Blog Tour: Any Way You Slice It by Kristine Carlson Asselin

Any Way You Slice It
by Kristine Carlson Asselin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark
Release Date: April 21st 2015

Rate: Enjoyed it (4 stars)

Synopsis:

Penelope Spaulding just can't catch a break. Between long hours at the family restaurant, homework, and her parents' plans for her future, it's hard to find a spare moment to breathe. But when she laces up her skates and steps on the ice, everything slips away...

Racing around the rink allows her to blow off steam after yet another fight with her dad about going to culinary school. So when Jake Gomes, the bad boy who lives down the street, dares her to join the Rink Rats, the local misfit hockey team, she surprises herself and joins in silent defiance of her father and his expectations.

The more she plays, the easier it is to keep lying, and soon Pen finds it impossible to come clean. She’s sneaking out to practice—and loving every minute of it. It doesn’t take long for her to fall in love with hockey…and Jake’s not half bad either. But she knows it can’t last. As soon as her dad finds out, she’ll be benched. For good.

She’s absolutely not going to tell her parents until she’s sure it will be worth the inevitable fight. Not only is she skipping shifts at Slice Pizza while a foodie reality show is on the horizon, but her lies are starting to take their toll on her game. It’s only a matter of time before everything falls apart.

With the team counting on her and with her relationship with Jake on the line, will she have to sacrifice the thing she wants most for the people she loves? Or can she step up and take her best shot?

Any Way You Slice It is what I would call a sweet and cute YA read. Definitely something all YA romance fans would love to read out there.

The synopsis of this book pretty much sums up what the book's about without giving much away. The story is about Penelope, who seems to have reach a breaking point were everything starts to be too much, but she finds a way out through hockey. The only problem is that her dad has forbidden her to play that sport. And what's the point of falling in love with the bad boy that introduces it to this sport if it won't last? If her dad finds out, everything will go away. Having a double life is never easy and Penelope will soon find out.

I adored the cuteness in this story. It is one of those stories were a teenager tries to find herself by doing what she likes, but fearing not having the approval of her parents. Add to a forbidden activity a kind of forbidden love? Seriously it was simply too sweet and romantic.

I think this book gives an insight of deciding for yourself: either you choose to please others or step up and do what you want to do. 

With a beautiful writing and a good plot, Kristine did an amazing job were hockey, Pizza and teenage romance comes together in a perfect combination. Definitely something I would recommend!

See the full Inspiration Board on Pinterest:

Follow the Any Way You Slice It blog tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner below to see the tour schedule.

Kristine Carlson Asselin lives in Massachusetts and writes Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction. Her debut YA novel ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT will be available from Bloomsbury Spark in April 2015. She is also the author of fourteen children’s books for the elementary school library market. Kris volunteer’s with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, and loves Harry Potter, Doctor Who, classic rock from the 70’s and 80’s, and anything with a time travel theme. She is a proud member of SCBWI-New England, the Fall Fourteeners (a group blog of YA debut authors), Sporty Girl Books blog, and #MGLitChat. Kris does query package critiques under the alter-ego @QueryGodMother and loves doing school visits for kids all over New England.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: The Way We Fall (The Story of Us #1) by Cassia Leo

Today we have the cove reveal for Cassia Leo’s The Way We Fall! I love this cover, AND Cassia is sharing an excerpt, as well as the playlist for the book. Be sure to read all the way to the bottom for all the fantastic extras!!

The Way We Fall (The Story of Us #1)

by Cassia Leo

Release Date: February 16th 2015

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Maybe we shouldn't have fallen so fast and so willingly.

Maybe we shouldn't have moved in together before we went on our first date.

Maybe we should have given our wounds time to heal before we tore each other to shreds.

Maybe we should have never been together.

Houston has kept a devastating secret from Rory since the day he asked her to move in with him. But the tragic circumstances that brought them together left wounds too deep to heal.

Five years after the breakup, Houston and Rory are thrust together by forces beyond their control. And all the resentments and passion return with more intensity than ever.

Once again, Houston is left with a choice between the truth and the only girl he's ever loved.

Available for $0.99 only during preorder and for the first 48 hours after release. Preorder on iBooks: http://bit.ly/1Af66hs

Check out the playlist for The Way We Fall:

The Way We Fall

by Cassia Leo

“I need to talk to you about the work situation,” he says as he follows me out. “I got the contract, but I want to make sure you’re okay with this before I sign it.”

“You want to know if I’ll be okay working with you?”

I slide the key into the doorknob and Houston places his hand over mine to stop me from turning the knob. “I can’t go in there with you. Please stay out here until we’re done talking.”

I shake his hand off and turn around to face him. “There’s nothing to talk about. You have to sign the contract. The way I feel about working with you shouldn’t matter.”

“But it does matter. I don’t want to upset you. You were there first.”

I can’t help but laugh. “So this is a territorial thing? You think because I was there first that I have some sort of right to keep you out?” His left eyebrow shoots up the way it always does when he’s confused and it nearly renders me mute. “Houston, if I didn’t work there you wouldn’t think twice about signing that contract. So that’s what you should do. Just… please stop making this into something it isn’t. We hardly know each other anymore, and that’s the way it’s going to remain.”

He swallows hard as he lets this sink in. “I guess you’re right. I’m sorry I bothered you. I only wanted to… Never mind. I’ll get going. I have to get up early to go sign that contract. Not that you care.”

He shakes his head in disappointment as he walks away and I’m glad I don’t have anything solid in my hand other than Skippy’s leash or I might throw it at the back of his head. So I’m the one who doesn’t care? Ugh. Typical Houston and his endless psychological games.

Maybe I should have told him to walk away from the contract, but that would have meant admitting that he still has a strong hold over me. It also would have been the truth and the truth has never gotten me into trouble. In fact, the truth is something my previous relationship with Houston was sorely lacking.

Nevertheless, I don’t need to right the wrongs we made while we were together. I don’t need to tell Houston that the sight of him makes my throat dry and my stomach flutter. He doesn’t need to know that I still go to sleep with scenes from our life together playing on repeat in my mind. Or that sometimes I wake up with his name tumbling from my lips, the remnants of dreams where he never left and nightmares where he hovers just out of reach.

Before Wednesday, the last time I had seen Houston was the day after he met me at the Planned Parenthood clinic. I didn’t ask him to come, and I don’t know how he found the date and time of my appointment, but he was there when we pulled into the parking lot. Lisa, a girl from my Social Inequality class whom I’d had coffee with a couple of times, had graciously agreed to take me to the clinic. The moment I saw him leaning against his truck, I knew I had to send Lisa home. Houston would insist on taking me back to the apartment after the procedure, to watch over me.

It was the last thing I wanted, to have Houston doting over me after terminating the pregnancy. But it was also the only thing I wanted. It was as if he was performing the last rites on our dead relationship.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cassia Leo loves her coffee, chocolate, and margaritas with salt. When she’s not writing, she spends way too much time watching old reruns of Friends and Sex and the City. When she’s not watching reruns, she’s usually enjoying the California sunshine or reading – sometimes both.

Come chat with her on 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorcassialeo

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AuthorCassiaLeo

You can also follow her blog at http://cassialeo.com to stay up to date on new releases and giveaways.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#LetItGo Day

Welcome to the #LetItGo event! 

#‎LetITGo‬ day all stemmed from Ann Aguirre's title, I WANT IT THAT WAY. One of the characters finds freedom when he lets something go that he had been holding on to. In the book, you see him physically do something to represent the act of letting it go and then finding peace. While reading, the wheels started turning! We all need to have a day to let things go. We've all had those moments when things play over and over in our head, when we hear the whispers of being told we're not good enough, when we find ourselves paralyzed by something. Some of us are affected by this in ways we think others could not possibly understand. So...#LetItGo day was formed. In the midst of ugly and dark things happening all around, we want to focus on freedom and finding peace. And September 3rd, 2014 is that day. The sky is the limit in how you want to celebrate and share it with your readers and followers on your blog and social media. Tell what freedom and peace mean to you, Tell about a time you had to #LetItGo, take pics of you doing a #LetItGo ceremony. Whatever...but this world has a lot of heartache. And we don't have to hold on to things. We want freedom and peace to reign! So join in on September 3rd and #LetItGo!

I Want It That Way (2B Trilogy #1)
by Ann Aguirre
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Release Date: August 26th 2014
Read the First Chapter HERE!

Synopsis:

Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she's determined to make them come true—for her parents' sake as well as her own. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, she barely has time to think, let alone date. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B…. 

Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can't risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, a social life is out of the question. The last thing he wants is for four noisy students to move into the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia's and Ty's paths cross, and soon they can't stay away from each other. 

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can't know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.

We will be having a Twitterchat using the hashtag #LetItGo on September 3rd from 8-9pm EST, and we would love for you to join in the fun! Hosting authors will be:

Ann Aguirre

Megan Hart

Nyrae Dawn

Lauren Dane

Monica Murphy

Come join in the Twitterchat and encourage your readers and followers to do so as well. Share your #LetItGo moments and stories, ask authors questions and celebrate with us!

Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.