*Review Tour* Pixieland Diaries Dare by Christina Bauer-BOOK REVIEW

 

Dare

by Christina Bauer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE: The book is on sale for $0.99

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

***BEWARE***

If you don’t like pixies, then don’t read this diary.

Also, if you don’t like pixies who become Queen of the Summer Fae and stay their sassy selves, then definitely don’t read this. I’ll never genuflect, suck up, or tone down.

And I’m totally kicking it as queen. That is, until an evil sorcerer named the Usurper schemes to kill every last thing in Faerie. Whoa. To defeat this deadly mage, I team up with my elf crush, Dare. He’s a Prince of the Winter Realm and just awesome in general. Together, we’ll totally stop this deadly mage. It's a dangerous quest, but things get worse when the unthinkable happens.

Dare is kidnapped.

Will I give up? Hell, no. But I will crash an ice polo pony tournament in a bikini.

***A 40,000-word diary written by Calla the pixie***

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPTS (Please choose only ONE to use with your post):

Excerpt One:

Dear Diary,

Tonight, Ghost Dare visits me in my room. Technically, this is a spell where Dare projects his astral body across space, but calling him Ghost Dare is just more catchy-sounding. At this point, I’m lying in bed and happily tucked under my covers while a hazy white cloud becomes a semi-transparent version of my boyfriend.

Life is getting good.

Little by little, Ghost Dare turns to me. Our gazes lock. My breath catches.

Even as a kid, Dare wields what can only be called an icy stare. Mind you, this isn’t a serial killer type of thing. It’s more that Dare’s a prince of the winter court and that place is a political battlefield. To survive, Dare always plays dozen games of three-dimensional chess at once. It enough to make anyone’s irises a little chilly.

But in this moment? Dare’s intensity holds a different edge. Although the prince may be semi-transparent, there’s no missing the desire that fires through his vision. He’s thinking the same thing that I am.

I blush my face off.

When Dare speaks, his voice holds a husky tone. “Hello, Little Hob.” The prince crosses the room, leans over the bed, and brushes ghostly kiss on my lips

“I hate it when you call me that. But that kiss was cool.”

“I’ll join you tomorrow.”

“Ghost you or real you?”

“Ghost.”

“I’ll take whatever I can get.”

Dare gives me another kiss before fading from view. And I fall asleep with a smile.

- Calla

Excerpt Two:

Dear Diary,

This morning, I wake up with a plan. Brace for the drumroll…

Ba ba ba ba ba BAAAAAAA!

And here it is…

Now that I’m Queen of the Summer Fae, I shall flush some seriously crappy stuff out of my realm. And because this diary will surely become a major historical document, I will list the two poopy things in question.

My Massive, Idealistic, And Yet Totally Achievable Goals As Queen

One. Free the human changelings who are trapped in Faerie.

Two. Make the Elven High Council accept all fae as co-rulers, not just those of the snooty and pointy-eared variety.

Together, I call this my Changeling-Council Plan. These two things have been my main obsession for years, so long as you don’t count Prince Dare.

Which brings me to the present moment. I lie curled under the covers in my royal bedroom (which is totally pink and cute) and consider my next move. There are lots of folks I should consult about my Changeling-Council Plan. But there’s only one person who never-not-once questioned that I’d eventually kick the council’s butt and redefine changeling-hood.

Prince Dare.

Keeping a diary means being brutally honest. Here goes. There’s a secret goal on my previous list of queenly stuff.

Three. Dare

I don’t have anything more specific at this point. What can I say? I’m only sixteen.

But I do know what I need from Dare in terms of my Changeling-Council Plan. After all, the guy grew up in the winter court. Talk about knowing how to get stuff done. And the fact that Dare lives half-way across Faerie isn’t a problem, either. The prince and I have a secret way of contacting each other that’s worked since we were kids: we appear to one another as ghosts.

So it should be easy to talk to Dare and chat about my Changeling-Council Plan.

It isn’t, though.

There are two big issues in my way this morning. To begin with, I’ve got a supernatural and tickly feeling crawling up my back. And when I say ethereal tickles, you think impending doom. The last time I got this sensation, the Fartburger Trolls launched a surprise attack on Pixieland. I stopped them with a prank, but it was still a close call.

The second issue is far more serious. I cannot, not, NOT be the first one to ghost-call the prince. Why? Last night, Dare and I went on a sleigh ride and totally smooched. Although it was my first kiss, I know the rules. Dare must begin contact with moi, not the other way around.

So instead of getting ghosty, I shall spend my morning drawing something that is completely unrelated to Dare.

Like a tree.

- Calla

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MY REVIEW

This was a quick, easy read with a pleasant story-line. The upbeat nature of the main character made the story fun and enjoyable, and while a dairy format can often leave out important plot points. This author made sure to fill in the reader, and keep them well informed despite the dairy format. Over all the story was delightful, thrilling with some romance. An enjoyable time.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too.

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.

Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates

Stalk Christina On Social Media – She Loves It!

Blog: http://monsterhousebooks.com/blog/category/christina

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBauer/

Twitter: @CB_Bauer

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina_cb_bauer/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cb-bauer-481b12139/

Web site: http://magicorumbook.com/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088Q2997W

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Christina_Bauer_Dare?id=lbjkDwAAQBAJ

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dare-christina-bauer/1137042383

https://books.apple.com/us/book/dare/id1513749175

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Christina Bauer will be awarding a fairy necklace (US Only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

RAFFLECOPTER:

<a class="rcptr" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3753/" rel="nofollow" data-raflid="28e4345f3753" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_1qrv6wlz">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>

<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>

If you cannot embed the code, please use this HTML link:

<a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3753">Enter to win a fairy necklace - a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>