Current Giveaways

Click on the book cover to head over to the giveaway page for these books! None right now :)

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY- Review: My Lullaby of You by Alia Rose @aliarosewrites @RockstarBkTours

My Lullaby of You
Author: Alia Rose
Pub. Date: June 16, 2018
Publisher: Plum Anchor Press
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 287
For fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, My Lullaby of You is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance about guarded love, complicated families, and the summer that changes everything.

AMY
It’s the summer after high school. Amy can’t wait to leave her small hometown in North Carolina for the vibrant city of Chicago, where she plans to go to her dream college and hopes to build a stronger relationship with her father.

But as she deals with her mother’s resentment over her leaving and an intriguing yet provoking college student, Amy’s reminded of things she’s tried to forget and forced to face emotions she never expected.

SETH
It’s the summer before the last year of music school. Seth would rather be anywhere else than a small beach town in North Carolina, reopening wounds he thought he’d patched long ago and facing the father he hasn’t seen since his mother’s death.

While on his mission for answers, Seth is drawn to an observant and driven local he can’t seem to figure out.
Review

My Lullaby of You was a sweet and quick read about two people at a crossroads in their own lives who meet and fall in love. It deals heavily with intricate and oftentimes unhealthy family dynamics, and how to find your own way in spite of those failed familial relationships.

This book was an incredibly quick read, I read it in just a day. So, if you're looking for a quick summer read to bring with you to the beach or on a road trip, this could be a winner for you! It starts off by introducing us to our main characters, Amy and Seth. We see the story told from their alternating perspectives and get to spend a lot of time following them through their day to day lives. Because of this, it was very easy to feel at home viewing the world through their eyes.

Amy's father left her mom a few years ago, and that of course caused tension between her parents. Now that Amy graduated high school, she made the decision to go to college in Chicago--far away from her mother, and closer to her father. It didn't have anything to do with leaving her mom behind, but her mom took the news the wrong way and it created a rift in their relationship in which her mother doesn't speak to Amy for quite awhile.  Parents ignoring/abandoning their children was a running theme in this book, and reading how downright abusive Amy's mom behaved towards her gave me some apprehension (at one point, Amy's mom literally leaves her stranded inside of a store and just drives away without her because she got so upset at Amy). I don't think this was a fault for the book, but I did want to highlight that kind of behavior for potential readers who may feel uncomfortable or triggered reading interactions like that. It's a a dynamic that is all too real for some people, and I really think My Lullaby of You handled the topic well. Amy was a strong girl and she had a support group around her that she relied on to keep her going steady. That's important for people to see portrayed.

Seth's mother passed away recently and he's on a search for some answers. He's come to find his dad, whom he hasn't had contact with for several years (as I mentioned, a running theme). Seth was a vibrant character, despite the fact that he'd been through so much hardship and pain. When he and Amy found each other, they instantly connected and a very cute and genuine relationship flourished. They started spending every day together, and we the reader get to see some very deep moments between the two of them. I felt that Alia Rose did a good job portraying the thoughts and feelings of young adults falling in love, but also trying to navigate their own complicated lives.

What I truly enjoyed, though, was that the ending wasn't your typical "happy ending." We got to see Amy and Seth grow as people and the plot resolved in a very satisfying way, but it didn't quite work out the way it does in romance movies. Seth and Amy had to find their way back to each other through the ups and downs, all while keeping true to themselves.

This is Alia Rose's first novel, and I commend her enormously for all the work she put into it. If I have one constructive criticism, it's that a lot of the novel was exposition. We as the reader are told a lot, but not quite shown what we need to see. The writing style could also use a little refinement, as it fell into the formula of "I did this, then I did that, then I went and did this." Lots of passive "I" narration, when more active action based narration could have made the story pop that much more.

Overall, I'd give this novel 4 stars.

My Lullaby of You is available for download on Kindle, and as a Paperback on Amazon


About the Author
I've been writing since I fell in love with reading and now the characters in my head refuse to leave me alone. My debut novel, My Lullaby of You comes out in June 2018!

When I'm not writing, I work full time as an architectural designer and enjoy drinking too much coffee, making to-do lists, and traveling.

You can find me rambling about all of the above on Instagram and Twitter.

GIVEAWAY

1 winner will win a signed finished paperback copy of MY LULLABY OF YOU a bookmark, a bookish beach towel, a beach inspired candle and annotation cards, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:
Week One:
6/25/2018- Mama Reads BlogBlogger Made Playlist
6/26/2018- Here's to Happy EndingsReview
6/27/2018- What's Your Story ReviewsReview
6/28/2018- Books & Other PursuitsReview
6/29/2018- BookHounds YAInterview

Week Two:
7/2/2018- Simply KelinaReview
7/3/2018- A Gingerly ReviewExcerpt
7/4/2018- the bookdragonReview
7/5/2018- Sincerely Karen JoReview

7/6/2018- Book BriefsReview

This review copy was provided for free in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed above are solely my own. Affiliate links for Amazon included.

2 comments:

  1. I appreciate you sharing this post about your lullaby of you by alia rose. It appears to be really tasty. I thoroughly read your post, and I thought it was quite fascinating. Keep up the excellent work on your website, please. I recommend you check it out because I recently did so and truly like it. You can always seek the urgent assignment help service, who have the most industry expertise; I hope their authors can assist you with all of your projects.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "My Lullaby About You" sounds like a touching and engaging read! The focus on family dynamics and finding your own path resonates deeply. Remarkable characters and an easy-to-read story make it the perfect summer holiday companion. Thanks for the great suggestion. But nowadays, I am busy with my assignment Mcdonalds SWOT analysis. If any guy knows well my topic so guide me professionally.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I love hearing from you! Please, feel free to comment to your heart's content. :)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...