Category: Matt

Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

by Alexia, posted in 5 Stars, Bloomsbury Children's, Book review, Contemporary, Dee, Emery Lord, friendship, Jimmy, Matt, Open Road Summer, personal purchase, Reagan, standalone, Walker Books, YA
Book Title: Open Road Summer
Author: Emery Lord
Published Date: April 15th, 2014
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: YA Contemporary
Standalone
Book Link: Goodreads
Order Links: Amazon, The Book Depository
Synopsis from Goodreads:
After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

Disclaimer: This book was a personal purchase.

Review:
This book made me want to blast some country music and have an impromptu dance party.

I needed a book to wow me after a recent reading slump and so on Twitter the other day, I asked if Open Road Summer would do that for me and the response was a resounding YES. Boy were they right. This book had it all, country music, friendships, boys and family and of course those all important feels. Unlike other debut books, this didn’t FEEL like a debut book, it didn’t feel like a brand new author wrote it.

Emery Lord writes like she’s been writing books all her life. The writing is beautiful and I am so thankful for that. Oftentimes when a book cover is that gorgeous, the writing is lacking. Not in this case. It was beautiful and emotional and evocative so major kudos to Emery Lord for that. 

Dee and Reagan have been friends since they were 8 years old. They’ve seen each other through everything and now they are excited to spend the summer together. Reagan is the wild child and that wild child behavior got her into some trouble that included community service and a bad boy. Dee is an accomplished singer who is an up and comer in the country music scene. They couldn’t be more different in the family department either. Yet, none of that matters to them. They remain best friends despite disagreements and the usual ebbs and flows in a friendship.

Sweet and sexy Matt Finch appears on the scene shortly after a scandal threatens to halt Dee’s burgeoning career. Matt is everything that Reagan is not and on paper he seems to be a better match for Dee. Yet Dee is still hung up on Jimmy, the boy she left to follow her dreams.  Matt Finch was adorable and sweet and kind and basically my perfect boyfriend. He’s a good fit for Reagan though and there’s definitely mutual attraction between them early on. 

Something else that caught my eye while reading this book, was the progression of Reagan’s relationship with her stepmom Brenda. Initially Reagan paints Brenda in a very negative light, but by the end of the book, things have definitely improved between the two of them. I really liked seeing that storyline and how it played out.

I absolutely adored this book and it is absolutely getting 5 stars from me. I am definitely going to be pushing this book on all of my fellow YA Contemporary lovers.

Review: The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer

by Alexia, posted in 5 Stars, Balzer + Bray, Book review, Edelweiss, Erin, Lily, Matt, May 2014 release, quick pacing, Sara, surprises, The Secrets Of Lily Graves, twists & turns
Book Title: The Secrets Of Lily Graves
Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
Publish Date: May 13th, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: YA Thriller
Standalone
Book Link: Goodreads
Synopsis from Goodreads:
With the intrigue of Pretty Little Liars and plenty of romance, bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer weaves a story of secrets and lies—set in a funeral parlor.

Growing up in a house of female morticians, Lily Graves knows all about buried secrets. She knows that perfect senior-class president Erin Donohue isn’t what she seems. She knows why Erin’s ex-boyfriend, hot football player Matt Houser, broke up with her. And she also knows that, even though she says she and Matt are just friends, there is something brewing between them—something Erin definitely did not like.

But secrets, even ones that are long buried, have a way of returning to haunt their keeper.

So when Erin is found dead the day after attacking Lily in a jealous rage, Lily’s and Matt’s safe little lives, and the lives of everyone in their town of Potsdam, begin to unravel. And their relationship—which grew from innocent after-school tutoring sessions to late-night clandestine rendezvous—makes them both suspects.

As her world crumbles around her, Lily must figure out the difference between truth and deception, genuine love and a web of lies. And she must do it quickly, before the killer claims another victim.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Balzer + Bray via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:
This book had been floating pretty far under the radar among my fellow book bloggers so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I got was a mind-blowing, hangover-inducing twisty ride that I never wanted to get off of.

Lily Graves lives in a home with her mother, grandmother and aunt, all of them being morticians. That was so totally awesome. I completely enjoyed that aspect of it. I had always found funeral homes & the morticians that run it, incredibly fascinating. So a family of morticians was awesome and unique.

Then there was her best friend Sarah. Lily & Sara had been friends their entire childhood. They bonded over the fact that they were “freaks” Sara had a deformed hand & Lily and her family lived in a funeral home. Despite Sara’s family’s very strict rules, Lily and Sarah’s friendship had lasted a long time.

After Erin is found dead, things begin to change for everyone. Lily & Matt, Erin’s boyfriend are now surrounded by suspicious people. No one believes that Lily and Matt had nothing to do with this. Even Sara doesn’t believe that Matt is innocent.

So now Lily must figure out what the police department cannot figure out. Who killed Erin? Was it suicide or homicide? If it was a homicide, who was responsible? Lily must figure all of this out before another life is lost.

Now this book was filled with twists and turns, most of them, I didn’t even see coming. The tangled web of lies and deceit had been weaved so brilliantly that once I finished reading I was left with a massive book hangover.

I absolutely loved this book and it should surprise no one that I am giving it 5 stars. The pacing was quick and exciting, the beginning was awesome and it allowed for me to be immediately drawn into the story, which absolutely loved. The ending absolutely blew my mind and it was crazy-awesome, twisty and shocking. I would totally recommend it to anyone that likes mysteries because while this was a thriller, it was also a mystery and a very well written one at that.I literally have nothing else to say about this crazy ride except, you need to read it.