Unwrapping Romance: YA

Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts

Monday, August 29, 2016

Unwrapping a Review of DON'T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown

I love a good mystery, so when a William Morrow publicist asked if I’d like to read a copy of an upcoming new suspense release by a debut author—not romance by the way—with the following blurb, I quickly agreed. I didn’t expect it to get lost in the mail and take two years to find me, but it was rather worth the wait. DON’T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown was released July 2014 but like I always say, it’s never too late to read any book.

***print copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest and unscripted review

Blurb for DON’T TRY TO FIND ME:

When a 14-year-old runs away, her parents turn to social media to find her-launching a public campaign that will expose their darkest secrets and change their family forever, in this suspenseful and gripping debut for fans of Reconstructing Amelia and Gone Girl.

Don't try to find me. Though the message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley's hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away.

As the days pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred, Rachel and her husband Paul are informed that the police have "limited resources." If they want their 14-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her themselves. Desperation becomes determination when Paul turns to Facebook and Twitter, and launches FindMarley.com.

But Marley isn't the only one with secrets.

With public exposure comes scrutiny, and when Rachel blows a television interview, the dirty speculation begins. Now, the blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding something. It's not what they think; Rachel would never hurt Marley. Not intentionally, anyway. But when it's discovered that she's lied, even to the police, the devoted mother becomes a suspect in Marley's disappearance.

Is Marley out there somewhere, watching it all happen, or is the truth something far worse?

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Fourteen-year-old Marley Willits has disappeared. She was dropped off at school like usual but when her mother arrives home later, she finds a note on the fridge – Don’t try to find me. I’ll be okay. I’ll be better. I love you.

A parent’s worst nightmare as Rachel, Marley’s mother tries to figure out why her daughter has gone missing and if she is somehow responsible for pushing her to run away. Whereas Rachel is nearly hysterical, her husband Paul is much more sensible. When the police tell them they can only do so much, he springs into action using social media and starting up a website to do everything he can think of to find his daughter and convince her to come home. Meanwhile, young Marley is very aware of what she is doing, and is doing her best to cover her tracks so she will never be found.

Let me start by saying that I truly enjoyed this book, even when Rachel's self-absorption began to grate on my last nerve. DON’T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown is a roller coaster of emotion. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare in this age of the Internet, social media, and technology which allow a child to reach out further into the world than ever before, but which also might open up everyone’s lives to danger, and scrutiny, more extensively than ever as well. While Rachel and Paul are searching for Marley, their lives, marriage, and secrets slowly begin to unravel. Their marriage, not very stable to begin with, slowly begins to crumble as the cracks in their marital foundation fall victim to the weight of scrutiny by bloggers and social media trolls. When the reasons for Marley’s attempt to vanish with a college student she meets online finally surface, those cracks threaten to become irreparable.

DON’T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown is a gripping, emotional, eye opening look to the world of dangers, which our young adults are facing in today's world. It is a far more dangerous world for them to maneuver than it was for us in the pre-world wide web society in which we grew up. Stranger danger has always existed but predators have so many new tricks up their sleeves than just would you like a piece of candy, little girl? Yes, all turns out well for this family and the reasons fall to a young girl’s anxieties, feelings of isolation, and wanting some control over her life but what young girl hasn't felt all of those things as she begins to grow into an adult? The only thing about this book that I would change is not being inside Rachel’s head. Her narrative, whereas it assisted us in learning how she felt about her parents, her mother in particular, and the young man she thought she knew from her exchanges online, was too young for me, too disjointed at times. It was the YA—young adult—aspect of what could have truly been an incredible emotional and suspenseful read that kept me from loving this book.

However, I do highly recommend reading DON’T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown…especially if you’re raising kids in this modern world or thinking about doing so. It’s an amazing lesson is parenting in the 21^st century.

Happy Reading Everyone!

DON’T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown, William Morrow Publishing, available now in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Re-Release Day Blitz for THE BURNING STAR by Jessie Lane + Giveaway

THE BURNING STAR

by Jessie Lane

*This book is a re-release and revision from the original book. Please be aware that some things have been added, deleted or changed.*

Kay’s journey of a lifetime started in the woods outside of Asheville, North Carolina. It was there that the 17 year old met a beautiful man along with a monster. The chance encounter led her to an unbelievable world that shouldn’t exist; a place where myths and fairy tales were real, and in some cases, deadly. Kay knew she would have to brave this new world if she hoped to find a cure for her terminal cancer.

With a strange yet beautiful cast of characters that she would meet along the way, Kay uncovered truths that would change her life forever. However, before it was all over, it would become clear that Kay wasn’t the only one with problems.

Yet another 17 year old young woman was fighting for her freedom and her life.

Kira had lived in a magical world that Kay had only dreamt of. Despite this, her life had not been filled with many good things. As a matter of fact, she considered her empty, emotional solitude the only positive aspect of her life. She fought daily battles to escape abuse and torture.

Trained to be an expert assassin, she was charged with kidnapping Kay and delivering her to Kira’s master, Lord Donovan.

As the two young women set forth in their journeys, their paths would cross in unimaginable ways. The only question that would remain was who would come out alive and whole in the end?

WARNING: This is an upper ya/young adult/new adult fictional story that includes some explicit language, graphic violence, and mild sexual situations. Recommended for ages sixteen and up.

EXCERPT:

I stood there frozen, knowing that I would probably die because of this wretched creature, when all of a sudden I saw the quick movement of an arm bringing down the point of the knife, slicing towards the large creature’s skull. The animal’s enraged screams ripped through the woods surrounding us.

My brain tried to analyze what was happening before me as I stood still as a statue and watched as the monster started to crumble away like something that had been burnt from the inside out and then fell apart.

This can’t be real.

I looked up from the ashes into the face of an angel.

He’s not an angel; he’s just a guy. Right?

He was staring at me as if he had just seen me sprout a second head. I was staring back at him like he was somehow related to those alien birds outside my window. My mouth flapped open to scream again, but before a sound could escape, the world faded to black, and I fainted.

At least I didn’t scream again.

When I opened my eyes, two ethereal blue eyes were staring back at me. My head was throbbing like a bass drum in a marching band, and it felt like my head might split in two from the pounding headache.

“Are you okay?” he asked me, his voice strong but sweet.

Before I could stop my mouth from saying anything ridiculous, I replied, “Are you an angel? Did I finally die and go to Heaven?”

He bellowed a laugh while I blushed a shade that was more than likely lobster red. I smacked myself in the forehead and tried to hide my face behind my hand. What a brilliant way to make a first impression on an extremely hot guy. That’s when it hit me.

The past few moments of events flooded my brain again and I started to panic.

“Wait a minute! What was that thing and how in the world did it just, just-”

“The dog? I had to cut it with my knife to scare it away. It wasn’t a mortal wound though. He took off through the woods to escape. Sorry if you’re one of those animal lovers, but I was afraid it might kill one of us.”

I shook my head to try to clear it. “No, no, no, no. That was no dog. Well, it was at first, but then it became something else. It was black and huge and had those red eyes…”

Before I finished my sentence, I looked up at him to see complete shock and amazement on his face. I had never seen anyone look so bewildered.

“Don’t look at me like that! I know what I saw! Now what was that thing and what happened to it? It didn’t run off; I saw you kill it. And I would point to the body to prove it, but it, well, it fell apart or something.”

In a split second, the shock had disappeared from his handsome face, replaced by something more masked and calculating. “I’m sorry, but you’re quite mistaken. I didn’t kill it. I only wounded it. And it was a dog. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something? I’m afraid you might be having some kind of hallucination.” Somehow, when he said it, it didn’t seem as scary or grotesque as it did when I played what I saw back in my head.

* * * * *

About the Author:

Crystal and Melissa often live half their lives with their heads in the clouds dreaming of alpha military hunks, werewolves, and kick ass heroines crazy enough to chase after creatures that they unquestionably should know better than to chase.

Their first YA novel, THE BURNING STAR, was released in May 2012. BIG BAD BITE is their second novel, but their first adult paranormal romance. They are now working on their next two novels, WALK ON THE STRIPED SIDE and SECRET MANEUVERS. With these projects underway, they are looking forward to showing the rest of the world their crazy stories, heroes and heroines that often plague their minds until written, and hope you will join them on their journey!

If you'd like to learn more about Jessie Lane and their books, please visit their website and be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

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