Blog Tour Book Review: How To Disappear by Ann Redisch Stampler

This electric cross-country thriller follows the game of cat and mouse between a girl on the run from a murder she witnessed—or committed?—and the boy who’s sent to kill her.

Nicolette Holland is the girl everyone likes. Up for adventure. Loyal to a fault. And she’s pretty sure she can get away with anything...until a young woman is brutally murdered in the woods near Nicolette’s house. Which is why she has to disappear.

Jack Manx has always been the stand-up guy with the killer last name. But straight A’s and athletic trophies can’t make people forget that his father was a hit man and his brother is doing time for armed assault. Just when Jack is about to graduate from his Las Vegas high school and head east for college, his brother pulls him into the family business with inescapable instructions: find this ruthless Nicolette Holland and get rid of her. Or else Jack and everyone he loves will pay the price.

As Nicolette and Jack race to outsmart each other, tensions—and attractions—run high. Told in alternating voices, this tightly plotted mystery and tense love story challenges our assumptions about right and wrong, guilt and innocence, truth and lies.

“What a thrill ride! How to Disappear will suck you in from the very first page and never let you come up for air. It’s a game of cat and mouse with an end that will leave you gasping.”
— April Henry, bestselling author of The Girl I Used to Be

“A deliciously gritty dive into the dark side of human nature! This book pretty much defines #MorallyComplicatedYA in a beautifully-written but fast-paced read that’s both twisted and thought-provoking.”
— Martina Boone, award-winning author of the Heirs of Watson Island trilogy

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review (mucho thanks S&S)*

It started with a murder and leads to a cat and mouse chase. Nicolette is the typical high school girl. Lots of friends and super popular among the student body. One day a young woman is murdered by her house, which prompts her to go on the run. Because she knows too much? Or because she was a party to the murder itself? Nicolette runs away from home and is on the run. Paranoia rules her mind and actions. (Girl, don’t you know that running from the scene of the crime is practically an admission of guilt?) It turns out her paranoia is not unfounded. Jack Manx is from a family with a close association with murder and crime. His brother Don (currently serving time in prison) gives him the task of hunting Nicolette down and silencing her. Supposedly Nicolette killed a friend of theirs (Connie) and might know a little too much about something that the mafia don’t want anyone else knowing. (okay….) Jack is certainly not in a hurry to accept such a job; seeing as he is trying to be on the straight and narrow, but when his family is threatened, he has no choice. The alternating POVs give the reader a better understanding of what is going on in Nicolette and Jack’s minds. While I do applaud Stampler’s overall story, I did take away half a star for the underlying romantic theme. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a romantic, but why would you fall for a girl who supposedly killed a friend of yours? And why would a girl fall for her would-be killer? Granted both Nicolette and Jack come from semi-broken homes and starved for love and attention, but seriously? That was just too much. Overall, I did enjoy this book. I enjoyed the psychological aspects of this book immensely. How far are you willing to go for the ones you love? When it comes down to your own survival, are you willing to kill? Kudos, Ann. 

4.5 stars!

"A high-intensity, cross-country thrill ride that will have you breathlessly turning pages until the very end." 

— Gretchen McNeil, award-winning author of Ten and the Don't Get Mad series)

Author Bio

Ann Redisch Stampler is the author of the young adult novels Afterparty and Where It Began as well as half a dozen picture books. Her work has garnered an Aesop accolade, the National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor honors, the Middle East Book Award, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year mentions. How to Disappear (Simon Pulse, 2016), her first young adult thriller, will be released on June 14, 2016. Ann lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband Rick.

Connect with Ann!

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Pre-order Giveaway

Order a signed copy of HOW TO DISAPPEAR before June 14th, 2016 and you’ll receive a swag pack with your book order.

With your signed book, you’ll receive a bookmark; the tiny flashlight from Nicolette’s escape kit; Nicolette Holland and Cat Davis’ (fake!!!) ID's; and one skeleton key in a pretty tulle bag (there are lots of different kinds of keys) that Nicolette used to unlock the doors at the Bluebonnet.

To receive your swag, order your copy of HOW TO DISAPPEAR online at shoponceuponatime.com and in the Order Comments field, enter a name if you would like to have the autograph personalized, or "signature only" if no name is required.

If you pre-order an electronic copy of HOW TO DISAPPEAR, forward your receipt or proof of purchase to HowToDisappearBook@gmail.com with the name & address where you’d like your goodies sent.

Offer valid in the only in the United States. 

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Release Day Blitz: Mister O by Lauren Blakely

Lauren Blakely's MISTER O is here for all of your reading pleasure! MISTER O is a standalone, sexy romantic comedy, including a forbidden romance, told from the male POV. You met Nick in Lauren’s BIG ROCK, and he’ll keep you up long into the night as you turn the pages of MISTER O.

"This book is an absolute gem! Nick is so freaking SEXY! And funny! And adorable in the HOTTEST way!!!" - NYT Bestselling Author Emma Chase

"This was absolutely brilliant! Full of sex, sarcasm, and shenanigans, Lauren Blakely, once again, brings me to my knees in her romantic comedy!"
 - Shayna Renee's Spicy Reads

✮✮✮MISTER O will be available on Kindle on release day May 2!✮✮✮

Just call me Mister O. Because YOUR pleasure is my super power.

Making a woman feel 'oh-god-that's-good' is the name of the game, and if a man can't get the job done, he should get the hell out of the bedroom. I'm talking toe-curling, mind-blowing, sheet-grabbing ecstasy. Like I provide every time.
I suppose that makes me a superhero of pleasure, and my mission is to always deliver.
But then I'm thrown for a loop when a certain woman asks me to teach her everything about how to win a man. The only problem? She's my best friend's sister, but she's far too tempting to resist--especially when I learn that sweet, sexy Harper has a dirty mind too and wants to put it to good use. What could possibly go wrong as I give the woman I've secretly wanted some no-strings-attached lessons in seduction?
No one will know, even if we send a few dirty sexts. Okay, a few hundred. Or if the zipper on her dress gets stuck. Not on that! Or if she gives me those f*&k-me-eyes on the train in front of her whole family.
The trouble is the more nights I spend with her in bed, the more days I want to spend with her out of bed. And for the first time ever, I'm not only thinking about how to make a woman cry out in pleasure --I'm thinking about how to keep her in my arms for a long time to come.

Looks like the real Adventures of Mister Orgasm have only just begun....

**MISTER O is a standalone romantic comedy and it follows supporting characters first introduced in BIG ROCK**

Amazon US | Amazon Paperback | iBooks | Kobo
Barnes & Noble | Google Play

"A sexy, delicious, toe-curlingly good time!"
- NYT Bestselling Author Marie Force

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

Ask me my three favorite things and the answers are so easy they roll off my tongue. Hitting a homerun for my softball league, drawing a killer cartoon panel, and, oh yeah, making a woman come so hard she sees stars.

            Not gonna lie. That last one is my favorite, by about a mile. Giving a woman a sheet-grabbing, toe-curling, mind-blowing orgasm is pretty much the Best Thing Ever.

            A woman’s climax is like summer break, Christmas morning, and a vacation in Fiji all rolled together in one fantastic package of window-shattering bliss.

            Hell, if we could harness the beauty and energy from women coming, we could probably power cities, solve global warming, fix every problem known to man. The female orgasm is basically the manifestation of everything good in the world.

            Especially when I deliver them, and I’ve given thousands upon thousands. I’m like a superhero of pleasure, a good-deed doer, the once-upon-a-geek-now-a-stud, and my mission is to dispense as many climaxes to my lovers as possible.

            How have I managed to achieve this amazing feat? Simple. I’m both a student and a master of the art of giving Os. I consider myself an expert because — in the interest of full disclosure here — I’m completely, 100% obsessed with a woman’s enjoyment between the sheets. Getting her off is the name of the game, and if you can’t get that job done, you should get the hell out of the bedroom.

            But, hey, I’m also humble enough to admit I’m still a learner.

            Since there is always something new to discover with a woman.

            Does she want it soft, hard, fast, light, rough? Does she like it with teeth, toys, my cock, my tongue, my fingers? Would she want a little something extra, like a feather, a vibrator, or some sort of fantastic combination of all of the above? Every woman is different and every path to her pleasure is its own erotic journey with so many fantastic stops to make along the way.

            I take mental notes, study her cues, and always get out and do the field work.

            I suppose that makes me the Magellan of the female orgasm. A true explorer, venturing forth, fearless and ready at any moment, to map the terrain of her pleasure until she cries out in rapture.

            Fine, some might say I have an addiction.

            But really, is it a bad thing that I love to make the woman I’m with feel good? If that makes me a guy with a one-track mind, then I’m guilty as fucking charged. I’ll freely admit that when I meet a woman I’m into, I’m picturing in seconds what she looks like coming, how she sounds, how I want to send her soaring.

            The trouble is, there’s one woman I just can’t go there with, even though lately my brain desperately wants to figure out how to drive her wild. It’s been an epic battle, and I’ve had to keep her in a special drawer, locked, sealed and key thrown away because she is the definition of hands off.

            Which sucks royally because she’s about to make things even harder with the words that come out of her mouth.

"Nick is hilarious, sexy, passionate, sweet, and knows that cake is very important to a woman's heart and soul. Together, their banter is refreshing, their sex is off-the charts hot, and their minds are brilliant." - Sandra at Two Book Pushers

About Lauren Blakely

Since self-publishing her debut romance novel CAUGHT UP IN US three years ago, Lauren Blakely has sold more than 1 million books. She is known for her sexy contemporary romance style that’s full of heat, heart and humor. A devout fan of cake and canines, Lauren has plotted entire novels while walking her four-legged friends. She lives in California with her family. With nine New York Times bestsellers,her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller List more than three dozen times. Her bestselling series include Sinful Nights, Seductive Nights, No Regrets, Caught Up in Love and Fighting Fire. She recently released BIG ROCK, a sexy standalone romantic comedy that became an instant New York Times Bestseller. In the late spring, she’ll release MISTER O, another standalone romantic comedy.

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Newsletter ** Goodreads

✮✮✮ Enter to win this amazing giveaway for a Basket filled with goodies! ✮✮✮

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