Reason and Romance by Jenn Young
Series: River Valley (Book #1)
Release Date: 9th December 2014
Read Date: 14th December 2014
Tagged under: 2014 read, 4, review copy, contemporary, romance, YA-fiction
Check it out @Amazon @GoodReads
Book Summary
Being stuck in the godforsaken desert is Adrian Blake's worse nightmare come true. Senior year is all about making fun memories. It's not about starting over at a new school and navigating a new Brady Bunch family. It's really not about living with a sexy, arrogant would-be stepbrother who knows how to push her buttons.
Alex Montgomery is the very definition of a player. The only thing he commits to is a one night stand. He's exactly the kind of guy she hates. When she sleeps with him, it's the biggest mistake of her life. Now she can't stop thinking about him. Not at school. Not at home.
But sometimes the best mistakes are the ones that you make over and over again...
Book Review [Spoiler-Free]
I have a confession to make. Picking up this ARC copy is not the first time I have read Reason and Romance. I first came across this story more than eight years ago when I stumbled across it on FictionPress. I thoroughly enjoyed it and has followed both this story and Jenn Young's other works in the years since. Reason and Romance has undergone several rewrites with this final product differing markedly in some aspects from the original concept.
But the essential elements of the story and the characters have remained mostly unchanged. And those are the aspects of this story that I fell in love with.
What hooks the reader right from the start is Adrian Blake's personality. She is strong, sassy and given her present situation, understandably downright bitter at times. About to enter into her senior year, Adrian has just been uprooted from everything she knows and loves because her father has gone and fallen in love with someone who lives in Arizona. To make matters worse, Adrian is not only going to gain a new stepmother but also three new stepbrothers.
Modern Brady Bunch indeed.
To make matters worse, one of Adrian's new stepbrother-to-be is Alex Montgomery, with whom Adrian instantly locks horns. He is the arrogant reigning king of their local high school.
When Jenn's not working at her day job, she drinks too much coffee and buys too many books. She loves to hear from readers. Contact her via her website, jennyoung.com, or follow her on Twitter at myrikami. She can be found on Facebook too.
But the essential elements of the story and the characters have remained mostly unchanged. And those are the aspects of this story that I fell in love with.
What hooks the reader right from the start is Adrian Blake's personality. She is strong, sassy and given her present situation, understandably downright bitter at times. About to enter into her senior year, Adrian has just been uprooted from everything she knows and loves because her father has gone and fallen in love with someone who lives in Arizona. To make matters worse, Adrian is not only going to gain a new stepmother but also three new stepbrothers.
Modern Brady Bunch indeed.
To make matters worse, one of Adrian's new stepbrother-to-be is Alex Montgomery, with whom Adrian instantly locks horns. He is the arrogant reigning king of their local high school.
The School's official name was Varner High School, but within five minutes of Alex's arrival, Adrian knew it should have been named "Alex Montgomery's Harem" instead.The chemistry between the pair is palpable on every page you read, keeping you engaged as you race through the chapters. The drama in the book is steadily paced, making it a thoroughly entertaining read. The secondary characters, including Quentin, Bri, Justin, Vaughn, Travis and Grant (I love them all!) are all equally well-formed and unique, creating a sense of richness that gives this story its fantastic style.
However, I can see how the plot of this novel might not be everyone's cup of tea. As pointed out in the novel's summary, this story does deal with the pseudo-taboo topic of step-siblings. If you go into this story with an open-mind and remind yourself that this is fictional and you are reading it for entertainment purposes, you will enjoy it a lot more.
Overall: 4/5
This book is a fresh, solid and vibrant YA-fiction that I'd recommend to all those looking for something light and entertaining with a healthy dose of romance amongst all the drama. I am definitely looking forward to the next instalment of the River Valley series.
Disclaimer: a complimentary copy of this book is provided to me by the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review. The views expressed above are entirely my own and are in, no way, affected by the source of this book.
About the Author
Jenn Young writes primarily Young Adult and New Adult. She used to write contemporary teen drama and romance under the pen name Myrika at Fictionpress. She also used to write under the pen name Moreta. Jenn is an unabashed lover of romance, soap operas and paranormal/supernatural stories.When Jenn's not working at her day job, she drinks too much coffee and buys too many books. She loves to hear from readers. Contact her via her website, jennyoung.com, or follow her on Twitter at myrikami. She can be found on Facebook too.
No comments:
Post a Comment