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| Blog Tour Schedule Monday, April 28 Kimberleyfaye Reads FF playlist/teaser Tuesday, April 29 Waiting For Wentworth Post/discussion Wednesday, April 30 Liza Wiemer (author) Post/discussion Thursday, May 1 Book Nerds Across America Post/discussion Friday, May 2 Actin’ Up With Books 10 Facts About Gray and Dylan Saturday, May 3 Please Another Book Character interview
Monday, May 5 Heidi McLaughlin (author) Review/Post
Tuesday, May 6 A Booklovers’ Review 10 Facts about Finally, Forever Wednesday, May 7 The Reading Date Guest Post about cover design Thursday, May 8 Good Choice Reading Post/Discussion Friday, May 9 Katie Kacvinsky, Release Day
Monday, May 12 Reading Teen Teaser/Giveaway
Tuesday, May 13 Stuck in YA Books Post/Discussion Wednesday, May 14 A Backwards Story Post/Discussion |
Today concludes Katie Kacvinsky's blog tour stop for the final book in Gray and Dylan's story, FINALLY, FOREVER.
Getting here has been a trip. For the writer. For the readers. For the characters.
What better way to say goodbye than with a road trip?
Since
Gray and Dylan are on the road together in FINALLY, FOREVER, and since
Dylan is a photographer, I secretly grabbed her memory card when she
wasn't looking and am sharing some of her pictures with you today!
 |
| © Katie Kacvinsky |
“I’ll be the road trip itinerary director,” she announces.
“Sounds like a perfect career title for you,” I say.
“It overlaps well with photography,” she agrees.
...Ready to go on today's road trip?
Let's get in the car now with this excerpt from
FINALLY, FOREVER by Katie Kacvinsky,
and get this show on the road!
I push the stick shift into reverse, but out of the corner
of my eye I see Dylan beginning to do the unthinkable. I grab her hand before it touches my
stereo.
“Whoa. What do you think you’re doing?”
Our eyes lock. Her hand is warm. Her fingertips are hot.
It’s like hooked bait catching me, latching on to something inside of me. I drop her fingers
and her hand lingers in the air between us.
“I’m turning on the radio.”
“I don’t listen to radio stations. I enjoy good music.”
“Gray, you need to listen to local radio stations on a road
trip,” she presses me. “It’s part of the cultural experience when you’re traveling.”
She starts playing with the tuner until she finds a classic
rock station we both agree on.
I pull out of the parking lot and Dylan is already making
herself at home, digging through some maps in the side pocket of my car. She pulls out a US
atlas my dad must have given me back in high school. She opens it on her lap.
“Okay,” she says. “I’ll be the road trip itinerary
director,” she announces.
“Sounds like a perfect career title for you,” I say.
“It overlaps well with photography,” she agrees. “Hey, do
you think we could check out a rodeo? I’ve never seen one and I think it would be a perfect
entertainment addition to our itinerary.”
“This isn’t a road
trip, Dylan. That term suggests the idea of fun and mutual enjoyment. I would call this,” I say and point to the area between us,
“an extremely unfortunate predicament.”
Dylan bites her lips together and stares up at the ceiling
of my car. “Gray, do you want me to catch a bus?” she asks. I stop the car at a red light and
consider her offer.
“I don’t know,” I say. “I’m still trying to accept the fact
that you’re sitting here right now.
I’m not exactly thrilled about it. We have a tiny bit of
history together.”
“Look, I know this is weird,” she agrees.
“Weird,” I repeat. I shift gears and sail up the ramp to the
highway, knowing the faster I drive, the sooner this trip will be over. The accelerator is
suddenly my best friend.
“I want to try and make it fun. But if you really hate me
that much, then we don’t have to do this. Okay?”
I frown at her mature attitude towards my immature reaction.
“I don’t hate you,” I tell her and swallow. I wish that were
my problem. I wish it were that easy. I look out at the endless highway tucked into the
horizon. “Fine,” I say, not sure what I just agreed to.
“Good,” Dylan says. “So, for our first stop tonight, we can
aim for—”
I raise my hand to cut her off. “Let’s pull an all-nighter,”
I offer.
“What?” Dylan looks disappointed. “You miss out on so much
when you drive at night,” she argues.
“You’re not going to miss out on anything, trust me,” I say.
She looks out the window at flat farm fields stretched along
both sides of the highway. “All the scenery vanishes. It’s like you’re driving in an empty,
emotionless, black tunnel.”
I nod. Sounds perfect.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
 |
| © Wyoming Routes |
Nothing's worse than having your car break down when you're far from home. Especially when there's a family emergency and you're in a hurry. But you know what's even worse? Breaking down in the middle of nowhere and running into the ex that broke your heart...and then deciding to roadtrip across the country together. In a confined space. For hours. For days. Um, awwwkward!
YORK COUNTY, NEBRASKA
 |
| © KETV Omaha |
Okay, maybe there is something worse. Like being stuck on the highway during a tornado!!! Well, at least it was only an F-2! Plus, being really close to someone able to give travelers a safe haven is definitely good luck!
AMARILLO, TEXAS
 | |
|
Here's a lesson: Be wary of hitchhikers!
It's good karma to pick them up and help them out, but if you happen to help out a criminal with police on his tail, you're going to get in trouble, too. When you're in a hurry to get going, this is the last thing you need!
CAMPGROUNDS
 |
| © Ontheres |
When you're driving across the country, money can be tight. You don't want to be blowing your cash every night for a hotel. Luckily, there are a ton of campgrounds across the country. Plus, when you're alone beneath the romantic stars and you have to share a sleeping bag, well, anything can happen!
THE GRAND CANYON
 |
| © Arizona State Visitor's Guide |
The natural beauty of the Grand Canyon will take your breath away. It goes on forever, and makes you recalibrate just how vast the world is. You feel so small and insignificant next to something so grand and amazing. If you're ever near Arizona, take the extra time, go out of your way, take in this breath-taking World Wonder!
AND JUST BECAUSE!
 |
| © Tammy Bruce © George Kaplan |
For those of you who have read FIRST COMES LOVE, you get the significance of these two pictures. If not, you will once you do. They both come from memorable scenes, and showcase the way Dylan is always taking pictures of unusual sights and seeing the beauty in everything, even feuding geckos and cacti giving the world a middle finger!
THE SERIES:
Title: FIRST COMES LOVE
Author: Katie Kacvinsky
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers
Received: Borrowed
SUMMARY:
"The perfect love story to kick-start your summer reading."--Seventeen.com
Like his name, Gray is dark and stormy. Dylan, a girl who is seemingly unable to settle down, is the exact opposite: full of light and life. On the outside, they seem like an unlikely couple. But looks can be deceiving, and besides, opposites attract. What starts as friendship turns into admiration, respect, and caring, until finally these two lone souls find that they are truly in love with each other. But staying in love is never as easy as falling in love. If Dylan and Gray want their love to last, they're going to have to work at it...
Title: SECOND CHANCE
Author: Katie Kacvinsky
Release Date: Sept. 7, 2012
Publisher: Katie Kacvinsky
Received: Borrowed
SUMMARY:
Can two drastically different, imperfect people be perfect for each other?
It’s been four months since Gray and Dylan have seen each other. Dylan’s been traveling in Europe, while Gray has college, baseball, and a life rooted in one place. Gray’s determined to forget Dylan, the girl he fell in love with in FIRST COMES LOVE. Besides, how do you make a relationship work with an independent loner?
Just when he decides he’s over her, Dylan makes an unexpected entrance back into his life, hoping their steamy romance can start right where it left off. Gray realizes you can tell your mind to do one thing, but you can’t always convince your heart to follow. Dylan realizes she finally has to make a choice between freedom and her relationship with Gray.
Hilarious, intense, inspiring, and emotional, SECOND CHANCE shows that love is a journey, and there are never clear road signs or maps to guide you along. You can only navigate with your heart.
Title: FINALLY, FOREVER
Author: Katie Kacvinsky
Release Date: May 9, 2014
Publisher: Katie Kacvinsky
Received: For Review
SUMMARY:
Author's Note:
Can be read as book three of the First Comes Love series, or as a standalone.
College baseball player, Gray Thomas, had to go far out into left field to find a girl like Dylan, the ex-love-of-his-life. More than a year later, literally at a crossroads, they find each other together on a journey that is a pause between a painful past and an uncertain future. In this sexy and offbeat summer read, Gray and Dylan discover that a destination isn't always a place. More often, it's a person. Now it's time for them to finally decide, is this forever?
~*~
C O N T E N T R A T I N G S
Content Ratings: highlight between ( ) for details
Romance: heavy ( sexual content; frequent, but not explicit )
Language: moderate
Violence: none
Romance: heavy ( sexual content; frequent, but not explicit )
Language: moderate
Violence: none
***
This
is a new system I'm trying out, since I never know how to bring up the
fact that younger readers may not be ready for a book without talking
about the reasons WHY. This makes it harder to accidentally stumble on
that information.
What are your thoughts? Keep it/Alter it/Get rid of it?
~*~
Trio of Polaroids © PSD Graphics
String of Polaroids © Anushka04
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