Giveaway + Blog Tour: Love Under Glasse by Kristina Meister

Welcome author Kristina Meister & Riptide Publishing who are here today promoting the release of Love Under Glasse. Find out more about this contemporary lesbian romance & leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway for a signed copy of Cinderella Boy from the author! Good luck!

About Love Under Glasse

This runaway might want to get caught.

El Glasse’s mother controls her life. What she does, who she dates, even what she’s allowed to say. El only has two ways of holding onto her freedom. One is her popular anonymous blog, hidden from Mama Glasse. The other is what she so often blogs about: her feelings for Riley, the girl who works at the ice cream parlor. Riley is fierce, free, and rides a killer motorcycle, and El cannot help but love her. But Mama Glasse can never find out about her sexuality—unless El is willing to rebel. 

When El runs away, Riley feels responsible. She knows what it’s like to be alone, and she can’t deny her deep desire to learn El’s story. In a move she might end up regretting, she makes a devil’s bargain with Mama Glasse to hunt El down.

Riley isn’t trying to bring her home though, because she knows an evil spell when she sees one—a spell of fear and shame El is finally starting to break. This huntress might lose her own heart, but it’s a risk she’s willing to take. 

Available now from Riptide Publishing!

About Kristina Meister

Kristina Meister is an author of fiction that blurs genre. There’s usually some myth, some mayhem, and some monsters. While Kristina’s unique voice and creative swearing give life to dialogue, her obsession with folklore and pop culture make for humor and complexity.

She and her mad-scientist husband live in California with their poodles Khan and Lana, and their daughter Kira Stormageddon, where they hoard Nerf toys, books, and swords—in case of zombie apocalypse.

2018 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner - LGBT

Connect with Kristina:

• Website: kristinameister.com
• Twitter: @kristinameister
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristina.meister

To celebrate this release, Kristina is giving away a custom ordered biker-style patch that represents El and Riley, as well as a signed copy of her award-winning novel Cinderella Boy! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on August 31, 2019. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info! 

Giveaway + Blog Tour: Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister

Welcome Kristina Meister who's here today celebrating the release of Cinderella Boy! Find out more about this young adult romance and be sure to enter for your chance to win an amazing swag bag. See the deets below!

See our 4 ❤️ review of Cinderella Boy here.

About Cinderella Boy

Being perfect isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Sixteen-year-old Declan is the perfect son . . . except for one tiny issue. When his sister Delia comes home to find him trying on her clothes, he fears her judgment, but she only fears his fashion choices. One quick makeover later, Declan is transformed into Delia’s mysterious cousin Layla and dragged to the party of the year, hosted by Carter, the most popular boy in school.

When Carter meets Layla, he fumbles to charm her. He adores her sense of humor and her poise. But when she vanishes in the middle of the night, he’s left confused and determined to solve the mystery of who she is.

As their school year begins, their high school embraces a policy of intolerance, and both Declan and Carter know they must stand up. Carter is tired of being a coward and wants to prove he can be a knight in shining armor. Declan is sick of being bullied and wants desperately to be himself. If they team up, it could be a fairy-tale ending, or a very unhappy ever after.

About Kristina Meister

Kristina Meister is an author of fiction that blurs genre. There’s usually some myth, some mayhem, and some monsters. While Kristina’s unique voice and creative swearing give life to dialogue, her obsession with folklore and pop culture make for humor and complexity.

She and her mad-scientist husband live in California with their poodles Khan and Lana, and their daughter Kira Stormageddon, where they hoard Nerf toys, books, and swords—in case of zombie apocalypse.

Connect with Kristina:

●      Website: kristinameister.com

●      Twitter: @kristinameister

●      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristina.meister

To celebrate the release of Cinderella Boy, Kristina is giving away a canvas swag bag (with cover art) that  includes a t-shirt, an engraved pen, and a tiara! (Yes, really!) Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 7, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Review: Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister

Being perfect isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Sixteen-year-old Declan is the perfect son . . . except for one tiny issue. When his sister Delia comes home to find him trying on her clothes, he fears her judgment, but she only fears his fashion choices. One quick makeover later, Declan is transformed into Delia’s mysterious cousin Layla and dragged to the party of the year, hosted by Carter, the most popular boy in school.

When Carter meets Layla, he fumbles to charm her. He adores her sense of humor and her poise. But when she vanishes in the middle of the night, he’s left confused and determined to solve the mystery of who she is.

As their school year begins, their high school embraces a policy of intolerance, and both Declan and Carter know they must stand up. Carter is tired of being a coward and wants to prove he can be a knight in shining armor. Declan is sick of being bullied and wants desperately to be himself. If they team up, it could be a fairy-tale ending, or a very unhappy ever after.

"You're never too young to see the potential for a lifetime."

I don't read a lot of YA but I was impressed by Cinderella Boy. I was drawn to it by the crossdressing element but this is so much more than a crossdressing book. Both Carter and Declan are wise beyond their years, insightful, perceptive and full of angst. They have angst about themselves, each other and general high school angst.

There were times when I thought their intellects exceeded their years but then I remembered the Parkland kids and how amazingly wise, brave, intelligent and well spoken they are, so in that regard Cinderella Boy is more of a zeitgeist, but in other ways their insecurities are much the same as any teen in any time which is what made them sympathetic and relatable.

Both Carter and Declan undergo significant changes which we get a front row seat to courtesy of dual perspectives. Over the course of their brief romantic relationship as "boyfriend and girlfriend" but moreso through their burgeoning friendship during the first semester of Carter's senior year they take on a bigoted principal and stand up for not only themselves but the entire student body all while growing closer and trying to figure out their feelings and what to do with them. When they stand up together amazing things happen not just for them but the entire community proving the point that when people with a modicum of power are determined, and these two are determined, change can happen.

"Silence never makes things better. It only ever leads to regret, regret leads to suffering, suffering leads to anger... and that is path to the dark side."

Sure, there is fear, trepidation and Star Wars quotes to bedevil them along the way but their love for each other outshines all else and at the end of the day these two make each other better. There's nothing I like more in my romance reads than couples who strengthen and bring out the best in each other. It also helped that I really liked some of the secondary characters many of whom played a vital role in the narrative.

Carter is so easy to like whereas Declan is prickly and insecure, but what I found touching about him was his struggle to try to identify his sexuality. He's definitely the most well developed and layered gender fluid character I've ever read and it made my heart ache that he kept trying to make himself fit into a category to satisfy the needs of others when in reality he's just Dex. What warmed my heart was how much Carter got that. He loves Dex for Dex whether he's a boy in geek chic or a girl in a dress. Dex is his person and that's what made this a memorable and satisfying read.

Recommend to YA and angst fans.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley.