Review of Grade A Stupid by AJ Lape

4 of 5 Stars

Darcy is known for getting in trouble.  Her best friend Dylan normally keeps her in check.  When Dylan goes to Hawaii with his family for Spring Break, he makes her promise to stay out of trouble, and has some friends keep an eye on her.  When she skips class one day and finds a body, will she be able to keep her promise?

You know, at first I thought, I'm not sure I like how this author ends a scene...just kinda cuts things off.  Then things started to happen and I look up what seems like five minutes later and realize that I've been reading for two hours?!  That's how into the story I was, and it was so intense that I was breathing heavy and my heart was beating like crazy, lol.  AJ has some serious skills, I never thought a YA novel would get me that involved.  I mean it's one thing to get wrapped up in a book and lose track of time, but wow!  I recommend having No Brainer on hand!  You'll want to read it right away.

Amazon     Goodreads    Barnes & Noble    About the Author

Interview: Eva Pohler

Eva Pohler, Author of The Gatekeeper's Trilogy 

       

Hey, how is one of my favorite authors today?  
I am doing well. Thanks for asking.
 
Besides writing this great trilogy, you also teach college level English...How do you find time for them both? 
Since I have a MWF teaching schedule, I can write all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also write in the evenings when everyone else has gone to sleep. that's my favorite time to write. 
When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? A teacher? What brought on the decision? 
When I was in the eighth grade, an uncle gave me his old college literature anthology. I fell in love with it! I read every single poem, play, and story and knew I wanted to have literature in my life always. Studying it led me to teach it on the college level. I had to put my writing dreams on hold for years because of juggling work and raising kids, but a few years ago, I began to invest more seriously in my writing and haven't looked back!
What other authors inspire you? 
Tracy Chevalier, Ann Patchett, JK Rowling, Tolkien, Stephanie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, Wally Lamb, the list goes on and on!  
Some authors say that their characters talk to them, do yours? 

Definitely. 
They feel like real people with distinct personalities, and they let me know when I've written them in ways that don't jive with their characters.  
How did you come up with the idea for your trilogy? Why gods, and why those specific two? 
The eighth was a pivotal year in my life, because the answer to this question, like an earlier one, comes down to a book I read that year. Edith Hamilton's Mythology was on my Scholastic Book Club order form. I bought the book and read it over and over. I still read it! I love those old stories. I chose Hypnos and Thanatos when I came upon their stories while doing research. I hadn't heard of them before and was intrigued by these youngish twin brothers who lived with Hades in the Underworld. I was also inspired my the movie Meet Joe Black, in which Brad Pitt plays the role of Death. I liked the idea of a girl who loved life and all living things falling in love with death.  
Do you do anything special to celebrate the end of a novel? 

After I jump up and down and sing my dancing song, I usually invite the family to go to eat to celebrate.  
What's next after The Gatekeeper's Daughter? Does the story end there?  

NO! I'm half way through writing the first draft of The Gatekeeper's House (#4), which I will release on November 1st. Two more books, The Gatekeeper's Secret (#5) and The Gatekeeper's Promise (#6) will come out next year.
 
Thank you for taking time to talk with me today! 
My pleasure! Thank you!

Check out the rest of Eva's Blog Tour and enter her Giveaway!

 

 

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Giveaway Below!

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Jealousy by Jenna Galicki

5 of 5 Stars!

Heather and Justin are soul mates, best friends, as close as any two people could possibly be. They've loved each other since they were kids and are virtually inseparable. Too bad he's gay, and their love is purely platonic. Join them on their journey, battling jealousy from the men in their lives as well as their own. Will either of them ever find a man who can handle their relationship and not be threatened by it?

OMG I loved this book! I would've read it in one sitting if my eyes could've stayed open that long! This author has the ability to pull the reader in and really made me care about the characters. Feeling for them with all the trials and obstacles they came across. I love a book that sends me on an emotional roller-coaster ride! Anger, frustration, joy, sadness, shock! This book had it all! If I gave partial stars, this book would probably get a 4.75, so I'm rounding up, and giving it a 5. I laughed, gasped, scowled, and was sad. The only thing this book didn't do is actually make me cry, but there were moments that it was close. Takes some serious skill from an author to get a reader so into the book, that they are that emotional, so well done Jenna Galicki! I hope to read more from this author in the future!

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