REVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Love Scene, Take Two
by Alex Evansley
Love Scene, Take Two by Alex Evansley is currently on tour with Xpresso Book Tours. The tour stops here today for my review, an excerpt, and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Debut author Alex Evansley delivers a sweet summer romance in this inventive novel about a young heartthrob and teen author falling in love.
Teddy Sharpe is kind of famous. He might actually be on his way to being really famous, especially if he’d nailed an audition for the lead role in the movie adaption of the newest bestselling young adult book series. There’s just one problem: He totally blew the audition. And he’s stuck in a tiny North Carolina airport. And his maybe-ex-girlfriend kind of just broke up with him.
The weekend isn’t exactly looking good until Bennett Caldwell, author of the very book series he just auditioned for, takes pity on him and invites him to her family’s lake house. Away from the glitz and glam of Hollywood for a few days, Teddy starts to relax ... and somehow he and Bennett just click. But dating is hard enough when you aren’t the subject of several dozen fanblogs, and the Internet is full of juicy gossip about Teddy and Bennett ... gossip that Bennett might not be prepared to handle.
Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads, Alex Evansley’s debut novel, written from both Bennett and Teddy’s perspectives, will have teens laughing, swooning, and falling in love along with these fantastically relatable characters.
Excerpt
Chapter One
There are few things in life of which Teddy Sharpe is absolutely certain, and he’s absolutely certain this audition is going to be a train wreck.
At least, that’s what’s running through his head when he bursts through the front doors of one of LA’s fanciest office buildings, scaring the receptionist and a security guard half to death along the way. Teddy’s had to run into last-minute auditions before, yeah, but never one he learned about an hour ahead of time. Never one he’s had to go into completely blind because he hasn’t seen the script yet. And certainly never one that could launch his acting career into the stratosphere. He’s a little on edge.
“You said you’re here for the Parachutes auditions?” the receptionist asks, pulling her hand away from the button that releases the lobby’s turnstile to smooth her hair. She looks unnervingly like Jennifer Coolidge. “Call times for those auditions started at seven a.m. I’m sorry, I can’t let you up if you missed—”
“I just got the call from the casting director an hour ago,” Teddy rushes out, a little out of breath and holding up his phone. It doesn’t help that he came straight here from an early morning shoot for his TV show. He’s been awake since midnight and probably looks as cracked out on caffeine as he sounds. “She said if I get here by nine, I can have the last slot of the day.”
The receptionist looks unconvinced. “That’s not how things are run—”
“I know,” Teddy cuts her off again, then tries to cushion it with a smile. He gives her both the casting director’s and the director’s names. “My booking agent’s been trying to schedule an audition time for me all week that works around my current film schedule. We just confirmed it this morning.”
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“Sweet, intelligent, charming Teddy and accomplished, smart Bennett suffer all the drama and angst of young love, complicated by celebrity status and the power of social media. Romance lovers and readers fascinated with Hollywood life (on and off set) should enjoy this flirty, of-the-moment, tale.” ~ Publishers Weekly
“Bennett and Teddy’s romance is full of fun and flirty banter, chemistry, misunderstandings and miscommunications, and dealing with fame and gossip ... This new adult/older YA title is the perfect summer novel for fans of Jennifer E. Smith, Jenny Han, and Morgan Matson.” ~ School Library Journal
“A modern, cool, lovable story that easily makes you swoon.” ~ SofiaTypes, reader on SwoonReads.com
“From the awkward jokes and heartwarming scenes to the drama and the heartbreak this story had me laughing and crying.” ~ Basicgrill, reader on SwoonReads.com
“This book was utterly amazing. I've reread it multiple time at this point and to me it's almost a comfort. The writing is luscious, gripping and intriguing, the arc and plotting of the story is done beautifully and the characters were so real and honest. ... I cannot help but compare it to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, another one of my favorite books.” ~ PriyaWrites, reader on SwoonReads.com
My Review
By Lynda Dickson
Teddy is a rising young star who has just auditioned for the movie role of his lifetime – and blown it. On his flight home, he meets Bennett, the young author of the book the movie is based on and somehow manages to get himself invited to stay at her lake house for a few days. While his manager thinks it’s a good opportunity for networking, Teddy finds himself thinking of other things entirely. Throw into the mix a jealous cousin and her star-struck brother, and it’s beginning to look like a fun weekend! Then, add one ex-not-ex-girlfriend, a shared movie set, and a publicity stunt, and things are starting to get even more complicated. Misunderstandings abound. Will this cute couple ever end up together - for real?
Even though Teddy and Bennett are both famous in their own right, they are really just people like us. I love Teddy’s humor and immaturity and Bennett’s vulnerability and insecurity. They are both extremely likable, cute, and funny. And they make the perfect couple. The author has a real talent for portraying the dialogue and behavior of these 18- to 20-year-olds, probably because she is one herself.
The first half of the story is told from Teddy’s point-of-view, followed by Bennett’s point-of-view during the filming of the movie. I enjoyed the first part so much more than the second. The author has chosen to use third person present tense, which feels a bit awkward. It would have been better written in the first person or third person past tense.
An impressive debut by a talented young author.
Warnings: coarse language, sexual references, underage drinking.
Some of My Favorite Lines
“That’s exactly what you are: a portable romantic comedy.”
“God, catching feelings for someone is a fucking nightmare.”
“Bennett’s entire train of thought derails.”
“I can literally hear your brain freaking out right now.”
About the Author
Alex Evansley is a twenty-something-year-old writer from North Carolina. Her specialized talents include putting on workout clothes and not working out, sleeping during the day, losing socks, and procrastinating stories she’d like to write. Love Scene, Take Two is her debut novel.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to a print copy of Love Scene, Take Two by Alex Evansley (US/Canada only).
Links
