growing up she was inspired to write about whatever obstacles or challenges they, or their friends, faced then overcame. Deborah is a firm believer that something magical happens when you read a book together.