Heidi R. Kling

5 ★ – WONDERFULLY AFFECTING AND EXCRUCIATINGLY BEAUTIFUL

PUBLISHED BY ENTANGLED TEEN DECEMBER 4, 2017

GENRE(S): YOUNG ADULT, CONTEMPORARY, ROMANCE

Purchase Links: Amazon – Barnes and Noble

After her mother’s plane went missing over the Indian Ocean, seventeen-year-old Sienna Jones gave up everything she loved about living in California. No more surfing. No more swimming. No more ocean, period. Playing it safe, hiding from the world, is the best call.

Until her dad throws down the challenge of a lifetime: spend the summer with his humanitarian team in Indonesia, working with orphans who lost everything in a massive tsunami.

The day they arrive, Sienna meets a mysterious boy named Deni, whose dark, intense eyes make her heart race. Their stolen nights force her to open up and live in a way she thought she couldn’t anymore. When she’s with Deni, she remembers the girl she used to be… and starts to feel like the woman he sees in her.

A woman he wants for his own.

Gulp.

But when Deni’s past comes looking for him, Sienna’s faced with losing another person she loves. She can’t do it. Not again.

Fortunately, this time, she has a plan.

This book is one of my Top Ten Favorite Reads in 2017 and it’s no surprise that it would be from Entangled Teen. I’ve been slightly obsessed with Entangled Teen (Crush) books and have enjoyed/loved all the ones I’ve read so far. BUT this…THIS IS DEFINITELY WITHOUT A DOUBT MY FAVORITE!! I LOVEEEE THIS STORY SO MUCH IT HURTS!

Where I Found You by Heidi R. Kling is absolutely heartbreaking, wonderfully affecting, and so excruciatingly beautiful in every way.

After Sienna lost her mother from a tragic plane accident, she gave up everything she loved to do. She stopped surfing, swimming, and being carefree. When her father surprises her with a chance to travel with his humanitarian group, Team Hope, and spend the summer in Indonesia helping children orphaned after a devastating tsunami, Sienna didn’t expect to find solace, kindness and hope. Let alone fall in love with the mysterious and devastatingly alluring Deni.

This book gracefully captured my heart and touched my soul. The writing is poignant, heartfelt, and so incredibly gorgeous. The story fascinated me throughout the entire time and I honestly could not stop reading. I absolutely love stories that make me FEEL so much and leave me wanting more. The sweet moments between Sienna and the orphans were absolutely delightful and endearing. This book is just so beautiful and real and I loved every moment! The ending surprised me though – I certainly wasn’t expecting what happened. I felt heartbroken, but at the same time not. It was extremely emotional and so real and that’s what I loved about it. That being said, I’m so glad the story isn’t over just yet. Because after that intense wave of FEELS… I need more Sienna and Deni.

The characters were all really great. I completely adore Sienna and Deni. They’re fantastic characters – genuine, vulnerable, relatable, and utterly lovable. I really enjoyed getting to know them and watching their friendship bloom into something more. Their chemistry was just so amazing. Every scene they had made my heart melt. I could feel their emotions, their attraction, their longing, and I loved it! I was definitely swooning the entire time and rooting for them.

Aside from the sweet romance, you also get a glimpse of how difficult life is for the orphaned children. Their lives made me appreciate and be grateful for what I have because even with what little they have and their harsh realities, these children still smiled and laughed. They still hoped and even saw the beauty in life. That was definitely heartwarming and so moving to read about.

Where I Found You is such a beautiful story about hope, forgiveness, falling in love, and living life to the fullest. It’s sweet, healing, fascinating, and inspirational from beginning to end. I am so in love with this book and absolutely cannot wait for the sequel.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher Entangled Teen via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

abouttheauthor

Heidi R. Kling writes books about normal girls in fantastic situations.

Her debut novel SEA (Penguin/Putnam) was a finalist for Northern California Book of the Year,” an IndieNext Summer Pick, Goodreads “Mover and Shaker,” Scholastic Reading Pick, and Gateway Reader’s Award Finalist among other generous accolades. SEA, which launched June, 2010, is a bittersweet love story set in the aftermath of the devastating 2004 Indonesian tsunami, and is set to relaunch with Entangled Teen December 4 as WHERE I FOUND YOU (Sea series #1) with its sequel WHERE THE SEA TAKES ME out April, 2018!

After earning her MFA in Writing for Children from the New School in New York, Heidi returned to the Bay Area where she lives with her family in a tiny seaside village like the towns in her books.

She’s also the author of the acclaimed PAINT MY BODY RED (for fans of Speak and 13 Reasons Why), bestselling romantic comedy NOT OKAY, CUPID and the Spellspinners of Melas County series about feuding witches and warlocks.

Please visit her on twitter (Heidi R. Kling) where she loves to live-tweet TV shows, overuse gifs and chat with her readers about books, love and travel. She’s very fortunate to write stories for a living and is grateful to you for reading them!

Follow and Connect with Heidi R. Kling

Facebook – Twitter – Tumblr – Instagram – Goodreads

Thanks for reading my review. Have you read this book? What did you think? Leave your comments down below.

sincerelykarenjo2

Review – Pumpkin Spice Secrets

January 18, 2018January 19, 2018 karenjo466 Comments

Pumpkin Spice Secrets

(Swirl #1)

Hillary Homzie

3.75 round to 4 ★ – LIGHTHEARTED, CHARMING AND DELICIOUSLY FUN

PUBLISHED BY SKY PONY PRESS SEPT. 12, 2017

GENRE(S): MIDDLE GRADE, FICTION, ROMANCE

Purchase Links: Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Kobo

Add on Goodreads

Just as Maddie picks up her favorite pumpkin spice drink from the coffee shop counter, she spills it all over the cute guy standing behind her! Luckily, her embarrassment evaporates into a crush when she starts chatting with him — his name is Jacob, and he’s just starting in her grade at her middle school.

But before Maddie can tell her best friend Jana about him at lunch the next day, Jana announces her huge new crush — on the same guy! Maddie doesn’t want to cause trouble, so she keeps her feelings hidden. Jana will get over her crush soon, right?

Add major school stress to Maddie’s secret, and it’s a recipe for disaster. Can she keep her cool and work things out with both Jacob and Jana before it all turns into a total mess?

review

Pumpkin Spice Secrets by Hillary Homzie is a deliciously fun middle grade story about first crushes, friendship and self-discovery.

At first, I had a difficult time getting into this book. I would read a few chapters and take days/weeks of break before I pick it up again. (I started reading October of last year and finished Jan 9) It wasn’t terrible or anything. Actually, the story was paced well, easy to read and charming in its own way. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a middle grade book or something. But when I finished this a few days ago… I surprisingly had a change of heart and ended up really liking it. It’s light, fun, and incredibly cute. If I had been a tween reading this book, there’s no doubt in my mind that I would fall head over heels in love.

The characters were great and delightful. I really liked Maddie and thought she was just the kindest and sweetest girl. Tween me definitely could relate to her public speaking anxiety and boy dilemma. The friendships between the girls and the boys too were absolutely heartwarming. Maddie and Jana’s bond was amazing and that scene between them in the end just made my heart melt. The characters were just all so adorable and fun. And Maddie and Jacob – definitely shippable! I can just picture them together in their late teens being all lovey dovey and that would certainly make me swoon!

While I initially had a difficult time getting into this book, I definitely think it’s an amazing and cheerful read with many sweet moments that will make you smile and your heart happy. Pumpkin Spice Secrets is a fun, lighthearted, and lovely story with a sprinkle of tween drama – a sure hit for middle grade readers (and even adults) looking for something adorable and entertaining.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Homzie_17-x-30_1

Hillary is the author of the tween novels, The Hot List (Simon & Schuster/M!X)
and Things Are Gonna Get Ugly (Simon & Schuster/M!X), as well as the
humorous chapter book series, Alien Clones From Outer Space (Simon &
Schuster/Aladdin), a Children’s Book-of-the-Month selection and listed as one of
the 30 recommended funny books for kids in The Children’s Literature Lover’s
Book of Lists by Joanna Sullivan Ed.D. Suppertime Entertainment (the creators
of the twice Emmy-nominated Todd World) and Telescreen (Lizzie McGuire)
developed the books to become an animated television series. Hillary created the
bible for the show, and helped develop the pilot with a creative team including
animation veteran Chris Henderson (Disney’s Return to Neverland, Clifford’s
Really Big Movie) and director Terry Lennon (Lion King 11/2) and art director
Alan Bodner (The Iron Giant, Kim Possible). She is a creative consultant for
clones, which has been purchased by several networks, including ABC Australia.
Hillary’s young adult fiction has been published in Teen Magazine and
anthologized (Muddville Diaries, Avon Books), and she has sold non-fiction and
fiction projects to Klutz Press/Scholastic Books, The Learning Company and
John Muir Books.
Hillary found her start in comedy performing sketch Off-Broadway (Playwrights
Horizons, Synchronicity Space, 55 Grove Street, Manhattan Punchline, The
Boston Comedy Club and Schecky’s Big Fat Cantina with Sarah Silverman) with
HA! Comedy Duo and Rubber Feet, and was a Heideman Playwrighting Award
Finalist for play, The Juice of It. She has also written for many publications,
including Dance Magazine, New York Newsday and Parent’s Express, and has
reviewed books for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Children’s Literature.

Hillary holds a master’s degree in education from Temple University and a
master’s of arts degree from Hollins University in children’s literature and writing.
Currently, she’s an associate visiting professor of creative writing at Hollins
University Graduate Program in Children’s Literature, and has lectured on
comedy and children’s writing at conferences and schools across the United
States. She has also been privately coaching both published authors and
aspiring authors for nine years, several of whom have achieved publishing
success with major national accolades She loves to speak at schools and
literature festivals. Visit her on the web at http://www.hillaryhomzie.com and follow her
on twitter @HillaryHomzie.

(Photo Credit – Suzanne Bronk)

Follow and Connect with Hillary Homzie

Twitter – Facebook – Goodreads

Thanks for reading my review. Have you read this book or any others in the series? Let me know what you think in the comments. As always, have a lovely day!

sincerelykarenjo2