Blog Tour & ARC Review: The Last Academy by Anne Applegate + Giveaway!

Hello my wonderful readers! Welcome to The Last Academy by Anne Applegate blog tour hosted by Itching for Books. I'm so super excited to be a part of this tour and to be able to share my review with you all. I hope everyone will really enjoy reading my review and love The Last Academy as much as I do.
So without further ado...

Title: The Last Academy

Authors: Anne Applegate

Number of Pages: 320

Expected publication: April 30th 2013 by Point

Source: Publisher -ARC paperback

Genre: Paranormal > Mystery Thriller

Reading Level: Young Adult

What is this prep school preparing them for?

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what?

The answer will leave Cam—and readers—stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

Purchase/Pre-order @ Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | The Book Depository

The Last Academy might very well be one of the hardest book for me to review. Here's why.

1. The reader will not understand ANYTHING about what's going on until about 3/4 of the book is already done. 

Me: "Wait, what?" - "Umm... that made no sense" - "How is the world is that even possible?!?"

2. I don't and will not spoil the ending! Nope, not going to do it!

3. Finally, THIS BOOK IS EPIC!!!!!!! (and sadly I can't say why)

So here what I can tell you....

After Camden Fisher (or Cam) has a huge falling out with her long time best friend, Lia at a pool party. She decides to try to forget Lia and focus on packing her things for Boarding School. Cam is determined to start a new life, with new friends, and somehow forgot Lia. Before she even arrives to Lethe Academy strange things begin to happen. Now there, she is taken back but how perfect everything is seems to be. Cam wants to fit in, make friends (even a boyfriend), and focus on her schooling.  

As Cam meets the students (and the hot boys), teachers, and takes in her new surrounding that is when the weird things all start to happen. Late night visitors (who nobody sees), students go missing; never to return. Cam swears she sees things that just ain't there. She has so many unanswered questions.... What really is Lethe Academy? Why are all these weird, unexplained things happening to her? And where do her missing friends really go after they leave?

The answer will not only shock Cam but the readers of the book as well. 

*True story: I was sitting in a Barnes & Noble reading the last 60 pages of this book, while my best friend was sitting across from me eating. When I finally found out the why all of these odd things keep happening to Cam my mouth dropped. (literally) I mean like, OMG!!!! My friend is looking at me like "WHAT THE??!". I swear people around me are giving me a look like, is she is crazy? *

I have never ever, ever, EVER had a book give me head to toe goose bumps while reading. I not only was stocked by the ending, I just loved how everything just seemed to fit into place which literally left me breathless. I was so engrossed in reading the end I forgot I had to breathe to survive. haha (true story) Now to be completely honest when I was half way through, a good 180 in I was planning on giving The Last Academy a 3 STAR rating. But the ending.....*shivers* makes this book!!! The story was such a enthralling thriller that had me on the edge of my seat long after the last page.

Anne Applegate is a beyond brilliant author. This book made me mad, excited, happy, crying and above all else FREAKED ME OUT! But in the best possible way. Now while I am focusing lot of this review on the ending of the book, when you read it you will see why. I can't tell you more about the other area but let me say EVERYTHING about the story is just WOW! 

I most definitely recommend The last Academy to my readers and to anything who loves a good thriller.

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

About The Author: Anne Applegate

Find Anne @

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Anne Applegate was born in Chico, California.  Most of her childhood was spent moving across America with her family, nomad style.
When Anne was fourteen, her parents sent her to boarding school so she could spend four years in a single educational system.  As it turned out, her family then promptly settled into a small mid-western town and lived there for the next sixteen years.  Anne still hasn’t figured out if this means something.


After graduation, she went on to Tufts University in Medford, MA, where she had a wicked good time. Eventually, she  wound up back on the west coast, where she married a fantastic Californian guy.  Together, they have three children.


For the last twelve years, Anne has lived  in San Luis Obispo County.  This is by far the longest time she has stayed in any one place her whole life.  She immensely enjoys living  where 1) the sun always shines and 2) she isn’t the weirdest person in town.

To be enter to win a finished copy of The Last Academy please use the rafflecopter form below to enter.

Giveaway is open to ONLY US residents. 

I would love to hear what you think of this book or/and my review. Please leave me a comment. ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Butterfly Kisses by Mia Castile

Today I will be sharing a new cover reveal for the book:

 Butterfly Kisses by Mia Castile

Hosted by:

Butterfly Kisses (The Butterfly Chronicles #2) by Mia Castile

Published October 2012 by Entwined Publishing

Young Adult - Contemporary Romance

 

Everything changed for the Baxter sisters last spring. Lacey blew it with Henry her lifelong crush, only to discover a blooming relationship with her best friend, Chase. While he picked her up and put her back together, they grew closer over the summer. Now that school has started, he’s found popularity thanks to his band Cate’s Ashes, and he’s hiding secret phone calls and text messages. Plus, did his ex-girlfriend just appear out of the blue at his show? Forcing Lacey to wonder if he’s over the feelings he pronounced for her at the beginning of summer. Add to the tension, a realization and secret of her own to keep about her worse enemy. Lacey vows to be the bigger person and keep Byron’s revelation, but what will it cost?

Meanwhile, as Lana tries to find herself again after her suicide attempt, she’s befriended by the school’s resident bad girl, Britt, and new chicano boy, Tomas, in the same week. Britt offers unconditional acceptance that Lana didn’t realize she craved, while Tomas brings out the best in her, and makes her feel alive again. Britt is dangerous and daring, while Tomas exudes security and safety. Vices come easily when you are already addicted to something you crave, and Lana muddles through figuring out who she wants to be.

With their parents constantly arguing, and their dad moving into the guest bedroom, the pressure on the girls may explode destroying them all. Is there a place for happiness when their world is crumbling around them?

Purchase @ Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Butterfly Kisses Book Trailer

About The Author: Mia Castile

Find Mia @
Goodreads |  Blog | Facebook | Twitter

This is a story about a girl, named Mia. She grew up in suburb of medium sized city. There were cold winters, and hot sticky summers. Mia’s favorite seasons were spring and fall. She enjoyed the mild seasons, but also loved the vibrant colors each possessed. 

Mia loved music. She didn’t just love it, she sat on the floor in front of her Casio stereo for hours at a time, recording songs off the radio. Then she would cue them up and make sure she only got the music as she recorded them on a second tape, without the DJ’s voices on them, just the music. Then she would listen to those songs absorbing the words as she sat in her room and wrote her poetry. 

She wrote her first Poem when she was thirteen. It was called Sands of Time. When she was sixteen and again when she was eighteen she won two state competitions for her poetry. Her Poetry was stories of roses, starry nights, love, loss, and the scars left behind. She found recourse in those private moments filling notebooks of her writings. As she grew so did her inspirations, and when ever it hit her the rest of the world melted away until her verses were written, alive in the world. 

Even today as Mia writes mostly YA fiction, poetry still holds a special place in her heart. Her love for all things words propels her forward in her pursuit of the next great story. Her Debut Novel The Ocean will be released this spring. 

What do YOU think of the cover? 

Follow Friday #30

Follow Friday is hosted by 

Parajunkee & Allison Can Read

Featured Bloggers are:

Bekka @ Pretty Deadly Reviews

Esty @ Boarding With Books

Today's Question:

Give us a sneak! What are you reading? Tell us about a fun or fail scene in your current read.

 

I am reading an ARC of Chantress (for review). So far I am really enjoying myself. The story is fresh and very unique. Although at this time I feel many of the characters are somewhat falling flat. The main character Lucy to me lacks emotions. I hope things will get better as the story progresses. As a Chantness, Lucy magic comes from her singing. She is able to do things like read minds, and sing to transport herself from one place to another. There is a LOT she is still learning and I think in time Lucy may end up being a pretty neat heroine in the book. 

Thank you all for stopping by! :) What book are YOU reading today? Anything good? Please leave me your FF links below in the comment section. I will visit you back & follow you back.