Mini Reviews #31

I've got three fabulous summer reads for you today. If you haven't read these last year you should definitely find a place for them in your beach bag this season. Enjoy!

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
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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

Source: Netgalley
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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

Source: Netgalley
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Great Pre-Order Campaign + Excerpt: Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally

Any Miranda Kenneally fans here? I know I am a huge fan of her books and will definitely pre-order a copy of her newest book, JESSE'S GIRL, coming July 2015. So have you heard about the huge pre-order campaign Sourcebooks is running? You don't want to miss this! I'm sharing the details below and have a fun excerpt of JESSE'S GIRL for you, too. 

 Practice Makes Perfect.

Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.

But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo? 

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Pre-Order Campaign

In celebration of Miranda’s new book, Sourcebooks Fire is offering some really cool stuff for readers, fans, etc.

Everyone who emails teenfire@sourcebooks.com will automatically receive an email of the EXCLUSIVE Jesse’s Girl Playlist, and will be invited to attend a LIVE online author event on July 6, the day before Jesse’s Girl goes on-sale!

In addition, if you pre-order the book and send your proof of purchase (and mailing address) to teenfire@sourcebooks.com, you’ll not only get the exclusive playlist and event invite, but you’ll also receive a signed/personalized bookplate, a super-cute custom guitar pick, and entered to win a $300 gift card to TicketMaster so you can go to a concert or musical or some other fun event.

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Jesse's Girl - Excerpt

As much as I love music, I am generally not a fan of country. I don’t like banjos. I don’t like sappy lyrics about trucks and hauling hay. Dolly Parton is my mortal enemy—my mom plays “Jolene” over and over and over and over, and it makes me want to chop my ears off like van Gogh. Yeah, yeah, I’m from Tennessee, where it’s a crime if you don’t love country, but I like deep, rumbling beats and singing loud and fast and hard. I do not like closing my eyes and crooning to a cow in the pasture. Yet here I am at a Jesse Scott concert, getting ready to meet him and to see if he’ll let me shadow him next Friday.

My school requires every senior to “shadow” a professional for a day. It’s their way of helping us figure out what kind of career we want. Like, if you want to be president when you grow up, you might get to shadow the mayor. Want to be a chef? Have fun kneading dough at the Donut Palace. When I said “I want to be a musician,” I figured they’d send me to work in the electronics section at Walmart.

I certainly never expected to shadow the king of country music.

It turns out that Jesse Scott is my principal’s nephew. Jesse won TV’s Wannabe Rocker when he was ten and has gone on to become very successful. In sixth grade, every girl in class—myself included—took the Teen Beat quiz: “Would Jesse Scott Like Your Kissing Style?” (Obviously the answer was yes.) In middle school, I had a Jesse Scott poster on my ceiling. It’s hard to believe he’s only eighteen, because he’s already won three Grammys. When he was younger, his songs were about family, fishing, and playing baseball, but lately they’re about love and making love and all things sexy.

I wouldn’t say I’m a fan anymore, but I would never give up an opportunity to learn from a professional with such a gorgeous, pure voice. I want to learn what it’s like to perform day in and day out. Despite what everyone and their mom says—that I’ll struggle as a musician—all I want is to play guitar in front of a crowd and hear people cheer for me.

I can’t believe I’m backstage at the Grand Ole Opry! I bounce on my toes. Jesus, is that an archtop Super 4, the model Elvis played? I’ve never seen one in real life. It probably cost more than my house. I’m ogling the guitar when Jesse Scott comes out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. He pads across the room to the couch, wearing nothing but a pair of rugged jeans with more holes than Swiss cheese. The lighting is dim, and he doesn’t seem to notice I’m here, which is good, because I’ve moved from ogling the guitar to ogling him.

Who wouldn’t? He was one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” and it is a truth universally acknowledged that you should stare at people who’ve made that list. The guy’s gorgeous. Like in the boy-next-door way. His wet, wavy, brown hair curls around his ears and nearly hits his shoulders, and while he doesn’t have a six-pack or anything, his body is fit. I wish he’d look my way so I can see his famous brown eyes. They always remind me of those caramel chews Poppy gives me when I visit. Jesse has some sort of Gaelic symbol tattooed on his left shoulder blade. I want to reach out and trace the design.

God, get ahold of yourself, Maya. Don’t be a horndog. Besides, he’s so not my type. I don’t do pretty boys.