Blog Tour: Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark

Finding Mr. Brightside
by Jay Clark
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Release Date: March 24th 2015

Rate: Enjoyed it (4 stars)

Synopsis:

Abram and Juliette know each other. They’ve lived down the street from each other their whole lives. But they don’t really know each other—at least, not until Juliette’s mom and Abram’s dad have a torrid affair that culminates in a deadly car crash. Sharing the same subdivision is uncomfortable, to say the least. They don’t speak.

Fast-forward to the neighborhood pharmacy, a few months later. Abram decides to say hello. Then he decides to invite her to Taco Bell. To her surprise as well as his, she agrees. And the real love story begins.

Finding Mr. Brightside is a refreshing YA contemporary story. It will make you laugh and it will make you feel sad for the characters, but you'll definitely enjoy every single page of Juliette and Abram's story.

The story starts one year after the incident that put Abram and Juliette's lives upside down. When tragedy strikes it's a devastating moment in anyone's life, but when that tragedy unravels an ugly secret? Well, that's even harder to deal with. After a fatal accident which involved Abram's dad and Juliette's mother, these two neighbors who have never talked to each other had more in common than they thought. Despite this, their story truly began with a random invite to Taco Bell. 

These two main characters are strong, realistic and in need of a wake up call. In the story we get to meet them well, separately, and the author did a fantastic job creating their personalities and voices. However, my favorite moments where when these two ended up complimenting each other. They had such different personalities that you could see how good they were for each other. 

I think I enjoyed this book so much because it has the very best type of couple in all YA stories: the ones that compliment each other, that when they are together they are better than apart and that dare each other to the point were a great story is told.

Not only this book has a beautiful cover and a perfect title, but it also has a terrific story to share. I highly recommend this book to all readers searching for a different YA contemporary story. 

*I received this ARC in exchange of an honest review. Thank you so much to the publisher for the chance of reading it and participating in the tour.

Follow all the tour stops for Finding Mr. Brightside. Click on the banner below to see the tour schedule:

Jay Clark is the author of The Edumacation of Jay Baker, which was named a Bank Street College Best Book. He’s also a random blogger. Surprisingly popular entries like “How to stop hating people in 21 minutes” and “8 tips for posting your best selfie yet!” can be found on his website: jayclarkbooks.com. He lives in Columbus, Ohio.

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Blog Tour: Finding Mr. Darcy: High School Edition by Erin Butler

Finding Mr. Darcy: High School Edition

by Erin Butler

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Release Date: September 16th 2014

Rate: Average (3 stars)

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Liza Johnson takes fangirl to a whole new level of crazy when she decides to take dating advice from her literary hero: Jane Austen.

With the help of her best friends, Liza sheds her ancient-speak and complete Austen wardrobe for something a bit more modern in an attempt at finding her very own Mr. Darcy. 

Enter Will, the new kid and Liza's Darcy incarnate. Add her BFF's ex to mix and the sexy Brit who kisses with an accent, and Liza is in trouble. 

So, what's a girl to do? Without her mom to go to relationship advice, Liza turns to the only person she can truly trust with matters of the heart via her mother's copy of COMPLETED WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN. 

It's too bad Austen's heroines have never played Spin the Bottle or Seven Minutes in Heaven. Liza's determined to find her true Austen-esque happy ending, but if she can't trust herself instead of books, she just might end up in her own tragic love story.

Finding Mr. Darcy is for sure on of those Young Adult stories that Jane Austen fans have to read. Not only for the promise to bring some of Jane Austen' drama to a modern high school, but because these readers might get Liza better than anyone. It is indeed a good story about finding the right person.

This story is told from Liza's point of view and Janie's. At first, we meet the characters in high school, leaving Liza and Janie not in the popular ranking at all. We get to know Liza, who is a Jane Austen fan in big letters: wearing her t-shirts and speaking like a character Jane's novels. And then Janie who's a good friend and, to me, a teenager who's interested in boys and acts as a normal teenager in those ages. 

When Liza gets to go to England, she does not go alone. Will, the new kid at school and her possible Mr. Darcy, goes to and she gets the chance to explore with boys, see all England has to offer and live an experience all Jane Austen's fans would love to life. All these scenes were perfectly written and it exuded a romantic style that only a novel from Jane Austen can achieve. It is a completely experience to read through Liza's eyes all they do in England and I think this is what fans are going to love most about this book aside from other aspects in the story.

What truly shocked me is that, for the attitude, I thought I would feel more identified with Liza and like her more than Janie due to all his love for romance and Jane Austen. But as the story progresses, I found myself liking more Janie 'cause she shows how good a friend can be and I truly enjoyed her chapters. She was the most realistic character. 

Moreover, Liza is in this stage in adolescence of trying to find the right person and there are two boys that have the potential to end up being her happily ever after. I'm excluding one, Ben, because I knew this character was only there to make the others jealous. 

Few stories get to surprise readers and for some readers, Finding Mr. Darcy kind be one of those. Not only the authors leads us to experience two potential relationships with a perfect, romantic and Austen-esque ending, but leads us to experience what is like to find the right person. Not the person you have thought would be your prince charming, but the person who you are comfortable with and you do not have to work extra hard to keep the relationship alive. 

Full of romance, teenage drama and friendship, Finding Mr. Darcy was a good and cute read.

Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she enjoys reading. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially loves the ones with kissing scenes.

Erin lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. She prefers to spend her time indoors reading and writing, but will venture out for chocolate and sunshine. She is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal, HOW WE LIVED, a contemporary New Adult novel, and FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION, a contemporary YA.

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Book Blitz: Finding Mr. Darcy: High School Edition by Erin Butler

Finding Mr. Darcy: High School Edition

by Erin Butler

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Release Date: 09/16/14

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Liza Johnson takes fangirl to a whole new level of crazy when she decides to take dating advice from her literary hero: Jane Austen.

With the help of her best friends, Liza sheds her ancient-speak and complete Austen wardrobe for something a bit more modern in an attempt at finding her very own Mr. Darcy.

Enter Will, the new kid and Liza's Darcy incarnate. Add her BFF's ex to mix and the sexy Brit who kisses with an accent, and Liza is in trouble.

So, what's a girl to do? Without her mom to go to relationship advice, Liza turns to the only person she can truly trust with matters of the heart via her mother's copy of COMPLETED WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN.

It's too bad Austen's heroines have never played Spin the Bottle or Seven Minutes in Heaven. Liza's determined to find her true Austen-esque happy ending, but if she can't trust herself instead of books, she just might end up in her own tragic love story.

Finding Mr. Darcy

by Erin Butler

The phone rang again and I immediately thought of Janie. My heart popped up through my throat and caught on a breath. She was here though, right next to me. Safe. Her face still red and covered in dried, crusty tears.

I fumbled for the cordless.

“Liza, it’s me. I’m…” he hesitated, probably waiting to hear if I would say Who? or maybe, Which one? “I’m outside your house. Meet me downstairs?”

“Right now?” I shouted more than I’d meant to. My head pulsed in alarm, and a soft groan escaped Janie’s lips. I took a deep breath. “It’s like, eleven,” I whispered, more calm now.

“Yeah, I’m out in my car. I…I need to see you.”

Janie murmured and shifted as I got out of bed. I’d have to fight her for a spot when I got back. Or I could just suck it up, grab a quilt out of the closet, and sleep on the floor.

Outside, the air chilled right through my flimsy pajamas and pricked my bare skin. I tucked Dad’s oversized U of M sweatshirt I found on the back of the couch around my shivering body. My breath made these little pockets of fog in the air as I tiptoed across the frost-covered lawn to the street. The houses that mirrored mine on all sides stood quiet.

I slipped into the passenger seat and turned to him.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

“Did I wake you?” His hair was on the messy side as if he’d run his hands through it a thousand times.

“Yeah, a little. I mean, yeah, you woke me. Janie spent the night.”

He nodded and stared straight through me. I’d never seen that look before. It swept into my brain, muddling things. He leaned over, grabbed the back of my head, and brought my mouth to his.

It was soft and sweet. Emotions tangled in and out of our lips. Everything left unsaid and undone conveyed in the span of a few moments. It should be like taking a long walk through a beautiful garden, floated through my scattered thoughts. It wasn’t exactly like that, but it was nice. It was good. It was…pointless.

I stood on the curb and waved until the taillights turned at the end of the block. I made the decision then on that short trek back to my room. I knew what I wanted. Now I just had to figure out how to tell everyone.

Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she enjoys reading. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially loves the ones with kissing scenes.

Erin lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. She prefers to spend her time indoors reading and writing, but will venture out for chocolate and sunshine. She is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal, HOW WE LIVED, a contemporary New Adult novel, and FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION, a contemporary YA.

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