This is so exciting! I have the AMAZING opportunity to be a part of the Drain You blog tour!! Yay! And guess what comes with that? All sorts of wicked cool things. :) Like my review (obvs), the book trailer, prizes (at the bottom), and finding all sorts of other cool blogs participating. I mean, with a summary like this:
"Summer. The 90s. The rich, sun-bleached neighborhoods of the Los Angeles canyons. Enter Quinlan Lacey, a cool, bored, sarcastic, sexy 17-year old with a dull part-time video store job and a mild case of teen ennui. That is, until she meets the alluring, River Phoenix-esque James, and realizes the hills are alive with the undead. Inspired more by the early, dry L.A. short stories of Bret Easton Ellis than the current crop of serialized vampire fiction, the supernatural grunge romance, Drain You, narrates the headaches and heartbreaks Quinn undergoes in her quest to stay sane and cool and in love and alive."
How can you say no, right? So, let's get started, shall we?
My Review:Rating: Strong PG-13. Open door sex scenes, but no really details given
Coffee Beans: 4/5
Favorite Lines: So I loved Libby, but in a vintage way. Like a childhood blanket, or my dad's mac and cheese. A deep love, but not one you tap into on a daily basis. (Ebook, pg 25) Okay, no big deal, I'd just call Stiles…at his underground lair, where he most likely had Libby chained to a radiator and she was loving it. Stella gave me the number, which contained not even one six, let alone the three in a row I'd expected. (Ebook, pg 76) …I drew on so much eyeliner I looked like a sobbing drunk raccoon on a tequila bender… (Ebook pg 134)
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
I admit, when I read the first chapter, I wasn't that impressed. The voice was a little off and the writing didn't grab me. But I kept reading and figured out that this was pretty much awesomeness. It instantly reminded me of The Lost Boys, but now. It also reminded me of the 90's (which I loved) and made me want to move back to SoCal and remember the good times I had while growing up.
There were multiple things that impressed me with this book:
- The dialogue. Snappy, witty, snarky, and funny, Bloom's dialogue is just downright good. I was there, it was real, and it carried the story much more than just narrative alone
- The MC's voice. Quinn has a dark sense of humor and is so quick with everything, and her attitude of "whatever" is the icing on the cake. There were so many funny lines that were added that perfect certain something, which made the entire reading experience that much better
- The MC. Quinn, for me, is very real. She cares deeply about those who mean something to her. She doesn't know what she wants when it comes to boys. She's shallow and selfish at times, but she has drive. And I didn't find that off-putting at any point. Mainly because she gets called on it (several times) and she knows it's the truth. But we've all been there. Admit it.
- The relationships. There are several different, unique relationships Quinn is a part of, and they all come to life so realistically. Her absentee parents but their very functional relationship. Her coworker and complicated relationship-er, Morgan. Her casual best friend, Libby. The snobby girl from school, Naomi. James, the hot brother Quinn never knew existed. The equally hot other brother and instant best friend when crush disappears, Whit. And the evil twins, Stiles and Sanders. They all work brilliantly.
- The package. I'm assuming this is going to be a series. Depending on how well this one goes. I thought it was a tight, well-written story encapsulated into one book. The ending was finite but there are definitely LOTS of questions that still need answering.
- Instalove. I'm not a fan of this. It's unbelievable and really jars me out of a story. Yeah, we get Quinn thinks James is hot and she's majorly crushing on him and they have to get together for the sake of plot progression. But getting as close and invested as they did—and in only a week—is a little hard for me to swallow. (update: after reading it for a second time in prep for this tour, I want to amend this statement. The second time around, I got a better sense of who Quinn was and the intensity of her life. And while there still was Instalove present, it wasn't nearly as obvious as before. That is all. Thank you.)
- The MC sleeps. A lot. Which isn't bad, I guess. But she's always tired and sleeping. *Shrugs shoulders* Just thought I'd mention that.
And Publisher's Weekly (<--link) loved it, too!: "Bloom debuts with a languid, stylish novel that reads like a love letter to cult vampire flicks like The Lost Boys, the work of Francesca Lia Block, and Southern California in the 1990s." Want to buy this book and devour it like I did? Check it. BN & Amazon
Because book trailers are all sorts of awesome:
Plus, Bloom's really kinda some sort of AWESOME:
"Bloom's first short story “Love And Other Catastrophes: A Mix Tape” was featured in Story Quarterly and selected by Dave Eggers for inclusion in The Best American Nonrequired Reading: 2003 (Houghton-Mifflin), which he curates annually. Bloom is the founder of underground dance label 100% Silk (profiled here in LA Weekly) AND the producer/lead singer of the band LA Vampires (written up in The Guardian as well as Pitchfork and Fader). Her next book will be published through HarperTeen.
M. Beth lives on the east side of L.A. where she indulges in raw fooding, magazine subscribing, thrift shopping, Sunday matinee'ing, and ladies book clubbing."
And now, what we all really want. FREE STUFF!Okay, wanna know what you could win? Here it is!
- 5 copies of Drain You signed by Bloom
- $50 credit at Wasteland (Quinn's favorite store. And it IS pretty awesome if I do say so myself)
- Pages from Quinn's notebook (pics below)
- 10 Drain You bookmarks handmade by no other than Quinn herself (probably while she was hanging out at the video store with Morgan)
- 10 90's mixtapes curated and created by Quinn (Guys. For real. This is my favorite prize above all. Do you know how COMPLETELY AWESOME the music was in the 90s???? It was, like, epicly awesome!)
That's all I have for you today, but seriously, pick up the book and read it. I loved it and think you will, too. Also, make sure to enter and win all the prizes you can. And check out all the other blogs this hop will be making an appearance on. Peace my friends!
The next stop on the tour (copied from Mundie Moms blog):
October 18th
October 20th
October 22nd
October 23rd
October 24th
October 25th
October 26th
October 27th
October 28th
October 29th
October 30th
October 31st
--Me
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