Hello everyone! I hope that your week has been as good as it can be! It has been busy as usual here. Luckily, Today I am writing with exciting news…I am part of another book tour!
This book tour is organized by an amazing person, Stephanie, from Books in the Skye. As soon as I saw that she was hosting blog tours, I knew that I needed a place! So…here we are? Well, what are we waiting for?! Let’s get on with the book, shall we?
Continue scrolling to see my review of A Whole New Me by Adrianna Schuh!
A Whole New Me 
Author: Adrianna Schuh
Published: May 1st, 2020
Book Length: 213 Pages
Genre: New Adult Romance
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Buy the book: Amazon
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Tessa has something to prove and she wants to use Ricky to do it.
She’s not surprised when he agrees to her friends with benefits plan, but she is surprised when it seems like Ricky wants more than she’s willing to give.
Can she keep Ricky without giving him hope for something more?
Because Tessa won’t let this be love.
I could tell right away that this was a romance novel. I was initially hesitant because I simply don’t read much romance. However, something told me to pick this up and now here we are!
How about learning a little more about the author behind the story?
About the Author
Review
Well, to start, romance is not normally my type of book and there were a few times where I had thought of putting the book down but it did hold my attention. This was the perfect book to help me expand my reading genre!
The pacing of the book was perfect. I feel if it was any slower, it would have bored me and I would have definitely put the book down. Any faster, and I might have felt confused and again…put the book down. The pacing kept my attention, making me want to know what was going to happen next between Tessa and Ricky. I will admit, I did crave a little more build up in the relationship but in reality, sometimes there isn’t any. I think that was accurately portrayed here.
This also sets a good balance of information given to the reader at a time. We are not overwhelmed with meeting new people or learning new things. Rather, the reader is only given enough information to clarify the scene. Too often we see information dumbs where too many characters are introduced at once or we are given all the details of someone’s past in one sitting. This novel shys from that in the best way. I think Adrianna was carefully dishing out enough information to get us all hooked, to get you to turn the page. Those are skills of a wonderful author and being a debut novel, I was pleasantly surprised.
Now for me, characters are what really drive a story. I have to connect with them to really feel their emotions and move along the book with them. I had no issues at all with that here. The characters were very relatable and with great development, they were easy to connect with. These are not superficial, but in-depth and well-developed parts of the book. Though there were no “enemies” or cruel characters I loved the relationships that developed. The friendship between Tessa and Bronte was probably my favorite! I truly enjoyed seeing such a bond develop so soon in the book. It makes you think back to those friends you’ve had in life that you truly connect with. Now, I will say some of Tessa’s choices made me want to shake some sense into her but there is so much development that happens, I really can’t be mad. A flawed character is the best one…it allows growth throughout the novel. That is exactly what we see with Tessa! Ricky…every girl’s dream guy. I was elated that he turned out to be who I thought he was. He is a wonderful character from the line he is introduced in, to the final line of the book. I think so many of the secondary characters are relatable as well, being a New Adult novel this will help many connect with the story.
I feel the story captures a part of life that is often overlooked. As we branch into seeing more novels in the category of “New Adult,” we really see some issues addressed that many people face during those in-between years. I loved that this was college-based, an experience of a college freshman, learning the ways of life, and growing as an individual.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel and I was happy I did. For a debut novel, this was wonderfully written with an engaging plot and relatable characters. The story moves seamlessly, though there are a few moments that you just want more to happen right away. This was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance novels, especially those who have been through college, you might really relate to this.
Excerpt
The drive doesn’t even take ten minutes and we chat a bit on the way. He talks my ear off about football and I respond where it seems appropriate, because for the most part I have no idea what he’s talking about. I can’t wait to tell him I don’t really like football. That’ll be a fun conversation.
When we arrive back at his place, my nerves come back just a little bit. I don’t really want to run into anyone, like I said I’m not great at meeting new people. And this situation is kind of odd. I don’t want to have to answer any questions.
“So we should have the place to ourselves. Most of the guys are out getting a drink, rough practice today.” Instead of going to the front door, he leads me to the side of the house to another door. “My room kind of has its own entrance.” He takes out his keys and unlocks the door, going through first to show me the way. There’s a staircase going up another level and another door off to the side that I’m guessing leads to the main house.
I follow him up the stairs to another door and this time he pauses. He stands facing the door for a second before turning and regarding me with a searching look on his face.
“What,” I ask, suddenly nervous again. Though this is the butterflies in the stomach kind of nervous. Because his eyes have darkened and he looks a little bit desperate.
“Tessa, are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes, I am. Why? Did you change your mind, because if you did I totally understand. I mean I know this whole thing is kind of crazy and I’m sure I seem crazy for even suggesting it. An-”
I’m suddenly cut off mid sentence by his lips against mine. I respond instantly, pressing my lips against his while his hand cups the back of my head. After a few seconds, he pulls away slightly and whispers, “I want to do this, I really do.” He grabs my lips with his again pushing me up against the door
Thank you again to Books in the Skye for putting together such an amazing tour and for giving me the chance to branch out in genres that I typically read.,
What do you think? Is this book something you’d enjoy reading? Have you read it, what did you think?
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