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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
4.5/5
Source: Received an ARC for review through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.
Last year, I had the great delight of reading Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink, about the summer adventures of a young girl named Libby who reminded me a lot of myself. She loves history, fashion, reading, Jane Austen, among other interests and I immediately clicked with her. Although that story was standalone, I was pleased and intrigued to find out there would be a sequel.
This one follows the summer after graduation with Libby and her best friend Dev embarking on a tour within a Confederate reenactment army to sell gorgeous and authentic gowns. Meanwhile her boyfriend is at his internship in New England and a new guy starts demonstrating interest in Libby. To add to the chaos, there is another ghost haunting them!
For the most part, I would say this book has the same kind of lighthearted tone and style as the first book. If you ate up that story, this will go down similarly. It is set over the course of a summer and follows a similar structure while also representing some growth on the part of Libby. A big change this time around is that Libby and Dev set off on their adventure together, which was a fantastic decision because Dev was such a highlight during his too brief appearances in the first go-around.
As a lover of history, I found the elements here even more enthralling. Is there a time period more beloved by American history buffs than the Civil War? I don't think so and this book did a great job of portraying the deep passion people still have. Personally I wish the Union had gotten a bit more attention as they fought for what was right and won but Dev made a good point that the contemporary Confederate side will pay more and you've got to follow the money.
Overall: A fun and flirty delight all the way through-highly recommended for fans of book one and this is a great (clean) beach read!
Source: Received an ARC for review through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.
Last year, I had the great delight of reading Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink, about the summer adventures of a young girl named Libby who reminded me a lot of myself. She loves history, fashion, reading, Jane Austen, among other interests and I immediately clicked with her. Although that story was standalone, I was pleased and intrigued to find out there would be a sequel.
This one follows the summer after graduation with Libby and her best friend Dev embarking on a tour within a Confederate reenactment army to sell gorgeous and authentic gowns. Meanwhile her boyfriend is at his internship in New England and a new guy starts demonstrating interest in Libby. To add to the chaos, there is another ghost haunting them!
For the most part, I would say this book has the same kind of lighthearted tone and style as the first book. If you ate up that story, this will go down similarly. It is set over the course of a summer and follows a similar structure while also representing some growth on the part of Libby. A big change this time around is that Libby and Dev set off on their adventure together, which was a fantastic decision because Dev was such a highlight during his too brief appearances in the first go-around.
As a lover of history, I found the elements here even more enthralling. Is there a time period more beloved by American history buffs than the Civil War? I don't think so and this book did a great job of portraying the deep passion people still have. Personally I wish the Union had gotten a bit more attention as they fought for what was right and won but Dev made a good point that the contemporary Confederate side will pay more and you've got to follow the money.
Overall: A fun and flirty delight all the way through-highly recommended for fans of book one and this is a great (clean) beach read!
Totally passed by this at B&N, and decided to get it because of the title. I'm a sucker for Civil War YA novels, even if this isn't strictly Civil War, but Civil War reenactment. When I flipped through it at the store, one of the characters references Dr. Thomas Lowry's book The Story the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell, and that was the moment I tucked it under my arm and headed to the register!
This is a bubble gum book. It's not heavy at all. It's a sweet YA novel about boyfriends and gay friends, with a little history thrown in. I settled in this evening with my vinyl copy of the soundtrack to Gone With the Wind (following up with the soundtracks to The Great Gatsby and Black Orpheus) and just marathon read this one. I was glad the writing wasn't ridiculously bad. It was light and fun! (I've chanced on some YA novels with interesting premises that were *horribly* written to the point that I gagged.) The gay friend Dev wasn't nearly as annoyingly stereotypical as some gay characters I've read. And the boys our (thankfully) not-Mary Sue encounters are just sweet and charming. This book is something you might pick up at an airport and enjoy for the flight.
A nice indulgence for this Civil War buff!!
This is a bubble gum book. It's not heavy at all. It's a sweet YA novel about boyfriends and gay friends, with a little history thrown in. I settled in this evening with my vinyl copy of the soundtrack to Gone With the Wind (following up with the soundtracks to The Great Gatsby and Black Orpheus) and just marathon read this one. I was glad the writing wasn't ridiculously bad. It was light and fun! (I've chanced on some YA novels with interesting premises that were *horribly* written to the point that I gagged.) The gay friend Dev wasn't nearly as annoyingly stereotypical as some gay characters I've read. And the boys our (thankfully) not-Mary Sue encounters are just sweet and charming. This book is something you might pick up at an airport and enjoy for the flight.
A nice indulgence for this Civil War buff!!
I love love loved this book! I read "Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink" and loved it now this one! I'm a big history geek so I loved the history side of it and the ending was so sweet! Somebody PLEASE tell me that Stephanie Kate Strohm is writing a third!
Another fun story from Stephanie Strohm. This is my new guilty pleasure series, and I hope a new one comes out sooner than soon. The story may not be terribly complicated, but these characters are fantastic and each is a geek in his or her own way. A rom-com that proves you can be a total geek about whatever you want and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Yay.
A sweet book with a somewhat convoluted plot. There were a few too many elements going one, historical reenactments, ghosts, love triangle (kind of) and even capitalist real estate development.
An enjoyable and pretty funny sequel!
This was obviously fluff and full of miscommunication, but I liked it a lot. The only thing was, there was always an uncomfortable tugging feeling somewhere inside at the occasional glorification of the TOTALLY wrong side of the Civil War. How can I feel for anyone pretending to be a Confederate when they were supporters of something despicable?
But the author did mention that issue a few times, which I appreciated.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this book. I love history, especially American, so it's cool reading about a main character who shares that love and spews fun facts. I ought to have been studying for a big history exam while I was reading this, but my excuse was that this kind of WAS studying.
Dev was ridiculous, but I liked him. I also liked Garrett and Beau.
Consider my childhood mind blown at the fact that The Dukes of Hazzard (which I know is surrounded my lots of controversy, but back in the day I used to watch it every day with my dad, so there are some fond memories attached) characters are Beau and Luke Duke, as opposed to Bo, Beau being short for Beauregard. This was an epiphany, I must say.
This was obviously fluff and full of miscommunication, but I liked it a lot. The only thing was, there was always an uncomfortable tugging feeling somewhere inside at the occasional glorification of the TOTALLY wrong side of the Civil War. How can I feel for anyone pretending to be a Confederate when they were supporters of something despicable?
But the author did mention that issue a few times, which I appreciated.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this book. I love history, especially American, so it's cool reading about a main character who shares that love and spews fun facts. I ought to have been studying for a big history exam while I was reading this, but my excuse was that this kind of WAS studying.
Dev was ridiculous, but I liked him. I also liked Garrett and Beau.
Consider my childhood mind blown at the fact that The Dukes of Hazzard (which I know is surrounded my lots of controversy, but back in the day I used to watch it every day with my dad, so there are some fond memories attached) characters are Beau and Luke Duke, as opposed to Bo, Beau being short for Beauregard. This was an epiphany, I must say.
Not as endearing as the first book. I found the characterization of Dev to be a little too stereotypical of a gay BFF. The love triangle was slightly annoying, but the resolution was really rushed. Even still, it's a bit of fun fluff.
I was really excited to have the opportunity to catch up with Libby, and I was excited to get to spend more time with her bestie, Dev, because he was hilarious. As always, Strohm delivered the funny, and who doesn't love culinary history? I have a special appreciation for Strohm pop culture references. When the mystery began to emerge in the story, I immediately thought it had a Scooby vibe, and then Strohm embraced it, and nods to the Scoobies began. She also referenced a song I proudly performed with my friends (Billy, Don't Be a Hero), which really put a smile on my face (and a song in my head).
This book gave me exactly what I was looking for - a fun, low drama summer read with lots of hijinks and a touch of romance, and I am happy I got to spend two summers with Libby.
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This book gave me exactly what I was looking for - a fun, low drama summer read with lots of hijinks and a touch of romance, and I am happy I got to spend two summers with Libby.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
I had a lot of fun with this book. The kind of fun that makes you laugh out loud on the bus and get looked at like you're a crazy person. But I couldn't help it-- Strohm writes fun and wittastic dialogue for Libby, a main character who quickly grew dear to my heart. Apparently, Libby's adventures started in her first book; this is book 2.
Not knowing Libby from the first book was no problem- I felt like she was my long-lost little sister by the end of Chapter 1. This girl loves history and historical reenactment....clearly, she's darling. I also loved Dev, despite his unrealistically over-the-top nature. Every time I started feeling like he was a characature instead of a character, the author dropped some unexpected personality quirk in there, and I stopped being suspicious. Both teens end up on a wacky summer-long adventure of living history that had me itching to call up the Washington Civil War Reenactment HQ. Or jump right into AL.
I won't give you any spoilers, but I applaud Strohm's handling of the romantic relationships and tensions within the book. She took a topic that often has a predictable outcome and turned it on its head....realistically. At first I wanted to root for The South (well, he *is* perfect, and I didn't know Garrett or his good qualities from book 1, and I hate petty jealousy), but Libby showed rare foresight...and insight...and I like that Strohm took an adult approach to it.
I also adored the little historical reenactment details she put in there (even when she caged them in dialogue to give us readers a less-pedantic lecture on how cool history is). The whole coffee situation was hilarious to me, both as a coffee addict and a renaissance faire brat, and the ghost story mystery added just enough dialogue to interest people who, unlike me, weren't utterly delighted at the descriptions of the period gowns.
A book that makes me want to sew Victorian-era dresses is a winner, in my opinion!
I recommend this book for lovers of historical reenactment and living history, fans of emotionally mature but still rompy YA, those who enjoy a main female character with a quirky sidekick, fans of the South, book readers who like exploring the modern perspective on the Civil War, fans of young romance, and folks who like the romance of a wistful summer adventure. And, of course, fans of Strohm's first book.
Not knowing Libby from the first book was no problem- I felt like she was my long-lost little sister by the end of Chapter 1. This girl loves history and historical reenactment....clearly, she's darling. I also loved Dev, despite his unrealistically over-the-top nature. Every time I started feeling like he was a characature instead of a character, the author dropped some unexpected personality quirk in there, and I stopped being suspicious. Both teens end up on a wacky summer-long adventure of living history that had me itching to call up the Washington Civil War Reenactment HQ. Or jump right into AL.
I won't give you any spoilers, but I applaud Strohm's handling of the romantic relationships and tensions within the book. She took a topic that often has a predictable outcome and turned it on its head....realistically. At first I wanted to root for The South (well, he *is* perfect, and I didn't know Garrett or his good qualities from book 1, and I hate petty jealousy), but Libby showed rare foresight...and insight...and I like that Strohm took an adult approach to it.
I also adored the little historical reenactment details she put in there (even when she caged them in dialogue to give us readers a less-pedantic lecture on how cool history is). The whole coffee situation was hilarious to me, both as a coffee addict and a renaissance faire brat, and the ghost story mystery added just enough dialogue to interest people who, unlike me, weren't utterly delighted at the descriptions of the period gowns.
A book that makes me want to sew Victorian-era dresses is a winner, in my opinion!
I recommend this book for lovers of historical reenactment and living history, fans of emotionally mature but still rompy YA, those who enjoy a main female character with a quirky sidekick, fans of the South, book readers who like exploring the modern perspective on the Civil War, fans of young romance, and folks who like the romance of a wistful summer adventure. And, of course, fans of Strohm's first book.