Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 167

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #34

        This "WIR" Wednesday I'm on vacation in beautiful Marquette, Michigan (yes, the setting of Out of Darkness!) but in the pages of the book I'm reading I'm trailing Abby, Jordan, and Dan on one long road trip to New Orleans in...
Catacomb (An Asylum Novel) by Madeleine Roux Blurb: Sometimes the past is better off buried.
Senior year is finally over. After all, they've been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they're just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan's uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice that they're being followed . . . and photographed. Then Dan starts receiving messages from someone he didn't expect to hear from again—someone who died last Halloween.
When the trio arrives in New Orleans and the strange occurrences only escalate, Dan is forced to accept that everything that has happened to him in the past year may not be a coincidence but fate—a fate that ties Dan to a group called the Bone Artists, who have a sinister fascination with notorious killers of the past.
Now Dan's only hope is that he will make it out of his senior trip alive.
Why I Chose This Book / What I Think So Far: I finally picked up a paperback copy of Catacomb. I love Madeleine Roux's Asylum series because it's dark and creepy. What new horrors face Dan and his friends? They're on a road trip to New Orleans and along the way Abby insists on stopping in out of the way, backwater towns to take pictures of old Americana for a photography project. Dan is hiding a folder containing information that might lead him to his birth parents and Jordan took out the spare tire to make room for his Star Wars sleeping bag. Spells for a smooth trip, right? 
Wrong. A flat tire causes them to walk to a small Alabama town where they receive help from a mechanic that later vanishes - that nobody has ever heard of, Dan is still having visions and getting cryptic messages from someone he knows is dead, and a stranger on a motorcycle is following the trio and taking pictures of them. 
Will things get better once they hit the New Orleans city limits? Or is something sinister waiting for them? Get ready for the next creepy installment in Madeleine Roux's Asylum series. 
I loved Asylum and even Sanctum was great. So far Catacomb has all the creep factor and I can't wait to see what troubles await them in New Orleans. My only drawback is that sometimes Dan can be a dull character. He's kind of that geeky guy that's always the sidekick and never the hero of the story except in this series he is the main character. I just wish for once Dan would show some emotion and show/tell his friends what he's really feeling. Especially Abby. This story could use a little romance. 

Mid-Summer Writing Update

With a little more than a month left of the summer months it's time to get back to writing. So far this summer I've spent a lot of time reading and writing reviews and little time doing any productive writing. Here's what I'm working on, what I'm soon to be working on, and what you have to look forward to from me in the next few months...
Writing Projects:
An ETERNALS Short Story / Novelette / Novella Right now I'm about 3k words into a story that will either turn into a short story, a novelette, or a novella centered around three of the characters in the Eternals Trilogy. While I'm not saying which three characters this story will cover I will tell you that the story will be called "Eternal Fire" and it will be included at the end of the third and final book in the Eternals Trilogy, Through the Fog, which will be available sometime next summer. 
How long will this story be and will it be a short story, a novelette, or a novella? I'm not sure. It all depends on the word count once I accomplish telling the story to my (and the characters') satisfaction. 
What's the difference?Short Story Word Count: 3,500-7,500 wordsNovelette Word Count: 7,500-17,000 wordsNovella Word Count: 17,000-40,000 words
A FAIRYTALE RETELLING NovelStarting in November I'm going to be working on a new stand-alone novel that is based on my favorite fairytale that my grandmother read to me when I was young. I've wanted to do this for a while and since the ideas for this story keep building up I don't think I can put this story off much longer. I don't have a title thought up yet, but that will come later. Right now I have to focus on not letting my head explode until I can get this story out onto paper!
Publishing Projects:
Into the LightInto the Light is just about ready to get ready for formatting and submitting for preorders. I'm aiming for Tuesday, December 13, 2016 as the release date; just in time for Christmas. 
Through the FogI'm hoping to get Through the Fog started in the editing process in September or October but I'm holding off on the release until probably June or July 2017. I like to have about six months in between my releases. I know, I'm making you wait but don't forget - Through the Fog with come with a bonus story! 
Cover Reveals:
Into the LightI've been holding off on the cover reveal for Into the Light because I wanted to have preorder links up for you at the same time. Look for the cover reveal of Into the Light to come sometime early in September. If you'd like to help reveal the cover of Into the Light I'll set up a Google sign-up form in the next week or two! 
Note: I'll be taking a little mini-vacation next week Wednesday-Friday for my 24th birthday but don't fret, you'll still get my usual "What I'm Reading" Wednesday and Friday post! 

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #33

         This "WIR"-Wednesday I'm finally reading a book I've been wanting to read for a looooong time...
The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston Blurb: Midnight is the most bewitching hour of them all…
From Paula Brackston, the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter and The Winter Witch, comes a magical tale that is as dark as it is enchanting. Set in high society Edwardian England, The Midnight Witch is the story of a young witch who faces the choice between love and loyalty to her coven…
"The dead are seldom silent. All that is required for them to be heard is that someone be willing to listen. I have been listening to the dead all my life."
Lady Lilith Montgomery is the daughter of the sixth Duke of Radnor. She is one of the most beautiful young women in London and engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. She is also a witch.When her father dies, her hapless brother Freddie takes on his title. But it is Lilith, instructed in the art of necromancy, who inherits their father's role as Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven. And it is Lilith who must face the threat of the Sentinels, a powerful group of sorcerers intent on reclaiming the Elixir from the coven's guardianship for their own dark purposes. Lilith knows the Lazarus creed: secrecy and silence. To abandon either would put both the coven and all she holds dear in grave danger. She has spent her life honoring it, right down to her engagement to her childhood friend and fellow witch, Viscount Louis Harcourt.
Until the day she meets Bram, a talented artist who is neither a witch nor a member of her class. With him, she must not be secret and silent. Despite her loyalty to the coven and duty to her family, Lilith cannot keep her life as a witch hidden from the man she loves. To tell him will risk everything.
Why I Picked This Book / What I Think So Far: I've wanted to read this book since I heard it was coming out. I really loved The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston and I was eager to read more from the author. I picked this book up from the library because for some reason every time I found this book in a bookstore I couldn't convince myself to purchase it. I'm only a few pages in but I'm not sure I like it the way I liked The Winter Witch. I'm hoping this is just a passing thing and that the further I get into the book I'll start to like it more. So we'll see...

Book Review: Awaken by Skye Malone

Awaken (Awakened Fates #1) by Skye Malone Blurb: Running away from home was never Chloe Kowalski's plan. Neither was ending up the target of killers, or having her body change in unusual ways. She only wanted a vacation, someplace far from her crazy parents and their irrational fear of water. She only wanted to do something normal for once, and maybe get to know her best friend's hot stepbrother a bit better at the same time.
But the first day she goes out on the ocean, strange things start to happen. Dangerous things that should be impossible. Things to which 'normal' doesn't even begin to apply.
Now madmen are hunting her. A mysterious guy with glowing blue eyes is following her. And her best friend's stepbrother seems to be hiding secrets all his own.
It was supposed to be a vacation. It's turning out to be a whole lot more.
My Review: I received a copy of Awaken in exchange for an honest review.
All Chloe Kowalski wanted was to see the ocean, but her crazy water-hating parents said a big fat NO when she asked to go on vacation to the California coast with her best friend, Baylie. So Chloe does what any sensible teenager would do - she goes anyway, running away from home.
At the beach house owned by Baylie's extended family, she meets Diane and Peter, parents to Baylie's stepbrothers, Maddox and Noah. Chloe has had a little bit of a crush on the super-hot Noah for a while now, but Baylie says he's been acting strange lately.
When Chloe first steps foot into the ocean she feels like a missing piece of herself has just been found. What she doesn't know is that she's setting off a dangerous series of events and putting a target on her back. Chloe is part dehaian (mermaid) and part landwalker (a person who can't stand to be near the ocean) and a dangerous mermaid cult, called Sylphaen, want her dead. How will Chloe handle it when she finally learns the truth about herself? Will her new friends think she's a freak or is it possible that they're hiding something too?
Meanwhile, dehaian Zeke noticed a change in the water the minute Chloe first entered the ocean and he wants to know what about this pretty girl caused that reaction in the water. Things seem even fishier to him when Chloe seems to have no idea what she really is. Zeke wants to get to the bottom of things and when the cult he thought had been eradicated goes after Chloe he has a strong urge to keep her safe. Will he get to her in time? Or will the Sylphaen sacrifice her to fulfill some crazy prophecy?
I've never read a mermaid-themed novel before but I absolutely loved Awaken!. The first line draws you in and before you even find out what Chloe is, you're dying to find out why Chloe's parents don't want her anywhere near the water. Their crazy reaction will shock you. I like that this story is told in alternating perspectives between Chloe and Zeke but it would have been an added bonus to have a few chapters in Noah's perspective to see into his head. The world of the Dehaians, with their magic and their technology (like the medicine and the relay station) was really imaginative and gave their underwater world much more dimension than your average mermaid story.
The only thing I found confusing was the Delaneys' relationship to Baylie. How were they related through marriage? I know it was meant to be complicated but I felt like I needed a family tree to illustrate it better.
Overall this book is great! The story keeps you interested and engaged, the characters are easy to like, the plot is well thought out and the conflicts and action are appropriately set throughout the beginning, middle, and end of the story and the ending makes you want to dive right into book two. I feel like there may be a love triangle brewing between Chloe, Noah, and Zeke in one of the future books. Read Awaken and you'll fall in love and be hooked on this series for sure!
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
***You can find Awaken on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, and Kobo; and add it to your TBR list on Goodreads!***

Why Do Some Books Have the Same or Similar Cover Art?

A few weeks ago I was surfing through the posts on a Facebook group I belong to that discusses my favorite topic, books, when a member asked, "Am I the only one who gets slightly annoyed whenever I see the same cover for two different books from different authors?" 
I know you, like this person, are wondering how two books can have essentially the same - or similar- book covers. 
Well, it all comes down to the stock images. A book cover is created when a book cover designer combines images and text to create a book cover. Unless a cover artist uses a photo or a vector that they've either photographed or created themselves it is very possible that the same image can be found and used by more than one cover designer. 
Where do these images come from? Stock images are sold on websites such as Shutterstock, IStockphoto, BigStockPhoto, and more. These photos can be purchased and used for magazine and web ads, book and cd covers, editorial, journalistic uses (like a photo of a motorcycle could be used to go along with an article on motorcycle history or road rage in America), and much, much more. Anyone anywhere in the world can view and purchase these stocks so chances are more than one book cover designer has set eyes on the same stock image.  Cover Artists always strive to create a unique cover for their client but unless they took the image themselves and keep it in a private file on their computer there's no guarantee that another cover artist won't use that same image in another project.
How is a Book Cover Created?A book cover artist takes the purchased stock images, cuts, pastes, and manipulates the images to make a new picture using a process called "Photomanipulation" then adds text. Sometimes they'll change a model's hair or clothing color, make the image darker or lighter, texturize the picture or otherwise manipulate the new image to create the look they and their client want. 
Sometimes a cover artist just picks one image and makes the cover out of it which is how some books have ended up with the same cover. 
I as both an author, a cover artist, and a person who creates photomanipulations like mixing different images together. 
Here is an example of my cover of Out of Darkness and another book covers that used the same model that I did: The models are the same but you can see they're used in two different concepts. My novel, Out of Darkness has a forest background while Emerge has a water background, different fonts, and a lighter color. (I haven't read Emerge but I think it's about mermaids.)




The image I've seen used over and over for ads and book covers is some variation of this couple. This couple was even used in a Splat Hair Dye print ad once:

So why does this happen?
To Recap: Stock images are available for anyone to purchase and use for all sorts of purposes.
Do I recommend a cover artist using the same stock image as another popular book on purpose? No way, not intentionally. But if you didn't know then its just a coincidence. Stuff happens. If an author is happy with their cover then that's all that matters, right? Sure, the cover helps sell the book, but what's inside the book is what will sell all future books by that author. 

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #32

This "WIR"-Wednesday I'm in the midst of reading two very different ARCs...
Under A Brass Moon; A Sci-Fi / Steampunk Anthology Blurb: A moon of gears and wires shines down upon a world of clockwork creations and humming airships. What adventures await the heroes in top hats and heroines in corsets? 
Eighteen authors wait at the kingdom’s entrance. They smile and beckon you inside their stories. 
Do you accept the offered lantern and follow? If you do, then open to the front page and begin…
What I Think of This Book So Far: I was offered the chance to read and review this book for my writer friend, Jordan Elizabeth, who has several stories in this anthology. I liked her previous steampunk novel, Cogling, even though steampunk really isn't my thing so I decided to give this a chance. So far I'm realizing that Steampunk and I don't belong in the same sentence. I like a story or two so far but the other stories really aren't holding my attention. I'm going to try to finish reading it but so far its been a real struggle - and I really have nobody to blame but myself. 
If you like Steampunk, Under A Brass Moon will be available on Thursday, July 28, 2016, from Curiosity Quills Press. It is available on Amazon for preorder.
On the other hand, the other book I'm reading is really pulling me in...
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco Blurb: When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha-one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles...and make a powerful choice.
Why I Chose This Book / What I Think of it So Far: I saw this book on Netgalley and instantly fell in love with the cover. While I won't give much away, I really am enjoying the story. It's different from the other kinds of books I read, definitely in the fantasy genre but I like the storyline and how the book is written. I'm compelled to keep reading it to see what's going to happen next. This is definitely a book to add to your TBR List!
The Bone Witch will be available Tuesday, March 7, 2017, from Sourcebooks Fire. You can preorder it on Amazon in eBook or Hardcover! 

Book Review: Verity by Claire Farrell

Verity by Claire Farrell Blurb: Sixteen-year-old Perdita Rivers has spent her entire sheltered life being told what to do. Lately, she’s felt ready for a change, and the universe seems to agree. Her new best friend’s brother is the boy of Perdita’s dreams. Literally. 
Even though he plays hot and cold, she’s sure there’s more to it, but she’s kind of distracted by the sense she’s being followed - not to mention the rumours of wild animal sightings that seem to mean more to her new crush’s family than they should. Perdy’s on a mission to find the truth, but maybe the truth is the danger she should hide from, after all. 
My Review: Sixteen-year-old Perdita is not like other teens. She lives on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland with her father and grandmother. Her father is extremely overprotective; he won't even let her spend the night at her friend Tammie's house. Not to mention, her father and grandmother are always arguing. Her grandmother wants her to enjoy a normal teenage life but her father wants to keep her protected at all times - even at the expense of her social life. 
Then Amelia and Nathan move to town and shake up Perdita's ordinary little life. Perdita has been dreaming about Nathan, a boy she's never met before for almost a year - and Nathan at times hints that he feels their connection too. Perdita's friendship with Tammie becomes strained as Perdita gets closer to Amelia and Tammie ruthlessly pursues Perdita's cousin Joey. When Perdita sees a cruel side of Tammie she never believed could be shined on her she becomes even closer with Amelia and with Nathan who acts hot and cold around her all the time. Sometimes it seems like he's interested in her and other times he shoves her away. 
When Perdita starts spotting strangers watching her, Amelia, and Nathan around town, rumors of dog attacks and dead animals start appearing on people's doorsteps, and Perdita feels like Nathan is keeping something from her Perdita wants answers. But will Perdita be able to accept the truth about Amelia, Nathan, and their family or her role in everything? Or will it all be too much for her? Will Perdita be able to save herself and Amelia when danger comes to call?
Verity is a quick, uncomplicated read that I enjoyed a lot. Think of it like Twilight but just with werewolves instead of vampires. Amelia, Nathan, Perdita, and even Joey are characters that are easy to like while Tammie and Dawn are easy to hate. I loved the setting for Verity even though you really don't get the feeling of it being in Dublin, Ireland at all. It's a refreshing change that Amelia was the special character that everyone had to look after in this book, instead of the female lead, Perdita in this case, being the fragile-frail one; although she has a role in things with Nathan as well. You quickly find yourself rooting for Perdita to gain more freedom and for her and Nathan to finally get together throughout the entire novel.  Verity has just the right amount of danger, action, friendship, and romance. I'm really eager to read the rest of the series to see what else is in store for Perdita and the whole gang. My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Do Parents Need to be More Visible in YA Books?

This is a question I, and I'm sure a lot of other YA writers and readers, wonder about a lot. Do parent characters need to be more visible in YA books? It seems that most of the time parents get pushed to the sidelines or are perpetually working in YA novels. 
Maybe that's how the teens end up in the situations they do in YA novels; they crave attention, love, and friendship so they befriend the aliens next door (The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout), fall in love with a vampire (Twilight & more), or end up imprisoned in the faerie lands (ACOTAR series), begging the question: Where are the parents when all this stuff is going on?
I mean really, if you were a diligent parent wouldn't you notice that the kids next door are a little odd or that you've never, ever seen their parents?
I think a lot of the time writers think that parents are unimportant in YA novels and that the whole focus should be on the teens and the romance or action (whatever the plot may be).  Instead, they're setting a sometimes unrealistic storyline. I can see in the Lux series that Katy's mom was a nurse, they do work a lot of hours, but you'd think in her downtime Katy's mom would hang out and - I don't know - ask what's new in her daughter's life instead of dating a creepy doctor and just being kind of indifferent to finding Daemon in her daughter's bed. 
The book that really surprised me was If I Stay with Mia's hippie parents. I don't know about you, but my grandmother would have never allowed any teenaged boyfriend of mine to spend the night, yet Mia's parents were completely cool with it - welcomed him with open arms even.
It's kind of like what one of the characters in The Jane Austen Book Club (the movie version) says while they're discussing Sense & Sensibility: "Austen doesn't think anything interesting happens to a woman over thirty-five."
Is that true? Do we YA authors think parent characters are incapable of having interesting lives that could contribute to the story? I know with The Haunting Love, and even with Finding Elizabeth to a degree, my character's parents got shoved into the background. At the time I didn't really think they had much to contribute to the storyline. Sure, there were a few exceptions to the rule: Cecilia's mom in The Haunting Love gave an insight into what made her the way she was, Nate's first set of parents in Finding Elizabeth showed the political climate of the French Revolution then later Nate and Elizabeth's parents, as well as Anton's previous incarnation's mother, had a bigger role in the story. 
When I was writing Out of Darkness and the other books in the Eternals Trilogy I wanted Lizette's parents and the other older Eternals to be more involved in the story. Their choices and mistakes shaped the way Lizette and her friends were and I enjoyed that Mr. and Mrs. Weatherly, Henry, Luna, Claudette and the others' stories, feelings, and desires intertwined with the storyline of Lizette and her friends. 
I also think that sometimes teens forget that their parents were once teenagers too; their parents had wishes, dreams, and desires the same way they do and just because they've grown up and become parents doesn't mean that they're irrelevant. 
Parents are human beings too; they screw their kids up, they form them into what kind of person they will become, and above all, they make mistakes just like everyone else. 
I think both the absence of parents in certain YA novels and the presence of parents in other YA novels lends a hand as to how the story will go and what challenges the characters will face. Does that make any sense?
What do you prefer? Do you like it better when parents are more involved with their kids in YA novels and add to the storyline or do you like it better when the parents are seen as little as possible? 

Book Review: When You Came Back by Yesenia Vargas

When You Came Back by Yesenia Vargas Blurb: Two childhood friends, their blossoming romance, and the tragic secret that stands in their way... 

Katia just saw the last person she’d ever expect. 

Brian, who she hasn’t seen since they were nine years old. Because he moved away without saying goodbye. 

Brian, who was her best friend in fourth grade and made her laugh and made forts with her in the woods. 

Who left her alone when she needed him most. 

Now he’s back. Her best friend, Adam, isn’t thrilled. 

Except Brian’s completely different than she remembers. 

He’s not the boy next door anymore. There’s a darkness inside him, and he won’t tell her what caused it. 

But Katia knows the Brian she remembers is still inside there somewhere. 

She’s seen a flicker of it in his eyes when he comes in close and tells her to stay away. She’s determined to find the real Brian. 


And to find out what happened. 
My Review: I received an ARC free in exchange for an honest review.
Brian and Katia were best friends in the fourth grade. They told each other everything. Then Brian's family up and moves away without so much as a goodbye. 
Katia eventually moved on, but she never forgot her childhood best friend. Now a high school junior with a new best friend, Adam, Katia has learned to block out the popular crowd that tormented her for years. Everything is going fine until Brian walks into her classroom. 
He's back but Brian is not the same boy Katia once knew. He's cold and distant. At times he pretends he doesn't know Katia and others he tells her to stay away from him. But sometimes it's like he wants to be her friend and wants to confide in her again. 
Katia is determined to find out what happened to Brian, why his family moved away, and what changed in his life to make him so cold. Will Katia be able to break through Brian's icy exterior and become his friend (or more) again - without pushing away Adam in the process? 
I really liked When You Came Back. It's been a while since I read a YA Contemporary novel (without a paranormal or fantasy storyline) and even longer since I have read a book with Hispanic main characters but I really enjoyed the storyline being out of my normal comfort zone, it made me learn about how a different culture of people live in our country, with struggles that I've never had to deal with.
In the beginning, I thought Katia was kind of pushy and annoying. If Brian didn't want to spill all his dark secrets to her right away she should have left it alone. But the further I read the more I loved the story. The writing is good and you feel for the characters. Occasionally Spanish words and phrases appear in the book but they're usually explained in English which is great for people who speak very little Spanish (like me). The book ends in a cliffhanger so I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Check When You Came Back out today - there's a **SPECIAL RELEASE PRICE OF 99 CENTS FOR ONE WEEK ONLY***

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #31

This "WIR"-Wednesday I've read a couple different genres of books. Right now I'm reading...
Verity (Cursed #1) by Claire Farrell Blurb: Sixteen-year-old Perdita Rivers has spent her entire sheltered life being told what to do. Lately, she’s felt ready for a change, and the universe seems to agree. Her new best friend’s brother is the boy of Perdita’s dreams. Literally. 
Even though he plays hot and cold, she’s sure there’s more to it, but she’s kind of distracted by the sense she’s being followed - not to mention the rumors of wild animal sightings that seem to mean more to her new crush’s family than they should. Perdy’s on a mission to find the truth, but maybe the truth is the danger she should hide from, after all. 
Why I Chose This Book/ What I Think So Far: I picked this book from my Kindle Library (I had downloaded it free from a Ripley's Booklist Newsletter) after rereading the blurb. After several contemporary books in the past week, I was craving something with a paranormal theme. And I love werewolf stories; I don't believe there are nearly enough books about werewolves. 
In addition to Verity, I also just finished reading...
Now & Then (Now #1) by Brenda Rothert Blurb: Now Emmaline Carson has settled into her career as a graphic designer, though she’d rather be painting or shopping with her sister Layla. But then – in the years before she went to art school in Paris – she was a shy, awkward teenager with frizzy hair, a flat chest and a massive crush on the boy across the street, Cole Marlowe. Too bad her incredibly hot neighbor only had eyes for Layla. Cole is now a confident, laid-back attorney who’s even hotter than he used to be. He’s planning to stay single while working his way up the corporate ladder – until he’s knocked off course by a chance run-in with Emma. Everything is different between Cole and Emma now. He finally sees her in a way she only dreamed of, and their hot chemistry is fueled by a growing friendship. But Emma’s deception of her sister – who wants Cole for herself – and the secret Cole’s been keeping for more than a decade threaten to tear apart what’s only just begun. Because sometimes the only thing standing in the way of now is then. 
My Review: When Emma runs into her childhood crush and former neighbor Cole at a coffee shop all her old feelings come rushing back. Cole is now an attorney and more attractive than ever. And Cole is now finally noticing Emma in a different light. His attraction to the 24-year-old graphic artist is undeniable and he can’t stop thinking about her. 
As they begin spending time together one obstacle stands in Emma’s way, keeping her from really allowing herself to like Cole: her older sister Layla. Emma always felt like she was hidden in Layla’s perfect cheerleader shadow. Emma was the artsy type and Layla made sure to reinforce to her younger sister that nothing she had could be hers; especially Cole. Now an adult, Layla still wants Cole for herself and she relentlessly pursues Cole with the blessing of both their mothers. 
When Cole makes it perfectly clear to Emma that she’s the one he wants, not her sister Layla, will Emma be able to forget the past and allow herself happiness with Cole? Or will a secret from the past tear them apart? 
I loved this book! I could really relate to Emma because of her creativity and her mom and sister remind me a lot of my own family. Cole was so awesome and I loved him and Emma together. What I really liked about this story was the author allowed you to see what was happening in the present time and went back to the past to tell experiences from both characters about what their lives were like as teens. After all, what can sometimes look picture perfect on the outside can be anything but. This is an easy, intoxicating read that will keep you turning pages to see what’s going to happen between Emma and Cole next, because you know at some point Layla is going to find out about them and things will be explosive…My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
I also was lucky enough to read an ARC of Yesenia Vargas's upcoming novel, When You Came Back. Look for When You Came Back, and my review, later this week!