Blog Tour: Dragonfly by Leigh T. Moore {Review+Giveaway}
by: Leigh T. MooreRelease Date: June 6, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received from NetGalley and author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 198 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3/5 stars
Three bad things I learned this year:
-People you trust lie, even parents.
-That hot guy, the one who’s totally into you, he might not be the one.
-Things are not always how they appear.
Three good things I learned this year:
-Best friends are always there for you, even when they’re far away.
-That other hot guy, the one who remembers your birthday, he just might be the one.
-Oh, and things are not always how they appear.
Anna Sanders expected an anonymous (and uneventful) senior year until she crossed paths with rich-and-sexy Jack Kyser and his twin sister Lucy.
Pulling Anna into their extravagant lifestyle on the Gulf Coast, Lucy pushed Anna outside her comfort zone, and Jack showed her feelings she’d never experienced... Until he mysteriously withdrew.
Anna turned to her internship at the city paper and to her old attraction for Julian, a handsome local artist and rising star, for distraction. But both led to her discovery of a decades-old secret closely guarded by the twins’ distant, single father.
A secret that could permanently change all their lives.
Be watching for Undertow, Book 2 in the Dragonfly series, coming July 18!
-People you trust lie, even parents.
-That hot guy, the one who’s totally into you, he might not be the one.
-Things are not always how they appear.
Three good things I learned this year:
-Best friends are always there for you, even when they’re far away.
-That other hot guy, the one who remembers your birthday, he just might be the one.
-Oh, and things are not always how they appear.
Anna Sanders expected an anonymous (and uneventful) senior year until she crossed paths with rich-and-sexy Jack Kyser and his twin sister Lucy.
Pulling Anna into their extravagant lifestyle on the Gulf Coast, Lucy pushed Anna outside her comfort zone, and Jack showed her feelings she’d never experienced... Until he mysteriously withdrew.
Anna turned to her internship at the city paper and to her old attraction for Julian, a handsome local artist and rising star, for distraction. But both led to her discovery of a decades-old secret closely guarded by the twins’ distant, single father.
A secret that could permanently change all their lives.
Be watching for Undertow, Book 2 in the Dragonfly series, coming July 18!
My Review:
This was a light, summer read and also the beginning of Leigh's new series. It has a bit of everything: teen angst, drama, romance (a bit of a love triangle), and intrigue. I found myself really drawn to the family backgrounds in this story, more so than the romance.
Anna is our main character, and from what I have gathered- she is pretty shy and hasn't really come out of her shell. She has an innocence about her that I liked, but found she could be pretty naive and immature at times too. Her best friend has moved away and now Anna has to fend for herself and really come into her own. She meets Jack and Lucy Kyser, who are your typical rich kids from the other side of town. Color Anna surprised when Lucy takes a liking to her and wants to hang out with her. Of course, Lucy's twin brother Jack, has not escaped Anna's notice either. He is hot, but no way would he be into someone like her.... or would he?
I couldn't find it in me to like Jack. I felt like he used Anna way too many times. Granted, shame on Anna for letting herself be played like a fiddle. Sure, he had moments of compassion, but his feelings for Anna never seemed realistic in my opinion. I did feel bad that every time Anna was finally ready to get him out of her system and push forward, he came sweeping back in and taking her away like the tide. Girl! How many times are you going to let him do you that way?!
Lucy on the other hand, while we didn't get a whole lot of storyline with her in, she did cause some waves. Personally, I think she's just looking for attention. We find out from Jack that he and his Dad spend time together, but I don't think Lucy does. Having lost their mother at a young age, their father is the only parental figure in their life and from Anna's first meeting with him, he doesn't seem all that involved in his kids' lives.
The last big character in the story is Julian. He is an artist and is very sweet and playful with Anna. He calls her Anna Sunshine and is just a very sweet guy. He is kind of aloof and flirty though, which drove me a little crazy. The back and forth between these two... gah! Anna likes Julian, but because of her conflicting feelings for Jack, doesn't really allow herself to be with him. I did admire her decision later on in the book to steer clear of him, because she knew it wouldn't be fair to him when she still had lingering feelings for someone else.
Like I said, the mystery behind the Kyser family and then Julian's mom is what really intrigued me. We find out a pretty big secret towards the end of the novel, but why it's being kept secret... well, it's a secret! I think Leigh will probably expand more on that in the next book. Or so I'm hoping!
Overall, this was a pretty good start to the series, but I do feel that Anna has some maturing and growing up to do. Her naivety is a bit much and she needs to outgrow her juvenile actions, especially since she just turned 18.
She has for the moment at the end of the book made her decision concerning her boy drama, so we'll see how that pans out.
ABOUT LEIGH T. MOORE:
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.
LINKS:
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
4 comments
Thanks for your review, Jessica! I'm glad you were intrigued with the secret because that's the main focus of Undertow, coming July 18... eeep! :D <3
ReplyDeleteYay! I can't wait to find out more! Thanks Leigh!
DeleteTo be honest, I didn't really dig this book at first glance because of the cover. I just can't look at the cover without seeing the bikini action there and it's like Ew, I don't want to be focusing on that. LOL. Anyway, to your review... I have a feeling I'll like at some points, but be annoyed by her. However, I'm very intrigued about that the family secret thing you mention! It sounds very enticing and probably the only reason I'll probably pick this book up in the future. It does seem more interesting that the romance. I really love your honest review and your break down of the characters! I think I'll like Julian the best from the sound of your review :)) Dragonfly does seem like a fun summer read! Great review, Jessica!! <3
ReplyDeleteHaha, I wasn' overly crazy about the cover either. Now, put Julian on the cover... and we're set! LOL. Julian was definitely my favorite. Thanks Jessi!
DeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.