Blog Tour Guest Post With Sharon Cameron, Author of Rook (and GIVEAWAY!)

Welcome to the blog tour for Rook by Sharon Cameron! Ready to learn all about fantasy, reality, and the world of Rook? Check out a very intriguing guest post by Sharon below, and enter to win Rook!

Check out my reviews of Sharon's books!

The Dark Unwinding | A Spark Unseen | Rook (to be posted later in the week)

Meet Sharon!

Fantasy vs. Reality

The True Story

“Truth is stranger than fiction” is one of those clichès that is a clichè because…it’s just totally true! Reality can sometimes feel like fantasy. So even though ROOK is homage to a story that is completely fiction (Baroness Emma Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel), many of its ideas are taken straight from the world we occupy. 

And so here are three fantastical elements of ROOK that are so maybe not so fantastical after all.

Polar shift

Magnetic north (the North Pole) wanders about a few degrees every year. But what if it wandered…a lot? What if magnetic north was suddenly east? Or even south? In ROOK magnetic north is northwest, and the sun rises in the southeast. But when the shift first occurred, the earth’s protective layer against solar radiation became Swiss cheese. And where the sun’s radiation hit, the result was apocalypse, an apocalypse that slowly but surely healed itself as the years went by. The survivors regrouped and rebuilt their world.

True story: The magnetic poles have actually completely reversed, north to south, at least twice in earth’s history. If there was a partial shift, however, scientific models predict…exactly what happens in ROOK.

Lost technology

In the distant future of ROOK, our world is a mystery only to be guessed at through archeological digs and plastic relicts. When the poles shifted, solar radiation not only killed humans, it wiped clean all digital information. This meant not only a total loss of infrastructure, but the loss of music, movies, pictures, communication, the basic “how to” of everything we know and do. The survivors lost their present and forgot their past.

True story: Not only could this happen, it has happened, again and again. When Rome abandoned 4th century Britain, clean water and central heating gave way to a thousand years of disease and dirt in the Dark Ages. Because people had simply forgotten how to get pure water and build a hypocaust. At least 26 ancient languages can no longer be read. Then there’s the Antikythera machine, a Greek “clockwork computer” made to calculate the movements of sun, stars and moon. It took nearly 1,500 years for clockwork to be rediscovered. Right now scientists are reverse engineering pieces of the rockets that flew to the moon in the 1960s…because no one remembers exactly how they work anymore!

Antikythera Mechanism

It all goes to show how very UN-permanent our seemingly permanent world really is. (Shiver.)

The freakish worship of Fate

“Satellite rain” would come down for hundreds of years after the loss of communications, and in the Sunken City that was once Paris (and there’s another true story, Paris really could sink!) flaming pieces of machinery falling randomly on its citizens leads to the idea of worshipping Fate. It’s a pretty creepy cult, where life and death can come down to the flip of a coin or a spin of the wheel. This is the cult that is made the one and only religion by Albert LeBlanc, power-hungry executioner of all who defy the second French Revolution.

True story: Fortuna was the name of the Goddess of Fate, widely worshipped in the Roman world, and the ancient Hebrews determined the will of God by throwing stones that worked something like dice. But it was during the French Revolution that hundreds of Catholic nuns and priests were beheaded, replacing with the church with the Cult of the Goddess of Reason. A festival was held for the Goddess at Notre Dame cathedral, with a “provocatively” dressed woman being worshipped as Reason around the former altar. But Robespierre, head of the revolutionary government, decided to have the cult founders guillotined and create his own religion: the Cult of the Supreme Being. He made himself high priest and held a mandatory, slightly sinister public mass, ordering the people of Paris to worship around a man-made mountain in the middle of the city. Six weeks later, Robespierre had been replaced and guillotined himself. Exactly as he’d done to the executed nuns and priests. Exactly as he’d done to the founders of the Cult of Reason. 

Festival of Reason

Seriously. Greek clockwork, sinking cities, and the worship of intellect as a deity. You really just can’t make this stuff up.

About the Author:

Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for her debut novel, The Dark Unwinding. When not writing Sharon can be found thumbing dusty tomes, shooting her longbow, or indulging in her lifelong search for secret passages. She lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

About the Book:

Rook by Sharon Cameron

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: April 28, 2015

Official Summary:

History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?

Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she. 

As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

The Book Trailer:

The Giveaway:

5 winners will receive a finished copy of Rook courtesy of Scholastic. US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:
4/20/2015- Xpresso Reads- Interview
4/21/2015- The Starry-Eyed Revue- Review
4/22/2015- The Eater of Books!- Guest Post
4/23/2015- Mundie Moms- Review
4/24/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

Week Two:
4/27/2015- Fiktshun- Review
4/28/2015- Bookish- Guest Post
4/29/2015- Bumbles and Fairy-Tales- Review
4/30/2015- Chapter by Chapter- Interview
5/1/2015- Winterhaven Books- Review

Waiting on Wednesday (#121): Jubilee Manor by Bethany Hagen

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I'm featuring:

Jubilee Manor by Bethany Hagen

Book Two of the Landry Park series

Publisher: Dial Books

Publication Date: August 11, 2015

Summary (from Goodreads):

The thrilling conclusion to Landry Park is full of love, betrayal, and murder--perfect for fans of Divergent, The Selection, and Pride and Prejudice 

In Landry Park, Madeline turned her back on her elite family, friends, and estate to help the Rootless. Now, in Jubilee Manor, she struggles to bring the Gentry and the Rootless together. But when Gentry heirs—Madeline’s old friends—are murdered, even she begins to think a Rootless is behind it, putting her at odds with the boy she loves and the very people she is trying to lead. If she can’t figure out who is killing her friends and bring them to justice, a violent war will erupt and even more will die—and Madeline’s name, her estate, and all the bonds she’s forged won’t make any difference.

This conclusion to Landry Park, which VOYA dubbed "Gone with the Wind meets The Hunger Games,” is a richly satisfying, addictive read.

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Read my review of Landry Park!

Apparently this series is only a duology! Which makes me extra excited to read this book! Landry Park was quite good, though I'll have to do a reread before this one!

Review: Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

Publisher: Greenwillow

Publication Date: May 19, 2015

Rating: 4 stars

Source: eARC from Edelweiss

Summary (from Goodreads):

What if the world holds more dangers—and more wonders—than we have ever known? And what if there is more than one world? From Heather Dixon, author of the acclaimed Entwined, comes a brilliantly conceived adventure that sweeps us from the inner workings of our souls to the far reaches of our imaginations.

Jonathan is perfectly ordinary. But then—as every good adventure begins—the king swoops into port, and Jonathan and his father are enlisted to find the cure to a deadly plague. Jonathan discovers that he's a prodigy at working with a new chemical called fantillium, which creates shared hallucinations—or illusions. And just like that, Jonathan is knocked off his path. Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that calls to mind The Night Circus and Pixar movies, but is wholly its own.

What I Liked:

This book was pretty great! Definitely worth the long wait between this one and Heather Dixon's last novel, Entwined. Entwined was one of my favorite books of 2011 - and one of my favorites of all time! Fairy tale retelling, gorgeous fantasy, and lots of great humor. This book, Illusionarium, was a bit different, but with elements of Entwined that are true to Dixon's unique writing style. While I think I liked Entwined more (let's face it - I LOVED Entwined, and little will come close to it), I certainly enjoyed this book, and definitely want to read more by Dixon!

Jonathan and his family live in a large aerial city, living their lives and minding their business. His father is the second best scientist/surgeon in the second only to lady Florel, a cold by genius scientist who apprenticed his father. When the queen falls ill with Venen, the disease that is killing the people of the city, Jonathan and his father are taken to the king's ship. But when Jonathan's mother and sister contracts Venen, Jonathan gets caught up in a chemical called fantillium, a Lady Florel that isn't Lady Florel, a power he did not know he had, and a world he never knew existed.

Just a note - this book is not related to Entwined at all! This book is a historical fiction novel with aspects of fantasy and parallel worlds in it. Not quite time travel, though there is some playing with time. The ideas of this book are so interesting! Aerial cities is what drew me, but the illusions business is pretty cool too. Jonathan takes fantillium, and discovers that he can create illusions very well, with fantillium's aid. Could he illusion time to speed up? Could he illusion a cure's creation? Could he... illusion himself into a new world? Well, he didn't. The Lady Florel that isn't Lady Florel drags him to the parallel London, where she is queen. There, she strikes a deal: illusion for her, and she'll give him the cure.

This book is definitely a bit slow at first. Things really didn't "start" for me until Jonathan enters the parallel city of Nod'ol (the spelling of the name is eluding me at the moment, but I think that's correct). There, he is forced to compete in an illusion contest of a sort. The purpose is entertainment, but he must create amazing illusions and beat two prodigy illusionists (who are also in the competition to win something precious) in order to get the cure. The illusion aspect of this book is really interesting, and the side effects of fantillium are totally creepy. I won't give anything away, but the side effects are weird!

This book is told from Jonathan's point-of-view. Jonathan is such a kindhearted, jovial character. This book has an overall humorous tone, and Jonathan's inner voice is quite funny. Lockwood is another primary character, though his point-of-view is not featured. Lockwood is a military officer in the king's ship, a lieutenant, if I remember correctly. He is constantly trying to choke Jonathan (no, seriously), after Jonathan (accidentally) let the doppelganger Lady Florel escape. Lockwood comes with Jonathan to Nod'ol, though he can't illusion. Lockwood is a hilarious addition to this story, and I'm glad Dixon kept constructing his character throughout the book. The book would not have been as funny or as enjoyable without him. 

Another important character is Hannah - Anna in Nod'ol. Hannah/Anna is Jonathan's sister. Anna is the sister we see more of, as more of the book is spent in Nod'ol. Anna becomes a critical character in Nod'ol, just like Hannah is a critical character in London. There's also a little romance involving her, which was sweet. Jonathan has his own lady love, though his romance is by fair the least important aspect of the book. You might as well go in thinking there is ZERO romance to this book. Which is fine! This book doesn't need romance to stand on its own "legs".

The world-building was pretty well-done, in my opinion. I think I saw complaints about this, but I also think you really have to read the entire book to get a good grasp on the concepts of the book. I think Dixon's writing and world-building is solid. 

I loved the historical fiction aspect of the book! Dixon definitely has the historical side down. I'm also a huge history fan, so naturally I was obsessed with this part of the book. This time period is one of my favorites, and it's fascinating to see how Dixon incorporates something so unreal - an aerial city - into this time period. Creative!

This book wraps up really nicely as a standalone! The story started and finished and there really aren't any loose ends or leftover questions to be answered. This is good - I like it when standalones are airtight like that, with no room for ambiguity. The ending is very pleasant and light, though there is a death that was super sad. But then it's not as sad when something else happens. So the ending overall is very sweet. You'd have to read it to know what I mean!

What I Did Not Like:

This one definitely reads as a "younger" YA novel. Entwined had a "younger" YA vibe to it too, so I wasn't really surprised when I started reading this book and thought it was a tiny bit on the juvenile side. Not trivial or childish, but not the tone of a mature YA book that one might think of this book, given its strong historical fiction and fantasy foundations. So, if you're turned off by "lower" YA books, perhaps this one isn't for you. It didn't really bother me, though I definitely noticed it.

Would I Recommend It:

I would recommend this one! It's light and humorous and a fast read. The story is interesting, the concepts are pretty unique, and the cover is lovely! What's not to like! Unless you're not a fan of YA for a younger audience - see my note above.

Rating:

3.5 stars -> rounded up to 4 stars. I liked this book! I hope Dixon has more novels up her sleeve, because I wouldn't mind reading more of her work.

Author Blog | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

Review: Velvet by Temple West

Velvet by Temple West

Book One of the Velvet series

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Publication Date: May 12, 2015

Rating: 4 stars

Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

First rule of dealing with hot vampire bodyguards? Don't fall in love.

After losing both her parents before age seventeen, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before the terrifying encounter with a supernatural force. Then, she learns that her hot bad-boy neighbor, Adrian—who might have just saved her life—is actually a half-demon vampire.

Suddenly Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart?

What I Liked:

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I received Velvet for review. I remember browsing through Macmillan’s catalog and seeing the book, and something about this book made me pause. I’ve been on an anti-vampire streak for years, probably since about 2009 ish (that’s about six years, woah). So when I saw the word “vampire” in the synopsis, I should have been deterred, right? But I also saw the world “bodyguard”, and I was curious. Ultimately, I gave this book a shot with absolutely no expectations, and I’m glad I did!

Caitlin just moved to Stony Creek, New York, after her mother died a few days ago. Her father has been dead for years. So she’s living with her mother’s sister now, an aunt, uncle, and cousin that she never knew. They never came to visit her mother when her mother was sick. Caitlin is still grieving, and pushes away her family. She has an emotional meltdown in a forest, and something strange happens, involving a boy who saves her. Caitlin begins school in Stony Creek, and becomes friends with Trish. But the boy who saves her also goes to the school. Caitlin doesn't remember what happened to her, but she remembers him – Adrian. Soon, she’s caught up in a life she never thought would exist. She has a vampire bodyguard, trying to keep her safe from a demon who is absolutely nuts. Caitlin never meant to fall in love with Adrian, but somewhere along the line, she did. But is she just a duty to him, someone to protect? And can he keep her safe from a seemingly inevitable and hopeless fate? 

When I first started reading the book, I remember thinking, oh my gosh this is going to be a rip-off of Twilight. UGH. There are definitely some elements that parallel. Like a vampire male and human female together in high school. Female recently arrives, catches his attention like no other (and he catches her attention). Suddenly they're seen everywhere, and the aloof Adrian de la Mara and the new girl Caitlin Holte are inseparable. Sometimes he rescues her, and acts really protective. 

Despite these similarities, I wouldn't say that this book is a rip-off from that blockbuster series, nor is it fan-fiction or what have you. There is a lot of humor to this book, and there is angst, but legitimate angst (unlike Twilight). Caitlin's mother died just days before this book begins. She's allowed angst for the whole series!

I think I liked Caitlin a lot! She's a bit reserved, very angry, feisty, caring in her own way. She is angry with her aunt and uncle, for never visiting her mother when she was sick. Caitlin finds it hard to forgive them and move on, which is understandable. Caitlin is tougher than she lets on, and deals with finding out Adrian is a vampire, and that a demon is after her, pretty well. What's more, she comes to care for Adrian's broken little brother, Lucian, who was taken by Adrian's father into a demon world when Lucian was really little. Lucian is a little... messed up. But Caitlin is sweet to Lucian from the start, and cares about him.

Adrian was difficult to read in the beginning of the story, but I grew to like him pretty quickly. He's pretty sweet himself, though he does have a caveman streak at times. I constantly wondered, why her, throughout the first part of the story, but when we got the explanation about the demon after Caitlin, everything starts to make sense. Adrian is a nice bad boy, though he's waaaay older (obviously, vampire), forever young, and restricted by tons of vampire rules.

The explanation about the demon being after Caitlin makes sense, and isn't cliche. It isn't because she's gorgeous (she might be, she might not be), or because she has some sort of immunity to vampires/demons (she doesn't). Caitlin isn't anything special. The demon is after her for a purely coincidental reason, and to me, that reason made sense and wasn't too cliche. Basically, the story was well-developed and very interesting!

There is romance, of course. Caitlin is drawn to Adrian, at first because she vaguely remembers that he carried her home (in the first few pages of the book, no spoilers), but then in school, because he's gorgeous and a bit antisocial and has an air of mystery about him. Adrian is given the duty of protecting Caitlin fairly quickly, so we're sure that it's a job for him. Since this book is written in first-person, limited to Caitlin, we never know when Adrian falls for Caitlin. But Caitlin lusts after Adrian, and eventually, falls for him. The lust-turned-love feelings totally worked in this book. I loved seeing the two of them wrestle with their growing feelings - and their attraction to each other. Of course, there are vampire rules, and Adrian is a good vampire. But there is no shortage of chemistry and romance in this book!

The ending of this book is quite dramatic! There are some things that made me cringe, some things that made me sad, and some things that, well, totally heated up this book. The ending has a bit of everything in it - right until the end, when a huge bombshell is dropped. The ending is slightly cliffhanger-y, but involving a secondary character. Meaning, the protagonists aren't part of the cliffhanger. Someone else is! In any case, it's an ending in which you'll want the next book, but it's not an aching, cruel need. It's more like a gimmee-asap-I'll-wait-not-so-patiently need.

What I Did Not Like:

Mmm, I can't think of anything at the moment. Perhaps the Twilight parallels were a little too much, in the beginning? I can see why some people got frustrated with the book initially. It does have a Twilight vibe at first. But that kind of disappears as the story goes on. In my opinion.

Would I Recommend It:

Coming from the girl that stayed away from vampire books for years on end... yes, I would! I can definitely see why the Swoon Reads imprint of Macmillan picked up this series - it's humorous yet dark, cute yet sexy, lighthearted yet heart-stopping. This one is definitely worth the read, if only to get your swoon on!

Rating:

4 stars. I'm glad I gave this one a chance, on a whim. I had no expectations and had read no reviews nor seen any feedback, and I'm really glad that was the case. This one was a fresh read for me, and it really worked! I can't wait to read the sequel.

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

Science in Fiction (#3): Nil Unlocked by Lynne Matson

Welcome to this month's Science in Fiction feature! Science in Fiction is a meme I created to showcase the wonderful aspects of science in Young Adult fiction novels. For more information and previous feature, check out the "Science in Fiction" tag!

This month, I'm featuring Nil Unlocked by Lynne Matson!

Nil review | Nil Unlocked review

This is the companion sequel to Nil, a continuation of the world of Nil with different protagonists. This series deals with a mysterious island, in which teenagers from the real world are taken randomly and dumped onto the island. There, they must figure out how to get off the island before a year - or they disappear. This particular tangentially mentions nuclear weapons/nuclear bombs.

So today, I'm going to talk about nuclear weapons!

And what a lovely coincidence it is for a second Science in Fiction feature in a row, that a huge event is having an anniversary around the time of my post. The Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986, just about 29 years ago. Serious proof that nuclear anything - weapons, energy, etc. - is highly risky and hazardous.

Nuclear weapons are among the most dangerous weapons known to mankind. One nuclear bomb could kill millions of people, and have harmful effects years after it explodes. Nuclear weapons have been used twice in history, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Many treaties have been created since 1946, in the attempt to limit the number of nuclear weapons in the world. However, everyone is/should be aware that the United States, Russia, and several other countries have nuclear weapons within their possession, and are most likely developing more as we speak. Or type. Etc. Just recently, Obama and his administration have been making concessions with Iran, lifting sanctions and pretty much allowing Iran to continue making its generation bomb without having the United States take any sort of action, direct or indirect. THIS article is a bit biased, but very informative on that particular matter.

Nuclear weapons, while very powerful and great for threatening people (not that I condone that), are quite scary, to say the least. THIS article goes through a bit of the history of the weapons. Many countries use/want to use nuclear weapons, but the whole world will be affected, should just one country use the weapons.

Environmental and Health Effects of Nuclear Explosions:

- Serious environmental contamination: Chernobyl is the most intense example of this. To this day, the Chernobyl site is uninhabited. On April 26th, it will have been 29 years since the disaster of this nuclear power plant. Keep in mind, this was a nuclear power plant, and not a nuclear bomb. However, the effect on the environment is quite similar: people died from exposure to radiation, people are affected long-term from cancer and other illnesses, uranium persists, etc. See HERE for before and after photographs, and HERE for some seriously haunting photographs taken recently!

- Cancer, decreased fertility, leukemia, and other conditions are possible health effects of exposure to nuclear radiation.

- Biomagnification: this is basically when a chemical is absorbed into a creature, and then another creature eats that creature, and so on, and the chemical keeps traveling. For example, if uranium is absorbed into grass, and cows eat the grass, and humans eat the cow... well, uranium 238's half-life is 4.5 billion years. So, that uranium isn't going anywhere.

- The mushroom clouds that are produced by nuclear explosions block the sun, reducing photosynthesis, which seriously effects food chains. Remember, photosynthetic organisms are the pillars of almost every single food chain on this planet.

- Less sunlight = shorter growing seasons. That has worldwide implications - imagine a world with not enough food for EVERYONE. We already suffer from world hunger issues in most countries. Imagine all cities, all countries, having strict rationing policies, because of shorter growing seasons.

- Ozone depletion: more ultraviolet radiation will be able to pass through the ozone layer. This is detrimental to the environment as well as human health.

- Human birth defects, fatigue, nausea, and death (obviously).

- See more health effects HERE.

Bottom line? Nuclear weapons are scary. So is nuclear energy, but that's a different ballgame. I'm talking about nuclear bombs specifically, but both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy are incredibly dangerous. It's no wonder you have ideas like superpowers coming from radiation, by getting bitten by a radioactive spider, or exposure to nuclear waste (Family Guy reference!). Anything nuclear is incredibly powerful, incredibly innovative, and incredibly unsafe. Personally, I wish nuclear weapons didn't exist, but they do. Nuclear energy is really efficient but very poor for the environment, so it's not the best technology to use, long-term. Ideally, no one should live in fear of anything, but especially something as awful as nuclear weapons.

Any opinions? Thoughts on nuclear weapons? Nuclear energy?

Stacking the Shelves (#121)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, in which bloggers share the books and swag they've received in the past week!

So, what did I get in the week of Sunday, April 12th to Saturday, April 18th?

(all links to Goodreads are provided!)

In the mail:

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye bookmarks

The Tsar's Game is now The Crown's Game! So these bookmarks are pretty much collector's items, having the original title :D I actually got these bookmarks a few weeks ago, but the envelope got buried on my desk.

An ARC of The Wondrous and the Wicked by Page Morgan

A hardcover copy of The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

The ARC is from Jess, in order to complete my ARC set of the series! I've already read the book, and really enjoyed it. Thanks, Jess! The hardcover of The Girl at Midnight is from Random House - a lovely surprise! Thank you! I've already read it and loved it.

My week was not that great but ended on a really, really happy note. I hope you all are doing well!

Review: Heat of the Moment by Lauren Barnholdt

Heat of the Moment by Lauren Barnholdt

Book One of the Moment of Truth series

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: May 12, 2015

Rating: 3 stars

Source: eARC from Edelweiss

Summary (from Goodreads):

Before graduation, I promise to...learn to trust. In the first book in the Moment of Truth series, Lyla discovers that trusting her head might be easy but trusting her heart is a whole other matter.

Each book in this paperback original series is told from the perspective of a different girl—Lyla, Aven, and Quinn—former best friends who wrote emails to their future selves back in freshman year about one thing they hope to accomplish before they graduate. When the emails get delivered on the first morning of their senior trip all three girls will spend the next three days trying to keep the promises they made to themselves four years ago. While each book follow’s one girl’s life-changing adventure, you have to read them all to get the whole story, including why they’re no longer friends and whether they can get their friendship back on track.

Lyla McAfee had all but forgotten the email that she wrote to herself freshman year and scheduled to be delivered right before graduation—the one promising that she’d learn to trust by the end of senior year. But when she receives it the first morning of her senior trip to Florida her life is sent into a tailspin. Soon she’s questioning her seemingly perfect relationship with her boyfriend, Derrick; her attraction to the school player, Beckett; and whether ending her friendship with Aven and Quinn, her former BFFs, was one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

The first book in a captivating summer trilogy, Heat of the Moment flawlessly balances romance and humor as Lyla embarks on her totally reluctant but completely irresistible journey of self-discovery. And readers will have a chance to discover whole truth about the fight that ended Lyla, Quinn, and Aven’s friendship in the next two installments of the series, coming out later the same summer!

What I Liked:

Well, this book was interesting. Super light, fluffy, not deep or heavy or heartbreaking or draining. These days, when it comes to contemporary, I can't seem to handle the heavy stuff (given my own personal life), so I prefer the cute, light reads. This was definitely one of them. Though I definitely took issue with some aspects of the book, overall, I enjoyed the book and am likely to read the other companion novels in the series.

Lyla and her boyfriend Derrick are a perfect couple; she cares about him, he cares about her, they look good together, they get along well. The senior trip to Florida is a golden opportunity for Lyla and Derrick to (finally) have sex. Except that things aren't so perfect between Derrick and Lyla. After many encounters with Beckett, the boy who could have any girl he wants, Lyla starts to realize that her relationship with her boyfriend isn't quite what she wants. Meanwhile, she's forced to room with her two former best friends, which is uncomfortable at first. But perhaps the girls need to hash out things. In any case, senior trip isn't going according to any of Lyla's plans.

I can't decide if I liked Lyla or not. In some ways, she and I are very similar. She's totally neurotic and has a touch of OCD. She has everything planned, with backup plans and contingency plans and built-in cushions. Her mom is relaxed and blissfully ignorant, which is how Lyla misses the bus to the airport for senior trip. And gets a ride with Beckett, a boy she knows only by reputation. Sparks fly from the very first meeting, but Lyla is completely clueless and hopelessly devoted to her boyfriend Derrick. The boyfriend who didn't answer his phone when she needed him, didn't wonder if she was stranded or not, didn't give much thought to his OCD girlfriend who wasn't on the bus.

From the start, you can kind of tell that Lyla lives in a fairy tale world, and that her relationship with Derrick isn't all that perfect. It's not obvious or clear, but it seems like Derrick doesn't pay her much attention, yet she is super into the relationship. Only when she tells him that she wants to finally have sex with him (after like, two years, I believe) does he really sit up and take notice. But Lyla begins to develop feelings for Beckett, so it's kind of weird situation.

I liked the story, though I found it a bit short. I read this book really quickly, which could be seen as a good thing (hence why the comment is in this section). There could have been more to the story though, more development of Lyla and Beckett's relationship.

I liked Beckett, but he seemed a bit one-dimensional to me. He's hot, he's arrogant, he's got a sweet side, all the girls love him, but despite all of that, my felt one-dimensional. There was not much distinguishing him from your average bad-boy hero. But I liked his archetype and role in the story.

I was pretty happy with the romance. It was clear from the start that Derrick and Lyla were together, but they weren't in love, or in lust. Also, Derrick had his own situation going on, so Lyla and Derrick's relationship wasn't as solid as Lyla wants us to think, in the beginning. Lyla and Beckett are pretty explosive together, as she's constantly irritated or yelling at him. The banter is pretty funny.

Overall, I liked the book, even if I didn't love it. I'm more curious about the other girls' stories!

What I Did Not Like:

Lyla was weird to me. On the one hand, I totally related to her, because we're both obsessive planners, control freaks, etc. But she's also extremely... ditsy. And clueless. Mostly ditsy. She's so in denial about her relationship with Derrick, her relationship with her former best friends Quinn and Aven, her relationship with Beckett. Lyla is just very, very clueless. And ditsy. That girl is all kinds of shallow, really. 

There is an important friendship aspect to this book. Lyla used to be friends with Quinn and Aven, until they broke her trust years ago, and now none of them are friends with each other. The friendship aspect is what ties this series together, but I was feeling kind of meh about it. Perhaps I'll like it more in the next books. The books are parallels of each, written in each girl's perspective. 

I was also kind of weird about the romance - don't get me wrong, I really like Lyla and Derrick together. And really, there is no love triangle. However, Lyla does fall for Beckett... while she's still with Derrick. And some activity happens. It's just weird. I mean, if you kiss a guy who isn't your boyfriend, that's cheating, right? I feel like Lyla is so ditsy and clueless, and she doesn't come clean about anything immediately. She tries to cover things up and make excuses and blame things on Beckett, when really, what she needed to do was realize the state of her relationship with Derrick, break up with him, and take time for herself or get with Beckett. No big deal. The secrecy and subterfuge and sneaky business is so ridiculous, honestly. 

Would I Recommend It:

This isn't the best contemporary novel in the world, but if you already have it (via review copy or preorder or whatever), then give it a shot. If you had no intentions of reading it and/or don't have a copy, then don't. Skip, move on, read something else. I really didn't like Barnholdt's The Thing About the Truth, but I LOVED Through To You.

Rating:

3 stars. This one was okay! I think I'll read the next books, if only to get perspective on the other girls, and find out what happens with everyone. I'm especially curious about Aven, because the romance in her story sounds like something I would like!

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!