Never Forget by Emma Hart
Synopsis
A
city girl.
A
small town boy.
A
summer they'll never forget.
Spending
the summer at her Grammy's in Lilac Bay, Devon, is city girl Alexis 'Lexy'
Edwards idea of hell. That is, until she reconnects with her childhood friend,
Jen, and meets Alec Johnson.
Alec
is the kind of guy Lexy knows she needs to stay away from. He's the village
flirt, ridiculously hot and very dangerous to her self control. But there's a
problem – she can't seem to keep him out, even though she knows he'll break her
heart.
As
Alec slowly strips away Lexy's defences and the two embark on a summer romance
she never wanted, their feelings grow to more than either expected. But nothing
lasts forever, and reality intrudes.
As
her world is shaken to it's core, Lexy's self made prediction comes true when
she discovers she's spent six weeks surrounded by secrets. Kept out by her
family and the only guy she's ever trusted, she falls apart.
And
when Grammy tells her that 'you might not end up where you wanted to be, but
you'll always end up where you're meant to be,' she has to figure out if her
meant to be is back home in London, or if it's been in Devon the whole time.
Never
Forget is a great New Adult contemporary romance novel. It has strong
characters, a beautiful romance and just enough drama to keep things
interesting without going overboard.
Lexi starts
of as a slightly shallow character so it is great watch her growth throughout
the book. I loved her supportive encouraging parents; it was a refreshing change
to parents discouraging the romance that is so often seen in books.
Never
Forget is told predominantly from Alexis’s point of view but we occasionally
get to see things from Alec’s perspective. I thought this was amazing as we got
to see into Alec’s head as he goes from a bit of a player to falling head over
heels in love with Lexi.
This book
has one extra thing about it that gives it huge appeal; the author is from
England and thoroughly embraces her Britishness in this book. If like me you are
also English you can revel in references that you understand and find hilarious,
if you are not then I have five words for you – sexy guys with British accents.
Emma Hart is leading the way for UK NA novels.
I would definitely
recommend this book for anyone who enjoys NA and also Never Forget is perfect for
fans of Abbi Glines. I can’t wait to see what else this author will bring in
the future.
Young Adult to New Adult
I
always had to write about this, I think, as a YA to NA author. Did I switch
because it's what the market wanted?
No.
I switched because it's what my characters wanted.
There
are many defining differences between YA and NA – the biggest one being age and
setting. In YA, you can be fourteen to twenty, I guess, but the constant factor
is High School. In NA, you're eighteen to maybe, twenty-five, and in college or working your first job.
New
Adult isn't sexed up Young Adult. If
you say this to a New Adult author, run and hide. It's likely to earn you a
black eye courtesy of the nearest heavy object.
Let's
be blunt here - there's sex in New Adult. There's hot sex in New Adult. Of
course there is – in America, the sexual age of consent in most states is
eighteen, in the UK it's sixteen. Why isn't New Adult from sixteen? Because
it's not sexed up Young Adult – and sixteen is classed as young adult! Yes, I
said it again. It's a thing a lot of people can't get. I've read some hella
sexy young adult books and thought 'well, sh!t, that shouldn't be there!' ya
know? I bet you have too. The bottom line with the sex thing is eighteen year
olds up are likely to have sex and have more of it. That's why there's more in
New Adult. There, we're done on that.
New
Adult has a depth to it that Young Adult maybe hasn't quite reached yet. The
characters are young enough to be unsure of themselves and love and life, yet
not too young to see love as forever. They don't dive in head first, unconditionally,
the way young adult characters do. Neither are bad things – it's just how it's
viewed in the differing genres. That's not to say the love is stronger in young
adult books, it's just given more freely since all they're thinking about is
here and now. In New Adult, they're largely focused on their future.
In
Never Forget, one reason Lexy holds back on her feelings for Alec is
because she knows she'll be going back to London to University at the end of
the summer.
In
fact, I think smost of my characters are quite cynical about love. Huh. I put
that down to the uncertainty that comes with leaving home for the first time.
It's a really awkward time of life where you transition from being dependant to
being... well, independent.
Say
goodbye to mummy and daddy, because you're off on your own now.
There's
also the fact that, since we're aiming books at a slightly older and more
mature audience, many NA authors feel they can add in 'darker' subject matter.
I'll hold my hand up – I wouldn't feel comfortable putting the content in my
current work in progress in a young adult novel. Maybe it's because I believe a
child/teen's innocence should be preserved for as long as possible before they
have to learn about the big bad world – I don't know. I just know that I
wouldn't write The Love Game for a young adult audience – and yes, there's more
than just sex in it!
So
there you have it. That's my take on New Adult, as both an author and an actual
“New Adult.”
By
day, Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to a terrible two year
old. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of wine and writes books.
She likes to write about magic, kisses and whatever else she
can fit into the story. Sarcastic, witty characters are a must. As are hot
guys. She has two new series planned as well as her New Adult Romance, Never
Forget, due February 2013. She likes to be busy - unless busy involves doing
the dishes.
Her debut YA series, The Mauve Legacy, is an Apple iBooks Bestseller - and this makes Emma excited.
Her debut YA series, The Mauve Legacy, is an Apple iBooks Bestseller - and this makes Emma excited.
Where to stalk
Giveaway
UK only giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment
If you leave a comment I promise to cherish it forever :) I will also try to always reply.