Cover Reveal: Finding It by Cora Carmack

I'm hugely excited today to share with you the cover for Finding It, the third book in the Losing It series by Cora Carmack. I think everyone knows by now that I'm a rabid cool, calm, and collected fan of Cora's, so I'm of course counting down the days until October 1st when I can finally get my hands on Finding It. Luckily for me though, the follow up novella to Bliss and Garrick's story, Keeping Her, is releasing on August 13th so I'll have something to tide me over. You can get a sneak peek of this story as well as several scenes from Garrick's POV here if you missed that post a little while ago, but first, let me know what you think of Finding It!

From Goodreads:

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life...or that's what she keeps telling herself.

It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.

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CORA CARMACK

 (photo by Matt Tolbert)

I'm Cora Carmack,  a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. I've done a multitude of things in my life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). I enjoy placing my characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too.  My first book, LOSING IT, was a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon 

Preview Package: Keeping Her + Cora Carmack

I don't think it will come as a surprise to those of you who read this blog with any frequency, but I just have to say it again: I adore Cora Carmack's books. I read Losing It a while back and loved it, and then I devoured Faking It just a little bit ago and loved that one even more. Cora Carmack, in my opinion, writes fantastic characters and the types of stories that just suck you right in and absolutely refuse to let you get back to your regularly scheduled life before you reach the last page.

I may or may not have done a spastic happy dance when I found out my time with Garrick and Bliss from Losing It was in fact not over, as Ms. Carmack is gifting us with a novella about their life together post-last chapter. I KNOW! It's awesome. To get you as excited as I am about the upcoming release of Keeping Her (August 13th from William Morrow), I have a very special preview package to share with you today, you'll find all the goodness below.

If that wasn't enough excitement for one day, I have even more news to share. First, Cora and author Jay Crownover (Rule) will be participating in a Goodreads chat on June 26th, so be sure and mark your calendars! Second, join Cora on her Facebook page from 3-4pm EDT on June 27th for a little book club fun with Faking It. You can ask her all your most desperate questions about Max, Cade and their relationship, but first be sure and check out all the preview package fun!

Preview Package: Cora Carmack's KEEPING HER by AvonBooks

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KEEPING HER

Garrick Taylor and Bliss Edwards managed to find their happily-ever-after despite a rather . . . ahem . . . complicated start. By comparison, meeting the parents should be an absolute breeze, right?

But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law-to-be, more than one (mostly) minor mishap, and the realization that perhaps they aren't quite as ready for their future as they thought.

As it turns out, the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it.

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Review: Faking It

FAKING IT
Losing It #2
Cora Carmack
Contemporary New Adult
304 pages
William Morrow
Available June 4th
Source: From publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.

Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.

MY THOUGHTS
Faking It is a story that follows a predictable arc, but underneath the broad umbrella of its familiar premise is a pocket of layered intimacy, where Max, Cade and Ms. Carmack’s innate ability to weave an extremely engaging tale play off one another and treat us to the beauty that results. Knowing the final destination of the relationship between Max and Cade doesn’t for a moment detract from our enjoyment of the incredibly rocky journey to get there, and we can help but luxuriate in two people who have been playing their separate roles for so long they’ve even convinced themselves of their own authenticity, and it’s a joy to watch the bright lights on the stage of their lives go out and force them both to face the shadows of reality.

Max, for all that she is hiding from the world and her family in particular, has a sort of refreshing honesty about her, saying what she means when she means it and bantering with Cade in a way that brings a huge smile to our faces. It doesn’t take long for us to see her fear though, one she covers with layer after layer of physical glamour in the form of heavy stage makeup, vibrant hair color, and tattoos in order to distract people from looking any closer. She’s but a player in her own life, laced up in the corseted costume of a leading lady and bound tight by the blinding terror of what might await her should the role she’s playing be stripped away to leave only Max in its place.

Cade gets his fingers, literally and figuratively, underneath those laces however, pulling them loose and forcing her to face what’s been hidden for so long. In doing so, he finds the unrelenting grip he has on Max to be something new for him, her inherent desire to flee from that which scares her triggering a previously unrealized desire in Cade to give chase, thus freeing him from his casting as the bystander in Bliss’s life. Max and Cade fit together in a way that’s fascinating; not necessarily two pieces that click into place as though that’s how they were always meant to be, but rather pieces that get turned every which way as they search for a way to come together, and the reward–as it always is–is that much greater for the struggle.

The only minor complaint with this story is the speed with which some major issues between Max and her family are resolved. Her parent’s expectations and the haunting perfection of a lost sister are what drive Max to apply all her layers as buffers against the truth of who she wants to be, and when it finally comes time for her to step off the stage and face her potential critics, things seem to work out quite simply after a minor showdown. That drawback aside though, Faking It is delightful and moving, and Ms. Carmack continues to cement her place on my list of auto-buy authors.

Rating: 4/5 

Find Cora

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon 

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

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BONUS MATERIAL

A few weeks ago I posted the fantastic news that Cora Carmack was going to be releasing additional scenes from book one, Losing It, from Garrick's point of view (YAY!) should the pre-order sales for Faking It reach certain numbers. This made me absurdly happy as I adored Losing It and Garrick in particular, so I'm thrilled to be able to share with you the first of these bonus scenes below. Cora has released three scenes in total, and you can find all of them on her blog. Hope you enjoy!

Bonus Scene 1: The One Where They Met by WilliamMorrowBooks

Things of Awesome: May Edition

Okay. I think I just need to admit defeat with this feature and demote it to a every-once-in-a-while-when-I'm-not-too-lazy-on-the-weekends-to-do-it post, because the sporadic nature of it really prevents it from deserving the title of "feature". There are handful of fun things I want to share with you this month though, complete with a new conversational snippet between me and Kevin. I hope it makes you guys smile, and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

1. LOSING IT EXTRA SCENES

I read Losing It by Cora Carmack a little while back and loved it to pieces, so I'm thrilled to share the news that Cora is going to be releasing several scenes from Garrick's point of view! *flails* Please excuse me while I die of excitement. She's planning on releasing the below four scenes periodically as pre-orders for her new release Faking It (which is also completely amazing, I highly recommend - comes out June 4th) reach certain numbers.

Scenes:
•       The One Where They Meet
•       The One Where They Meet…Again
•       The One Where He Changes His Mind
•       The One Where Bliss Gets Her Way

Um. Yes please! I need inside Garrick's head as soon as possible. The below widget will keep you all updated as to where the pre-orders stand and which of the above scenes will be released next. I hope you guys add Faking It to your lists!

2. HARPER IMPULSE

HarperTeen's new Impulse imprint might be one of my favorite things ever. Novellas don't always interest me, but I love that Harper and their various authors are releasing these little shorts that give us a look at a familiar world through a different character's eyes. Some of the novellas and short stories, of course, are new and completely unrelated to any full-length series, but I've found I've even enjoyed those as well. Below are the newest Impulse titles for May!

Allies: An Insignia Novella

In S. J. Kincaid’s fast-paced and humorous sci-fi Insignia trilogy, the earth is in the middle of World War III when teen gamer Tom Raines is recruited to train with other young cadets as a pivotal member of the elite combat corps, the Intrasolar Forces. At the Pentagonal Spire’s training academy, he makes the best friends of his life—fellow government weapons-in-training Wyatt Enslow, Vik Ashwan, and Yuri Sysevich.

In this 47-page prequel novella to the series, budding genius Wyatt Enslow—intensely loyal and hyperintelligent if occasionally, hilariously, socially awkward—takes center stage as S. J. Kincaid reveals Wyatt’s life before she found her place, and her own inner strength, among her devoted band of friends at the Spire.

Playing Keira

From a breakthrough voice in YA fiction comes a captivating digital-original 50-page short story starring a supporting character from the novel You Look Different in Real Life.

The premise was simple: Five kids living their real lives, with a new movie about them every five years. But that was before Keira's mother walked out and the cameras captured every heartbreaking detail for the world to see. Now Keira doesn't even know what "real life" means—she only knows how to pretend to be herself.

Then she meets Garrett on a bus to New York City. At first, Keira creates a fictional identity and enjoys the freedom of being someone totally different. But as their brief connection turns into something more, Keira starts to see what life could be like if she just stopped pretending and accepted the person she really is.

Jennifer Castle's pitch-perfect teen voices and sharp insights—together with a teaser to You Look Different in Real Life—make this story a must-read, especially for fans of Sarah Dessen.

You fan find the full list of available Impulse titles HERE.

3. THE QUILL AWARDS

Fashioned after The Oscars, The Quill Awards is an awards show for young adult books put together by a couple bloggers, with various categories and nominees as well as a coterie of twenty-one bloggers acting as The Academy and voting for the winners.

From the website:

A new type of award show exclusively to celebrate the last year in Young Adult fiction. It will boast all aspects of a traditional award show: awkward banter, fancy clothes, signature statuettes, and all other attributes we both love and mock. What makes this "new" is that this award show will not take place at some fancy venue, but rather it will be filmed at multiple dates in multiple locations, and then edited to form one cohesive show.

You can expect appearances from many of your favorite bloggers and authors, as well as industry professionals and maybe even some special guest entertainers. It will truly be a time to honor all aspects of the YA community. It will be quirky and homey, but hopefully also interesting and well done. The show will air late June/ early July at a date to be determined. The final list of nominees will be posted on April 26th. 
 
You fan find the full list of nominees and place your vote for the Countdown Award here.

Website • Twitter • YouTube

4. BEA

In a couple weeks I will be in NYC attending BookExpo America for the third time. I will be there with a ridiculous smile plastered on my face and my mom and mother-in-law in tow to help me master the BEA monster with our now finely-tuned divide and conquer technique. I cannot wait.

Danny and Pushy of Bewitched Bookworms and Hannah of The Irish Banana have put together some fantastic posts about what to expect if you're attending for the first time, so instead of a long rambling post of my own, I'm just going to link to their sites because they've got everything covered.

I hope to see many of you there!

5. LIFE WITH KEVIN

For the full story behind these little conversational snippets go HERE.

Kevin: I know what's going on.

Me: What, now?

Kevin: I know what's going on with the movies.

Me: I haven't the slightest inkling what you could be referring to.

Kevin: You think I haven't figured out that all three of the movies we've watched in the past couple days have had Jeremy Renner in them?

Me: Coincidence.

Kevin: Really. That's what you're going with?

Me: Yes. Maybe I just had an intense desire to watch movies about a SWAT team, a genetically enhanced badass specializing in badassery, and a sexy, leather-clad superhero who rocks a bow and arrow. You ever think of that?

Kevin: No. Want to know what I think?

Me: I'm not sure I do. I don't think I like where this is headed.

Kevin: What I think is that you've chosen Jeremy Renner as a real life version of one of your fictional men and now you're obsessing.

Me: LIES!

Kevin: We both know I'm right.

Me: Huh. I'm not sure if I love that you know me so well or if I find it irritating that there's absolutely no mystery left in our relationship.

Kevin: It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out. Nearly ninety percent of the time you don't have a clue what we're watching because you're reading, and then all of a sudden you want to watch three very specific movies all in one weekend. Kind of a tip-off.

Me: I think you're mistaken. Subtlety is one of my strong suits. I excel at it. EXCEL.

Kevin: Clearly. You've probably already gone to IMDB to cyber-stalk him and are currently considering going and buying any of his movies we don't already own.

Me: Dammit Kevin! That's it. I want a divorce. I need to be with someone less observant who doesn't call me out on my romantic fixations. I'm going to go and make a profile on Match.com immediately.

Kevin: Sounds good. Let me know what kind of interest you get.

Me: I suffer you to live.

Review: Losing It

LOSING IT
Losing It #1
Cora Carmack
New Adult Contemporary Romance
288 pages
William Morrow
Available February 26th
Received from publisher via Edelweiss

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. 

And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. 

She’d left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

MY THOUGHTS
Losing It is a story that brings an enormous smile to our faces, the protagonist’s penchant for landing herself in the most awkward situations imaginable something we know would only add to her humiliation were she aware of us as additional witnesses, but her embarrassment causes not a single laugh directed at her to escape our mouths, instead we always laugh with her, invisible partners to share the burden of her repeated romantic misfortunes. This book is one to read for pure enjoyment, Bliss and Garrick highly entertaining characters despite the fact that they don’t necessarily bring anything new to the contemporary romance table, and we find in their story the simplicity of a spectacularly fun read.

Bliss is endlessly amusing, someone who embodies those moments we’ve all had where mysterious gremlins intercept the words we want to say when they leave our brains, twist them around completely, and then release them from our mouths, laughing all the while in maniacal glee at what they’ve done. There’s an extreme disconnect between her brain and mouth when she gets nervous, and her bumbling actions and frantic excuses have us laughing aloud even as our cheeks turn bright red in vicarious mortification. As the story progresses her awkwardness throttles down several gears, ensuring she doesn’t become a caricature of quirkiness and allowing us to really connect to her emotionally instead of simply finding ourselves amused at her antics.

Garrick is as adorably swoon-worthy as they come, a sexy accent accompanied by intelligence, patience, and charm to make Bliss’s (and our) hearts beat double-time. As mentioned previously, he’s not a new character by any means, many of his traits things we’ve seen before several times over, but his familiar feel doesn’t detract from his romance with Bliss, and we’re easily caught up in the little lies and the huge teacher-student relationship danger that exists between them. The possibility of their being caught has us strung tight the entire second half of the story, waiting for the inevitable moment when everything they’ve begun to build starts to crumble around them. Luckily for us though, there is absolutely no game playing for our leading couple, and while things for them are hard and painful at times, we always have faith that the rather blunt approach they’ve taken throughout in terms of communication will see them through.

Overall, Losing It is a joy to read even if it’s not blazing a new romantic trail, and both Bliss and Garrick are characters whose memory warm our hearts every time we think of them.

Rating: 4/5