Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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:

(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 


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.


Friday, January 15, 2021

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.)



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.)



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.)


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

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

Grab Our Button!

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

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.)



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.)




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.)



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

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

Grab Our Button!

Monday, January 11, 2021

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.)




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.)



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.)



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

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

Grab Our Button!

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

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.