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    MathBoard

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    MathBoard now supports iCloud Syncing, along with a host of other newer technologies, like Text to...

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Carma (21 KP) rated She's the One (Just Everyday Heroes: Night Shift, #1) in Books

Jun 17, 2019  
She's the One (Just Everyday Heroes: Night Shift, #1)
She's the One (Just Everyday Heroes: Night Shift, #1)
Erin Nicholas | 2017
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
4.5/5

She’s the One is the 1st book in a 5 part Counting on Love series by Erin Nicholas. It is apparently a continuation of sorts to Nicholas’ Bradford series with some characters bridging the gap. I haven’t read the Bradford series as of yet but with some characters I’ve met I definitely will start asap.

Amanda Dixon is the oldest of her 3 sisters. Her brother Connor is their oldest sibling and has been a father figure in their lives since their Dad died unexpectedly years ago. She is the leader, the mother hen, the one she wants her sister to come to for advice, help or anything really. She doesn’t want to let her brother or sisters down, even as she has a secret in her past only Connor knows about. She knows she needs to have more of a life for herself but she can’t seem to stop. Can she find a way to work and have fun too?

Ryan Kaye is an all around manly man. He is a top-notch paramedic, football player and party guy. He knows the Dixon sisters as well as their brother Connor, his quarterback, and can honestly say he is interested. Emma has flirted with him in the past but they’ve never hooked up, not that he corrects the assumptions on that rumor.

Amanda assumes Ryan and her sister Emma have hooked up in the past, she envys Emma and how she handles herself. During a birthday party for her youngest sister, Olivia makes a birthday wish that Amanda and Emma trade places for one weekend. Each living life the way the other one would. That leads Amanda to make some wild choices for her weekend and she wants Ryan along for the ride. A motto of WWED (What Would Emma Do) makes her realize she had the wild child inside already.

Ryan can’t believe Amanda wants him to be a part of her wild weekend. He is definitely the man for the job. What he doesn’t count on is being the tame one during their night out. He realizes Amanda needs to get something out of her system and he doesn’t like the way she thinks about him and his past. He does the hardest thing by walking away. Can he make her realize she needs him for more than just one wild night?

They have quite a few obstacles to overcome, Connor, a car accident and missed signals but Amanda and Ryan are both strong characters who know what they want.

I read this book 2nd after reading book #2 first. I can honestly say that usually bugs the heck out of me. Not so with this author and this series. Each book is individual even though part of a series. You can easily read each on its own and know pretty much all there is to know to enjoy the story. I love that about books in a series. It doesn’t always help my OCD with reading order but it wasn’t unbearable.

I will most certainly read more from Erin Nicholas (and have already).
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Dreaming of Antigone in Books

Dec 17, 2018  
DO
Dreaming of Antigone
Robin Bridges | 2016
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Dreaming of Antigone</i> is a contemporary tragedy about sixteen-year-old Andria in the aftermath of the death of her twin sister Iris. It has been almost six months since Iris overdosed on heroin, and also the same amount of time since Andria last had an epileptic seizure. Feeling overwhelmed by her mother’s overprotectiveness, Andria is counting down the days until she can reapply for her driving license – freedom. Only fourteen days to go; unless she has another seizure…

Although she is not over her sister’s death, Andria is keeping her emotions in check; but then, Iris’ ex-drug addict boyfriend, Alex, comes back to school. Andria feels hatred toward him and angrily blames him for what happened to her sister. She is beyond frustrated to discover that she has to work alongside Alex in the library after school. However their love of poetry begins to bond them together, causing Andria to question how she really feels. When more tragedy strikes in the form of her stepfather, Andria is glad to have Alex by her side.

<i>Dreaming of Antigone</i> is a mix of high culture and pop culture. It is written for the contemporary teenager who enjoys love stories, yet it also contains a few highbrow topics. Firstly, as referenced in the title, is the Greek play <i>Antigone</i>. Andria is studying this tragedy at school and likens herself and Iris to the key characters, Antigone and Ismene. Secondly is astronomy. Andria is passionate about the stars and educates the reader a little about the names of constellations and the position of the stars and planets in the solar system. Thirdly, as already mentioned, there are lots of poetry citations.

I was a little disappointed that there was not more focus on <i>Antigone</i>, as this is what attracted me to the novel in the first place. Robin Bridges gives a brief overview of the play for the benefit of readers who are unfamiliar with it, however for readers, like myself, who have studied Sophocles’ tragedies, there is not much more to gain from this reference.

Bridges tackles quite a number of difficult subjects in <i>Dreaming of Antigone</i>. There is the obvious issue of drug abuse, which killed Iris. In this case, Iris was a victim of the addiction, however Bridges counters this with Alex, the survivor, thus saying that it is possible to recover from such a dangerous habit. Later on in the story other challenging problems crop up, for example suicide and sexual abuse. Thankfully Bridges deals with these in a mature and gentle manner, so as not to distress the reader. Having said this, some readers may struggle with this triggering content.

Overall, whilst this was not a terrible book, it was not exactly what I was expecting, and therefore a bit of a disappointment. It is for this reason that I am not giving <i>Dreaming of Antigone</i> more than three stars. Other readers with fewer expectations may enjoy this novel a lot more.