Tag: genre: romance

• Book Review: “Deliverance” by C.J. Redwine (ARC)

  Posted at 7:15 am by Laura, on August 12, 2014

  Deliverance by CJ Redwine 

  Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
  Publishing Date: August 26
  Genre: young adult, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, fantasy
  ISBN: 9780062117236
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★

  Fighting through her pain and embracing the warrior she’s become, Rachel will do whatever it takes to escape her enemies’ clutches and join Logan in his fight. But when she learns a secret that changes everything, she realizes that escaping Ian and his tracker friends is no longer an option if she wants to save the people she loves. Instead, she’ll have to destroy Rowansmark from the inside out—if she can survive the journey through the Wasteland.

  Logan needs allies if he wants to thwart Rowansmark’s power grab and rescue Rachel. But securing allies will mean betraying his beliefs and enlisting the help of the man he hates more than anyone: Commander Jason Chase. Driven by his fierce love for Rachel and his determination to make their world safe, Logan may be just the weapon the city-states need to defeat the Cursed One.

  Rachel’s captured by Ian and Rowansmark trackers, and Logan’s imprisoned in Lankenshire. Though the two had hopes of forging alliances with other city-states together, their goal increases tenfold once they’re separated. Fighting desperately to find each other once more while struggling to survive political unrest, brutality, and the Wasteland takes its toll on the two young leaders of the destroyed Baalboden. They will fight to find each other  and end the lives of abusive leaders, or die trying.

  If you haven’t read the previous two books of this trilogy, Defiance and Deception, do so now. It’s my favorite dystopian trilogy by far, and this final book truly had my heart pounding the entire time. If I thought Logan and/or Rachel were about to die in the other books, it’s nothing compared to this one! I lived in constant fear!

  This was a fantastic closer to the trilogy. The characters have grown and developed so much across the journey, and watching their realization of this fact — facing death and embracing grief and accepting love — was incredibly beautiful. Rachel was always a stubborn fighter, but her world is no longer black and white, right and wrong. She understands the value of life and death, what it means to be a leader and protector. Logan, likewise, was always a bright inventor and cautious individual. He learned to think on his feet, to observe others and utilize their strengths for good. 

  Plotting out the attack and the war felt authentic. Granted, I don’t know much about strategy, but the elements they crew used to attack Rowansmark surprised me — in a good way. Redwine has this uncanny ability to keep you on your feet, to make you guess and second guess where she’s heading next. I never knew what was going to happen, and that’s what I find so wonderful about this trilogy. It’s complex, compelling, and brilliantly written.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Balzer + Bray for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fantasy, genre: post apocalyptic, genre: romance, genre: young adult, review

• Book Review: “Lola and the Boy Next Door” by Stephanie Perkins

  Posted at 10:56 am by Laura, on August 10, 2014

  Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins 

  Publisher: Speak
  Published: July 2013
  Genre: young adult, romance
  ISBN: 9780142422014
  Goodreads: 4
  Rating: ★★★★

  Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the negihborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

  Lola doesn’t wear clothes — she wears costumes. Fashion is a form of artistic expression, and Lola takes it very seriously. And although she’s a quirky San Francisco individual, she’s quite mature for her age and tries to persuades her fathers that her older rockstar boyfriend Max is perfect for her. But her world is shaken when long-time crush Cricket returns next door with his twin Olympic figure skater sister Calliope. The twins and Lola go way back, and she struggles to reconcile with the past and envision a different future.

  With her outrageous outfits and fun personality, Lola was an easy character to like. Her fathers were endearing and strong, and their belief that Max is too old for her seeps through the pages of the book. And while it sometimes made me feel old (I’m older than Max!), I would’ve had to agree with them. 17 and 23 is different from 23 and 29 — there’s that huge period in one’s life in the early twenties one needs to experience first. But apart from the age, I was okay with Max. Soon enough his true colors show, and I wanted to throttle Lola to make her see sense. She’s the friend you love and adore and hope never wanders down the wrong path.

  That said, Cricket was almost too perfect. He’s a very good guy, extremely smart and passionate, and most certainly the Good Boy Next Door. I liked him well enough, but there was something about his relationship with Lola that seemed a little forced too. Honestly, this may come from the fact I’m still on an Anna-and-Étienne high (having related to Anna so much), and couldn’t connect with this particular couple. But I still thoroughly enjoyed this book for what it was: another romance, in another wonderful city.

  Also, Anna and Étienne were central characters in this story as well. Not mentioned in passing, not forced into situations, but genuine secondary characters. Anna is Lola’s manager at the movie theater, so of course her boyfriend is always around. It is convenient though that he and Cricket both attend Berkeley. Even still, it was beautiful to watch those two from a third party observer.

  Isla and the Happily Ever After is out this week!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Anna and the French Kiss” by Stephanie Perkins

  Posted at 7:51 pm by Laura, on July 24, 2014

  Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 

  Publisher: Speak 
  Published: August 2011
  Genre: young adult, romance, travel
  ISBN: 9780142419403
  Goodreads: 4.16
  Rating: ★★★★★

  Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she’s less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year. But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he’s taken —and Anna might be, too.

  It’s not that Anna’s unhappy to be in Paris. She’s upset her parents didn’t give her a choice to go to boarding school, to leave her best friend and work crush. Besides, she can’t even speak French. But as the days pass, Anna begins to make friends, and rather rapidly becomes close with Étienne St. Clair, resident Beautiful Guy. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t stop her growing affections, even though she knows he’s not available at all.

  

  This book is so stinkin’ cute. I couldn’t stop giggling, I struggled to repress any squeals of giddiness, and I simply struggled to put this down. It’s adorable. It’s honest. Truly, think back on high school relationships (heck, even adult ones are like this!) when you were confused but excited — he likes me…he likes me not — about your crush. Tack on the fact he’s unavailable, your determination to keep this great friendship intact despite your awkwardness and feelings of blatant attraction, and you’ve got this book. Yes, it’s about a girl who studies abroad, who learns French, who goes to the cinema to watch and critique films for her blog, who obsessively cleans and straightens her surroundings, and who comes to terms with her father’s growing collection of cliché cancer romance books. But all of this is background to the actual story: her crush on St. Clair.

  

  His character is wonderful. He’s American by birth, but his British accent and impeccable French confuse Anna at first. He’s not your usual tall-and-gorgeous male lead. St. Clair likens himself to Napoleon Bonaparte, because he too is rather short, with crooked teeth and unkempt hair. He’s friendly with everyone, charming, intelligent, and artistic. Whether he’s being a friend, an almost-boyfriend, or boyfriend, St. Clair is remarkably observant and immensely loyal. I loved the moments when his British slang slipped out, and experiencing those cultural differences all over again was so much fun.

  St. Clair and Anna quickly become best friends. They’re lab partners, they share stories, they go to the movies together, he helps her order food in French, he gives her tours of the city, she helps him deal with his mother’s illness, she aids in confronting his controlling father — and everything about their relationship is filled with tension and mixed signals. Does he like her? Does he know she likes him? Why did he do this, say that? And why is Ellie still in the picture when it’s so very clear to the both of them that they’re more than friends?

  Oh my gosh. Anna’s basically my brain. Any girl’s brain. From the overanalyzing minute details, to basking in the absolute thrill of being the object of a guy’s affections for the briefest space of time, Anna and the French Kiss is just…sweet, young romance perfection. Perkins truly captured the whole journey of falling in love.

  In short, I want to read this again. Right now.

  I think I will.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 3 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: romance, genre: travel, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Major’s Daughter” by J.P. Francis (ARC)

  Posted at 9:55 am by Laura, on July 22, 2014

  The Major’s Daughter by J.P. Francis 

  Publisher: Plume
  Publishing Date: July 29
  Genre: historical fiction
  ISBN: 9780452298699
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★.5

  April, 1944.  The quiet rural village of Stark, New Hampshire is irrevocably changed by the arrival of 150 German prisoners of war.  And one family, unexpectedly divided, must choose between love and country.

  Camp Stark is under the command of Major John Brennan, whose beautiful daughter, Collie, will serve as translator. Educated at Smith and devoted to her widowed father, Collie is immediately drawn to Private August Wahrlich, a peaceful poet jaded by war. As international conflict looms on the home front, their passion blinds them to the inevitable dangers ahead.

  Very little is known about the POW camp set up in Stark, New Hampshire, in 1944. But it was there, and one can only imagine what sort of fascinations and wonders it induced. Under Major John Brennan, the German prisoners of war are sent out to work for the logging community, treated humanely despite everyone’s mistrust. Major Brennan’s daughter, Collie, serves as his translator and assistant, which brings her close to another translator and POW, Austrian Private August Wahrlich. The attraction is instantaneous, and noticed by all at the camp, but both know that nothing could come from it, nothing could be built on unsteady ground of war. But as the months pass, as Collie watches her friends change and August’s hope for a return to his family diminishes, the lovers consider a future together despite all costs.

  This slow and quiet novel was quite beautiful. The reader follows all sorts of characters, not just Collie and August. We’re privy to Collie’s best friend Estelle’s mind and heart, the difficult decisions she makes regarding her future. We follow the rich brothers Amos and Henry, how vastly different they are from one another, with different dreams and ambitions. We track Major Brennan and his dedication to running a smooth, cooperative camp. Everyone’s story interweaves with another, ultimately colliding in the end’s momentous flight.

  Collie and August’s love is pure. He’s poetic, artistic, and very much a dreamer. He shows us that not all German soldiers are Nazis — there’s a different between fighting with the Germans (enlisted and drafted from Austria and other countries overtaken by Germany) and being a member of the political party. He is kind and open-hearted, a gentleman and a boy, with no ulterior motives. It’s sweet. Collie is an educated young woman, who fights hard to suppress her growing affection. She struggles to maintain that her feelings are simply a little crush, but when she gives in, her fall is great.

  Nothing about this book felt rushed. In fact, everything about it was smooth, enchanting, romantic, and quite authentic. For anyone in need of a deep, powerful historical romance that really does consider the weight of war, this is most certainly the book to read.

  Thank you, Penguin, for providing this book for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 3 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: historical fiction, genre: romance, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Book of Life” by Deborah Harkness

  Posted at 7:42 pm by Laura, on July 19, 2014

  The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness 

  Publisher: Viking
  Published: July 15, 2014
  Genre: fiction, fantasy
  ISBN: 9780670025596
  Goodreads: 4.39
  Rating: ★★★★★

  Historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

  One of three missing pages from Ashmole 782 is in Diana and Matthew’s possession. After the news of Diana’s pregnancy takes hold on the de Clermont family, the politics of the covenant and Congregation, the secrets inside the manuscript, Diana’s growing power and purpose, and Matthew’s blood rage and past guilts become more pressing than ever. From the laboratories at Yale to the many homes of Europe, from Diana’s childhood home to a deserted concentration camp in Poland, Diana and Matthew must face the world together and fight for the love, family, and future.

  

  Once again, I’m stunned by Harkness’s brilliance. She somehow managed to write a stunning, scholarly, thrilling ending to this trilogy — all while continuing to career as a professor and academic. Wow. I bow to her. I am Fernando to her Diana.

  Like A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night, The Book of Life is filled with academic jargon across all disciplines and fields, making this reviewer long once more to be locked in a library and researching just for the sake of researching (and the hot beverages and tweed and autumn leaves and cozy warmth…I digress). Everything from modern science and DNA coding to history and art helps piece together the giant puzzle that is the connection between vampires, witches, daemons, and humans. This book could also be described as one giant family reunion, one crisis after another around every page turn. Characters from the previous books crop up and play their role, some of them more crucial than before. My heart swelled for Gallowglass, to name just one character in many.

  What’s fantastic about these characters and their secrets are how all their stories are truly interwoven, without many of them realizing it. It makes the world feel more authentic. Even more so, it humanizes these creatures — many of whom (particularly one of Matthew’s disowned offspring who is the main villain of this book) remind us that the horrors we read in books do, in fact, happen to people every day.

  Book One focused on discoveries, particularly on an all-consuming love. Book Two focused on accepting one’s identity, and the growing love between Matthew and Diana, and how the boundaries changed in that relationship. This book particularly tested them — as partners, as lovers, as mates, as parents, as creatures — and while all was not rosy, it was never without love. So beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow together. I’m sad to see the trilogy end, as I’d love to know what happens (to every character), but that’s the joy of imagination: I can think of their futures in my head and believe it to be true.

  Intelligent and exciting, the All Souls trilogy is not one to be missed.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 4 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: romance, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Through to You” by Lauren Barnholdt (ARC)

  Posted at 9:07 am by Laura, on June 24, 2014

  Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt 

  Publisher: Simon Pulse
  Publishing Date: July 8
  Genre: young adult, romance
  ISBN: 9781442434639
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★ 

  It starts with a scribbled note in class: I like your sparkle. Harper had casually threaded a piece of blue and silver tinsel through her ponytail in honor of school spirit day. And that carefree, corny gesture is what grabs Penn Mattingly’s eye. Penn—resident heartbreaker of the senior class. Reliably unreliable. Trouble with a capital “T.” And okay, smolderingly sexy.
  
  Harper’s surprised by Penn’s attention—and so is Penn. The last thing he needs is a girlfriend. Or even a friend-with-benefits. The note is not supposed to lead to anything.
  
  Oh, but it does. They hang out. They have fun. They talk. They make out. And after a while, it seems like they just click. But Penn and Harper have very different ideas about what relationships look like, in no small part because of their very different family backgrounds. Of course they could talk about these differences—if Penn knew how to talk about feelings.
  
  Harper and Penn understand their attraction is illogical, yet something keeps pulling them together. It’s like a crazy roller coaster—exhilarating, terrifying, and amazing all at once. And neither knows how to stop the ride…

  Penn, once-baseball star of the high school, drops a note on good girl Harper’s desk. All it says is I like your sparkle, but it sets off a flurry of excitement and second-guessing. Before she knows it, Harper finds Penn everywhere in her life, and she begins to wonder what it all means. As they circle around one another, attempting to make sense of whatever is happening between them, they discover a mutual attraction that defies logic and reasoning. Harper wishes Penn would open up more to her, but Penn isn’t sure where to begin. It all comes down to trust.

  I’d imagine if I were in the right mood, this would’ve been a far more enjoyable read. That, or if I were into this good-girl-meets-bad-boy storyline in general. I’d hoped this book would show some depth and strength, span several months rather than a few weeks. I’d thought the issues Penn and Harper encountered would be on very serious matters, rather than Harper constantly pestering Penn with questions and drilling him as to why he isn’t talking to her about stuff. A part of me — freshman-in-high-school me — completely understood her thought process, but cringed every time she voiced her questions or jumped to conclusions. Harper was clearly forcing a relationship with Penn, imagining a future with the idea of Penn rather than with who he is in reality.

  However, there were great things going for this book. Penn did have a bit of an unstable home life, and a precarious situation regarding college and baseball scholarships. I would’ve loved to dive deeper into his story. It felt like there was more for him to say. The two perspectives, immediately after one another in pivotal moments, made for an honest interpretation of events and hilariously opposite thought processes. While Harper is filled with racing thoughts, worries, concerns, and assumptions about every little detail, Penn stands there with point-blank thoughts that nowhere near match hers. Example: Harper wonders about the meaning behind his note and what he wants; Penn tells the reader he has no idea why he wrote it. An interesting look into typical girl and guy thought patterns.

  While this book was not for me, and had potential to be something more, I’m sure another reader out there would enjoy something light and fun to read this summer.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Simon Pulse for review.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 2 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “My Life Next Door” by Huntley Fitzpatrick

  Posted at 1:57 pm by Laura, on June 19, 2014

  My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick 

  Publisher: Speak
  Published: June 2013
  Genre: young adult, romance, contemporary
  ISBN: 9780142426043
  Goodreads: 4.06
  Rating: ★★★★★

  Life in Samantha Reed’s home is neat and clean and orderly — precisely planned by her local politician mother. Next door, at the Garretts’, things are loud, messy, and irresistible. And when Jase Garrett climbs the trellis outside her bedroom and enters her life, she finds herself falling passionately in love with him and everything he brings with him. The only hitch is, she’s got to hide it from her mother. Then something unthinkable happens, and Samantha is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

  Ten years ago, when the large Garrett family moved in next door, Mrs. Reed made her daughters promise never to interact with the Garretts. But Samantha was always intrigued by this boisterous, loving family, and would watch them through her window and wonder what it was like to have so many caring people in one’s life. One night, Jase Garrett, the third child in a line of eight, climbs up to her window and asks if she needs rescuing, like a princess locked in a tower. From that night on, Sam’s life is entwined with the Garretts’ — every meltdown, every meal, every new word for the baby. But as she embraces that loving chaos, she notices more and more her mother’s political antics and double-crossings, and begins to wonder which life she really belongs in.

  This is so much more than a summer romance. There’s a whole topic on family and familial relationships, the interactions between each child and “it takes a village” concept in the Garrett household. It’s so beautiful and chaotic and fun. There are so many children to keep track of, and yet each character is so fully developed — with their own speech, interests, life outside the Garrett house — that it’s easy to remember them. Especially George. Sweet, sweet George. There’s another topic on parental controls, when too much is too much, when habits become obsessions, when hypocrisy becomes apparent. Mrs. Reed was so frustrating, but Sam handled her and the situation so well, so authentically, so realistically.

  Sam. Sam and Jase. Jase. Their relationship was perfection. I don’t mean this in a “so picture perfect it can’t be real” kind of way — but in how relationships ought to be and the way many are. Trusting and loving, patient, open. Even when there are riffs, the two manage to communicate without drama and angst (unlike the situation with Sam’s best friend Nan, and Nan and her boyfriend Daniel). They were wise beyond their years, and it was so refreshing to read. Yes, they’re madly in love, and lust after one another, but they’re also serious and playful, they help each other at work and at home. Sam embraced the village aspect of the Garrett household so well, it’s as if she was meant for it. And she realizes this after the big blow-out towards the end between the Garretts and her mother.

  Fitzpatrick is one to watch. I’m putting her up there with Dessen (joining the ranks with Forman!). Not everything in the end works out perfectly, but there’s enough of a satisfying ending to the book that hints at a bright or better future for Sam and Jase, for the Garretts, for Nan and her brother Tim, for Mrs. Reed. There’s a road to recovery for some, a road for peace for others, and a road of happiness and trust. Ugh. Thank you, Fitzpatrick! Well done.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Where She Went” by Gayle Forman

  Posted at 7:00 pm by Laura, on June 14, 2014

  Where She Went by Gayle Forman 

  Publisher: Speak
  Published: April 2012
  Genre: young adult, contemporary
  ISBN: 9780142420898
  Goodreads: 4.17
  Rating: ★★★

  It’s been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam’s life forever.

  Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard’s rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia’s home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future – and each other.

  Adam and his band, Shooting Star, are rock stars. They’re plastered across tabloids, interviewed on shows and in magazines, sell platinum records, and win awards. Though Adam has achieved his dream, he’s not content with it one bit. Mia isn’t in his life, and he’s not sure how or why they fizzled. The night before he leaves for London to begin a second world tour, he wanders Manhattan incognito and stumbles across a poster of Mia performing in Carnegie Hall. After word reaches backstage of his appearance, Mia summons him to her dressing room — and their night of reconnections and long-awaited answers begins.

  Forman excellently writes companion books. There’s something about hers that I enjoy much more than trilogies. Two perspectives at two different periods in time — it works very well. Adam’s voice is different from Mia’s, and rightly so. Adam is overwhelmed with stardom and still devastated over Mia’s absence, so everything in his life instead becomes public knowledge — facts about the band, about the music written, about his history — and his voice is like that of the walking dead. At least, it’s deadened until Mia enters the picture once more. His emotions run high, the writing becomes lyrical like Mia’s voice from If I Stay, and his passion for music rather than the dull facts begin to shine through. Well-crafted.

  However, I was torn between enjoying this book for what it was — a glimpse into the future and aftermath of the accident — and thinking it was a bit indulgent. Like I said in my review for If I Stay, I was more invested in Mia’s journey, the music, her parents’ love, than I was in her relationship with Adam. This book entirely revolves around that. Yes, it shows the way trauma wrecks everyone involved, not just the direct victims, and yes, it explores heartbreak, rejection, and closure, but it was very much focused on Adam’s distraught feelings and angst. I’m not sure how else this book could’ve been written, though.

  The point is, I enjoyed it but it didn’t make me feel as deeply as If I Stay.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 5 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Advance Excitement at a Glance VI

  Posted at 10:45 am by Laura, on June 6, 2014

  

  This year, in an effort to blog more, to become more involved with the blogging community, and to keep up with the latest publications, I thought I’d create a monthly post about the ARCs I’ve received. These ARCs will be read and reviewed a month prior to the publishing date. The Advance Excitement at a Glance posts will feature one or two (or more, depending on what happens this year) books to look forward to, and it will motivate me to keep my to-read list on track.

  Last month I announced The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, a book you can purchase today at your local bookstore! For July, I have a handful of ARCs, but in light of the YA support lately, I’ll reveal two YA romances.

  

  The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson
  (July 1, HarperTeen)

  Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter’s come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I’ve watched the danger swell.

  I’m tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don’t know why. I think it’s because death is coming for one of them, or both.

  Maggie and her family move from Chicago to a small town in northern Michigan along the lake coast. She befriends her free-spirited, beautiful neighbor Pauline and Pauline’s long-time shadow Liam. The three are inseparable, until Pauline is sent away. There’s a murderer in town, and Maggie and Liam seek comfort in one another through the long winter, in hopes that their bond with Pauline will not shatter once she discovers them.

  Sounds like a good romance mixed with some mystery and ghosts. Plus, winter in July sounds pretty nice.

  

  Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt
  (July 8, Simon Pulse)

  It starts with a scribbled note in class: I like your sparkle. Harper had casually threaded a piece of blue and silver tinsel through her ponytail in honor of school spirit day. And that carefree, corny gesture is what grabs Penn Mattingly’s eye. Penn—resident heartbreaker of the senior class. Reliably unreliable. Trouble with a capital “T.” Harper’s surprised by Penn’s attention—and so is Penn. The last thing he needs is a girlfriend. The note is not supposed to lead to anything.

  Oh, but it does. They hang out. They have fun. They talk. They make out. And after a while, it seems like they just click. But Penn and Harper have very different ideas about what relationships look like, in no small part because of their very different family backgrounds. Of course they could talk about these differences—if Penn knew how to talk about feelings.

  Good girl Harper receives a flirty, carefree note from bad boy Penn and she’s immediately unsure of how to assess the situation. Penn doesn’t even know why he was moved to give her the note in the first place. But that note sparks a roller coaster friendship traveling at high speed, leaving both teens reeling.

  Who doesn’t want to read a a good-girl-meets-bad-boy romance every once in a while? This looks like just the ticket.

  Which ARCs did you receive for July? What books are you looking forward to reading?

  Posted in Advance Excitement, books | 0 Comments | Tagged advance excitement at a glance, ARC, books, genre: romance, genre: young adult

• Book Review: “Open Road Summer” by Emery Lord

  Posted at 12:47 pm by Laura, on May 14, 2014

  Open Road Summer by Emery Lord 

  Publisher: Walker/Bloomsbury
  Published: April 15
  Genre: young adult, romance, travel, music
  ISBN: 9780802736109
  Goodreads: 4.07
  Rating: ★★★★★

  After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking.

  Reagan and Delilah have been best friends since elementary school. A pinch of talent and a stroke of luck changed Dee from an adorably awkward girl with a passion for country music into Lilah Montgomery, America’s sweetheart and teen sensation. Her fame and Reagan’s rebellious streak never break their infinite bond, and they are quite happy about that. For her first headline tour, Dee asks Reagan to come along, and Reagan is happy to oblige. Both friends are nursing wounds and lean on one another for strength, happiness, and support. When a tabloid photo threatens to turn the Lilah Montgomery brand upside-down, once-famed star Matt Finch joins the tour to help boost positive publicity. His presence works wonders, and the summer tour turns out to be so much more than either friend expected.

   

  

  Ridiculous disclaimer first: 1) My coworkers teased me for calling this “my Taylor Swift book,” because explaining the plot and themes and beautiful friendship would take too much time when I so desperately wanted to get back to reading. 2) I’ve never understood the concept of people naming their favorite fictional boy and calling him their Book Boyfriend…until now.

  Reagan and Dee’s friendship is raw, true, comfortable, unconditional, and absolutely stunning. They’re sisters, they have the same soul, they share brain waves, whatever you use to describe your dearest and closest friend(s), that’s what these two are. Reagan comes from a broken family and deals with it in rather harmful ways, but her friendship with Dee is pure and unwavering. Dee helps Reagan to her feet 100%, and supports Reagan’s effort to shape herself into something new, admirable, and better. Dee is a sweet, caring, lighthearted spirit, who works so hard to not crack under pressure and attempts to brush off the horrid tabloids and false news reports. Reagan’s known Dee for a long time, and Dee is a very grounded, family-oriented, small-town country girl living the life of famed country stars. It was wonderful to see how the two of them orbit one another, how Dee’s fame doesn’t get to her head, how Reagan doesn’t take advantage of this friendship, how these girls will stick to each other through thick and thin, across distance and time. Thank you, Lord, for writing such a beautiful friendship in this unique circumstance.

  Similarly — and I don’t know how to put this into better words — I loved seeing the side of celebrity normally hidden in the shadows. It’s ridiculous to think celebrities are perfect and wonderful all the time, that they’re gods and superhuman. It’s ridiculous how quickly the public changes opinion of them when one mistake is splashed across the web, magazines, and news. Because really, celebrities are just like us, the “normal” people of “reality.” We know this, but I don’t think we truly comprehend this. Matt’s character and Reagan’s interactions with him truly flesh out this aspect of celebrity life. With Dee and Reagan, their friendship hardly changed when Dee stumbled into fame. There was a Before. Matt Finch was part of a family band as a young teen, fell out of fame, released one solo album, and disappeared. Reagan knows who he is prior to meeting him in person, but it hits her in the face when she witnesses his efforts to maintain a mask for the stage, for the photographers, and then alone with her and Dee. He’s the sweetheart boy-next-door with a talent for guitar and piano and a handsome face. He’s broken inside and communicates through music — just like Reagan communicates through photography. And even though Reagan likes the charming Celebrity Matt Finch, she loves Reality Matt Finch more. And that relationship, too, is beautiful.

  Open Road Summer is a remarkable debut shedding light on the lives of celebrities backstage, when the photographers are gone and the mics are off; a stunning reflection on a healthy, strong friendship through life’s highs and lows; and a heartwarming love between two broken souls attempting to piece themselves back together.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: music, genre: romance, genre: travel, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

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• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

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