Linda Budzinski
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Publisher: Swoon Romance
ISBN: 978-1942664628
ASIN: B013CWICCA
E-book Pages: 181
Paperback Pages: 300
My Rating: 4.5
Book Description:
My Rating: 4.5
Book Description:
The last thing
sixteen-year-old Emily Slovkowski wants is to move away from her home at the
Jersey shore, gorgeous surfer boyfriend Zach, and her entire identity. But
that’s kind of how Witness Protection works, and Em must prepare herself for an
epic do-over as she starts a new life in the Midwest.
Even as she pines for sandy
beaches and the night life of the shore, the newly-named Ember O’Malley finds
herself making new friends, taking photos for the high school newspaper, and
thinking an awful lot about the paper’s editor, an oddly cute cowboy named
Charles.
When Em stumbles upon a shady
beneath-the-bleachers exchange between one of the school’s football coaches and
a student, she refuses to get involved. The last thing she needs is to be
witness to another crime or call attention to herself. Besides, she finally has
some real friends – well, real except for the fact that they don’t know a
single thing about her – and she prefers to keep it that way until the trial.
But as her day in court
approaches, Em begins piecing together what she saw that day beneath the
bleachers. And, as her own past secrets start to catch up with her, Em needs to
figure out who she really is – Em or Em.
My Take:
Aww that was
so cute.
I mean it has
some serious subject matter that's definitely no joke but everything else was
really cute and sweet.
I enjoyed the
portrayal of the subtle differences in high schools and the development between
each character and Emily/Ember.
I really like
Charles and the way his character breaks all sorts of stereotypes. He's pretty
much the perfect character to pair with Emily, add a dash of Claire, who
happens to be the best best friend you could imagine for a character like Em,
into the mix and you have a great supporting cast.
The only flaw
that I could find that confused me and had me scrolling back a couple of
chapters multiple times was the way the flashbacks occurred and were timed.
The time frame
seemed wrong, but then I realized that it was coinciding with the current
timeline, which was moving forward. It just kinda killed the flow for me since
I didn't really notice how much time has passed since the only time the date
was mentioned, was when she's told when to expect a court date.
Logically, I
was aware that time was passing as the story progressed but it still took time
for me to pull myself out of the story so that I could wrap my head around the
new time frame.
I feel like it
would have been easier to follow and less confusing is a date was included in
the title, for example September 12th, so and so many weeks earlier. It still
gives you a grasp on how much time has passed while reminding you that this is
happening day(s) after the previous flashback.
4.5 Quills
Book Purchase Links:
About The Author
Linda Acorn Budzinski decided in the second grade that she
wanted to be a “Paperback Writer,” just like in the Beatles song. She majored
in journalism in college and now works in marketing and communications. She
spent 18 years at a trade association in the funeral service industry, where
she discovered that funeral directors are some of the bravest and most
compassionate people on earth. Linda lives in Northern Virginia with her
husband, Joe, and their chihuahua, Demitria. She has two step-daughters, Eris
and Sarah. THE FUNERAL SINGER is her debut novel. She is represented by Andrea
Somberg of Harvey Klinger Inc.
THE FUNERAL SINGER is Linda Budzinski's first novel.
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE
One (1) winner will receive a digital copy of Em and Em by Linda Budzinski and a $10 Amazon GC (INT)
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Tour Organized By:
“I received a free copy of the book from the
author/publisher for my honest opinion. I was in no
way compensated for this review and all opinions are expressly my
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