Dancers and Divas Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Today, I'm happy to be one of the blog stops to kick-off the Dancer and Divas Blog Tour!!!

Passion and Pain (#1 Dancers and Divas)
by: Kathy Petrakis
Now Available!!!
YA/New Adult Genre
Passion and Pain on Goodreads here.
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
Contains mature content - reccommended for ages 15+ 

Does passion and desire guarantee success? Can friends really be trusted? Can true love be found beneath lust and deceit? 

These are questions tenacious street dancer Elena Martinez faces as she struggles to compete against the most talented students at New York’s top Performing Arts High School. Along with her best friend, the carefree and mischievous Sebastien Duval, they are determined to make center stage. 

But the singing diva Letitia has other plans. Beautiful, talented and popular, her desire for revenge could ruin everything for Elena and Sebastien. Now, they must fight against prejudice, treachery and deceit as Letitia sets out to destroy Elena’s friendships, her romance, her dignity and her dreams. Can Elena win the battle for true love, happiness and success?

Purchase Links: Amazon (Special Price $0.99) | B&N

Bittersweet (#2 Dancers and Divas)

By: Kathy Petrakis
Now Available!!!
Bittersweet on Goodreads here.
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
Can secrets stay hidden forever? Can people really change? Are some mistakes unforgivable?

As Elena and Sebastian embark on a fresh start, will Letitia keep his secret, or will she use it to destroy them?
As Veronika falls in love, Frankie is out of rehab and trying to make amends, but will it last for either of them?
Meanwhile, as Anya is torn between loyalty to her Nana and love for Darius, could Darius fall for the new temptress, Rosa? With her stunning looks, her powerful, sensual dancing and her desire to seduce, she has everyone nervous but what secret is she hiding?
Continue the roller-coaster journey with your favorite characters as they try to survive junior year at the country’s top performing arts school. 

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

My Thoughts:
A fun blend of the theatrics of Fame with the modern dramatic/comedic angst of Glee!

Narrated from multiple perspectives, the Dancers and Divas series reads much like a high school soap opera- so much drama and back-stabbing, it's important to keep your friends close and your enemies closer! 

But of course my favourite element, as always, was the romance this series offers, and trust me there's tons of varying degrees of romance in these books. We have your platonic friends-with-benifits, first loves, best friends turned BF and GF, one-night-stand/mistake - the list could truly go on. 

I have two couples that I'm routing for in this series, one of them continues to frustrate me (i.e. Elena and Seb) because I just want them to get their act together because their timing never seems to be right (grrr), and the other (Anya and Darius) I just absolutely love and after the ending of Bittersweet, I was left in despair for these two, because they are so perfect for each other and I firmly believe that no distance should be able to keep them apart. And I know you must be confused by this last statement, but it will all make sense if you read this series, trust me! :)

One element that  truly distinguishes Dancers and Divas from other contemporary high-school dramas, is the fact that all the characters are performers, whether it be; dancing, acting or singing. Oddly enough, none of the characters in this series are triple threats (I guess those students go to a different school funded by Disney haha!) but they're all starting their careers early in their young adult lives, and I found that this aspect really made many of these characters seem much more mature (I actually had to keep reminding myself that they were in high school and not College). 

There is quite a bit of mature content (sexual, language and substance abuse) in this read and as such I would recommend it to readers 16+.

Very addictive series that will leave you wanting more! I can't wait to get my hands on book #3!

Happy Reading!!!

About the Author:
Kathy Petrakis was born and raised in Sydney Australia by Greek immigrant parents. She always had a passion for the performing arts - dancing, acting and singing but they were hobbies giving way to a traditional professional career in banking. Before this book, her writing was used to entertain friends with her unusual, and often disastrous travel adventures from around the world.

By the hand of fate, Passion and Pain and Bittersweet were born while living in London, heaven for lovers of the performing arts. After launching Passion and Pain, she returned to Sydney for the launch of the sequel, Bittersweet.

Connect with Kathy:
Author website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway Time!!! Enter the Rafflecopter below to be entered to win some amazing prizes, courtesy of Kathy! :) Good luck to you all!
Go here for full contest terms and conditions.

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FANS Giveaway!!!

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Special thanks to Kathy for allowing me to participate in this blog tour!