Hey everyone! Today I’m super thrilled to participate in the blog tour for The Color Project by Sierra Abrams, hosted by Booknerd Addict Blog Tours! The Color Project is a super cute YA Contemporary novel that will be releasing on July 18th from Gatekeeper Press and it has swoons and kissing and donuts, while telling a heart-breaking tale about family & tragedy. Below you can find an awesome excerpt of The Color Project and at the end of this post a giveaway for a beautiful tote bag inspired by The Color Project. Thanks for stopping by & enjoy!
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The Color Project by Sierra Abrams
YA Contemporary
July 18th, 2017 from Gatekeeper Press
Bernice Aurora Wescott has one thing she doesn’t want anyone to know: her name. That is, until Bee meets Levi, the local golden boy who runs a charity organization called The Color Project.
Levi is not at all shy about attempting to guess Bee’s real name; his persistence is one of the many reasons why Bee falls for him. But while Levi is everything she never knew she needed, giving up her name would feel like a stamp on forever. And that terrifies her.
When unexpected news of an illness in the family drains Bee’s summer of everything bright, she is pushed to the breaking point. Losing herself in The Color Project—a world of weddings, funerals, cancer patients, and hopeful families that the charity funds—is no longer enough. Bee must hold up the weight of her family, but to do that, she needs Levi. She’ll have to give up her name and let him in completely or lose the best thing that’s ever happened to her.
For fans of Stephanie Perkins and Morgan Matson, THE COLOR PROJECT is a story about the three great loves of life—family, friendship, and romance—and the bonds that withstand tragedy.
Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Book Depository
…Excerpt…
INTRO: “In this scene, Bee has just received the news that her car is ready for pickup and she’s dragged her brother with her to get it. Little does she know….she’ll be forced to meet The Boy she awkwardly stared at a few days before.”
The repair shop is dark when Tom and I pull up in his car. Everything is closed down except for one of the garage doors, where a single car is raised. Two legs stick out from underneath.
My brother parks in front and nods. “There’s Levi.”
I peer into the dim light of the parking lot, trying to better see the man under the car. “I’m rather put off that everyone knows him and forgot to introduce us,” I say.
Tom snorts. “He’s been at the shop for three months and you haven’t met him?”
I’m about to retort, but then Levi is climbing out from under the car, standing, wiping his hands on his orange sweater—
The Boy.
I nearly shriek. “Tom, I can’t go in there.”
“What?” He looks rather alarmed. “What’s wrong?”
“I was staring at him, oh dear God, I was staring right at him three days ago, and he smirked at me, and I feel so awkward.”
Tom looks at me, completely blank-faced for exactly three and a half seconds before he bursts out laughing. His buzzed head tips back with perfect glee. If it were possible to roll around in a car, Tom would be doing it right now.
“What?” I hiss.
“You think he’s cute,” he says between gasps.
It’s not a question, not one bit. My brother knows me too well, and I swear I will punch him so hard if—
“Come on, Bee. He probably sees so many people come through here every day that he won’t even remember.”
“I’m not stupid. He knows Michael is my friend, he saw me talking with all the guys, and Michael told him I was coming tonight. He knows. He knows!” I’m hissing again, which means I’m about to overload on excitement. (Not the good kind.)
Tom gets out of the car and comes around to my side. He grabs my arm and helps—no, yanks—me to my feet. “Stop being such a wuss. He’s just a boy. Since when do you give a crap about what boys think of you?”
He’s right. I’m being irrational. I’m fine. I’m fine.
I’M FINE.
I straighten my coral cardigan and brush my hands down my dark wash jeans and take a deep, deep breath of serenity.
Levi greets us as we approach, his sweater and dirty jeans clinging to his form, hair mussed and twisted every which way. He shakes my brother’s hand like he knows him, like they’ve been friends forever. I’m tempted to shrink back behind Tom and just die, but then Levi is looking at me and holding out his hand, and his eyes tell me I was right: he knows. I probably look like a lost chicken, plucked clean of feathers, being placed on the chopping block.
I shake his hand anyway.
“I’m Levi,” he says.
“…Bee.” I manage to get the word out, chiding myself instantly for my ridiculous lack of control. But gosh-darn-it, he is beautiful. Even more so up close. (And I really want to touch his hair.)
“Your car is good and ready,” he says, smiling. (Oh, yes, he has a brilliant smile.) “We took care of her. Michael said, in these exact words, ‘Bee’s very in love with her car.’”
I nearly whimper, but hold back the tiny sound before it comes out of my mouth. “He did?” I laugh, breathy and unsteady. “Well, I do love my car.”
Do I sound like an idiot? Yes. Does Levi notice? I’m not sure. He just smiles at me and waves us around to the back, pulling my key out of his pocket. His nice sweater looks like it needs a good washing, and I’m seriously tempted to ask why he’s wearing it. But Tom is here, and Tom doesn’t seem confused or curious. I’d rather not be the one to ask a question when the obvious answer is lost only to me, so I press my lips together.
Levi unlocks my car and grabs some paperwork off the dashboard, then hands me my key. “Everything’s set to go,” he says. The light from the streetlamps along the road is a nice accent to the sharp features of his face. He grins.
“Thanks, dude.” Tom shakes his hand again and pats my shoulder. “Bye, Bee.”
When Tom is halfway across the lot to his car, I realize I’m still staring after him and that Levi is staring at me.
I face him, thankful for the semi-darkness to hide my blushing skin. “Thanks, Levi. I appreciate you staying late and everything.”
He shrugs. “It’s nothing. I was already going to be here.”
I smile, hold up the key, and reach for the door handle. “I’ll let you get back to it, then?”
He presses his lips together in a thin smile and doesn’t let go of my gaze. “Do you have a name for your car?”
I am completely taken aback by this question. “Oh, um. No?”
“Well, good. We started calling her Sylvie around the shop—because she’s silver. Just wanted you to know, in case she doesn’t come when you call anymore.”
It takes me a second too long to catch the joke.
Oh.
Oh, he’s good. Really good. So charming that I’m lost to his actual words. “Well, I suppose that settles it?” Bee, stop with the questions that are supposed to be statements.
He nods with finality.
I roll down my window and close the door, but he hasn’t left yet. I hook up my iPhone and ask, “So, how do you like working here?”
Look at me, making conversation with a cute boy all by myself!
“It’s a good time. Keagan got me the job—he knows I grew up on cars.”
“The guys are good company.”
Levi’s smile agrees with me (in more ways than one). “How come I’ve never seen you here?” he asks, as if he’s genuinely interested.
“Oh, just, graduation and a new job.” I smile at him as sweetly as I can, but inside…I swear there’s an angry gorilla in my chest, pounding out a jungle rhythm. “Thanks again,” I say. I need to get out of here. He’s so distracting, dammit. Distractingly beautiful. (Beautifully distracting?) Besides, I talk way too much when I’m nervous. I’m about to start babbling, and that will be the worst thing imaginable.
He understands I want to leave (Oh dear, I hope I’m not being rude) and backs up. “See you around, Bee,” he says, his voice lazy in that California way. I want to box it up and save it for a sad day.
Then, just like a snap of my fingers, he’s heading back to the shop, and I leave him behind.
See you around, Bee.
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Follow the tour!
Monday June 19
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Interview – Brittany´sBookRambles
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Interview – Brittany´sBookRambles
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Review – ReadsandThoughts
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Review – TheHermitLibrarian
Wednesday June 21
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – YAandWine
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – YAandWine
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST -Guest Post – LimeLightLiterature
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Thursday June 22
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – AvdReader
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – AvdReader
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – DIY: The Color Project Bookmarks – LoisReadsBooks
Friday June 23
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Excerpt of The Color Project – TheReader&The Chef
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Excerpt of The Color Project – TheReader&The Chef
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Mini Review & Favorite Quotes – TheLifeOfABookNerdAddict
Saturday June 24
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Interview – CurlyHairBibliophile
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Interview – CurlyHairBibliophile
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Mood Board – WonderfullyBookish
Sunday June 25
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – MorrissaReads
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – MorrissaReads
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Guest Post – AThousandWordsAMillionBooks
Monday June 26
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Ways To Support Your Favorite Causes – TalesOfTheRavenousReader
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Review – InkDin
Tuesday June 27
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – ILoveBooksGirl
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Interview – Brooke-Reports
Wednesday June 28
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Book Hangover – FablesandFae
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Guest Post – Tiffthebooknerd
Thursday June 29
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – BookWyrmingThoughts
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Excerpt – SimplyNicollette
Friday June 30
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – LittleRedsReviews
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Creative Post – LostInEverAfter
Saturday July 1st
In The Morning at 8:00 AM EST – Review – Biscottosbooks
In The Afternoon at 1:00 PM EST – Interview – ANewLookOnBooks
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About Sierra Abrams
At 7 years old, Sierra Abrams decided that one day she would publish a book. For over a decade, in between exploring other career options, she kept coming back to that very first dream. Now her life consists of writing books of all kinds… Kissing books, angsty books, killing books, whimsical books, and sometimes books that are all of the above. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, traveling, consuming sushi, or daydreaming about Henry Cavill.
Sounds pretty intriguing. I'd love to see some reviews on this one.