Author: Jessica Martinez
Expected Published: October 18, 2011 by Simon Pulse
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Goodreads Summary:
"Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.
Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall...."
Racquel's thoughts:
I was very excited to read this and when I when I learned I had the chance to read it early I squealed. Moi is not a squealer!! No doubt, I was not disappointed one bit because this book = amazing debut.
Martinez knows how to convey emotion like no body's buisness. When Carmen was stressed, I was stressed. When Carmen was happy I was happy. When Carmen was describing her passion for the violin, I wanted to play the violin my self.
I was in this book. I didn't just read about Carmen's story. I went through every little emotion through every page with Carmen. I laughed because Heidi and Clark are the definition of quirky character, I had a tug of war about Diana, Carmen's momager (mom/manager) and my heart skipped too many beats at every mention of Jeremy. Who's funny and vulnerable at the same time, he's dedicated, passionate and 100% perfect Carmen. I truly saw their relationship blossom and how Jeremy helped Carmen through the difficult parts of what she was going through is very believable and couldn't been handled better. Speaking of that, this book is all about Carmen finding herself. Does she love violin as much she thinks she is? Is taking anti-anxiety pills okay? Should she wield her own life? These problems are understandable because of Carmen's position in the music industry. I loved just turning to the next page and going through with Carmen as she learns more and more about what she truly wants, as she learns about reality.
As you can see I loved how well the emotions are conveyed but that's not all that made the book. The gorgeous cover, the great character names, the butterfly-in-my-stomach romance, the conflict about decisions, Carmen's inner conflicts, a big shocker, and perfect resolution all add up to once again what turned out to be a great debut!
I loved the writing, I loved from the prologue to the chapter before the last (that tie- if/when you read the book you will know which one;D- is AMAZING) and the epilogue? I had a grin of a fool the entire time so yes, Jessica Martinez, you have made a fan of me. One pre-order of your second book please!
My rating:
First line:
"The balcony felt cold under my cheek."Favorite:
"I don't think doing origami with my pizza is going to change the taste."Teaser:
"Is pre-competition stalking an American thing? Should I be doing it myself, or does this email qualify?"
*Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me a copy to read + review!*
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