Book Review & Giveaway! THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS by Cassandra Marshall

I am so excited to be participating in the blog tour for Cassandra Marshall's YA Steampunkish Fantasy, THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS!!

 

From the official website:Alison Arroway takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’. She has to, or she won’t get paid. Alison is a stunt double for pampered teen actress Pomegranate and when the director takes the shoot to Portugal, Alison is anything but thrilled to be rooming with Pom. But getting to hang around teen hearthrob Erik? Now that’s a plus.

Erik invites both girls on a sunset boat trip and Alison manages to have a decent time. Until the storm hits and the boat is shipwrecked on a small island, leaving Erik missing and the boat captain dead.

In the morning light, Alison and Pom find themselves on the lost island of Atlantis. Only one problem: now that the girls know the secret of the island, the Atlanteans don’t want them to leave. They're stuck with corsets, full-skirted dresses, and the strange steam-driven contraptions that are just a way of life for the islanders.

When a plot by the ruthless army Captain to take over the island and declare himself General over all emerges, an underground group promises to return the girls to the mainland if they can help stop him. They'll go through a mountain, literally, to find the Book of Blue, a book that will explain how to make ‘the stars fall sideways' in order to save the day and earn their freedom.

I absolutely fell in love as soon as I read the description of this novel (Atlantis as the setting was enough to make me want to read this, but a strong girl main character who manages to save the day, even when confined to full skirts and corsets?? I couldn't pass that up!), so when I saw that Cassandra was looking for volunteers to participate in her blog tour, I immediately sent an email, begging for a chance to be included... and SHE SAID YES!!!

I'd like to say that I put everything aside so I could read THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS the second Cassandra sent me a review copy, but I have to admit that I hesitated. When it came time to read the book, I started to worry... What if I didn't like it??? You know I'd never post a dishonest review of a book, even if the author is one of my favorite people in real life... But could I participate in a blog tour if I didn't LOVE the book? I wasn't so sure.

LUCKILY, all of that worrying and fear was absolutely and completely for nothing! I do love it! When I finally opened the book and started to read, I couldn't put it down. Action, adventure, a touch of romance (and a slightly steamy make out session with a really cute Atlantean) kept me turning pages, even when my household chores threatened to tear me away. (I had to assign dinner-making duties to the kids, so I could read uninterrupted for that much longer.) I've seen the "lost in the city of Atlantis" theme in stories before, but this one gives a fresh twist to the idea.

Alison has to call upon the skills she learned as a stunt double to save the island and to find a way to get herself and Pom back home again. Let me just say she kind of rocks. I wish I could be as courageous and daring as Alison Arroway.

But I have to admit that Pom was my favorite character in the book. In the beginning, she's definitely your stereotypical spoiled, Hollywood brat, with almost no redeeming qualities, but her time on the island helps her to discover that there is more to life than a pretty face and posing for the paparazzi.

Want more? You can read the first two chapters here.

Once you start reading, you won't want to stop. So you can find links to buy THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS here (it's available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and more). And one lucky winner has a chance to win a SIGNED copy right here on my blog!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!! Update: I changed the settings on the Rafflecopter form to make the blog comment optional, instead of mandatory, as some people still have trouble posting comments on my blog (don't know what else to do to fix that!) & I want you all to have a chance to enter! I'd still love to see your comments, though!!

If you've missed the other stops on the STARS FELL SIDEWAYS blog tour, you can find the list of links here. And don't forget to visit Cassandra Marshall's blog! She's giving away a free, substantial edit of a novel (up to 100,000 words)! The free edit is good for 4 months and can be used by the winner or gifted to their favorite writer, and you have ONE MORE DAY to enter!!