Book Review: Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

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Beach Town
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Reading Level: Adult
Genres: Chick Lit | Romance
Released: May 19th 2015
Review Source: St. Martin's Press

Greer Hennessy is a struggling movie location scout. Her last location shoot ended in disaster when a film crew destroyed property on an avocado grove. And Greer ended up with the blame.

Now Greer has been given one more chance--a shot at finding the perfect undiscovered beach town for a big budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town. There's one motel, a marina, a long stretch of pristine beach and an old fishing pier with a community casino--which will be perfect for the film's climax--when the bad guys blow it up in an all-out assault on the townspeople.

Greer slips into town and is ecstatic to find the last unspoilt patch of the Florida gulf coast. She takes a room at the only motel in town, and starts working her charm. However, she finds a formidable obstacle in the town mayor, Eben Thinadeaux. Eben is a born-again environmentalist who's seen huge damage done to the town by a huge paper company. The bay has only recently been re-born, a fishing industry has sprung up, and Eben has no intention of letting anybody screw with his town again. The only problem is that he finds Greer way too attractive for his own good, and knows that her motivation is in direct conflict with his.

Will true love find a foothold in this small beach town before it's too late and disaster strikes? Told with Mary Kay Andrews inimitable wit and charm, Beach Town is this year's summer beach read!

When your headed out on a 7 day cruise you at least have to pack one or two book. It's 7 days on that large cruise ship, your bound to just need to sit and relax and this is perfect time to read. So when I looked at all the books I had to choose from to review, Beach Town grabbed my attention immediately. Just the title alone made sense as a good choice for summer beach reading on a cruise headed to different beaches.

Beach Town and Mary Kay Andrews were unknown to me so I took the risk that it would be a great book choice to take along on my trip. And I'm very glad to report my intuition was on point in the beginning (I'll later explain why in the beginning). I didn't even read the synopsis until I was on the boat already. The book cover and title were enough to sell me on grabbing the very large book.

Beach Town starts us off introducing us to Greer, she is traveling the highways of the coast of Florida and she is on the hunt for a beach town for a specific filming location. See Greer is a film location scout. So she goes to these locations film film directors described to her that they believe will be the right fit for the movie they will create and her job is to find that perfect spot.

In Beach Town, Greer has been given the job to find the perfect "beach town" that is not a tourist spot and well off the grid with its palms trees and shrimp boats. Sounds easy right? Not the case at all for Greer. Also her career is on the line, so this location must be found if she wants to survive her career, last job she was on was a major bust. So Greer is on a mission and with a deadline too.

Luckily she happens to stumble upon just the right place. She might have a hick here an there but nothing she doesn't think they can work with. She calls in and everything is set to begin filming. So she needs to prep the location for all the cast, crews and everyone else involved in a very small little town that probably hasn't seen that much traffic in years. And when I say little, its so small that the major of the town is also owner of the motel where he is the handyman. There is an old casino though that might just destroy everything for Greer, if she cant get everyone to agree that it is used in the filming of the movie.

So around this time is when my intuition begins to falters. I was highly engrossed in the book until the relationship between Greer and Eben (town's major) started to take shape. The chemistry between the two was not there for me at all. It was like having someone pour a bucket of cold water on me while reading. I went from hot to cold in the blink of an eye. Which is a shame because I really liked the shape the story was taking. So pretty much after that happen, I did finish the book because I was already more than half way and honestly it wasn't a bad story, just didn't end as great as it started.

I still think many will enjoy it for what it is.

Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: September 10th 2013
Review Source: Purchased

In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of 2013

Fandom: The community that surrounds a tv show/movie/book etc. Fanfiction writers, artist, poets, and cosplayers are all members of that fandom. (Urban Dictionary).

Before I begin this review, let me point out I am a fangirl myself. I fangirl about almost every fandom out there: Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc. I’ve done many fan events and world premieres and I know how addicting fandom can be. It can consume you entire world without you noticing.

This book captures every fandom out there perfectly. I love how when reading this book I felt related, part of it.

Cath is Simon Snow fan. Her whole world revolves around Simon Snow fandom, Wren and her father. Let’s not forget to mention that she also writes Simon Snow fanfictions. When moving to college, her twin sister Wren, decides to put distance apart. Cath feels abandon and is not a fan of meeting new people. Now with a new stranger as roommate, Cath tries to hide in her shell, but this becomes really hard with her roommate’s boyfriend, Levi.

Not only did Rainbow did an amazing job at capturing the life of a fangirl but I love how she manages to teach us that it is okay to be a fangirl. People can be judgmental, but those who really love and care for you will be okay with you being obsessed. I love Cath and I love how she remains truthful to herself. If you are a fangirl, of any fandom, this is a book you must read. Thank you, Jenn from Books and Swoons for recommending this book.

Book Review: Wake by Amanda Hocking + Giveaway

Wake
Watersong #1
Author: Amanda Hocking
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Fantasy
Released: August 7th 2012
Review Source: St. Martin's Press
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught every one's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

This was my first book I have read by Amanda Hocking and I have to say, I really love her writing. Wake is the first book in the Watersong series and it is an amazing first book. I have read other books about sirens and Wake is my favorite by far. First I want to say that I absolutely LOVE the cover. I was at the store the other day and saw the final book cover and it was even better than the ARC that I have. The water had this cool effect that made it almost look 3D -super cool! 

Wake is a story about two sisters, Gemma and Harper, who are being raised by their father. Their mother is in a nursing home after suffering brain injuries from a horrific car accident. Although she is totally functional, she has the mentality of a teenager and has a hard time remembering things, even her daughters and husband's names. They live in a small coastal town where their father works on the docks. Harper having to grow up and feeling the need to care for her younger sister and her father, has pretty much put her social life on hold. Her only real friend is her next door neighbor, Alex. Gemma on the other hand is as normal as any teenager could be. She is an amazing swimmer and hopes to go to the Olympics someday. Gemma has had a crush on Alex for as long as she can remember and now Alex is showing interest in her. Then everything changes when three drop dead gorgeous girls show up. No one knows where they came from or who they are. Now all of a sudden, young guys are reported missing and people start getting worried. Harper and Gemma have a bad feeling about the "new girls", especially when they start stalking Gemma. Then one night while Gemma was out swimming in the Bay she sees them in the cove and is strangely pulled to them. The next thing you know, Harper finds Gemma on shore and Gemma can't remember how she got there.

Wake was a great read and I can't wait for the second installment of the Watersong series.

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To go along this great review of Wake we are offering 3 ARC copies of Wake to 3 individual winners. Giveaway is for residents of US or CA only. Read Terms and Conditions at bottom of rafflecopter form. Good Luck!

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