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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Author's Homepage

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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Blog Tour: The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski - Deleted Scene

Welcome to the Jersey Shore! A very fabulous summer lies ahead of you. And if you want to make it perfect you just have to grab a copy of Jennifer Salvato Doktorski's newest book! As part of the Sourcebooks Fire blog tour I'm sharing a deleted scene from the original draft of THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME today. Enjoy!

Will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?

For Lucy, the Jersey Shore isn’t just the perfect summer escape, it’s home. As a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in during Memorial Day weekend, crowding her costal town and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Still, she can’t help but crush on charming Connor Malloy. His family spends every summer next door, and she longs for their friendship to turn into something deeper.

Then Superstorm Sandy sweeps up the coast, bringing Lucy and Connor together for a few intense hours. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm, and Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and her broken home. Time may heal all wounds, but with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, Lucy’s summer is sure to be filled with fireworks.

About the Author:

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski is the author of two YA novels and is a freelance nonfiction writer. Her first paid writing gig was at The North Jersey Herald & News, where she wrote obituaries and began her lifelong love of news and coffee. She lives in New Jersey with her family.

Want to buy a copy? Here are some links: Amazon | Apple | BAM  |  B&N  |  Chapters  | Indiebound

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The Sumer After You and Me - Deleted Scene

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski: "A few scenes from THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME didn’t make the cut. This is one of them. In the original draft, Connor convinces Lucy that she and Andrew should go on a double-date with him and his girlfriend, Bryn. The two couples drive together to a party “OTB” (Over the bridge) in Toms River, which is the town across the Barnegat Bay from Seaside Park. In this scene, Connor, Bryn, Lucy, and Andrew are returning home from the party in Connor’s father’s car. They’ve just pulled into the driveway that separate’s Connor’s house from Lucy’s."

“Who’s that?” Bryn asks as the car rolls past Liam toward the detached garage in back of the Malloy house. It’s funny how their garage survived the storm but our guest cottage didn’t. The devastation caused by the storm is disturbing on so many levels, but the randomness compounds everyone’s frustrations and feelings of futility.

“My brother,” I say.

“Really? You look nothing alike.”

We’ve heard that one all our lives. If you ask me, he got the better deal in the DNA shuffle. Mom’s blue eyes, Dad’s jet black hair, skin that turns mocha brown. It trumps brown eyes, dirty blond hair that needs heavy doses of sunlight to turn golden, and skin that requires SPF of fifty or above.

“They’re twins,” Andrew says as he opens his car door.

“Really?!” Color Bryn shocked. “I guess they’re not identical,” she says.

Should I bother to tell her boy/girl twins are never identical? It’s another thing that gets so old.

“Boys and girls can’t be identical twins.” Connor sounds annoyed as he opens his door. “They’re always fraternal.”

“That’s what I said.” Bryn says once she’s out of the car. “They look nothing alike.”

I roll my eyes at Andrew and slide across the seat to get out on his side of the car. For some reason, I don’t want to end up standing next to Bryn.

Connor puts out a hand to shake Andrew’s. “Thanks for coming man,” he says.

“Thanks for the ride,” Andrew says. “We should do it again. I may be working at Rafferty’s this summer. You should come hang out.”

No, no, no! There will be no hanging out with Connor and Bryn. It’s already too weird, confusing, unnecessary and… what else? There’s got to be more. Bryn joins us on our side of the car puts her arm around Connor’s waist and snuggles against him. Oh, yeah. Depressing.

“Well, good night!” I say, desperate to wrap things up and walk over to my yard. “Have a safe trip back and enjoy the prom.”

“When’s your prom?” Andrew asks. “Ours is June fourteenth.”

“Bryn’s is the night before,” Connor says.

“A Thursday?”

“Friday is senior cut day,” Bryn explains. “Everyone goes away for a long weekend after prom.”

That’s right. Connor mentioned they’d be here for prom weekend. Maybe Andrew and I should go away. Yeah, right. My parents aren’t letting me go anywhere overnight with a boy. Even if that boy is Andrew.

“Well, see ya,” I say. Making a second attempt to end this night.

“Later,” Andrew says.

When we’re finally in my yard, Andrew walks me with onto the back porch and kisses me goodnight at the kitchen door.

“Coming to the annual Clark Memorial Day par-tay tomorrow?” Andrew asks.

“Please tell me you don’t use the phrase par-tay around anyone but me.”

Andrew pretends to get all serious. “I’m sorry I can’t do that. So are you coming or what?”

“Of course. Right after work. I wouldn’t miss it.”

My parents and Liam usually go too. The Clarks throw quite a bash. I’ve always envied Andrew’s parents fun-loving ways. They seem happiest when they have a house and yard full of people. My parents don’t exactly go out of their way to entertain.

“See you tomorrow,” I say before I close the door.

“Text me when you’re leaving work.”

“I will.”

Yay for work! I’m thrilled that I won’t be around at all tomorrow. Won’t have to see Connor and Bryn getting into his pick-up together and driving off toward the Garden State Parkway.

I lock the backdoor then surreptitiously peek out front to see if Liam’s still on the porch. He isn’t. I lock the front door since Liam didn’t of course. At the landing on the top of the steps, I pause and listen for signs of movement in Liam’s room. Hearing the familiar discordant thrum! I know he just plunked down his acoustic in its stand. Good. He’s in there. Locking my brother out would be bad.

As quickly and quietly as possible, I scamper up to my room. Avoiding Liam feels wrong. So did double-dating with Connor. I wasn’t exactly honest with Andrew about how that came about. So yeah, I get why Liam’s annoyed with me, but I haven’t really forgiven him for sabotaging and severing my connection to Connor back in the fall. My brother has no right to be angry with me, not when he was the one who caused the unsettling turn my love life has taken.

My eyes cut to my bedroom window. Before turning on the light, I cross the room to pull down the shade. Outside Connor is alone in his driveway. He’s leaning against the trunk of his father’s car, looking down at his phone. I watch the top of his head for a few seconds, wondering if he’s going to look up. My vantage point, both the height and the angle, remind me of that day in October. I paused at the top of the grand staircase when I saw Connor near the entranceway studying a framed seascape in muted pastels. I held my breath. Wondering if he’d meant everything he’d just said and trying to picture waking up every morning and finding him there. He must have felt me staring. For once, I wasn’t being sneaky about it and the expression on his face when our eyes locked told me I didn’t have to be, not anymore.

I felt like we covered so much ground that day; that we became an “us”. Look at me now, I think as I stand hidden in the shadows of my room, back where I started. I guess it’s where I belong. I wait one second more for Connor to look up. When he doesn’t, I pull the shade down and go to bed.

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Cover Reveal: The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

This is something you've got to check out! Today I'm helping to reveal the cover for Jennifer Salvato Doktorski's new YA contemporary, out March 2015. Jen is one of my favourite authors and I'm so happy for her that THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME got such a beautiful cover. I love it! What do you think? 

Here is the summary to go with it:

Sunbathing, surfing, eating funnel cake on the boardwalk—Lucy loves living on the Jersey Shore. For her, it's not just the perfect summer escape, it is home. And as a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in over Memorial Day weekend, crowding the shore and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Lucy wants more from love than a fleeting romance, even if that means keeping her distance from her summertime neighbor and crush, Connor.

Then Superstorm Sandy tears apart her barrier island, briefly bringing together a local girl like herself and a vacationer like Connor. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm. And day after day, week after week, Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and broken home. Now with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?

Where to find Jen Doktorski and her books: www.jendoktorski.com | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

  

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Behind The Pages #4 - How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Welcome to my new Behind The Pages post! You can find last month's post of this feature, with Rebecca Serle and her second novel The Edge of Falling, here.

What is Behind The Pages all about? I asked some of my favourite authors and a bunch of promising 2014 debut authors to annotate a scene, page or more of one of their books. I see the feature as a chance to show readers what's behind a page. Authors can share their favourite writing memories, the music that influenced a certain scene or anything else that comes to their mind. We might get hints to what the characters were thinking and feeling that exact moment or other fun details about their story. Hope you enjoy Behind The Pages as much as I do. I'm intending this feature to be a monthly post here on the blog.

Last year I read HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES and I fell in love with it after only a few pages. Jennifer's debut is such a fabulous summer read and if you didn't read it last year, now's the time to read it. Summer's just around the corner!

Thanks to all the incredible authors who took the time to annotate a page or scene for us, your comments are always so insightful and fun to read. When readers can't get enough of a book and its characters it only shows how much the author's work means to them, to us. Thank you! 

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First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

Source

About Jennifer Salvato Doktorski: "In addition to writing for teens, I’m a freelance writer who has written articles and essays for national publications including, Cosmopolitan. I think I’ve always wanted to be a writer even though I often referred to my college major in English as “PreLaw” because it held the promise that I might actually find work someday.

As it turns out, I did find work. My first paid writing gig was as an editorial assistant for the North Jersey Herald & News, where, in addition to developing a life-long passion for coffee and news, I wrote obituaries for eight months. I’ve also worked as a speech writer, bank teller, ghostwriter, bookkeeper in a lampshade factory, pet shop clerk, and music zine editor."(Author bio found on www.jendoktorski.com.)

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 How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

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 Snap Shots

Here's a picture Jennifer took of the Grand Canyon when she was there for the first time. I can't wait to see it live in September for the first time, too!

Photo Credit Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Grand Canyon ♥

And pictures of the Flintstone's campground, mentioned on Jennifer's annoated pages. Doesn't it look fun?

Source

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Soundtrack

I asked Jen if she listened to a special song while she wrote this scene. Here's what she said: "I didn’t listen to any particular song when writing this scene – I imagined it very quiet. But Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” was in constant rotation while I wrote this book – she helps me tap my inner teenager and angst."

I bet you can't wait to read HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES now, or start a re-read! :)

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