BookSparks 2014 Summer Reading Challenge - Bethany Neal's My Last Kiss

If it had not been for the BookSparks 2014 Summer Reading Challenge, there is no way that Bethany Neal's My Last Kiss would have made it onto my reading list. This is not a slight against Neal or her book, but I generally overlook Young Adult Fiction, unless it has made its way into pop culture or it's been recommended by a friend. What I love about the BookSparks challenge is that it has forced me to read beyond my normal picks and as an aspiring writing, any broadening of the horizons is a good thing. 

Don't let the cover or the title fool you, My Last Kiss is a book with a decent amount of depth. Personally, I feel that both the cover and title give off the wrong impression, although they might appeal to a teen audience. I feel like they scream romance story, when this is anything but a romance. 

Neal's story follows Cassidy Haines, who has died while attending her seventeenth birthday party, thrown by her two best friend's Aimee and Madison. Cassidy's spirit is unable to cross over until she can solve the mystery of her death. The only person who can see her ghost and help her, is Cassidy's boyfriend, Ethan. Unfortunately, just prior to her death, it was revealed that Cassidy had been cheating on Ethan with Caleb, a sensitive, yet unpopular kid with a drug problem. This story is not lacking drama. 

My Last Kiss ping-pongs between the present, in which they are trying to solve the mystery and to flashbacks, in which the truth is revealed. Cassidy in her ghost form is pulled back and forth from the present to the past, with little control, kind of like Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. She can't remember anything but the vaguest details about the night that she died and every flashback provides another piece of the puzzle.

For a majority of the book, this format really works and the pacing is strong. I found the story to be compelling and even though the "whodunnit" wasn't such a surprise, I still wanted to see how it was going to play out. However, in the last few chapters, the plot went into overdrive and there was just too much going on and with too many characters. It was a twist on-top of a twist that was unnecessary. I lost interest rapidly. Less would have been more. I didn't need the drama with the characters in the present, as figuring out what happened to Cassidy was story enough.

I liked the theme of regret, especially with a teenager who doesn't quite know what she wants and creates bigger problems because of it. I liked the character of Caleb and thought that he got a bit of a raw deal with Cassidy, making me dislike her. The teens and their actions/responses, rang true. It doesn't lend itself to likable characters, but it feels honest. 

The story was good, but I probably would have enjoyed this a lot more, if I had been a teenager when I read it. I think this could be very successful in the Young Adult market.

BookSparks 2014 Summer Reading Challenge - Suzanne Palmieri's The Witch of Belladonna Bay

If it had not been for my participating in the BookSparks 2014 Summer Reading Challenge, I would not have likely encountered Suzanne Palmieri's The Witch of Belladonna Bay. I don't typically gravitate towards mysteries or stories with supernatural elements and Palmieri's story has both, with a heavy dose of family drama thrown in for good measure.

The story follows Bronwyn, a photographer living in New York, who has been called home to Alabama to take care of her eleven year old niece, Byrd, after Byrd's father has been jailed for murder. As a teenager, Bronwyn ran far away from her life in Alabama, which included a mother who died of an opium overdose and an alcoholic father. To add another layer of trouble, the females in Bronwyn's family are witches and have various powers that they wish to keep concealed. When Bronwyn returns home, she becomes a mother figure to the free-spirited, wild-child Byrd and tries to absolve her brother of the murder that he did not commit. 

There is a lot going on in this story. It's definitely not short of either characters or plot. If anything, Palmieri could have scaled back on both to make a stronger story. I'm still not sure why Bronwyn's fiancé from New York, Ben, was critical to the story? I also didn't need to know all of the information about Byrd's mother. It was too much excess to keep track of and it bogged down the pacing. The style frequently shifted as well. Sometimes it was incredibly serious and at other times, it read like a soft-boiled detective novel. I wish that it had erred more on the side of serious literature. 

What I really enjoyed about the story was the beautiful setting of Alabama and Belladonna Bay. There are lush descriptions in this very atmospheric novel. It's often beautiful. I really loved both Bronwyn and Byrd as individuals and their relationship to one another. I was very close to my aunt who recently passed away and reading this story about the relationship between an aunt and niece, had a healing element for me. Byrd, with her eccentricity, is a fun character. I could tell that Palmieri really cared about these characters and the world that she has created, it shone through in her writing. 

I wanted more backstory scenes with Bronwyn as a child. These were my favorite parts of the story. Palmieri has set up such a rich family history plagued with very serious problems, that I wanted more here and less of the present. The murder mystery was far less interesting than the emotional content of the story.

Overall, this was a good book. Palmieri is now on my radar and if the subject matter caught my eye, I would give another book of hers a shot. I would recommend The Witch of Belladonna Bay as a vacation summer read. You'll want to take this and read it while sunbathing poolside with a cocktail, preferably something with bourbon. 

BookSparks 2014 Summer Reading Challenge - Emily Giffin's The One and Only

Because I clearly don't have enough on my plate, I decided to sign up for BookSparks' 2014 Summer Reading Challenge, where I will be sent an early copy of an upcoming novel, in exchange for writing an honest review. I love books and I love writing reviews, so let's do this thing. If I complete the entire challenge, I'll be writing one review a week until September. 

The first book on the challenge is Emily Giffin's The One and Only. I've read all of Giffin's other novels and she is a favorite author of mine, writing chick-lit that's easy enough for a beach read, but carries enough emotional content to be taken seriously. I was excited to have her novel first up, as it is the only book on the challenge from an author that I recognize and a book that I would have made sure to buy upon release. 

The One and Only follows Shea Rigsby, a life-long football fan, turned sports writer. Shea is a bit of a free spirit and a contrast to her childhood best friend, Lucy. Lucy is married with a small child and owns her own designer clothing store. Lucy has taken a predictable and safe path in life and she wants nothing more than to see her best friend settle down with a husband and a stable career. Shea doesn't know what she wants in life. She drifts through different relationships and has spent her working life in a job, rather than a career. She is stalling.

Unfortunately, Shea has taken an interest in Lucy's father, the recently widowed football coach at her alma matter, Walker University. Shea bleed teal for everything Walker Football and also has a idol worship situation towards Coach Carr. Through most of the book it is a mystery as to whether Shea is attracted to him for the man he is or for what he represents. 

Despite all of the football jargon and two main characters (Shea and Lucy) that were fairly unlikeable, the story did hold my interest. I found the dynamic between Shea and Lucy, childhood friends who cannot relate as adults, to be captivating. It's a hard thing to grow apart from someone with whom you were once so close, especially if you have been treated as part of their family. Shea and Lucy try to navigate these tricky waters and still have a relationship, even when things have been strained. It's a compelling scenario. 

The other heart of the story is whether or not Shea is interested in this much older man, because he is her hero, he represents a father figure or she really loves him. There is much mention of her very broken childhood and her absent father, so this theme keeps replaying itself, especially when Coach Carr rescues her in a fatherly manner from a scary situation. The lines are blurred. Sometimes this made for a very uncomfortable story to read, although the taboo subject kept me interested. 

The story is about grey areas and following your gut instinct. 

Overall, I'd recommend The One and Only for fan's of Giffin's novels. I don't think that it's her strongest effort, but it was still a page turner. I plowed through it in just over twenty-four hours and skipped a lot of more important tasks to read "just one more chapter". Giffin is a solid storyteller and a writer worth checking out.