Mundie Moms

Friday, October 28, 2016

GLITTER by Aprilynne Pike / Blog Tour: Book Review / Giveaway


Hello and welcome to the last stop in the GLITTER blog tour, hosted by Rock Star blog tours. Today's stop features my review, along with a giveaway. After you check out my review, be sure to enter to win! First, here's a little bit about the book

ABOUT THE BOOK 


By: Aprilynne Pike
Published by: Random House Books for Young Readers
Released on: October 25, 2016
Series: Glitter #1
Purchase from: AmazonBarnes & NobleiBooks
Add it to Goodreads

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike comes a truly original new novel—Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette in a near-future world where the residents of Versailles live like it’s the eighteenth century and an almost-queen turns to drug dealing to save her own life. 

Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.


When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.


Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed.


But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.

A quick, intriguing read. This is a story I quickly devoured. There was something about it that fascinated me. This was not at all what I was expecting, and I kind of liked that. There was something about this story, and about Dani, and the situation she found herself in, that intrigued me. That's not to say I agreed with Dani's choices, however to some degree I sympathized with her, and wanted to see how she was going to get out of her predicament. 


Character wise, there's not much in way of emotionally connecting with the characters. Normally that bothers me, but not with this story. These characters don't emotionally connect to each other, which is part of the deception, the power struggles, and the twisted game so to speak, that's being played in court. In order to protect themselves, they have to be on guard. Not emotionally connecting with the characters, when they themselves fight so hard to not emotionally connect to each other, worked well in this story. 


I really liked this setting. Pike created a fascinating blend of royalty, history, and modern day technology, that really worked well for this story. I was completely hooked with way she crafted these elements together, especially the historical part of it. I loved how that part into this story. Just as I would expect any court to have, there are plenty of deceptions, secrets, and power struggles that often times lead to deadly consequences. 


Romance wise, I'm really curious about where one of these romances will lead. It's a little hard to figure out who's in it for the right reasons, vs who's obviously in this for the power play. With the way this story ended, I'm really hoping we'll get a sequel so I know what happens next, not just with Demi, but with the direction one of the romances is going. 


Glitter is a fast paced, unique story that quickly held my attention, and had me wanting to know more. It's definitely not a story I was expecting, and I liked that it was something different. I don't think I've read anything quite like this one. Normally this wouldn't be something I'd like. Yet, I found myself curious about the Court, the politics, deadly secrets and blackmail that went on behind the scenes. It definitely made for an interesting read, and had me wondering how it was all going to end. That was a brutal ending and one that may be different in the finished book vs what was in the arc. It definitely has me looking forward to reading the sequel. 


There are definitely some sensitive subjects in this book. There are also darker elements than Pike's previous books have had. There's murder, a forced marriage, sexual context, drug use, and some mild language. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Aprilynne Pike is a critically acclaimed, #1 New York Times best-selling author of young adult fiction. At the age of twenty she received her BA in Creative Writing from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. When not writing, Aprilynne can usually be found running; she also enjoys singing, acting, reading, and working with pregnant moms as a childbirth educator and doula. Aprilynne lives in Arizona with her husband and their four children.


ENTER TO WIN
3 winners will receive a finished copy of GLITTER, US Only.


FOLLOW THE TOUR
10/17/2016- Tales of the Ravenous ReaderInterview
10/18/2016- Lisa Loves LiteratureReview
10/19/2016- Pandora's BooksExcerpt
10/20/2016-  BookHounds YAReview
10/21/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Interview
10/24/2016- Brooke- ReportsReview
10/25/2016- Brittany's Book RamblesGuest Post
10/26/2016- Seeing Double In NeverlandReview
10/27/2016- A Glass Of Wine BlogInterview
10/28/2016- Mundie MomsReview

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