Review: Podium Finish Blog Tour

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Podium Finish With six months until the Olympic Games, seventeen-year-old Harper's life is pretty much perfect. She's fighting for the starting spot on Team USA Women's Hockey, and for the first time ever, she has a crush on a guy who likes her back. She feels like the luckiest girl in the world, until she runs a risky play at practice and breaks her knee, thereby sentencing herself to six weeks in a cast and possibly ending her Olympic dream before it even starts. For seventeen-year-old Alex, being anything less than the best is unacceptable. That's why, after a miserable debut season at the senior level, the former junior national singles champion switches to ice dance. Her skating partner, Ace, is an "all skating all the time" type of guy, which would be fine, if he'd stop keeping secrets about the real reason he and his former partner broke up. Now is not the time for second thoughts, but how can Alex skate her best if she can’t trust her partner…or herself? As the pressure to make the Olympic team builds, the girls must rely on each other, because if there’s one thing they both know, it's that the only thing harder than skating to the top is staying there.

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  Author Beth Pond Beth Pond graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Hendrix College in 2012. In 2013, she taught in South Africa for 9 months as part of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Grant. Pond is currently completing her coursework at the University of British Columbia’s Creative Writing MFA program. Her debut novel, Podium Finish, was released from Astraea Press in November 2013. When she’s not writing, Pond enjoys martial arts (she’s a black belt) and serving as a volunteer coach for her brother’s special needs baseball team.  

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  Praise for Podium Finish Podium Finish is unlike any other book I have read, period. It is amazing that Ms. Pond could take two very different characters who are pursuing two completely different sports and tie them together as roommates at the Olympic Training Center. ~Crystal, Books are Sanity This is a great, fun book! This story is really 2 stories in one - bonus! ~Shelley Walker, Goodreads This book was truly enjoyable to read. ~Michele, Amazon Review Podium Finish is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. ~Ana, Amazon Reviewer  
Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 2/9/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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EXCERPTS  (Excerpt One) Harper
Alex is waiting for me at our usual table in the cafeteria. She rakes her fingers through her not-quite-shoulder-length blonde hair and pulls it back into a ponytail. The front strands fall loose as soon as she leans forward to eat a bite of salad. I would never be brave enough to pull off short hair like that, but Alex does it well. She pulls a bobby pin from her bag and twists her bangs back. Bobby pins. That and lip gloss are two things Alex never leaves the dorm without. “Hey, do anything exciting today?” I ask. “I defied gravity.” “Wearing a push-up bra is not defying gravity.” “I was talking about the new dance hold we’re learning, but my new bra is amazing, isn’t it?” She’s sitting with perfect posture and waves her hand in front of her chest like one of the models revealing a prize on a TV game show. Alex dragged me to the mall last weekend, and if I never have to see her buy bras and make-up again, it will be too soon. That trip was like a quadruple dose of Alex’s usual girliness. “It’s great. You sure you’re not too top heavy for Ace to pick up now?” “Just because you can get away with the uniboob sports bra look doesn’t mean I have to,” Alex says, and I shoot her a look. “What? You totally pull it off.” A shadow hovers over our table. “Excuse me, are you using that chair?” The guy gives us a tiny, apologetic smile and squeezes his tray tighter until the creases in his knuckles go white. Great, whoever he is, this guy probably just heard her say uniboob. “No,” Alex says. “Do you want to sit with us?” “I think he just wants—” “Sure,” he says. “I’m Rye.” “I’m Alex, and that’s my roommate, Harper. So what sport do you play?” “Short track speed skating. What about you?” I assume he’s talking to Alex—guys always talk to Alex—so I take another drink of water. Silence. I look up and meet his gaze. He was asking me.

My Review: *****--5 Stars.
I'm not a big sports fanatic. I watch a little here and there, especially if my kids are playing, but one thing that I absolutely love and spend hours and hours and hours watching, is the Olympics. I get into all of the sports and come to know the athletes. I watch sports that I would never watch otherwise, but this big event is heaven. Podium Finish was so much fun because not only did it tell one athletes road to the Olympics, but two.

Harper and Alex are roommates at the Olympic Training Center and they're also best friends. They understand the dedication, sacrifice, and commitment it takes to succeed. I love watching them support one another. Each chapter goes back and forth between the two 17 year old girls and it's told in first person, so we can really understand their feelings and thoughts. I was completely caught up in their stories and felt this was the perfect time to read it--just a few weeks before the Winter Olympics! I'm so excited!

I loved the emotion and learning experiences these girls faced. I loved the relationships they had to figure out and deal with--teams, families, friends, enemies, etc. I even found myself shedding a few tears, although they were tears of joy and pride, I promise. The growth that occurred was perfect for their ages and experiences.

Content: there were a few mild kissing scenes and thoughts of taking things further, but making a choice not to; there was one situation of a boy and girl in the same bed, but clothed and nothing happened. Clean.