'When You Get the Chance' by Emma Lord

5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"An effervescent, endearing, joyful contemporary romance of one young woman searching for her birth mother one summer, by New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord.

Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?

Joyous, heartfelt, and brimming with emotion, WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE is a novel about falling in love, making a mess, and learning to let go that will have you happy-sobbing and cheering all the way to the end."

Review: 

Author Emma Lord knocks it out of the park again with this fantastic YA Contemporary!  While there are gender-swapped 'Mamma Mia' aspects, YA readers who are unfamiliar with the musical will not be lost at all.  

'When You Get the Chance' is a highly entertaining enemies-to-lovers YA rom-com. Millie is wonderful narrator and lots of fun to follow.

'When You Get the Chance' releases on January 4, 2022.

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'Awakened' by Ciara Duggan

 4 stars!

Book Blurb:

"After losing her parents in an accident only she survived, Hannah is desperate for answers. Haunted by the events of that tragic night, she struggles to move on, yearning for some deeper truth about her loss.  

But when it comes time to turn a new page and move cross country for college, she vows to leave the past behind. After all, Bellcliff University is a thousand miles away from the ghosts nipping at her heels.

Yet when Hannah accidentally awakens a handsome witch from a hidden cave near campus, she realizes he isn’t the only thing stirring out of slumber. Hannah has roused all magic…including the devil herself.  

As if spells, curses, and college jitters weren’t enough, this witch claims to know Hannah from four centuries prior—and their connection is more than casual.  

Thrust into a world of sorcery and monsters, Hannah must fight to keep the magic she’d unleashed from claiming a price far too steep for her to pay."

Review:

A solid entry in the Young Adult Paranormal genre, 'Awakened' has some 'The Vampire Diaries' vibes, which I enjoyed. We follow the main character, Hannah, as she tries to get a fresh start at a college across the country and move forward, away from grieving her parents' death. The combination of an Anthropology class project and her searching every religion for answers as part of her grief, brings her to a magical grimoire and she unknowingly awakens a witch who knew her in a past life. As they work together to stop the devil who was also accidently awakened, Hannah grows closer to this cute witch, Callan.

Highly recommended for Young Adult Paranormal fans!  Grab 'Awakened' on September 7, 2021.

#Awakened #NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.