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Arousing Love
Can it be true love when you're only fifteen?
When Zach meets Joanna it's almost love at first sight until he finds out she's only fifteen. He knows she's too young for him but he has never felt like this about anybody before. She's sexy and sweet and flirty and free and the most beautiful girl he has ever known.
Joanna is swept away by her feelings for Zach as they grow increasingly passionate with each other. It's like God has whispered in her heart Zach is the one for her. Can it be true love when you're only fifteen?
When Zach meets Joanna it's almost love at first sight until he finds out she's only fifteen. He knows she's too young for him but he has never felt like this about anybody before. She's sexy and sweet and flirty and free and the most beautiful girl he has ever known.
Joanna is swept away by her feelings for Zach as they grow increasingly passionate with each other. It's like God has whispered in her heart Zach is the one for her. Can it be true love when you're only fifteen?
160 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2009
209 people are currently reading
1145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 188 reviews
October 15, 2013
Jesus Christ!!! (funny considering the nature of the book) what a waste of 3.5 hours worth of reading. I only finished this book because I'm no quitter and I had to finish and see how this stupid asinine story played out.
First of all, no way in hell would a normal 18 year old boy fall in love so quickly with a 15 year old girl. Second, even me as a female, thought she came on psychotically strong. She would scare the piss out of any male at any age. She acted like a tease but then still got naked day 2 of meeting Zach. She also went batshit crazy when he glanced at a couple of girls on the beach.
...... I kick my own ass for not reading the other reviews. Never again will I download based on title without checking out the reviews. I was sitting in a doctors office waiting on my eye exam and this book was free and it was better than reading a Golf Digest magazine.
I'm reading along and thinking wow this book might get a little juicy and then BAM... Jesus comes to the party. Holy shit was I surprised. I personally felt uncomfortable reading the constant preaching and then start a new paragraph with a bit of mild steam.
Plus ... Those parents of hers were nut jobs. It is weird to me about how open they were about how far around base their daughter had been and the casualness of their conversation. I believe in being open with your kids. I really do. I have a daughter and I am open with her about sex and answer all her questions honestly but never do I want the kind of details mom and pop wanted in this book. And then the betrothal. W.T.F.?!?! W. T. F. ?!?
I was pretty much yelling out loud to Zach saying "run!!! Don't drink the kool-aide!!!!"
Actually I would have given the book five stars if the ending had a twist where the family was a religious cult and Zach finally woke up and quit praying and thinking with his little penis and ran for the hills. But it didn't.
Honestly this is the first book I've read in years that I absolutely hated!!!!!! HATED. How this got published I don't know. I realize many may disagree and I respect that but this book was totally not for me... Sorry !
First of all, no way in hell would a normal 18 year old boy fall in love so quickly with a 15 year old girl. Second, even me as a female, thought she came on psychotically strong. She would scare the piss out of any male at any age. She acted like a tease but then still got naked day 2 of meeting Zach. She also went batshit crazy when he glanced at a couple of girls on the beach.
...... I kick my own ass for not reading the other reviews. Never again will I download based on title without checking out the reviews. I was sitting in a doctors office waiting on my eye exam and this book was free and it was better than reading a Golf Digest magazine.
I'm reading along and thinking wow this book might get a little juicy and then BAM... Jesus comes to the party. Holy shit was I surprised. I personally felt uncomfortable reading the constant preaching and then start a new paragraph with a bit of mild steam.
Plus ... Those parents of hers were nut jobs. It is weird to me about how open they were about how far around base their daughter had been and the casualness of their conversation. I believe in being open with your kids. I really do. I have a daughter and I am open with her about sex and answer all her questions honestly but never do I want the kind of details mom and pop wanted in this book. And then the betrothal. W.T.F.?!?! W. T. F. ?!?
I was pretty much yelling out loud to Zach saying "run!!! Don't drink the kool-aide!!!!"
Actually I would have given the book five stars if the ending had a twist where the family was a religious cult and Zach finally woke up and quit praying and thinking with his little penis and ran for the hills. But it didn't.
Honestly this is the first book I've read in years that I absolutely hated!!!!!! HATED. How this got published I don't know. I realize many may disagree and I respect that but this book was totally not for me... Sorry !
March 5, 2011
Okay, I'll be honest. This is one of the very, very few books that I have ever in my life not finished. I made it about 60% of the way through before I had to just close it out and say enough.
Like another reviewer has already mentioned, I found the title somewhat misleading. Yes, I did read the synopsis when I got the book, but between that time and when I actually began reading it, I forgot what it was about. When you're looking at an e-book at 2 in the morning, all you have to go on is the title and the cover. This appears to be nothing more than your typical romance novel, perhaps one on the juicy side. It is anything but. It is most assuredly a Christian romance, with heavy emphasis on the Christian.
Now, I am not one to normally seek out Christian fiction, but I don't have a problem reading it, in general. This book even starts out as a lovely story on the subject of a young man coming to faith. But. When it got to the point of direct preaching and the discussion of why gay marriage was wrong and sinful, I had enough. I felt like I'd been transported into a hellfire and brimstone sermon by Jerry Fallwell, and this is not why I read fiction.
In addition, I am firmly of the belief that it is not my duty in life to judge. Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love one another. Hate-filled rhetoric is not any way to show love to our fellow humans, no matter what you believe.
Like another reviewer has already mentioned, I found the title somewhat misleading. Yes, I did read the synopsis when I got the book, but between that time and when I actually began reading it, I forgot what it was about. When you're looking at an e-book at 2 in the morning, all you have to go on is the title and the cover. This appears to be nothing more than your typical romance novel, perhaps one on the juicy side. It is anything but. It is most assuredly a Christian romance, with heavy emphasis on the Christian.
Now, I am not one to normally seek out Christian fiction, but I don't have a problem reading it, in general. This book even starts out as a lovely story on the subject of a young man coming to faith. But. When it got to the point of direct preaching and the discussion of why gay marriage was wrong and sinful, I had enough. I felt like I'd been transported into a hellfire and brimstone sermon by Jerry Fallwell, and this is not why I read fiction.
In addition, I am firmly of the belief that it is not my duty in life to judge. Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love one another. Hate-filled rhetoric is not any way to show love to our fellow humans, no matter what you believe.
December 28, 2010
I am a Christian, and am profoundly disturbed by this book. I cannot believe how many people are talking about how wondrous it is. The author's skewed view of reality and what love entails is disconcerting to say the least. The book runs the gamut of a underage girl wanting to be painted nude, an absurdly unrealistic and unauthentic conversion, atrocious writing, an unbelievably creepy father who has disgustingly disrespectful conversations about a young man enjoying his daughter's body, and a blind emphasis on perceived purity and shallow religious concepts at the expense of anything substantial or deep.
And if you're about to dismiss me for being some "liberal", etc: I'm waiting for marriage. And I'm not a teenager either.
And if you're about to dismiss me for being some "liberal", etc: I'm waiting for marriage. And I'm not a teenager either.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2011
I can't believe all the bad reviews on this book. I almost didn't read it because of them and would have missed out on a really great book! The emotions could be felt so strongly in this story. I also loved the moral lessons to be learned and completely agree with all of them. I want my children to read this book when they get old enough. The only thing I would change is I do believe that Joanna is way too young to be considering marriage and found that a little hard to swallow. (At least I never would have considered it at 15 and hope my kids don't either!) But overall, I highly recommend this book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2011
I tried this because it was free and I am looking for books for my daughter's Kindle. I must say this was a huge surprise. I discovered a whole new genre that I did not know existed: Soft-core Evangelical Christian Pornography. This was just sick, it failed as porn, and it failed as Christian. Truly some of the worst drek I ever have had the displeasure to read. It made me want to wash my eyeballs in rubbing alcohol. I particularly like the end where the father basically sold his underage daughter to an older man. . .It made my Kindle smell like garbage. Seriously if this author has any soul left at all he should never, ever write anything again, not even a grocery list.
December 21, 2011
Alright so I read the synopsis of this book and download, because I was like what the heck I might as well give it a chance its free. In the end I really liked the story the plot line was good, and the characters excellently written. But the fact is there was a lot of religious content in the story, and the fact is I don't really read a lot of books with religion in them. However in the end I like the story and the ideas it had, I could relate to some parts in the book and then at others I couldn't. M.H. Strom does a nice job with the whole book, and I liked it. There were a lot of kissing and semi-sexual scenes (especially in the last several pages) but when your reading you know when they are coming.
Zach is a nice guy, he's kinda a little soulful on the inside and really in the end see's the light of day. I liked his character from the start, and I don't think the guy on the cover does the character justice (especially the hair). Zach falls for Joanna right away, and you can say it's love at first sight for them. But the problem is their age difference, Joanna's in high school while Zach just graduated. Joanna is what I would classify as a girl that follows the rules, she doesn't break them. And in the end learns to live a bit because of Zach.
I don't really want to touch on the sexual parts of the book in the review, but there were several. In the end Arousing Love by M.H. Strom, took several things that afflict teenager society today and put it into the story. The story line included things that happen to teenagers today, and I could relate to the story. As stated before this book really isn't for anyone that isn't an older teenager, it has serious subjects in it like sex, drugs and a highly religious tone. But in the end the story is good, and I learned a thing or too about some things. So M.H. Strom did a very nice job on this story.
Zach is a nice guy, he's kinda a little soulful on the inside and really in the end see's the light of day. I liked his character from the start, and I don't think the guy on the cover does the character justice (especially the hair). Zach falls for Joanna right away, and you can say it's love at first sight for them. But the problem is their age difference, Joanna's in high school while Zach just graduated. Joanna is what I would classify as a girl that follows the rules, she doesn't break them. And in the end learns to live a bit because of Zach.
I don't really want to touch on the sexual parts of the book in the review, but there were several. In the end Arousing Love by M.H. Strom, took several things that afflict teenager society today and put it into the story. The story line included things that happen to teenagers today, and I could relate to the story. As stated before this book really isn't for anyone that isn't an older teenager, it has serious subjects in it like sex, drugs and a highly religious tone. But in the end the story is good, and I learned a thing or too about some things. So M.H. Strom did a very nice job on this story.
January 12, 2012
The Challenges of Teen Love
Have you ever fell in love with someone, but your parents had to mess things up and didn't allow you to date? Arousing Love: A Teen Novel by M.H. Storm, is a great book about romance. It is a non-fiction ebook. There are so many challenges in life like love and faith. Two characters in this book, Joanna and Zach, fall in love with each other. They go through different emotions and face different problems. Once kids become teenagers, they want to do whatever they want, whenever they want. In this story, the two teens get challenged to see if they will follow their parents orders. While reading this book, you can learn from the characters' interesting experiences that us teenagers may encounter in the future.
In this book, an eighteen year old guy meets a girl from Colorado. I would describe Joanna as a good girl who follows the rules and is responsible. They begin to hangout for a while and get to know each other. With Zach in her life, she learns to live and have a little more fun. Suddenly, Zach starts to have feelings for Joanna which becomes stronger than an angel who moves air. He tries to convince himself that he is not falling in love because she is only fifteen years old. I honestly think that there should not really be an age limit when you're in love. Zach couldn't control his feeling towards her. Joanna and Zach officially became boyfriend and girlfriend. Joanna finds out that Zach is a great artist who loves to paint. She asks if he can paint a portrait of her. Zach isn't the only artistic one. Joanna likes to write songs, sing, and play her guitar. They both make each other happy by sharing their talents.
One night, there was a talent competition. Joanna's parents wanted her to join and show others her talent. She was too shy, but Zach helped her get through it by joining her in the act. This part of the story was one of my favorite parts. It shows how close these two characters have become. It turns out they win the competition. I think that they deserved to win because of good partnership. Zach eventually becomes a lot closer to Joanna's parents and it so happens that they think he is a great guy.
Suddenly, Joanna and Zach loose Joanna's parents trust. They disobey their rules by sneaking out to see each other. It is a challenge for them to earn their respect back or else they cannot date each other. This story is really interesting because of all the different problems and experiences. It grabs the readers attention and keeps them interested. It wasn't boring to read because there are new things happening to both of them each day.
After reading this book, you learn many things from these characters. It is an interesting story, but at the same time, a book with great advice. It tells you what you are going to expect when you grow up to be a teenager. Many teens can relate to this book and might make them closer to their parents. It also talks about your faith in God. When others read this book, they may have a stronger faith in God and learn more about him. I give this book five stars because i enjoyed how the author wrote the story and kept the reader entertained.
I recommend this book to teenagers because they can get some advice and know what may happen in the future. M.H. Storm put everything teenagers go through and what they feel in this story. It talks about God and that he always has a plan for us. It will encourage teens to talk to God more and have a closer relationship with Him. I wouldn't really recommend kids under the age of twelve to read this book because it will be a little complicated for them to understand. It has a high religious tone and serious topics about love and drugs. Arousing Love: A Teen Novel, isn't just about love between a couple, but also about trust and faith. Many teenagers can learn a lot if different things when reading this book. The author has created a book of love, trust, faith, and religion which all comes together in an inspiring story.
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April 7, 2013Religious Freak - If you are a religious & Christian then you might love this book. Thank goodness it was free. I liked the story between the 2 main characters & them trying not to give into temptation with sex, however I feel that if this book was a drinking game & you took a shot every time GOD, JESUS, or BIBLE was mentioned then you would have alchol poisoning before you were 30% done. I think that the author could have lost some of the bible & Jesus stuff & still have written a nice story about 2 teens in love. I found myself skipping over anything that involved quotes from the bible & Jesus or God & trying to get to the story itself. You mention it a couple times & we get it. Sex without marriage is a sin. We get it already. Maybe this bothered me more because I am not a religious freak & felt that this was all about the authors belief in God & the way it was seen through their eyes. There is more than one way to believe in something & this book does not mention any other way but strict Christian. I actually wanted to take my own life half way through the only reason I kept going to get to the end is because I wanted to know if the 2 characters make it to the end together & actually marry.
July 27, 2011
*sigh* I didn't expect this book to be all about christianity. I was frustrated with this book, it was misleading & I feel the ending was all over the place. The book got to deep into the religious stuff. At some points in the book it was just paragraph after paragraph about christianity. It was just too intense for me. I didn't expect that from this book. I thought it would be a fun romance novel about young love. I was wrong. However, I read it till the end and its an OK book but I wouldn't reccomend it.
December 6, 2011
I read this in one sitting.
After reading the blurb and downloading the free eBook, I thought I'd downloaded the wrong book. This book has some steamy hot story lines quite early. I've read quite a few of the other reviews of the paperback edition here on Goodreads and many say it's not juicy enough, I found it the other way ... any more juicy and I would have chosen to close the book (or shut off my iPad)
Arousing Love is a beautiful story of young love when they discover God's desire for marriage.
I highly recommend you read and enjoy the journey.
After reading the blurb and downloading the free eBook, I thought I'd downloaded the wrong book. This book has some steamy hot story lines quite early. I've read quite a few of the other reviews of the paperback edition here on Goodreads and many say it's not juicy enough, I found it the other way ... any more juicy and I would have chosen to close the book (or shut off my iPad)
Arousing Love is a beautiful story of young love when they discover God's desire for marriage.
I highly recommend you read and enjoy the journey.
March 30, 2011
It was a interesting book made you think about sex, religion, and love in a whole new way than I previously thought. It made me reflect on all my actions and see what the lord has truly blessed me with. Shows how important it is to give such a thing away. It shows what love truly is. This book is a expiration to me. I will always remembered what I learned throughout "Arousing Love".
August 20, 2011
It is obviously written by an ameteur. Too many grammar errors just throw me off. The dialogue and writing style doesn't have any depth; it's just too shallow. There isn't much conflict either. Also, being an atheist, I found it very repetitive and preaching, which just turns me off enough to make me angry. This book should come with a warning label: Attention-Only for Christians. I swear, I can deal with the whole god conversation for a few pages, but when it started to take over the entire damn 'story' it just frustrated the hell out of me. There is just too much of the whole bible thing going on here and clearly, the author is just a wannabe. The talks in this book about religion are just creepy and the whole 'gays are unnatural' just makes me want to punch Strom. The writing, again, is very shallow and only seems deep because the author makes the characters say over and over again that it is. The only reason I finished this book was because there were many many romantic scenes and only a little bit of it (apart from the repetition of phrases and religion stuff) was creative. Otherwise, I'm surprised that some of the scenes not including religion turned me off because I'm a sucker for romantic novels. Let me tell you why I got turned off. That's because either they were very cheesy and predictable, or because they lacked that emotional feeling to them (since the characters kept going on and on about the same topics- even when telling each other how much they loved them got a bit unbearable) that almost all of the romantic books I have ever read have. The only reason why I gave it one star is because a) I couldn't go any lower and b) for a somewhat happy ending
July 15, 2014
I really enjoyed Arousing Love, so much so this is probably my 4th time of reading it. I was reading it first on a trip with my sixth form and I loved it. I read it over the space of about 4 hours then... Which shows it really is an easy read. M.H Strom made lovely characters and had a really easy plot line which I found easy to relate to. Probably because it's about teenagers falling in love... With an age gap... Which is of course is the situation I'm in with my boyfriend (so yeah, relatable!).
Zach is a genuinely nice character, and when he first see's Joanna, he knows he likes her... a lot but as soon as he finds out her age, he attempts to back off. As expected from a romance, he doesn't back off and he gets dragged in. And in Joanna's case, she's religious... which means a lot of the stuff she wants to do with Zach, she just can't...
I don't usually like books that have a very heavy religious influence but I really did enjoy Arousing Love... There are semi-sexual scenes often in the book which I'm not going to explain... It's sex and sexual scenes... I think you know where I'm going with this? Despite this, when you're reading it they don't come as a shock to the reader (at least they didn't to me!) and they were an easy read through... So don't panic!
I did really enjoy this book, and I'd suggest it to anyone who wants a book to read between books... It only took me two days this time because I spent Monday and school and Sunday with my boyfriend! But anyway! Short, quick, awesome read!
Zach is a genuinely nice character, and when he first see's Joanna, he knows he likes her... a lot but as soon as he finds out her age, he attempts to back off. As expected from a romance, he doesn't back off and he gets dragged in. And in Joanna's case, she's religious... which means a lot of the stuff she wants to do with Zach, she just can't...
I don't usually like books that have a very heavy religious influence but I really did enjoy Arousing Love... There are semi-sexual scenes often in the book which I'm not going to explain... It's sex and sexual scenes... I think you know where I'm going with this? Despite this, when you're reading it they don't come as a shock to the reader (at least they didn't to me!) and they were an easy read through... So don't panic!
I did really enjoy this book, and I'd suggest it to anyone who wants a book to read between books... It only took me two days this time because I spent Monday and school and Sunday with my boyfriend! But anyway! Short, quick, awesome read!
June 24, 2011
Joanna and Zach. I think it's strange to see two people who just met to instantly fall in love.
There's nothing "juicy" about this book if that's what you were looking for.
This isn't usually on my list of reads but It was free and it called out to me.
It is a very beautiful book that has quite a lot of talk about Religion which is something I didn't expect but enjoyed nonetheless as i got to think about all that was said.
It's amazing this story about love and faith and I hope others will like it as well.
Beautiful.
I found it very deep. It got to me and I had to finish it. I'm not sure others would feel it as I have. The thing I love the most about reading is how I can channel the emotions.
The emotion in a book is what grabs me. If there is little or no emotion or if I just can't get a feel of it I find it hard to finish. I haven't come across many books like that, but there have been a few.
There's nothing "juicy" about this book if that's what you were looking for.
This isn't usually on my list of reads but It was free and it called out to me.
It is a very beautiful book that has quite a lot of talk about Religion which is something I didn't expect but enjoyed nonetheless as i got to think about all that was said.
It's amazing this story about love and faith and I hope others will like it as well.
Beautiful.
I found it very deep. It got to me and I had to finish it. I'm not sure others would feel it as I have. The thing I love the most about reading is how I can channel the emotions.
The emotion in a book is what grabs me. If there is little or no emotion or if I just can't get a feel of it I find it hard to finish. I haven't come across many books like that, but there have been a few.
June 3, 2012
I bought this book because it was free on my nook. Arousing Love is the story if Zach and Joanna, who pretty much fall in love as soon as they see each other. Joanna is the ultimate Mary Sue and Zach just wants to get into her pants. But then, with the help of Joanna and her family, he turns to God and learns that sometimes things are worth the wait.
From what I gathered on this book, it was mostly about how they wanted to have sex but couldn't because it wasn't right, her parents wouldn't approve and they weren't married. I would've liked to see more plot twists and complications other than Zach's religious journey, how great Joanna is at singing and how they can't have sex. I think Zach shouldn't have gotten into college in Colorado, because it seemed too easy for them to be together. It was not my cup of tea, but people seem to like it.
From what I gathered on this book, it was mostly about how they wanted to have sex but couldn't because it wasn't right, her parents wouldn't approve and they weren't married. I would've liked to see more plot twists and complications other than Zach's religious journey, how great Joanna is at singing and how they can't have sex. I think Zach shouldn't have gotten into college in Colorado, because it seemed too easy for them to be together. It was not my cup of tea, but people seem to like it.
August 31, 2011
I was completely surprised by the content of this book. When I chose to read this I thought that it would be a cute romance novel to read at night. Little did I know that when delving into this book I would come out with a whole new perspective on the just what god intended marriage to mean between two people. While I choose to classify myself as spiritual and not religious, I found that a lot of what was written in this book is how I felt about the practice of religion today. I would recommend this book to any parent with children as I feel as though it has a wonderful message that can be shared on why it is important to abstain from intercourse and the positive effects that come from thi decision.
August 10, 2013
An adequately written book, and the author shows promise. but the characters are barely fleshed out. Joanna' s parents, despite being main characters, are never even named. Nothing is shown of the two leads getting to know each other either; just their statements that they love each other. their relationship progresses way too fast to be believable. And talk about preachy! Once the topic of God comes up, it keeps coming up every few pages. and when Zach gets the scholarship, he attributes it to god instead of thinking that his own talent as an artist was responsible. In short, if you're a sexually frustrated Christian, you'll probably like it. But if you're not, then this probably isn't the book for you.
May 3, 2011
i believe this was the first romance book that i really enjoyed. it made you cry, it made you laugh, and some parts keep you guessing. i would recommend this book to any girl. Letting them be older or younger this books will touch your heart in so many way you never thought posssible.
May 5, 2014
Young love
Young love
It was a good book filled with love and compassion. young love yes, but love all the same. It made me want to read a sequel
Young love
It was a good book filled with love and compassion. young love yes, but love all the same. It made me want to read a sequel
July 21, 2015
[COYER BPRAT]
Was this story a joke or serious? It is really hard to tell if someone is just having a laugh or really and truly earnestly believes this is what teens, specifically Christian teens, need to hear in order to stay on the straight and narrow. This is the first (and only, I'll wager) Christian novel that I will read or review, mainly because the kind of Christianity hawked here is not what I believe. It is a weird combination of creepy, titillating, completely unrealistic and sermonizing.
Zach lives in a beach town where his parents run a local small grocery. He's eighteen and out of high school, working for his parents, surfing and living in a shack behind his parents' house. One day, he comes across a festival being run by a local campsite. He meets a couple of girls who are running one of the games, and he notices the blonde one. She flirts with him, but he thinks she's way too young - especially when he discovers that she's only fifteen.. But there's something about her, and even though he doesn't go to church, he doesn't mind when she talks to him about her faith. The more time he spends with her, the more he's attracted to her in every way.
He's an artist, and Joanna is quite interested in seeing some of his paintings, and she sees one painting in particular that initially repulses her. It's a nude, but the longer she looks at it, the more she wants Zach to paint her the same way. She's so conflicted about her feelings; when she and Zach kiss, they can't stop. They both are afraid that things will go too far. The more they are around each other, the more they can see that they are meant to be together. But Joanna lives in Colorado, and Zach isn't a Christian. What to do?
I'm going to stop right there. I can't figure out who this book is written for. There's a lot of descriptive kissing, groping and nakedness that is more apt to make any kid want to do it. The author thinks that all it takes is a Bible verse or two to calm everything down. I get it; maybe making the situation more real will keep some boy or girl reading/chaste. Luckily, the Divine Intervention Method works for these teens; apparently nothing cools down the ardor like understanding that when you have sex, you're married in God's eyes. (Wha?) This bon mot comes from the mouth of Joanna's parents, one of many creeptastic encounters Zach has with them. But he's not embarrassed or put off by these frank discussions with these people that he's never met before. (I think the message here is that Zach's parents aren't the "right" kind of Christian, so they won't have the correct answers.) It's not the almost-sex that I find unrealistic; it's the proselytizing. Zach has to be one of the most easily manipulated kids ever. (Which, again, I understand why it seems that way here; he's supposed to be listening to God, so it's not the preaching that turns him, it's his faith.)
There were plenty of other skeevy moments, including:
* A boy going from "she's cute but too young for me" almost immediately to "I love you so much we can't ever be apart again even though we just met two days ago." (We're supposed to wholeheartedly believe that this is a God-designed and God-sanctioned union.)
* EVERY talk with Joanna's father. Every one. But especially the one about "bride price."
* Every word out of the mouths of Joanna and Zach are the same words every parent hears - "but I love him/her!" and "I won't change my mind! I know this is right!" should make you laugh out loud with their naivete, but Joanna's parents only buy it.
* Zach wants to marry Joanna, and her parents go from eyeing him and not trusting him to hearing the Hallelujah Chorus when he says he wants their union. He even talks the dad into allowing her to be married at seventeen!
* The mom is not so easily swayed...oh wait, yes she is. She has all of these (sound) reasons that she doesn't want them to get married (Joanna isn't even allowed to date, for corn's sake!), but they are whisked away easily. After all, EVERYONE can see that God has brought them together, and their betrothal. (And this means that they are basically engaged.)
* Zach goes to Colorado for an interview at a university and gets accepted, and he tells his parents that he's not coming back home. His parents don't blink an eye.
* On her seventeenth birthday, he's allowed to do the deed. They still aren't married, but that's what Joanna's parents agreed to. But hey, God says they're married, so, ok?
I could go on and on, mentioning the "feminine" observations that Zach makes or the voice of the book that sounds like a combination of your mom and a Sunday School teacher or the theme of "we're only human, but here's how to get around that," but I can't waste any more time on this horrible book. Ooh - except to mention the embarrassing factual title. There. I'm done.
Arousing Love: A Teen Novel by M. H. Strom was published January 1, 2012 by Marstro Press. This was a free book that I only read because it sounded so bad.
Rating: 1
Genre: Young Adult Christian Contemporary Fiction Romance
Ages: 13 and up
Was this story a joke or serious? It is really hard to tell if someone is just having a laugh or really and truly earnestly believes this is what teens, specifically Christian teens, need to hear in order to stay on the straight and narrow. This is the first (and only, I'll wager) Christian novel that I will read or review, mainly because the kind of Christianity hawked here is not what I believe. It is a weird combination of creepy, titillating, completely unrealistic and sermonizing.
Zach lives in a beach town where his parents run a local small grocery. He's eighteen and out of high school, working for his parents, surfing and living in a shack behind his parents' house. One day, he comes across a festival being run by a local campsite. He meets a couple of girls who are running one of the games, and he notices the blonde one. She flirts with him, but he thinks she's way too young - especially when he discovers that she's only fifteen.. But there's something about her, and even though he doesn't go to church, he doesn't mind when she talks to him about her faith. The more time he spends with her, the more he's attracted to her in every way.
He's an artist, and Joanna is quite interested in seeing some of his paintings, and she sees one painting in particular that initially repulses her. It's a nude, but the longer she looks at it, the more she wants Zach to paint her the same way. She's so conflicted about her feelings; when she and Zach kiss, they can't stop. They both are afraid that things will go too far. The more they are around each other, the more they can see that they are meant to be together. But Joanna lives in Colorado, and Zach isn't a Christian. What to do?
I'm going to stop right there. I can't figure out who this book is written for. There's a lot of descriptive kissing, groping and nakedness that is more apt to make any kid want to do it. The author thinks that all it takes is a Bible verse or two to calm everything down. I get it; maybe making the situation more real will keep some boy or girl reading/chaste. Luckily, the Divine Intervention Method works for these teens; apparently nothing cools down the ardor like understanding that when you have sex, you're married in God's eyes. (Wha?) This bon mot comes from the mouth of Joanna's parents, one of many creeptastic encounters Zach has with them. But he's not embarrassed or put off by these frank discussions with these people that he's never met before. (I think the message here is that Zach's parents aren't the "right" kind of Christian, so they won't have the correct answers.) It's not the almost-sex that I find unrealistic; it's the proselytizing. Zach has to be one of the most easily manipulated kids ever. (Which, again, I understand why it seems that way here; he's supposed to be listening to God, so it's not the preaching that turns him, it's his faith.)
There were plenty of other skeevy moments, including:
* A boy going from "she's cute but too young for me" almost immediately to "I love you so much we can't ever be apart again even though we just met two days ago." (We're supposed to wholeheartedly believe that this is a God-designed and God-sanctioned union.)
* EVERY talk with Joanna's father. Every one. But especially the one about "bride price."
* Every word out of the mouths of Joanna and Zach are the same words every parent hears - "but I love him/her!" and "I won't change my mind! I know this is right!" should make you laugh out loud with their naivete, but Joanna's parents only buy it.
* Zach wants to marry Joanna, and her parents go from eyeing him and not trusting him to hearing the Hallelujah Chorus when he says he wants their union. He even talks the dad into allowing her to be married at seventeen!
* The mom is not so easily swayed...oh wait, yes she is. She has all of these (sound) reasons that she doesn't want them to get married (Joanna isn't even allowed to date, for corn's sake!), but they are whisked away easily. After all, EVERYONE can see that God has brought them together, and their betrothal. (And this means that they are basically engaged.)
* Zach goes to Colorado for an interview at a university and gets accepted, and he tells his parents that he's not coming back home. His parents don't blink an eye.
* On her seventeenth birthday, he's allowed to do the deed. They still aren't married, but that's what Joanna's parents agreed to. But hey, God says they're married, so, ok?
I could go on and on, mentioning the "feminine" observations that Zach makes or the voice of the book that sounds like a combination of your mom and a Sunday School teacher or the theme of "we're only human, but here's how to get around that," but I can't waste any more time on this horrible book. Ooh - except to mention the embarrassing factual title. There. I'm done.
Arousing Love: A Teen Novel by M. H. Strom was published January 1, 2012 by Marstro Press. This was a free book that I only read because it sounded so bad.
Rating: 1
Genre: Young Adult Christian Contemporary Fiction Romance
Ages: 13 and up
January 15, 2012
Love vs. Responsibility
The fight between love and the need to obey your parents is the main problem of two love-at-first-sight teenagers in the romantic teen novel Arousing Love by M.H. Strom that I read as an ebook. This is a fiction story of their fight to be together. Although, they have no one on their side and are against all odds, nothing can stop true love, or can it?
Arousing Love is about two teenagers, Zach and Joanna. Joanna is the kind of all-around pretty, popular girl with a great personality, but Zach is more of the awkward, layback kind of type. They say opposites attract, well this book is the perfect way to show it. In this book, Joanna is spending a week with her parents on their yearly camping trip at the beach with her parents and while working at a booth meets Zach. The moment their eyes meet Zach falls in love with her, doing anything he can to see her as often as possible. Sometimes they tend to get lost in the moment and begin to disobey her parents in many ways, such as being alone with each other. Eventually they try working things out with her parents and they slowly begin to tolerate Joanna being around him.
I think this book was very good. This book had many twists and turns whenever Joanna and Zach would fight or her parents would find out they were alone. I liked that this book wasn't just a simple, average love story, but instead a story filled with ifs, ands, and buts. This couple did everything they could to be together and seemed to be so in love, yet have no one approve of them being together, not even their friends. I found this interesting to read because they could have given up at any moment, yet they still held on and that makes me enjoy this book.
Anyone who is into sappy teen love novels, like I am, would enjoy reading this book. This book probably isn't appropriate for anyone younger than a 6th grader, but other than that anyone could enjoy reading this book. If drama is something you enjoy reading about, this is the book for you. The reason this book probably isn't for younger kids is because it contains an adult situation that younger kids may not understand. Also, since this book is about love and all "lovey-dovey" situation lower grade might not find much interest in this book. I would high recommend this book to anyone suitable for reading it because it contains a very interesting storyline of the two young lovers.
This was a very good book and fun to read. I would read this again and again if I had to. The problem in this story is what really kept me into the book. Also, the fights and conflict they would come to with their friends and family. The author did a very good job n this book and everyone should try reading it.
June 16, 2011
Definitely a teen novel, with emphasis on faith and saving yourself for marriage. The characters are a tad unbelievable, but that may be because the older I get, the more cynical I become.
Both Zach and Joanna are in love for the first time, but there's a maturity level for both of them that comes out of nowhere, or so it seems. Perhaps their love makes them more mature, but that part of their characters is not developed slowly. Meeting in Zach's hometown where Joanna and her parents are taking their summer vacation, the two of them are soon tempted to move into a physical relationship. Zach finds God and his faith with the help of Joanna and primarily her father. Oddly enough, Zach's parents only play a minor role, as if his relationship with them is not very strong though any reasons for that are never explained or delved into. He works for his father, without any plans for the future, other than when his next surfing time is.
Upon meeting Joanna at the beach, he begins to undergo a transformation that to me is a bit sudden and feels rushed. Within less than two weeks, Zach goes from a directionless surfer boy to sending applications to college in order to move closer to Joanna, and being ready to marry her. The timeline here doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I would think that by summer's time, it's too late to apply to a college for the fall, but I'm willing to overlook that. The impassioned speech Zach makes when he's invited for an interview comes out of nowhere and I sat here, wondering when this young kid figured all that out because there is nothing in the book to indicate that this is how he feels at all.
It's a little uneven, and it gets a bit preachy in parts, especially during conversations that Zach has with Joanna's father. The betrothal and the bride price are an interesting twist, as are the ages of the protagonists, and there is a yearlong gap between the penultimate and the last chapter, a time that is only touched upon in the end. The story could have used a bit more exploration, perhaps showing how college can present additional temptations and how a young girl and a young boy change in the face of those.
Not a bad read, overall, just definitely more suited for teenagers.
Both Zach and Joanna are in love for the first time, but there's a maturity level for both of them that comes out of nowhere, or so it seems. Perhaps their love makes them more mature, but that part of their characters is not developed slowly. Meeting in Zach's hometown where Joanna and her parents are taking their summer vacation, the two of them are soon tempted to move into a physical relationship. Zach finds God and his faith with the help of Joanna and primarily her father. Oddly enough, Zach's parents only play a minor role, as if his relationship with them is not very strong though any reasons for that are never explained or delved into. He works for his father, without any plans for the future, other than when his next surfing time is.
Upon meeting Joanna at the beach, he begins to undergo a transformation that to me is a bit sudden and feels rushed. Within less than two weeks, Zach goes from a directionless surfer boy to sending applications to college in order to move closer to Joanna, and being ready to marry her. The timeline here doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I would think that by summer's time, it's too late to apply to a college for the fall, but I'm willing to overlook that. The impassioned speech Zach makes when he's invited for an interview comes out of nowhere and I sat here, wondering when this young kid figured all that out because there is nothing in the book to indicate that this is how he feels at all.
It's a little uneven, and it gets a bit preachy in parts, especially during conversations that Zach has with Joanna's father. The betrothal and the bride price are an interesting twist, as are the ages of the protagonists, and there is a yearlong gap between the penultimate and the last chapter, a time that is only touched upon in the end. The story could have used a bit more exploration, perhaps showing how college can present additional temptations and how a young girl and a young boy change in the face of those.
Not a bad read, overall, just definitely more suited for teenagers.
February 10, 2017
This book is pretty bad. It's preachy, it's grammatically unsound, it teases one plot and delivers another. The characters are flat and unrealistic most of the time, or just outright creepy.
The parents of this young girl apparently have no problem with their underage daughter being bargained off to an older guy. Their reasoning at times is very flawed. The girl herself is slightly crazy, and the romance is rushed to the point of making the reader uncomfortable, mostly because statutory rape is touched on but never actually dealt with.
This book is just infuriating to read, from the standpoint of plot, characters, and never-ending comma splices.
The parents of this young girl apparently have no problem with their underage daughter being bargained off to an older guy. Their reasoning at times is very flawed. The girl herself is slightly crazy, and the romance is rushed to the point of making the reader uncomfortable, mostly because statutory rape is touched on but never actually dealt with.
This book is just infuriating to read, from the standpoint of plot, characters, and never-ending comma splices.
November 12, 2015
I think this book was pretty good. However, I found there was one major problem, and that was the intimacy level. Normally I do not mind intimacy, but I did not approve how the author did not set an age level. I believe this book should be set to ages 18+. Yes, this is a story with a 15 year old in it, but that doesn't mean 15 year olds should read it. This book had a lot of nudity, intimate kissing, touching, and sex. If I had a daughter I would not want her to read this until she was 18.... cross that out, I would never want her to read this. Although this book had many good parts to it, I had a hard time fully enjoying it because of how many pages I had to skip (I am young myself and I do not wish to know the details of a young girl's nudity or a young adult's desire). Overall, I think the author really knows how to keep a reader captivated, and my only suggestion would be to put a warning on it for parents or young christian girls who are not allowed to read such deep intimacy. Also, I think the parents were too forgiving and a bit naive, and the boy very immature as well as the girl. The girl was, may I say, stupid (Naive, to put it nicely) in many areas concerning boys. And the young man was too lustful in his desires. This book is NOT FOR KIDS, so parents, make note of that.
July 12, 2012
I rated this book a 2/5 for a few reasons.
There were certainly things I liked and disliked about the book. I felt the writing to be disjointed and awkward at times, often finding humor in how oddly certain scenes were written. However, the storyline was intriguing, albeit unrealistic at times, but it did show with a true honesty how teens think and pursue and deal with the feeling of love/lust. In that aspect it was very realistic. The surrealism came in how accepting everyone was of the situation. I doubt parents nowadays, Christian or not, would react as both Joanna and Zach's parents did. At the same time, I very much liked the honesty, discipline, and love between Joanna and her parents, I think it's something I would like to have with my future kids. I enjoyed the biblical discussion and what it brought to the plot in helping you understand the way things worked out the way they did, though I found it to be a tad doctrinally unsound at times.
I didn't quite agree with the philosophy of the ending... but it was an ending nevertheless. Overall, I would recommend this to older teens/young adults who are ready to understand the true meaning of love, sex, and marriage. It is a mature read, but gives great insight to the maturity needed for a feat such as love.
There were certainly things I liked and disliked about the book. I felt the writing to be disjointed and awkward at times, often finding humor in how oddly certain scenes were written. However, the storyline was intriguing, albeit unrealistic at times, but it did show with a true honesty how teens think and pursue and deal with the feeling of love/lust. In that aspect it was very realistic. The surrealism came in how accepting everyone was of the situation. I doubt parents nowadays, Christian or not, would react as both Joanna and Zach's parents did. At the same time, I very much liked the honesty, discipline, and love between Joanna and her parents, I think it's something I would like to have with my future kids. I enjoyed the biblical discussion and what it brought to the plot in helping you understand the way things worked out the way they did, though I found it to be a tad doctrinally unsound at times.
I didn't quite agree with the philosophy of the ending... but it was an ending nevertheless. Overall, I would recommend this to older teens/young adults who are ready to understand the true meaning of love, sex, and marriage. It is a mature read, but gives great insight to the maturity needed for a feat such as love.
June 30, 2012
it's a Christian novel, that has nudity....I was very confused with the whole idea of this book, it started out nice and simple with this girl liking this older artist dude, and then it turned completely towards a weird place full of Titanic style nude posing and kissing with her saying "no no no i can't have sex cause its against my promise to god to not have sex before marriage" and he respects that...by proposing... to a girl he's known for not even ONE WHOLE SUMMER and he converts to christianity and moves to colorado (from a sunny beach...hmm lets see sunny beach or colorado....i know which one i would pick) to marry her, they live in her house (as a married couple, yes her parents are Okidoki with sex under their roof cuz these two teens are MARRIED) until she GRADUATES from high school...which she has a whole year or two left of high school before that mile stone of graduation and then they all live happily freakin ever after. I have no idea what to make of this book plain and simple, it made my head hurt
October 10, 2011
I loved this book,it was a book that i could not put down at all i had to keep reading it. I thought the book was a fun, summer romance type of book. There were a couple intense moments in the book but i made you want to keep reading the book. I liked everything about this book, because it has moments where you want to keep reading and parts that are to where you want to put it down and then change your mind. I didnt find anything in this book that I didn't like, other than when joanna's parents would not let her and zach go on a date or have some time alone with out them knowing everything and where they were and what they were doing. This book was the showing of how true love actually does come true and it barely happens to many people at all. I would recomend this book to teenager ans adults who like to read about the summer love type novels.
April 14, 2012
Zach who is 18 years old fall in love with Joanna who is 3 years younger than him. For the first time that their eyes met they already new that they were meant to each other. Geez! So they make out and make out until they realized it wasn't right because of their ages and Joanna's family are Christians. As the story progress Joanna help Zach to believe in God and she succeed.
~Well, I love this book because they waited for each other and they also have surpassed all the circumstances with the help of God but I was just disappointed because they only want to marry each other for SEX and pleasure. So I was like "WHAT? Is that all they want?." But I admit that the ending was good because I love happy endings. LOL!
~Well, I love this book because they waited for each other and they also have surpassed all the circumstances with the help of God but I was just disappointed because they only want to marry each other for SEX and pleasure. So I was like "WHAT? Is that all they want?." But I admit that the ending was good because I love happy endings. LOL!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2014
I think this book is a great romance book! There is some parts of religion in here, but let me say that there is a lot of romance. This is probably my absolute favorite book from the romance section. So if your wondering about reading this book then let me help you by saying that you definitely should. I believe that all ages will love this book. But I think that middle school kids should be the youngest readers of this book because there is some sexual content in this book. So there is my opinion of this book.
January 2, 2015
The best book I have ever read
The book is filled with the love of a boy named Zach who falls in love with an girl named Joanna over her summer trip to a campground by the beach. During this time they become madly in love and began to believe that there love is God's will. When she leaves back to Colorado they do everything they can to make sure that they will be with one another and later even marrying each other. This book will make you smile and cry and keep you reading late into the night. :)
The book is filled with the love of a boy named Zach who falls in love with an girl named Joanna over her summer trip to a campground by the beach. During this time they become madly in love and began to believe that there love is God's will. When she leaves back to Colorado they do everything they can to make sure that they will be with one another and later even marrying each other. This book will make you smile and cry and keep you reading late into the night. :)
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