Tag: YA

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Blog Tour: The Reunion – Kit Frick

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Thereunion copy

We are thrilled to share Kit Frick’s latest release with you all. It’s called The Reunion and it sounds amazing!

the-reunion_CV

The Reunion

Publication Date: August 29, 2023

Genre: YA Thriller

Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry Books/ Simon & Schuster

From the author of I Killed Zoe Spanos comes a YA thriller in the vein of The White Lotus and Karen M. McManus’s The Cousins following a doomed family reunion at a posh Caribbean resort, where old grudges and dangerous secrets culminate in murder.

Eleven Mayweathers went on vacation. Ten came home.

It’s been years since the fragmented Mayweather clan was all in one place, but the engagement of Addison and Mason’s mom to the dad of their future stepbrother, Theo, brings the whole family to sunny Cancún, Mexico, for winter break. Add cousin Natalia to the mix, and it doesn’t take long for tempers to fray and tensions to rise. A week of forced family “fun” reveals that everyone has something to hide, and as secrets bubble to the surface, no one is safe from the fallout. By the end of the week, one member of the reunion party will be dead—and everyone’s a suspect:
The peacekeeper: Addison needs a better hiding place.
The outsider: Theo just wants to mend fences.
The romantic: Natalia doesn’t want to talk about the past.
The hothead: Mason needs to keep his temper under control.

It started as a week in paradise meant to bring them together. But the Mayweathers are about to learn the hard way that family bonding can be deadly.

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About the Author

Kit Frick_Author Photo

Kit Frick is a MacDowell Fellow and International Thriller Writers Award finalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from Syracuse University. The author of The Split, the young adult thrillers Before We Were Sorry (originally published as See All the Stars), All Eyes on Us, I Killed Zoe Spanos, Very Bad People, and The Reunion, as well as the poetry collection A Small Rising Up in the Lungs, Kit loves a good mystery but has only ever killed her characters. Honest. Visit Kit online at KitFrick.com and on Twitter and Instagram @KitFrick.

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Book Blitz: Takuan from Koto – Ryu Zhong

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We are thrilled to share this epic adventure with you today! Read more about Takuan from Koto below!

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Adventures of Takuan from Koto

Publication Date: August 5, 2023

Genre: YA Fantasy

Whimsical adventures of a young trickster: from clever exploits to a god-given mission.

A stone marten, in pursuit of the sun, climbs to the very Heavens and causes quite a commotion. Both the stubborn gods and the ordinary people have a hard time when weredemons break free. Even the Lord of the Underworld turns out to be powerless.
But sometimes even a mouse can be stronger than an elephant, as the old proverb says. The fate of the world ends up in the hands of Takuan — a young trickster, who deceives the greedy, angry, and ignorant people across the country of Chinayindu. On his journey, he meets the wandering warrior Zhu Leizu, a temple monk named Soliang, the clumsy sorcerer Bricabrac, and many others.
Our story begins with a village boy setting off to a monastery to become a demon-hunting monk, only to find out how truly dull monastic life can be.
Or does our story actually begin with the birth of the stone marten Ta Guan? To learn about what happened in the Heavens, the incredible adventures of Takuan, and what was the end of all of it, read the book ‘Takuan from Koto’ by Ryū Zhong.

More about the Book:

Light humorous fantasy, comedy and adventure, fantasy & magic.
Audience: Middle-grade, teen, young adult, adult.
Setting: Pan-Asian continent in quasi-medieval times with magic in the air.
Each book in the series is a standalone adventure

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Author Photo 1

Ryu Zhong has spent the last fifteen years in multinational corporations doing future research and developing novel tech. Today, Ryu writes fantasy and science fiction based on his experience. In his novels, he highlights the phenomena that humanity may face in just a few hundred years.

Ryū Zhong were lucky to be born and grow in Asia. Now they live in Amsterdam, study Dutch, and adapt their writings to English and other languages.

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Book Blitz: Jemma and the Raven – B.D. Reeves

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Happy publication day to B.D. Reeves! How amazing does this sound? And this cover? Beautiful!

Jemma and the Raven - Paperback

Jemma and the Raven

Publication Date: August 26th, 2023

Genre: YA Epic Fantasy

A girl. A raven. A luminous adventure.

To everyone else, Jemma is nothing but a Wharf-thief. She scavenges for tokens in the wrestling dens and parades along the market lanes with a raven, Edgar, on her shoulder.

But she and Edgar have a secret. In a land where memories fade into the Shadows without the love of a Keeper, they scour the ruins of ancient memory palaces, searching for treasure that will buy them a passage to the great city of Adocentyn.

When Jemma steals a map and a golden blade, she sets in motion a chain of events that will tie her destiny to the survival of all who live in the light of Memory.

Can Jemma defeat the darkness she has unleashed, without losing herself? And who is the voice she hears, guiding her along the way? I am with you. Follow the lights.

Can Jemma defeat the darkness she has unleashed, without losing herself? And who is the voice she hears, guiding her along the way? I am with you. Follow the lights.

Jemma and the Raven is a massive feat of storytelling, a work of fabulous imagination, a fantasy inspired by historical realities. It will convey its readers on an epic journey that will both captivate and exhilarate them. ARNOLD ZABLE, storyteller and novelist. Author of The Watermill, Sea of Many Returns and Cafe Scheherazade.

Amazon US | Amazon AU |Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

About the Author

B. D. Reeves Bio Pic 2

B. D. Reeves is a Melbourne-based writer. His first novel “Jemma and the Raven” was published in 2023. When he is not reading and writing, B. D. Reeves teaches philosophy and literature, conducts educational research and is currently completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne. Loving to travel, he once camped in an old shepherd’s hut on a remote Greek island where he discovered the remnants of ancient frescos, the secrets of bees, and the friendship of a goat who followed him wherever he went. He has since adored the concept of animals in fiction.

B.D. Reeves

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Blog Tour: Last Girls Standing – Jennifer Dugan

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In this queer YA psychological thriller from the author of Some Girls Do and Hot Dog Girl, the sole surviving counselors of a summer camp massacre search to uncover the truth of what happened that fateful night, but what they find out might just get them killed. 

Sloan and Cherry. Cherry and Sloan. They met only a few days before masked men with machetes attacked the summer camp where they worked, a massacre that left the rest of their fellow counselors dead. Now, months later, the two are inseparable, their traumatic experience bonding them in ways no one else can understand. 

But as new evidence comes to light and Sloan learns more about the motives behind the ritual killing that brought them together, she begins to suspect that her girlfriend may be more than just a survivor―she may actually have been a part of it. Cherry tries to reassure her, but Sloan only becomes more distraught. Is this gaslighting or reality? Is Cherry a victim or a perpetrator? Is Sloan confused, or is she seeing things clearly for the very first time? Against all odds, Sloan survived that hot summer night. But will she survive what comes next?

Jennifer Dugan is a writer, a geek, and a romantic who writes the kinds of stories she wishes she’d had growing up. She’s the author of the graphic novel Coven, as well as the young adult novels Melt With You, Some Girls Do, Verona Comics, and Hot Dog Girl, which was called “a great, fizzy rom-com” by Entertainment Weekly and “one of the best reads of the year, hands down” by Paste magazine. She lives in upstate New York with her family, their dog, a strange kitten who enjoys wearing sweaters, and an evil cat who is no doubt planning to take over the world.

My thoughts: Surviving a terrible crime, the murder of multiple camp counsellors at the camp where they were due to work has left Sloan and Cherry with emotional, and physical, scars. Especially Sloan. Her work with a hypnotherapist is bringing confusing memories of the events out and she’s not sure who to trust anymore.

Is Cherry, her fellow final girl, involved with the dangerous cult that killed everyone else and would have killed them too? Is Cherry’s mum? And what did Sloan’s biological parents have to do with it, if anything?

As Sloan starts to spiral, unable to trust her family, her friends, Cherry, diving into the cult’s deranged beliefs and theories, she starts to believe there’s something else going on.

A startling and shocking depiction of PTSD, survivor’s guilt and the mental impact of living a life with too many questions and not enough answers.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Book Blitz: Rubicons – Brett Riley

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Rubicon copy

For fans of Stranger Things and X-Men, the Freaks series is full of action, teenage drama, and suspense. Grab a copy today!

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Rubicons (A Freaks Novel)

Publication Date: August 1, 2023

Genre: YA Horror/ Superheroes

Finding themselves. Fighting together. Growing apart.

It’s junior year in Quapaw City, Arkansas. With it comes a new foe that even the Freaks cannot thwart–adulthood. As they ponder what the future will be like with college and careers looming, they must contend with the ever-more-perilous threat of The Team, the shadowy government agency bent on saving the world from supernatural menaces. At the same time, they must face their most dangerous adversary yet, a creature of scales and wings that threatens every life in town—just for starters. New questions arise: can the Freaks achieve a common goal when they no longer agree on precisely what that goal should be? And what happens when they realize they just might be the villains in someone else’s story?

For fans of Stranger Things and X-Men, the Freaks series is full of action, teenage drama, and suspense. A fast-paced ending to the saga filled with anticipation, suspense and young adult whit, Rubicons sets out to overcome obstacles like bullies at school and other-worldly monstrous villains – like an evil killing rabbit – will only make you stronger and more confident to keep going.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Brett Riley is a professor of English at the College of Southern Nevada. He grew up in southeastern Arkansas and earned his Ph.D. in contemporary American fiction and film at Louisiana State University. His short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Folio, The Wisconsin Review, and The Baltimore Review. He has also won numerous awards for screenwriting. Riley’s debut novel, Comanche, was released in September 2020. Lord of Order, a dystopian novel set in New Orleans was published in April 2021. Freaks, a superhero thriller featuring dangerous aliens and badass high school kids is now available. The third novel in the Freaks series, Rubicons, will be released August 1, 2023. Riley lives in Henderson, Nevada.

Brett Riley

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Blog Tour: The Exiled – Sarah Daniels

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Trust no one.

It is six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But this wasn’t the freedom the inhabitants were hoping for. Esther Crossland did what she had to do, but it has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Now the wrecked ship is abandoned. Its inhabitants are in exile, trapped in sprawling make-shift shelters made up of warehouse, tents, shipping containers.

Esther and Nik, architects of the rebellion, are on the run. Esther is in hiding, desperate to do something to help her people, and Nik seems to have abandoned all hope, on a journey taking him further and further from home. And neither of them want to face up to their true feelings about one another . . .

Not only that, there is a new villain in town. With the fall of Commander Hadley, it’s left to the ruthless Admiral Janek to deal with the traitors, and her own past is beginning to catch-up with her.

Then the shaky ceasefire negotiated by General Lall, Nik’s mum, falls apart. Nik and Esther find themselves in a world of betrayals and double crossings – a game of power, with no one to trust but themselves.

It’s time for the final showdown.

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Sarah Daniels is an ex-archaeologist who escaped academia and now writes stories from her home in rural Lincolnshire. Her work has been published in various online magazines and has been nominated for best British and Irish Flash Fiction and Best Small Fictions. 

If you want to contact her, you can do so at the following locations: Website Instagram TikTok Twitter

My thoughts: it’s been 6 months since Esther crashed the Arcadia into the Federated States and the ship’s residents are now housed in a hastily built fenced in refugee camp, complete with poor sanitation, disease and grim rations. Maine, not part of the Fed, has offered them refuge, but first they have to get there.

Nik’s escaped and is hiding out in Florida under an assumed name, except that someone knows where he is and is trying to kill him.

Esther and Corp are trying their best to help people with medical treatment, while staying off the radar as the Fed has branded them terrorists and wants to execute them, which doesn’t help the refugees’ plight at all. General Lall, Nik’s mum, is supposedly negotiating with the Fed’s government but Esther smells a rat. Could she really be planning to sell everyone into a form of slavery?

As events start to unravel, Esther and Nik are brought back together and after discovering what’s been negotiated, must work together to stop it and rescue the ship folk for good. If they can stop bickering for five minutes.

Another fast paced and skillful teen thriller, no teenagers should have this much responsibility dumped on them, but no one else seems to be trying.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: The Stranded – Sarah Daniels

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Welcome to the Arcadia.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States – a leftover piece of a fractured USA.

For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.

Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.

When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever . . .

Amazon Goodreads

Sarah Daniels is an ex-archaeologist who escaped academia and now writes stories from her home in rural Lincolnshire. Her work has been published in various online magazines and has been nominated for best British and Irish Flash Fiction and Best Small Fictions. 

If you want to contact her, you can do so at the following locations:

Website Instagram TikTok Twitter

My thoughts: I’ve never really fancied a cruise, and now I really don’t. Cruise liner turned essentially a prison, Arcadia, holds far more people than it was designed for. Descendants of its original passengers and crew, these are desperate, angry and resourceful. Generations after the mysterious Virus that saw them marooned off the coast of the Federated States, the refugees are tired of rations and regulations. And a rebellion has begun.

With the cruel and dictatorial Hadley making life even tougher for the inhabitants, the rebels are bringing their plan closer to fruition. When Esther, a trainee medic, gets swept up in it, thanks to her sister May, she forgets all the brainwashing and signs up. There has to be something better out there, even if it is dangerous. Teaming up with rebel Nik, she prepares to take on the Fed, Hadley and their other enemies, she has to, there’s nothing else left.

A gripping action adventure set aboard a ship, where there’s only so many places to hide, a reminder of the cruise ships at the start of the pandemic, who weren’t allowed to dock anywhere, but were eventually rescued, this is a brutal and desperate world, one I’d rather not see become any kind of reality. Definitely no cruise holidays for me.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Cover Reveal: The Goodbye Kids – Debbie Iancu-Haddad

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Check out the cover for upcoming release by Debbie Iancu-Haddad, The Goodbye Kids! 

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The Goodbye Kids: A YA SF space adventure (The Children of the Stars #1)

Expected Publication Date: September 6, 2023

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

A million stars, but no friends.

Plus-size teen Haley grew up friendless on a space station thinking she’d never fall in love. She spends her time with her robot dog Nano, dreaming of the day she’ll leave the remote station and become an intergalactic pilot.

Haley’s plan shatters when Jorden, a boy on a suicide mission, drags her into his lethal scheme.

Jorden Lund isn’t the chosen one, he’s the guy who volunteered.

Raised by his controlling father in an eco-terrorist cell on Earth, Jorden volunteers for a mission to save the planet. He has four months to travel to the space station, build a bomb, and blow up a spaceship.

Falling in love is definitely not part of the plan.

When Jorden arrives on the space station, disguised as a traveler, Haley’s access to the station’s restricted areas makes her an asset.

But Haley has a strict rule: ‘No new friends’, because traveler friends always leave, taking pieces of her heart with them.

As the two grow closer, strange events wreak havoc on the station.

Amidst the growing danger can Haley stop Jorden before he breaks her heart and destroys her home?

This book is perfect for readers who enjoy soft, character-based, Sci-Fi, first-person dual POV, clean teen romance, space stories, talking robot dogs, and plus-sized heroines just living their life with no mention of weight loss.

Pre-order Here!

About the Author

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Debbie Iancu-Haddad is a Jewish Israeli author living in Meitar in the Negev Desert.

She spends her time taking part in Anthologies (seven to date with two more on the way), writing VSS on Twitter, and buying way too much stuff online. Her goal is to promote body positive characters and include characters dealing with physical challenges. #ownvoices

For her day job, she gives lectures on humor, laughter yoga workshops and chocolate workshops, and sees how often she can make her two teenagers roll their eyes.

Debbie Iancu-Haddad | Twitter  | Facebook | Instagram

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Book Blitz: Promenauts: The Averune Necklace – J.C. Williams

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Such a great cover and the reviews are stellar!

Check out Promenauts: The Avarune Necklace by J.C. Williams and maybe treat yourself to a copy today!

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Promantheus: The Avarune Necklace

Genre: Fantasy Adventure/ Mystery/ Young Adult

Grades: 3 – 12

Azuelo is a strange boy who has woken up in the middle of the woods with no memory of his former life. When he finds his way to the city of Stormhold, he is quickly inducted into the ranks of the promenauts, a group of warriors sworn to protect their city from the violent gurgans lurking just outside their walls. Now, Azuelo must fight to help defend his new home, all while trying to reclaim his forgotten past with only one thing as his guide, the avarune necklace.

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Available on Amazon

About the Author

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Justin Williams, the author of Promenauts, The Avarune Necklace as well as the CEO, president and supreme imperial pooh-bah of Justin Williams Books LLC.

Promenauts

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Blog Tour: Cut From Stone – Brendan O’Meara

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CutfromStone copy

Welcome to the book tour for Cut from Stone, a gritty YA dystopian by Brendan O’Meara. 

Cut From Stone Cover Image

Cut from Stone (Crafting Humanity #1)

Genre: YA Dystopian

The world is fresh from humanity splitting in half – the BlankZone in the East and the Federation in the West. As an inevitable attack from the BlankZone looms, the Federation makes swift, mysterious, and unexpected moves to prepare.

James, a 17-year-old living in the Federation, is drafted by the military. He learns that he has been selected to join a group of skilled teens who will be transformed into elite human weapons. Follow James and his friends as they mature from teenagers to lethal warriors. Together, they will face life altering events navigating a new existence dedicated to protecting their friends, families, and humanity at all costs.

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Excerpt

One of the motherships from the BlankZone sat offshore. Its size alone was enough to cause concern from any angle, but it surprised him how calm he was looking at one of the largest warships ever created moored miles away from his current location.

“Jesus, man, how the hell did you survive?” James heard Clint say before he was embraced in his vicelike grip, the shorter mechanic’s biceps constricting James’s body until he thought he heard a crunch.

“Let him go. You’re gonna strangle him,” Stacie said, tapping Clint’s arm.

“I shouldn’t have let you go home,” Clint said, letting him go and standing back, shaking his head.“

You didn’t know what was gonna happen. Relax man. We’ve got a battle to plan.” James said, putting a reassuring hand on Clint’s shoulder.

“Jon, Stacie, I need updates. What’s happening out there?” James asked, turning to face the floating screens forming one of the Nest’s walls.

“Looks like they’re taking a break. Haven’t seen any other missiles coming into the city for a few minutes,” Jon said from behind him while the images changed to various scenes of damage spread all over the city.

There must be thousands dead, James thought.

“Do we know what they were using to bomb us?” James asked, zooming in on one of the blast sites and focusing on the melted metal pooling in superheated ponds.

“Nothing we’ve seen before, but none of this is. They’ve managed to decimate the city in an hour,” Stacie said, her voice crisp, clear, and analytical. “In our best estimate this was, frankly, the worst-case scenario.” James heard the break in her demeanor at the end of the sentence before he flipped his view to the ship off the coast.

Ten miles offshore, according to the HOLO’s distance finder, a ship the size of a skyscraper hung in the air elevated just slightly off the water. He couldn’t tell what part of the ship he was looking at, but his mind was stuck trying to piece together the mini nuclear station they would need to move the behemoth to the shore let alone across the ocean.

He took a breath, realizing they were up against an enemy no one understood before turning around to address the team when he heard a rumble from the HOLO emitters’ speakers. The ship opened, its armor plate covering the top pulled back, revealing a row of cannons stretching the length of the ship.

The front armor retracted until it disappeared under the ship’s bow. Meanwhile, the cannons lowered themselves, revealing another row of cannons behind them lining the length of the ship. The two rows of weaponry lowered themselves until they were parallel to the water.

What the hell is happening? James thought, hoping he was wrong about what was coming next.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Brendan OMeara Headshot

Raised in White Plains, New York, Brendan O’Meara formed a love of stories and books from a young age. He has spent his free time over the last decade crafting his debut novel, Cut From Stone, book one in the Crafting Humanity series.

It began in Philadelphia where he attended college daydreaming about a dystopian reality. With a vivid imagination (as described by his middle school teachers) and a passion for adventure, Brendan’s novels will transport you to a different life and capture you from cover to cover.

Brendan lives in Washington, DC with his daughter, wife, and two dogs. You will find him on the weekends drinking a beer watching the Packers and Notre Dame football games. He is an avid reader with a specific interest in sci-fi, anything dystopian, fantasy, history, and all levels of fiction.

Follow him on, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, Amazon, and BookBub.

Book Tour Schedule

June 12th

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http://readsandreels.com – Feature

http://ramblingmads.com – Feature

https://christinebialczak.com/ – Feature

June 13th

https://www.instagram.com/calhoun.crew/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/jlreadstoperpetuity – Review

https://www.thesexynerdrevue.com – Feature

June 14th

https://www.instagram.com/amanda_coffee_books/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/my.bookish.ways/?igshid=ODMwYzU2MzQ – Review

https://lshadowlynauthor.com/ – Spotlight

June 15th

https://www.instagram.com/abookshelftomagicalrealms/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/mommasbookies/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D  – Review

https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/theclumsybiblio/ – Review

June 16th

https://www.instagram.com/countrymamaswithkids/ – Review

https://countrymamaswithkids.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bookdragonstbr/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/magicalmushroombookshelf/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/read.em.if.you.got.em/ – Feature

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