Ohana Reads: Blog Tour: Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk

Welcome to the Arrows Blog Tour! I'm so excited to be able to introduce you to Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk! I'm happy to say that Arrows was my second 2016 published book that I've been able to read so far, and by golly if all the books are as great as this one, then we are definitely in for a treat this year!

Today I have for you my review of Arrows, a interview with Melissa and finally a giveaway for you all! So I hope you guys enjoy!

Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk

Release Date: January 26th, 2016

Read: December 15th -16th, 2015

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Series: N/A

Format: ARC, 240 pages

Source: McNally Robinson/ Two Thumbs Up Program

Description from GoodReads:

People don’t understand love. If they did, they’d get why dance prodigy Karma Clark just can’t say goodbye to her boyfriend, Danny. No matter what he says or does or how he hurts her, she can’t stay angry with him . . . and can’t stop loving him. But there’s a reason why Karma is helpless to break things off: she’s been shot with a love arrow.

Aaryn, son of Cupid, was supposed to shoot both Karma and Danny but found out too late that the other arrow in his pack was useless. And with that, Karma’s life changed forever. One pregnancy confirmed. One ballet scholarship lost. And dream after dream tossed to the wind.

A clueless Karma doesn’t know that her toxic relationship is Aaryn’s fault . . . but he’s going to get a chance to make things right. He’s here to convince Danny to man up and be there for Karma. But what if this god from Mount Olympus finds himself falling in love with a beautiful dancer from Wisconsin who can never love him in return?

Review:

Don't you want to be happy?
At first glance I thought that Arrows was going to be a full hearted contemporary, but when reading the description I was happily surprised to find out that it involved Greek Mythology! Cupid to be exact! It didn't take much after that for me to go out and get myself a copy!
Although Arrows had its fantasy elements to it, it still had a very important topic in it, that topic being abusive relationships. Karma our main character is forced to be in an abusive relationship and has to live with it in her everyday life. With these kinds of relationships it's not like she can just leave him, she thinks she loves him so she'll take whatever Danny throws her way. I liked how Gorzelanczyk represented this topic in her writing and how she approached it. She made it so that her readers understood that it was a serious problem and that it's not always easily dealt with.
Unfortunately with Karma, I felt that she might have been just a little too obsessed of a character, I understand that she loved Danny and that she would always make excuses for him because of their relationship but even if she was supposed to be his girlfriend, she acted a little too obsessed.
Finally I felt like there were some unanswered questions in the end of the book, what was the purpose of the rebellion in Olympus? Why was Phoebe necessary? The connection to Olympus left me with more questions then I would have liked.
Arrows was a fun, lively read that give me more perspectives on abusive relationships as well teaching me a bit more about professional dancers. I most definitely recommend picking up Arrows in 2016 when it releases!

You can find my review on McNally Robinson's Two Thumbs Up review page here.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"I don't love you anymore."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fantasy, Mythology, Greek, Cupid

Karma lives with the struggle of being in a abusive relationship, even though her relationship is toxic she just can't seem to stay away from Danny. What do you recommend for people in a similar situation to do?

Have you ever known someone who is madly in love, yet you can’t figure out why?
Maybe you’ve felt uncomfortable by the things your friend has said or done to keep the relationship together. Your friend tries to make everything seem normal. “He promised to change.” “He said it won’t happen again.”

You wonder…

Why does she love this person?

He’s the reason she’s always crying.

The answer in Arrows is because my main character, Karma, is under the spell of cupid’s arrow.

The answer in real life isn’t so simple.

I’ve told this story before. It’s the heart of Arrows.

I am the oldest of six. My four sisters are my best friends. Two of them have experienced relationship abuse, one of them for the most part in secret for more than ten years.
Thankfully, after ten years of silence, my sister decided to take her life back. As is often the case with abuse, she left her then-husband with no control over her life. She had little money, no real work experience. No car. He had used these things to control her for a long time. Since she had never applied for her own apartment, she needed a co-signer—at age 28.

But she did have the courage to say, “No more.”

Three years later, she is thriving. She is becoming the person she was told she could never be. A strong, independent woman worthy of true love.

Resources:

Loveisrespect.org

Break the Cycle

Teen dating violence prevention

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Signs of abuse and abusive relationships

Please contact Melissa if there are more links you think she should include here.

Melissa Gorzelanczyk is a former magazine editor and columnist who believes love is everything. A dreamer for life, Melissa has been writing books since she was nine years old when she penned her first story about a beloved black horse. She is a member of the Class of 2k16, the SCBWI and The Sweet Sixteens. She lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with her husband and family.

1 winner will receive a finished copy of Arrows and a swag pack that includes postcards, mini buttons, mini bookmarks, and a mini bow and arrow set, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for stopping by! I can't wait for you all to read Arrows, I hope you guys all love it!