Blog Tour for THE CARREFOUR CURSE by Dianne K. Salerni + Giveaway

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE CARREFOUR CURSE by Dianne K. Salerni Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

                                                                                         About the Book:

Title: THE CARREFOUR CURSE
Authors: Dianne K. Salerni
Pub. Date: January 31, 2023
Publisher: Holiday House
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 224
Findit: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/THE-CARREFOUR-CURSE

The Addams Family meets The Westing Game in this exhilarating mystery about a modern magical dynasty trapped in the ruins of their once-grand, now-crumbling ancestral home.

Twelve-year-old Garnet regrets that she doesn’t know her family. Her mother has done her best to keep it that way, living far from the rest of the magical Carrefour clan and their dark, dangerous mansion known as Crossroad House.

But when Garnet finally gets summoned to the estate, it isn’t quite what she hoped for. Her relatives are strange and quarrelsome, each room in Crossroad House is more dilapidated than the last, and she can’t keep straight which dusty hallways and cobwebbed corners are forbidden.

Then Garnet learns the family secret: their dying patriarch fights to retain his life by stealing power from others. Every accident that isn’t an accident, every unexpected illness and unexplained disappearance grants Jasper Carrefour a little more time. While the Carrefours squabbles over who will inherit his role when (if) he dies, Garnet encounters evidence of an even deeper curse. Was she brought to Crossroad House as part of the curse . . . or is she meant to break it?

Written with loads of creepy atmosphere and an edge-of-your-seat magical mystery, this thrilling story reads like The Haunting of Hill House for preteens. Perfect for late-night reading under the covers. 

Reviews:

★  "A standout, genre-bending dark fantasy. . . . Salerni enlivens classic horror tropes and gothic ambience, complete with a sentient manor house, blending wry humor with atmospheric descriptions. . . ."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

★ "Salerni’s gothic charmer is deliciously creepy and atmospheric, building an immersive fantasy world that gently explores intergenerational trauma. . . . An enchanting and evocative tale."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ "An inventive take on the supernatural that skillfully blends drama, humor, magic and mystery. Salerni's large cast of characters is delightful and each family member is enough of a rounded individual that readers should easily keep track of them all. The puzzle, spook factor and complex family dynamics make this a perfect book for upper middle-grade readers and fans of The Addams Family."—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

"Interconnected mysteries keep readers turning pages, and when they all converge, the payoff is spine-chilling and satisfying."—The Horn Book

"Fans of The Haunting of Hill House or Schwab’s Gallant will surely stay up late at night reading this heart-pounding novel."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A fun page-turner that touches on the deeper themes of family, identity, and what it means to pay for the sins of the past."—Booklist

"Spooky, dark, and enthralling. I couldn't put it down until every mystery had been solved." —Cassie Beasley, New York Times bestselling author of Circus Mirandus

                                                                        

                                                        The Carrefour Curse

By Dianne K. Salerni

 

Excerpt for Rockstar Book Tours

 

Excerpt from The Carrefour Curse / Text copyright © 2023 by Dianne K. Salerni. Reproduced with permission from Peachtree Publishing Company Inc. All rights reserved.

 

1

Turquoise

 

Color: blue- green, sometimes mottled

 

Magical properties: promotes physical and emotional healing, good health, good fortune, and good travels

 

To recharge: place in direct sunlight

 

You’d think spitting up frogs would be a lot like the worst stomach flu you’ve ever had, but it’s surprisingly different. A knot travels slowly up your esophagus and into the back of your throat. It hops onto your tongue, and then ptooey, you spit out the frog.

A quiet but disgusting bit of magic.

The frogs, each less than an inch long, haven’t yet filled up the basin in my lap, but if I don’t get rid of them soon, they’ll be hopping around the car. “You have to pull over, Mom.”

My mother wrenches her eyes off the road long enough to shoot me a wild- eyed glance. She’s taking this harder than I am, which seems strange, but I think it’s better if somebody remains calm. “Just throw them out the window, Garnet.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Why not? It’s not like they’re—” Mom doesn’t finish the sentence. She can’t tell me the frogs aren’t real. Hallucinations don’t leave a trail of slime on your tongue.

Which makes me wonder— where are they coming from? Are they magically popping into existence in my stomach? Or are they being frognapped from some peaceful pond and subjected to a situation that is probably as unpleasant for them as it is for me? Either way, I won’t throw them out the window of a moving car. “Mo-o-om!”

“Okay, okay!” She puts her blinkers on and pulls onto the side of the road. “Hurry up. The faster we get where we’re going, the sooner this will stop.” Even now, she avoids saying the name of our destination.

I pop the handle to open my door and tip the frogs onto the shoulder of the road. Go free, little guys. I’ve barely closed the door when Mom peels onto the road again and stomps on the gas. “Use the bracelets I gave you,” she says between clenched teeth. “Call upon the power of the stones to control the phenomenon and slow it down.”

“I’m trying!” But the bracelets aren’t helping.

 

About Dianne K. Salerni:

Dianne K. Salerni has written many books for children, including Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts and Jadie in Five Dimensions. After teaching elementary school for twenty-five years, Dianne now spends her time hanging around creepy cemeteries and climbing 2,000-year-old pyramids for book research. Visit her online at DianneSalerni.com.

 

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Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE CARREFOUR CURSE, US Only.

Ends May 2^nd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/17/2023	The Book View	Excerpt/IG Post
4/17/2023	Log cabin library	Excerpt
4/18/2023	YA Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post
4/18/2023	@hodophile_z	IG Review
4/19/2023	Just Another Teen Reading Books	Re-Post Review/IG Post
4/19/2023	@jael_and_jenessa_reads	Review/IG Post
4/20/2023	The Real World According To Sam	Review/IG Post
4/20/2023	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
4/21/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
4/21/2023	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post