{Cover Reveal} Kiss and Tell by Jacqueline Green

I am so excited to help Paper Lantern Lit with the cover reveal of the third book in Jacqueline Green's TRUTH OR DARE series, due out from Little, Brown in February! This is also the reveal of the jacket copy description. I'm a book behind in the series, but after reading that summary, I am itching to get caught up! So, without further ado, behold the awesome:

Pre-Order KISS AND TELL here!
Here's the blurb:

Since their dangerous game of truth or dare began, Tenley Reed, Sydney Morgan, and Emerson Cunningham have lost almost everything. Closely guarded secrets, romantic relationships, and sought-after spots at the top of their school's social hierarchy-all gone in the blink of an eye.

Now the darer has upped the stakes, leaving another body behind in the girls' isolated beach town of Echo Bay. And if they can't untangle the twisted web leading to whoever is behind the mysterious deaths, one of them could be next. But what happens when the trail leads to those they trusted, those they loved?

Filled with intoxicating twists and shocking betrayals, the final installment in the Truth or Dare trilogy will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Need to catch up on the TRUTH OR DARE universe? Watch the trailer here!

About the author:

Jacqueline Green received her BA from Cornell University and her MFA in writing for children from The New School. She grew up in Wynnewood, PA, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband and their tiny dog (who sometimes moonlights as her writing companion). Truth or Dare, the first novel in a trilogy, is her young adult debut. Jacqueline Green is a pen name of Jacqueline Resnick.

Find Jacqueline:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

What do YOU think of the cover and the summary?

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Labels: contemporary, hachette, jacqueline green, murder mystery, official cover reveals, paper lantern lit, truth or dare

Review: Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green

Title: Truth or Dare
Author: Jacqueline Green
Series: Truth or Dare, book #1
Publisher: Poppy/Little, Brown BFYR
Publication Date: May 14, 2013
Source: finished copy courtesy of Paper Lantern Lit
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

When a simple round of truth or dare spins out of control, three girls find it’s no longer a party game. It’s do or die.

It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin “Angel” Thomas to prove she’s more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn’t even there; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they’re forced to play along—or risk exposing their darkest secrets.

How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from surfacing? And who’s behind this twisted game?

Set against the backdrop of Echo Bay, an isolated beach town haunted by misfortune, Truth or Dare is a highly charged debut that will keep readers in suspense from beginning to end.

I always dreaded the game of Truth or Dare when I was younger.  It never ended well for me.  And the same is true for the girls in this book.  But we'll get to that in a moment.

I like mysteries and thrillers and revenge stories.  It's one of the reasons I'm still watching Pretty Little Liars. I didn't read the books, though.  I read the first book in The Lying Game series by the same author, and I vowed no more.  Those books just weren't on my level.  Obviously, the story is interesting enough or I wouldn't still be watching the show.  But I'm constantly screaming at all those pretty girls to just go tell someone in a position of authority what the heck is going on.  And it's one of those mysteries that just gets more mysterious and complex as it goes.

The same could be said of Truth or Dare.  It's an intricately woven story, full of secrets and deceptions, and it definitely kept me guessing.  No dirty laundry remained un-aired.  No skeleton remained in its closet.  And no stone was left unturned as the girls tried to discover who was behind the dares.  I'm usually really good at guessing who the culprit is early on and enjoy watching as the characters search for clues, but this time around, I was just as stumped as them until something happened and I just knew.  The writing was clear and concise and the book read more mature than that series I mentioned earlier, and that just aided in keeping me in the dark for so long.

I generally like to know more than the characters do.  So, when a character knows something that I don't and then takes it to the grave, it leaves me feeling a bit agitated.  Especially when said character was on the verge of revealing this information, only to meet their untimely death.  I call foul.  What kind of ploy is this and why must you make me suffer so?

The suspense wasn't the only thing I liked about the story.  The setting was the secluded town of Echo Bay, during it's Fall Festival.  A festival which had previously been cancelled due to the mysterious deaths of three girls, dubbed the Lost Girls.  If that doesn't set the mood for an eerie story, I don't know what would.  The deaths weren't technically linked to the festival, but I usually attempt to avoid activities that lead to mentions of a curse and the like.  But, hey, who am I to judge?  Not the judgey people of Echo Bay, that's who.

I think I would have rather this book been a stand-alone.  The story was just dark and intense enough to keep me reading, but that ending kind of rubbed me the wrong way.  I mean, you get your answers and you move on.  Though the ending wasn't what I would call a cliffhanger, it did leave a lot more questions.  Maybe I don't like mysteries as much as I thought?  Because the questions and the not-knowing are seriously bothering me right now.  I guess that's the sign of a well-written mystery?  Like I said, I liked the writing, and I'd like to read more from this author.  Just maybe not a mystery because she's infuriatingly good at it.

Be sure to check out my stop on the Truth AND Dare Blog Tour and see how I fared at playing a round of Truth or Dare!

Rating:   1/2

About the author:

Jacqueline Green received her BA from Cornell University and her MFA in writing for children from The New School. She grew up in Wynnewood, PA, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband and their tiny dog (who sometimes moonlights as her writing companion). Truth or Dare, the first novel in a trilogy, is her young adult debut. Jacqueline Green is a pen name of Jacqueline Resnick.

Find Jacqueline:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: blog tour, contemporary, hachette, jacqueline green, mystery, paper lantern lit, reviews, truth or dare

The Truth AND Dare Blog Tour

Paper Lantern Lit and the new Preferred Bloggers are teaming up for a round of Truth or Dare to spread the word about this awesome thriller from Jacqueline Green.  Except, us bloggers are being issued Truths AND Dares to complete on each of our stops on the tour.  I'm just glad these are all book-related and nothing like the dares actually issued in the book!

TRUTH:  What celebrity would you LOVE to read a book from?

Hmm...well, if it's an autobiography, I'd have to go with Jennifer Aniston.  Who doesn't want to know what really went down with Jen, Brad, and Angelina?!?  Also, maybe she'd give us the secret to those sexy gams of hers!

But if we're talking about a piece of fiction, I think I want Tina Fey to write a YA novel.  That woman is so funny and quirky and just plain awkward at times, and I think that would translate fabulously into a YA contemporary story.  =)

DARE:  I dare you to imagine a scenario where all three TRUTH OR DARE girls are competing in The Hunger Games.  Who stands the best chance of winning THAT game?

Oh, dang.  Well, first, let's see how I view each girl:

Sydney
the pyromaniac photographer

Tenley
the conniving gymnast

Caitlin
the too-perfect academian

Upon first meeting Tenley, I would have immediately discounted her as a worthy adversary in the Games, but she can get herself out of a tight spot and she's a master manipulator...almost as good as the Darer.  Caitlin, though, would not stand a chance.  This girl is all over the place emotionally, and she's not willing to fight back.  She is a runner, though, and she does have her wits about her.  Sydney, on the other hand, is willing to fight fire with fire.  She'll even play with it if you let her.  She comes from a tough background, and of the three, I imagine she probably is the toughest physically, too, just from her demeanor.

Winner:  Sydney

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Be sure to enter for your chance to win a personalized copy of Truth or Dare over at Paper Lantern Lit! And check out the rest of the stops on the Truth AND Dare Blog Tour!

Tour schedule:

July 18th: Fiction Freak
July 19th: The Reading Lark
July 20th: Queen Ella Bee Reads
July 21st: No one! 
July 22nd: The Starry-Eyed Revue
July 23rd: The Compulsive Reader + Miss Print
July 24th: Chick Loves Lit + Tiger Lily Rachel
July 25th: Boekie’s Book Reviews + Read My Breath Away
July 26th: Anna Reads

Thanks for stopping by & happy reading!  And check back later for my review!

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Labels: blog tour, contemporary, hachette, jacqueline green, mystery, paper lantern lit, truth or dare

Judging a Book By Its Cover #31: A Kid's Perspective on Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green

Okay, so I totally stole this idea from Sara at Forever 17 Books, who got the idea from an article on Babble called Judging a Book by Its Cover: A 6-year-old Guesses What Classic Novels Are All About.  I just discovered her lovely segment, and I immediately requested forced my own five-year-old daughter Katie to provide me with some of her own cover art artwork and then asked her what she thought the book was about.



This week, Katie gave me her take on the following book:

"A girl meets a boy and she got some flowers from the boy.  And she shushed him because she didn't want the other people to hear them."

Cover Art

Truth or Dare as envisioned by Katiebug

Hmm...I wonder what she's insinuating is going on there.  :P  Hahaha.  If you like a good mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.  I'm usually quick to figure things out, and this book had even me frustrated...in a good way.  :)

Have you read this book or do you plan to?  What do you think of Katie's guess at the premise?  

Did your little darling create a work of art based on a book this week? If so, be sure to link up with Sara over at Forever 17 Books.

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Labels: contemporary, cover art, jacqueline green, judging a book by its cover, katiebug, mystery, paper lantern lit, truth or dare

Sweet Evil Read Along - Week 3: Truth or Dare

This week's read along is for chapters seventeen through twenty-five and spans pages 232-340 of Sweet Evil.  And to coincide with the events of the book (teehee), this week's theme is truth or dare.  I'll be honest, I'd rather not add any ammunition to any future truth or dare matches, so I usually opt for truth.  It's not that I'm not daring...I can let loose when I want to, but for the intent of this read along, it would probably be most beneficial for me to stick to what I do best, and that's telling it like it is.  =)

TRUTH.  So, here goes:

Truth #1:  Although I hadn't read Sweet Evil prior to this read along, I did finish the entire book before the first week's scheduled reading.  I had planned to read just the scheduled chapters, write up my read along post, and then wait in agony until time to do the next week's post.  But, c'mon!?!  After meeting Kaidan, can you really blame me?  I mean, I felt kind of bad, especially when Mindy, the read along host, would post things like, "I couldn't imagine it being my first time reading Sweet Evil. Having to wait each week for the chapters."  Needless to say, I felt a little guilty.  But not that guilty.  I am so weak...I couldn't help myself.  And I so cannot believe I'm admitting this to you guys.  :-P

Truth #2:  I have a special credit card for only bookish purposes.  My husband may or may not know that such a credit card exists.  ;0)  I use it for all of my giveaways, shipping, but most importantly, all of those books I buy that I don't have time to read.  I'm amassing a library, people.  Do you think your local librarian has read every book in the library?  Hmmm?  Thought so.

Truth #3:  I buy physical copies of books that I loved in galley or ARC form with the intent of re-reading them.  But I never do.  I just don't have the time.  Again, I'm starting my own library, so it's okay.  (My husband is on board with that whole dark library with a rolling ladder thing.  Promise.)  Plus, I kid myself that they're for posterity's sake.  Like I'd let my rugrat put her hands on them.  Pshaw.  Not any time soon, anyway.

Truth #4:  I've only lived in my house for a year, but in that time, I've replaced or added to my bookshelves three times, and I've completely reorganized all of my books -- alphabetically, as read/not-read, or otherwise -- at least five times.

Truth #5:  I almost always purchase my books online.  I don't like the judgey looks from the clerk at the register or from other patrons when they see that I primarily purchase YA titles.  Once in a blue moon, I'll come across a like-minded individual, but ever since my local Borders closed, there's much less chance of that happening.  So, I keep my bookish purchases under wraps for the most part.

My thoughts on this week's read along:

Um, so I got my wish.  Sorta.  More kissing ensued but then a big ole sad face.  :C  It was great meeting Kaidan's so-called "friends" and seeing how they interacted with Anna.  I liked each of them in their own way, but I'm worried about this Kope fellow.  He seems legit, but no son of a demon can be all good, can he?  At any rate, the training with Anna's father seems to be going well.  *wink, wink*  And I'm glad to see that Anna's making other new friends.  Seems she's really going to need them with everything she's going through.  That Kaidan can be a real pain in the arse, can't he?  I kind of do miss those road trip moments, though...sigh.

Favorite quotes:

"Now would be the time to stop me, luv.  You're about to be undressed, and trust me when I say it will be too late after that." -- p. 237

"Wow, you make me look like a bad girl; that's hard to do."  -- p. 294

"Oh, that's right, I nearly forgot," Kaidan said with smooth indifference.  "The prince and princess would never stoop so low.  Well, bottoms up to us peasants."  -- p. 296

"This little thing"--he made a triangle in the air, pointing between Kopano, Kaidan, and me--"isn't gonna fly.  Don't worry yourselves about Anna anymore.  You hear?"  They both gave single nods.  "Then get on out of here.  And keep your heads in the game."  -- p. 316


Now is normally the point at which I say something along the lines of, "I can't wait for next week's chapters," but you guys already know that's a farce.  So, just know that I can't wait for next week's discussion.  It's about Halloween!  =D

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Labels: angels, demons, read-along, sweet evil, truth or dare, wendy higgins