Falling For Alice Cover Reveal

Today I get to help reveal the cover for a pretty interesting sounding short story collection. Alice In Wonderland is a beloved favourite of many, and with a big anniversary coming up, I can't think of any better way to celebrate it's birthday than with this collection.

Here to introduce today's theme and kick off the reveal is one of the contributors, Dawn Dalton....

2015 marks the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s beloved adventure, Alice in Wonderland—and as you might imagine, a lot of literary peeps are celebrating the occasion.

This story has a special place in millions of young (and old) hearts, including those of the five Young Adult authors in the FALLING FOR ALICE anthology. Today, as we launch the awesome cover for FALLING FOR ALICE, we also celebrate our publisher’s actual birthday (Happy Birthday, Jessica Bell at Vine Leaves Press), and all of YOUR unbirthdays. We hope you get to have your cake and eat it too.

Before revealing the cover here is a little bit about the book itself....

New Alice. New Wonderland. New stories ​to love.

From ​the modern Alice dumped in the Aquarian ​Age of the late sixties, to the present day Alice, tormented by body image and emotional issues, to the Alice of the future, launched forward through time and space, FALLING FOR ALICE offers five fresh takes on ​Lewis​ Carroll’s classic tale. For 150 years, people all over the world have fallen under Alice in Wonderland’s spell. ​Now, follow five Young Adult authors down the rabbit hole to discover Alice like you’ve never seen her before. One thing is certain—this is not your mother’s Alice.

Sounds amazing right? I am definately looking forward to falling down the rabbit hole and reading some of these original sounding takes on Alice.

As part of the Birthday/Unbirthday fun all the bloggers taking part in the reveal got to ask a birthday related question.

My questions to the group involved them selecting gifts to give to some of the famous Alice In Wonderland characters.

Q - If you had to give birthday presents to the characters from Alice in Wonderland what would you give to the following....

Cady Vance answered:

1. Alice - Alice needs a nice pair of comfy jeans. Who wants to traipse around Wonderland in a frilly dress?

2. The Mad Hatter - I would definitely give The Mad Hatter another hat! Probably a striped fedora. I think it would fit his style.

3. Cheshire Cat - The Cheshire Cat needs to keep his teeth nice and pearly, so I’d give him a whitening treatment.

4. Queen of Hearts - A nice bottle of red wine. She seriously needs to chill out.

5. White Rabbit - A digital watch with an alarm clock. He’s very preoccupied with the time and is always late despite his ever-present timepiece. He needs an upgrade, stat.

Denise Jaden answered

1. Alice - A copy of our anthology, FALLING FOR ALICE. She likes adventure and the unexpected. I think she would enjoy our anthology.

2. The Mad Hatter - I have this great birthday hat that we bring out once a year for my son’s birthdays, but I would be willing to part with it for the Mad Hatter. It has bright, foamy candles sticking up from the top.

3. Cheshire Cat - I am a true cat person. My family built a tall cat post for our kitty, over four feet tall. I’d build something even bigger for the Cheshire Cat, because I know he loves to perch up high.

4 Queen of Hearts - If I HAD to give a present to the Queen of Hearts, it would be a hug. I think she needs one, and who knows, it might help.

5 White Rabbit - I would give the White Rabbit a new pocket watch, with a pre-set alarm. I think you know why.

Shari Green answered

1. Alice - a pretty notebook and pen, so she can write down some of her incredible adventures, because wouldn’t they make an amazing book?! oh…wait…

2. The Mad Hatter - a dishwasher, to help him and the March Hare keep up with all the dishes from tea

3. Cheshire Cat - a portrait session, so even if he keeps disappearing, his friends and loved ones will be able to look at the portrait when they want to see him

4. Queen of Hearts-  some proper croquet mallets (those poor flamingos!)

5. White Rabbit - perhaps some Ativan? (No, I jest…I’d get him a new pocket watch, of course!)

Kitty Keswick answered

1. Alice: A GPS system.

2. The Mad Hatter:  Several bolts of fine silk, so he could make his hats and  wouldn’t have to use felt that contained the poisonous mercury that caused his madness. (Poor guy.)

3. Cheshire Cat: A fancy collar with bell and tracking system.

4. Queen of Hearts: Nothing, I only gift people I like.

5. White Rabbit: A kinetic pocket watch that he wouldn’t have to wind.

And lasty, Dawn Dalton answered

1. Alice: A Moleskin notebook (black) and a fancy pen so she can record her NEW adventures. (There are four of them in FALLING FOR ALICE alone!)

2. The Mad Hatter: My husband’s ridiculous baseball cap collection—I bet he can find a place for them that isn’t on my living room wall :-/

3. Cheshire Cat: Crest Whitestrips. Gotta keep those pearly whites sparkling!

4 Queen of Hearts: New croquet mallets. (Save the flamingos!)

5 White Rabbit: an iPhone. I mean, who uses a traditional alarm clock (never mind an antique stopwatch) to keep time anymore?

A huge thank you to them for taking the time to answer our questions.

You can find out more by visiting the official website, and adding it to your Goodreads account. You can also follow the official Twitter account.

Now to unveil the cover.....

Fun, right? You can pick up a copy on April 24, 2015 and it is being published by Vine Leaves Press.

Here are the lovely authors taking part....

Each of them has a different short story inspired by Alice In Wonderland to share in the collection, and they do sound intriguing. 

There also happens to be a book trailer launching today and I am happy to reveal it along with the cover.

We also have a few prizes to give away today. Be sure to enter via the Rafflecopter below.

There is 5 prizes in total and someone will get to win a copy of Falling For Alice!

Here is the full prize list...

1 A copy of Falling For Alice (when ready)

2 An e-copy of Denise Jarden's Foreign Exchange

3 a copy of the Spirted anthology 

4 a copy of Killer Instinct by Dawn Dalton and Judith Graves

5 One of Cady Vance's books in e-book format

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting On Wednesday ......... Hello, Goodbye And Everything In Between

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Hello, Goodbye And Everything In Between by Jennifer E Smith

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions. 

I've loved the previous novels that Jennifer has written and this one seems like it could be just as cute. Her books are always delightful and I am already looking forward to falling for Claire and Aiden's story.

Expected release date - September 1, 2015

Dark Rooms by Lili Anolik

Dark Rooms by Lili Anolik
Release Date - March 3, 2015
Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating - 2/5
**received in exchange for an honest review**

**SPOILERS**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

The Secret History meets Sharp Objects in this stunning debut about murder and glamour set in the ambiguous and claustrophobic world of an exclusive New England prep school.

Death sets the plot in motion: the murder of Nica Baker, beautiful, wild, enigmatic, and only sixteen. The crime is solved, and quickly—a lonely classmate, unrequited love, a suicide note confession—but memory and instinct won’t allow Nica’s older sister, Grace, to accept the case as closed.

Dropping out of college and living at home, working at the moneyed and progressive private high school in Hartford, Connecticut, from which she recently graduated, Grace becomes increasingly obsessed with identifying and punishing the real killer.

Compulsively readable, Lili Anolik’s debut novel combines the verbal dexterity of Marisha Pessl’s Special Topic in Calamity Physics and the haunting atmospherics and hairpin plot twists of Megan Abbott’s Dare Me. 

It actually hurts me to write this review. This is probably also going to be one of the shortest reviews I've written. I went into this book really excited, and expecting a thrilling read. One that maybe could be the mystery novel that surprised me this year. Sadly, during the duration of the novel a particular story line element caused me to not enjoy this novel as much as I could have.

Before discussing what didn't work for me, I want to highlight the positive. There are plenty of elements I did enjoy. The writing was good, the mystery started out incredibly solid. The potential was definitely there. The first half of the novel is rather well done and plotted. I was engrossed in the mystery and appreciated the dark tone of the writing and atmosphere. The characters are flawed, and messy and fit into the world the author had created.

Rape culture, and how we define rape is a huge hot button issue right now. It's an element that I react strongly to. I am going to be upfront about that. In order to discuss exactly why I didn't enjoy this particular novel I do have to discuss it by including spoilers. During the novel the main character drinks and takes drugs. She ends up waking up the next day not remembering much of the night before. She later finds out she is pregnant. She is a virgin before this happened and doesn't remember having sex that night with anyone. As the story progresses we find out who the father is. They have a discussion where he says ‘I had sex with you. While you were unconscious, I had sex with you.’ and yet the main character seems to try to rationalize it away. She says she was drunk. That he was drunk (his reply is that he wasn't that drunk). He even says he went ahead and let it happen because she reminded him of her dead sister. The main character calls what happened by it's actual name, rape, once. She later mentions that what happened was foolish, but not forced. My personal opinion is that she was unconscious therefore she could not give consent. That equals rape to me. I wish this novel would have dealt with it that way, but instead we have them become a couple. At the end of the novel she is dating him. It felt weird to me that she would be dating the guy who essentially raped her. It left an sinking feeling in my stomach as I was reading because it felt like victim blaming to me. Women struggle to be taken seriously when reporting rape, and I feel that media and entertainment need to showcase this type of scenario as actually rape not some shaded grey area. I feel there were other ways this could have been presented while still keeping the mystery element of the story line in tact, but would not have painted what happened to the main character in such a light.

If this particular element had been left out of the novel, or handled differently, I could have resulted in a much different reading experience. The twists and turns the story took were satisfying, and the mixture of betrayal, family secrets was delicious. The misdirections were often smart, and neatly tied together. I, sadly, just couldn't get past that one particular element.

I would read another book by this author, but this one just wasn't for me. It left a unpleasant feeling behind which I could not shake and set aside to enjoy the story.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Release Date - December 31, 2012
Publisher Website - Penguin
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 369 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**borrowed from library**

**POTENTIAL SPOILERS**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

After closing the final pages of Me Before You I knew it was going to be one of the hardest reviews I had ever written. How to convey what this book made me feel adequately when I was barely able to be coherent after. Me Before You is a love story. It is also so much more than that. It's smart, unrelenting, and shines a bright light on the quality of life for disabled people in the process. A story that stole my heart, and left me an ugly sobbing mess in it's wake, but also infused with me an appreciation for this life I get to live.

This is the first novel I've read by Jojo Moyes and it certainly will not be my last. Her talent is in creating characters, and crafting emotions with her words. She makes you fall effortlessly in love with her characters, and in a novel of this nature, that is key. Even her secondary characters are written as incredibly life like and complex.

The moments of humour are so wonderfully woven into this plot. They are bright lights in an otherwise murky setting. They contrast the darker moments and create a realistic balanced portrayal that really brings the characters to life. You are thankful for these happy moments because they allow you to breathe in between the moments of crushing sadness. They are timed perfect, and add to the novel's pacing.

The romance in this was a lot like John Green's classic line of falling slowly and then all at once for me. I fell for Will and Lou slowly, but when it happened it was all consuming. I was enthralled by their connection and love story. They are the type of couple that becomes iconic because you feel their chemistry through the pages. Their little moments show that a romantic, swoon worthy connection can be effectively capture with minimal physical interaction. It's their words, banter, and actions that define and create their love story.

This novel deals with how the disabled are treated, their role in society and the hot button issue of assisted suicide. The author doesn't take a strong stance but instead, through the characters, lets you see all sides of this complex issue. She allows you to sympathize with those who are in Will's position, while still feeling for those who care about them. While she doesn't tackle the political and legal aspects with as much depth, she chooses to focus on the personal elements. The novel wants you to see a view point that is perhaps not your own. It will encourage conversation, and that is perhaps this novel's greatest achievement.

A novel that makes you see things in many different aways. A story that embraces the many complexities around the issue of assisted suicide, and shouts the notion of living your life to it's fullest from every page. A romantic, heart crushing, inspiring story I will not soon forget. It's one with an important message at it's heart, and it just so happens it'll also leave you feeling everything all at once.

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews).

I had two books make their way into my mailbox this week.

First up is a book from Simon and Schuster Canada

Dime by E.R. Frank (goodreads)

This sounded interesting and I am not sure I've read a book dealing with this subject matter before. A big thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for the chance to review this.

The second book is from The Studio (A Paper Latern Lit publishing imprint) and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cover. It's fun and brings to mind California.

Rules of Seduction by Jenna Mullins (goodreads)

A big thank you to The Studio/Paper Lantern Lit for the chance to review this one. It sounds like a book I am going to really enjoy.

What books made their way into your mailbox this week?

Happy Weekend and Happy Reading!

Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

Extremely small Weekly Obsessions post this week.

BOOKS

Cover reveal for This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee (goodreads)

This brings to mind Frankenstein immediately. It captures it's essence perfectly. It's one of my most anticipated books of this year and I am even more excited now that I've seen the cover.

Cover Reveal for Walk On Earth A Stranger by Rae Carson (goodreads)

This cover kind of sneaked up on me. I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew was that I wanted to read this book because of it's synopsis. The cover though..is amazing. I love the use of gold. It fits the synopsis perfectly.

MOVIE/TV

The Last Five Years movie

If you love Anna Kendrick (and why wouldn't you? She's amazing) you NEED to check out The Last Five Years. Particularly if you love musicals. It's sad and crushing but so worth it if you enjoy this type of movie. The two leads are great, and the chemistry is there. It's heavy on the singing so it might not appeal to everyone, but I urge everyone to at least try it.

What are you obsessed with this week?

Fifty Shades of Shaming

This post started out as a review of the 50 Shades of Grey movie. Truly it did. I was going to talk about what I liked and disliked. I was going to talk about how much I adored Dakota Johnson. I was going to gush about the attractiveness of Jamie Dornan. I was going to tell you that it was funnier than I anticipated. How the changes from the book were good changes (the way Laters, Baby was incorporated for instance, or Anastasia's lip biting). I wanted to debate the effectiveness of Ana saying "stop" vs. "red" in the final scene of the movie (I think 'red' would have been way more striking and powerful). I wanted to discuss how if you strip everything away it's a Beauty and the Beast archetype at it's core. Sadly, that post is not what this is going to be.

Instead of discussing Jamie Dornan's backside, I am instead going to rant a little bit. Pretty sure this is the most I've ever expressed an opinion this vocally on this blog, and I am pretty nervous about it. I've seen something that has truly troubled me in the book community recently and had to vent a little.

Since the movie's release (and subsequent success) there has been a constant stream of shaming flooding the internet. There are those accusing people who enjoyed the book or movie of supporting abusive relationships. I am not here to debate whether or not it does (from the movie perspective, Anastasia consents to everything that happens to her, and I cannot speak for the book). I've seen this shaming creep into my 'offline' life recently, and knew that this post needed to go in a totally different direction. A girl I know was reduced to tears because someone decided to express their (quite vocal) opinion on what they thought of her for reading 50 Shades of Grey. Someone literally made her cry for reading a book. I personally get shamed all the time for reading young adult books. People ask me if I cannot handle adult novels (never mind the fact that I read those too),  or if I am stuck in adolescence because there is no other reason I would read this genre. I know women who get shamed for reading romance novels, or novels deemed 'chick lit'.

First, I haven't read the books. I attempted to and found the writing not for me. I was curious about the movie and did go and see it. I do not think the relationship between Anastasia and Christian is a healthy one, but that is MY opinion. I am entitled to it, just as others are entitled to have a different one.

To be clear, I am not talking about expressing your opinion of something. That we all have different opinions is a wonderful thing. It is anyone's right to express those opinions on their social media, blog, or where ever else they chose to. It creates a healthy area for discussion. What does not sit right with me people not respecting other opinions than their own. Messaging someone on Twitter telling them that they are going to hell for enjoying a book is not acceptable behaviour. Neither is teasing someone to the point that they cry because they dared to be curious about the hype surrounding a book (or, shocker, enjoying said book). The second it changes from having an opinion that you are voicing to actively seeking people out to message it becomes counter productive. People get hurt and it makes any kind of rational discussion impossible. Instead of trying to understand each other's view points (or agreeing to disagree) we have someone who will now be afraid to express their opinions on something for fear of being ridiculed and attacked.

My heart aches to see people being shamed for reading something, anything, for pleasure. I am positive I read some where that the average person reads five books a year. FIVE BOOKS A YEAR. Let that sink in. That is less than one per month. Literacy is still an issue, and anything that gets people reading is a good thing in my opinion. That book may open them up to more reading experiences. Many people bemoan Twilight, but it cannot be ignored that it brought in a wave of young adult novels that have people reading more than ever before. You may not agree with their reading choices, but there are better ways to get someone to read something else than shaming them for a selection they have made.

Book publishing is a business and as such they need to make money. A friend pointed out to me that 50 Shades of Grey's success most likely allowed that publisher to publish other books with the money made from it's success. Some of those books may even be your favourites. Books that have a smaller fan base were able to find it's way into the hands of those who love it because the publisher made money off other books. I am pretty thankful for this as I love the variety and choice we have in our entertainment in general.

I anticipate that people will read this and come to the conclusion that I support unhealthy relationships, and only read badly written books. Not at all true. I am a strong believer in thinking critically about the media/entertainment we consume. I also think it's possible to think something has flaws and still enjoy it. It is possible to appreciate a darker romance, or themes without supporting them. There are plenty of books that deal with murders, rapes, and abusive relationships, but reading and enjoying them doesn't automatically mean you support it. The author doesn't even have to support what they are writing. They can be two entirely separate things. You can, for instance, write a novel about a killer without supporting murder. Same would be said for writing an unhealthy romance (or enjoying a novel written about one). Are there elements of 50 Shades of Grey that are problematic? Of course. Does it romanticize some troubling behaviors? Of course. So does Beauty and the Beast and many other fairytales. We as consumers can ask questions, and that doesn't mean everyone who reads it, or likes it, is going to hell, is immoral, or any of the other things I've seen tossed around recently.

I, personally, would like to see more love spread than shaming and ridicule (and sometimes outright hate). Next time you see someone reading a book that you don't consider up to your 'literary standards' might I suggest one of a few options (this works for movies, and TV shows too)....

1. Ignore it. It's not your business what they are reading. We all have our opinions and are entitled to them, but taking those opinions and using them to hurt someone else is not okay.

2. Kindly suggest they check out a book of a similar nature that you enjoyed. Simply saying something like "Hey, I see you're reading (fill in the name of book). I recently read (fill in name of other book you consider better) and it's similar. Maybe you'd enjoy it too." You might just end up broadening their reading horizons and might help them find the next book they fall in love with. I think that is a much better way to get the book in their hands and they might even thank you for it (instead of feeling awful because you've made them feel ashamed for reading or enjoying something).

3. Ask them questions. Someone reading 50 Shades of Grey, YA books, etc will (most likely) happily discuss it with you. Before you say something negative, maybe have a discussion with them. Ask questions like "Oh, I hear that some people think this portrays an unhealthy relationship, what do you think?" or "What elements of  Young Adult novels do you enjoy?" This only works if you are capable of having a rational, adult conversation. Their answer might just surprise you though, and that would be a good thing.

If there are books that you feel strongly send a bad message, maybe do something positive as a means of counteracting that. Volunteer somewhere (like a women's shelter, for example) if you feel strongly about the portrayal abusive relationships in books. Spread the word (and love) about a book you feel sends a good message - gift it to people, make sure your local library has a copy, review it on websites like Amazon. This will not only make you happier, but could also benefit someone else.

In conclusion, I think everyone should read, watch, and enjoy whatever they want to. Being made to feel ashamed that you're a fan of something is awful. We need to own what we love, and not be apologetic. Strike 'guilty pleasure' from your vocabulary. Anything that makes you happy is something good in my opinion and we need more good and happy in this world. Thinking critically about something is important, but that doesn't mean that it cannot still be enjoyed, flaws and all. It also doesn't mean that the person supports the unhealthy aspects of the particular book/show/movie/etc in question. I mean, you can consume entertainment about killing people (like the TV show Dexter for instance), and I'am pretty sure you don't support that, right?

What do you think? Have you ever been shamed for something you enjoy reading/watching/etc?