Author: Kate Hinderer
Publication Date: June 10, 2013
Pages: 350
Genre: YA
Source: ARC from Author
ASIN: B00D9WSME2
Rating:
Summary (from the Author): Determined to someday sing on the stage in New York City, Collette takes an internship at the luxury resort on Fascination Island.
While she plans to hone her craft by singing nightly on the stage of the Moonlight Serenade restaurant, she never expected to be pushed outside her comfort zone.
Shy and reserved, she is challenged to step outside herself and release the inner diva. When Falcon comes along, sparks fly and secrets are revealed.
Before long Collette is forced to make life-changing decisions that will impact her future in ways she never even imagined.
I do wish, however, that the storyline moved a little quicker. I mean, we went through 3 performances back-to-back without any new information. There were more questions, yes, but nothing was getting answered and I felt like we were kind of wasting time.
Another thing I wasn't entirely partial to was the self-praise in the writing. There was too much "that was the best performance I had ever seen!!" "all these guys are lined up at my door!" "you are the best singer EVER!" It just got annoying after a while. I mean, a mermaid water performance really doesn't sound like it could be the best thing you've ever seen. It sounded like most of the characters would have loved just about anything.
The characters and plot line I felt lacked a bit of development. However, that doesn't mean she completely left out any adventure, mystery, or intrigue. I just felt like there could've been more depth. But for a Young Adult audience, I'm sure that wouldn't be as big of a deal.
3.5 stars. Great for a light, summer read.
“Honestly Falcon. What is it that gives you the right to go around kissing any unsuspecting girl you want?”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Part of me had hoped that his instant reaction had been something that struck him as strongly as it had me. I didn’t like the idea he went around kissing any girl that happened to look at him long enough for him to make his move. I didn’t like that at all.
“I don’t kiss every girl,” Falcon argued, but it sounded weak even to me. Tristan cleared his throat in disbelief. “Ok, so I kissed you, Audyn, that first day. But it was more about punishing Tristan than you.”
“Glad we finally cleared that up.”
At this point I was beginning to think faking my continued faint wasn’t such a good idea. My romantic bubble had been thoroughly burst by the strange, impulsive boy who had given me my first kiss. The boy of my dreams had kissed my roommate to get even with Tristan. I already knew what that meant—this couldn’t end well. But as I was about to rouse myself, Falcon said something that nearly had me fainting all over again.
“I swear to you. This was different. She’s different.” His voice sounded closer now, as if he felt drawn to be near me.
“Why? Is she the first one to melt at your touch?” Audyn queried, her words still laced with cynicism.
“Not everyone breaks my toe like you did. But she’s different in a way I can’t explain. I’m sure you, of anyone, should understand that.”
Audyn scoffed at Falcon’s response while my heart began beating quicker. “Get out of here,” she commanded.
To my disappointment he didn’t argue. He didn’t utter a word. The sound of the door opening and then clicking closed echoed in the hacienda. I fluttered my eyes and moved about restlessly, pulling Audyn’s attention back to me.
“Thank goodness you’re all right. How do you feel?”
Dramatizing the act a little, I slowly sat up, dangling my feet over the bed and sitting up next to Audyn. She wrapped her arm around my waist to help support me. The room didn’t sway, proving beyond a doubt that it was the kiss that felled me instead of anything biological. Still, I pressed a hand to my forehead to verify my charade and make me appear less prone to fainting fits at the sight of a good looking guy.
“Did I really pass out in some stranger’s arms?” I asked, looking around to find the place empty but for the two of us.
“Yeah. And that stranger happens to be Tristan’s younger brother, Falcon.” She shook her head in disgust. “I told you, meeting them is always an adventure.”
“Thank goodness you came along.”
“Tristan and I got here a minute after you passed out. Falcon had you laid out on the bed and stood over you like some avenging angel waiting to do battle if anyone got in the way.”
“I guess I owe him,” I said, attempting to sound uninterested even if the mental picture of Falcon continued to grow with each passing minute. He must have been so worried about me, fainting dead away and then not coming to immediately.
“He kissed you. Do you remember?”
My face turned red before I had the chance to respond. My fingers came up and touched my lips as the memory remained fresh and alive. “Yeah,” I whispered, sounding breathless, even to my own ears.
Title: Emerald Isle (Fascination Island #1)
Author: Kate Hinerer
Publication Date: July 16, 2012
Pages: 267
Genre: YA
Summary (from the Author): To escape a bad break-up and fighting parents, Audyn takes a job as a lifeguard at Fascination Island. The posh five-star resort lives up to its name in every way, including the strange rules the owner has about entering the water at night. Despite declaring it a boy-free summer, it isn’t long before the shy, endearing Levi and the mysterious, tattooed Tristan begin vying for her attention.
When Levi tries to push his advantage and Tristan comes to the rescue, Audyn realizes there is more to both these boys and the island they inhabit. Suddenly, she’s forced to acknowledge a reality she’d never considered and to pick a side in the conflict that has been waging for decades.
In a nutshell: Writer. Blogger. Journalist. Marathon runner. Social media enthusiast. Beer drinker. Avid YA reader. Traveler. Chicago native. Milwaukee resident. Music fanatic. Fashion lover. Oldest of nine.
Writing has been in my soul from the very beginning. In grade school I started my own local paper for the street I lived on. In middle school I wrote for the school paper and loved any English writing assignment. I started writing novels in high school. At the time my friends were the characters, the setting was almost always Regency England, and I scratched the story into lined notebooks.
Now, I have a journalism degree and a dozen various business writing gigs under my belt. I’ve lived in a handful of US cities including Milwaukee, Chicago, Boston, St. Louis and New York. I pen a personal fashion and lifestyle blog, ModlyChic.com, and continue to write about commercial real estate.
My first book, Aurora Undefined, was published in 2011. The Emerald Isle, the first Fascination Island book, came out during the summer of 2012, at which time I immediately began writing the second book in the series.
Next up . . . stay tuned! I’m working on a new contemporary novel as well as the third book in the Fascination Island series.
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