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bookdevouringmisfit's review
3.0
Now kinda regretting rating [b:Breathe, Annie, Breathe|16045306|Breathe, Annie, Breathe|Miranda Kenneally|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418736647s/16045306.jpg|21823574] only three stars. I NEED TO REREAD THAT BOOK and remedy that.
This is not a bad book per se, but I just felt it to be the weakest out of all the books in the series. Reading this made me realize how truly heartfelt and moving Breathe, Annie, Breathe was and how it deserves more stars than what I gave it before. Though this book tackles self-discovery much like every other book in the series, I just felt the least connection with this. And I NEED to CONNECT with the characters, the situation, the emotions they're feeling for me to be deeply immersed in a book and I didn't get that here.
Longer review to come maybe.
This is not a bad book per se, but I just felt it to be the weakest out of all the books in the series. Reading this made me realize how truly heartfelt and moving Breathe, Annie, Breathe was and how it deserves more stars than what I gave it before. Though this book tackles self-discovery much like every other book in the series, I just felt the least connection with this. And I NEED to CONNECT with the characters, the situation, the emotions they're feeling for me to be deeply immersed in a book and I didn't get that here.
Longer review to come maybe.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. This was a really sweet, adorable book with really likeable characters!
It just has everything that anyone would want in a book. Cute romance (which start off at the wrong foot, more on that later), music, running away for a day and having a great time, friendship and much more.
I was delighted that the romance didn't start off immediately. While I don't mind it happening, it is refreshing that it isn't instant love, but instead starts with quite a bumpy start for the two of them. I must say that I laughed so hard, since Maya is one girl you don't want to screw with, she has an arsenal of words ready, though you can also see underneath the words, and underneath the awesome clothes (yes, I really loved them, finally a main character who isn't dressed in standard attire), there is a girl there who was quite a bit shattered with how Jesse acted the first time. But then again, I can also imagine why Jesse would act this way. I can imagine that if you are popular and you know that fans can get a bit (well, ok, a lot) extreme, that you won't be happy that when you think you have the room to yourself that you find yourself looking at a girl.
Of course Jesse could have used some tact and not immediately have jumped to conclusions that Maya is a stalker or a scary fan.
But after that bumpy part, and some other bumpy parts in the first day, you could just see the sparks flying and I was just squealing in happiness. Jesse and Maya do really match together so well, they are great together and I was just dancing around from happiness.
Of course at times I just wanted to shake both Maya and Jesse for being complete idiots. Due to experiences they both had they are distrustful and also in Jesse's case, he jumps to conclusions. I can imagine why, but I still just wanted them to get together and try it out. Not immediately say no.
The first day (the day that Maya was supposed to shadow Jesse) was terrific and I just laughed so hard at a lot of things, and I was also delighted to see them opening up to each other. Jesse helping out Maya with her guitar and her vocals (which she apparently needed). Those shadow days sound pretty awesome, even if you get a dud as a day, it must still be fun to do something else for a change, and who knows, maybe you get lucky and have a fantastic day.
Maya was a great character, and like I said, I loved her sense of clothing, it is a style I also love wearing at times, so I was just cheering happily. Often characters just wear jeans/skirt + t-shirt/top, so this was refreshing, also considering that if characters wear clothes like Maya, they are often stereotyped as goth or emo or something else in that category. Maya on the other hand is just a normal girl who loves rock and singing and guitars.
Though not only that, I loved that she adored cars and bikes. It is something I also adore so I could relate to the girl and every time she squealed for a great bike or a car I was squealing as well.
I loved how hard she worked on getting somewhere, a lot of people might have given up, but she had so many people motivating her, and her own motivation was huge, it was amazing to see her fight to get somewhere.
I loved her with Jesse, she was able to throw back words to his stuff, she was able to listen to him, to care for him, she wasn't that much fazed by the fact that he was a superstar. A lot of people might feel unworthy, or try to grab this chance to get somewhere themselves, but not Maya. Oh no. She was terrific with this kind of thing.
Jesse, ah Jesse, such a wonderful and sweet guy and I felt so sad for him a lot of times through the book. Super star, it sounds so fantastic, it sounds like the life everyone would want, but instead it is causing Jesse quite a bit of trouble, not only with the fact he can't go outside without guards/escort, but also with his family. At times I just wanted to hug him and tell him things would be all right, that he would find a place he belongs, that he would find more happiness.
Of course, at times he was just mean or rude, but as we slowly find out more and more about his past, I just couldn't be angry with him.
The competition and what happened there. Wow. I won't say much more, as that might spoil things, and I don't want people to know what happens there.
I was also delighted to see Jordan back again in this story! Yay! And also references to other characters. It is always fun when characters come back, or are referenced back. It gives the book an extra spark and makes it extra fun to read. :)
The story was really and I enjoyed it a lot. Lots of music, references to good music, a bit of drama, quite a bit more of romance and much much more!
I saw that there will be more books about Hundred Oaks in the future, I can't wait, hopefully they will all be great and I hope that we will meet older characters again.
I would recommend this book to everyone. Of course I would recommend that people also read the other books, otherwise you might just miss the references. And those references just make the book extra fun!
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
It just has everything that anyone would want in a book. Cute romance (which start off at the wrong foot, more on that later), music, running away for a day and having a great time, friendship and much more.
I was delighted that the romance didn't start off immediately. While I don't mind it happening, it is refreshing that it isn't instant love, but instead starts with quite a bumpy start for the two of them. I must say that I laughed so hard, since Maya is one girl you don't want to screw with, she has an arsenal of words ready, though you can also see underneath the words, and underneath the awesome clothes (yes, I really loved them, finally a main character who isn't dressed in standard attire), there is a girl there who was quite a bit shattered with how Jesse acted the first time. But then again, I can also imagine why Jesse would act this way. I can imagine that if you are popular and you know that fans can get a bit (well, ok, a lot) extreme, that you won't be happy that when you think you have the room to yourself that you find yourself looking at a girl.
Of course Jesse could have used some tact and not immediately have jumped to conclusions that Maya is a stalker or a scary fan.
But after that bumpy part, and some other bumpy parts in the first day, you could just see the sparks flying and I was just squealing in happiness. Jesse and Maya do really match together so well, they are great together and I was just dancing around from happiness.
Of course at times I just wanted to shake both Maya and Jesse for being complete idiots. Due to experiences they both had they are distrustful and also in Jesse's case, he jumps to conclusions. I can imagine why, but I still just wanted them to get together and try it out. Not immediately say no.
The first day (the day that Maya was supposed to shadow Jesse) was terrific and I just laughed so hard at a lot of things, and I was also delighted to see them opening up to each other. Jesse helping out Maya with her guitar and her vocals (which she apparently needed). Those shadow days sound pretty awesome, even if you get a dud as a day, it must still be fun to do something else for a change, and who knows, maybe you get lucky and have a fantastic day.
Maya was a great character, and like I said, I loved her sense of clothing, it is a style I also love wearing at times, so I was just cheering happily. Often characters just wear jeans/skirt + t-shirt/top, so this was refreshing, also considering that if characters wear clothes like Maya, they are often stereotyped as goth or emo or something else in that category. Maya on the other hand is just a normal girl who loves rock and singing and guitars.
Though not only that, I loved that she adored cars and bikes. It is something I also adore so I could relate to the girl and every time she squealed for a great bike or a car I was squealing as well.
I loved how hard she worked on getting somewhere, a lot of people might have given up, but she had so many people motivating her, and her own motivation was huge, it was amazing to see her fight to get somewhere.
I loved her with Jesse, she was able to throw back words to his stuff, she was able to listen to him, to care for him, she wasn't that much fazed by the fact that he was a superstar. A lot of people might feel unworthy, or try to grab this chance to get somewhere themselves, but not Maya. Oh no. She was terrific with this kind of thing.
Jesse, ah Jesse, such a wonderful and sweet guy and I felt so sad for him a lot of times through the book. Super star, it sounds so fantastic, it sounds like the life everyone would want, but instead it is causing Jesse quite a bit of trouble, not only with the fact he can't go outside without guards/escort, but also with his family. At times I just wanted to hug him and tell him things would be all right, that he would find a place he belongs, that he would find more happiness.
Of course, at times he was just mean or rude, but as we slowly find out more and more about his past, I just couldn't be angry with him.
The competition and what happened there. Wow. I won't say much more, as that might spoil things, and I don't want people to know what happens there.
I was also delighted to see Jordan back again in this story! Yay! And also references to other characters. It is always fun when characters come back, or are referenced back. It gives the book an extra spark and makes it extra fun to read. :)
The story was really and I enjoyed it a lot. Lots of music, references to good music, a bit of drama, quite a bit more of romance and much much more!
I saw that there will be more books about Hundred Oaks in the future, I can't wait, hopefully they will all be great and I hope that we will meet older characters again.
I would recommend this book to everyone. Of course I would recommend that people also read the other books, otherwise you might just miss the references. And those references just make the book extra fun!
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
savetris's review against another edition
4.0
It didn't involve sports, for a change. I could really relate to Maya's story more than any YA I've read in a while. I woulda loved it but the romance was a little icky in some places. Really, I was looking forward to mentions of Jordan's former football teammates and bestfriends more than whether Maya and Jesse end up together. Some views in this book also kinda make fans look bad, but it might just be me getting defensive. I finished this a while back and I've had a lot going on so my thoughts are all over the place and this is the best I can say right now.
moonchild720's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really entertaining read that I didn't want to put down. I liked Maya for the most part and don't really have complaints about her. I really liked Jesse's character. At the beginning it seemed like he would be a spoiled brat but surprisingly he wasn't. I also really appreciate that there wasn't any big blow up between Maya and Jesse. The pattern is always the same in books and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was different in this book.
madithecloud's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
4.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Jesse’s Girl is the sixth standalone book in the Hundred Oaks series (and I have to say that, even by my standards, these books truly can be read as standalones). It’s a really fun romantic read with a dash of bad boy superstar behavior to keep us entertained (but not too much – Jesse’s not a jerk). Overall, a really entertaining read, just like all of Kenneally’s books!
This book focuses on Maya (who is Sam's younger sister, for those of you who read the first Hundred Oaks book) and her dreams of making it big in the music business! When Maya is assigned to shadow Jesse Scott, a huge country superstar, she's eager to learn everything she can about the business, but she gets more than she bargained for!
What I LOVED:
Realistic main character.
I loved that Maya wasn’t a perfect person, or even a perfect musician. While she was really fantastic at playing guitar, she had some actual issues with her voice and needed training to work them out. I found this refreshingly realistic – so often in these types of books, the main character is instantaneously uber-talented without even trying. The fact is that most people need some kind of training to meet their full potential – and Maya gets that training and improves. But she still doesn’t turn into a perfect vocalist and performer. This is a book about a girl with a lot of potential, not a book about a girl who magically becomes a musical genius and superstar overnight. I appreciated that! Plus, Maya was just an overall likable main character. She was smart and sassy, but not annoying – and she had insecurities that felt realistic and made me sympathize with her. Kenneally has a knack for writing main characters who we can relate to, and she did it again with this book!
Jesse.
Jesse was also realistically portrayed. He came off as a little bit cocky and jaded at first, but it became apparent that he was just trying to live his life without being swarmed all the time – not something you could fault him for. And I loved that, once he got to know Maya a little, he took a real interest in helping her. He didn’t just spend a day with her and show her around his studio a little and leave it at that – he saw her passion and wanted to actually invest in her talent. Jesse was an all-around great guy!
The romance.
Kenneally did what she does best once again – got me completely invested in her main couple. I loved Maya and Jesse together. Their day together was fun – it didn’t turn into insta-love, but instead had me rooting for them to find a way to make a difficult situation work. I loved how they were both completely supportive of each other when it came to music (even though Maya wasn’t specifically a fan of country music to begin with, she could see Jesse’s love performing and the passion that he put into it). I also appreciated Maya’s desire to achieve her dreams on her own, though – and this led to an interesting scenario between Jesse and Maya!
Neutral:
The religious parents.
I wasn’t crazy about the fact that the only religious characters in this book were the completely crazy, overzealous parents who wouldn’t even see their son perform in Vegas because the place itself was so “sinful.” Still, I give Kenneally a pass on this for the most part because her Hundred Oaks series as a whole has shown many different sides to religion and has presented it in really thoughtful ways.
The negatives:
Slightly unrealistic ending?
Of course, the book was going to have an HEA, but I thought that the way everyone bent over backward to accommodate Maya and Jesse at the end was perhaps slightly unrealistic. (But perhaps not? Jesse was a superstar, after all.)
If you’ve read any of Kenneally’s other books, I’m fairly certain you’ll be very happy with this installment. It has all of the country charm of her other books and a fun and sweet romance. What else can you ask for? I give this one 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Jesse’s Girl is the sixth standalone book in the Hundred Oaks series (and I have to say that, even by my standards, these books truly can be read as standalones). It’s a really fun romantic read with a dash of bad boy superstar behavior to keep us entertained (but not too much – Jesse’s not a jerk). Overall, a really entertaining read, just like all of Kenneally’s books!
This book focuses on Maya (who is Sam's younger sister, for those of you who read the first Hundred Oaks book) and her dreams of making it big in the music business! When Maya is assigned to shadow Jesse Scott, a huge country superstar, she's eager to learn everything she can about the business, but she gets more than she bargained for!
What I LOVED:
Realistic main character.
I loved that Maya wasn’t a perfect person, or even a perfect musician. While she was really fantastic at playing guitar, she had some actual issues with her voice and needed training to work them out. I found this refreshingly realistic – so often in these types of books, the main character is instantaneously uber-talented without even trying. The fact is that most people need some kind of training to meet their full potential – and Maya gets that training and improves. But she still doesn’t turn into a perfect vocalist and performer. This is a book about a girl with a lot of potential, not a book about a girl who magically becomes a musical genius and superstar overnight. I appreciated that! Plus, Maya was just an overall likable main character. She was smart and sassy, but not annoying – and she had insecurities that felt realistic and made me sympathize with her. Kenneally has a knack for writing main characters who we can relate to, and she did it again with this book!
Jesse.
Jesse was also realistically portrayed. He came off as a little bit cocky and jaded at first, but it became apparent that he was just trying to live his life without being swarmed all the time – not something you could fault him for. And I loved that, once he got to know Maya a little, he took a real interest in helping her. He didn’t just spend a day with her and show her around his studio a little and leave it at that – he saw her passion and wanted to actually invest in her talent. Jesse was an all-around great guy!
The romance.
Kenneally did what she does best once again – got me completely invested in her main couple. I loved Maya and Jesse together. Their day together was fun – it didn’t turn into insta-love, but instead had me rooting for them to find a way to make a difficult situation work. I loved how they were both completely supportive of each other when it came to music (even though Maya wasn’t specifically a fan of country music to begin with, she could see Jesse’s love performing and the passion that he put into it). I also appreciated Maya’s desire to achieve her dreams on her own, though – and this led to an interesting scenario between Jesse and Maya!
Neutral:
The religious parents.
I wasn’t crazy about the fact that the only religious characters in this book were the completely crazy, overzealous parents who wouldn’t even see their son perform in Vegas because the place itself was so “sinful.” Still, I give Kenneally a pass on this for the most part because her Hundred Oaks series as a whole has shown many different sides to religion and has presented it in really thoughtful ways.
The negatives:
Slightly unrealistic ending?
Of course, the book was going to have an HEA, but I thought that the way everyone bent over backward to accommodate Maya and Jesse at the end was perhaps slightly unrealistic. (But perhaps not? Jesse was a superstar, after all.)
If you’ve read any of Kenneally’s other books, I’m fairly certain you’ll be very happy with this installment. It has all of the country charm of her other books and a fun and sweet romance. What else can you ask for? I give this one 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
lindssong's review against another edition
2.0
1.5
It was just meh. The writing was good, but the plot was generic and boring. For the amount of pages, I felt like it was a waste of my time and I know this will be an unmemorable book for me. Definitely meant for a light read.
It was just meh. The writing was good, but the plot was generic and boring. For the amount of pages, I felt like it was a waste of my time and I know this will be an unmemorable book for me. Definitely meant for a light read.