Review: Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend
Author: Katie Finn
Published: May 5th, 2015
Paperback, 368 pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Gemma had her summer all planned out, but it takes a sharp turn when she gets dumped and finds herself back in the Hamptons after a five-year absence. Being there puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend (that is, before Gemma ruined her life). But people don't hold grudges forever. Do they?

Gemma intends to make amends, but a small case of mistaken identity causes the people she knew years ago - including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh - to believe she's someone else. As though the summer wasn't complicated enough already.

Can Gemma keep up the charade? Or will she be found out by the very people she's been hiding from?

A good revenge story is always fun to read and this one was a good time from beginning to end. Gemma used to spend her summers in the Hamptons and met her best friend the summer they were 12. She and Hallie had a great summer until Gemma did something unforgivable and ruined the whole thing. Gemma stops going there until a summer five years later gives her no choice. She's not sure if she's ready to face the wrath of Hallie and a case of mistaken identity gives her a way out. Hallie's brother Josh doesn't remember her and now thinks she's Sophie, Gemma's best friend, due to the name on her Starbucks cup. But Gemma doesn't think Hallie will forget her but when they finally meet again, Hallie is nice and makes me move to remember her. Gemma thinks she'll have the summer to makes things right with Hallie, but when things start going wrong it almost seems like she's being sabotaged. But Hallie doesn't remember her, so it must just be in Gemma's head, right?

Drama in the Hamptons isn't unusual and this book is no different. The things that happen to Gemma are brutal and heinous and I'd never want them to happen to me. The more things heat up with Josh, the less Gemma wants to tell the truth. It's a tough line for her to walk and it's hard to decide if what she did was in anyway the right way to go about it, but I can't imagine being able to admit my mistakes either. As we found out more about the summer when they were 12 and why Gemma did what she did, I'm sure she's not the only one who has thought or done something like that. Reminded me a lot of The Parent Trap, but yes things like that have consequences and Finn certainly let Gemma feel them all.

The writing was fun and I found it super easy to read and couldn't put it down. At some points it got predictable, but I was okay with that as it was still a lot of fun to read. I guessed where the whole thing was going but it didn't make it any easier to read what happens to Gemma and Hallie. The ending made me eager to pick up the second book in the series, which thankfully is already out, so I could read more of the story. Gemma loses things she loves for a mistake she made years ago, but it's finally time for her to apologize to Hallie and make things right. It may too late, but I'm hoping they'll be able to get past everything that's happened and go back to how they used to be. Revenge is a sad thing, but it makes for great reading. This book is fun for anyone who likes a quick summer read and heinous characters that kind of get what they deserve.

"It seems that thinking 'things can't get any worse' is an invitation for things to get much, much worse."

Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
Author: Morgan Matson
Published: May 4, 2010
Paperback, 344 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

I took this book with me as a weekend read at my friend's cottage. Needless to say I ran out of reading two days in because I couldn't put this one down. This was the perfect dock read about a girl trying to get through a hardship and a guy trying to get back part of his past. Over the course of a few days as they drive from California to Connecticut, Amy and Roger find out they have more in common than they thought and find that they need each other. With each passing day and every new state, they get to know each other better and find out the real reasons they are both in that car. A wonderful story about moving on and finding love, Morgan Matson hit this one on the head.

Amy Curry hasn't driven since she was involved in the car accident that killed her father. Suddenly her life is being uprooted and she has to move to Connecticut where her mom is starting a new life. Unable to make the drive herself, Amy's mom recruits an old friend's son, Roger, to be the driver. Amy and Roger haven't seen each other in a long time and Amy has no idea how they'll survive the week in a car together. But when Amy starts taking detours to visit places that remind her of her father and Roger finally admits that he's doing this drive to try and see his ex-girlfriend, they both start to take the drive together, creating playlists and making stops that interest the both of them. Before long, Amy finds it hard to think about leaving Roger and envies the girl he's going to see. Amy is my kind of girl. She's scared, but soon she starts to dive into the car ride and the adventure that goes with it. Amy and Roger bond over the course of the trip and I love their story arc. They are so cute together and I wanted them to be together from the start. Their chemistry was realistic and Matson wrote them both so well. She is an expert at teenage love, first love, and everything else. The obstacles they both had to overcome were well written, broke my heart and repaired it all over again. 

I read this book so quickly not only because I had a lot of time chilling by the water, but because it flowed so well and I couldn't wait to see where Amy and Roger would end up next. This was the perfect road trip story for those who love them (I'm definitely one of those people!) and I loved that they went from Yosemite Park to Graceland. Matson describes her own road trip at the back of the book with great pictures and she actually had real pictures throughout the novel that helped me to visualize where Amy and Roger were going. There were also receipts and other souvenirs throughout the novel that made this not only a novel but a scrapbook as well. This was a fantastic touch and really helped me get into the story. This was the perfect summer read and Matson has quickly become a favourite of mine. I'll have to read Second Chance Summer next!

“The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren't looking for them.” 

“It’s not about the destination. It’s getting there that’s the good part."

Review: Open Road Summer

Open Road Summer
Author: Emery Lord
Published: April 15, 2014
Hardcover, 352 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

From the beginning I knew this would be different from any other break up book I've read. Reagan was dating a bad boy but after what happened with him, she no longer wants to be any sort of the the girl she was before. So she goes on tour with her country superstar best friend Lilah, who's just gotten her heart broken as well. The two of them plan for the most epic summer possible, just the two of them on the road and making their friendship stronger. Reagan doesn't plan on meeting any guys and she certainly doesn't plan for Matt Finch, Lilah's new opening act who's suddenly on tour with them. While Lilah struggles to move on from her long time love while dodging paparazzi and rumours, Reagan is trying to keep her heart in tact while spending more time with Matt. It's not so easy for the two girls who were just planning on being along together, it's amazing how quickly things can change. 

Reagan is my favourite kind of girl. She's got some badass ways but she's trying to get better. She used to smoke, drink and get into trouble, but now that the jerk who got her doing those things is gone, she's trying to start anew. Lilah, or Dee as she goes by to her friends, is trying to figure out who she is without her high school boyfriend, but she has to do it in the public eye. When her publicist suggests she pretends to date Matt, it makes everything more complicated for Reagan. These two are the perfect best friends though. They understand each other and even when everything gets between them, they still find a way to snuggle up and eat ice cream together. This is the sweetest story about a pair of best friends going through the same thing but taking it completely different. It's about becoming who you really are and being able to show that person to the world. Reagan wants to be able to show it to Matt and Lilah wants to show it to her fans. 

I love that the chapters followed the tour, each one telling us where in the states they were. We followed the girls as they went from Nashville to California to Charlotte and watched as they tried to live in between. This book showed true friendship and I loved the moments Reagan and Dee spent together. Nothing is easy in life, even if your rich and famous, but Dee never let that get to her head. She only cared about being with the one she loved and Reagan soon realized this the closer she got to Matt. This was the perfect mix of friendship and romance, of loss and love, and of figuring out your life while trying to swim through it. A great new contemporary from a new author, I'm sure Lord will become a hit in the YA genre and I can't wait to read what she has next. 

“This is the currency of friendship, traded over years and miles, and I hope it's an even exchange someday. For now, I do what all best friends do when there's nothing left to say. We lie together in all the darkness, shoulder to shoulder, and wait for the worst to be over.”