We are so excited to be sharing an exclusive excerpt of Lobizona as part of the blog tour! Find it below the page break.


Book Summary

Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36952594-a-blade-so-black

I am super excited to be a part of the A Wrinkle in Time blog tour! I recently did my re-read, and now I am just counting down the days until the movie comes out (March 9th -- so close!)

For the Book Nerds Across America stop on the tour, I am going to share with you some of my "life quotes" a la Mrs. Who. For those who need a refresher, Mrs. Who does most of her talking to Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace by answering questions with quotes from famous people.

As for me, I have always felt inspired and motivated by reading quotes from people I admire. Throughout my life, there has been a few quotes that have really spoken to me deeply. These quotes have hit just the right chord in me to inspire me to go beyond myself. Here they are:


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." 
--Proverbs 3:5-6

"We never how high we are until we are called to rise." 
--Emily Dickinson

"Sometimes you have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down."
--Kobi Yamada

"Be brave."
--Veronica Roth

"...I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
--Henry David Thoreau

"Cherish your vision; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts. If you remain true to them, your world will at last be built."
--James Allen

"I am not afraid of the storm for I am learning to sail my ship." 
--Louisa May Alcott

"You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you." 
--Maya Angelou

"I see so many people living like this is a dress rehearsal. This is your life. You have to live it."--My Dad

“Traveling is the great true love of my life. I have always felt it...that to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice. I am loyal and constant in my love for travel... I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby─I just don’t care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it’s mine. Because it looks exactly like me.” 
--Elizabeth Gilbert

“Don't ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
--Howard Thurman


I would love to hear some of your favorite quotes! Please share one or some. And when you're done, check out the rest of the stops on the tour:

The Tour Schedule

• Feb 21st | YA Bibliophile 
• Feb 22nd | Adventures of a Book Junkee 
• Feb 23rd | Falling For YA 
• Feb 23rd | Fiktshun 
• Feb 26th | Addicted 2 Novels 
• Feb 27th | Swoony Boys Podcast 
• Feb 28th | Book Nerds Across America 
• Feb 28th | YAWednesdays 
• Mar 1st | Fiction Fare 
• Mar 2nd | Bookish Lifestyle 
• Mar 3rd | Forever Young Adult 
• Mar 5th | That Artsy Reader Girl 
• Mar 5th | Hello, Chelly 
• Mar 6th | Book Briefs 
• Mar 7th | Ex Libris 
• Mar 8th | Reading Teen 

Book Summary
Can she write a world gone wrong?

A certain pen, a certain book, and a certain person can craft entirely new worlds through a branch of science called scriptology. Elsa comes from one such world that was written into creation by her mother—a noted scriptologist.

But when her home is attacked and her mother abducted, Elsa must cross into the real world and use her own scriptology gifts to find her. In an alternative 19th-century Italy, Elsa finds a secret society of pazzerellones—young people with a gift for mechanics, alchemy or scriptology—and meets Leo, a gorgeous mechanist with a smart mouth and a tragic past. She recruits the help of these fellow geniuses just as an assassin arrives on their doorstep.

In this thrilling debut, worlds collide as Elsa unveils a deep political conspiracy seeking to unlock the most dangerous weapon ever created—and only she can stop it.

Flo's Review
I was definitely intrigued by this book as soon as I read the summary. It was a fast read -- I read the entire thing over the course of two sessions, which is something I haven't done in awhile.

The style of writing is definitely different. I can't describe it, exactly, but it's very .... matter-of-fact. Succinct, maybe? I think the reason this is so jarring is because it is in contrast to the world being described. Fantasy writing tends to be beautiful and flowery, especially when you're creating a beautiful world. And not that the world of Veldana is not beautiful. And also, to be clear, I am not saying this is a good or bad thing. It is just a noticed and unique trait. It also made me take a little longer to get absorbed into the world than I usually would.

But I also struggled with Elsa at first. She never really had any friends her age in Veldana, and it sounds like her mother at a big part in shaping her personality -- and she had just experienced a trauma. But she was kind of hard to stomach at first. So much so that I was happy when she came around and warmed up to Porzia, Faranz, and Leo, even if she did it so quickly that it felt a little unnatural.

Speaking of Porzia and Faranz -- I loved them both! I think I liked them better than Elsa and Leo, honestly. Porzia juggled responsibility to her parents with loyalty to her friends and did it well. Faranz was just awesome. Loyal, a good listener, friendly, dependable, wicked smart. I wish he and Elsa had been the ones with the romantic tension, instead of Elsa and Leo. Though I do understand why it had to be Leo, in terms of the story. Still.... #TeamFaranz

Leo...he was supposed to be the swoony love interest, but I just wasn't feeling him. I understood why Elsa felt the desire to fight for him, and he was the comic relief in the story.  I honestly can't pinpoint why I didn't connect with him, but I just didn't. 

The world building was definitely the strength of this story. The idea of being able to create new worlds simply by writing them is so, so cool. The main characters had the chance to explore several different worlds and it was really neat to go inside them and see the differences and similarities to Earth. Clare had to really think about the what it would take to write a world, starting with the basics: gravity, oxygen, etc., and I could tell how well thought out the concept of scriptology was.

Towards the end of the story, the characters face a challenge that felt very cliche to me. But, because I never see these things coming, I was surprised by the twist at the end. The Epilogue succeeded in hurting my heart, and I think I'll be picking up the next book in the series to see what these characters do.

Ink, Iron, and Glass publishes on February 20, 2018.

My very first unboxing video! (Be gentle!) I'm showing off #ChildrenofBloodandBone by @tomi_adeyemi. Thank you @FierceReads for the awesome box! ❤️❤️ I can't wait to read this one! pic.twitter.com/G7PNwjzxLv

— BookNerds Blog (@booknerdsblog) November 18, 2017

Book Summary
Anda loves Coarsegold Online, the massively-multiplayer role-playing game where she spends most of her free time. It's a place where she can be a leader, a fighter, a hero. It's a place where she can meet people from all over the world, and make friends. 

But things become a lot more complicated when Anda befriends a gold farmer--a poor Chinese kid whose avatar in the game illegally collects valuable objects and then sells them to players from developed countries with money to burn. This behavior is strictly against the rules in Coarsegold, but Anda soon comes to realize that questions of right and wrong are a lot less straightforward when a real person's real livelihood is at stake. 

From acclaimed teen author (Little Brother, For the Win) and Boing Boing editor Cory Doctorow and Koko Be Good creator Jen Wang, In Real Life is a perceptive and high-stakes look at adolescence, gaming, poverty, and culture clash.

Flo's Review
I've been meaning to get a chance to read one of the great YA Comics offerings from First Second Books, so I was glad when I remembered to stash In Real Life in my purse before going off to the hair dresser today.

In Real Life starts off with an introduction that is pretty intense. I was thinking, "Wow, this is heavy right off," but I came to appreciate it. For one, it gave me the reader necessary background to the story I was about to read. I would have still understood and enjoyed the story without it, but it definitely helped. Secondly, it set the tone for the comic. This is not just a light picture story. This is a deep narrative that does a good job of social commentary of our modern time, and it shows that everything is not always just what meets the eye.

Jen Wang's drawings are bright, happy, and engaging.

Many years ago, I did some research into Second Life for an article I was writing. I set myself up in the world with an avatar and tried to navigate around. I was completely floored by everything I saw in there and by what I learned. The idea that things that were happening in virtual reality could actually impact my real reality was mind boggling. I couldn't believe it when I learned that real money was exchanged between Second Lifers -- and more. Admittedly, I have not kept up with Second Life since then, so I have no idea what it looks like or how it operates in 2017.

Because of my experience with Second Life, I could sort of understand Anda's introduction to the world of Coarsegold Online. But this story was also completely completely unique, and I enjoyed the exploration of economy, gaming, girl power, identity, growth, and more that this graphic novel showed me.

Book Summary
She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. . . .

Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.

Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.

Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

Flo's Review
I love me some Leigh Bardugo. Seriously. She is super sweet and smart and her books are amazing. I fell completely in love with the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and I have a Six of Crows poster just above my desk. So of course I was over the moon to hear that she was telling a Wonder Woman story.

And it was so good, guys! Everything that I love about Leigh's writing was in strong showing: the witty banter between characters, the rich world-building, the high stakes of saving the world, the romance. Leigh took a character that I was already familiar with and made me love her even more.

Even though Diana is a powerful Amazon, she was written in a way that made her relatable. I felt I could understand her frustrations in the beginning of the story and the desires that fueled her throughout. I really loved how she looked at the human race and saw the beauty in it.

At one point in the story Diana warily thinks to herself, "This is too easy..." and I was feeling the same doubt and apprehension. And then -- BAM! -- plot twist! I wasn't expecting it, of course (I never do), so I completely blown away.

But Diana wasn't the only wonderful woman character in this story. I would choose Alia and Nim to be my sisters in battle any day! They were fully human, compared to Diana and other characters, but their humanity was their strength. It was really very cool.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer had some jaw-dropping and fun-to-read scenes in New York City and Greece. I cannot rave about this book enough. Just do yourself a favor and pre-order it. Or go out on August 29th and pick up a copy.

A very happy book birthday to Love and Other Alien Experiences by Kerry Winfrey! This looks like a cute weekend read -- I hope to be able to curl up with it, a blanket, and a cup of tea one day soon!

Book Summary
High school senior and internet sensation Madison Nakama seems to have it all: a happy family, good grades, and a massive online following for her pop-culture blog. But when her mother suddenly abandons the family, Madi finds herself struggling to keep up with all of her commitments.

Fandom to the rescue! As her online fans band together to help, an online/offline flirtation sparks with Laurent, a French exchange student. Their internet romance—played out in the comments section of her MadLibs blog—attracts the attention of an internet troll who threatens the separation of Madi’s real and online personas. With her carefully constructed life unraveling, Madi must uncover the hacker’s identity before he can do any more damage, or risk losing the people she loves the most… Laurent included.

Flo's Review
I was super excited for this. As you recall, I simply adored Danika Stone's first release All the Feels. So I was definitely on board with reading her sophomore release. In the beginning, I was enjoying it immensely. Laurent is super hot, and I really enjoyed reading about Madi's relationship with Sarah. (As a aunt of a child with special needs, I love that Danika included the character of Sarah in the story. And I love even more the Author's Note she included at the end of the book about Sarah. Thank you, Danika!)

So, there was family drama, online drama, school drama and a cute boy. All that was great. I think the story could have just been about those and been complete and fun. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the troll story line. Maybe because I've never (thankfully!) had an experience with a troll. But the troll just seemed too extreme. To the point of being ridiculous. And there were a few characters in the story, 2 in particular that I can think of, who seemed underdeveloped to me. One was only shown for his personality trait and that was all we got. (It was extreme, of course.) The other seemed to be in the story -- her actions and all -- only so Maddie could wonder, "Is this person the troll?" Once she was eliminated from contention, that was it. We never got any explanation for her behavior. Mrs. Preet also seemed to me too extreme. She ended up reading to me as a character, a plot piece, and not a fully developed human being. Maybe if we got to understand her a little bit more, and maybe if we got to see her act differently at some point, she would have seemed more real to me.

The way this story was written, including texts, pictures, Tumblr posts, etc. complimented the story nicely and also made this a quick, effortless read. I enjoyed Madi and Sarah's, as well as Madi and Laurent's relationships. 

Thank you to Swoon Reads for providing me with an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book Summary
Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself. 

Flo's Review
I had the pleasure of meeting Roshani at ALA Annual this year in Orlando, and she was just the cutest and sweetest! This made me even more excited to read her books. I had heard a lot of good things about The Star-Touched Queen, so I was very glad to discover that it lived up the hype.

A lot of times we get variations of the same story in YA, and specifically in YA fantasy. I am not dissing the trend, as I love a good Greek retelling. (Remember Greek Week on the blog?) But there are two particular things I loved about The Star-Touched Queen and the first was its uniqueness. This is a not story I was familiar with, or had heard before. I did not know what it was was, so I didn't see it as trying to be something, or a twist on something. It was just a beautiful story in itself. (I should also add that I went in blind, knowing nothing about what this book was about, so every time Maya made a new connection I was completely surprised.)

The second thing that I loved about The Star-Touched Queen is the world-building. This book is rich in it. The descriptions are lush and fill all your senses. It was the imagery and the world that transported me in this story. The plot was good, the romance was good, the supporting characters were intriguing (Kamala was hilarious!), but admittedly those did not keep me turning the pages of this book. What drew me into this one was reading about the Night Bazaar and the many rooms in Akaran.

On a final note, I listened to this book on audio, and the reader did a great job! As soon as I finished this story, I immediately started listening to A Crown of Wishes, and I am so happy to be transported back into this fascinating world.

Book Summary
An obstinate girl who will not be married. 
A soldier desperate to prove himself. 
A kingdom on the brink of war.

With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a lady―which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls―and on the soldiers escorting them.

As the girls' military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust―and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom.

Flo's Favorite (Literary) Female Spies!
I was super excited to get my hands on this book as soon as I heard about it, because I really do enjoy a good girl spy story. "Like which ones, Flo?" you ask. Well, let me tell you!



1. Cammie, Bex, Liz, and Macy from the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter: Oh, I love these girls! This is a fabulous series that I completely binged and enjoyed every minute of it. These four girls go to the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, which is a fancy way to say 'spy school.' I really enjoyed how real to the teenage experience this story was. The girls were taking down bad guys and running for their lives at points, but they also had crushes on boys and the usual high school drama. I highly recommend this series.



2. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh: Throwback! My first experience with a female spy was Harriet. I may not remember all the details of the story, but I definitely remember reading it as a little girl and loving it. 



3. Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene. From Harriet to Nancy Drew! If Harriet was for the little girl me, Nancy was for the preteen. I had to include this stylish 80s cover, because these are what the versions I read looked like.



4. You Don't Know My Name by Kristen Orlando: I simply adored this book. Reagan is kickass as a spy, but also as a friend and a daughter. I really hope to see more of The Black Angel Chronicles.


5. And two more Worth Mentioning: I have also recently read a little bit of the Gail Carringer Finishing School series, and The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom is about a female spy-in-training, if you will.


I think that's all for me! LitReactor has a good little list of YA books with kickass female spies. But who are some of your favorite literary lady spies? Let me know in the comments! 

Oh, and about that Secret Message.... :)

Got it and so excited!! ALA Midwinter Conference 2016

Book Summary
Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

Flo's Review
This book was quite the game. Seriously. My journey reading this book had just about as many twists and turns as Scarlett's adventures at Caraval. 

I struggled for the first half to 2/3rds of the book. I just could not with Scarlett. I don't know if I have ever read someone so inside his or her own head. I am sure there are people like that in the world, but it's really a little bit painful reading that character. At times it felt like I was just reading so much of Scarlett's broken record thoughts and not enough of the magic. 

Because the magic is where this book excels! Stephanie Garber's writing is absolutely beautiful. She doesn't just describe things with words -- she sings them, she creates them, she encapsulates them with all 5 senses and then some. 

Another thing I struggled with was Scarlett's and Julian's banter. I think it was supposed to be cute and coy and show the tension between them. But it just seemed to me like they were snipping at each other in many exchanges that went on for far too long. Their bickering exhausted me. 

But now let's bounce back to something else I liked about this book. The plot twists! There were several, and I didn't see any of them coming. I definitely knew that things would not be as they seemed, but it is just so incredibly creative, this story. 

Finally, a note about the audiobook. I think one reason I vacillated with my opinions about this book is because I was so ready to love it. This book was definitely one of the more popular and most anticipated 2017 titles, and that definitely raised the bar. One reason I was so excited for it was because I found out that the audiobook was narrated by Rebecca Soler. She is absolutely one of my favorite audiobook readers! She read the Cinder series, and I listened to all of those with her. So when I heard that she was doing Caraval, I was ready for another journey. Rebecca did not disappoint, and though I have finished listening to the story, the audiobook contains a bonus interview with author Stephanie Garber. I am looking forward to listening to it tomorrow as I drive around! 

So now that I am off of the ride that is Caraval, I will give it a 3 out of 5 stars and add book #2 to my TBR.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Book Summary
When her diplomat father is kidnapped and the U.S. Government is unable to help, 17 year-old Gwendolyn Bloom sets off across the sordid underbelly of Europe to rescue him. Following the only lead she has—the name of a Palestinian informer living in France—she plunges into a brutal world of arms smuggling and human trafficking. As she journeys from the slums of Paris, to the nightclubs of Berlin, to the heart of the most feared crime family in Prague, Gwendolyn discovers that to survive in this new world she must become every bit as cruel as the men she’s hunting.

Flo's Review
I love audiobooks, so when I was given the chance to review this one, I jumped at it. Then I re-discovered that it was written by this guy. But I decided not to let that affect my reaction to the story itself, and I don't think that I did.

The Cruelty will be a good movie. It has been optioned by Jerry Bruckheimer, so it's on the way. The story is action-packed, and the physical details are very well done. Bergstrom does a great job of really showing us a scene -- Gwendolyn really takes in all the details around her, even before she starts her spy training. The plot moves forward at a good pace and I would bet it continues on a steady beat straight through the end. It's perfect for watching. The people making the movie will have a lot of detail they can re-create. The viewer won't feel that there are any lapses or drags.

But I DNF this book around page 140. The reason, I think, that a lot of people believe the book is better than the movie in most cases is because reading the book allows the author to go into more detail. The reader feels more connected to the characters because she can be inside their heads and know intimate and defining details of their lives. For me, that was missing in this story. I never found a way to connect to Gwendolyn. Yes, she is doing this because she wants her Dad back. Because she feels some sort of fire within her to take risks...but I, the reader, never felt that with her. A story like this succeeds when you want to root for the main character to pull off this crazy thing she's doing, but I honestly felt indifferent toward Gwendolyn. She read like a random person going through motions and not like Gwendolyn Bloom: daughter, brave fighter, driven by determination and fire, etc. The same goes for the secondary characters: Terence and Yael, for example, just feel like plot assists and movers to me; not really like complete individuals.

Also, I got a slight vibe from the story of: "The way to be badass is to completely transform into a fighting machine." I don't necessarily agree with that. Yes, that's definitely part of it. But all the badass female characters I admire in books and movies are not just wicked fighters. They are also passionate. They want to make the world better. They are strongly connected with who they are, and their talents accentuate them and not change them. This might evolve with the story, so it's possible I am not seeing the full picture because I did not finish the book. 

Then there were little things. The first few chapters just felt to me like that one friend who is always name dropping. It was just cities and cities and cities. "Oh this in Paris" and "when I was in Algiers" and "that one restaurant in Nairobi" and etc. And would your high school crush really be convinced to give you his life savings after one date?

As I said above, I think this will make for a good movie. It has the makings of a good screenplay. I just didn't feel it as a novel.

Thank you to Macmillan for providing me with an audiobook copy for my honest review.

Welcome to 2017! We looking forward to lots of bookish fun here at Book Nerds Across America and can't wait for you to join in! Let's start the year with 3 books that will be published on Tuesday, January 3rd that we are looking forward to: