The Ever After of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

About the book

The Ever After of Ella and Micha is the third and final book in the new adult series by Jessica Sorensen. The book will be released in the UK on 4^th December by Sphere but it has already been released in e-book form. I received an e-book for review through NetGalley.

Synopsis

Ella and Micha’s big day is finally just around the corner and it should be everything both of them have ever wanted. They have come so far just to get to this point but something threatens to ruin it all. Not long before the wedding, Ella receives a package which reminds her of her past and everything she doesn’t want to be. The package threatens Ella’s happily ever after because she doesn’t know if she’s supposed to have one.

No matter what, Micha has always said he would always stand by Ella but when his band gets the opportunity of a lifetime, he is torn. He desperately wants to tour and to try to make it big but can he really ask Ella do to this with him? Are their versions of happily ever after different?!

If the couple who has been through everything together want to finally hear wedding bells, they are going to have to figure out their lives for good this time.

What I thought

The Ella and Micha series has been not only my favourite from Jessica Sorensen but also one of my favourite new adult series in general. I couldn’t wait to get to the final book to see how things turned out for my favourite couple.

With one failed wedding already, Ella and Micha are both unsure of their future at the beginning of this book. Ella receives a package from her past that makes her question everything and although Micha tries to be there for her, he doesn’t really understand. He loves Ella completely and would do anything for her and all he really wants is for them to be husband and wife. Ella’s worries annoyed me a little bit as it was completely clear that Micha wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what happened between them.

Unlike in the other books in this series, there are no major dramas, no major upsets and nowhere near as much excitement as before. I was a little disappointed to see this plot be so plain sailing. There are a couple of little things that happen throughout the book but nothing really to make your heart race. I wanted some major drama before getting a nice ending but unfortunately, this wasn’t what I got.

Instead though, there are a lot of loose ends tied up which was a really nice aspect to the book. There were things explained that had been happening over the course of the series which I was happy with. It was also nice to get a better knowledge about Ella’s family as there had been things hidden throughout the series and I was desperate to know what Ella’s mother had really been like.

Even though this book wasn’t nearly as exciting as the previous two books, I did still really enjoy it. It was good to have everything cleared up as well as for the characters to get everything that they deserved. 

The Temptation of Lila and Ethan

About the book

The Temptation of Lila and Ethan is a new adult book by Jessica Sorensen. It was published by Sphere on 8^th May 2014 and the book is 320 pages long. I received an e-book for review through NetGalley.

Plot Synopsis

Lila has always been a well behaved girl who likes preppy boys and expensive clothes. Since her best friend Ella introduced her to Ethan though, she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him but he’s exactly the opposite of the guys she normally goes for. Ethan has tattoos and is definitely a bad boy. He has never had trouble with the girls and can normally have his pick of them but he’s never had anyone like Lila.

Ethan and Lila seem to be as different as they come, but they’re drawn to one another for multiple reasons. After becoming really good friends, they have a strong friendship line drawn between them but do they both secretly want more? Will Ethan and Lila be able to get over their different upbringings and the secrets each of them fight to keep?

What I thought

The Temptation of Lila and Ethan is part of the ‘Secret’ series by Jessica Sorensen and as a lover of the other books, I couldn’t wait for this one. There have been brief moments between Lila and Ethan before now and I had always hoped something would happen with them well before I knew they were getting their own book.

Protagonists Lila and Ethan come from completely different worlds. Ethan has had to struggle along while Lila comes from a wealthy family and her tastes reflect her upbringing. However, when Ella (from the other books) introduces the two, they instantly hit it off and become great friends. In this book, it was great to see how they both got along without Ella and Micha around. Lila depends on Ethan quite a lot to save her when she’s in trouble and even though he’s got a bad boy reputation, he’s always there to save her.

Lila is the kind of girl who has to live by a certain set of rules in order to function properly. Unfortunately, these come from her uncaring parents who only want her to not make a fool of herself and the family. It was quite heart-breaking to read about how Lila was treated by her parents and how cold hearted they were towards her. Luckily though, Lila’s parents aren’t around as she’s moved from California to Las Vegas. Now that she’s free though, Lila acts out as she tries to figure out who she really is.

Over the course of the book, Lila and Ethan grow much closer as friends as secrets begin to come out. Ethan is the kind of guy who doesn’t care what other people think of him, he’s poor and just enjoys his life the way it is. He’s such a rock for Lila even when she’s a complete bitch towards him. Even though Ethan has a bit of a rough exterior, he is so sweet and lovely deep down. I couldn’t help but absolutely fall in love with him.

Jessica Sorensen has such a talent for writing about broken characters but in a way that makes the reader care for them and hope that everything works out. Parts of this book were pretty hard to read due to the subject matter but I just couldn’t help but to carry on. Sorensen’s writing is addictive, along with her characters. I absolutely loved this book.  

Brooklyn Girls: Angie by Gemma Burgess

About the book

Brooklyn Girls: Angie (Aka Love and Chaos) is a young/ new adult novel by Gemma Burgess. The book was published by Quercus on 6^th March and is 320 pages long. I received an e-book for review through NetGalley.

Synopsis

Angie James lives in Brooklyn, New York and her life is supposed to be amazing. Things didn’t quite turn out as planned though. She doesn’t have a job, she doesn’t have a man and she doesn’t really have much else apart from her friends that she lives with. After a party goes terribly wrong, Angie is forced to look seriously at her life and where she is going. Luckily for her, mysterious boat boy Sam turns up at the right time and helps her figure everything out. But, things aren’t exactly plain sailing and Angie needs to sort her life out for herself and make some really important decisions.

What I thought

When I read the first book in this series, Brooklyn Girls, I wasn’t so sure about the rest of the series. The language in the first book was a little off and it bugged me from time to time. But, when I saw this book come up on NetGalley I figured I would give the series a second chance… and I’m glad I did.

The first book focused on Pia whereas this book focuses on Angie, one of Pia’s friends. Angie is a bit of a wild child and really likes partying hard. Her life is a complete mess and nothing at all like she imagined it to be. She doesn’t have a job, her parents are getting a divorce and she has no idea what she’s doing. Angie knows that she’s unhappy but can’t seem to break out of her usual habits… until one party goes really wrong and everyone has the wrong idea about her.

Angie was a bit of a hard character to figure out. At times I wanted to slap her for being such an idiot and not getting herself out of the mess she got herself into but at other times, I did feel sorry for her. I think she was acting out a lot of the time because she didn’t know what else to do. Angie really puts on a front around other people, acting extremely confident and like she knows exactly what she is doing but it was nice for readers to be able to see a much softer side to her. We are able to see that she really does want to make something of herself and sort herself out.

Even though Angie’s life is spiralling out of control, there is one positive aspect and one that is unexpected. In the middle of a crazy time, Angie meets mysterious boat boy, Sam. They instantly hit it off and become really good friends. Angie feels like she can tell Sam anything and he really does help her get her life sorted a little bit. I think a lot of this was having something solid and constant in her life compared with the craziness that came before. Friendship is a really big theme in this series and it was nice to see that it wasn’t all about the girls’ friendships but Angie’s friendship with Sam as well. There is also a slow burning romance but that isn’t the main point of the story.

As I said earlier, the language used really bugged me throughout the first book as there were Britishisms thrown in all over the place. Luckily, the writing was so much better in this book and I couldn’t pick out anything that was out of place at all. The whole story flowed really well and there were now awkward moments of pages wasted. There is quite a lot going on in this book as Angie has quite a wild lifestyle so it is exciting the whole way through as well.

I am so happy to say that I really enjoyed this book. We get to know more about the girls that Angie lives with as well and it makes me want to read the next book about Coco so much more!