The Trouble with Destiny by Lauren Morill
Lauren
Morill stands for quirky, funny and sweet YA contemporary reads. Her debut
novel MEANT TO BE is one of my favourite books.
In her
newest book Lauren Morill sends her characters around protagonist Liza on a
luxury ship cruise. She and her friends are trying to win back funding for
their school band and are entering the Destiny's talent show. There's a lot of
band stuff going on throughout the story, with rehearsals and battles with their
greatest rival in the talent show.
The ship's
name Destiny is a little hint towards Liza's romance, too. On the ship she
meets former crush Lenny and there's also cheeky jock Russ. Pranks,
misunderstandings and romantic confusion are all preprogrammed in this romantic
comedy.
3,5/5 ***/* THE TROUBLE WITH DESTINY - A fun
high school cruise with friends and... rivals. Show your talent!
THE TROUBLE
WITH DESTINY wasn't entirely what I expected the story to be, because Liza's
romantic delusions and her kind of love triangle was going on for too long and
sometimes the talent show fights between the high school kids were just a bit
too juvenile. Still Lauren Morill's THE TROUBLE WITH DESTINY is a quick and fun
read and promises a unique setting and storyline. Where else does a high school band contest take place on a cruise ship?
Publisher: Delacorte
Publishing Date: December 8th 2015
Length: 263 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, love, friendship, ship cruise, talent show
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads Summary
Publishing Date: December 8th 2015
Length: 263 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, love, friendship, ship cruise, talent show
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads Summary
Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally
Maya plays
in a band, she is ambitious and has great talent. Music means everything to
her. And so she is supposed to be shadowing famous country star Jesse for her
career mentoring day. It would've been too easy if these two had hit it off from the start. Jesse is cocky and quite impolite. And Maya, too, fears that this
boy is only just a cliché.
Miranda
Kenneally's HUNDRED OAKS series has concentrated on different sports so far,
now the soul of JESSE'S GIRL is music. Two people connecting over music is
really beautiful.
Jesse and
Maya have a great chemistry and sizzling attraction between them. They clash,
they kiss, they connect. Jesse is gorgeous, a sexy country star and he always
supports Maya. She can be a bit stubborn, too, but Maya is loyal and passionate
about the things she loves. Maya really is this cool rock chick and bike fan! When
it came to their relationship I truly believed it, because Miranda Kenneally
really accomplished to show what it means to fall in love in the music
business, about all the hardships and insecurities.
Maya is Sam
Henry's little sister and of course that calls for many Sam und Jordan
updates. I just loved that! If you don't know who they are drop everything and
go read CATCHING JORDAN immediately!
4/5 **** JESSE'S GIRL - A musical YA
contemporary with a sweet and sensual romance!
Mellow
country ballad or powerful rock song? You don't even need to chose, Jesse and
Maya are a package deal. Music, a sexy romance and even more Jordan and Sam Henry. Fans of
Miranda Kenneally's HUNDRED OAKS series will love her fifth companion novel, JESSE'S
GIRL!
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publishing Date: July 7th 2015
Length: 304 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, love, friendship, school, music, celebrity
Publishing Date: July 7th 2015
Length: 304 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, love, friendship, school, music, celebrity
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads Summary
Goodreads Summary
The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Strom Sandy
left big parts of the New Jersey
shore in pieces. After the storm and the terrible losses it has brought with
it, the land and its people need to start healing again. Two people who are
brought together in this healing process are Lucy and Connor. Both are back on
the little barrier island where Lucy has grown up. The intriguing part of their
story is that they already have a past together. Now we need to find out what
happened this past summer between them and if they can ever find their way back
to each other. Theirs is a very kind and gentle love story, complementing the
very emotional and devastating story of their island. THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND
ME is such an authentic read because Jennifer Salvato Doktorski considered all
the factors that influence life of the locals after such a disaster, like
personal loss, financial hardships, the repairing that will take a long time,
media coverage and political notions all well. At the beginning of every
chapter there's a fun tidbit about the sea life's mating rituals. That's
because Lucy writes her junior thesis about marine biology and it also cheers
up the story a bit. Very lovely idea!
4/5 **** THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME - An
emotional story about mending fences, rebuilding life and finding back to
yourself.
Jennifer
Salvato's second YA contemporary romance tells a story about storm Sandy that hit the New Jersey
shore and its inhabitants hard. She tells the story with much sensibility
and emotion and therefore made it easy to connect with her characters after
only a few short chapters. THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME is a great summer read
for people who are looking for meaningful stories with personal fates.
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publishing Date: May 5th 2015
Length: 320 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, love, friendship, storm Sandy, New Jersey shore
Publishing Date: May 5th 2015
Length: 320 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, love, friendship, storm Sandy, New Jersey shore
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads Summary
Goodreads Summary