This story is all about the learning process that it takes for a teenage girl to eventually find herself and differentiate real love.

I found this book to be well done, which is to say that it was insightful and poignant.  The author nailed  the depiction of a teenage girl that finds herself making some bad decisions, recognizing them, and being able to move on from them.  Aspen’s repetitive mistakes made the story realistic.

The father character was a great side character.  He, too, recognizes his faults but takes well chosen steps to do better in a way that can have a positive effect on his daughter.  The struggle between parent and child was well portrayed when the father requests honesty from his daughter.

“Honey, would you please try and make an effort here? … I know you’re not being completely honest with me, and to me, that constitutes not making an effort.”

I liked how Aspen was compared and contrasted between both her parents, both from her perspective and from her father’s.

Sean, Aspen’s best friend at home, was a bit too perfect.  That is why I awarded this book 4 stars instead of 5.

LOVELY HEA!

 to Elizabeth Murphy!

Please don’t shoot me, but I engaged in this series completely backwards.

First, I watched the movie of the first book, If I Stay.  By the way, I loved the movie.  I absolutely fell in love with the two main characters.  A rockstar teenage boy falls for a classical cellist girl.   Their preference for music styles may differ greatly, but their intense study of their craft unites them.  I cried – a lot.  Sometimes you just need a good cry.   (I had never even heard of the book before I saw the movie.)

If you recall, the song Say Something was the dramatic song that goes along with If I Stay.  It was re-recorded by Christina Aguilera and A Great Big World in November 2013.

Recently, I was thrilled when I was going through some book lists and found out that If I Stay was in fact a book.   Better yet, I found out that it had a sequel, Where She Went.  This story picks up where the first story left off.  I admit that I have yet to read the first book, I just saw the movie, so this isn’t an apples for apples comparison.  I have to say, I really liked the second story better.  The story seemed to flow better.  Also, I didn’t feel quite as emotionally drained as when I saw If I Stay.  I ABSOLUTELY LOVED how the author ended this series.

I also want to mention that I listened to the audiobook for Where She Went.  As I have mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of audiobooks in general.  But the narration done by Dan Bittner was PHENOMENAL!

If you liked the movie, as much as me, YOU HAVE TO READ WHERE SHE WENT!!

Indonesian Covers for the Series – LOVE THIS!

 to Gayle Forman!

This is a time traveler romance story that takes the reader back to spring 1941 in Portland, Oreagon.

The setting was wonderfully described.  I felt like I was back in time with the characters.  The attitudes and concerns painted a graphic picture in my head of the people during the 40’s.  Even more so, the historical, sports, and technological references were fantastic.

A little lost and weary, Joel Smith helps a man in need, which starts the beginning of an amazing friendship and leads him to find the love of his life.

The romance in this book is remarkably passionate, despite the fact that it isn’t sexualized like contemporary romance books.  There is something very real about a relationship where any feelings of lust are expected to go unrequited.  The tension between Grace and Joel is extraordinary and I enjoyed how the views of the side characters impacted the relationship.  Both Grace and Joel struggle with accepting and how to address their relationship.

 to John Heldt!

Review

Suddenly, Joanna and Connor are rescued from the island and suddenly I can’t put the book down.

After the rescue, the story is filled with unexpected turns, each more fantastic than the previous.  This isn’t a predictable Cinderella story, it is far more romantic and enticing.

Anyone that has ever had their heart broken, wants closures.  This book had me in tears (while I read it in public) when Joanna finally gets hers.

The book is also humorous, Katy says to Joanna just after seeing Connor in person,

“I thought you were a good writer, but you suck.  He doesn’t sound half as hot in your book.”

Blurb 

Joanna Price is a city girl with the perfect life. She loves her job as a book editor, she just married Liam, high profile bestselling author and the man of her dreams, and she’s headed to the Caribbean to enjoy two weeks of paradise for her luxurious honeymoon.
Connor Duffield is a gruff, grumpy rancher from the Midwest. He is a country boy who has a no-nonsense approach to life, more scars than he’d like to admit, and he hates city girls.
So it’s just a misfortune they have to sit next to each other for a six hour plane ride. Even more so when their flight is caught in the perfect storm and Joanna wakes up stranded on a desert island with Connor, the very man she hoped she would never have to see again.

Why are they alone on this forsaken island? What happened to Joanna’s husband?

When her dream honeymoon turns into a hilarious tropical nightmare, Joanna’s first thought is survival. However, she and Connor will quickly discover just how boring paradise can be. As the days turn to weeks, and then months, this mismatched pair will have to learn how to coexist and how to resist the sparkles of an attraction they weren’t prepared to feel.

When they are finally rescued will Joanna’s marriage be saved as well, or will the life she knew and loved be in ruins?

 to Camilla Isley!

This book caught me by total surprise.  I’m a huge fan of Abbi Glines.  I love her Sea Breeze Series, Rosemary Beach Series, and Vincent Boys.  Typically, they’re fun, quick, romantic reads centered around young adults.  I didn’t even bother reading the blurb about his book before I started it.

This book is very different from her others and it blew me away.  This was a new one in her new series The Field Party.  It’s filled with your basic teenage love story, but the story around the couple is rather dark.

Here’s a general re-cap of the story.  A high school age girl who witnessed her father shoot and kill her mother comes to lives with her cousin.  She develops a relationship with her cousin’s best friend whose father is terminally ill and on hospice.

This book struck a little too close to home this week.  I couldn’t have read a better book if someone hadn’t written one specifically for me.  I’ve faced 7 deaths in the past few months, including the very unexpected and unexplained death of a 22 year boy.  And, like the characters in the story, I know a middle-aged parent of a 15 boy and 13 girl that is facing the imminent tragic end to a battle with brain cancer.

The author captured the way in which teens deal with tragedy was remarkably real.  West admits,

“My dad’s dying.  Doctors can’t do anything for him anymore.  Sent him home to just … die.  Every day I watch him fall away a little more.  further from our grasp.  Further from us.  He’s in so much pain, and there isn’t anything I can do.  I’m afraid to go to school because, what if he dies while I’m gone and I never see him again?  But then, like right fucking now, I’m afraid to go home because he may have gotten worse and then I’d have to see that.  I have to see the man I adore wasting away.  Leaving this life.  Leaving us.”

West is only comforted by Maggie’s presence.  Her simple statements seem to resonate with West,

“The end hurts … hurts like hell.”

In the midst of devastation, Maggie and West’s hearts sing to each other.  It is beautifully optimistic that they can experience a bit of peace and not be completely overwhelmed by sadness.  Their relationship transcends simple teenage hormones.  But as in all romances, there’s also the element of romantic heart break.

“… there was the way West was looking at her.  The way he never looked at me.  Like he wanted to eat her up.”

What I found most meaningful in the book was the resilience and strength of the young adults when faced with extreme tragedy.

I generally don’t set my expectations high for romance books, which is to say I’m basically looking to be entertained and not looking for classically powerful literary works.  After reading hundreds of romance books, I do have defined standards by which I determine the quality of a romance book.  This book went way beyond the typical romance book.  It struck a chord in my heart and helped me cope with the overwhelming sadness of death in my life.

 to Abbi Glines!

Synopsis: 

Samantha Lane is one of the world’s highest paid actresses, but underneath all the fame and fortune, she’s living a lie. Her love life is non-existent. Her bio is completely made up and to top it all off, she’s reached the ultimate in celebrity status. She’s got herself a stalker. Now filming a career changing movie in Ireland, she’s fighting to take back control of her life before the world finds out just what a fake she really is. Brennan O’Brien has returned to his Irish roots to raise a daughter he never knew existed and to dig the family’s pub out from the brink of bankruptcy. He has no time for spoiled actresses, lunatic stalkers or meddling friends and family, and has vowed to never give his heart to another woman. Unfortunately, he now lives in the land of magic, folklore, and hopeless romantics and will have to decide if he can resist the pull of Samantha Lane or give in to her maddening allure. Follow Sam and Brennan’s twisted path to true love, where these jaded souls test the limits of fate to find a way to come together and overcome their pasts to discover the truth about who they really are and what they really need.

*NOTE* While Worlds Apart can be read as a standalone, it is book #3 in The Sisters series.

Review

This is one of those books that puts the Happily in the Happily Ever After.

It takes a leap of faith to fall in love.  Brennan captures this so well, “She was going to break my heart, I knew it the minute I met her, but it didn’t seem to matter to me.”  The heart wants what the heart wants.

I find names to be incredibly important to a story.  I love when Brennan insists on referring to Sam as Samantha.  “Everyone else gets Sam, but I get Samantha.  I get the woman behind the brand.  I get you, all of you, and that’s only mine to have.”

The primary setting of the story takes place in a small pub in Ireland is incredibly romantic.  The way it is described conjures up images of warm homeyness.  Admittedly, it also brought back a lot of great memories of college as I used to frequent a bar, also known as Murphy’s Pub, at the University of Illinois.

Buy Links for Worlds Apart 

 to Holly Mortimer!

Holly Mortimer is a wife, mom and believer in the concept of happily ever after.  She attended Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, where she studied Music Industry Arts.  She wandered the world working in the entertainment and travel industry while filling journals with romantic short stories and heroes and heroines.  She’s finally taken the next step and published her first novel with Butterfly Publishing.

Holly lives in Stratford, Ontario with her husband and two daughters.  She enjoys reading, writing and finding the next inspiring moment to write about.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Pinterest • Goodreads

Romance for a foodie.  This book is a savory combination of delicious delicacies, wholesome goodness, and spicy desire.

Seriously, there were times that the story talked so much about food that my stomach started to growl and other times when I felt a strong compulsion to go bake.  I loved that the emphasis in the baking was for old fashioned recipes.

Things don’t only heat up in the kitchen.  There’s fire on the porch, on the farm, in the lake, and occasionally in a bed.

Found one of my favorite quotes from the book on Pinterest

see https://www.pinterest.com/pin/400890804310363598/

The humor is sensational.  Let’s just say that the double entendre for large vegetables never gets old.  I also enjoyed the hippie mom, that can get under her daughter’s skin.

See Related Posts:

Alice Clayton – Wallbanger

Alice Clayton – Rusty Nailed (Cocktail #2)

 to Alice Clayton!