Shorter Musings: Contemporary YA

Sometimes I read a book, and I even enjoy it, but I don't have much to say about it. I jot down a few thoughts and then I move on. When these start to pile up, I put them together in one post.

Here are some reviews of a few good YA Contemporary romances I've read recently.

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

I read my first Miranda Kenneally book (Things I Can't Forget) back in December. I've been meaning to read the other ones ever since, but it took so long because I had a feeling this would not be as much of a book that I would love. I just don't like football. At all. Despite that, I still found it to be mostly enjoyable. It has the feel of more of a starter book, the writing not as developed as it is Things I Can't Forget , but that is to be expected. I liked Jordan a lot. I liked her bravery and gumption. Her ability to fight for what she wanted, even if I didn't understand AT ALL why she wanted it. I'm excited about reading Stealing Parker soon.

Going too Far by Jennifer Echols

For whatever reason I had a harder time getting into this one than I have Echols' other novels. I still enjoyed it, but felt myself more distanced from the characters than I usually do in her novels. I wasn't completely convinced of either of their motivations for their behaviors which was a big part of the problem for me I think. I'm still looking forward to reading the rest of Echols' backlist though as I have pretty much LOVED everything else by her I've read.

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I liked Reagan and thought her mixture of vulnerability, bravado, and snark were perfect. She and Matt have great chemistry and their romance is a lovely slow burn. Matt is a bit too perfect of a character to seem real at times but I did enjoy the flirting between the two of them. I wish there had been a bit more evidence of the friendship between Reagan and Dee. I also felt there were parts that really dragged. And since the romantic misunderstanding is one that is a pet peeve of mine the ending was a bit frustrating for me. It is a fun read though and great for people who love romance, music, and road trips.

Comments

Anonymous said…

I really enjoyed both Going Too Far and Open Road Summer and I included both in my list of favorites on the year I read them. But that was a few years ago for Going Too Far so I don't know how it will hold up as a reread. For Open Road Summer, I loved the slow burn romance and that the book also focused on Reagan's friendship with Dee.

I'm halway through a YA contemp that others have been raving about, I'll Give You the Sun. Enjoying it so far.

September 29, 2014 at 2:34 AM

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