Review: Sticks & Stones by Santana Blair

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She thinks he’s looking for a come up.
He just thinks she’s stuck up.

Both Darcie and Elijah step foot onto the campus of Pembrook Academy with one thing on their minds… getting out. Darcie wants nothing more than to finish high school and know that her spot in the Ivy Leagues is secured and waiting for her.
And Elijah?
Well, Elijah just wants out.
It was never his idea to go to Pembrook in the first place and now he’s stuck spending his senior year with a bunch of kids he has absolutely nothing in common with. Then, she came along. From the moment he meets Darcie Fitzgerald, he knows she is going to drive him absolutely crazy. But nothing could have prepared him for how amazing crazy would feel.

Darcie has ninety-nine problems and Elijah Benitez is now her biggest one. He seemed to coast into her life from out of nowhere, and she has neither the time nor the patience to deal with him. But every time she tries to put a little distance between them, life shoves them closer together and Darcie finds herself in a situation far more complicated than she could have ever expected.

They’re both about to learn a few things starting with lesson #1:
Not Everything Is As it Seems

Sticks & Stones is a YA modernized retelling of Pride & Prejudice.

I was anxious and excited about reading this. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that I don't generally read YA and the second is that I know absolutely nothing about Pride & Prejudice. As much as I'd love to go into all of the inner workings and parallels between the original and the retelling, I won't be able to and that makes me sad. It's one of my favorite parts of reading "retellings" and "inspired bys".

All that being said, I am so glad I read this book. I am over the moon that it was suggested to be a "Book of the Week" on Facebook. I can't say this has turned me on to YA, but it has turned me on to Santana Blair and I'm sure I'll be reading more of her books.

I'm not even sure how to review this book. I know I liked it, I liked it so much that I've made it required reading for my daughter.

That PLAYLIST! You guys! The playlist fit it perfectly. Almost every single song on the playlist matches up with scenes from the book. And that, that right there, made me squeal and smile and almost cry.

Sticks & Stones is one of those books that is written so well that you forget you're reading, you're just watching that movie playing in your head. I had thought at one point a Disney movie, an updated High School Musical.

I guess the next thing on my to do list is to either watch or read Pride & Prejudice.

Santana Blair

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Review: Annabelle and Lee by Danielle Allen

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Release Date: January 19, 2020

My grandparents had a beach house tucked in a cove on the shore, and I spent every summer until college there. Some of my best childhood memories were from my time at Heathrow Beach. Mostly because I was head over heels in love with my neighbor Lee Thompson.

He was adventurous.
He was brave.
He was twelve.

But my eleven-year-old heart knew he’d be the one I’d end up marrying.
Lee was my first kiss, my first love, my first everything.
But the summer before my senior year in high school, Lee never showed up. In fact, I didn’t hear from him again.

Almost twenty years later, I found myself back at Heathrow Beach looking for answers.
And finding more than I bargained for.

** Annabelle and Lee is a contemporary romance inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem Annabel Lee **

*Complimentary copy received from author for review purposes.

First off, I have to say, this is probably one of my most favorite times of the year.
Every January I am blessed with the task of reading a Poe inspired novel.
A tradition three years strong and I hope like hell it keeps going.

When I hear that Danielle is writing a Poe inspired novel, I always wonder how she will twist Poe's words into something that will have a different, yet still deep meaning. Even though I know she's done it before, I'm always thinking can she do it again?

Well, people.  THE ANSWER IS YES! Yes, she definitely can.

You guys, this book... this book is just so, I don't even know what it is. It just is.

This book had me all over the place.  I was smiling, I was crying. I was mad, ooh, I was soooo mad. I was ready to cut a bitch. I was ready to jump in this damn book and start calling folks out and do some damage. I had theories, ya'll... the theories I came up with. Theories on top of theories on top of theories and still I was coming up with some of the most ridiculous things trying to piece it all together.

I know the rules with Danielle. I follow the rules with Danielle.

If she says "read Annabel Lee first". You read it first.
Because you know she is going to weave it all up in there and all those easter eggs will be so much fun to find.

Umm... I could not even think about those fun little gems because I was so distracted with this story and caught up in my own feelings about it.

By the end I was done. D.O.N.E.
Done with Poe.
Done with Annabelle and Lee.
Done with Heathrow Beach.
Done with using "summer" as a verb.
Done with Danielle Allen and all her brain scrambling.
Done for all of 15 minutes.

Danielle Allen

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Author Interview: Tracy A. Ball

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You guys! I am so excited... and way out of my comfort zone.

This blog has been around since the latter part of 2013... I do believe we are actually hovering around its 6th birthday! In all that time, we have NEVER done an author interview.  This is the very first one.

The catalyst for this was a book trailer I just happened to come across, which led me to read the novel Civil Warriors. (read the review here)

This book, ya'll. It hooked me. And even when I was done, I wanted to know more -- no, I needed to know more. And that leads us to where we are now.

An author interview with the amazing and talented Tracy A. Ball. (go follow her)
Amazon | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Bookbub | Website | Email

And honestly, I can't thank her enough. She handled my spastic ass spitting rapid fire questions at her over FB messenger with grace and kindness.

A little disclaimer, this is not the full interview, some of what I asked her was specific to Civil Warriors and included spoilers. Also, I told ya'll I was spastic, so when needed I've provided a translation for spastic speak. It will look like this: [Spastic➜English translation; also, side notes and afterthoughts]

It's important to note that this book is based on an old family diary and a local legend (hence, all the diary/legend questions).

Here we go.

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Kumiko Lei: First, let me just say thank you so much for entertaining my questions.
Tracy: You are doing me a great service. I'm thrilled to talk about it.

Kumiko Lei: I really, really want to know. Who is on the cover? [read: Your book cover is intriguing, could you tell me about it?]
Tracy:  The cover is a Victorian studio photograph of my daughter and our neighbor. I did get to see a picture of the couple the story idea came from, but I was never able to get a copy.
Kumiko Lei: Oh. Okay. That's great. See, I didn't think it was an authentic picture, but the way it was shot is really in that era with the no smiling and everything. [read: I thought it might be something you had custom done for you, but I was hoping that it was some old family photo that had been restored.]
Tracy:  Since I couldn't get the picture, I tried to get it as close as I could.

Kumiko Lei: Ok. So, the legend? What exactly is the legend? [read: Could you please tell me about the legend?]
Tracy: The legend is: There were two wealthy brothers from England who settled in the area (Harper's Ferry/Charles Town West Virginia.) They both took local wives, one white, one black. Because of the family's wealth, the neighboring farmers accepted it. 
The picture I saw was of the brothers sitting in chairs and their wives standing beside them. 
to note: The wife was a free woman. Maryland (Baltimore) had the highest number of free blacks at the time. Also, one reason WV separated from Virginia was because they were more tolerant and accepting.
Tracy: Also, she was supposedly influential in the town.

Kumiko Lei: Does the legend go with diary or are they two separate things that you combined? And did you know of the legend before you had access to the diary? And whose diary is it?
Tracy: They are separate. I found out about them around the same time. I was just learning about the legend when my father-in-law came across an old family diary. We had just moved into the area (Charles town/Harpers Ferry) and he thought a Civil War diary would interest me...which it did. The third component was the fact that I'm in an interracial marriage. The idea of what if? Intrigued me.

Kumiko Lei: So, in the family diary, was there an interracial relationship too?
Tracy: No. The diary was a recounting of day to day living on the family's plantation. And the owner's observation of his slaves. He painted a picture of one big happy family. He recounted incidents of unwavering loyalty and sacrifice to save the white family when the war left them destitute.
Tracy: I pulled the slave songs and the account ledger from the diary. Also there is a picture of him, Frederick Ball, in the video.

Kumiko Lei: From that I can only guess that they treated their slaves well. Especially for them to be loyal to that point. [I'm well aware that this statement sounds completely ridiculous, keep in mind, spastic=unable to string words together]
Tracy: They treated their slaves well from their perspective. They believed people were people as long as everyone knew their place. The slaves, for the most part didn't know any other way of life. For them, it was the norm.
Kumiko Lei: That I understand. and it's really hard for me to rationalize. While I was reading I was so conflicted. [read: There is a duality to how John Richard and William treat the slaves that is really hard for me to rationalize.]

Kumiko Lei: I have to tell you, I find this so interesting. I love the idea of family histories and finding out where we come from. And although times are very different now, you can easily draw parallels to how things are today. I've seen this with my own family history.
Tracy: I love family histories too. When the person showed me the picture--he thought I would be interested because of the mixed marriage --I lost my mind. It was so awesome to hear about too.

Kumiko Lei: [This was a spoiler question, but I feel like her answer is worth putting in the interview.]
Tracy: What I tried to do was keep the reality and romance balanced. I didn't want to downplay the severity of slavery, but I did want to show the relationships were human and complicated.
Kumiko Lei: Complicated is an understatement.
Tracy: Bahaha... Who did you like better? [John Richard or William]
Kumiko Lei: I don't know who I liked better.
Kumiko Lei: They both had things I liked about them and things I didn't. If I could have combined them, it would have been great.
Kumiko Lei: I mean if you had gone in a totally way off the track direction, it could've been poly-amorous and she could've had the best of both worlds. [Clearly, I have issues and try to turn everything into a menage.]

Kumiko Lei: Last thing I'll say about Civil Warriors in particular. - I do want you to know how much I really enjoyed it. You did a great job. It is just as tragic of a story as it is heroic. And I really did love it. I've talked your ear off about it and I really wanted to ask you some author-y interview-y type questions. but my mind has gone back to the story. [Obviously, I wasn't finished, you can tell by the next couple of questions.]

Tracy: Talk away, you can ask me as much as you like, as often as you like.

Kumiko Lei: Why was it important for you to tell Georgia Anne and John Richard's story? and what it the main thing you want readers to take away from it?
Tracy: Seeing an authentic photograph of a wealthy, accepted woman of color during the Civil War era changed my understanding. People of Color were written out of history. I want to write them back in again. Also, my husband and I often talk about what would have happened had we met in another time and place. John Richard and Georgia Anne are, our what if?

Kumiko Lei: In my review I talked about the parallels of that time period and now. Do you see those same parallels?
Tracy: Very much. Supremacy hasn't actually gone anywhere, it just shifted into other, less focused on areas. That left many people thinking it was done. But now, many of those hidden areas are being exposed, leaving people bitter and confused. My hope is, that the exposure will finally bring the real healing.
Kumiko Lei: My daughter is in an interracial relationship, and I couldn't help while reading this, thinking the more things change the more they stay the same.
Tracy: That's exactly right. Change does come, but it's damned slow.

Kumiko Lei: How many books have you written?
Tracy: Published, I have 3 novels, 2 novellas, 7 short stories with 4 more due out this year, and. flash-fiction piece. I have a co-write due out next year. 3 co-writes in various stages, and a novel set to release in March of 2021. I have five more novels sitting in my desk drawer. [Don't worry, I'll list them at the end of the interview]

Kumiko Lei: For someone who has never read you before, which of your books do you suggest they start with?
Tracy: That depends on their preference. I write across subgenres and heat levels. Historic (Civil Warriors/Imogen’s Flowers/Tsarina/Death’s Desire), Dystopian (KAYOS/ The Tiger & the Snake), Suspense (KAYOS/The Tiger & The Snake), Fantasy (Dragonfly Dreams/Truly, Madly, Kiss Me/Black’s Magic/Thorns), Contemporary (The Right Way to be Wrong/Left on Marriottsville/Cumberland Christmas) PNR (Death’s Desire/Dragonfly Dreams/An Angel with Broken Wings), Dark(Big Shots & Bullsh@t/ Blood Like Rain [release dates have not been announced for these titles yet]), Sweet (The Right Way to be Wrong/Dragonfly Dreams), Heat (The Tiger & The Snake/An Angel with Broken Wings).
Love takes me to a lot of places. I will say, right now, one of my very favorites is a short story called Imogene’s Flowers. It’s an interracial relationship set in the 1930s. I think this one gives a reader a good sense of my writing style without too much commitment (I do plan to expand it). It’s part of a Crazy Ink Anthology entitled Art Inspires Words (volume 4). Each story is based on a famous work of art.

Kumiko Lei: When you’re not authoring (writing, marketing, etc.), what do you enjoy doing with your time?
Tracy: I have a 3 yr old grandson. He is my world and therefore I have no time. lol. I also like to paint and draw, but mostly I hang with my buddy.

Kumiko Lei: When did you know that you wanted to be an author?
Tracy: All my life. I just didn’t believe I could until I was almost thirty.

Kumiko Lei: What is your proudest author moment?
Tracy: I have a few. Interacting with readers who have been touched by one of my stories. I have three incidents where I’ve been told, I created a reader (two were young people with no interest in books). I was once contacted by a person about a story I haven’t published. (Apparently, her dad had gotten a draft copy a long time ago and they read it together, often.) She’s hoping for a published copy as well as the sequel.
Also, the response to Civil Warriors. I was told this story was unrealistic and could never be regardless of the actual history it’s based on. And, no one would have interest in it. (Imagine my surprise to learn the plot had occurred in my very own family!)

Kumiko Lei: What is the main thing you want to get across to readers through your books?
Tracy: I don’t intentionally include morals or lessons in my writing. I try to make my stories rich enough for readers to pull their own lessons. That said, my author tag is: Face the Danger. Dare to Dream. & Love Whom You Love. It is the underlining theme for all of my books.

Kumiko Lei: Is there anything else you want readers to know about you or your books?
Tracy: My writing is hard to categorize. What you expect from one story may or may not carry over to the next. This is because I write love. Where it happens, when it happens, how it happens. It could be on a spaceship or a pirate ship; seventy years ago or yesterday. My characters cross a lot of boundaries, and so do I.

Kumiko Lei: I'm an advocate for diversity in the romance genre (any genre, really). 
What can the romance book community do, collectively and individually as bloggers, authors and readers, to bring more diversity and inclusivity to the genre (not specifically POC, but LGBTQIA, and other marginalized groups)?
Tracy: I think inclusivity comes with truth. The book community—especially in romance— is, in my opinion, very accepting, we just don’t realize it. We believe love conquers all, second-chance romance is sweet, and bad-boys rule. We like it when vampires fall in love, and pirates save the day. In one sense, the idea of excluding any group from enriching us with their power to love should be laughable. I believe inclusivity and diversity come when people participate in seeing it as a love-challenge. It starts with writers. We don’t need to read about a gay-character for the sake of sharing information. Write a gay-character that sweeps us of off our feet—just like we write super-soldiers and cowboys. Bloggers need to carry a torch for the tales that don’t fit into boxes. And, readers simply need to do what they do with every other story—look for the adventure and the romance, not the political correctness or the social-standards. We are the community that loves rebels. Diversity is rebellious as hell.

Face the danger. Dare to Dream. & Love Whom You Love.

I can’t say it enough times, I am honored and appreciative you wanted to interview me. Thank you!

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Ya'll, I had so much fun doing this. And I do so appreciate Tracy letting me interrogate her about her books.

I have to say, my favorite quote from this interview is "We are the community that loves rebels. Diversity is rebellious as hell". Someone should put that on a t-shirt or something.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. Check out Tracy's author links up top, and her books down below.

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Novels

Novellas

Short Stories (included in the Anthologies)

 

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