Tour Stop: THE BOYFRIEND BACKTRACK by Dawn Lanuza Review and Giveaway



Title: The Boyfriend Backtrack
Author: Dawn Lanuza
Date of Publication: October 3, 2014
Genre: contemporary romance

Blurb:
If they say that life flashes right before your eyes when you die, do you also get a flashback of your exes when your perfect boyfriend is proposing to you? At least that's the case for Regina Cortez. There's her dramatic high school boyfriend, her first college crush, the irresistible heart breaker, and the ever elusive one. By backtracking to her past, will Regina make it to 'I Do'? Or will she just keep running away?


Purchase link: Amazon

BOOK REVIEW:
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I am not a big fan of the cover but I am a huge fan of the book.
The Boyfriend Backtrack is far from what I expected. I greatly enjoyed the unique plot and the great storytelling. I don't usually read books this short because I often find them rushed and just not enough to satisfy my craving for books. But I'm really glad that I gave this book a go.

I LOVE the premise of the book. Regina had just taken a huge leap in her life by saying "yes" to her boyfriend's marriage proposal and her mind just thought that this would be a great time to remind her of all the ex-boyfriends (the good and the bad) she had. Regina is a likable and relatable protagonist. She's independent, funny and a smartass. And although she seems a bit cynical to me at times, I could see through some of the flashbacks that she has been a dreamer and a passionate artist once. I get that about her. We always have this big dreams while growing up and we think that nothing can stand in our way of reaching them but somehow in the end it doesn't always turn out the way we thought it would. And then we lose sight of those dreams and often lose ourselves in the process. I felt like Regina felt that way. She made her choices based on what she knows is right and not on what she feels is right. And I'm glad that in the end things turned out for the best for her and everyone. 

I love reading about Regina's ex-boyfriends. I think we all had our very own Dirk, Josh and Chase. It felt real and relatable. And meeting them and reading about them was so much fun!
The Boyfriend Backtrack is a fun and believable story. I think most people could relate to what Regina is going through. We're confused most our life and we're lucky if we find what we're looking for but with a little nudge from fate and our loyal, supportive friends and we might just find ourselves in the right track.   
This was a highly enjoyable book. Recommended!


BOOK EXCERPT:
If I knew that I’d be seeing Joshua Herrera looking dapper in his gray suit while I looked like shit in a pair of old unwashed jeans and a shirt that’s been  drenched  in  sweat  earlier  from  catching  every  ‘moment’  at the ceremony, I would have hidden myself in the bathroom until he left.
But he’s here, his arms spread out, ready to give me a hug. 
“Hey,”  I  greet  him,  pretending  to  be  pleased  with this…shit coincidence. I hold the tripod closely to my chest.
Josh settles to rubbing my arm instead, seeing that I didn’t respond to his gesture. “I knew it was you.” He smiles. I jam the tripod between my armpits. “I haven’t seen you in a while, so I had to make sure. I’m pretty sureshe saw me staring.”
“Even his voice is attractive,” Faye whispers to me. Well, if we’re going to be honest, everything about him is more attractive now. He looks taller, leaner, and he could have gotten his teeth whitened. His hair is shaved, and it’s even a better invitation for one to look at his perfect, well-proportioned face. Plus, his jaw is just...damn it, I’m doing it again. I’m admiring Josh Herrera as if he’s Michelangelo’s David.
I hand Faye the tripod and told her to pack up the rest of our stuff. Iturn to Josh, “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know.”
Seriously,  what  is  he  doing  here?  I  have  been  to  more  than  100weddings over the last three years. None of my exes turned up. And then thefirst ex that I have to deal with has to be the very one that I can’t stand? 

ABOUT DAWN LANUZA:


Dawn Lanuza has been imagining and writing love stories since she was a kid. She works for the music industry by day, and writes about meet cutes and snappy comebacks by night. She writes short stories, chick lit and young-adult fiction. She has a degree in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines.


GIVEAWAY: 
Dawn is giving away five (5) e-copies of THE BOYFRIEND BACKTRACK. Open internationally.




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Tour Stop and Review plus Giveaway: PIECES OF REVENGE by Valia Lind



Title: PIECES OF REVENGE
Author: Valia Lind
Genre: YA, Thriller

A weapon. A broken life. A humanity lost.

 That is all Anastasia knows, that is all that she is. As an eleven-year-old, she witnessed her family's brutal murder and she's been on the run ever since. She's spent her life training and planning for the day when she can take her revenge.

 Kallos Enterprises is a well respected corporation, set on improving the genetic structure of an individual. Or so they say. Anastasia knows, first hand, what kind of monsters lurk behind the pretty walls of those skyscrapers. Armed with combat skills and a beyond perfect memory, she heads to Chicago to uncover the answers to questions that plagued her for years.

 After arriving in the city, she meets Logan, a boy from her past who changes all the rules. She doesn't remember him, but he remembers her. His position at Kallos Enterprises is useful, his presence is unnerving, and he makes her question everything she knows about herself to be true. If her perfect memory can't remember Logan, what else about her past is wrong?

 Time is running out. Anastasia has nowhere to turn, but to trust the one person who's a memory she should have, but doesn't. With a madman threatening their every step, Anastasia and Logan must uncover the truths behind Kallos experiments and hope that the answers they find won't destroy the world forever.


Purchase:
Amazon | B&N


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Book Review
 Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Honestly I was terrified to start Pieces of Revenge. I became a big fan of Valia Lind after reading the first two books in the Falling series and I'm scared that I might end up not liking this book. I hate not loving a book by an author I love and since this book is very different from Valia Lind's other books, I was afraid that this might not turn out as great as I expected it to. Turns out, I got worried for nothing.

Pieces of Revenge will surprise you in a really good way. It was full of angst, excitement and mystery from the beginning that will keep you reading until the end.
The female protagonist, Anastasia, has definitely been added to my list of top kickass female characters. She's sassy, quick-tempered and spontaneous. I love how she says exactly what she thinks and does what she knows is right. She's very protective of the people she cares about and I greatly admire that about her. She's the kind of person who always thinks about others before herself and that often puts her in dangerous, life or death situations. Very few things scare her. One being Logan. Anastasia didn't expect the intensity and connection she felt with Logan and she doesn't know what to do about it. She's cautious of getting close to people after what she witnessed happen to her parents so she keeps everyone at arms length. But Logan is unexpected and different. He's sweet and charming and he knows things way more than he should.

I love how this book is full of intrigue, action and romance. The storyline was believable and well-written and the side characters were quirky and I love meeting everyone (well maybe not everyone) of them especially Uncle Freddie. He's an odd character but I absolutely love him.
I was surprised with some of the twists thrown my way and I literally screamed when I got to the last few pages of the book. What is it with authors and cliffhangers? Do they just love torturing us? To see us dying of excitement and anticipation? 
This is a great book to start a series!
 
I received an e-arc of the book to read and review.
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About Valia

Author. Photographer. Artist. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, Valia Lind always had a love for the written word. She wrote her first full book on the bathroom floor of her dormitory, while procrastinating to study for her college classes. Upon graduation, she has moved her writing to more respectable places, and have found her voice in Young Adult fiction. Falling by Design is her debut young adult novel. You can visit her online at www.valialind.blogspot.com or follow her on twitter, where she spends way too much time, @ValiaLind.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

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 Giveaway



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#NAChristmas Blog Hop and Giveaway Featuring MELISSA WEST

  It's a New Adult Christmas!
Thanks for joining us as we celebrate the holidays with thirteen New Adult authors. Check out every stop leading up to December 24 to get excerpts, exclusive content, and hopefully a cutie under the mistletoe! Be sure to enter the rafflecopter to win a grand prize pack of an ebook from every author!

 Below is a holiday scene from Melissa West's 
PIECES OF OLIVIA (Charleston Haven 1)

“Rose Campbell.”
“Rose, it’s me. Rose?” I called through the noise. “Can you hear me? Where are you?”
“It’s two days before Christmas, Olive. Where do you think I am? I’m in hell with my family. Can’t you hear them in the background?” she shouted over the wails of a baby. I smiled. “Oh, well, I can let you go if you—”
“Hang up this phone and I will ban you from my practice. You’ll give me an excuse to slip out for a bit. Hold on.” I heard her mute her cell and then a moment later she returned. “I have five minutes before my ridiculous daughter-in-law seeks me out.”
“I didn’t know you had a son, Rose.”
“I have two sons and two horrifying daughter-in-laws. One would think God would’ve granted me a reprieve after the first, but no. The second is worse!”
I burst out laughing. “Ah, you know you love them. I can hear it in your voice.”
She sighed. “It’s true. But they’re marks against my sanity, and you know how closely I value my mind. Now, tell me, how is Westlake?”
“It’s . . . nice,” I said. “My parents have been really supportive, which is unusual.”
“Or perhaps they have always been supportive and you are only now seeing it.” I thought about it. “Maybe.” “Have you looked at the last photo?”
“No. I’m afraid to do it here. I’m afraid my mom would walk in and see me crying. I don’t want her to worry, ya know?”
“Let me tell you something, Olive. She is a mother. Worrying is what we do. You could say nothing and she will worry. You could say everything and she will worry. You have to face that photo at some point.”
“Oh, don’t I know it, but I plan to go kicking and screaming.”
Just then my door burst open and my youngest niece, Everett, toddled in. My eldest sister, Cameron, had three children, all of them named something crazy. Brick, Talen, and Everett. A boy and two girls, all of them bound to hate her for naming them such stupid names, but they were all adorable, especially Everett.
She came over to me and dropped a chubby handful of Goldfish onto my bed. “I share,” she said.
I giggled. “I can see that.”
“Olive, dear, I’m being summoned, and it sounds like you are as well. I expect another update just after the holiday and then I’ll see you back in my office the Monday you return.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, and Olive?”
“Yes?”
“Merry Christmas. I hope you find peace this holiday.”
I swallowed. Her words were more touching than anything she had ever said to me. I’d known Rose for several months now, and while I felt close to her, I never really thought she felt that same closeness to me until that moment. “Thank you. Merry Christmas.”
I scooped Everett into my arms and started down the stairs when my phone buzzed. I turned back and tilted my head so I could read the text.
Preston: What would you want for Christmas if you could get anything in the world?
I thought about the question. In that moment, what would I want? My gut reaction was
that Trisha could still be alive. That they could all still be alive. But for once, I allowed myself one selfish wish, something only for me, something that celebrated my life now in the present. The life that I was living.
I typed my answer over to him: You.
Preston: I hoped you would say that.
And then the doorbell rang. I glanced down at my phone, my heartbeat kicking up. Surely not. He couldn’t. It was two days before Christmas. I told myself that it was one of Mom’s friends or one of the kids, but I couldn’t keep myself from running out into the hallway and down the stairs, Everett giggling in my arms the whole way.
I stopped in the foyer as my mom was opening the door and then he was there, staring at me with those ocean eyes that made everything in my world right again. I set Everett down, tears pricking my eyes, and started for him, fighting to keep myself from running. I crashed into his arms, and it was like coming up for air. Everything my body needed was suddenly right there in front of me.
“I’m sorry to just show up,” he said into my hair. “But I couldn’t wait another day. I couldn’t wait another second.”

 Here's a look at PIECES OF OLIVIA  by Melissa West -


 Pieces of Olivia 
(Charleston Haven #1)

Olivia Warren used to be a normal girl with a bright future. But on one fated night, everything changed.

Hiding the scars of her past up her sleeves, Olivia transfers her enrollment from Columbia University to The College of Charleston, determined to pursue her own dreams for the first time in her life.

She intends to allow herself a bit of alone time to heal... that is, until she meets Preston.

Preston is best friends with her roommate, completely hot, and off-limits. But the chemistry between them is instantaneous—and as the pair begins to spend more time with one another, their feelings for each other build into something undeniable, something powerful enough to heal Olivia’s deepest scars.

Olivia tries to put her own past behind her and trust Preston, but she discovers that his past might be more present than she ever bargained for… Add to Goodreads

About Melissa West 

 
Melissa West writes heartfelt Southern romance and YA sci-fi romance, all with lots of kissing. Because who doesn’t like kissing? Her work is published by Entangled, Kensington, and Penguin. 
She lives outside of Atlanta, GA with her husband and two daughters and spends most of her time writing, reading, or fueling her writing addiction.

Author website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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