But now we're back!
self-published in 2011
Reid Alexander is used to getting what he wants – and what he wants next is his newest costar, Emma Pierce. The universe is lining up nicely to grant his wish, until he’s confronted with two unexpected obstacles on location: a bitter ex-girlfriend and a rival for Emma’s affections.Genre: Young Adult
Emma Pierce just got her big break after years of filming commercials and made-for-TV movies. Winning the lead role in a wide-release film – opposite the very hot Reid Alexander – should be a dream come true. But Emma’s heart is hiding a secret fantasy: she wants to be a normal girl.
Series: Between the Lines #1
Ames: Ok Wena. You reading this book inspired me to re-read it, something I had wanted to do to review it. So thank you. And I'm glad you read it. Wasn't it cute?
Rowena: It really was. I’m kind of mad that it took me so long to read this book. I enjoyed getting to know the different characters and even though I spent a good deal of the book confused over who the love interest was…in the end, I LOVED the guy that Emma ended up falling for and I had high hopes for the other guy. This was such a good read. What did you think?
Ames: I honestly forgot how much I enjoyed it. I really liked the set up - young actors doing a modern interpretation of Pride and Prejudice...which also kind of acted out in their personal lives too! What makes it great is Emma and the other characters. You feel like you're right there with them, on set and then in their hotel rooms, getting to know each other. A book that can immerse you into it like that is always a fun time.
Rowena: I totally agree with that, I was so immersed in this story that I continued right on with the second book right after I finished this one. I loved getting to know Emma and Reid, even though Reid’s character left much to be desired. He was such a prick and I had no idea how Webber was going to turn that shit around, considering I didn’t like him very much. But in the end, I decided that he wasn’t completely irredeemable so I came to like him in the end….and want more from him. Though to be honest, it wasn’t until the second book that I absolutely, irrevocably fell in love with Emma’s love interest. Love, love, love that guy.
Ames: I loved Emma's love interest right from the get-go. Even before he was a possible love interest. LOL I really liked his character and that scene on her bed, when they kiss? Wowzers. haha
Reid's character...I felt like his internal dialog was very true to a young man his age, with his experience. Like he just wanted to get into girls' pants. But I definitely felt there was some character growth with him and a lot of that had to do with Emma. This book is such a winner because she's such a good character. She had a good head on her shoulders and that always makes a difference for me.
Rowena: Yeah, I know what you mean about the character growth in Reid. You could tell that there was a lot of room for him to grow and with Emma’s influence on him, I just knew he was going to make it. With me, I was so confused on who the love interest was because I was so sure that it was one persons since we were inside his head but what I thought was completely different from what actually was and I thought that was very clever of Webber.
Can you tell if a person is drunk through emails? I wonder.
The one character that I couldn’t bring myself to like in this book was Brooke. For some reason, she really rubbed me the wrong way, even when the shit hits the fan at the end and her story comes pouring out. I just didn’t like her.
Ames: I think you can tell someone is drunk through email. One doesn't pay too close attention to spelling. LOL
Brooke, I was ambivalent about her and then I felt a bit of sympathy for her once some of her backstory came to light. She seemed ok to me because she hung out with the girls and even with the stuff that went on between her and Reid, she didn't outright tell Emma to back off. Not until later, when she was drunk. And she didn't stop being Emma's friend when Emma and Reid started dating.
Rowena: I wanted to be ambivalent but I knew that I probably wasn’t going to like her much as her story progressed and even finding out the full story didn’t help her cause in my book. I shook my head because that was handled so badly but both parties and them being young wasn’t a good enough excuse for their actions.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters (even the characters that I didn’t like all that much) and I really, really got into Emma’s story. I didn’t blame Emma for getting caught up in the dazzling world Reid introduced her to and I really loved that she tried to stay true to who she was and who she wanted to be. She was a good influence on Reid and she gave me hope that Reid will be redeemed. I also adored the hell out of Graham and wanted more from him. If anything, that was what I thought was missing from this book. More Graham. I’m glad to see that it was fixed in the next book in this series. Love, love, love me some Graham. Brooke? Meh.
Ames: I agree, this book needed more Graham. He was a good character and I'm glad we get some of his POV in the next book.
Another thing I thought was handled well was Emma's relationship with her father. She had so much anger towards him and she kept it bottled up inside. I thought her whole story arc was handled in a realistic way and that even pertains to her relationship with her father. She didn't want to be a mega movie star the way her step-mother was kind of forcing her to be. She wanted to do indie movies and be somewhat regular. Her experience with Reid really strengthened that conviction. And then the stuff with her dad, that was good. She was such a well-rounded character and that's why I loved this book so much.
Rowena: I agree. This book was written in a way that stayed true to each character and their backgrounds. I thought Webber did a great job of portraying each character in a light that was true to what she was trying to portray. She did that really well with both Emma and Reid. It was an all around great read and I’m glad you brought it to my attention. I really enjoyed it.
I’d give this book a very high B….but mostly because there wasn’t enough Graham in this one. What about you?
Ames: This one gets a B+ from me. I enjoyed it tremendously both times I read it. :P
4 comments:
Holly just finished reading this series over the week/weekend. I need to ask her what she thought of them because I already forgot.
Which book was your favorite of the series, Ames?
And...did we decide on a new book for the month? I can't remember.
I liked it, but it read as a high school drama to me. I agree that Graham was great and Brook a complex character. I also agree that Emma's relationship with her dad was well done.
I'm not sure why this book is written from Reid's POV, though. I thought he showed some growth over the course of the book, but I didn't need an entire book of his shallow thoughts.
I much preferred book 3.
Wena - I still only read the first book. Haha
Holly - Good to know. :P
This is awesome
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