Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Heart Shaped Rock by Laura Roppe Blog Tour + Review




Heart Shaped Rock
Release Date: May 2014

Summary from Goodreads:
“If you liked the music collaboration of Maybe Someday, you’ve got to check out Heart Shaped Rock.” — New York Times best-selling author of Maybe Someday, Colleen Hoover

"Laura Roppé has written a moving and emotional novel of first love, accurately capturing the voice and mind of a dramatic and emotional sixteen year old girl caught in a maelstrom of grief and loss, love and heartbreak. And then there’s Dean…you'll just have to read the book, ‘cause I can't do him justice in a few short sentences.” –Jasinda Wilder, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of Falling into You


Sometimes a shattered heart needs to sing to love again . . . Sixteen year old singer-songwriter Shaynee Sullivan hasn't so much as touched her guitar since her mom died six months ago. In fact, Shaynee hasn't felt like doing much of anything lately, except maybe playing Whack-a-Mole on her "emotionally intelligent" brother's head. But when she meets a gorgeous and surprising rocker named Dean, her shattered heart begins to mend . . . and then burst at the seams. Heart-wrenching, heart-warming, and sometimes even heart-racing, Heart Shaped Rock will leave you laughing through tears and rooting for love in all its forms.

Hear the original music performed in Heart Shaped Rock at 
www.LauraRoppe.com. All music available on iTunes.



Review: Wow. This book was absolutely incredible, and so much more than I was even expecting. Of course, the synopsis sounded very good, but I still did not expect to love it just as much as I did. I respect Laura Roppe So much for what she has been through in her own life, and how she takes those emotions and put them on paper. It is such an important thing for young readers (really readers at any age) to read about characters who deal with REAL LIFE problems and tragedies. There are difficult things that teens are going through, and I believe that it is important for those people to have characters they can relate to. 

The book is certainly emotional. It does not take much for me to cry when reading a novel, and so naturally I did so when reading this book. Death is something that I struggle with, even at the age of twenty-four, so I cannot imagine how our sixteen-year-old protagonist, Shaynee, is feeling after losing her mother to a battle of cancer. Like some teenage girls would do in this difficult situation, she is not the nicest person to her father and younger brother. She does not know how to deal with her grief, so she is taking her feelings out on those people around her. Not the best way to handle things, we know, but she is a teen character and it seems so REAL. 

Luckily for Shaynee, she has great friends who help her start to pick up the pieces. Her friend Tiffany (great name!) helps her get a job at a coffee shop, where she ends up meeting the wonderful character that is Dean. He was such a wonderful surprise in this book. While he could have been a total jerk and gotten away with it because of his looks, qualities, etc, I love that he did not end up being that way. Instead, he was wonderful and understanding, and something that Shaynee really needed at that time in her life. Needless to say, I completely loved their romance in this book. Sure, her feelings were a bit strong a bit too fast, but that's teen love for you, I suppose. 

Ultimately, I was very pleased with this book. It gave me all of the emotions that I could want in a contemporary novel. While some of it was very sad and depressing, there were also parts that were upbeat and happy. I felt like it was a wonderful balance, and I was left feeling hopeful for Shaynee and their family; that they would be able to get through everything one day at a time. I do love that Shaynee learned things about herself, too. Most important, she learned you do not have to let someone go when they die, but you do have to find a way to move on with life. I strongly recommend this book.

Rating: 5.0 / 5.0



About the Author
Laura Roppé is an award-winning singer/songwriter, author, audio book narrator, speaker, and former attorney from San Diego, California. In 2011, Billboard Magazine ranked her as Number Three on its chart of the Top 50 "uncharted" artists in the world. In May 2013, Laura began hosting Amazon's weekly podcast, "Kindle Love Stories," for people who love hearing about love stories, romance, and happily ever afters.

Her first book is the non-fiction memoir, Rocking the Pink. Her latest is a YA-teen romance novel entitled Heart Shaped Rock, featuring a soundtrack.

Author Links:


Giveaway:
1 $50 Gift Card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble (INT)

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 
Imagination Designs