Blog Tour: ROOT by Aurélie Benattar

 

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the ROOT by Aurélie Benattar Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: ROOT (Spirit Era Book 1)

Author: Aurélie Benattar

Pub. Date: January 26, 2023

Publisher: Aurélie Benattar

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 437

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/ROOT

Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited membership!

Seven teenagers. Seven chakras. Seven keys to save humanity.

In 2035, fifteen-year-old Rae, an orphan, has chosen silence. Or perhaps silence has chosen her. After the sudden death of her father, she has lost her ability to speak.

But that is the least of her problems. An elusive genius known as the Keeper has created an advanced AI program—Spirit Era—that predicts the world will end in two years without massive human intervention. The solution? Seven teenage volunteers who must work together to prevent this doomsday. Despite her reluctance to apply, Rae is selected, along with six other teens from the four corners of the world, to save humanity.

Spirit Era has designed seven Mantras, virtual reality worlds revealing the seven most likely apocalyptic disasters. Within these Mantras are concealed seven keys that will unlock humanity’s potential to stand in the way of planetary destruction and fight for the future of the world. The seven chosen ones—quiet Rae, hotheaded Chayton, sensual Helen, quick-witted Ali, gentle Keiji, intense Alpha, and reserved Stepan—must journey into these worlds to find the keys.

Root, the first book in this gripping saga, follows the seven into a hyperrealistic simulation of the not-too-distant future, where the rich have seized control of the world’s resources following a global famine triggered by a devastating loss of biodiversity. In order to escape this possible future, the seven must join together and use all their powers to find the key—and survive the simulation.

Two years left until the end of the world. The countdown begins . . .

 

About Aurélie Benattar:

Aurélie Benattar was born in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1971. In her childhood and teenage years, she spent most of her time reading, listening to music, dancing, and acting. After a few years in Paris she moved to Cannes, where she earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and a degree in pediatric nursing. Early on, she questioned the connection between body, spirit, and soul. This drove her to take several courses on spirituality and alternative medicine. Her first novel Un corbeau au 36 won the crime Femme Actuelle award and was the ‘hearthrob’ of the chairwoman, Eliette Abecassis (Inaugural Authors 2013, Pocket 2014). Today she writes full time and lives in Israel. Fascinated by fictional worlds, she loves to bridge the gap between the real and the imaginary to let readers explore unbeaten paths and reconsider our way of life.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of ROOT, US Only.

Ends February May 6th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/1/2023

Books and Kats

Excerpt

 Week Two:

4/2/2023	YA Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post (when available)
4/3/2023	Author Z. Knight’s Guild	Excerpt/IG Post
4/4/2023	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt/IG Post
4/5/2023	Writer of Wrongs	Excerpt
4/6/2023	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
4/7/2023	@jl_books	Excerpt/IG Post/TikTok Post
4/8/2023	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post

 Week Three:

4/9/2023	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post
4/10/2023	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
4/11/2023	Mallory Books	Review/IG Post/TikTok Post
4/12/2023	The Momma Spot	Review
4/13/2023	The Litt Librarian	Review/IG Post
4/14/2023	emmiepooh2	IG Review/FB Post
4/15/2023	Kelsisprobablyreading	IG Review

 Week Four:

4/16/2023	Read_Dog_Reviews	IG Post
4/17/2023	Cara North	Excerpt/IG Post
4/18/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
4/19/2023	Lifestyle of Me	Review
4/20/2023	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
4/21/2023	@dreaminginpages	IG Review
4/22/2023	@doublethebooksmagazine	Review/IG Post

 Week Five:

4/23/2023	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
4/24/2023	enchantedexcurse	Review/IG Post
4/25/2023	@jael_and_jenessa_reads	Excerpt/IG Post
4/26/2023	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
4/27/2023	@froggyreadteach	IG Review
4/28/2023	OneMoreExclamation	Review/IG Post
4/29/2023	@momfluenster	IG Post/FB Post

 Week Six:

4/30/2023

Breysreviews

IG Review/TikTok Post

Book Review: Burning Secret by R J Lloyd

 Burning Secret - R J Lloyd

Warning – may contain spoilers

Author: R J Lloyd

Publisher: Matador

First published: 2022

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 419

Blurb: Burning Secret is a dramatic and compelling take of ambition, lies, and betrayal inspired by actual events.

Born in the slums of Bristol in 1844, Enoch Price seems destined for a life of poverty and hardship - but he’s determined not to accept his lot.

Enoch becomes a bare-knuckle fighter in London’s criminal underworld. But in a city where there’s no place for honest dealing, he is cheated by a cruel loan shark, leaving him penniless and facing imprisonment.

Undaunted, he escapes to a new life in America and embarks on a series of audacious exploits. But even as he helps shape history, Enoch is not content. Tormented by his past and the life he left behind, he soon becomes entangled in a web of lies and secrets.

Will he ever break free and find the happiness he craves?

History of my copy: I was gifted a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review on behalf of Lola’s Book Tours.

Plot: For a while, it took me a long time to get into the plot of this book. It felt like there were never ending chapters where not a lot was going on, simply filling time. Then I remembered that the book was based on a true story, which made this make a little more sense. I found it quite difficult to understand Enoch's life in London, and felt that there could have explaining that. However, once in America, and definitely from the second half of the book onwards, the plot picks up and gets much more engaging.

Setting: Burning Secret focuses much more on the plot and characters than setting. The setting descriptions are adequate, but aren't the focus of the book. The only part of the setting that really stands out to me is the fire.

Characters: Enoch himself is a very intriguing character. Throughout the book you really start to see all these sides to him. However, apart from him, I find that not many of the other characters really stand out.

To read or not to read: Read. Although far from one of my favourite books, Burning Secret certainly makes for an interesting read, especially in the second half of the book. You really start to feel like you get an understanding of this man’s life.

Find my blog tour spot here featuring an interview with R J Lloyd and an excerpt

Blog Tour: Violet Yorke, Gilded Girl: Ghosts in the Closet by P. J. McIlvaine

 

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the VIOLET YORKE, GILDED GIRL: GHOSTS IN THE CLOSET by P.J. McIlvaine Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: VIOLET YORKE, GILDED GIRL: GHOSTS IN THE CLOSET

Author: P.J. McIlvaine

Pub. Date: April 4, 2022

Publisher: Darkstroke Books

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 127

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/VIOLET-YORKE-GILDED-GIRL

Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited subscription!

She sees ghosts…but are they malevolent or friendly?

Poor little rich girl Violet Yorke has seen ghosts for as long as she can remember, but no one believes her.

Not stodgy Grandmother, who took charge of the heiress after her parents were killed in a failed robbery. Nor kind-hearted Aunt Nanette, or Uncle Bertie, a charming rogue. Not even the patient Hugo Hewitt, Violet’s godfather and trustee of her vast fortune.

Everyone dismissed the child’s insistence about ghosts as a harmless eccentricity—until the night her bedroom caught fire. Violet was promptly sent overseas, fueling her anger and resentment.

Two years later, a rebellious twelve-year-old Violet is on her way back to Manhattan on the doomed Titanic. As the ship sinks into the deep Atlantic Ocean, she’s put in a lifeboat by an apparition who rescued her from the clutches of a jewel thief. Presumed lost at sea, Violet shocks everyone by crashing her own funeral.

Following Violet’s recovery, Grandmother has grand high society designs for the girl, but Violet has other ideas. She’s determined to uncover the secret of what really happened to her parents. Then there’s the mystery of the moon-faced boy at gloomy Dunham Hall and his connection to the ghost on Titanic. Also hot on Violet’s trail is the jewel thief, the specter of her murdered governess, and a vengeful ghost lurking in Violet’s childhood home.

Being a poor little rich girl in 1912 Gotham isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in this delightfully dark and droll supernatural historical fantasy.

 

Excerpt

Excerpt from Violet Yorke, Gilded Girl: Ghosts In The Closet by PJ McIlvaine

“By fair means or foul, Violet Yorke had to get to Grandmother Olivia’s. Under a threatening

gray sky, she stood at the Manhattan street corner, frantically waving at motorcars and horse-

drawn buggies, but they all passed by her without a second glance. Wasn’t it against the law

not to stop? If it wasn’t, it should be. Compared to this indignity, slipping out of the hospital

had been a breeze. She’d simply waited until the morning shift changed and blended in with the

departing visitors. Not that anyone would care she’d gone.

Dispirited, she trudged down the cobblestone street, taking care not to step into piles of fresh

horse dung. The drivers probably thought she was a street urchin in her ill-fitting threadbare

coat that barely skimmed her knees, and even worse, no hat. No self-respecting lady went out

in public without her hat. Fuddy-duddy Great-Aunt Florence wouldn’t have approved. And she

certainly wouldn’t have approved of Violet roaming about unaccompanied. But this wasn’t the

time for social niceties. Violet wasn’t in London under the watchful eye of a battalion of bat-

faced maids.

Violet loved the freedom but not the weather. For early April it felt more like February, a cold

that chilled to the bone. It had been equally blustery when she’d boarded Titanic at

Southampton, the docks swarming with well-wishers. What had Florence said? That everyone

would remember Titanic for years to come, and that Violet was embarking on the adventure of

a lifetime. Violet thought it was a bit premature to make such a declaration, as it was only 1912,

and who knew what else might happen? As it turned out, Florence had been right – but not in

the way she’d intended.”

 

About P.J. McIlvaine:

PJ McIlvaine is a prolific and creative children’s author/screenwriter/writer/journalist.

PJ will have two books coming out in 2023: A GOOD MAN, a gritty adult contemporary psych thriller from Bloodhound Books and THE CURIOUS CONUNDRUM OF CHARLEMAGNE CROSS, a young adult alternate history adventure set in Victorian London from Orange Blossom Books.

PJ's debut middle-grade supernatural historical mystery adventure VIOLET YORKE, GILDED GIRL: GHOSTS IN THE CLOSET (Darkstroke Books, April 2022) is about a poor little rich girl in NYC 1912 who sees ghosts.

PJ’s debut picture book LITTLE LENA AND THE BIG TABLE (June 2019, Big Belly Book Co.), with illustrations by Leila Nabih, is about a determined little girl tired of eating with her annoying cousins at the kid’s table, only to discover that the big table isn’t much better. She has another picture book, DRAGON ROAR (MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing, October 2021) artwork by Logan Rogers, about a lonely, sick dragon who has lost his mighty roar, and the brave village girl who helps him find it again.

PJ is also a co-host and founding member of #PBPitch, the premiere Twitter pitch party for picture book creators.

PJ has been published in numerous outlets including The New York Times and Newsday, and is a regular contributor for The Children’s Book Insider newsletter (paid firewall), writing about the path to publication and interviews with established and debut kid lit authors.

PJ lives on Eastern Long Island with her family and furbaby Luna.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of VIOLET YORKE, GILDED GIRL: GHOSTS IN THE CLOSET, US Only.

Ends April 18th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/3/2023	Mythical Books	Guest Post/IG Post
4/3/2023	Two Chicks on Books	Review/IG Post
4/4/2023	YA Books Central	Interview/IG Post (when available)
4/4/2023	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt/IG Post
4/5/2023	Jazzy Book Reviews	Excerpt/IG Post
4/5/2023	Books and Kats	Excerpt
4/6/2023	Crandom	Review/IG Post
4/6/2023	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
4/7/2023	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post
4/7/2023	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post

 Week Two:

4/10/2023	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
4/10/2023	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Review/TikTok Post
4/11/2023	@stargirls.magical.tale	IG Review
4/11/2023	The Momma Spot	Review
4/12/2023	OneMoreExclamation	Review/IG Post
4/12/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
4/13/2023	The Book Countess	Review
4/13/2023	@enjoyingbooksagain	IG Review
4/14/2023	@froggyreadteach	IG Review
4/14/2023	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post