Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Rebound Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

REBOUND
Boomerang #2
Noelle August
Contemporary New Adult
288 pages
William Morrow
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY
At Boomerang, one night can change everything…

Noelle August has taken the New Adult genre by storm, and readers can’t wait to see what chaos, confusion, and connections arise at the Boomerang offices next.

Adam Blackwood has it all. At twenty-three, he’s fabulously wealthy, Ryan Gosling-hot and at the top of his game in the business world. His life is perfect, until a scandal from his past resurfaces and threatens to knock the tech wunderkind down and throw his company, Boomerang, a hook-up site for millennials, into chaos.

Alison Quick, the twenty-one-year-old daughter of a business tycoon—and the very ex-girlfriend of Boomerang’s former intern, Ethan—has a problem of her own. After nearly flunking out in her senior year of college, she has one chance to redeem herself to her father by proving that she deserves a place in his corporate empire. That means spearheading her father’s plan to sink big money into Adam’s company and launch it into the stratosphere—provided Adam has no skeletons in his closet.

When the two meet, their sizzling chemistry makes it tough to keep things strictly professional. But when Alison discovers Adam’s secret, she knows she should bring it right to her father, who’ll leverage it for his own gain and use it to ruin Adam. The only problem: she’s falling for Adam—hard.

Will earning her father’s approval come at the price of losing her first real love? Or can Adam and Alison leave behind past mistakes and conquer the world—together?

MY THOUGHTS
Rebound takes everything that was successful about its predecessor and improves upon it, keeping the levity but deepening the emotional element as Ali and Adam struggle to get out from underneath the guilt of past actions. While there are plenty of light moments, thanks mostly to a team of standout secondary characters and an absolutely hilarious team building instructor, there's an extra layer of tension to this tale that wasn't present in Boomerang. It's easy to tell early on how things are going to go bad for our lead couple, the business partnership Adam is trying to form with Alison's father causing red flag after red flag to wave madly in our peripheral vision as we prepare to steel ourselves for the inevitable fallout. Luckily for us however, the team of Noelle August never allows their stories to be weighed down too heavily with drama and angst, freeing us from unnecessary entanglements and allowing all that's good about Adam and Ali to shine through.

Ali has some difficult hurdles to overcome in terms of earning reader affection given that cheating for many like myself is a nearly unforgivable offense, but Ali quickly proves she is so much more than a single mistake and it's impossible not to love her after just a few chapters. She never makes excuses for her past actions with Ethan, owning them completely and showing a great deal of remorse, but she also focuses on moving forward and making sure history never repeats itself. Adam is every bit as enjoyable as Ali, largely free of the ego that would typically accompany someone who's experienced the kind of success he has at so young an age, and though it takes him longer to cut free the ties keeping him tethered to his past, by the end he's embraced the totality of his life and is only looking to the future. The two of them together are sweet, vulnerable and oh-so sexy, ensuring they easily find their way onto our shelf of favorites.

In addition to an outstanding lead pair, Noelle August also gives us a cast of secondary characters who beautifully challenge the protagonists for their share of our love, nearly coming out on top a number of times. So many of them, Grey and Cookie in particular, clearly have stories to tell, and here's hoping this series sees them all have their moment in the limelight.

Rating: 4/5

Want a little more Adam and Ali? Then you're in luck because I have a short except to share:

Ali laughs. Her gaze feels like sunshine on my back, but I don’t turn around. I pull my wetsuit up to my waist, adjusting myself so I’m comfortable. The cool Neoprene layer feels familiar and my body responds, my heart thumping hard, anticipation rushing through my veins. The prospect of the ocean always does this to me. This has nothing to do with the girl behind me.
“Adam?”
Ali’s voice is close. Turning, I almost bump into her.
Her wetsuit is all the way on, which is good. And terrible.
“What’s up?” I ask.
She smells like suntan oil and peaches. This close, I see that her cheeks are turning slightly pink from the sun. With her hair pulled back, no makeup, and the wetsuit covering her completely, she looks better than she has all week at the office. Better than she did in the Catwoman costume. There’s something powerful about her now. The way her slender legs are planted firmly on the swaying boat, like she’s not trying at all. She’s at home on the water. This from an admitted equestrian. I can only imagine what she’s like with her horses.
“Sorry, but . . .” She smiles and points at her back. “My zipper’s jammed.” She turns around and pulls her ponytail up. “Can you help me out?”
“Sure. You want this on, right? Just want to be sure.”
I can’t see her face, but I know she’s smiling. “Yes. On please.”
I allow myself a moment to enjoy the way she looks right in front of me. Then I take the zipper leash, letting my knuckles drift over her back, just above the knot of her bikini.
If I weren’t completely focused on her, I’d have missed the way she curls slightly toward me.
Focus, Blackwood. Zip the wetsuit up.


And get ready to Bounce in August of 2015 when the third book in Boomerang series releases!

• • • • • • • • • • • 


Question: What do you get when friends pen a story with heart, plenty of laughs, and toe-curling kissing scenes? Answer: Noelle August, the pseudonym for renowned editor and award-winning writer Lorin Oberweger and New York Times bestselling YA author Veronica Rossi, the masterminds behind the Boomerang series.


• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

35 comments:

  1. Yessss! I loved this. It was so nice to see Ali and Mia have their moments too. Part of what I loved abut this was the moving on and being mature about it.

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    1. Oh! And to answer the question ... yes. Someone left roses on my porch when I was in high school confessing their crush on me. My friends and I pretty much knew who it was, but he never tried to make another move after that. Oh well, I was probably to ornery for him anyway. lol.

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    2. You never followed up with them? Well, I guess in high school I wouldn't have either, but that's really cute Christy!

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    3. It was only 3 roses, so nah. LOL.

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  2. I'm really glad that you enjoyed this latest installment Jenny, I had a few issues with the first book, so decided to skip out on this one, but its great to see a lot of growth from Alison's character, she really did get on my nerves in the first book, so its good to see that she's learning from her mistakes. Fab review and thanks for sharing this hot excerpt with us too! :)

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    1. Yeah I wasn't sure I was going to like Alison after what happened with Ethan, I'm a grudge holder when it comes to cheating, but I ended up loving her and Adam together:)

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  3. This series sounds so GOOD! "Ryan Gosling hot"?!!! YAS, count me in for sure. And thank you so much for that scorching excerpt, I am super excited to learn more about Ali and Adam's characters. Definitely adding this to me TBR list! Oh, and thanks for the generous giveaway as well, Jenny! You rock. :)

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    1. Woo hoo! Hope you love this one Riya, I so enjoyed it:)

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  4. This series sounds perfect for a long, lazy day at the beach. I need to bump this one up on my TBR list. Thanks for the great giveaway! Oh, and to answer the question…. I have never had a secret admirer. I'm pretty sure I would freak out and think it's some crazy stalker. ;)

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    1. I love that this NA is relatively low on angst. Lots of humor, a little drama, and the perfect amount of sexy:)

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  5. Woohoo! This series has been so much fun! I am so glad you liked Adam and Ali too Jenny!

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    1. I loved them Ali! I'm super excited for Gray's book too:)

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  6. This sounds like another really well-done book in the series, Jenny! I'm loving both the covers as well. I need to check this series out since it includes "plenty of laughs, and toe-curling kissing scenes." Thanks for the review and wonderful excerpt, and giveaway! :)

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    1. Definitely give this series a try Kim, I think you'd enjoy it:)

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  7. I wasn't a big fan of Boomerang, but this one seems like it's more of my kind of read. Adam and Ali seem like respectable characters, and I'm looking forward to some sweetness between them. Plus this sounds a bit darker than Boomerang, which will hopefully make it a deeper read for me. :)

    Lovely review, Jenny! Glad you enjoyed this. :)

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    1. I hope you give it a try and it works out better for you than Boomerag Aimee! I was a big fan:)

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  8. Glad to hear you enjoyed this second book as much or more as the first, Jenny! I am not a big fan of contemporary NA but given that Veronica Rossi is half of Noelle August, I'm oh so tempted to give it a try!
    Fantastic review!

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    1. Contemporary NA is not typically the genre for me either Pili, but this series is great. I think you'd like it!

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  9. Yay! I'm so glad you liked this one too, Jenny. I thought it was so endearing and I loved that Allison was so much more than her mistake too. I really loved her character. And of course Adam was swoony as ever! I can't wait for the next book.
    Beautiful review, Jenny!

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    1. Addddaaaaaammmmmm. Loved him! And his brother, I couldn't be more excited for Gray's story:)

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  10. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this one, Jenny! I adored Boomerang so I'm excited to get started on this soon. I know a few readers have been disappointed by this but I'm curious to give it a shot. Wonderful review, dear! :)

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    1. Looking forward to your thoughts on it Keertana!

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  11. I'm looking forward to reading this one! I loved Boomerang, but I do worry that Ali will have a hard time getting into my good graces after her history with Ethan. I'm glad you were able to get past that, and I'm feeling better about it now. Lovely review!

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    1. I thought Ali was going to be really tricky for me to get on board with Lauren, but I loved her. She didn't try to pass the blame for her actions on to her family situation or anything else, she just owned up to it and tried to rectify it as best she could:)

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  12. I bought the first book back when it was new because of all the raves. I'm hoping I can read it soon since I've been feeling the mood for some summery books!

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    1. This series is just really fun Candace, I hope you get time to try it:)

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  13. This sounds like such a good character book. I don't do much contemporary but you really have me curious about this one. I love the way these two interact. Loved the excerpt!

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  14. Christy adored this, and I am glad to see you did as well. I love that it was stronger and the characters sound great :)

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    1. I had such fun reading it Kim, love this author duo:)

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  15. I have not had a secret admirer and I'm too chicken to be one. Can't wait to read the book.

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  16. Boomerang is still on my TBR and I would very much like to get to it! And it seems like the series (I didn't know there would be more than one) seems to be only better and build off of the good beginning.

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  17. LOVE it when series just keep getting better! And it seems like character development is just kicked into high gear with the sequel.

    LOVE it when like you say it's funny but also very meaningful in terms of depth and interactions between everyone involved.

    Lovely review :)

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