Steph Campbell on New Adult.

Steph Campbell is the first of my New Adult authors to give their perspective on the genre

What first drew you to New Adult?
The infinite number of amazing stories to read and tell from the NA age range. To me, NA is typically college age (18-24-ish) (even if the characters don’t attend college.)

Those are the years of so many firsts. First time away from home, first real relationships, first time living along, first major responsibilities and first real time to face hurdles on your own—with no parachute. It’s an incredible time to read and write about.

 

Why did you want to write a New Adult book?
Previously, I’d written what I’d call Mature/Older YA. There wasn’t really a whole lot of (what is now referred to as) New Adult out there.

The first NA book I wrote was LENGTHS (with Liz Reinhardt). At that time, Liz and I set out to write a book that we wanted to read, but couldn’t find. A Smart, sexy, college-aged romance with a lot of heart. I hope we accomplished that with the Lengths series! J

 

What does “New Adult” mean to you?

To me, New Adult is less about sexual content (though, the age does allow for more graphic content) and more about finding yourself. I think new adult is essentially coming of age. Books about self-discovery now that you’re on your own, and turning into the person you are going to be.

 

What would you love to see next in New Adult?

More character driven books, and less reliance heavy sexual content and huge plot twists.  

 

 

Stephanie Campbell lives in Southwest Louisiana and is a happily married mother to four evil geniuses, is a nail polish addict and YA Junkie. When she isn't reading, writing or wiping someone's nose, you can usually find her baking something. She blogs at: http://stephcampbell.blogspot.com/

 

Thank you so much to Steph for very kindly taking the time to feature on my blog even as she's moving!

I definitely agree that New Adult encompasses a time of so many firsts and creates a very diverse genre!

 

What do you think?

Much Love!

Lettie.

Xxx

New Adult Week Mini Reviews Part 1!

Temporary. That one single word best describes my life these last few years. I’m working at a temporary job until I can finally break free. I’m my little brother’s temporary mother since our mom doesn’t give a crap about either of us. And I’m that temporary girl all the guys want to get with because I give it up so easily. According to the rumours, at least.
But now I’m the temporary girlfriend of Drew Callahan, college football legend and all around golden guy. He’s beautiful, sweet—and he’s hiding way more secrets than I am. He’s brought me into this fake life where everyone seems to hate me. And everyone seems to want something from him. The only thing he seems to want though is…
Me.
I don’t know what to believe anymore. All I know is, I think Drew needs me. And I want to be there for him.
Forever. 

 

Thoughts.

One Week Girlfriend is fast-paced and filled with surprising twists and turns.

The characters are well written, intriguing and very well developed, the switch between points of view is clean and flawless. 

Drew was a surprisingly complex character, not just an average rich player. He had hidden depths and a surprising background. I loved reading Fable realise how wrong she was and discovering the 'real' Drew. Fable was my absolute favourite character. I loved her personality, she was determined and driven yet compassionate. It was intriguing to get glimpses of her home life and I loved her relationship with her brother Owen. I liked how loyal she was to Drew instantly, seeing much more in him than his 'friends' or 'family' had. Fable and Drew were equally troubled and compassionate characters and complemented each other perfectly.

The premise sounded slightly cliché but the plot felt fresh with the usual New Adult 'formula' reversed and given plenty of twists. It's hard to explain how different this book is without completely ruining all the shocking turns! The fast pace and short timeframe make for an intriguing read which creates lots of questions and a cliff hanger ending! Luckily by the time I read One Week Girlfriend I only had to wait a couple of days for Second Chance Boyfriend!

Rating!

I really enjoyed all the twists and turns and I loved Drew and Fable!

For four years, Grace Sullivan wrote to a Marine she never met, and fell in love. But when his deployment ended, so did the letters. Ever since that day, Grace has been coasting, academically and emotionally. The one thing she’s decided? No way is Noah Jackson — or any man — ever going to break her heart again.
Noah has always known exactly what he wants out of life. Success. Stability. Control. That’s why he joined the Marines and that’s why he’s fighting his way — literally — through college. Now that he’s got the rest of his life on track, he has one last conquest: Grace Sullivan. But since he was the one who stopped writing, he knows that winning her back will be his biggest battle yet.

  

 

Thoughts.

Undeclared has a vibrant cast of characters and a clever premise.
I adored how Noah and Grace had gotten to know each other through witty letters while he was I in the marines,  it was an interesting different plot device that worked really well. I liked how Grace developed her interests in photography and grew as a person throughout the book.
I loved Noah and his determination in all areas of his life, he was determined to be a good fighter because he needed the money to fund his long term finance ambitions. It was refreshing for a character to be so focused on ambitions they had planned for themselves prior to the story.  I even liked his reasons for not contacting Grace for two years, while it seemed unfair to Grace he had spent the two years getting over his trauma and sorting out his life outside of the marines.
The whole side cast were given a lot of depth as well as a lot of questions and hints towards their future stories. The Woodlands boys were all so individual, different personalities with different motives and pursuits but they meddled so well together. Finn was definitely my favourite as we saw the most of him. I liked that he was out in the real world of real estate and how funny and witty he was with his nicknames. I think Grace was right and he did talk a lot of game with no evidence so I cannot wait to find out in his book. I loved Bo and his devotion to Noah. I'm intrigued with how being a Marine affected him and his background which I hope to find out about in the next book. Adam and Mal both have interesting back stories so I'm looking forward to seeing more of them as well!. I liked Amy, she didn't have a large role but she seemed a bit of a dark horse! Lana was another of my favourite characters. I found her very interesting with her family background, her devotion to Grace, her eating issues and her bad choices in boys. I thought she might end up with Bo but now I'm hoping for Finn so my two favourites could be together!
I did want more on Noah's financial ambitions but I feel like it will be explored throughout the series.

Rating!

I loved the premise, story background and the well developed characters.

Two very good New Adult books!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx


New Adult Week!

After the excitement of the New Adult Read-a-Thon and all the new releases I've decided to dedicated a blog week to New Adult books and authors!

 From tomorrow (Sunday) until next Saturday all posts will be devoted to the New Adult genre!
 
What's coming up!

• Authors on New Adult~ Steph Campbell, Nyrae Dawn, Jolene Perry and Nicole Williams.
• Reviews~ A lot of my Read-a-thon titles!
• Features~ What is New Adult? Favourite Authors.
• Discussions~ on Companion books!

Hope you enjoy it!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxxx

August TBR!

Be warned this is a very big TBR for my August month of reading!

Hard Copies.

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan.
Earth Star by Janet Edwards.
Insurgent by Veronica Roth.
The Diviners by Libba Bray.
Reckless by Cornelia Funke
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman.
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.
Between The Lines by Tammara Webber.
Bunheads by Sophie Flack.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin.
Archenemy by Frank Beddor.
Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale.
Just One Day by Gayle Forman.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.
Crossed by Ally Condie.

EBooks.

Don't Hate the Player... Hate the Game by Katie Ashley.
Four Summers by Nyrae Dawn.
Waiting for You by Shey Stahl.
The Boys of Summer by C.J Duggan.
10 Weeks by Jolene Perry and Janna Watts.
3 Sides to a Circle by Jolene Perry and Janna Watts. Give Me Something by Elizabeth Lee. The Space Between by Victoria H. Smith.
None of The Regular Rules by Erin Downing.
Vain by Fisher Amelie.
Up In Flames by Nicole Williams.

NetGalley. 

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas.
One Tiny Lie by K.A Tucker.
The Bell Between Worlds by Ian Johnstone.
The Rose throne by Mette Ivie Harrison.
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.
The Name on Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns.
Deeper by Blue Ashcroft.

Have you read any of these?
Wish Me Luck!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Out of Play by Nyrae Dawn and Jolene Perry.

Rock star drummer Bishop Riley doesn't have a drug problem. Celebrities—especially ones suffering from anxiety—just need a little help taking the edge off sometimes. After downing a few too many pills, Bishop wakes up in the hospital facing an intervention. If he wants to stay in the band, he’ll have to detox while under house arrest in Seldon, Alaska.　
Hockey player Penny Jones can't imagine a life outside of Seldon. Though she has tons of scholarship offers to all the best schools, the last thing she wants is to leave. Who'll take care of her absentminded gramps? Not her mother, who can’t even be bothered to come home from work, let alone deal with their new tenants next door.
Penny’s not interested in dealing with Bishop’s crappy attitude, and Bishop’s too busy sneaking pills to care. Until he starts hanging out with Gramps and begins to see what he’s been missing. If Bishop wants a chance with the fiery girl next door, he’ll have to admit he has a problem and kick it. Too bad addiction is hard to kick…and Bishop’s about to run out of time.
First Impressions!
I realised straight away that Out of Play was Young Adult not New Adult whoops! I'm already intrigued by Bishop's backstory!

What I loved:
Setting- Once again I absolutely loved the Alaskan setting! I loved the sense of wilderness especially with the cabins Bishop and Greg stayed in and the way Penny's house was described. I liked reading more about Ice Hockey and how it all worked etc. I want to go sledding and muck around on snow machines, it all sounds like a blast! I think Alaska is one of my favourite settings!
Penny- I really liked Penny. She was definitely a tough girl seeing as she seemed to have the whole Hockey team wrapped around her finger and owed at Ice Hockey! I loved how compassionate and caring she was to her family and friends especially Gramps. It was refreshing to read a different female lead!
Bishop- Bishop made for unusual rock star, he only really liked the playing aspect of his musical success which had led to an unfortunate addiction. I found him endearing and witty. His struggle with addiction was so realistically portrayed from his inability to accept the depth of his issue to the self destruction tendencies it stemmed from. I liked how Bishop's thought pattern highlighted this and showed the depth of the addiction whether or not Bishop realised. Without spoiling the end I loved that he had the determination and courage to do what he needed to do for his own wellbeing.
Side Cast- As usual a well crafted and complex side cast! I could write about each individual team member but we'd be here forever! I loved how they respected Penny's talent and thought so highly of her and how they treated Bishop with cautious friendly competitiveness which was fun to read. Mike was such a caring best friend, I loved how he always tried to put Penny first even with his girlfriend because of her family issues and their friendship. I think Mike represented what Penny wanted and saw for herself before she met Bishop and it was interesting to compare him to Bishop.I really respected Becca, she must really love Mike to put up with being second to Penny and even though Penny obviously intimidated her I liked that she had the courage to confront her. Gramps was my favourite character, his plotline was tragically realistic for anyone but he remained upbeat and witty! I loved his love of music and how accepting he was of Bishop. I also adored Gary, he treated Bishop more like a younger brother than a burden. He threw himself into helping Bishop and committed himself to it with such passion I think Bishop had to realise his problems!
What I didn't love as much:
Los Angeles- I wanted to see more of Bishop in LA! Whether as a flashback to his past or a bigger hint into his career progression I just wanted more!
Penny's Mum- I did not like her! I found her selfish and highly hypocritical of Penny. I couldn't believe that she would leave Penny to cope with all the home issues while she swanned around!
 Rating!

I loved the Alaskan setting, all the characters and their complexities!

Have you read Out of Play?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Blog Tour: Near and Far by Nicole Williams.

There’s optimistic. And there’s Jesse Walker.
If he wasn’t so charming, his sunny disposition and incessant grin would get old. Fast.
Falling in love with the broken girl who had at first seemed immune to anything resembling love was the best thing to happen to Jesse since the Walkers adopted him when he was five.
As Jesse’s life continues at the ranch and Rowen begins making her mark in the Seattle art community, they wonder where the middle ground is. Or if there even is one.
As push comes to shove, they’re forced to make choices neither are eager to make, and Jesse and Rowen have to face what their lives might look like without the other.
Can two people with such tragic pasts and different presents expect a promising future together? Whatever the answer, they’ll need a lot more than love to make it.

Why?
I loved Lost and Found so I was planning on reading Near and Far when I got the chance to sign up for the blog tour!

What I loved:
Plot- I really liked that the plot wasn't the clichéd long distance relationship where they get tempted by new people. Instead the plot explored deep personal issues of Rowen and Jesse that weren't really seen much in Lost and Found. I liked seeing Rowen's artistic side and how hard she was prepared to work. I wanted to know more about Jesse's past and I really enjoyed seeing his point of view. It's hard to explain what I loved about the plot without spoiling it but I liked seeing a different side of Jesse and Rowen's relationship.
Garth Black- I liked Garth in Lost and Found but I loved him in Near and Far! I think Jesse's point of view gave more of an insight into his character. Garth also seemed to be a slightly better person in Near and Far, he was definitely a much better friend to both Jesse and Rowen! I have a feeling his book will involve him and Josie and their shared history/future.
Side Cast- I loved the side cast in Lost and Found! Near and Far added a few more characters and explored old ones further. I loved that Josie and Rowen had remained best friends and Josie was just a fun as always. I loved Alex, she seemed like an insanely fun compulsive person, I think she brought out a more relaxed side to Rowen. I loved her interactions with Jesse, poor guy didn't know how to handle some of the things she threw at him! I liked her relationship with Sid, it was random, serious and light-hearted at the same time, I wouldn't mind a novella on them...... :P Two side characters I loved to dislike were Jolene and Jax. Jolene I disliked because not only was she single-mindedly pursuing a taken guy but she was also heavily flirting with two boys who had 'dated' her best friend/cousin which is just rude! Jax was just completely arrogant and inappropriate . I did however like the roles these two characters played in Jesse and Rowen's love story!

What I didn't love as much:
Willow Farm- Despite getting Jesse's viewpoint much of his time at home was spent out working meaning there was much less of the Walker family and Josie! I wanted to see more of his sisters especially Lily so I was slightly disappointed!

Rating!

I loved the side cast, the dual viewpoints and Jesse and Rowen's very realistic relationship.

 

Are you a Nicole Williams fan?

Much Love!
Lettie

Xxxx

Blog Tour: Waiting for the Storm by Marie Landry.

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved.
After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbour, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…
Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?

 

Why?

First Impressions!
I wasn't too sure but once they set off for Angel Island I was sucked in! I loved the community feel of Angel Island and how welcoming and friendly all the locals were. I liked that Charlotte immersed herself in Island life and found her place. Charlotte seemed to have taken the majority of the weight from her Mum's illness  and subsequent death.  

What I loved:
Angel Island- I loved the community feel of Angel Island. It seemed like one of those places where everyone knew everyone but the people were very welcoming and friendly to Charlotte and her family.  I liked that they had embraced tourism and technology- a lot of 'book islands' seem to be overly isolated. I liked how Miranda and Kennedy embraced Charlotte and defended her. I loved Adam- he was such a funny guy! I liked how Lilah tried to connected with Ella and especially with and her stories about their mother. I even liked the 'grumpy' shop keeper who had time to offer condolences to a tourist. I think Angel Island made for the perfect setting for a book on grief, loss and moving forward..
Charlotte- Charlotte had been dealt a heart-breaking lot in life. She'd been the one to watch her mother deteriorate, her sister had stolen her former life, her friends had abandoned her and her dad wasn't much help! As she'd been so focussed on her mother she didn't even have a real plan for after High School! I really felt for her and I loved how her grief and life progressed and how she slowly let people and activities in to her life. I admired how she didn't lash out at her family and embraced the island.
Ezra- I loved Ezra! He was such a compassionate character, I liked how dedicated and hard working he was as well. I loved how he saw Charlotte needed a push and encouraged and challenged her to socialise with the other girls and face her fears. His night time adventures were surprisingly endearing! They also created the perfect backdrop for lots of Charlotte and Ezra bonding :) Without spoiling this mysterious character, Ezra was definitely a good caring male character and suited Charlotte perfectly!
Grief- I liked that the O'Dell family seemed to personify three different coping mechanisms and methods of grief. Charlotte was the organiser , she'd spent the year with her mother helping her through and had taken over the mothering role. Understandably she suffered from insomnia and confusion, it was good to see her work through that. Her Dad couldn't quite seem to accept the death and was very lost and distracted. Ella was just plain mean and seemed to take all her anger out on Charlotte. I liked how these three different methods coexistent and how they slowly learnt to live and deal with each other again. It was very realistic and at times heart breaking.
Ending- No spoilers! The ending gave clear resolution of all the issues in the book, hope for the characters and made perfect sense- what more could I ask for?

What I didn't love as much:
Ella- Towards the end of the book I did get Ella's motives and reasoning behind her actions but she was so callously cruel and mean towards Charlotte and disrespectful of her mother that I couldn't get myself to like her!


Rating

I really love the setting, the people and Charlotte. I highly recommend it :)

Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx