Wednesday, January 2, 2019

One Old, One New: The Emma Mills Edition

One Old, One New features two books - one old, one new, which are connected in some way. Today, I am sharing two books by Emma Mills.

Famous in a Small Town
Emma Mills
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Henry Holt
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
For Sophie, small-town life has never felt small. She has the Yum Yum Shoppe, with its famous fourteen flavors of ice cream; her beloved marching band, the pride and joy of Acadia High (even if the football team disagrees); and her four best friends, loving and infuriating, wonderfully weird and all she could ever ask for.

Then August moves in next door. A quiet guy with a magnetic smile, August seems determined to keep everyone at arm's length. Sophie in particular.

Country stars, revenge plots, and a few fake kisses (along with some excellent real ones) await Sophie in this hilarious, heartfelt story.
Every book she writes makes me love Emma Mills more and more. I swear, she writes books just for me, because each one leaves me warm and fuzzy and in a state of elation. And, yes, she did it once again with Famous in a Small Town.

I am not even sure where to start here, because I loved so many things in this book, but it is my firm belief that it's the characters that standout the most in Mills' stories.

As always, Mills assembled a cast of characters, who were interesting, witty, relatable, and essentially, people I would want to be friends with. But the strength was not in their individually, but rather in the friendship dynamic that existed between them. It was always a special treat, when Sophie and her whole squad were on page together. From the way they interacted and joked around, to they way they deeply understood each other was a thing of beauty. There was fun and snappy banter and lots of shenanigans, but there were also these really deep parts, which may or may not have caused me to shed a tear or two.

Several different storylines are woven together in this book, and one of my favorites was Sophie's quest to get Acadia's most famous citizen, Megan Pleasant, to help their marching band raise money for the Rose Parade trip. This mission had her re-creating the week in Acadia per Pleasant's famous song, as well as searching for the reason Megan had not returned "home" in so long. I was pretty surprised by what Sophie discovered, and it was a lot of fun tagging along with the gang as they searched for the answers.

There was another big reveal, which made me gasp out loud. I did NOT see it coming, and was so surprised by the revelation, and yes, once again, I cried. Well done with this one, Emma Mills, because it packed such a punch in the feels for me.

And, because you know I am all about the romance, I have to talk about Sophie and August. They hit it off right away, but August kept his distance. My heart broke a little for him, when I learned why he was trying to keep Sophie at arm's length, but I was still shipping these two. Let me tell you, they were adorable and precious and so much fun to see together. Their banter was fantastic, and I wore a stupid grin almost every time they interacted with each other.

Other things that made me smile:
  • Fries with friends
  • The girl in the blue boots
  • Macaroni and cheese, the good kind, that you make on the stove
  • The texts between Sophie and her sister
  • Mullets!
  • Teen Zone 2
  • Rollin in the Cutlass
  • Uncle August and his nieces ❤️
Overall: Another outstanding Emma Mills book, filled with family, friends, humor, and feels, lots and lots of feels.

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

This Adventure Ends
Emma Mills
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Henry Holt
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Sloane isn't expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens.

Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met. When a beloved painting by the twins' late mother goes missing, Sloane takes on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her across state lines—and ever deeper into the twins' lives.

Filled with intense and important friendships, a wonderful warts-and-all family, shiveringly good romantic developments, and sharp, witty dialogue, this story is about finding the people you never knew you needed.
I can never really narrow down what it is that I love about an Emma Mills book. It's really a combination of everything, and the way it all makes me feel. Here's a hint: her books make me happy, and this book left me with a smile that totally reached my eyes.

Since I am bad at articulating my love for Emma Mills' books, I will just give you a list of five fabulous things in this book.
  1. The friendship was the heart of the story. Sloane was sort of a loner back in NYC, which was why relocating during her senior year didn't seem to phase her, but luck brought Vera and her crew into Sloane's life, and they decided to "keep her". This group had their ups and downs, but there was so much love and affection shared between them all. Each of them served an important role as part of the whole, and Sloane fit right in with them. It was a beautiful thing to see. 
  2. The relationship between Sloane and her dad was pretty fabulous. These two definitely shared a special bond, and I loved their interactions. It was easy to see where Sloane got her wit and humor from too.  
  3. I loved the twins so much! Gabe and Vera were quite a pair. They played off each other so well, but they also were there for one another and supported each other. Both were still working through their grief from their mother's death, and I was just so happy that the universe brought them into Sloane's life. 
  4. The search for the painting was something I really enjoyed. I absolutely adored the excursions, which led them to more excursions as Sloane's obsession with the painting escalated. 
  5. Gabe and Sloane and the slow burn for the win. These two danced around each other for almost the whole book, but I enjoyed the way they were feeling each other out, and their banter was so, so good. They also were able to uncover parts of each other they kept hidden from the world, and connections like that are gold. 
If you asked me what I loved about this book, I would have to say EVERYTHING! Once again, Emma Mills has won my heart, made me smile, and left me wanting more. 

Do you have a favorite small town book?
Let us know in the comments!

42 comments:

  1. You are going to make me a Emma Mills Fan. Seems like I have been missing out on her books. I will have to rectify this. Great reviews and LOVE when books can give me the feels!

    Mary

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    1. Her books are YA contemporary perfection. They leave me so happy and buoyant

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  2. Yeah, Emma Mills' books are really fun. I always enjoy her characters and her romances. Glad you're a fan of hers! :)

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    1. Characters are so important to me (plot, what's a plot?), and I never fail to fall in love with her characters. I have only one more book to read, and then I will have to wait for more. --sigh--

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  3. I haven’t read either of these, but the covers are amazing. I love them!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Her three Henry Holt covers are so pretty, and like, how amazing do these two look next to each other?

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  4. I love finding “those” authors. The ones that you just click with - and it feels like their writing just speaks to you in a way others don’t. Both of these sound excellent. I just love the sound of Sophie and August together. :)

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    1. It's good that Mills is on the upswing, because some of my old favorite YA go-tos have been meh lately (Jennifer E Smith - What's going on there?). Sophie and August and basically every character is amazing in her books.

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  5. AHH! I'm so so excited for Famous in a Small Town, ever since I read This Adventure Ends which I adored. Wonderful review, Sam! I hope you had a lovely New Year. <3

    Megan @ http://www.booksbirds.com/

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    1. I almost cried when I got approved for Small Town and it was great. I am really proud that I finally read This Adventure Ends, because I bought it a long time ago, and now I want to kick myself, because it was SO good.

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  6. I loved This Adventure Ends so much!! I have her latest preordered and can't wait to read it. Glad you loved these!

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    1. I loved the Nicholas Sparks dad and the squad and everything about This Adventure Ends. I smiled way too much as I read that book.

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  7. I LOVE Emma Mills! She writes characters so well, I just relate to them so much.

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    1. She really is a genius when it comes to characters and dialog.

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  8. The covers are works of art! They're gorgeous! I've never read any book by this author but they seem awesome :)

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    1. All of MIlls' covers are really beautiful, but the Henry Holt covers are something special.

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  9. I'm going to read my first Emma Mills book this year. I've kept her books on my TBR for too long and I'm missing out!

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    1. Yes! I bought First & Then (still unread) and This Adventure Ends, but the first one I read was an ARC - Foolish Hearts, and it was love at first read. The three I read were all winners. I hope you love them, when you read them.

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  10. These both sound great! I love reveals that take me totally by surprise. And I had to laugh at macaroni and cheese- the good kind! Sounds fun, both of these.

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    1. That Mac and cheese line is straight outta the book, and it actually made me giddy, it was so cute.

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  11. It seems to me that I will have to add these two books on my TBR! Sophie @bewareofthereader

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  12. I really love small town books as well! For some reason I still haven't read anything by this author and I really need to change that. I am glad that these are both winners. I am looking forward to reading them myself. :)

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    1. I have read 3 of her books, and they were all winners for me. I have one left to read. I think it's her first, and I have owned it for years. I will be sad, when I have read them all and must wait for the next one.

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  13. Emma Mills is one of those authors that I keep saying I'm going to read but still haven't gotten around to trying a book yet. She's at the top of my list of new authors to try this year though.

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    1. If you are looking for something fun, filled with great characters, read a Mills books. I started with Foolish Hearts, which was amazing for me, but these both left me super happy too.

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  14. Both of these books sound fantastic, Sam! I have had her books on my radar for a long time so I have no idea why I haven't picked one up yet. Sounds like I need to make reading her a priority.

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    1. So cute and fun and sweet and they have that touch of drama, so you get to feel all the feels.

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  15. I haven't read either of these but I've always loved the covers! I'm glad to hear the insides are just as amazing! These both sound like incredible reads!

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    1. Mills' books hit all the marks for me, and they are just the perfect YA contemporaries.

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  16. I am so happy you loved both of these books! It sounds like this author knows how to write brilliant characters and also brilliant relationships. I love when friendships and slow burns are featured which makes the second book sound great. But Famous Girl in a Small Town also sounds epic because I love it when character driven books also manage to have a plot twist in them ^.^ Also, her covers are gorgeous <3

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    1. She is really is so good at creating interesting and endearing characters. Her dialog is always the best too.

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  17. How did I not know about this Emma Mills book? I am so behind in her books considering I've only ever read one! I am making grabby hands at my screen for it now. And This Adventure Ends! That was a 2018 favourite of mine and I can't say just one reason why it was the whole book. I did adore the relationship between Sloane and her dad. But it was just all the parts really and now I want to go back and reread because it was that good!

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    1. I am obsessed with Mills now. I felt exactly the way you described when I finished Adventure. I just loved it all.

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  18. I love everything I've ever read by Emma Mills. I haven't read Famous in a Small Town yet, but obviously I need to do it soon. Sounds so great based on your review. :)

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    1. Famous will be out in a few weeks, and if you're a fan, you should really love it.

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  19. Yes! A new author for me! And what fun reviews. This is a great idea:)

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    1. I started this feature to get myself to read my own books. So far, I am really happy with it.

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  20. I've only read the Emma Mills' first novel, but I am so excited about Small Town Hearts!

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    1. First & Then, right? I bought that book forever ago, and plan to finally read it this year.

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  21. I really need to read Emma Mills. I own her first book, but I just haven't gotten around to reading it. Lots of people rave about her, though.

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. If I had to suggest a starting point, it would be Foolish Hearts or This Adventure Ends, though, I loved them all.

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