Review | Guitar Kisses

 

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Kindle Price: $2.99

Synopsis:

“Shy, quiet Kirsten Nicholson’s life on the sprawling family ranch in Oklahoma has been one of serene predictability. In fact, her rancher father, Carter, detests change. But changes galore explode when seventeen-year-old Enrique Delaire arrives on the scene. Wearing his “Bronc Busting’s a Kicker” ballcap, his Nikes, and his surfer shirt, Enrique is ready to ride. And ride he does, not only into the hearts of this family, but into the hearts of this entire rural community. Enrique is the foster son of Kirsten’s aunt and uncle from Albuquerque. They sent Enrique to help out on the ranch while Kirsten’s fiance, Dan, is away at farrier school in Colorado. Kirsten has always been content to stay on the sidelines watching life go by, quietly writing her songs and playing her guitar alone in her room. Now all she hears is Enrique Delaire saying: “You won’t know if you don’t try.” In the wake of Enrique’s encouragement, she finds herself stepping into the limelight in ways she never dreamed. Suddenly doors open to Kirsten and difficult decisions must be made. Will she make the right decisions? Or slip back into her old life of sameness?”

My Review:

I’m familiar with Norma Jean’s writing, having read Flower in the Hills earlier. So I definitely was expecting to enjoy Lingering Dreams and I’m glad I did.

I loved the characters, but Kirsten’s mom was one of my favorites. She was hilarious and a quiet and fierce force. Here’s one of the scenes I loved the most:

“So I heard. I heard you been raising quite a stink in Clemetsville. I Been getting phone calls all evening.”

Kirsten glanced over at her mother who gently lifted two fingers, telling Kirsten there’d only been two calls.

Review |Missouri Misery

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Kindle Price: Free!

Synopsis:

“Latina Harmen knew she was going to hate Missouri. “There’s nothing in Missouri!”
she had told her father when he announced they were to spend the summer there.

And now she knew she had been one hundred and ten percent right. Latina had taken for granted that she would be spending another happy summer
vacation with her friends at Periwinkle Cove on the East Coast.

After all, her family
had spent summers there as long as she could remember.  Now, in the summer before her senior year, she would be stuck in a hick town with
no one around but her boring parents and bratty younger brother.

How could she have guessed the beauty that lay waiting for her in those brooding
hills? How was she to know she would meet fascinating people, and that she would
learn more about herself than she’d ever known?

How was she to know she would meet a special someone whose friendship and
support would change her life forever?”

My Review:

****

I’d like to just publicly extend my utmost gratitude to Ms. Norma for her incredible patience and understanding as she waited for my review(s)! She was always very kind throughout our conversations and even encouraging, even though she waited quite some time for these reviews. Thank you again, Ms. Norma. (:

****

Flower in the Hills doesn’t have a dystopian government or an overwhelming need for rebellion. There are no heroines feeling heat in their stomachs when the male love interest turns their smoldering gaze onto them. This book is refreshingly simple and was entirely a 5/5 star book.

When I say this book was two steps short of a Godsend I mean it. Lutz had sent me an email asking if I could review Flower in the Hills while I was finishing up a book that was the book equivalent of quicksand.