Review of In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush & Kelly Anne Blount

 

Welcome to the blog tour for In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount! I loved this book and am sharing my thoughts with you today. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour, too, for interviews, more reviews, and more!

The Cutting Edge meets Friday Night Lights in a sizzling new hockey romance from bestselling authors Kelly Anne Blount and Lynn Rush!

In the Penalty Box 

by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount  

Genre: YA Contemporary 

Release Date: January 5, 2021

Entangled Teen! 

Summary: 

Willow Figure skating was supposed to be my whole world. But one unlucky injury and now I’m down...but I’m definitely not out. I just need to rehab—a boatload of rehab—and who’d have thought I could do it on the boys’ hockey team? Of course, the infuriatingly hot captain of the team seems to think I’m nothing but sequins and twirls. What’s a girl to do but put him in his place? Game on. Brodie Hockey is my whole world. I’ve worked my tail off getting my team in a position to win the championships—hopefully in front of major college scouts, too—so what’s a guy to do when a figure skater ends up as our new goalie? Of course, the distractingly sexy skater thinks I’m nothing but a testosterone-laced competitive streak. And surely she’s only biding her time to heal, then she’s gone. Game over.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link * Amazon * B&N * iTunes * Kobo * Indigo * Google Play * Thalia * bol.de * Angus & Robertson * Mondadori

(Affiliate link included)

**My thoughts**

I picked up on The Cutting Edge reference right out of the gate. But this story is even better than that one. Granted, it's partially because this story is more modern, with the movie being almost 20 years old. But Willow is also much more tolerable than Kate. Yes, she is a figure skater, but she isn't a prima donna. She is coming off of a devastating injury that cost her a spot on her Olympic team.

Brodie may be the star hockey player, but life has not been super kind to him. His mother was killed in an accident by a drunk driver. His father, unable to cope, has become an absent alcoholic. And now Brodie is also serving as a surrogate father to his kid brother. But he wants to go pro and follow in his family's footsteps.

So the two of them have had a lot of trauma in their young lives. Perhaps that is part of why they seems so much older than seniors in high school. Between their traumas and dreams, they have lost a good chunk of their innocent childhoods.

So Willow ends up joining Brodie's hockey team and becomes one of the greatest goalies they have ever had. Willow and Brodie, who are essentially training together, of course fall for each other, but have to keep their romance a secret.

They complement each other well, able to be supportive of each other through the difficult times, but also able to push each other to do their very best. It isn't easy, but their determination just may make it work.

I loved that this book put a girl on a boys hockey team. It's empowering to read about a strong girl who isn't necessarily following the traditional gender roles. This provides a chance to demonstrate some of the gender bias that persists in our society.

These two also show how to follow your dreams without needing to trample everyone else along the way. Plus they show how persistence pays off. And while it is typical for teens to be somewhat self-centered, these two show how you have to look beyond just yourself to really be successful at life.

If you like sports romances, I think that this is a good one to add to your list. If you're not as into hockey and figure skating, you may not enjoy this as much because there is a lot of technical focus as part of the story. For me, it worked and I loved it. I may have even learned a little.

I've enjoyed what I have read from each of these authors individually in the past. I liked this collaboration and hope they consider more in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the Authors:

Lynn Rush: New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author, Lynn Rush, is a full-time writer, wife, and trail runner living in the Sonoran Desert, despite her fear of rattle snakes. Known as #TheRunningWriter, Lynn can’t resist posting epic sunrise pictures while running in the desert with her trail sisters, even if she has to occasionally hop a scorpion.

When she’s not running or writing, she’s watching movies that fuel her everlasting love of superheroes, vampires, and all things Supernatural. The books she reads usually carry the same theme, but this former college athlete loves reading sweet sports romances as well.

She’s madly in love with her Ironman husband of 20+ years who is the inspiration for what true love is. You can find her on social media as @LynnRushWrites and her website is: www.lynnrush.com 

Website: www.lynnrush.com 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LynnRushWrites

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/lynnrush

Kelly Anne Blount: USA Today Bestselling author and Wattpad Star Kelly Anne Blount has more than seventy-three-thousand followers on social media. Her Wattpad stories have been read more than twenty-million times. She’s contributed to Tap, Wattpad’s new app for chat-style stories, where her work has been “tapped” more than fifty-million times. She is a writer and reviewer for SpoilerTV, which has allowed her to develop an incredible network of film and TV stars.

Two of her Wattpad works, including Captured (seventeen-million reads), have been optioned for film by Komixx Entertainment, and she is regularly invited to present seminars about social media at author events.

Stop by any of Kelly’s social-media platforms (@KellyAnneBlount) and stay tuned to this website for announcements and information about upcoming releases and events.
​
Kelly Anne Blount is represented by Jennifer Wills (jennifer@theseymouragency.com) and Nicole Resciniti (nicole@theseymouragency.com) of The Seymour Agency.

Website: http://www.KellyAnneBlount.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KellyAnneBlount

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kellyanneblount

Blog Tour Schedule

January 18

Living in a Bookworld   Promo

What Does the Fox Say   Review

Ruei's Reading Corner  Review

January 19

Clea_Reads  Promo

Baroness’Book Trove  Review

Cherie Colver, Write - Read - Live Promo

January 20

CathrineGoldstein    Promo

Westveil Publishing   Promo 

Library of a Book Witch  Review 

January 21

Lilly's Book World  Review

My Tangled Skeins Promo

Chapters Through Life  Review

Hawthorn Book Reviews  Review 

  

January 22

Confessions of a YA Reader   Promo

Lala’s Book Reviews Review

 

January 25

Becky on Books Review

Read Your Writes Book Reviews  Promo

Amy's MM Romance Reviews  Review

January 26

Pine Enshrined Reviews  Promo

Lisa Loves Literature  Review

Andi's Young Adult Books Review

Amy's (Mostly) MM Romance Reviews Review

 

January 27

TheObsessed Reader  Author Interview

411 on Books, Authors, & Publishing News   Author Interview

The Avid Reader   Promo

 

January 28

Stars Books and Tea  Promo

Teatime and Books  Promo

 

January 29

Sascha Darlington's Microcosm Explored  Review

The Eclectic Review Review 

Read an excerpt from The Ring of Truth (Hamelin Stoop #3) by Robert B. Sloan

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

We're celebrating the release of the third book in the Hamelin Stoop series, The Ring of Truth! Today, the author is sharing an excerpt from book three. If you missed his post about the inspiration for the series, you can check that out HERE, and he shared about the storybook world for the series HERE. There's also a giveaway to enter below, if you haven't already. Enjoy!

The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge

(Hamelin Stoop #1)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 332 Pages

November 15, 2016 by 12 Gates Publishing

Afraid of being caught by trackers from another world, a young mother abandons her baby boy in a tomato box inside the screened porch of a children's home. The staff at the orphanage name him Hamelin Stoop, but he grows up longing to learn his real name, find his parents, and thus discover his true identity.

Life is not easy for Hamelin. He belongs to everyone, though in some ways to no one fully. And the people he is closest to leave him one by one. A letter from an older friend advises Hamelin to "keep waiting and keep hoping." Bitter experiences force Hamelin to wait, but he has to learn how to hope.

When the children's home forgets his eighth birthday, he sneaks away at night. He soon discovers that he isn't just running away -- he is being summoned by the Ancient One. Guided by the Great Eagle through a mysterious cave, Hamelin must pass a dangerous test of courage before he can find his parents.

Hamelin's failures, fears, and hopes become part of a larger story, a story of a great struggle between worlds and kingdoms where the old myths of magic, evil contracts, and enslaved children turn out to be real.

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | BAM | Apple | Kobo | 12 Gates Publishing

The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna

(Hamelin Stoop #2)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 304 Pages

February 7, 2017 by 12 Gates Publishing

Hamelin finally makes it across the footbridge only to learn that his quest to find his parents and learn his true identity will not be quickly done or easy to fulfill. The Great Eagle leads him through the dangerous Waters of Death and Life and into the Land of Gloaming, where Hamelin is thrown into the midst of a war already being waged between the evil Chimera and the mysterious Ancient One. He must help two new friends find a kidnapped princess and recover a stolen jewel, tasks for which they have special gifts that must not be misused: a scarf of sight, shoes of speed, and a sword of death. But these quests are only part of the larger story, a story including Chimera’s plan to use Hamelin—a child of two realms—to seize the kingdoms on both sides of the Atrium of the Worlds.

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Bookshop | BAM

Book Depository | Apple | Kobo | 12 Gates Publishing

The Ring of Truth

(Hamelin Stoop #3)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 580 Pages

December 29, 2020 by 12 Gates Publishing

Will Hamelin be summoned again?

Hamelin suspects that his friend Layla is the lost princess from the Land of Gloaming. As he describes his daring adventures to trusted friends at the children’s home, an intricate tapestry of stories emerges. Layla admits that she has had dreams – or are they memories? – of another world with faded light. The orphan boy is not alone in his struggle to learn the truth, search for family, and question the Ancient One's purposes.

Meanwhile, dangerous forces continue to pursue the boy of both worlds, but the evil Chimera gives his agents an additional task: find the fourth princess, the missing daughter of Carr, and stop her. She must never return home.

(Affiliate links included.)

Amazon Print | Kindle | B&N | Apple

Excerpt from Hamelin Stoop: The Ring of Truth, Chapter 7

The snake wasn’t still either. Its head, initially facing mostly toward Mr. Kaley and Bryan, stretched up and shook side to side, clearly taking in Layla as well. Then about two feet below the head, its upper body somehow divided into several neck-like cords, and from behind its big head, six smaller heads spread out like a fan, each of them with a two-foot neck that could extend its head in different directions.

Bryan shook his head in disbelief as he saw the new heads emerge, but he continued to move slowly into a crouch, his right foot almost imperceptibly shifting back a little.

“No!” said a strong female voice suddenly and with authority. Hamelin looked straight at Layla, who had also taken another step toward the snake! “No!” she said again, louder than the first time, her eyes fixed on the large central head. The snake then twisted its upper body, and all seven heads focused fully on her.

What is she doing? Hamelin thought to himself. He wasn’t sure whether it was the glare of the sun or something he had just never seen before in her, but her skin, always fair, took on a faint glow. Hamelin glanced back to his left, and the sun was almost midway in the sky. He looked back at Layla. Her lips moved faintly.

Is she talking to the snake?

The low hiss from the snake grew, but Layla in her head heard more. She understood the creature’s words: Are you speaking to me?

Her mind answered sharply: Leave my friends alone.

You dare to tell me no? I have heard of you. The stories of your grandmother and your impudent commands have been passed down. Your family—you’ll never see them again.

Layla laughed inwardly. Your prediction is not only wrong but confused! I’ve never known a grandmother, and my parents are already gone, killed by evil men. And I won’t let you hurt my brother and friends.

The snake’s eyes narrowed, and the edges of its mouth widened slightly, its oval face hinting at a sneer.

Layla raised her right arm to about chest high, her elbow slightly bent and the palm of her hand facing outward toward the snake.

About the Author

Robert is married to his college sweetheart, Sue. With seven married children and over twenty grandchildren, they enjoy large family gatherings with good food and lively conversation around the table. Favorite family activities include role-playing games, writing and reading stories, and, of course, storytelling. Robert is also a University president and scholar.

Photo Credit: Joannah Buffington

Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon | Facebook

12 Gates Publishing: Website | Instagram

Blitz Giveaway

One winner will receive print copies of The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge and The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna plus bookmarks and a $15 Amazon Gift Card (US only)

Ends January 18, 2021

ENTER HERE

The Storybook World of Hamelin Stoop by Robert B. Sloan

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

We're celebrating the release of the third book in the Hamelin Stoop series, The Ring of Truth! Today, the author talks about the storybook world for the series. If you missed his post about the inspiration for the series, you can check that out HERE. Come back HERE on Friday, January 15th, to read an excerpt from book three. Plus, there's a giveaway to enter below. Enjoy!

The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge

(Hamelin Stoop #1)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 332 Pages

November 15, 2016 by 12 Gates Publishing

Afraid of being caught by trackers from another world, a young mother abandons her baby boy in a tomato box inside the screened porch of a children's home. The staff at the orphanage name him Hamelin Stoop, but he grows up longing to learn his real name, find his parents, and thus discover his true identity.

Life is not easy for Hamelin. He belongs to everyone, though in some ways to no one fully. And the people he is closest to leave him one by one. A letter from an older friend advises Hamelin to "keep waiting and keep hoping." Bitter experiences force Hamelin to wait, but he has to learn how to hope.

When the children's home forgets his eighth birthday, he sneaks away at night. He soon discovers that he isn't just running away -- he is being summoned by the Ancient One. Guided by the Great Eagle through a mysterious cave, Hamelin must pass a dangerous test of courage before he can find his parents.

Hamelin's failures, fears, and hopes become part of a larger story, a story of a great struggle between worlds and kingdoms where the old myths of magic, evil contracts, and enslaved children turn out to be real.

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | BAM | Apple | Kobo | 12 Gates Publishing

The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna

(Hamelin Stoop #2)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 304 Pages

February 7, 2017 by 12 Gates Publishing

Hamelin finally makes it across the footbridge only to learn that his quest to find his parents and learn his true identity will not be quickly done or easy to fulfill. The Great Eagle leads him through the dangerous Waters of Death and Life and into the Land of Gloaming, where Hamelin is thrown into the midst of a war already being waged between the evil Chimera and the mysterious Ancient One. He must help two new friends find a kidnapped princess and recover a stolen jewel, tasks for which they have special gifts that must not be misused: a scarf of sight, shoes of speed, and a sword of death. But these quests are only part of the larger story, a story including Chimera’s plan to use Hamelin—a child of two realms—to seize the kingdoms on both sides of the Atrium of the Worlds.

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Bookshop | BAM

Book Depository | Apple | Kobo | 12 Gates Publishing

The Ring of Truth

(Hamelin Stoop #3)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 580 Pages

December 29, 2020 by 12 Gates Publishing

Will Hamelin be summoned again?

Hamelin suspects that his friend Layla is the lost princess from the Land of Gloaming. As he describes his daring adventures to trusted friends at the children’s home, an intricate tapestry of stories emerges. Layla admits that she has had dreams – or are they memories? – of another world with faded light. The orphan boy is not alone in his struggle to learn the truth, search for family, and question the Ancient One's purposes.

Meanwhile, dangerous forces continue to pursue the boy of both worlds, but the evil Chimera gives his agents an additional task: find the fourth princess, the missing daughter of Carr, and stop her. She must never return home.

(Affiliate links included.)

Amazon Print | Kindle | B&N | Apple

Guest Post: The Storybook World of Hamelin Stoop

A strange portal connects the two worlds of the Hamelin Stoop series. On one side, the portal touches the world at the mouth of a cave outside of Middleton, Texas. The cave is one of many in West Texas, surrounded by small trees and shrubs, at the top of a small hill. Just a few miles away, 8-year-old Hamelin Stoop lives at Upton County Children’s Home, where he was abandoned by his parents as an infant in 1951. The children’s home is tended to by house parents, a cook, and an old farmer named Mr. Moore. Hamelin attends an elementary school in Middleton. He likes some of his teachers, especially Mrs. Eastland, but other people at school, like Mr. Litchie and Patton McBoggerson, make the orphan’s life miserable. The winters blow cold, and the summers are hot with the occasional fast and hard storm. It is one such night, when the rain isn’t expected, when Hamelin decides to run away.

On the other side of the portal, an Atrium with beautiful flowers and light abundant awaits, but it also hides an enchanting darkness beneath healing waters. Beyond the Atrium, there is a medieval world waiting. This world has many kingdoms, including Parthogen, which has been overthrown by an evil commander; Osmethan, where waters of unending life entice the weak-minded; and Periluna, an underground kingdom dependent on a precious jewel for light. These two worlds are connected, and a great evil is attempting to grasp for more power. Nevertheless, the servants of the Ancient One on both sides of the portal have hope.

About the Author

Robert is married to his college sweetheart, Sue. With seven married children and over twenty grandchildren, they enjoy large family gatherings with good food and lively conversation around the table. Favorite family activities include role-playing games, writing and reading stories, and, of course, storytelling. Robert is also a University president and scholar.

Photo Credit: Joannah Buffington

Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon | Facebook

12 Gates Publishing: Website | Instagram

Blitz Giveaway

One winner will receive print copies of The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge and The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna plus bookmarks and a $15 Amazon Gift Card (US only)

Ends January 18, 2021

ENTER HERE

The Bible, the Pied Piper, and Hamelin Sloop by Robert B. Sloan, author of the Hamelin Sloop series

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

We're celebrating the release of the third book in the Hamelin Stoop series, The Ring of Truth! Today, the author talks about the inspiration for the series. Next, on Wednesday, January 13th, he'll be talking about the storybook world of Hamelin Stoop HERE. Come back HERE on Friday, January 15th, to read an excerpt from book three. Plus, there's a giveaway to enter below. Enjoy!

The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge

(Hamelin Stoop #1)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 332 Pages

November 15, 2016 by 12 Gates Publishing

Afraid of being caught by trackers from another world, a young mother abandons her baby boy in a tomato box inside the screened porch of a children's home. The staff at the orphanage name him Hamelin Stoop, but he grows up longing to learn his real name, find his parents, and thus discover his true identity.

Life is not easy for Hamelin. He belongs to everyone, though in some ways to no one fully. And the people he is closest to leave him one by one. A letter from an older friend advises Hamelin to "keep waiting and keep hoping." Bitter experiences force Hamelin to wait, but he has to learn how to hope.

When the children's home forgets his eighth birthday, he sneaks away at night. He soon discovers that he isn't just running away -- he is being summoned by the Ancient One. Guided by the Great Eagle through a mysterious cave, Hamelin must pass a dangerous test of courage before he can find his parents.

Hamelin's failures, fears, and hopes become part of a larger story, a story of a great struggle between worlds and kingdoms where the old myths of magic, evil contracts, and enslaved children turn out to be real.

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | BAM | Apple | Kobo | 12 Gates Publishing

The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna

(Hamelin Stoop #2)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 304 Pages

February 7, 2017 by 12 Gates Publishing

Hamelin finally makes it across the footbridge only to learn that his quest to find his parents and learn his true identity will not be quickly done or easy to fulfill. The Great Eagle leads him through the dangerous Waters of Death and Life and into the Land of Gloaming, where Hamelin is thrown into the midst of a war already being waged between the evil Chimera and the mysterious Ancient One. He must help two new friends find a kidnapped princess and recover a stolen jewel, tasks for which they have special gifts that must not be misused: a scarf of sight, shoes of speed, and a sword of death. But these quests are only part of the larger story, a story including Chimera’s plan to use Hamelin—a child of two realms—to seize the kingdoms on both sides of the Atrium of the Worlds.

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Bookshop | BAM

Book Depository | Apple | Kobo | 12 Gates Publishing

The Ring of Truth

(Hamelin Stoop #3)

By Robert B. Sloan

Young Adult Fantasy, Christian

Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 580 Pages

December 29, 2020 by 12 Gates Publishing

Will Hamelin be summoned again?

Hamelin suspects that his friend Layla is the lost princess from the Land of Gloaming. As he describes his daring adventures to trusted friends at the children’s home, an intricate tapestry of stories emerges. Layla admits that she has had dreams – or are they memories? – of another world with faded light. The orphan boy is not alone in his struggle to learn the truth, search for family, and question the Ancient One's purposes.

Meanwhile, dangerous forces continue to pursue the boy of both worlds, but the evil Chimera gives his agents an additional task: find the fourth princess, the missing daughter of Carr, and stop her. She must never return home.

(Affiliate links included.)

Amazon Print | Kindle | B&N | Apple

Guest Post: The Bible, the Pied Piper, and Hamelin Stoop 

Do you remember the legend of The Pied Piper? When I was young, I was attracted to many stories of myth and magic, but it was this story that I longed to see finished. It is the story of the lost children of Hameln town. The children were seduced into following the alluring music of a cunning piper (their parents failed to live up to the contract made with the Pied Piper, and he stole the children to exact their unpaid debt and avenge his wounded dignity), who led them into a magic mountain, never to be seen again. Only a few witnesses were left to go back so that the parents would know what they had done, that it was their fault the children were taken.

My childhood mind was troubled. What happened to the children who were taken away? Could they ever be rescued and come home? What about their parents and the pain they felt? Would it ever be relieved? Even today the town of Hameln has an old stained glass window commemorating the loss of the children, as well as historical documents and inscriptions that place the great loss on June 26, 1284, the day of Saints John and Paul. Will Hameln always endure the shame of its treachery? The answers are – nothing will ever be the same until the children are restored to their town and families. But how?

I lived with that painful non-ending until one day the story of the Bible and the legend of The Pied Piper connected in my imagination. The story of the Bible is also unfinished in the Old Testament, and though the beginning of the hoped for ending is picked up again in the New Testament and carried forward substantially through the story of Jesus, it remains still unfinished on the stage of history. I think the stories connected in my mind because both are unfinished, with exiles who have yet to be brought home.

Once I filled out a larger narrative for the world and backstory of The Pied Piper, the Hamelin Stoop series was born.

About the Author

Robert is married to his college sweetheart, Sue. With seven married children and over twenty grandchildren, they enjoy large family gatherings with good food and lively conversation around the table. Favorite family activities include role-playing games, writing and reading stories, and, of course, storytelling. Robert is also a University president and scholar.

Photo Credit: Joannah Buffington

Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon | Facebook

12 Gates Publishing: Website | Instagram

Blitz Giveaway

One winner will receive print copies of The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge and The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna plus bookmarks and a $15 Amazon Gift Card (US only)

Ends January 18, 2021

ENTER HERE

Bible Study for Teenage Girls Journal by Bulverde Books

 

This paperback makes a GREAT Christmas gift for Christmas 2020. It is an excellent stocking stuffer.

The Bible Study for Teenage Girls Journal: Hope and inspiration with the Word of GOD: Start your teen on a path of discovery makes a wonderful gift for your teenager as she selects Bible Verses and records them in the journal. This book is an ideal Bible Study aid. Support a veteran. Free shipping with Amazon Prime.

Available on Amazon

(affiliate link)

Ed Benjamin is the publisher of Bulverde Books. He retired from the United States Air Force in 1990 where he served as an aircraft maintenance supervisor.

He currently works part-time as a proposal writer helping companies obtain business with federal, state and local governments.

He also writes short stories and novellas; some of which he offers for sale via digital download. He is currently working on a full length novel featuring Harry Miles.

For more information, visit Ed's website at http://EdBenjaminBooks.com

Ed also publishes gratitude journals, wedding planners, reissues of classic novels, and other publications via his two publishing ventures at Bulverde Books and Front Porch Press. These works are available exclusively on Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing.

Ed is located on Twitter at @colbenjamin

Readers may contact Ed via email at Flowingwp@gmail.com

Ed and his spouse live in Bulverde, Texas - also known as the "front porch" of the Texas hill country.

I was compensated via Fiverr for sharing this post. I only share those books that I feel are of interest to my readers.

Review of Just Shelby by Brooklyn James

 

Welcome to the book review tour for Just Shelby by Brooklyn James. This really was a most intriguing coming-of-age novel that I won't soon forget. Read on for an excerpt as well as more of my thoughts and then follow the tour to find out what others have to say. Be sure to let the author know what you think along the way! Best of luck entering the giveaway.

A secret note square found in a handmade guitar proves that small town gossip is not only ubiquitous but occasionally true. This gossip comes with strings rivaling those on Ace Cooper’s guitar, the safest strings he will ever have around his heart.

Ace’s father warns him to stay away from the Lynn girl. Daughter of a deceased bootlegger and a barely living addict, Shelby Lynn is no stranger to small town contempt. She keeps her nose in the books and feet to the ground, a college scholarship the only escape from her tumultuous life.

As Ace’s heartstrings unravel, so does his family’s role in Shelby’s broken past. Thrust into a precarious journey of their roots brimming with music and betrayal, the two have never been closer…to the truth of how Shelby’s father died. One truth transforms every facet of their lives forever.

A dual POV friends-to-first-love story, Just Shelby is an unsuspecting mystery that depicts how growing together can sometimes hurt worse than growing apart.

Read an excerpt:

From male—Ace—protagonist POV (269 words):

I close my eyes and breathe meditatively. With the wren feather in hand, Shelby fans over me the smoke—or the smudge. Then she starts chanting in a language I cannot make heads or tails of. I don’t think she’s got it down either. But I love her for trying. Talk about courage!

“Do you feel anything?” she asks sounding hopeful, breaking from her chorus.

Cold. I feel cold. Underdressed for the light snowfall the higher elevation is about to receive. But I know that answer won’t do. I dig deep and at least tell the truth. “I feel like I could be a better son.”

“Oh. Okay. Cool.” She fans faster. “What about colors or images. Do you see any?”

Feeling isn’t enough? I’m supposed to see, too. Smudging, feather, wren—too obvious. Birds, feathers, owl—“I see an owl.”

“An owl!” she screeches, much like the feathered avian. “I think that’s a bad omen. A symbol of death?” She extinguishes the herbs, crushing them and their embers to bits. “I must have done something wrong. Unelanahi, disregard everything I just sent you!” She shouts into the sky, as innocent as the stars.

I chuckle, sitting upright and sliding forward on the hood, my legs encircling her hips. “Yes, death. If you don’t kiss me, I just might die.”

Her lips, so alive, are the perfect antidote to the grim reaper. The smudging may have been a flop, but she is a healer.

Spending time with her has begun to heal things within me that I didn’t know needed healing. My future aspirations, my relationship with Mom, the emptiness—she fills it.

Book Links

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**My thoughts**

This is the first book to hold my attention in a while. Part of that is that I have been sick. But really, it's because this was an intriguing story. I was drawn to Shelby from the get-go and her desire to get out of Appalachia and do something different with her life, escape from her difficult home life. But then we also started to get to know Ace and how their histories were so deeply entwined from the very beginning. Life choices were made about them and all around them that shaped who they are and what their destinies are supposed to be. The more they unravel the truth, though, they find that their destinies are actually something different than they had ever imagined.

The story of these two friends who fall for each other has plenty of twists and turns that keep you guessing as everyone is trying to sort out the truth. And just like the characters, I was unsure about which direction I wanted some of it to go. 

There's a lot being said about the power of friends and family, and those friends who are actually your family. Is blood really thicker than water? Can you really change your perceived destiny in life and do something different? Can you learn to trust and to love again, even after betrayal throughout your life? Can you really start over? And are people always the way they seem? Can't someone change?

So much was happening in this book and the two characters had so much growth. They're so good together and learn so much. And then of course, there is the power of music. I wish my exhausted brain could better articulate all of my thoughts right now. But this is a story that is going to stick with me and one I will be quick to recommend to others to pick up and read.

Thank you to the author and to Goddess Fish for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Brooklyn James is an author/singer-songwriter who savors any opportunity to blend books with music. Her first novel, The Boots My Mother Gave Me, has an original music soundtrack, making for a unique Audible experience. Out of Boots grew a platform where it was Brooklyn's honor to serve as a guest speaker with a focus on awareness and prevention of domestic violence and suicide.

Her latest speaking engagements centered around accessibility, rights, and choice in birth, as well as writing workshops on how to put pen to paper composing one's own birth story with the release of her birth memoir, Born in the Bed You Were Made: One Family's Journey from Cesarean to Home Birth.

Just Shelby gifted both the challenge and the thrill of this author's primary exploration into the Young Adult genre. She cherishes reader reviews, if you should be so inclined.

Moonlighting occasionally in voice-over and film, Brooklyn played a Paramedic in a Weezer video, met Harry Connick Jr. as an extra on the set of When Angels Sing, appeared in Richard Linklater's Boyhood for all of a nanosecond, and was a stand-in and stunt double for Mira Sorvino on Jerry Bruckheimer's Trooper pilot for TNT. Although reading, dancing, working out, and a good glass of kombucha get her pretty excited, she finds most thrilling the privilege of being a mother to two illuminating little souls and a wife to the one big soul from whom they get their light.

Brooklyn holds an M.A. in Communication, a B.S. in both Nursing and Animal Science, and lives in Texas Hill Country.


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Brooklyn is giveaway away a $10 Amazon/BN GC during the tour. 

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Read an exclusive excerpt from Our Friendship Matters by Kimberley B. Jones

 

This book feels like an important one for our youth to read. And it wouldn't hurt for adults to read it, too. So today, you get an exclusive look inside with a special excerpt from Our Friendship Matters by Kimberley B. Jones. Be sure to let her know what you think and then follow the tour to read even more. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

Leah and Sasha are 17-year-old friends who had been close to one another since elementary school, but as the summer approaches they find their friendship tested in ways they never anticipated.

Following graduation, Sasha’s privileged life and perception of the world around her is suddenly altered when an old childhood friend persuades her to join in a campaign against an injustice after his best friend is killed by a cop.

But joining the protest has unforeseen consequences for Sasha, distancing her from Leah, who becomes jealous of Sasha’s new friends and finds herself on the opposing side, protesting alongside her group of new white friends.

As the tension mounts between the two bitterly opposed factions, a tragedy strikes and threatens to make Sasha and Leah enemies. Can they find a way to resolve their differences, putting them to the side and learn to accept each other’s viewpoints? Or is their long friendship finished for good?

Read an exclusive excerpt:

As we pulled out of the driveway, Dad waved goodbye. I could picture the smile on his face once he walked into the house and noticed Mom was cooking lasagna.

“So, how is the public-school life at Eastview High?” I asked Ricardo. “Other than Chester beating your guys in sports.”

“Ya’ll just have better resources than us,” Ricardo said.

“How come we couldn’t just be good at what we do?”

“What! Anyway . . . Eastview is great, I guess, but we are dealing with some issues. It’s our senior year and I am just thinking about leaving this place.”

“Why would you want to leave?”

“Because I feel trapped in a box. Everywhere I go, I feel like a suspect.”

“A suspect, what makes you think that? You shouldn’t feel like that,” I said as my brow lifted from his response.

“Yeah, I know you wouldn’t understand because you go to this perfect private school and stay in this big, beautiful house.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m sorry. Just drop me off at the next block. I got it from there.”

I pulled to the curb and, as Ricardo got out of the car, he leaned against the closed door—with half his body leaning over the window—and said, “Wake up and find out who you really are.”

I squinted my eyes, “Okay.” I drove off. Why would he say such a thing to me?

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Kimberley is a professional early childhood educator. She was born in the small town of Saint George, South Carolina, on September 12, 1982. Graduated from Woodland High School in 2000, Benedict College in 2004 with B.S., Child & Family Development, and from Ashford University in 2013 with a Masters in Early Childhood Education.

After receiving her education and being a military spouse, she held several jobs as a preschool teacher and a preschool director, but she wanted to her education to use by writing children’s books. She wrote her first book in college for her children’s literature course. She has self-published several children books on Amazon.

Currently, she is branching off into writing fiction YA, NA, and A novels on issues in society. She loves writing and would not change it for nothing in this world She is now published by Rhetoric Askew. Kimberley is the author of Our Friendship Matters. 

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Kimberley B. Jones will be awarding a signed copy of Our Friendship Matters (US ONLY) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. 

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