Tag: performers

REVIEW: Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Cordova

REVIEW: Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Cordova

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Ariel del Mar and her sisters – Siren Seven – have fulfilled their part of the deal with their record label – and their father. They’ve been performing for years. And now all of the girls get a break to do what they want – to just “be” for awhile. Except for Ariel. Her father wants her to “strike while the iron’s hot” and launch a solo career.

When Ariel meets Eric, lead singer of Star Crossed, as her true self, Melody, instead of her stage persona, he has no idea who she is. And some freedom and anonymity sounds like all she’s been craving. So she signs on to be his band’s merch person on their tour.

With her sisters providing cover with their dad, Melody has a chance to rediscover who she is – what’s really her and what’s just the character she’s been playing on stage. But real feelings start to bloom between Melody and Eric. What will happen when he discovers the truth? Or when her father finally tracks her down?

Review

This is book 3 in the Meant to Be series of fairytale retellings after If the Shoe Fits and By the Book. Each is written by a different author. This is the first one I have read – the plot summary was so amazing I couldn’t pre-order this fast enough. But I will absolutely be checking out the rest.

This was excellent! The author does an excellent job with Little Mermaid touches throughout the book. Yet the story is original and allowed to stand on its own without being forced into a template by the movie.

I loved the characters in this! Melody and Eric are great, and the secondary characters really add a lot to the story. I would have loved to see more of the sisters together – they were great!

I did have to remind myself, often, that the characters here are adults, not teens. There’s a YA vibe to the story that worked for me until something happened (like drinking alcohol) to remind me these were adults.

If you like fairytale retellings like I do, don’t miss this one. This is a stand alone story, so you don’t have to have read any of the others to enjoy this. (Language, off-page sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read

REVIEW: Lia and Beckett's Abracadabra by Amy Noelle Parks

REVIEW: Lia and Beckett’s Abracadabra by Amy Noelle Parks

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free, electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Amulet Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

The Montgomerys and the Blackwells have been rivals since Lia’s grandmother, Matilda, and Beckett’s grandfather, Henry, divorced. The two families can hardly stand to be in a room together. And Lia knows Blackwell boys are troublesome – and forbidden.

But when she first meets Beckett, she thinks he’s just a cute guy who loves math like she does. But when she’s called in for the contest her grandmother has devised, she discovers Beckett is definitely a Blackwell.

With her grandmother’s Starlight Theater in Mirror Lake at stake – as well as her honor as a magician and a Montgomery – Lia is determined to win the contest. If she can take down some Blackwells and the unscrupulous good-old-boy network in Mirror Lake at the same time, all the better.

Review

Outstanding! This was a delight from start to finish. I loved everything here – Lia and her family, the Blackwell boys (There’s a Hawthorne brothers/Inheritance Games feel to the interactions here that I adored), and the entire journey. Even the magic was fascinating – which can be hard to pull off in writing. When I finished reading, I was desperate to HOLD this book in my hands and tell everyone how good it was. When I finally see this in a store, I will absolutely hug it.

This is the perfect sort of story for me – great chemistry in the characters, supportive family members, a quest that goes beyond the central characters, a plucky heroine with plenty of sass… Wow, I loved all of this!

This is a not-to-be-missed book. Grab a copy for yourself and settle in for laughs and heart eyes and a few “they must pay” moments wrapped in a fantastic, magical story. You can read my review of another great Amy Noelle Parks book here.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥+++*

♥♥♥♥♥+++ = Best of the best!

REVIEW: When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord

REVIEW: When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Millie Price’s star is on the rise. She’s worked her butt off to get into a theater pre-college program. But her dad is reluctant to let her go. And his resistance seems to have something to do with Millie’s mother.

Millie doesn’t know who her mother is, but she stumbles on her father’s LiveJournal from college. Reading through the entries around the time she would have been conceived, Millie finds some names of women who could be her mother. She’s sure if she can find the woman – who was also into musical theater – she could get her mother’s help to convince her dad to let her go.

But Millie’s plan to check out each of these women hits a snag when she ends up competing with her high school nemesis, Oliver, for an internship she doesn’t even want. But as it’s a chance to work with one of the potential moms, she sticks with it while getting to know the other women on her list. But Millie has no way of knowing how this search for her mom and her quest to attend this theater program is going to change everything.

Review

Emma Lord is the author of the fantastic Tweet Cute and You Have a Match, and after this third delightful story, she’s a must-read author for me.

I loved this! Millie is such a great character. She has a big personality, and sometimes the dramatic theater types can be abrasive to read. But that was never the case here. While she’s abrasive to Oliver, that’s part of the fun of the story, but I loved her (and Oliver) from the start.

Millie’s quest for her big theater program and for finding her mom opens up SO many great threads for this story – with the internship, with Oliver, with her family and friends, and with the new people she meets along the way. But none of those external pieces overshadows the internal work Millie does which is equally great.

Fans of Emma Lord’s previous books should absolutely pick this up – the character work here is excellent! And the romantic bits and the humor is icing on the cake. RomCom fans and musical theater lovers – you’re going to want to read this one too! (Language, LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: Whatever Happens (Julie and the Phantoms) by Candace Buford

REVIEW: Whatever Happens (Julie and the Phantoms) by Candace Buford

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Edelweiss and Scholastic in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Includes SPOILERS for the Netflix show Julie and the Phantoms.

[At the end of season one of Julie and the Phantoms, the band has finished playing at the Orpheum, but the guys don’t “cross over.” Their unfinished business, whatever it is, isn’t done. Julie finds them in the studio, still suffering from Caleb’s power over them. But something happens that releases them from Caleb; their club stamps disappear. And for the first time, Julie can touch them even though they are ghosts.]

While Alex and Reggie leave to find Willie and see what they can figure out about their more solid ghostly state, Luke and Julie reminisce about their show at the Orpheum and talk about their most cherished days from the past. For Luke, it’s the day Sunset Curve was preparing to play the Orpheum the first time in 1995. For Julie, it’s a day she spent with her mom in 2019, before they knew her mom was sick.

Review

This is so clever! It fills in fun backstory for the characters without getting in the way of any potential season 2 stories for the show. Fans will get to read about songwriting moments for Luke, Julie, and Rose as well as some family interactions for Alex, Flynn, and Julie. Readers get a glimpse at Bobby and his place in the band and find out a little more about Reggie’s family.

As old as I am, I am probably way too attached to a show for kids and teens, but I absolutely *adore* these characters. I have my fingers crossed that Netflix will shoot at least one more season of the show. But while we all wait, fans will love getting to spend time with these characters in some new stories which fit perfectly into the show and reveal a little more depth to each of the teens. This book made me love my favorite characters all the more.

If I was rating this on my enjoyment alone, I would give this 4.5 stars. I loved it. I would re-read this. The author does almost too good of a job conveying the chemistry between Luke and Julie (this is a middle grade story, after all), and I am thrilled to add some backstory to my head canon about these characters. A lot of that character depth comes from the characters getting to tell their own parts of the stories. Each of the 6 teens has at least one point-of-view chapter. But that is also where the wrinkle comes in for me. The set up is that Luke and Julie are alone, telling these stories to one another. There’s no place in that set up for the other 4 characters to chime in with their perspective on group events, much less sharing about things that happened away from Luke or Julie. That structural wrinkle would drop my book rating to probably a 3.5 – the story is otherwise solid. I’m going to give it an average rating of 4 here, but in my head, the content is definitely rated higher than that.

Readers will want to have at least a passing knowledge of the events in the show and the characters in order to enjoy this. Fans craving new content for these characters should snap this up. (LGBTQ+, TW: coming out stories/parental disapproval)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read (but you know I totally will with this one!)

BONUS REVIEW: Ashton's Dancing Dream by the Pitts sisters

BONUS REVIEW: Ashton’s Dancing Dream by the Pitts sisters

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Zonderkidz in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

When Ashton’s friend, Rani, announces that her dad’s been offered a promotion that would move the family to London, Ashton starts looking for a way to help her friend stay. Ashton, Rani, and their friend, June, decide to be in their elementary school spring talent show. The show, and the preparation, can be their reason for why Rani can’t move yet. The girls will use moves from a dance they performed at Christmas for their dance school to help simplify the preparation.

But when their full group – five girls in total – gets together, they can’t agree on anything. They bicker over music, dance moves, and the showcase dancer. Ashton’s perfect idea gets more and more complicated. And while her dad supports the idea of the talent show, he asks Ashton to consider that God’s plans aren’t always in line with our preferences. But Ashton hopes God wants Rani to stay too.

Review

This is a solid story with a lot of friendship pieces and a focus on taking your problems and burdens to God. Ashton experiences a power struggle with one of the other girls in the dancing group. There are times when they all forget it’s about having this experience with Rani, too. But there are good examples of sincere prayers and interpersonal effort to make peace, apologize, etc..

Another factor to the story that I didn’t mention in the summary is the arrival of a new student at the girls’ Christian school. Jasmyn is in a wheelchair, and Ashton is asked to be her school “buddy” and help her get acclimated. I loved Jasmyn’s part in the story. Ashton is a great friend and helper both at school and at church.

I appreciated Ashton’s efforts to stand up for Jasmyn. Rani makes some poor choices out of jealousy of Ashton’s new friendship. But I wish Ashton’s response had been stronger. Ashton does address the issue without prompting from anyone else. And Rani does apologize in part. But I felt like the most heinous choice on Rani’s part was to run off to a second floor of the house deliberately because she knows Jasmyn can’t go with them. It’s a blatant act of exclusion.  Yet when Rani apologizes, it’s more for what she said (saying the crocheting they are about to do is dumb) than what she did which was far worse. I’m concerned some readers will be hurt that this issue wasn’t addressed more directly.

I enjoyed the story, but there were moments when the writing pulled me out of the flow. This is a first person point of view book. But occasionally Ashton would look at someone and “know” what they were thinking either about themselves or even one time about a third character. First person can’t pull off all of that. I am hopeful that these moments were addressed in final edits.

This is book two in the series after Ansley’s Big Bake Off which focuses on Ashton’s older sister. Book 3, Amber’s Song, releasing in April 2021, will focus on Ashton’s twin sister. The characters have an older sister, Lena, who had her own series, Lena in the Spotlight (which was written by the authors’ older sister and their late mother, Wynter Pitts).

If you are looking for books for your middle grade reader with a blatant spiritual message, be sure to check out both series by the Pitts sisters. (CW: Unkindness to a person with a disability)

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥=Good/solid/fine

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Holding Out for Christmas by Janet Dailey

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Holding Out for Christmas by Janet Dailey

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Zebra in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Connor Branch, former rodeo star, has settled into the Christmas Tree Ranch in Branding Iron with his buddies, Travis and Rush. This time of year they’re cutting down and selling Christmas trees, caring for the ranch, and giving sleigh rides. And Connor is dreaming of his Cinderella – a singer he heard at last year’s Cowboy Christmas Ball. She left before he could meet her, but he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about her for the last year. He is hoping to meet the beautiful and talented Lacy Leatherwood this Christmas.

Megan Carson teaches kindergarten in Nashville. She was driving into Branding Iron to help her family with some things during the holidays when the storm kicked up, stranding her. Thankfully, Connor came along and rescued her from a cold night in her car in a ditch. Megan likes Branding Iron, but this is going to be a visit only. Her parents could use her help here on a regular basis. And teachers are in high demand in the community. But in Nashville, Megan’s alter ego, Lacy Leatherwood, is pursuing her dream performing career.

Megan finds out about Connor’s feelings regarding Lacy Leatherwood, but she doesn’t want to tell him the truth about her. Men tend to get hot and bothered over Lacy and forget about Megan, the real woman behind the flashy clothes, wig, and false eyelashes. She’ll just pal around with him while she’s in town and then get back to her real life and her dream in Nashville.

Review

I didn’t realize this was part of a series when I requested it, but it is the third book in the Christmas Tree Ranch series. Book one is My Kind of Christmas (Travis’ story), and book 2 is It’s a Christmas Thing (Rush’s story – part of the Kindle Unlimited program at the time of this writing).

This was a warm Christmas story in a nice community with interesting characters. I especially enjoyed meeting Megan and her family. I would have liked to get to know Connor’s friends a bit more, but that’s what the first two books are for. Those books are already on my wishlist so I can go back and pick up their stories.

Megan’s personal conflicts – her feelings about the guy in Nashville, her questions about what her role should be with her family, and her dreams of a music career – were more engaging to me than the “masked singer” pieces about Lacy. I wasn’t sold on her passion for performing. But her wrestling over her family responsibilities was something I wanted to see play out more.

Series fans will absolutely want to pick this up to finish the story arcs of the three guys from the ranch. New readers, though, should have no trouble starting here. I think you will want to track down the rest of the books, though, eventually. Pick this up for a light Christmas romance with great characters in a lovely community setting. But if you are picking this up for the truck full of puppies, don’t bother. While there’s a dog in the book, these puppies don’t make an appearance at all.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

REVIEW: Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale

REVIEW: Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Roaring Brook Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Josie used to be “kind of a big deal.” Her choir director told her she had “star power.” She knew how to light up a stage. And her talent and some connections got her a Broadway audition. She left home – and quit high school – with a one way ticket to New York.

When the audition doesn’t go as planned, Josie decides to stay in New York, crashing wherever she can find a spot. She eventually starts nannying part time, going to any casting call she can find. Nothing clicks. How awful to discover your best moments were in high school. When her nanny job moves to Montana, Josie goes, too, for lack of any other plan.

On a trip to the park with her charge, Mia, Josie stops in a local book shop. And everything changes. She picks up a book, and as she’s reading, she falls into the story, becoming one of the characters. It’s like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. All of the people in Josie’s life play the characters in each story she falls into. Each time she dives into a book, she has a harder time remembering her real life and pulling back. What would happen to Josie – or to Mia – if she fell into a story and never came back out?

Review

This one didn’t click for me. Spending time with Josie felt like going to a high school reunion with someone who had never moved on. It’s tragic in a 40-year-old, and it’s tragic in an 18-year-old. Josie believes she peaked in high school. She puts everything into a shot at Broadway, and when it fails, she has no direction. She is lost, desperate. And she doesn’t know how to bounce back.

To Josie’s – and the book’s – credit, she doesn’t stay stuck. She starts to develop some insights, and she gets a better understanding of herself and the relationships she has been relying on. She sees the toxicity in some of her relationships as well as in her perceptions of herself and her life.

The jumps into books, and the big climax for that part of the story, while effective for producing some change in Josie, didn’t work for me. I skimmed over most of the book jumping. Josie’s a lot to take at times. In these passages especially, she was exhausting for me. I was more interested in the things going on in her real life. Josie’s charge, Mia, and her transgender friend Nina were the characters I most wanted to see. In the end it felt like the story I wanted with the characters here and the story the author wanted to tell with them just weren’t the same story. And the climax, while an interesting twist, felt a little too out of left field for me.

Readers who enjoy angsty teens (who feel like realistic teenagers) and fantasy stories centered around books might give this one a try. Some readers have really enjoyed this one. (LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥½*

*♥♥½=mostly solid to solid