Review: Friends and Lovers Trilogy by Bethany Lopez

05/18/2013 by · 1 Comment

Title: Friends and Lovers Trilogy – Make It Last | I Choose You | Trust In Me
Author: Bethany Lopez
Publisher: CreateSpace
Format: Kindle Edition, about 584 pages
Source: AToMR Tours
Overall Trilogy Rating:
3 owls

Make It Last

 
In a small town, it’s hard to recover from being dumped by your high school sweetheart. That’s just what Briana has to do after Colin leaves her to follow his dreams. She focuses her energy into her friendships and the pursuit of her own goal of becoming a chef. Just when she finally feels like she’s on the right path, he comes back to town.

Colin knew breaking up with Briana before leaving for college was the right thing to do. He was determined to leave small-town life behind forever, and that included his high school girlfriend. But when a sports injury puts him on the sidelines, he’s forced to return home. Seeing Briana again brings back a lot of memories, and Colin wonders if he made the right decision. It doesn’t take long for him to realize he wants her back, and this time, he wants to make it last.

I Choose You


Up until now, Nicole’s life has been mapped out for her. She’d go to college, marry Jake and become the upstanding minister’s wife. When she leaves that life to begin again in a small town in Texas, she finally has the freedom to live as she chooses. There, she meets Kent, a guy whose charm and passion make it hard to stick to her morals.

Dodging his father’s fists and protecting his twin sister made Kent into the man he is today. He learned by watching his mother stay by his father’s side that it’s better to keep relationships simple. Then he meets Nicole. Her sweet smile and genuine response to him land like punches to his resolve. After a lifetime of learning to protect his heart, can he finally let down his guard?

Trust In Me


Roni’s dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer were smashed under the brutal rage of her ex-husband’s fists. Getting divorced and starting over at the age of twenty-two was never her plan, but maybe in Texas, she’ll find her path. When the town’s local player, Rich, opens a Rec Center, she sees a way to rekindle her dancing dreams…and maybe have a little fun with her sexy new boss.

Rich never expected to fulfill his dreams in the town he planned to leave behind, but that’s just what he’s doing. His reputation as a noncommittal ladies’ man might make it challenging to earn respect in the business world, but he’s willing to prove that he’s serious. In fact, when it comes to pursuing Roni, he’s more than willing. But she’s taking a page out of his book, not wanting to risk another relationship. Can he convince her that his playboy days are over and that she can trust him with her heart?

My thoughts

Rather than talk about each novella in the trilogy, I’m going to do the whole shebang at once.

The first novella was probably my least favorite. It lacked any conflict at all. The couple broke up in the very beginning, there was some heartache, fast forward a few years, a few awkward scenes, then bam, they’re back together. That all happened in probably the first third of the story, the rest of it was spent following them around as they flirted, talked and made out. That was it. That made for a bit of a boring story, with no action, tension or excitement. The rest of the novellas, though, had more content to keep me interested.

I liked the variety of characters. There were rich kids and poor kids, abused kids and privileged kids, nice kids and asshats. You knew from the beginning of each story how it would all end for everyone, no real surprises there. Some of the situations they found themselves in, however, were unbelievable: Briana forgave Colin awfully fast; for someone so virginal, Nicole got naughty pretty quickly; Rich’s Rec Center was just too perfect a solution…

There were some deep situations the characters got into that were handled nicely, although they were resolved a little too quickly and cleanly, in my opinion. All of the novellas were zippy and moved along at a fast pace. And I liked the 3 brief bonus chapters at the end of the trilogy that acted as epilogues for each novella. I enjoyed seeing the couples a bit later in their lives.

Overall, the trilogy was entertaining and fun, with a touch of substance. A perfect choice for a beachy summer day.

The sum up

Quick, flirty and fun.

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Audio Review: Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick

04/25/2013 by · 1 Comment

Title: Drowning Instinct
Author: Ilsa J. Bick
Publisher: February 1st 2012 by Lerner Publishing Group (audio: July 3rd 2012 by Brilliance Audio)
Format: Paperback 345 pages (audio: 9 hrs and 46 mins)
Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
Source: Purchased from Audible
5 owl rating

Summary

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain… magnetism.

And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

My thoughts

After reading Katie’s review of Drowning Instinct over at Blook Girl, I picked up the audio version, and I’m so glad I did.

Jenna is rescued from a near-drowning and while in the hospital, an officer gives her a tape recorder and asks her to record what happened, how she ended up in the frozen lake. So she starts at the beginning: her troubled home life, her arrival at a new school and everything that happens after. She pulls no punches and spares no details.

Jenna is a hot mess. She’s had an unfortunate upbringing which includes a fire that nearly killed her, being molested, living with a drunk mother and a super controlling father, being abandoned by her military-bound brother and self cutting. Unsurprisingly, she has some issues. She was a likable character, though. She had her moments of whining or brattiness, but she deserves some slack.

The infamous teacher, Mitch, well… I had some issues. He’s relatable and nice enough, and I understand he has his own issues, but he’s an adult. I’ve seen many reviews that say this story shows it’s not all black and white, that there are some gray areas, but I disagree. An adult is an adult is an adult. He should know better, no matter what’s going on in his life. But, let’s put that aside for now and just go with it, for the sake of this review. As a general character, I did like Mitch. He was kind and friendly and I think he truly wanted to be there for Jenna, who clearly needed someone to be on her side.

The other characters were there to be mean or bad to our 2 main characters, so we’d feel sorry for them. And they succeeded. They weren’t full characters, more like caricatures of people. But that’s okay, they served their purpose and I really just wanted to spend more time with Mitch and Jenna. Because even though I would oppose such a relationship in real life, I loved reading about it! They had some great scenes together, very sweet and romantic (if maybe a bit clinical).

Ilsa J. Bick has a way with words (not a surprise to me, having read her book Ashes), but I was still impressed with the way she weaved the story together. There was a bit of action, a lot of mystery, some romance and even witty dialogue. Several times I found myself anxious to know what happened next, and this was the only frustrating part about listening to the audio version – where I would normally skip a bit to get to the next scene, because I just couldn’t wait, I was forced to wait for the narrator to get there.

Speaking of the narrator, Kathleen McInerney did a fabulous job of bringing the story to life. At first I thought she sounded too young, but it worked and she soon became Jenna. Also, since the entire story is Jenna speaking into a microphone, there was a certain “rightness” of listening to the story, as opposed to reading it.

This is sometimes a hard story, for the subject matter, but it’s an interesting one. The writing is taut and kept me on the edge of my seat many times. And you know that bit from the book’s summary:

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Keep that bit in mind.

The sum up

I love everything about this book.

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Review: Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) by Laurie Boyle Crompton

02/14/2013 by · 2 Comments

Title: Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains)
Author: Laurie Boyle Crompton
Publisher: February 1st 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Paperback, 309 pages
Source: NetGalley
3 owls

 

Summary

Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She’s desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark’s feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her “sext” photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now…

My thoughts

Blaze was a fun main character; she lived life on the sideline and was just fine living in her comic book world with her 2 besties, whom I really liked. They were total opposites: one was spoiled, selfish and boy crazy and the other was calm, kind and thoughtful. The three of them together made a great mix. Blaze and her little brother were close, and he was just about the cutest and most thoughtful little brother you could want. Though they had their disagreements, you could tell they really cared about each other.

Blaze was a diverse character, with flaws and quirks. She wasn’t perfect, and in fact made some very stupid decisions, one of which seemed out of character. But she was also a teenage girl, so we can chalk those up to hormones, I suppose.

Mark deserved his Mark the Shark title. He seemed like a good guy on the surface, and while he wasn’t a total douchecanoe, he also wasn’t a saint. He had a few redeeming qualities in the end. Blaze’s mom was clearly still hurt by their father leaving town, and I felt that aspect was well developed. She was a real character with real issues, and that was nice to see in a parental figure.

The comics play a large part of the story, and though I’m generally not a fan of comic books, I didn’t find their use in the book off-putting at all. In fact, Blaze made them seem pretty interesting. She and her fellow comic aficionados talked about the history and future of comics, and the artwork and stories behind them.

This was a fun book, and though the real meat of the story didn’t happen until after the halfway point, everything moved very quickly. I loved how the dialogue was spiced up by Blaze’s comic book obsession. Every once in a while, she’d think “Bam!” or “Mark the Shark strikes again!” or some other such nonsense. It made the story fun and more entertaining than it would have been otherwise. There are real lessons to be learned here, but they’re not preachy. This is a great story for our modern age

The sum up

Fast-paced and funky, this is a fun novel with depth and heart. Perfect for a fun vacation read or plane trip.

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Review: From Ashes by Molly McAdams

02/02/2013 by · Leave a Comment

From Ashes by Molly McAdamsTitle: From Ashes
Author: Molly McAdams
Publisher: April 16th 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Format: Kindle Edition, 416 pages
Source: Edelweiss
3 owls

 

Summary

When Cassidy Jameson’s best friend Tyler took her to Texas with him when he left for college, she was expecting his cousin, their new roommate, to be a Stetson-wearing cowboy since his family owned a ranch; not this incredibly gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl that seemed to make the world stop whenever she looked at him. Because of her past, she’s only ever trusted two men in her life, Tyler and her dad whom passed away when she was six. But there’s something about Gage that draws her to him in a way she can’t explain, only problem? He’s always telling Tyler that he doesn’t want Cassidy living there and sees her as nothing more than his little sister.

Gage Carson was excited his cousin Tyler was coming to live with, and go to college with him. When he’d called to ask if he could bring his friend Cassi with him, Gage didn’t care. Gage had heard about this mysterious friend since they were kids and felt like he already knew her. Nothing would prepare him for watching her jump out of Ty’s Jeep though. Not only was Cassi the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, but there was something about her that within seconds of meeting her, made Gage want to protect her, and make her his. Too bad Tyler made it a point to remind Gage on a daily basis that he was dating her and she was completely off limits.

For a year and a half, Gage and Cassidy dance around their feelings for each other as Tyler continues to keep them apart; until one day Tyler unknowingly pushes her right into Gage’s arms. With Tyler unable to keep lying to them, they finally start a relationship both have been craving since their first meeting. But when an accident and disaster sends her back to Tyler and California, will Cassidy be able to come face to face with the demons from her past to live a life she and Gage deserve; or will the fact that she once again ran to Tyler be the final push that ends Cassidy and Gage for good?

My thoughts

**Mild spoilers ahead**

I’m going to break the book down for all you potential readers. Here’s the entire first half of the book, summed up in 2 conversations:

Cassidy: “I really like Gage.”
Tyler: “He doesn’t like you at all.”
Cassidy: “Are you sure? He looks at me like he really likes me.”
Tyler: “Nope. He can barely stand you.”
Cassidy: “Oh. Okay. I could go talk to him myself, but I’ll just take your word for it.”

***

Gage: “I really like Cassidy.”
Tyler: “She doesn’t like you at all.”
Gage: “Really? She looks at me like she really digs me.”
Tyler: “Nope. She’s my girlfriend and we have sex all the time. By the way, she can’t stand you.”
Gage: “Oh. Okay. I could go talk to her myself, but I’ll trust you.”

Now imagine those 2 scenes taking place in different places and with different specifics, but always with the same underlying message. So now that you have the gist for the first half, here’s the second:

Cassidy: “Oh, something happened [Gage looked at me the wrong way, I overheard something, I misunderstood something, et al]. I’m going to run away from the situation now.”
Gage: “Oh no, she’s run away again. I’m so unhappy. I can’t live without her. She’s the one. I hope she comes back.”
Cassidy: “I’m over it. I love you.”
Gage: “Love you, too.”

And there. No need to read the book now. You’re welcome.

Just in case you want the specifics (party pooper), I’ll go ahead and do a real review now. So, I understand instant lust and instant like, but I don’t understand instant love. When you feel the pull of someone before you even know they’re in the room, when you feel like they’re the one before you’ve even met them, that seems a bit much to me. At any rate, it appears Cassidy and Gage are meant to be but Tyler is doing everything he can to prevent that (and being a real douche canoe about it, too). But that wouldn’t have mattered if either one of them had taken the time to talk to each other at all. But they didn’t. They kept talking all around what they should have been talking about. I think one or two times would be forgivable, but that went on for a year and a half! You would think any normal person would have had the chance to talk about their feelings at least once during that time.

But Cassidy was frail and afraid after having a completely shitty upbringing. Quite possibly the shittiest upbringing ever, in fact. Maybe because of it, she was on the tentative and naïve side. Luckily (for all the guys) she was a looker who could cook and loved all sports. Which leads to another absurdity – every single guy Cassidy met fell in love/lust with her. They wanted her or someone just like her, whether for a roll in the hay or a lifetime commitment. She must have been exuding some sort of pheromones because she couldn’t keep the guys away. There were at least 14 guys hitting on her, expressing their connection with her or telling Gage how amazingly lucky he was, throughout the book. We get it. Everyone liked her.

Gage was a lot like Travis from Beautiful Disaster, except with a little less violence. He wanted to own Cassidy (and even said those exact words, I believe), not just be with her. And even better, he didn’t want anyone flirting with her, touching her or even looking at her. Though he did have a temper on him, and did get in a fight or two, that wasn’t his dominant instinct. Tyler was the real villain of the book, and he played the part well. At first you thought he was the greatest guy ever, for always being there for her when they were growing up. And truly, she needed someone to be on her side (I’m not kidding about the shitty upbringing). But once they were living with Gage, he turned into a completely different person. And once the truth was out, Cassidy (and Gage) forgave him so easily, much easier than I would have.

The plot was entertaining, I enjoyed seeing Cassidy become a stronger person and learn to accept her past trauma and even move beyond it. The hardest thing for her was to actually accept that it had happened, admit it to herself and then learn to talk about it with those closest to her. For the longest time, she just talked about it like she was an observer, not the actual victim. It was impossible for her to move on without that acceptance. And even Gage and Tyler matured and learned some lessons in the end, so that was nice.

I understand that Molly McAdams’ previous book ended on an unhappy note, but you don’t have to be worried about that here. There’s a satisfying conclusion, though it almost seems tacked on, with parts that feel unnecessary. I like the cover, it gives a real sense of what the book is about. Overall, this was an entertaining book that had some good and some not so good qualities

The sum up

If you like your heroes dominant and your heroines perfect on the outside while wanting to be rescued on the inside, From Ashes is your book.

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Review: Back to You by Priscilla Glenn

01/04/2013 by · Leave a Comment

Back_to_You

Title: Back to You
Author: Priscilla Glenn
Publisher: October 20th 2012 by CreateSpace
Format: Kindle Edition, 328 pages
Source: AToMR Tours

Summary

When Lauren Monroe first laid eyes on Michael Delaney back in high school, she had every reason to stay away from him; within minutes of their first encounter, his volatile actions confirmed his notorious reputation. But Lauren saw something in him that caused her to question his bad-boy persona, and against her better judgment, she took a chance. She had no way of knowing that the unlikely friendship they formed would become so important to her.

Or that it would end so painfully.

Eight years later, when Lauren begins her new job at Learn and Grow Day Care, Michael is the last person she expects to see. Refusing to revisit the hurt and confusion of their past, Lauren vows to keep her distance from him. But staying away from Michael proves to be more difficult than she thought, despite her lingering grief and her instincts for self-preservation.

As Lauren and Michael recall the friendship that changed them forever and the events that tore them apart, will they finally be able to heal? Or will the ghosts of Michael’s past prove to be too much to overcome?

My thoughts

Lauren has just started her new job as a Pre-K teacher. She’s still learning the ropes on her first day when in walks her old friend Michael. They were best friends throughout high school, until Michael did something unforgivable and they haven’t spoken since. Now they’re all grown up and Michael’s little girl is a student in Lauren’s class. Though Lauren tries hard to keep things professional, the two have a real chemistry that makes it difficult.

I liked Lauren’s character. She was kind and friendly, but also self-assured (even as a teenager). She was very likeable, and it was easy to see why Michael enjoyed having her as a friend. He was a classic bad boy – mean and gritty on the outside, with a sad story that made him want to hide from the world. And it was a doozy of a story. It was easy to see why he had become the person he was. In fact, I was surprised he didn’t end up more screwed up than he was. His little girl Erin is just about the cutest darn thing ever. She was mostly realistic, although I have to wonder what 4-year old doesn’t have at least 1 sleep-deprived meltdown or act like a brat at least once in a while…

The story took place in the present day, and every other chapter or so was told in a flashback. The flashbacks were not sequential, but for the purpose of the story, it fit. My one issue with the flashbacks was that I kept wanting to know what Michael did that was so horrible! They kept talking about it and talking about it, but we don’t learn what he did until about 3/4 of the way in. Also, I didn’t think what he did was as terrible as Lauren kept saying it was. Jerky, yes. But not unforgivable, in my opinion. I did like learning how they met and how they were with each other in school. And especially how wonderful Michael was to her when they were in private, when he could just be himself.

This was a fairly clean book – there was some sex, but it was pretty nondescript and glossed over. I don’t recall any curse words, though there may have been 1 or 2. This is being marketed as an adult book, but I would also consider it new-adult, since Lauren is still in school and just starting her ‘life.’

The sum up

Sweet and romantic, this is the perfect book for someone looking for a romance story with guts.

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Review: Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler

11/24/2012 by · 1 Comment

who i kissedTitle: Who I Kissed
Author: Janet Gurtler
Publisher: October 1st 2012 by Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Paperback, 312 pages
Source: Publisher, for review

Summary

She Never Thought A Kiss Could Kill. . .

Samantha is new at school and just recently joined the swim team. She’s been flirting with one of her teammates, Zee, who invites her to a party and just as quickly dumps her for another girl. Hurt, but pretending not to care, she turns to his best friend, Alex, and gives him a kiss. And he dies—right in her arms. Alex was allergic to peanuts, and Samantha had eaten a peanut butter sandwich right before the party. She didn’t know. Overnight, Samantha turns into the school pariah and a media sensation explodes. Consumed with guilt, abandoned by her friends, and in jeopardy of losing her swimming scholarship, she will have to find the inner-strength to forgive herself for the tragedy.

My thoughts

Samantha moved to a new school to work with a better swim coach. She’s still the new girl and still getting to know everyone. Her teammate, Zee, on whom she has been crushing for some time, invites her to a party but ends up making out with another girl right in front of her. Samantha decides to make him jealous by making out with his best friend Alex, who seems more interested in her than Zee. Suddenly, he can’t breathe and they’re calling an ambulance. He dies on the way to the hospital and now Samantha is the girl who killed Alex.

Samantha was an interesting character to get to know. She seemed strong and confident, but struck me as a bit immature. After Alex’s death, she punished herself much more than anyone else could. She became introverted and lost all confidence and refused to be persuaded that his death wasn’t her fault. That aspect seemed a little out of character for her, when compared to the beginning of the story.

I liked Zee, Samantha’s crush, until he started making out with another girl. That was an asshat thing for him to do, and she seemed to forget about that part of the night rather quickly. Casper, who became interested in Samantha after that night, was a bit of a mystery to me (for a while). He was nice to her even after almost everyone else stopped speaking to her, but he could also be distant for no apparent reason. I loved Taylor, the one friend who stood by Samantha. She was nice and kind and there for Samantha no matter what. Samantha’s dad and aunt were wonderful parents for her. It was nice to have a dad who’s not only in the picture, but actually a very good dad! Aunt Allie was just quirky enough.

The plot was interesting, and I liked the direction Janet Gurtler took with it. It’s hard to imagine something as simple as a kiss causing someone’s death, but she made it believable. There were facts and statistics, and they help you see how often something like this may actually happen. One part I really liked was that Samantha started to see a psychologist, which was a smart thing for her to do. We see some of the things he did to help Samantha through her guilt.

One thing that bugged me about the story was that nobody ever called out Alex. Since he had such a severe allergy, I would think he might mention that to a girl before he started swapping spit. Maybe they never thought that was a concern, but surely his mother would wrestle with some guilt over not thinking about it?

There are scenes of underage drinking and drug use. There’s also a v-card losing situation, which was not at all graphic.

The sum up

A cautionary tale filled with sadness and hope.

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Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart Audiobook

06/09/2012 by · 2 Comments

Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks
Author: E. Lockhart
Publisher: Brilliance Audio, June 20th 2008
Narrator: Tanya Eby Sirois
Format: 6 audio discs, 6 hrs and 9 mins
Source: purchased from Audible.com
Goodreads summary:

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club. 
Her father’s “bunny rabbit.” 
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school. 

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure. 
A sharp tongue. 
A chip on her shoulder. 
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer. 
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society. 
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. 
Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them. 
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her. 
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done. 

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.

My thoughts: This was the story of an intelligent girl who wanted everyone to finally see her as a grown up. Her family still saw her as a little girl and her friends saw her as a geek. She was desperate to be seen as a young woman capable of everything the guys can do.

The plot was just average, I didn’t feel it was especially strong or weak. Basically, Frankie wanted to break out of her mold and become a young lady, and we followed her as she attempted to make that happen. This is a common wish in young girls everywhere, and I can see how this book would appeal to them.

Most of the characters were fine, though some lacked motivation. I never understood why Matthew liked Frankie or kept ditching her to spend time with Alpha. And why did Alpha never admit he was the one Frankie met at the beach? Several questions like those lingered. I liked Frankie’s character okay but her whining got to be a bit much. Your boyfriend is in a top-secret male-only society, and you can’t join? Get over it. Instead of asking her boyfriend about it, or saying “I know about the Bassets, what do you say you let me in?”, she hinted and hemmed and hawed, then got all bent out of shape and set out to get revenge. In the end she just came across as a spoiled little girl to me. She had a strong personality but I didn’t like how she could only be strong from behind the scenes, or in a passive way. She never came right out and spoke up about what she was feeling.

The dialogue was wordy, but not in a bad way. Frankie and her boyfriend (and really, all the kids at the fancy boarding school) were very intelligent, and you could tell in the way they spoke to each other. Very little, if any, slang. Frankie liked to spout out random things, and sometimes that could be annoying. There was one section that I swear lasted 10 minutes and was just Frankie going on and on and on about Neglected Positives, a grammar rule she made up. Luckily, I found the 10 minute lesson on Panopticons interesting. Was this a book or a class in school?

Nothing too sexy or hot here, though it wasn’t for lack of Matthew’s trying. I liked how Frankie stood her ground around him, in that little way. Other than that, there was a little flirting but it was innocent stuff. Again, I was surprised by the lack of teenage tawdriness. Come on, people. You are young and hormonal and living basically without any adult supervision. I feel like you’re really missing out!

The audio was fine. I think it started out a bit rough, almost like Tanya Eby Sirois was looking for the right tone, but I think she settled in just fine.

The cover is cute and matches the story brilliantly. At first glance, it could almost be some sort of Nancy Drew, teenage-mystery-solver type story, but once you read the novel, it matches.

The Sum Up: An entertaining book that won’t stick with you for long.

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Filed Under: 3 owls, Audio, Boarding school, Contemporary, Cute, V-card, Young adult ·

Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

03/13/2012 by · 2 Comments

Catching Jordan by Miranda KenneallyTitle: Catching Jordan
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Publisher: December 1st 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Paperback, 281 pages
Series: Book 1 of 3 companion books
Source: Purchased

Summary

What girl doesn’t want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn’t just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there’s a new guy in town who threatens her starting position… suddenly she’s hoping he’ll see her as more than just a teammate.

My thoughts

Jordan is the quarterback and captain of her high school’s football team and has always been one of the guys, which is just fine by her. Suddenly, when a new QB shows up at their school, her heretofore unused girly parts start a’tingling. Can she get the guy and still play like one at the same time?

I really liked the plot of Catching Jordan. It was fun to read a football book from a girl’s point of view. I have zero knowledge of the sport but I managed to keep up just fine. Jordan was one of my favorite characters from any novel. I liked that she was just fine with her status as one of the guys. She was tall and not stick thin and she was absolutely okay with that. She was strong enough to lead her entire school’s football team and they all respected her. There was no undercurrent of flirtiness, just full-on no-bullshit she’s the boss. All of the characters were realistic, no clichés in site. Her long time best friend Sam Henry was great, as were the other boys on the team. And they were hot to boot! How she managed to not drool over them all the time is a lingering question I have…

There was a bit of sex, but I wouldn’t call it sexy hotness. More like wham, bam, thank you ma’am (though not graphic). I liked the romance aspect of the book, though. It wasn’t really where you expected it to be. There was heartache and loss and breakups and makeups. All were believable and real. The dialogue was standard teen fare, with a bit of an edge. Jordan didn’t take crap from anyone and all of the teens were quick with the one-liners. The book started off strong and just kept it up the entire time; it was fast paced and hard to put down.

I love the cover for this one. It’s bright, colorful and realistic and has everything to do with the story.

The sum up

A fun story and fantastic characters make this an easy one to love.

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Filed Under: 5 owls, Besties, Chick lit, Contemporary, Cover love, Easy read, Fast pace, Quick read, Sweet, V-card, YA saves, Young adult · Tagged With: