Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Em & Em by Linda Budzinski Book Review + #Giveaway

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Em & Em
Linda Budzinski

Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Publisher: Swoon Romance

ISBN: 978-1942664628
ASIN: B013CWICCA
E-book Pages: 181
Paperback Pages: 300

My Rating: 4.5

Book Description:

The last thing sixteen-year-old Emily Slovkowski wants is to move away from her home at the Jersey shore, gorgeous surfer boyfriend Zach, and her entire identity. But that’s kind of how Witness Protection works, and Em must prepare herself for an epic do-over as she starts a new life in the Midwest.

Even as she pines for sandy beaches and the night life of the shore, the newly-named Ember O’Malley finds herself making new friends, taking photos for the high school newspaper, and thinking an awful lot about the paper’s editor, an oddly cute cowboy named Charles.

When Em stumbles upon a shady beneath-the-bleachers exchange between one of the school’s football coaches and a student, she refuses to get involved. The last thing she needs is to be witness to another crime or call attention to herself. Besides, she finally has some real friends – well, real except for the fact that they don’t know a single thing about her – and she prefers to keep it that way until the trial.

But as her day in court approaches, Em begins piecing together what she saw that day beneath the bleachers. And, as her own past secrets start to catch up with her, Em needs to figure out who she really is – Em or Em.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24980193-em-and-em

My Take:

Aww that was so cute.

I mean it has some serious subject matter that's definitely no joke but everything else was really cute and sweet.

I enjoyed the portrayal of the subtle differences in high schools and the development between each character and Emily/Ember.

I really like Charles and the way his character breaks all sorts of stereotypes. He's pretty much the perfect character to pair with Emily, add a dash of Claire, who happens to be the best best friend you could imagine for a character like Em, into the mix and you have a great supporting cast.

The only flaw that I could find that confused me and had me scrolling back a couple of chapters multiple times was the way the flashbacks occurred and were timed.
The time frame seemed wrong, but then I realized that it was coinciding with the current timeline, which was moving forward. It just kinda killed the flow for me since I didn't really notice how much time has passed since the only time the date was mentioned, was when she's told when to expect a court date.

Logically, I was aware that time was passing as the story progressed but it still took time for me to pull myself out of the story so that I could wrap my head around the new time frame.

I feel like it would have been easier to follow and less confusing is a date was included in the title, for example September 12th, so and so many weeks earlier. It still gives you a grasp on how much time has passed while reminding you that this is happening day(s) after the previous flashback.


4.5 Quills

Book Purchase Links:


About The Author

Linda Acorn Budzinski decided in the second grade that she wanted to be a “Paperback Writer,” just like in the Beatles song. She majored in journalism in college and now works in marketing and communications. She spent 18 years at a trade association in the funeral service industry, where she discovered that funeral directors are some of the bravest and most compassionate people on earth. Linda lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Joe, and their chihuahua, Demitria. She has two step-daughters, Eris and Sarah. THE FUNERAL SINGER is her debut novel. She is represented by Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger Inc.

THE FUNERAL SINGER is Linda Budzinski's first novel.

Connect with Linda 
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads


ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE

One (1) winner will receive a digital copy of Em and Em by Linda Budzinski and a $10 Amazon GC (INT)


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