Where Fiction and Reality Meet
Title: Swimming in the Dark Author: Tomasz Jedrowski Publisher: HarperCollins Length: 224 Pages Category: Literary Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Tomasz Jedrowski’s deeply moving and stunningly portrayed novel of love set against a backdrop of political unrest and divided loyalties reads like both memoir and confessional. It is a passionate novel, beautiful and... Continue Reading →
Title: Young Mungo Author: Douglas Stuart Publisher: Grove Atlantic Length: 392 Pages Category: Literary Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Young Mungo is a full-circle novel that places Mungo in harm’s way and then shows us how and why he got there. It is lyrical. It is steeped in despair. It is a brutal... Continue Reading →
Title: Jay's Gay Agenda Author: Jason June Publisher: HarperTeen Length: 368 Pages Category: YA/Teen Contemporary Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Jason June's absolute gem of a debut novel is gloriously heartwarming, genuinely sincere, and quintessentially charming from beginning to end. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: There’s one thing Jay Collier knows for sure—he’s a statistical... Continue Reading →
Title: Boys of Alabama Author: Genevieve Hudson Publisher: Liveright Length: 301 Pages Category: Southern Gothic, Coming of Age At a Glance: Boys of Alabama packs an impactful emotional punch and succeeds in painting a none-too-flattering picture of the times and then reflects it back to its readers in striking ways. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: In... Continue Reading →
Title: We Are Lost and Found Author: Helene Dunbar Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire Length: 304 Pages Category: Young Adult At a Glance: We Are Lost and Found is not a teen romance. It is wholly character driven, deals with myriad heavy subjects that make it less than a light read, and I was so drawn in... Continue Reading →
Title: Better Together Author: BL Maxwell Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 322 Pages Category: Contemporary, Teen Fiction At a Glance: I fear I am going to be in the minority here when I say that this novel had some very real issues that needed to be addressed before it was ever published. There was simply too... Continue Reading →
Title: Jordan vs. All the Boys Author: John Goode Publisher: Harmony Ink Press Length: 180 Pages Category: Contemporary, Teen Fiction At a Glance: I have said this before but it bears repeating: John Goode is able to tap into the emotions, fears, and dreams of teenagers like no other Young Adult novelist. Reviewed By: Sammy... Continue Reading →
Title: To Be Honest Series: #lovehim: Book Three Author: S. M. James Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 412 Pages Category: Contemporary, Teen Fiction At a Glance: While there are some problems with the story, the message it tries to convey is an important one, and the story, overall, is entertaining. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: Angus Reid... Continue Reading →
Title: Bird Meets Cage Author: Anyta Sunday Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 64 Pages Category: Historical At a Glance: Bird Meets Cage delivers an emotional punch in a small package. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: He called himself Stardust, but one of my friends told me his name was Jean. I met him during the summer I... Continue Reading →
Title: The Story of Us Author: Barbara Elsborg Publisher: Self-Published Length: 435 Pages Category: Contemporary, New Adult At a Glance: The Story of Us is a beautiful story, one that you will not be able to put down, a glorious victory of love over despair, of happiness over pain. I highly recommend it to you.... Continue Reading →
Title: The Academy Author: Quinn Anderson Publisher: Riptide Publishing Length: 366 Pages Category: Contemporary, New Adult At a Glance: The Academy was a bit muddled and slightly overworked, but I enjoyed getting to know the various characters, and the author managed to pull it off in the end. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: True love stabs... Continue Reading →
Title: Jay Bird Author: Thomas Grant Bruso Publisher: JMS Books Length: 23k Words Category: Contemporary At a Glance: Jay Bird had some very nice moments with some beautifully realistic characters and just a touch of romance, but the structural flaws in the timeline and how it affected the plot could not be easily dismissed. Reviewed... Continue Reading →
Title: Jupiter Series: States of Love Author: Rhett Heath Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 69 Pages Category: Contemporary At a Glance: I love this first love, first romance, coming-of-age type book. And, the guys really were adorable. I just wish there had been more to the story. Reviewed By: Jules Blurb: For fourteen-year-old Jacob Thomas, a... Continue Reading →
Title: Cinderella Boy Author: Kristina Meister Publisher: Riptide Publishing Length: 346 Pages Category: Contemporary, Teen Fiction At a Glance: This story was just gorgeous in its attempt to give a tiny window into the life that a non-binary/genderfluid person lives. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: Sixteen-year-old Declan is the perfect son . . . except for... Continue Reading →
Title: Fourteen Summers Author: Quinn Anderson Publisher: Riptide Publishing Length: 238 Pages Category: Contemporary At a Glance: While I wasn’t completely satisfied with this novel, I can say it was still a compelling read, with tender and sweet moments that really made it shine. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: Identical twins Aiden and Max Kingsman have... Continue Reading →
Lisa: We’re so pleased to have author Elvira Bell joining us today on the tour for her latest release, Astray, book one in the Wavesongs series. Welcome, Elvira! Let’s start right out with a question about the book. What’s your favorite scene in Astray, and what makes it a fave? Elvira: One of my faves... Continue Reading →
Title: Burro Hills Author: Julia Lynn Rubin Publisher: Diversion Books Length: 240 Pages Category: YA/Teen Fiction, Coming of Age At a Glance: Check this one out, guys. I was sucked in from the first page. Definitely recommend this worthy debut. Reviewed By: Jules Blurb: Jack Burns is a resident—though oftentimes he feels like an inmate—of... Continue Reading →
Lisa: We’re so pleased to welcome author Julia Lynn Rubin to The Novel Approach today to chat with us about her new novel, Burro Hills. It’s great to have you here with us, Julia! Let’s kick this off by having you tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know. Julia: Most people probably... Continue Reading →
Title: Imperfect Match Author: Jordan Castillo Price Publisher: JCP Books Length: 162 Pages Category: Futuristic/Dystopian At a Glance: This isn’t a story of two people building a relationship; it’s the story of a man realizing he’s not imprisoned by circumstance and then constructing a new life where there’s now the potential for a relationship, and... Continue Reading →
Title: When Everything Is Blue Author: Laura Lascarso Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 216 Pages Category: Contemporary, New Adult At a Glance: When Everything Is Blue is a coming out and coming of age story that resonated with hope and possibility. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: When they were kids, Chris Mitcham rescued Theo from the neighborhood... Continue Reading →
Title: Inseparable (Port Java: Book One Author: Sloan Johnson Publisher: Self-Published/Kindle Unlimited Length: 209 Pages Category: Contemporary, New Adult At a Glance: As good and realistic as this journey was, I felt, at times, the story was a bit labored, spending much too much time on Trevor’s worries and not enough time on moving the... Continue Reading →
Title: There Was a Boy Author: Justin Durand Publisher: Self-Published Length: 233 Pages Category: New Adult, Gay Fiction At a Glance: There Was a Boy had some good moments and ideas, but unfortunately the plot was too labored, the characters a bit too unrealistic in their speech and emotions, and the pacing was just terribly... Continue Reading →
We're so pleased to have author Mickie B. Ashling back with us today on the virtual blog tour for her latest release from NineStar Press, Through My Own Lens, book five in the Horizons series. We've got an exclusive excerpt from the book to share with you, and there's also a giveaway, so be sure... Continue Reading →
We're so pleased to welcome Michael Scott Garvin, author of the gorgeous coming of age novel A Faithful Son. He's dropped by today to help us celebrate our 5th Blogiversary with a guest post and a great giveaway. Be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget below to see how you can enter to win a... Continue Reading →
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