seriously romantic: switching gears by chantele sedgwick

a young adult story about loss and grief, switching gears tackles some heavy subjects. emmy martin is still recovering from the loss of her best friend and the one boy she'd loved forever, lucas nelson. nothing has felt right since his death, even the peace she can find on the bike trails is broken by a string of competitive losses and losing the captaincy of her high school bike team.

it doesn't help that the guy she lost the captaincy to, cole evans, is amazing at it. and he's rich and good-looking and he has sponsors. and he keeps seeking her out, she's convinced he's lording it all over her, but emmy's friend harper thinks that he's in love with emmy and that maybe it's time for emmy to move on from lucas.

when emmy is blind-sided by her parents' revelation that her mother is suffering from the symptoms of early-onset alzheimer's, emmy feels like everything in her life is out of control. but this loss of control allows cole to somehow sneak through her walls. and emmy realizes that maybe cole is someone who is worth knowing, worth loving; that maybe judging people based on appearances isn't fair or right; that opening yourself to love requires taking a risk; and that if you switch gears, change your outlook, then maybe the path ahead runs more smoothly.

emmy has to navigate a lot of crises in this novel. possibly one too many. because i'm not sure the final obstacle she needed to overcome was really necessary to put her through. but it does make emmy stronger. it added an new level of emotional weight and allowed us to see other sides of the characters which was nice. this was a beautiful story, i'm so glad i got to know these characters.

**switching gears will publish on february 14, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/skyhorse publishing (sky pony press) in exchange for my honest review.

Comments

simply catching up on all things general hospital

hmmm, it's been months since i've blogged about gh . partly this is due to the fact that i fell behind while i was traveling. partly because all the outrage lapsed into disinterest when i realized i couldn't bring myself to care anymore and everything that was happening was just so trite and boring. some days i still feel that way. and there are still whole storylines that i either hate or just fast forward through. but there are some good things too. in no particular order, here are my thoughts on the goings-on in port charles: 1. soras [and why re-casting roles works on soaps even if you do miss the original actors]: the new, older versions of sonny's kids are turning out to be quite enjoyable. [although hilariously, cameron whom i believe is older than molly is now younger. and because cameron is so cute, i'm kind of hoping they won't fix that. we also haven't seen spencer in ages, so he may be approaching 50.] in any case, at this point we've only s...

genre debate: urban fantasy versus epic fantasy: team epic gets their say

Team Epic: Why I Love Epic Fantasy! Since it's my blog, I'll go first: Epic fantasies take you on quests that take you beyond the limits of what is real. The rules can be different, they are different, and everything just matters more. It's not just one life at stake, it's lives, it's a whole world, a whole way of being. Epic fantasies force you to use your imagination and take you on an adventure to places you never thought possible, but as different as everything feels, there are still things that are always real, no matter how you write it. Keep reading to see what a handful of Entangled TEEN authors think about epic fantasies: Erica Cameron - Island of Exiles (The Ryogan Chronicles, #1): Why do I love epic fantasy? It's a blank slate. We can erase all of our preconceived notions of society and law and even science, throwing all of that over the side of a cliff. Epic fantasy lets us push humanity well past the breaking point with ever...

simply a preview of the forbidden by jodi ellen malpas

Releasing on August 8, 2017, read on for more information about The Forbidden , including an excerpt and giveaway! Synopsis What do you do when you can't control your feelings for someone? When you know you shouldn't go there? Not even in your head. Annie has never experienced the 'spark' with a guy-the kind of instant chemistry that steals your breath and blindsides you completely. Until a night out with friends brings her face to face with the wickedly sexy and mysterious Jack. It's not just a spark that ignites between them. It's an explosion. Jack promises to consume Annie, and he fully delivers on that promise. Overwhelmed by the intensity of their one night together, Annie slips out of their hotel room. She is certain that a man who's had such a powerful impact on her and who could bend her to his will so easily, must be dangerous. But she's already in too deep. And Jack isn't only dangerous. He is forbidden.

definitely, possibly, maybe

Search This Blog