After Hello by Lisa Mangum

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Dec 172012
 

After Hello

Author: Lisa Mangum

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published Date: September 2012

Hardcover; 272 pages

Genre: Contemporary YA

ISBN# 978-1-60907-010-6

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review

First Line

“I shouldn’t have noticed him.”

Summary

What if the first day of your relationship was the only day you had?

Seventeen-year-old Sara is a seeker. She’s always on the lookout for the perfect moment to capture with her ever-present, point-and-shoot camera, especially on her first trip to New York City.

Sam is a finder. He has a knack for finding what other people can’t—a first-edition book or the last two tickets to a sold-out Broadway show. In New York, there is always something interesting to find.

When Sam and Sara’s paths cross, neither one of them is prepared for what they will find out about each other—and about themselves when they form an unlikely partnership in search of a seemingly elusive work of art. They have one day to find the impossible. Fate brought their talents together, but what happens when time runs out? Will love be able to overcome fate? This new novel from award-winning author Lisa Mangum explores what happens after hello.

Review

After Hello is different than anything I’ve read before. Each chapter alternates between Sara, written in 1st person point-of-view, and Sam, written in 3rd person point-of-view. This actually works wonderfully. The transitions from chapter to chapter felt seamless. I found myself looking forward to seeing what either Sara or Sam had to say in their chapter about what had happened in the previous chapter.

Sara and Sam are both very likable. The other characters all had depth and personality. The plot, the setting, and the characters all felt real and believable. The story drew me in and I kept turning pages, wanting to know more about Sam and Sara.

I really liked how After Hello ended. While I may be in the minority here, I would be okay if Lisa never wrote a sequel. I like the idea of leaving limitless possibilities open to Sam and Sara and leaving it at that. However, if she were to write a sequel I would definitely read it.

After Hello is clean contemporary YA fiction that, though I already knew it would be good, ended up being even better than I expected. I recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.

Visit Lisa: WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Find After Hello: GOODREADS | AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | NOOK | DESERET BOOK 

**LDSWBR featured Lisa and After Hello in the Countdown to Christmas 2012 HERE.**

 

 

Knee Deep by Jolene Perry — Blog Tour

 Posted by  Book Reviews
Jun 132012
 

*Due to subject matter, please see content warning in review*

Knee Deep

Author: Jolene Perry

Publisher:  Tribute Books

Published: May 1, 2012

eBook: 240 pages

ISBN: 9780983741886, 9781476060316

FTC FYI: Review Copy

Reviewed by Mindy

Summary:  Shawn is the guy Ronnie Bird promised her life to at the age of fourteen. He’s her soul mate. He’s more uptight every day, but it’s not his fault. His family life is stressful, and she’s adding to it. She just needs to be more understanding, and he’ll start to be the boy she fell in love with. She won’t give up on someone she’s loved for so long.

Luke is her best friend, and the guy she hangs with to watch girlie movies in her large blanketopias. He’s the guy she can confide in before she even goes to her girlfriends, and the guy who she’s playing opposite in Romeo and Juliet. Now her chest flutters every time he gets too close. This is new. Is Ronnie falling for him? Or is Juliet? The lines are getting blurry, but leaving one guy for another is not something that a girl like Ronnie does.

Shawn’s outbursts are starting to give her bruises, and Luke’s heart breaks as Ronnie remains torn. While her thoughts and feelings swirl around the lines between friendship and forever, she’s about to lose them both.

Content and Review

First of all, I feel I need to start with a content warning.  This is a very well-written book, with a very heavy subject matter.  There are two F-Bombs, sexual content, and some violence.  The characters don’t have sex, but there is a scene where Ronnie is attacked by Shawn.  She is not raped, but almost.  You may ask, why I would even review a book with this heavy subject matter, the answer is simple.  I’m sure there are girls out there, parents out there, friends of girls out there, who this is happening to.  It is a subject that possibly isn’t talked about much, and this book would start a great dialog.

Ronnie keeps making excuses for Shawn.  She is always doing what she can to make sure he is happy.  Even down to not wearing the type of shoes she wants because they make her too tall, or performing in the school play because it takes time away from being with him.  Luke is her friend, and is always there when she needs him.  Mindy is Ronnie’s best friend.  At first Ronnie can’t understand why Mindy doesn’t want to constantly be with her boyfriend, she truly is so blindingly in love with Shawn, that it takes her awhile to see his flaws.

3 1/2 stars.  It would of been 4 if not for the language and sexual content.  That being said, there was a lot that I liked.  I loved Ronnie’s relationships with her father, Luke, and Mindy.  Her dad did stand back a times, but I think it was to help her make her own decisions.  He wanted her to ask for help.  Although, he didn’t know the scope of what was happening to Ronnie until later, he would of interfered sooner if had known all the facts.  Ronnie was good at keeping secrets, especially from herself.

Jolene is a talented author with many great books out now.  Her latest Left to Love is available now on Amazon.  It is Book 2 after The Next Door Boys.  Look for my review of Left to Love in July.  She has also written Night Sky.

Follow Jolene on FACEBOOK / TWITTER and her writing blog.  Tribute Books FACEBOOK / TWITTER pages. Purchase links:

AMAZON / NOOK / SMASHWORDS / PDF / GOOGLE