Author: Leigh T. Moore
Series: Book Two in the Dragonfly Family Saga
Published: July 18, 2013
Source: ARC Copy Provided by the Tour Host (in exchange for an honest review)
Genre: YA Contemporary
Book Description:
"Falling in love will pull you under..."
Bill Kyser has a plan to take the sandy farms of his hometown and turn them into a world-class tourist destination--and become a billionaire in the process.
Alexandra "Lexy" LaSalle has a plan to change her life by becoming a world-famous artist.
Meg Weaver has a plan to hold onto Bill no matter what she has to do.
Three friends, three dreams.
One fatal decision will change all their lives forever.
In Dragonfly, Bill Kyser gave Anna the three journals that held the story behind the powerful developer's seclusion and the damaged lives of his family members.
Anna hoped to find a way for Julian to know the truth, but as she digs deeper into the tragic events of the past, she realizes silence could be the only option.
Now she's in an alliance with the man she formerly feared. And if Julian finds out what she knows, she could lose for good the boy she's starting to love.
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About the Author:
Leigh Talbert Moore is the author of the popular young adult romantic comedy The Truth About Faking, its companion The Truth About Letting Go, and the mature YA/new adult romantic suspense novel Rouge, a Quarter Finalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
She is an award-winning journalist and editor, who has also worked in marketing and public relations for many years. Her writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the southeast and Midwest U.S., and she runs the popular writing-craft blog That’s Write.
A southern ex-pat and beach bum, she currently lives with her husband, two young children, and one grumpy cat in the Midwest.
My Thoughts and Review:
I was excited to start reading this after finishing Dragonfly. I knew this wasn't going to be Anna's story so much as it would be about Lexy, Meg and Billy and the secrets the three of them had, from each other, from themselves, all of it and I couldn't wait to get started on it. I wanted any opportunity I could to find out what made Jack and Lucy the way they were. I love Julian but I have to admit, a part of me loves Jack and all his brokenness as well. What can I say? I am a hopeless romantic.
I love how Moore handled the different points of view of each characters, by journal entries written, where it really all started, right after they each graduated high school and started their lives, separate and together.
I thought I would love Meg, I really did, after all she is the one who was wrong, the one who so desperately loved her husband and children and while I did feel for her, I just couldn't love her. She was so very naïve and shallow and even superficial, I couldn't help it, the girl just didn't appeal to me and part of me thinks in a small way, what happened to her, was a product of her own doing. The lies, the deceit, it wasn't okay.
It is funny to see how each character perceives one another and then to actually get inside that character's head and see how they really are. Sometimes, it wasn't pretty, on either accounts, what others thought and what and who they really were.
I found myself sympathizing with Bill and Lexy (Alex) more than anyone else in the story and I honestly wasn't expecting that. It just goes to show how there are so many sides to a story and you never really get the whole picture until you know and feel what everyone involved felt and knew.
This was so well done and such a great addition to the story as a whole. It makes me even more excited for Anna and Julian's story to continue and grow in the next book. I know Anna has some pretty big and pretty hard secrets that involve Julian that she has to keep form him and I don't know how that will all play out, but I really think they can work through it all. I am so rooting for this couple to be epic. I fell in love with Julian from the very beginning of book one and even though I like Jack, I just don't think he is the one that Anna should be with when all is said and done, of course, Moore has a ton of time to change my mind about that!
*All opinions and thoughts are my own and were not influenced by the author or tour host. I was not compensated for this review*
Tour Wide Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
You know I'm a sucker for the broken characters Ali! I'm that girl that wants to fix them, so I always gravitate toward them when reading. I think I'd be all about Jack as well, but you seem to be a fan of Julian too, so I imagine I'll be torn between the two:) Thanks for the lovely review!
ReplyDeleteIt really is hard to pick a favorite sometimes!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm really curious who I would prefer, Jack or Julian. My instincts say Julian, but I have a slight weakness for the broken guy too. I'll have to read Dragonfly before I tackle this, but it sounds like time well spent! Great review :-)
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question on the rafflecopter- Yes, I kept a journal from probably 2nd grade all through the rest of my school years and slightly beyond. I wrote so much I filled up a notebook a week, sometimes more. I don't know how I had so much to say, but I guess I did!
ReplyDeleteI like broken characters too, as long as they aren't too angsty or melodramatic. If they are truly broken my heart tends to go out to them. This sounds like a great series!
Thanks so much for the great review! Thanks to the commenters--and Candace, I did to! I kept one up until I got married, then I sort of fell out of the habit. Now I write books! :D
ReplyDeleteHope you all lurv my books~ <3
Thanks everyone for all the comment love!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've seen this or the first Dragonfly book before, but the very words 'Family Saga' pretty much ensure that I'll read it at some point. Those aren't the words I can resist without much effort, plus I have such a weakness for broken characters.
ReplyDeleteLovely review, Ali!
Thanks Heidi and Maja!
ReplyDeleteI have the first book in this series and I really need to read it. It sounds so good. Wonderful review. I am so curious now.
ReplyDeletehmm, I haven't heard of this series, and ooh the characters good and bad sound good. You have me horribly curious about Jack and Julian and I have a thing for broken..i just do:) Love your review!
ReplyDeleteI admit, the second book has me hooked now. I need to find out what happens next!
ReplyDeleteAw, this sounds like a wonderful series.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I kept a diary when I was little, then move on to journals. Wrote in them all the time until I had my son. I recently found some of my old one from high school and burned them. lol