TSARINA Blog Tour {Guest Post and Giveaway}

I'm thrilled to have the TSARINA Blog Tour stopping by today with a Guest Post by author J. Nelle Patrick and awesome Giveaway...

TSARINA

by J. Nelle Patrick

2/27/14

Razorbill

Imperial Russia swirls with rebellion.

The Reds are gaining ground, and the loyal Whites struggle to hold Saint Petersburg. But Natalya isn’t afraid. Wrapped in fur and tucked inside her lavish home, she feels safe. Alexei Romanov, heir to the Russian throne and her first love, has told her a secret: Hidden within the Winter Palace lies a Faberge Egg enchanted by the mystic Rasputin. With it, the Romanovs will never fall from power. The Reds will never take the country. And one day, Alexei will ascend the throne and Natalya will be beside him— the tsarina of Russia.

But when the Reds raid the Winter Palace, the egg vanishes and the Romanovs are captured. Natalya must find the egg to save Alexei, her way of life, and her royal future. To do so, she’s forced to ally herself with the enemy— a young Red named Leo who wants the egg for his own purposes. But as they brave a war-battered landscape of snow and magic, Natalya realizes that the world isn’t as simple as it seemed back in Saint Petersburg. Nothing– not friends, not politics, and not love– are as clear as Red and White.

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Tatiana Romanov had the Best Love Story Ever

by J. Nelle Patrick

The main character of TSARINA, Natalya, has a beautiful love story with none other than Alexei Romanov, the heir to the Russian throne. The sad truth is, Alexei was a little young (he died when he was about 13) to have a love story of his own. BUT…his older sister Tatiana had a beautiful one.

Tatiana was the second oldest sister— born after Olga but before Maria and Anastasia. Like the rest of the Romanov children, she was super super sheltered. Lots of people like to blame royalty for wasting money and living in luxury and generally being fancy, but the truth is, lots of royals— especially women, and especially young women— had no idea what money was. Why would you, when you’d never been allowed to go to a store, when you’ve never shopped for groceries, and when everything simply arrives at your house, all boxed up and lovely? Once when they were teens, Tatiana and Olga decided to sneak away and go shopping. They got to the store and looked around, but realized 1) they didn’t have any money and 2) they had no idea how to use it anyway. The ended up having to ask someone exactly how this whole paying-for-things system worked.

Tatiana, Olga, and their mother Alexandra all worked as Red Cross nurses during World War I, and convinced lots of other nobles girls too as well. This wasn’t some sort of PR thing— they were legit nurses. Tatiana even was asked to take on some nurses duties when they were in captivity, before they were executed, and was often mad that senior nurses were hesitant to let her do some of the dirtier jobs.

BUT, back to the love story.

There was lots of speculation who Tatiana would marry. When she was 16, the Serbian king tried to convince Tsar Nicholas to marry Tatiana off to him, but Nicholas wouldn’t do it because she was so young. Then, during her stint as a nurse, along came Dmitri Malama.

Dmitri was a calvary officer. A wounded calvary officer, who had recently gotten an award for gallantry. And Tatiana was his nurse. They fell in love while Dmitri was recovering from his wounds, and their relationship continued when Dmitri would up working for the Tsar at the palace in Tsarskoye Selo. They wrote each other all sorts of letters, and Dmitri got her a French Bulldog.

That’s right. He got her a puppy. Smooth move, Dmitri.

source

(Tatiana and the puppy)

Obviously, she adored the puppy (his name was Ortino), and her parents were pretty pleased that such a nice guy was after their daughter’s heart. Alexandra wasn’t so sure they’d actually be able to allow Tatiana to marry Dmitri, since being a Russian princess, she really needed to marry a foreign prince (especially since the war meant Russia needed some political alliances). Still, though, everyone adored Dmitri, and he came over for dinner and visited them and it was all just adorable and sweet. When the first puppy died, he actually got her another puppy, because clearly the whole puppy-giving thing was working well for him.

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(Tatiana and Dmitri. Well, maybe— there’s no proof this is Dmitri, but I’m just saying: They’re sitting awfully close, and this was taken at the exact right time.)

Of course, they didn’t end up getting married or running away together to live in a land of puppies and sunflowers because the Revolution ended up taking both their lives in the end— Tatiana’s in the basement in Ekaterinberg and Dmitri’s a year later as he lead a group of Whites against the Reds in the Ukraine.

But let’s not think about that, guys.

Let’s just remember the puppy.

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(Alexei, Tatiana, and Ortino)

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

J. Nelle Patrick is the pseduonym for twenty-nine year old Jackson Pearce. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with a slightly cross-eyed cat and a lot of secondhand furniture. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and a minor in Philosophy. She auditioned for the circus once, but didn’t make it; other jobs she’s had include obituaries writer, biker bar waitress, and receptionist. She currently coaches a winterguard at a local high school.

Jackson began writing when she got angry that the school librarian couldn’t tell her of a book that contained a smart girl, horses, baby animals, and magic. Her solution was to write the book herself when she was twelve. Her parents thought it was cute at first, but have grown steadily more concerned for her ever since.

Win a hardcover copy of TSARINA!

Thanks to the cool folks at Penguin, I have one book to give away.

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-US only

-will end 3/9/14

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-winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

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Review: PURITY by Jackson Pearce

TITLE: Purity                                 AUTHOR: Jackson Pearce PUB: Little Brown                        PUB DATE: 4/24/12  FORMAT: hc, 218 pages SOURCE: from pub for review

A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order. Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex. Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity

THREE FIVE WORDS: Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby! *dances*

MY REVIEW: A book like Purity, with its provocative subject matter, will either have readers running in the opposite direction or snatching the book up as soon as they can…I fall into the latter category. As soon as I read the synopsis for Jackson Pearce’s contemp  I knew I just had to read it. And I’m so glad I did!

You have five weeks to lose your virginity. What’s a gal to do? Sixteen year old Shelby Crewe is faced with this dilemma. Before her mother died five years ago, she made Shelby promise three things: to always listen to her father, to love as much as possible and to live without restraint. Three promises Shelby has dedicated her life to following. But when Mr. Crewe signs up to organize the local Princess Ball- a father/daughter dance that ends with the daughters taking a vow to live a pure life (no booze, no drugs, no sex)-Shelby suddenly finds it hard to keep both Promise #1 and #3. Enter the loophole- if Shelby loses her virginity before the ball then the vow will be void and she doesn’t have to break either promise. With the help of her BFF’s, Jonas and Ruby, Shelby sets out to lose her V-card, but ends up finding a few things along the way.

Jackson Pearce certainly brings the funny with Purity, but she also brings a wonderful thought-provoking and beautifully honest essence as well. Don’t let the synopsis fool you, this isn’t just the simple humorous story of a girl trying to lose her virginity. This is a heartfelt, touching and yes, very funny, coming of age story of one girl who is simply trying to stay true to herself, while struggling with grief, anger and heartache.

This is a shorter read, at only 218 pages, and I devoured it in one sitting. Pearce writes with a razor-sharp wit and a clear understanding of her intended audience. She nails the teenage voice, without having to resort to an overuse of slang or teenage “lingo”, which I love. Purity deals with some heavy stuff (sex, grief, doubts about God, relationships) and Pearce handles these things deftly and with finesse.

This is very much a character driven story and Pearce’s characters are fantastic. I love Shelby! She shines with her snarky humor, introspective honesty and compassion. There’s something just so real and relatable about this girl that she felt more like a friend than a simple character. Shelby’s two BFF’s, Jonas and Ruby, are equally as awesome. Ruby is spunky and Jonas is sweet and endearing. I love the vibe between this trio and how close and there for each other they are. I’d love to read a book told from Ruby’s perspective; there’s seems to be so much more about this character and I want to learn it all.

Shelby’s quest to lose her virginity is sprinkled with plenty of awkward hilarity, but this journey also has Shelby doing a whole lot of soul searching. Her grief for her mother, her doubts in God, her distant relationship with her father and her struggle with finding out just who she is and who she wants to be, are all explored as she sets out to keep those three promises. Pearce does a superb job of exploring these elements realistically and with unfailing honesty.

Pearce creates an insightful and poignant look into the relationship of two people- Shelby and her father- who have both been touched by grief and who, instead of letting that grief bring them closer, have let it painfully distance them. I love the journey both Shelby and Mr. Crewe take to find their way back to one another.

Oh, and I have to say that I just LOVE the simple, but perfect cover for this book!

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Jackson Pearce’s Purity has buckets of charm, humor and heart! This is a wonderfully layered and crafted YA contemporary that will captivate teens and adults alike. A must read!

MY RATING

4.5 / 5 Cupcakes

Find the author: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository

Jackson Pearce currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with a slightly cross-eyed cat and a lot of secondhand furniture. She recently graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and a minor in Philosophy and currently works for a software company even though she auditioned for the circus (she juggled and twirled fire batons, but they still didn’t want her). Other jobs she’s had include obituaries writer, biker bar waitress, and receptionist.
In addition, Jackson coaches both colorguard and winterguard at a local high school; she’s taught over four hundred students since starting seven years ago. Coaching provides the greatest “research” for writing YA that she could ever ask for and has introduced her to some of the most unique characters she’s ever met.
Jackson began writing when she got angry that the school librarian couldn’t tell her of a book that contained a smart girl, horses, baby animals, and magic. Her solution was to write the book herself when she was twelve. Her parents thought it was cute at first, but have grown steadily more concerned for her ever since

Teaser Tuesday (33): Purity

Teaser Tuesdays... is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: • Grab your current read • Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.
Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.
My Teaser

Boob squeezing and Cheetos aren't going to get me out of being a thirty-five-year-old virgin, thank you very much. "You know, it's not that big a deal, Daniel. It's just sex."

Purity, pg 80Jackson Pearce4/24/12Little, Brown
YOUR TURN TO TEASE ME!LEAVE LINKS IN THE COMMENTS :)