YA CRUSH TOURNEY: Realistic Fiction Nominations

Welcome to Fictitious Delicious! We're so very excited to be hosting the Realistic Fiction category for YA Crush Tourney nominations with the fabulous ladies at YA Sisterhood. So excited, in fact, that we've both been talking in limericks ever since we were asked to be a part of this epic event. So let's kick off the Realistic Fiction nominations Fictitious Delicious style, yo!

An Ode to the YA-Crush-Tourney-Realistic-Fiction-Category-Nominations

It’s time for the YA Crush Tourney!
So, put on a love song by Journey!
Submit six crushes,
Whose name you gushes
As you faint from the feels on a gurney.

Here, it’s about Realistic Fiction
And we’re making a big, bold prediction!
The top six guys
Will be easy on the eyes
And feed our YA Crush addiction!

Now. Before you start, read the rules.
They’re not mere suggestions, they’re tools
To make your nomination
Turn into realization.
Follow them or you’re wasting your joules*!

*(This note is for Amy since everyone else will surely know the meaning of joule.) Per Wikipedia, the definition of a joule is, "A derived unit of energy, work, or amount of heat in the International System of Units. It is equal to the energy expended (or work done) in applying a force of one newton through a distance of one meter (1 newton meter or N·m), or in passing an electric current of one ampere through a resistance of one ohm for one second. It is named after the English physicist James Prescott Joule (1818–1889)" Please don't confuse this with a newton-meter, okay? 

A Note from YA Sisterhood:

Rules for the YA Sisterhood Crush Tourney 2013

***PLEASE PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE CATEGORY DEFINITIONS.  THEY WILL HELP YOU TO KNOW WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR EACH CATEGORY.  THIS WILL SAVE TIME AND A LOT OF FRUSTRATION  FOR THOSE COUNTING THE VOTES***

*  YA only (No NA, No Middle Grade, No Adult, NO EXCEPTIONS) The lines between MG/YA/NA will be more clearly defined in the definitions of the categories.

*  Previous winners of the tournament are ineligible to participate.

*  You can nominate 6 crushes from each category on the specified blogs.  We will take the top 6 from each category.  If a crush makes it into the top 6 of more than 1 category, he will be placed in the category in which he received the most votes.

*  After the nominations are complete, we will have a wild card vote.  The 7th-9th places in each category will be taken, and we will have a vote off on YA Sisterhood to determine the final 4 spots in the tournament.  This will leave us with a 28 seed tournament with the 1st crush in each category getting a bye in the first round. 

*      This year we’re limiting it to 1 character per author in the tournament.  You can still nominate more than 1 character from an author.  However, once nominations are finalized, if more than 1 character is nominated from an author, we will only take the character with the highest votes.  We realize that this might upset some of you because you love many characters, some of which are written by the same author. But the goal of this tournament has always been to introduce new books and new characters to readers, so we want to share the love. So you’ll have to decide which team you’re on, and make your votes count.  

*  This year, advocate sign-ups will be after nominations, May 28th - June 1st. (more on advocates will come later)

*  Keep it clean. Keep it respectful. We have no problem banning you from the tourney. We’ve had MAJOR drama issues in the past, and even though we swore we weren’t going to do another tourney, we’re back because we love books and we love authors and we love you.  But PLEASE… this time… let’s leave the hate and drama at the door.

DISCLAIMER: We reserve to add or adjust any rules as needed during the tournament.

CATEGORY DEFINITIONS: 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Debut: The debut category will include any author whose very first novel came out in either 2012 or 2013. Please double check your nominations as any vote for a crush that isn't a debut will be thrown out. Again, this is the author's first novel, not just their first YA novel. 

Visit Page Turners Blog and nominate your crushes in the Debut Fiction category.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Realistic Fiction: The category is for crushes from books that are contemporary, historical, thriller, etc. that could truly happen in our world. So if a book has any hint of the paranormal, sci-fi, or the other-wordly--it does not fit in this category. Again, please double check your nominations so that you don't waste a vote! 

You're right where you need to be to nominate your crushes in the Realistic Fiction category! Submit your nominations at the bottom of this post.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Speculative Fiction--This is by far our biggest category, as it includes anything that is not considered realistic fiction. That means dystopian, paranormal, government super spies, sci-fi, futuristic, etc.--all these fit into the speculative fiction category. 

Visit Fantasy Book Addict and nominate your crushes in the Speculative Fiction category.  

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Indie: The indie category includes any crush in a self-published novel or any crush from a small publisher like Entangled, Spencer Hill, Inkspell, etc. If the book is published by traditional New York Publisher, then it does not fit in this category. Furthermore, if a book started out as a self-pubbed book, but then got picked up by a major publisher, it NO LONGER qualifies for this category. Here is the definition from the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group: "The term 'indie' traditionally refers to the independent art--music, film, literature or anything that fits under the broad banner of culture--created outside of the mainstream and without corporate financing. Although many independent book publishing companies are incorporated, they are independent of the major conglomerates that dominate the book publishing industry. Independent book publishers include small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors."

Visit Stuck in Books and nominate your crushes in the Indie Fiction category.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

***Many crushes will fit in multiple categories!!! You may vote for them in multiple categories if you would like, but keep in mind that we will only take the Top 6 in each category. Be strategic. If you have a crush that has a better chance of making it in one category than the other, then rally support for people to vote for that crush in a specific category. Use Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr--anything and everything to spread the word about your man! Keep in mind that Speculative Fiction is by far the largest category, so the most competition will be seen in that category!***

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Top 10 Nominations (as of 05/21/2013 12:30PM CT)

Augustus, Fault in Our Stars by John Green (40)
Étienne, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (34)
Noah,  Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (31)
Jase, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (24)
Adam, If I Stay by Gayle Forman (16)
Cricket, Lola & the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (14)
Alex, Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (10)
Tristan Daniels, Shark Bait by Jenn Cooksey (10)
Graham, This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (8)
Sebastian, What a Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn (7)

             - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THE FORM, YO: 

Cover Reveal: ACT LIKE YOU LOVE ME by Cindi Madsen

I'm a huge fan of Cindi Madsen (Read my reviews of her two YA books here) and I am happy to report that she is as awesome in real life as you'd expect her to be. (I met her at the RT Convention in Kansas City, MO, last week. EEP!) In addition to writing YA, Cindi writes these super fun romances for Entangled's Bliss imprint. (This means all the magic happens behind closed doors) Being the Cindi fan that I am, I'm looking forward to this!

Introducing....

ACT LIKE YOU LOVE ME by Cindi Madsen

All’s fair in acting and amore...

Brynn McAdams isn’t the awkward drama geek she was in high school—she’s grown up and confident, or at least she likes to think so. But when her old crush, the impossibly handsome and impossibly unattainable Sawyer Raines, comes back to town to direct her community play, Brynn finds herself determined to be someone other than the girl he doesn’t even recognize. Good thing she’s an excellent actress.

After his bad breakup in NYC, the last thing Sawyer wants is to get involved with another actress. But the glamorous and beautiful Brynn draws him in, even though as her director, he knows she’s off-limits. There’s just something about the woman that feels…familiar. Like home.

As Brynn’s lies start to snowball, she struggles to stop acting and come clean. But what if Sawyer is already falling for the fake Brynn, not the Brynn she truly is?

EXCERPT

“Cut, cut cut!” Sawyer stood. “Was that supposed to be more passionate? Because it sucked.”

“This is supposed to be the eighteen hundreds,” Brynn said. “It can’t be too passionate or it would seem inappropriate for the time.”

The next instant Sawyer was charging up the steps to the stage. “I’m not saying it’s got to be a kiss with tongue, I’m saying you’ve got to look at each other like you’re in love so the audience will want it to work out. Our modern audience.” Sawyer shook his head. “Take it again, from before the proposal.”

It was impossible to concentrate with Sawyer standing right there, so close she could hear every shift of his body and feel his gaze on her like a weight. All her lines were swimming together.

Leo knelt, told her she was an angel. She said her line, trying to peer into his soul like she wanted to be with him, and then Leo kissed her. And it was sloppier than usual.

She did her best to not jerk back, though it was her first instinct.

“Okay, that was just…” Sawyer moved in front of her. He looked at the playbook, then lowered it by his side and stared into her eyes. The air thickened around them and she could feel every thump of her heart. “What a perfect angel you are, Cecily.” He said it so tenderly, his smile close-lipped but full of joy.

“You dear romantic boy,” she said, all out of instinct because thoughts were getting fuzzy.

He leaned in and kissed her, a soft kiss with his lips barely parted. The pressure of his lips increased for a delicious moment, and then they were gone. A quick, simple kiss, but when his mouth left hers, she felt its absence so strongly that she couldn’t think about anything else for a couple seconds. Her breath was stuck somewhere in her lungs and her lips still tingled, living the sensation over and over again. Heat wound through her body, her hands itched to reach out and touch him. And then she remembered she was supposed to. She ran her fingers through his hair and felt the whisper of his breath on her wrist as he exhaled.

“Wow, that was good,” Wendy said from the front, breaking Brynn from her trance.

Brynn stepped back and swallowed, but her throat wasn’t working right. Sawyer’s eyes never left hers, and one corner of his mouth curved up in a smug, self-satisfied way.

“It was all right, I suppose,” Brynn said, working to keep her voice steady. She crossed her arms and shrugged. “For a first-timer, anyway.”

That only made Sawyer’s smile grow wider.

Brynn couldn’t help but watch Sawyer as he jumped off the stage. Funny how she’d dreamed of kissing him all the time in high school, but her fantasy wasn’t even close to the real thing. Her heart felt like it’d just been wrung out and shoved back in her

And her scene with Leo was better. She was sure it had nothing to do with the fact that she closed her eyes and pretended it was Sawyer kissing her again.

Nope. Nothing at all.

***

*jumpy clap* This is going to be AWESOME! Cindi was born to write kisses. ACT LIKE YOU LOVE ME is due for release next month which means now is the PERFECT time to go pick up FALLING FOR HER FIANCE, book 1 in Cindi's "Accidentally in Love" series.

PRE-ORDER ACT LIKE YOU LOVE ME

Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children. She is the author of YA novels, All the Broken Pieces and Demons of the Sun, bestselling short romance Falling for Her Fiancé and the women's fiction novel Cinderella Screwed Me Over.

Visit Cindi: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday: SHATTERED by Jeri Smith-Ready

At Fictitious Delicious, this week's most-anticipated read is...

Shattered

by 

Jeri Smith-Ready

Expected Release Date:
November 2013

If you don't know about my borderline obsessive love for Zachary Moore, I'd like to say, "Welcome to our blog" because surely you're a first time visitor. ;)

There are things that happen to Zachary in SHINE that we readers just can't know through Aura's point of view. This novella is going to show us just what Zachary had to endure while he was...away. Hopefully, there's a good dose of loving to balance out the heartbreak of his story and recovery afterwards because we DO know that he's had a rough time at it. Oh, my sweet, sweet love. 

Jeri Smith-Ready had a SHATTERED writing marathon of sorts a few weeks ago and posted some of her favorite lines. Check it out, if you dare.

What are you waiting on this week?

GAME. SET. MATCH. Blog Tour: A review GAME. SET. MATCH by Jennifer Iacopelli

We're very excited to share with you our review of GAME. SET. MATCH. as part of the blog tour and blitz. Thanks for stopping by our sweet little blog!

Game. Set. Match.

by Jennifer Iacopelli

Release Date:  May 1, 2013

Format: ARC

Source: Author

Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game's biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.

Penny Harrison, the biggest rising star in tennis, is determined to win the French Open and beat her rival, the world’s number one player, Zina Lutrova. There’s just one problem, the only person who’s ever been able to shake her laser-like focus is her new training partner. Alex Russell, tennis’s resident bad boy, is at OBX recovering from a knee injury suffered after he crashed his motorcycle (with an Aussie supermodel on the back). He's hoping to regain his former place at the top of men’s tennis and Penny’s heart, while he’s at it.

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. Her parents have seven Grand Slam championships and she’s desperate to live up to their legacy. Her best friend is Teddy Harrison, Penny’s twin brother, and that’s all they’ve ever been, friends. Then one stupid, alcohol-laced kiss makes everything super awkward just as she as she starts prepping for the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

The Classic is what draws Indiana Gaffney out of the hole she crawled into after her mom’s death. Even though she’s new to OBX, a win at the Classic is definitely possible. She has a big serve and killer forehand, but the rest of her game isn’t quite up to scratch and it doesn’t help that Jasmine Randazzo and her little minions are stuck-up bitches or that Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and oldest brother, is too hot for words, not to mention way too old for her.

Who will rise? Who will fall?


Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH. is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.

Fictitious Delicious Rating: 4

I took tennis lessons for approximately 15 minutes during the summer before I went into fourth grade. Impressive, right? Even more impressive is the fact that I still own the rack I used back in those long minutes of my tennis career and have passed that Wilson racket down to my daughter. My point is, I love tennis. I discovered that I did NOT love playing it but I still to this day look forward to watching Wimbledon every year.  It's hard not respect a game that uses the word "love" as a score. One I was well acquainted with. *sigh*

Reading GAME. SET. MATCH. is a tennis lovers dream.  There are lots and lots of tennis details to fool your brain into thinking it's actually attending a tennis match at the Outerbanks Tennis Academy (OBX).

One of my favorite parts of this book is the fact that we have three heroines with three storylines weaved together through the commonality they all have: OBX. Even the "bad girl" in this trio has likable moments. Penny and Indy really stole the show for me and I love, love, LOVE (the feeling, not the score) that Jennifer gave us a heroine that is uber-sucessful AND down to earth in Penny. It was refreshing to see.

My other favorite part of this book? Alex. And also Jack. Those boys have been double dipped in milk chocolate and rolled in sprinkles. They're THAT delicious. This book is "classified" as New Adult, so be prepared for the swoonage. Oh, Alex.
This story is not to be missed if you consider yourself a sports fan of ANY type. Jennifer does a fantastic job of throwing the reader right into the middle of a tennis match. Match scenes are rich in detail. As are the kissing scenes.  This first book in the OBX series is a nice mixture of sports and romance.  I'm looking forward to getting my hands on book two.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no plans to leave...ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands on, but her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, L.M. Montgomery and Frances Hodgson Burnett all of whom wrote about kick-ass girls before it was cool for girls to be kick-ass. She got a Bachelor's degree in Adolescence Education and English Literature quickly followed up by a Master's in Library Science, which lets her frolic all day with her books and computers, leaving plenty of time in the evenings to write and yell at the Yankees, Giants and her favorite tennis players through the TV.

Visit Jennifer: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

One last thing. Jennifer has put together an INCREDIBLY generous prize package for one very lucky winner.  Complete this Rafflecopter entry form for a chance to win one of the amazing prizes up for grabs.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Blast: UNBREAKABLE by Elizabeth Norris

I am SO EXCITED to share with you a book that I've been anxiously awaiting ever since I finished it's predecessor, UNRAVELING. It's...

Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn't turn himself over within five days.

And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed?

Buy the book: Unbreakable

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter.

She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together.

Find her: Twitter | Website | Goodreads




Now go forth and enter to win a copy of UNBREAKABLE for yourself or a friend!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: THE COLLECTOR by Victoria Scott

The Collector (Dante Walker #1)

by Victoria Scott

Release Date: March 25, 2013

Format: ARC

Source: Publisher

He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried. (Summary from Goodreads)

 

Fictitious Delicious Rating: 4

There are approximately 100,000 people proclaiming their love for one Dante Walker on Twitter on any given day. These ALL CAPS proclamations and excessive uses of exclamation marks piqued my interest and was I THRILLED to have an opportunity to read and review this first book in the Dante Walker series.

Dante Walker is an egotistical asshole (with the goods to back it up--DAMMIT.) and I was left wondering what the hell all these people were seeing in him.  Seriously.  If you look up "Bad Boy" on Wikipedia, you'll see a picture of him. (This is an untrue statement used only to prove a point.) He's like a bad boy's bad boy. Now, I'm a lover of good boys. There are exceptions, but I gotta see some good in the bad boys I love.  Dante seemingly has ZERO redeeming qualities. But I kept reading. And he got even worse! But I kept reading.

And then...

A glimmer of hope. Hello, character growth. Hello, redeeming quality. Hello, bad boy that I could love. (I'm holding my opinion until I read THE LIBERATOR. I'm scared of this one, guys) You're not going to find me on Twitter proclaiming my love of Dante Walker with lots of exclamation points, but I do want to share with you something I WILL proclaim loudly...

Victoria Scott knows how to write a book.  All those moments when I was all "WTF?!" over Dante, I kept reading because of her writing style and wicked cool sense of humor. Even though Dante isn't my new favorite crush, his dialogue, internal and external, is hil-air-e-us. If Victoria is even half as funny in real life as I expect her to be, she's a hoot and a half.

Finally, a quick note about our heroine, Charlie. While I had issues with Dante, I freaking loved Charlie. Her goodness radiates through the pages and even when things go bad, her spirit always shines through. It's easy to see why...people like her.

I'm nervously anticipating THE LIBERATOR to see just what Dante Walker will do next.

Buy this book: The Collector (Dante Walker)

Book Review: THE PAPARAZZI PROJECT

The Paparazzi Project

by Kristina Springer

Release Date:  December 15, 2012

Format: pdf

Source: Publisher

Livvie Peterson thought taking Interpersonal Communications her junior year would be an easy A. But when the first assignment is given, her world flips upside down. Here’s the deal: the class is assigned a six-week project and is split into three groups— Paparazzi, Tabloid, and Celebrities. The Paparazzi follow around the Celebrities taking pictures and grabbing any kind of quotes they can. The Celebrities try to navigate being tailed on a daily basis. And the Tabloid receives all the information collected by the Paparazzi and decides what makes the weekly summary report. Sounds harmless…and it’s all just pretend anyway, right?

Livvie is assigned as Paparazzi and when she is matched up with the über-cute Chas Montgomery as her Tabloid boss she’s pretty sure things couldn’t get much better. Livvie’s uncanny ability to capture the Celebrities in compromising photos matched with Chas’s skill of exaggerating captions and editing the photos make them an unstoppable team. And the long hours working side by side with Chas aren’t a bad bonus.


Livvie simultaneously launches an anonymous blog, leaking the class’ photos and stories on the Internet. Her rising follower number quickly becomes addicting and she possibly spills too much information online. Once she finds her own celebrity will she be able to give it back? And will Chas be gone before she ever has the chance to find out?

Fictitious Delicious Rating: 3.5

The Paparazzi Project is a super cute story that delivers an important message. It was well written and is the perfect book to pick up on a Saturday afternoon when you have a few hours to spare. 

I had to remind myself that the characters in this story were students in high school. They acted more along the lines of students in middle school. The message of the book fits into that middle school age, too.  That being said, I think readers of all ages will be able to identify with at least some of the behaviors in this story. It's easy for all of us to get sucked into gossip, isn't it?

And that's what I really liked about The Paparazzi Project. It serves as a nice reminder that sure, it's kind of fun to see what's going on in the life of a "celebrity" it's important to understand that a fleeting curiosity can easily turn into an unhealthy obsession pretty quickly. Not that I'd know anything about THAT. *closes 12 browser tabs full of Matt Bellamy*

I'm picking this one up for the girls this summer.  AND I'm bumping up THE ESPRESSOLOGIST on my TBR pile. I really enjoy Kristina's writing style!

Buy this book: The Paparazzi Project