FFBC: Welcome to the club, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus

Romancing the Dark in the City of Light

by Ann Jacobus

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Release Date: October 6th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Travel, Fiction, France

Synopsis:

A troubled teen, living in Paris, is torn between two boys, one of whom encourages her to embrace life, while the other—dark, dangerous, and attractive—urges her to embrace her fatal flaws.

Haunting and beautifully written, with a sharp and distinctive voice that could belong only to this character, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unforgettable young adult novel.

Summer Barnes just moved to Paris to repeat her senior year of high school. After being kicked out of four boarding schools, she has to get on track or she risks losing her hefty inheritance. Summer is convinced that meeting the right guy will solve everything. She meets two. Moony, a classmate, is recovering against all odds from a serious car accident, and he encourages Summer to embrace life despite how hard it can be to make it through even one day. But when Summer meets Kurt, a hot, mysterious older man who she just can't shake, he leads her through the creepy underbelly of the city-and way out of her depth.

When Summer's behavior manages to alienate everyone, even Moony, she's forced to decide if a life so difficult is worth living. With an ending that'll surprise even the most seasoned reader, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unputdownable and utterly compelling novel.

Hello Ann! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours!

Thank you! I’m truly delighted to be here.

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about “Romancing the Dark in the City of Light” without giving away spoilers?

Eighteen year-old Summer Barnes is ready to end it all. Even though she‘s now in Paris, the most romantic city in the world, she’s been kicked out of yet another boarding school for drinking, smoking, snorting and flunking.

Then Summer meets an awesome guy, nicknamed Moony, at the Paris American International School where they’re both seniors; and mysterious Kurt while she’s out scoping a celebrity cemetery. He’s so hot, he may be out of her league. 

Moony barely survived a horrific car crash as a kid. He’s totally upbeat about life and he wants Summer to embrace her own, maybe starting with a little less solo champagne drinking? Summer needs Moony’s friendship desperately, but no way will he put up with her bad choices much longer.

Kurt, on the other hand, is all about self-destructive fun. It gets harder and harder for Summer to resist him. He wants her to understand that life, and death, are in her own hands. 

Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun writing?

My editor and I changed the ending, not so much what happens, but where it was set. It’s really the last three chapters. I loved (re)writing that!

Is there a specific routine you follow when you sit down to write?

I get started early in the morning, sometimes postponing getting dressed until close to lunch time. I keep lots of snacks on hand, so the first thing I do is make sure my supplies (lately nuts, dried fruit, and, okay, chocolate) are stocked. I keep a cup of tea nearby and refill it several times. I used to do this with paint-peelingly strong coffee, Rolos and Twizzlers but finally realized there was a reason I was bouncing off the walls and not sleeping at night. Checking email and any social media early, then turning it all off until later, greatly increases my productivity.

Do you have a favorite fan moment?

A few early readers have let me know about their struggles, or those of someone they love, with depression and/or feeling suicidal. These are hard subjects to talk about, and I’m grateful for their stories and happy to encourage more talking about these things in general.

What would you say is harder to write, the first line of a book or the last?

First and last lines are both so important and correspondingly difficult to write. They’re both also most likely revised many times. Getting the opening and really, the first chapter “right” probably takes me more time and effort. 

What authors are auto-buys for you?

Ah, this is my problem. I have too many auto-buys. I’m sort of a “greatest hits,” reader, though, and can’t think of too many authors whose every book I’ve read. In YA, I love: Laurie Halse Anderson, M.T. Anderson, Markus Zusak, Sherman Alexie, Nancy Farmer, E. Lockhart, Rainbow Rowell, Kekla Magoon, Gayle Forman, Stephanie Perkins, Lauren Oliver…I could go on.

What would you say has been the most surprising thing you learned about becoming a published author?

How little it pays :)

Favorite book of 2015?

Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun was a standout, for sure. I read lots of books debuting this year and loved them all. I just finished Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. The Weight of Feathers by Annamarie McLemore, and The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis, The Fix by Natasha Sinel, were three other wonderful reads. See? I can’t pick just one. Oh, and Jennifer Niven’s All the Bright Places was another standout read this year. I think Book Addicts understand.

What shows are you currently watching?

I haven’t had much time for TV this new season, but I love Mad Men, Breaking Bad, OITNB. I’m way behind on Game of Thrones and must catch up. I will sob uncontrollably when Downton Abbey is finished. Really.

Thank you for participating in our FFBC Tours, Ann!

Thank you for having me.

Follow the Romancing The Dark in The City of Light by Ann Jacobus Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Ann Jacobus earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lived with her family for many years in the Arabian Gulf and in Paris, France. She now lives in San Francisco where she writes, reads, volunteers weekly on a suicide crisis line, and frequently resorts to crock-pot meals of canned soup, fowl and whatever's in the fridge.

Win (1) ARC of ROMANCING THE DARK IN THE CITY OF LIGHT by Ann Jacobus (US Only)
Win (1) finished copy of ROMANCING THE DARK IN THE CITY OF LIGHT by Ann Jacobus (US Only)
Win (1) finished copy of ROMANCING THE DARK IN THE CITY OF LIGHT by Ann Jacobus (INT)
Win (1) of (2) ROMANCING THE DARK IN THE CITY OF LIGHT swag packs (US Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FFBC: Welcome to the club, City Love by Susane Colasanti

City Love
by Susane Colasanti
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: April 21st 2015

Synopsis:

Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna are living together in New York City the summer before their freshman year of college begins. With no parents, no rules, and an entire city to explore, these three girls are on the verge of the best summer of their lives.

Sadie is a native New Yorker. She is hopeful, romantic, and an eternal optimist who is ready to find her soul mate. Then she meets her dream boy: cute, funny, and quirky in all the right ways. The chemistry between them is unreal. Could he be the one?

Darcy is a free spirit from SoCal with rebellious tendencies and unlimited financial resources. Moving to New York City is just another adventure for her. Darcy wants this summer to be all about boy adventures—nothing serious. But how much fun is too much?

Rosanna leaves Chicago for NYC so she can put her past behind her and reinvent herself. The only thing standing in her way is the grand total of seventy-three cents she has saved. Then she meets a guy who wants to show her the glamorous side of New York—a side that she would never get to experience on her own. If Rosanna doesn't resist, she may find herself in city love.

Told from alternating points of view, City Love captures the moments in each girl's life when everything is thrilling, amazing, and terrifying all at once . . . in a way it will never be again.

The Little Prince

The Office, with an old-school tie between My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks.

Picking just one is too hard! I have to go with a top five list instead: Garden State, The Good Girl, Say Anything, The Station Agent, and Office Space.

“Clarity” by John Mayer

Summer fruit! All the berries, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines…I love it all.

No place would make me as happy as New York City. New York was my first city love that will always be here for me, no matter what. I could never abandon my boyfriend like that.

Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders. Ponyboy is sensitive, introspective, and caring. He understands about sunsets and colors and things.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

So. Many. Things. Right now I’m fangirling hardcore over Rainbow Rowell. I read all four of her books in a row and was crazy disappointed when that party ended. How awesome is it to find a book you love so much you’re up late reading because you cannot put the book down, eyes burning out of your head at four in the morning, knowing you’re going to pay the next day and not even caring? Yeah. I love chasing that feeling.

Louise Fitzhugh. Harriet the Spy had an immense impact on me in fourth grade. It was one of those key early books that inspired my lifelong love of reading. Louise seemed like the kind of person who would enjoy being treated to a cappuccino and Snickers cheesecake at Café Lalo on the Upper West Side. She would reflect on her favorite things about New York City back in the day, how advancements in technology have changed the way she interacts with her readers, and of course spy notebooks.

Book Addicts freaking rule. Rock on, never give up, and always let your true self shine. It is okay to be exactly who you are. No apologies, no explanations, no excuses.

Hello Susane! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours.

Yay! I am super excited to be here :)

City Love is about three very different girls sharing a Manhattan apartment the summer before college begins. This is my first trilogy and I am stoked! Each book is told from the alternating perspectives of Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna. These girls are strangers when the series begins, but are bonded for life by the end. I’ve always wanted to write about the summer before college. There’s no other summer like it. It’s that time when you feel like your big dreams can finally become reality, when you are free, when you can create a shiny new life and become the best version of yourself. I also love that there are no parents. These girls are making their own rules…and breaking them. I write love stories about soul mates, so of course there are cute boys. And boy drama. And heartbreak. The City Love girls are running from secrets of their past. They want to break away from the chains that defined them, but each of them discovers that the past is not so easy to escape.

Sadie Hall is the romantic dreamer. She believes in true love and knows that soul mates are real. Sadie is in love with New York City. She grew up here and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Sadie is always spreading the love with her warm fuzzies and random acts of kindness. She loves rooftop gardens, rainbow sprinkles, and surprises. Sadie is an eternal optimist, appreciates non-coincidences, and believes that everything is connected. And yes, this is the same Sadie from my previous book, So Much Closer. I loved her so much I just had to bring her back!

Darcy Stewart is the exuberant adventurer. She’s from Santa Monica. This summer is all about having boy adventures with New York City as her playground. New York is her drug of choice. She is super generous and loves treating her friends. Darcy isn’t into planning. Life is a wild thing and she likes to go with the flow. Darcy is a street style enthusiast and believes that a killer wardrobe is essential. She loves the smell of old books, peanut butter cookies, and kitsch. Darcy is not fully human in the morning until she’s had her coffee. Don’t mess with her and you’ll be fine.

Rosanna Tranelli is the introspective idealist. She’s from Chicago, but has known for a long time that New York City is where she belongs. She has strong opinions and holds people to high moral standards. Her motto is “Be the change you want to see in the world.” She is cynical but hopeful. She is a morning person. Rosanna loves birds, lime popsicles, and bike riding. Rosanna misses her super soft lavender blanket she’s had since she was little. She couldn’t afford to ship it to her new place. New York is astonishingly expensive, but Rosanna is determined to make it here. Living in New York City is her biggest dream come true.

My love for New York City inspired this trilogy. I wanted to tell a story of girls finding love, themselves, and unexpected connections to one another. Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna are all a part of me. This is the story of the summer that will change their lives forever.

The High Line. It is a truly magical place.

“Sometimes to start feeling like yourself again, you just have to remember who you are.” – Sadie 

“That’s another thing I love about New York. I love how people aren’t afraid to be exactly who they are.” – Darcy

“I want to let fear become an obstacle I proudly overcome, not a barrier preventing me from living my dreams.” – Rosanna 

There’s a powerful scene on a balcony that had a lot of personal significance. Sometimes I have what Sadie calls an “epic feeling” where I’ll be walking down the street and all of a sudden I’m overwhelmed by this strong emotion. The emotion is nostalgic and hopeful and filled with the infinite possibilities this city brings all at once. Rosanna has an epic feeling on Donovan’s balcony the first time she goes to his Tribeca loft. Even though it’s her first time at his place, when she’s out on the balcony she’s immediately overwhelmed with the sense that she’s been there before. Everything feels familiar to her, like coming home. Rosanna has known for a long time that New York City is where she belongs. Living in New York was her biggest dream. Out on the balcony, it hits her that her biggest dream has finally come true. She thinks, “Everything that’s been building up to this moment, all of my wishing and hoping and dreaming about New York, all of it comes rushing in right here and now.” It was fun to capture that same epic feeling I’ve had about New York City time and time again.

Other than “City Love” by John Mayer, I think “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys captures the amazing energy of New York City I hoped to capture on the page.

Movie casting is something I love leaving up to my readers! If anyone finds a fan casting post out there (or wants to go ahead and do the casting), I would love to see it.

You can find the City Love playlist on my website (along with playlists for my eight previous books). Listening to the playlist first would be a good way to start feeling the City Love. Any summer themed refreshments like popsicles, fruit salad, or granitas would definitely set the mood. I would also recommend going out for midnight pancakes with your girls. Midnight pancakes at Coffee Shop are a ritual the City Love girls establish in book one…and the scene that inspired my dorktastic author video in which I play each girl. Watching that will hopefully get you in a City Love mood!

The City Love trilogy continues on! Book two will be out next year, followed by book three the following year. We are hoping that City Love might be extended into a larger series like Pretty Little Liars. If so, the plan is to follow Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna into their first year of college.

Thank you so much for everything, Susane!

Thank YOU for hosting this fabulous blog tour! Much love. xoxo

Follow the City Love by Susane Colasanti Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Susane Colasanti is the bestselling author of When It Happens, Take Me There, Waiting for You, Something Like Fate, So Much Closer, Keep Holding On, All I Need, and Now and Forever. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from New York University. Before becoming a full-time author in 2007, Susane was a high school science teacher for ten years. She lives in New York City.

The first book of Susane's City Love trilogy will be released on April 21, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway