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Book Review: “Once And For All” by Sarah Dessen

Title: Once And For All

Author: Sarah Dessen

Published: June 6th, 2017

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers 

Find the Author: Goodreads 


I bought this book myself and was not gifted in any way! As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.

As bubbly as champagne and delectable as wedding cake, Once and for All, Sarah Dessen’s thirteenth novel, is set in the world of wedding planning, where crises are routine. 


Louna, daughter of famed wedding planner Natalie Barrett, has seen every sort of wedding: on the beach, at historic mansions, in fancy hotels and clubs. Perhaps that’s why she’s cynical about happily-ever-after endings, especially since her own first love ended tragically. When Louna meets charming, happy-go-lucky serial dater Ambrose, she holds him at arm’s length. But Ambrose isn’t about to be discouraged, now that he’s met the one girl he really wants. 


Sarah Dessen’s many, many fans will adore her latest, a richly satisfying, enormously entertaining story that has everything—humour, romance, and an ending both happy and imperfect, just like life itself.

First Thoughts

Sarah Dessen is a staple author for those books that make you feel all the feels. I’ve read a few of her books before I started blogging a few years ago, and since then, collected her releases. But Once And For All just appealed more to me than anything else when I saw it in Waterstones. It just had one of those gorgeous covers and intricate, delicious sounding blurbs that I couldn’t help but fall in love with. So ultimately, I had to feature it. I finished it a few weeks ago but because of some busy IRL stuff, my blogging schedule has been all over the place. So I’m back with a bang!

Review

Let me just start by saying that this is THE novel you want on a summer vacation, cooped up on a beach somewhere or at a Lake House, absorbed in another beautiful Sarah Dessen world (or maybe to take along to a destination wedding?). I finished it in three sittings, mainly because I was busy, but I would have devoured it in one sitting if I had the time, trust me. 
Despite the happy cover, our main character Louna doesn’t have a bright and beautiful life. Her story is hard-hitting and emotional, working at a wedding planning business and keeping everyone’s special day the best day of their lives. She wants everything to go smoothly, but it doesn’t always, and the stress that she was under definitely echoes though the pages to me as a reader. Bonus; I loved Louna’s relationship with her mother and business partner. They had this chemistry all together as a dynamic and it was just so realistic, you know? Like I could honestly believe every word. 
But, enter Ambrose. He’s Louna’s love interest and the kind of boy that’s your typical bookish boyfriend material. He’s charming, suave and kindhearted through and through. After Louna’s bad relationship in the past, she’s forced to feel like she needs to distance herself from Ambrose – so they become friends instead. In fact, they begin caring for each other in ways Louna feels bittersweet about. She can’t help but remind herself he’s got female attention all the time and enjoys it, but this changes the more that they spend time together. He becomes more attentive and drops the annoying act, and they click and spark like a wildfire together. Something inside Louna tells her that she can open her heart back up to love, in many forms and ways, if she believes that she deserves a little happiness, too.
I love, love, loved Once And For All. Although at times I felt it was slow, or a tad predictable (it’s not hard to be in YA romances, though) I can’t deny that this was such a pleasantly sweet book that I fell head over heels for. Overall, you will definitely benefit from reading this! Sarah Dessen has truly outdone herself with characters, words and romance to make your heart soar with love.

Rating

Perfect For

YA romance and contemporary fans!

What do you think of Once And For All? 


Have you read it?


Let me know in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!



happy reading!

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Bloomsbury Spark’s Six Month Sparkiversary

Welcome to the Bloomsbury Spark Six Month Sparkiversay Blitz!


DELIVER ME
Bloomsbury |  Amazon |  Nook |  Kobo |  iTunes  
The Sound of Us
Bloomsbury  | Amazon  | Nook  |  Kobo  |  iTunes  
The Art of Falling
Bloomsbury |  Amazon | Nook |  Kobo |  iTunes  
Positively Mine
Bloomsbury  |  Amazon |  Nook  | Kobo | iTunes  
Until We End
Bloomsbury  | Amazon | Nook  | Kobo | iTunes  
Pride’s Run
Bloomsbury  | Amazon | Nook  | Kobo  | iTunes  
Secret of Isobel Key
Bloomsbury   | Amazon | Nook  | Kobo  | iTunes 
Her Secret Inheritance
Bloomsbury  | Amazon | Nook  | Kobo  | iTunes  
Road to Somewhere
Bloomsbury  | Amazon | Nook  | Kobo  
Beyond Our Stars
Bloomsbury | Amazon | Nook  | Kobo  
My Soon-To-Be-Sex Life
Bloomsbury  | Nook  
MapMaker’s Daughter
Bloomsbury   | Amazon | Nook | Kobo  | iTunes 


Sparkie 6 Month Anniversary

What has been your best experience since the release of your book?

Ashley Poston: Definitely all the support on Twitter and Facebook! I never thought I’d have so many people out of the blue just tweeting me to tell me how much they loved my story! It means a lot to me. I think every author has one story that’s their “baby” and mine is The Sound of Us. While it’s a very funny, very light-hearted YA/NA crossover (think Fangirl), its tackles some heavy-hitting stuff that’s pretty personal to me. And it’s surreal and wonderful and thrilling to read how much other people enjoyed it!
Caroline Dunford: I loved seeing the face of my heroine Sharra on the beautiful cover. She is just as I imagined her.
Cat Kalen: I am thrilled with reader response. I heard from students who were using my book for their school reports and it thrilled me.
Christine Duval: Really it is more than one moment. It is all the times women have come up to me, written to me, tweeted to me about how Positively Mine reminded them of their own situations. Many are women who were teen moms or who found themselves unexpectedly pregnant in college. I am so moved that something I created has had meaning in another person’s life.
Frankie Brown: Meeting so many wonderful people! The Sparkies are a wonderfully sweet, vivacious group, and the online YA book community is a ton of fun.
Jen McConnel: Listening to the amazing audiobook for the first time! My narrator, Carolyn Bonnyman, has the perfect voice for the story, and I could listen to her all day long. It’s funny, too; when I was revising the sequel, I heard it in her voice. She’s become an integral part of my story, and I’m so glad!
Jenny Kaczorowski: The moment my book popped up in my local library’s eMedia collection! More than any other publishing dream, I’ve always wanted to have something I wrote in libraries. I stumbled across it by accident and nearly screamed.
Jenny Morris: Reading people’s reviews and knowing they totally got our story. It’s still crazy to me that a total stranger is reading something that I wrote and relating to it.
Judith Tewes: My title isn’t out in the world yet (releases in July), but I’ve had a blast supporting my fellow Bloomsbury Spark authors as each new title has launched.
Kate Jarvik Birch: It might sound a little sadistic, but hearing that my book has brought someone to tears is one of the best feelings EVER—it’s also pretty awesome to hear that I’ve made them yell and cheer, but for some reason the tears feel like the biggest payoff.
Kelley Lynn: Fans (Eep! I still can’t believe I have fans…haha) contacting me wanting to talk about the book. I actually had one twelve-year-old girl somehow get a hold of my phone number. She called me and in this really sweet, shaky voice, asked how she could get a signed copy of my book. It was just so flattering and is totally the reason I do this.
Marie Langager: It’s an awesome feeling when you connect with readers. Especially when they’re in a country you’ve never been to!
Theresa DaLayne: Since my book doesn’t release until mid-August of this 2014, I probably haven’t had it yet. THE EDGE OF YOU is my new adult debut, and although Ron and Lilly’s story isn’t full of rainbows and gumdrops, it’s real. I think my favorite part about writing the story was reliving my years spent in Kodiak Island, Alaska, where I grew up. A few characters, like Lori for example, play a small but beautiful role, and are depictions of real people. It was an honor to incorporate part of my life into the story that will be shared with so many others.

What is the best thing about being part of Bloomsbury Spark?

Ashley Poston: Definitely the authors. We’re like one big family. I’m thankful and so very glad to have met every single one of them. They’re all so talented, and they’ve enriched my life more than they know!
Caroline Dunford: Everyone has been so warm and welcoming.
Cat Kalen: The support from Meredith and all the authors. Everyone is so giving, helpful and wonderful, not to mention talented!
Christine Duval: The enthusiasm of everyone involved with it! It has been so amazing watching Spark grow under Meredith’s guidance and I feel I’ve made a bunch of new friends on this journey. I love hearing about everyone’s successes and learning what’s coming next while watching our readership grow.
Frankie Brown: Again: the people. Meredith is incredible, and everyone at Bloomsbury–from the social media team to the cover designers–is passionate about what they do. It’s infectious. 
Jen McConnel: It’s so hard to pick one thing, but I’d have to say that the sense of community is amazing. The authors, the team at Bloomsbury, and our fearless leader, editor Meredith Rich, all come together to create a wonderful, enthusiastic literary family.
Jenny Kaczorowski: The support! Meredith is an amazing editor, the cover artist for FALLING is amazing, and the other Spark authors are fantastic! Not only are we publishing siblings, but friends. I love having so many people with me on this journey!
Jenny Morris: The Sparkie Family. Meredith connected all of us together and the other authors really are amazingly supportive, and the best cheerleaders.
Judith Tewes: Bloomsbury Spark is in good hands with our editor, Meredith, and I love how she’s willing to take risks in her selections for this new YA / NA line. Spark titles (and authors) are ones to watch!
Kate Jarvik Birch: Being part of the Spark family has introduced me to a tight knit group of fantastic writers, all of whom support and buoy one another. Plus, it’s given me a chance to read some pretty stellar books by my fellow authors.
Kelley Lynn: Can I say everything? Everyone on the Bloomsbury Spark team is so wonderful. Meredith, and her supporting cast are the best. And the other authors in this family are so talented and nice. It’s just such a wonderful community to be a part of.
Marie Langager: I feel so lucky to be a part of this group of fantastic authors. So much support and so much fun. You really get to be a part of something special and make friends along the way!
Theresa DaLayne: My publishing career has had its peaks and valleys, but being a part of Bloomsbury Spark is most definitely a peak. My editor, Meredith, and the talented cover art department have worked hard to ensure I love the cover to my book. That’s something invaluable. And my fellow Sparkies are just about the best group of young adult and new adult authors I’ve had the honor of working with. With only six months under Spark’s belt, the future of our growing family is bright!

What are you working on now?

Ashley Poston: The sequels to THE SOUND OF US, actually! WE OWN THE NIGHT follows Ingrid, who hosts a late-night radio show to escape the reality of her small-town life, and finds herself drawn to a regular caller who is trying to escape his own life, too. It’s like Sleepless in Seattle if the main character was Rebel Wilson. YOU BURY ME is about two ex-best friends who find themselves on a road trip to complete a bucket list their late friend left behind. I’m really excited for both of them, and I hope you are, too! While they’re not direct sequels to Junie and Roman’s adventures in love, JuRo definitely make appearances (and maybe some other lovely secondary characters, too?)
Caroline Dunford: I have stories I’m working on, but I don’t tend to reveal anything until the time is right!
Cat Kalen: I’m working on Pride Unleashed and Pride’s Pursuit the follow up books to Pride’s Run.  
Christine Duval: The sequel to POSITIVELY MINE! The first draft is done, I am happy to say, and I am getting ready to send the detailed synopsis off to Bloomsbury!
Frankie Brown: A lot of different things! Stay tuned…
Jen McConnel: I’m shifting gears out of NA mode for awhile, and focusing on revising the second book in my YA fantasy series from Month9Books. It’s fun to flip flop between contemporary with a touch of paranormal and full-on fantasy, with witches and gods and goddesses popping up like whack-a-mole. GODS OF CHAOS, the sequel to DAUGHTER OF CHAOS, is due out next March…squee! There’s always another story to be told, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!
Jenny Kaczorowski: I am working on two follow-ups to THE ART OF FALLING, set in the same high school but following different characters. THE TRICK TO LANDING is about Summer, a semi-pro skateboarder trying to build a new life after a DUI. After moving to Oceanside, she meets Bastian, a brilliant photographer fighting for a future beyond the bleeding disorder that defines his life. Their romance is messy and painful, but very sweet. THE RHYTHM OF BREATHING follows Abby, Bria’s best friend in FALLING. When she kisses Jackie, the drummer in a metal band, on New Year’s Eve, she expects it to be a one-time fling. Instead, she finds herself head over heals for a boy with a dark past, deep scars and exactly what she needs to confront her own issues.
Jenny Morris: I am working on a story outline for a follow-up to ROAD TO SOMEWHERE. It follows Charlie to college and Lucy in her last few months of high school. Kelly Lynn and I are excited about the possibility of continuing the sisters’ story. I’m also working on another collaboration called REMEMBER. It’s Romeo and Juliette meets Total Recall.
Judith Tewes: I’m gearing up for the release of MY SOON-TO-BE SEX LIFE, can’t wait for the blog tour madness to begin.
Kate Jarvik Birch: What am I NOT working on now? I’m just finishing up co-writing a middle grade novel about unlikely friends navigating middle school while trying to discover whether magic is real. I’ve got another YA novel, PERFECTED, coming out July 1st from Entangled Teen and I’m busy writing the sequel, which is due out next year. I’ve got some picture book projects in the works and still need to find the time to write the screenplay I’ve been marinating for years. Phew, I’m exhausted just thinking about it!
Kelley Lynn: Jenny S. Morris and I are working on the sequel to ROAD TO SOMEWHERE. We just love being back in Charlie and Lucy’s world! I’m working on the final edits for another edition to the Bloomsbury Spark family, ONE WISH AWAY, which is a science fiction twist on the ‘when you wish upon a star’ theme. I’m also negotiating a contract for another YA Contemporary and my super duper agent, Jamie Bodnar Drowley, and I are putting the finishing touches on a YA Thriller so we can start submitting that soon. Busy, busy, busy J
Marie Langager: I’m finishing up a project that has been a long time in the making. Imagine a protagonist who’s a little bit like Jo March but hears voices and is very, very angry. She’s viewed by many as odd and unfixable. In this character’s world the Archbishop teaches her to stay away from the lying peddlers of magic. This book is madness, magic, darkness, and lots of cool new magical weapons!
Theresa DaLayne: I’m working on a few projects at the moment. One is a new adult story about a nineteen-year-old California socialite with a kleptomaniac habit that gets her in big trouble. It started out as a fun, rich-girl-gets-forced-into-being-a-maid kind of story, but when my main character meets a kind-hearted guy with a humanitarian streak, her eyes are opened to a whole new world. That’s where the real life change happens, and I can’t wait to see where my agent puts it! I’m also working on the first of a new adult thriller series, tentatively titled, GLACIER PEAK. It’s totally different than anything I’ve ever written in the sense that most times, my heroine grows into her role as a leader. In this story, my main character struts into the story with a snarky attitude, the mouth of a sailor and a hair trigger temper. When her father goes missing, she sets out on an epic five-day hike through the wilderness to find him. And when she meets a guy covered in tats with a hidden agenda, the temperature in the tent goes from zero to smoldering. It’s all set in the rural mountains of Washington State, where the weather is unpredictable, the wild animals are hungry, and the romance is ice-melting.

Giveaway!

Open to international! 

A Kindle Paperwhite loaded with all of these titles (also please use image attached with all the covers included):


1) The Sound of Us by Ashley Poston

2) The Art of Falling by Jenny Kaczorowski

3) The Secret of Isobel Key by Jen McConnel PLUS its sequel

4) Her Secret Inheritance

5) Positively Mine by Christine Duval

6) Deliver Me by Kate Jarvik Birch

7) Pride’s Run by Cat Kalen

8) Road to Somewhere by Jenny S. Morris and Kelley Lynn

9) Beyond Our Stars by Marie Langager

10) The Mapmaker’s Daughter by Caroline Dunford

11) Until We End by Frankie Brown

12) An ARC of My Soon-To-Be Sex Life by Judith Tewes

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to check out the books via their links & enter the giveaway! It’s international!  


happy reading!

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Speed Review: “If I Could Turn Back Time” by Nicola Doherty



Title: If I Could Turn Back Time

Author: Nicola Doherty
Genre: Adult – Chick-lit
Release Date: April 10th, 2014 (UK)
Published by: Headline

With thanks to Headline for the copy of this novel! As always, my reviews are non-bias and fair.

What if you found The One, then lost him again? 
Or not so much lost him as became the neurotic, needy girlfriend from hell. The girl who tried to make him choose between her and his job, and got seriously paranoid about his relationship with his best female friend…

Zoe knows she doesn’t deserve another chance with David. 

But if there’s the tiniest possibility of making things right, she’ll snatch it. Even if it means breaking the laws of physics to do so…
def: a “speed review” is a new meme on Pretty Little Memoirs, specialized for short reads, galley copies or novellas!
What is there not to love about Nicola Doherty’s book? For me, it was one of those rare amazing-all-round books, never failing to make me laugh or warm up to the incredible set of events that occurred throughout the plot. 
Zoe, our main character, was this girl who liked fashion and was a strong, determined girl. She had regrets in her life, hence the time travelling aspect of the novel, in life and love. Her life never failed to be action-packed, whether it was in her relationships with friends or love-interests. There was the ever-charming David, sweet and lovely Max, and Jenny, who was quite bizarre! Overall, the people in Zoe’s life crafted the way she looked at things, and throughout the novel she became like a friend figure, not only to her friends, but to us as readers. She was very relateable and her character developed beautifully over the course of the book. 
The time travelling theme was a twist that completed the perfect pieces of the book, that was ultimately a love story with quirky humour, fashion and a story to capture the hearts of readers. Nicola’s book reminded me of the reasons why I love novels like hers and Lindsey Kelk – and why I need to read more of them! 
I was totally won over by this stunning weekend read, that felt like watching a Rom-Com on TV. Anyone who loves an all-around lovely chick-lit novel, will adore If I Could Turn Back Time. With inspiring and thought-provoking wonders, it’s on my favourite Adult-reads of the year list!
Fans of Nicola Doherty’s previous novel, fans of Lindsey Kelk and Sophie Kinsella. Overall, anyone who loves getting lost in a good love story with laughs and twists along the way.



Have you read If I Could Turn Back Time?

What did you think? 

Tell me in the comments or at @LittleMemoirs on twitter!

happy reading!

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND: Romances You Think Would Last In The Real World

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where bloggers come up with their top ten list on different subjects every week.

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This week is Top Ten Tuesday REWIND! So I’m picking up a Tuesday theme that I didn’t post before, which is the top ten Romances that I think would last in the real world! This topic is actually going to be really easy for me, because I’ve always pictured that when a series or book ends…like where they would be now. 


1. Who’s not going to say Anna & St. Clair? They were practically made for each other. I loved Stephanie Perkins’ first novel more than any Contemporary-romance I’ve read before. It’s bound to be made into a movie one day. I’ll be there!
2. Nora & Patch were my favourite paranormal couple ever. Becca Fitzpatrick wrote the very first series that I just fell head over heels for. They fought for what they had for four novels and I was very happy with the send-off they had. 

3. Katie McGarry is the queen of writing YA couples destined for something special, and Isaiah and Rachel lived up to that. 

4. Ah, the couple that almost never was! Parisian settings are always a winner (like Anna and St. Clair) with me. The Die For Me series is so special for me, it was read in under a week and crammed into such a small time after a reading slump, so it was all right in the moment where I found a connection with these novels and of course, Kate and Vincent. 

5. Another Stephanie Perkins couple? REALLY? Yes! I literally just finished Lola and the Boy Next Door and I am dying to read Isla’s story already. Lola was such the perfect lead and I love how Cricket is kind of like the one who got away, but came back. LOVE it. 

6. I know that this couple will *spoiler* never be outside the books, but I know that they would have been. *Cries a little*.



7. From my favourite Susane Colasanti book; Something Like Fate, which I’ve re-read about a hundred times, Lani and Jason were kind of like soulmates. I truly believe that. 

8. Claire and Shane were seriously so made for each other. I remember reading the Rachel Caine books (I’m on fifteen, now) and just thinking…these characters are so soulmate-material. Even after all they’ve been through, all their character developments and life decisions…they still blend so well. 

9. Which brings me to another Rachel Caine couple; Eve and Michael. They are pretty much self explanatory in themselves. 

10. Another *spoiler* should-have-been-but-never-will-be. *Sobs*

Also, check out my PRETTY LITTLE REPLAY Playlist! It’s a few of my favourite songs put together this week. I’ll be adding it to one of the first posts of every beginning week! 

                                             

             
What are your chosen 10 for Top Ten Tuesday?

Do you agree with mine?

Tell me in the comments or at @LittleMemoirs on twitter! Don’t forget to add your links so I can check them out, too.

happy reading!
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Review: “Amy & Rogers Epic Detour” by Morgan Matson {part of Sweet Summer Challenge}

 

 

 Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew–just in time for Amy’s senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she’s always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy’s mother’s old friend.

Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she’s surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road–diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards–this is the story of one girl’s journey to find herself.

 

 

This had been sitting on my bookshelf for so long and I don’t even have a reason to not have picked it up. I knew right from picking it up a few months back that it would be an amazing book, so as I let more books stack up and plead to be read, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour was taken out of the spotlight…but now! I had this impulse to read something summer-y and of course…ROAD TRIP BOOKS RULE. Need I say more?

 

I like characters with depth. A character without depth is like a flat swimming pool; pointless. But in Morgan Matson’s Epic Detour novel, right from reading through a few pages, I could tell there was something realistic and promising about Amy’s character. She was quite saddened at the beginning of the novel, as we learn her father had recently died three months ago, and her Mom was pushing to sell their house and had already moved the majority of their things to Connecticut. Amy’s twin brother; Charlie, also had issues and past troubling times with drugs, and so Amy was buried under so many burdens, but maybe the biggest burden of all was yet to be revealed.

Roger. He was, as many bloggers and people have said in comment to reading the book, one of the most perfect characters that anyone would love to take a road trip with. He was quite the opposite of Amy, and at the start, things were a little awkward and tense between them, since they hadn’t seen each other for years, since they were kids and had played together back in California. I got the impression that he at first didn’t understand why Amy’s mother had arranged for him to drive her to Connecticut on his way to Philadelphia to spend the Summer with his father. But once he gains more information about Amy and tries to piece together the accident that the flashbacks in the story entail, things start to make sense.

“The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren’t looking for them.”          

 

I really felt like I just took a trip around America, and got to witness this slow-moving, epically sweet romance between Roger and Amy; a romance I didn’t think was really going to go anywhere, since Roger had been clinging onto his ex-girlfriend’s abrupt end to their relationship for a while of the trip.

I read this in a short two-night session, not wanting to even put it down for sleep! I was drawn into the world of road-trips and the sights I was reading about, feeling so real and close. I even took a listen to some of the songs in the Roger and Amy playlists, and they suited the storyline so, so well. Amy and Roger didn’t just fall in love in this story, but they made me fall in love with their story. This is an unforgettable, emotional and incredible novel that is in my top five favourite reads of the year, and so far, my favourite of this summer. Love, love, love.

Just a note; there’s something about Kansas’s magical ways. *You’ll know what I mean if you’ve read this…*

EPIC FIVE STARS.

 

 

Book TWO of my Summer Challenge is over! To anyone who is looking for a sweet, romantically epic road-trip novel…choose this! It’s highly recommended!
 

Follow on Bloglovin  
 

happy reading!

 

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Morgan Matson grew up in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles but halfway though a theatre degree, she started working in the children’s department of Vroman’s Bookstore and fell in love with YA literature.
.Following college graduation (and the proud bearer of an incredibly useful theatre/English degree) she moved back East to attend the New School, where she received her M.F.A in Writing for Children.
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, inspired by Morgan’s three cross-country road trips, was published in May 2010. It was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book, a PW “Flying Start” book, and was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Book Prize. It has since been published in five different languages and six different countries.
Morgan currently lives in Los Angeles, though she loves to travel and does it whenever she can. She is currently writing another book, to be published in 2014.

Review: “The Agent’s Daughter” by Ron Corriveau

Melina has been preparing for a future career as a spy.

She just doesn’t know it.

Legendary spy Evan Roberts always knew that his fifteen-year-old daughter Melina also possessed the absolute lack of fear required of an agent. Without telling her his real profession or his intention, he began to guide her toward an eventual career as a spy. However, Melina’s world is shattered after her mom is involved in an accident that leaves her mysteriously unhurt but unresponsive. Her father’s plans on hold, Melina settles into life at a suburban high school, immersing herself in a world of schoolwork, her friends and a budding romance with Alex, the cute new guy in her class.
When Melina and her father uncover shocking new information about her mother’s accident, Melina is pulled deep into her father’s shadowy world. With Alex desperately trying to find her and only hours to go before it will be too late to save her mother, Melina and her father work together using their combined skills to find a way to reach her.

 
 

I was so intrigued to read such a different kind of novel to the genre I usually tend to sway to. The description really drew me in, and I knew it was going to be a good read from the moment Ron kindly asked me if I would read it. The only spy novel I had read before was the Ally Carter series, and although the stories aren’t similar, except for the spy theme, I was still drawn to the mystery and hint of YA romance in the mix.
 
What really struck me with The Agent’s Daughter was that this sort of blended so many themes together. There was Melina’s romance with the ‘cute new guy’, the high school friendship dramas, then the mystery and hard hitting thriller theme. 
Melina Roberts, daughter of the legendary spy that is Evan Roberts, is completely oblivious to the fact that her father is a spy, or just how amazing at is as he is. At first, she’s just this typical high school student, wrapped up in a world of schoolwork and having a crush on the new guy at school. Though soon, she is enveloped into her father’s shadowy world of darkened corners that lead her astray. Soon, her and Alex, with whom she has a newfound romantic connection with, are pulled apart when Melina is pulled into finding out how to save her mother, with Alex desperately trying to find her.
Melina and her father are a team, and have to use their own skills and traits to come together to finally be able to save her mother after her accident. Evan had been guiding Melina all along, and she started to pick up on things with ease and spy-like.
I read through this in amazement. It was so refreshing to read such a fast-paced, mysterious and thought provoking novel, so enthralling that I finished it in just a few hours in one afternoon. Ron writes with exact and precise facts about the high school life for a fifteen-year-old girl and how family can come together in any situation to save the day.
I absolutely adored the ending, and how everything came together. That’s a must for me when reading a book; that everything is tied up perfectly like this was because cliff-hangers are so bittersweet for me!
This is a must-read for anyone who loves an addictive thrilling novel with YA romance, mystery and that you won’t put down!
 
 

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for something bursting with energy, thrills and a hint of romance! Many thanks to Ron, again, for sending me his novel!
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happy reading!

 

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Book Review: “The Rosie Project” by Graeme Simsion

There is no doubt “The Rosie Project” is going to be one of the best feel-good novels of 2013..with it’s humour and quirky characters, it’s going to find a place in your heart…

“The Blurb”
Rosie looked at me and said, ‘You know if you changed your glasses and your haircut, you could be Gregory Peck in To Kill A Mockingbird.’
‘Is that good?’ I asked. I assumed, given the circumstances, that it was, but wanted to hear her confirm it.
‘He was only the sexiest man that ever lived.’
Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. Then a chance encounter gives him an idea. He will design a questionnaire–a sixteen-page, scientifically researched document–to find the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker or a late-arriver.
Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is strangely beguiling, fiery and intelligent. And she is also on a quest of her own. She’s looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might just be able to help her with–even if he does wear quick-dry clothes and eat lobster every single Tuesday night.
 


My thoughts and review..

As soon as I picked up The Rosie Project, I knew it was going to
be a good read. Within the first beginning pages, the endearing tale had already
began to unravel into a plot worthy of my full attention. Don Tillman, a highly
successful Professor of Genetics has a long history of not finding a
suitable relationship that has convinced him that he isn’t doing something
right. Don has a specific type of woman that he wants; a punctual, non-drinking,
non-smoking female who will fit into his own regimented lifestyle with ease,
though every time his friends try and set him up, things end disastrously. So
Don decides to, being an evidence-based person himself, start “The Wife Project”
which consists of designing a questionnaire to help him find the perfect
partner.


When the character Rosie appears, “The Rosie Project” truly
begins, a fast-paced story that made me laugh, root for Don and Rosie to be
together, and never lacked in surprising me with each turn of event. Overall,
The Rosie Project was a story of looking at love in a completely
different way, how even science can’t predict what the outcome will be. Don
and Rosie never failed to entertain me, building to a perfect
ending and amazingly written story. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who
might love the TV show; The Big Bang Theory, as both have the wit and
comedic timing of how Science and Comedy blend together, down
to a tee.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion isn’t out yet, but it’s due to be published on 11th April (2013) by Michael Joseph Ltd an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd. Make sure you pick up a copy online or at your local bookstore. Once again, I would like to thank Lovereading.co.uk for the opportunity to read such an amazing
novel. I really hope you like the review and I can’t wait to be surprised with
even more good reads as recommended by lovereading to share with you all.

happy reading,

xo Becca


P.S. You can also read my review at Lovereading’s website and at Goodreads!

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