Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Title: Love Story
Author: Jennifer Echols
Published: July 19, 2010 by MTV Books
Pages: 243/Paperback
Source: bought


Summary: 


She's writing about him. he's writing about her. And everybody is reading between the lines.. 

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

Review: Oh Jennifer Echols how I love thee. I'm pretty sure that at this point she could write about wild wildebeest and I would love it. That's right, she's that good, and Love Story was no exception. Sure there were some parts I thought could have been better and weren't necessarily believable, but it was still SO GOOD! But enough of my Jennifer Echols rant and on to the review!  

I loved that between chapters there were short stories written by both Erin and Hunter. Each of them had a unique writing style which let me hear their individual voice in the story. The writings were extremely well written (like all of Echols' work) but because it had the character's voice I didn't feel like I was reading something Echols had written for a character. I felt like I was reading what the characters had written for themselves. 

Outside of their stories, though, I didn't enjoy the characters that much. It was told from Erin's point of view and she always seemed to be either whining about her position (I understand why she's having a hard time, I really do. But does she really have to complain THAT MUCH?) or changing her view of Hunter. They're enemies then they're friends then they hate each other then they write a story and make up. MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY WOMAN! 

I was pretty satisfied with the ending, but it definitely left some loose ends. Erin and Hunter never "officially" made up after what she found out which made me feel a little in the dark about their relationship. Then he just randomly appears and is packing her bag? Again, I feel in the dark. So although the ends remained loose and Erin got under my skin, it's Jennifer Echols. So I can deal with it. 


More Books by Jennifer Echols
Going Too Far
Forget You
The Boys Next Door
Endless Summer
Major Crush
The Ex Games

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Title: Going Too Far
Author: Jennifer Echols
Published: March 17, 2009 by MTV Books
Pages: 245/Paperback
Source: local library 


Summary: 


HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

Review: I absolutely love Jennifer Echols so I was super excited to pick this one up. 

One thing I've noticed about Going Too Far is that it's one of those books that even after you finish it you still think about it. Something about the characters or maybe just the story in general kept me interested the entire time (before and after reading it). 

Meg and John are both complicated characters who have a lot of issues they need to sort out. I loved that Echols hinted at th different things from their pasts but didn't flat out explain it until the end. This provided a little mystery to the story. 

As alway Echols writing manages to speed the story along without missing anything. The ending wrapped up cleanly, but I thought Meg and John came to terms with their problems a bit to quickly to be realistic. 

Jennifer Echols has written yet another wonderful contemporary novel. If you're a fan of her and haven't yet read this, I suggest you do. If you've never read a Jennifer Echols book, then this is also a good place to start. 

Review: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

(summary from goodreads)


WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER? There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.


Review: I've only read one other book by Jennifer Echols, Going Too Far, but I must admit I liked it more than this one. The story itself was a good one, and I was intrigued throughout the book. I read it all in one sitting trying to figure out what had happened to Zoey. So it wasn't the story that I disliked, it was the characters. 


I felt bad for Zoey because she couldn't even tell her closest friends what happened, and with something as traumatic as her mom trying to kill herself I know it must have been hard on her. On the other hand, Zoey annoyed me throughout the book. If she was friends with Brandon and knew what he was like with girls then why does she think that after hooking up and being together for a week they're "in love"? And her constant back and forth feelings for Doug got a bit tiresome. Speaking of Doug, I liked him. He seemed a little flat as a character, but I liked him. I wish that Zoey's parents had been in the book more though. Sure she thought about them a lot, but they weren't physically there with her, and I think that would have helped show her situation better to readers. But then again, maybe her absent parents shed some light on what her situation was like. 


The story itself was great. I liked the idea of a Zoey trying to regain her memory and piece everything together. I was not really that surprised at what had happened the night that Zoey couldn't remember. However, what surprised me was finding out from Brandon how everything came about happening. *Spoiler alert, highlight to read.* I still don't understand how Zoey ended up hooking up with Doug and telling him she loved him if she was under the impression that he hated her. *End of spoiler.* 


So overall this was another great story by Jennifer Echols. It had a great plot that was paced wonderfully. It wasn't to fast or slow and was a pretty easy book to read. The characters weren't my favorite and may have taken away from the book, but I still recommend this book. 

Source: My personal library (e-book)

Published: July 20, 2010 by MTV