Review: Hold my Breath by Ginger Scott

Hold my Breath

Author: Ginger Scott

Series: -

Publisher / Source: Self - Netgalley

Release date: 18^th November 2016

Pages: 300

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Fractions of seconds can do lots of damage. One decision can ruin lives. A blink can be tragic. And loving a Hollister…can hurt like hell.

I would know.

They say the average person can hold their breath under water for two full minutes when pushed to the extremes. Will Hollister has been holding his for years. The oldest of two elite swimming brothers, Will was always a dominant force in the water. But in life, he preferred to let his younger brother Evan be the one to shine.

Evan got the girl, and Will…he got to bury all of the secrets. A brother’s burden, the weight of it all nearly left him to drown.

The daughter of two Olympians, my path was set the day my fingertips first touched water. My future was as crystal clear as the lane I dominated in the pool—swim hard, win big, love a Hollister.

My life with Evan burned bright. He gave me arms to come home to, and a smile that fooled the world into believing everything was perfect. But it was Will who pushed me. Will…who really knew me.

And when all of the pieces fell, it was Will who started to pick them up.

In the end, the only thing that matters are those few precious seconds—and what we decide to do while we still have them in our grasp.

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

What a wonderfully engrossing and complex story! I am a huge Ginger Scott fan and this book was thoroughly mesmerising.

Maddy, Evan and Will were childhood best friends; all of them great swimmers but it was Evan who was the golden child; the three of them pushed each other to be the best that they could but when tragedy struck friendships were broken and their lives were forever changed.

Will left for college and ended up on a path of self-destruction after his family’s accident; he made many mistakes, most publicised but after 4 years absence he returns to town ready to retrain and rebuild lost trust and his relationship with Maddy; he does this with the help of his uncle and also Maddy’s father who owns a swimming club which is on the brink of bankruptcy.

There were a lot of emotions felt whilst reading this book; my heart broke for the characters who were all affected in one way or another; there was lost trust, betrayal, forbidden romance and secrets that all made for a fast paced an engaging story.

I couldn’t help but hope for happiness for Maddy and Will. Maddy’s past with Evan haunts her and with the reappearance of Will her feelings are conflicted; seeing their friendship reignite and their slow road to trusting one another and to an eventual romance kept me on the edge of my seat.

I enjoyed all of the swimming scenes between Maddy and Will, they were competitive and wanted the best for each other but there was always something stopping them from fully letting themselves give in to their feelings; their past and secrets were holding them back. There was a lot of drama and Will had to take on a huge burden; he had been through so much and things weren’t getting easier for him, I felt like he was given too many problems in this book, there was a lot of pain and suffering.

I thoroughly enjoyed the connection between Maddy and Will, I enjoyed the forbidden aspect and despite there previously being someone else involved also the friends to lovers’ storyline.

Ginger Scott’s writing is truly wonderful, her characters are flawed but each well-developed and interesting; I was hooked from the very first page and wanted more at the end. My only reason for not rating this book higher was because there was just too much angst, my heart was breaking.

Thank you to the author via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Hold My Breath.

About the author: Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count and Hold My Breath.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for pretty much ever. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

Review: Blindness by Ginger Scott

BLINDNESS

Author: Ginger Scott

Series: -

Pages: 350

Publisher: Self

Amazon

Release date: 25^th February 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

It takes a while to know who you really are. And when you lose your way, sometimes it’s hard to find it again.

Charlie Hudson was on the verge of figuring that out when her dad—the only parent and friend she ever had—died suddenly. She was barely 18, and she was alone. So she went for easy—playing life safe, running away from a home that harbored nothing but bad memories and challenges and loving a man who would take her away from it all forever. 

It’s funny how chance takes over when you need it most. And that’s exactly what brought Cody Carmichael into her life. A former motocross super star, Cody was now happy to be living the blue collar life, spending his days finishing up school and his nights under the hood of some classic car, just trying to keep everything his father taught him alive. Cody and Charlie were living parallel lives, until they finally collided. And the moment he smiled at her, Charlie knew he was the one who would change everything. But was she willing to take the risk? 

Cody saw through it all. He saw her—all of her. But would letting him in be too much to take? And if Charlie let herself love him—really love him—could he love her back?

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

You know, I would buy Blindness for the cover alone; I absolutely love it! The story within held my attention from the first page, I was gripped to my seat wanting to know what would happen even though the story-line is one I’m not usually a fan of at all, actually I tend to avoid it – cheating just isn’t for me but for some silly reason I couldn’t put the book down.

Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Hudson hasn’t had the easiest life, her mother abandoned her at the age of seven and her cop father was quite distant up until a year before he died when she was 18. Now studying architecture with a part-time internship, Charlie's is dating Trevor a law student with their future already mapped out. When Charlie needs to find a place to live, she moves in with her boyfriend and his parents but he is commuting back and forth to Washington and she is more or less left alone.

Charlie thought her life was on track until she meets Cody Carmichael, a former motocross super star who has also experienced pain and loss; Cody spends his days finishing up at school and his nights repairing cars, he is also connected to Trevor in some way (I won’t reveal what it is to avoid spoilers) - the chemistry and attraction between Charlie and Cody was instantaneous, probably a little too quick, he was Trevor’s complete opposite and he understood her, they were perfect together actually but there was one thing in their way - Trevor.

To be honest, I don’t think the love triangle worked, Trevor was safe for Charlie and her constant but he never truly got her; I actually thought with his constant travelling he would be the one to stray but he came out of it the good guy. Charlie strung Trevor along but didn’t expect Cody to have relationships which didn’t make sense, she was jealous, judgmental and could be quite the drama queen and her cheating and betrayal was the worst, there didn’t seem to be any remorse; her emotions were lacking and I don’t feel there was a complete resolution for them all.

Despite the cheating, I did enjoy the book. Ginger Scott’s writing is detailed and even though I didn’t fully understand Charlie’s actions or reactions, I enjoyed the characters and their back-stories – secondary included.

Thank-you to author, Ginger Scott for providing me with a copy of Blindness to read and review.

About the author: Ginger Scott is a writer and journalist from Peoria, Arizona. Her new adult romance, "Blindness," is now available. 

Scott is also the author of "Waiting on the Sidelines," a coming-of-age love story that explores the real heartbreak we all feel as we become adults throughout our high school years. The story follows two characters, Nolan (a Tomboy with a baseball player's name) and Reed (the quarterback she wishes would notice her) as they struggle with peer-pressure, underage drinking, bullying and finding a balance between what your heart wants and what society says you should want -- even if you aren't ready. You can read it, and the sequel, "Going Long," now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other e-book outlets.

Scott has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website athttp://www.littlemisswrite.com.

Review: Going Long (Waiting on the Sidelines #2) by Ginger Scott

Going Long

Author: Ginger Scott

Series: Waiting on the Sidelines

Pages: 243

Publisher: Self

Amazon

Release date: 1^st October 2013

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

They fell in love in high school and found their way back to one another despite the odds. But can first loves really be forever? For Reed Johnson, the dream was always football. But then Nolan Lennox took over his heart. Is he willing to give up his first love just to keep his true love? Or will he be too late? 

Reed and Nolan’s story continues in "Going Long," sequel to "Waiting on the Sidelines."

Review: 3  out of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Waiting on the Sidelines so I was eager to dive into the sequel, Going Long to see how Nolan Lennox and Reed Johnson are doing now that they are in a steady relationship.

There was a lot of angst, drama and miscommunications in the first book and it flowed over into this as well with an onslaught of problems in their relationship. I don’t want to reveal the details to avoid spoilers but there were a lot of ups and downs which seemed to me to outweigh the good parts, it was drama overload unfortunately.

Reed and Nolan are at separate colleges and commuting to make things work but distance makes it tough, with Reed being drafted to football he is wanting Nolan to make a few changes in her life which isn’t an easy decision for her and with his chosen profession it came with a lot of attention and insecurities for Nolan; I really felt for her at times despite Reed only wanting her, this aspect seemed to create unnecessary drama which I found extremely frustrating. Their love story in this book seemed quite unbelievable.

The secondary characters are wonderful and each of them played an important role in the overall story; the friendships were quite strong which I valued and all were developed extremely well.

In Going Long we get both MC’s POV’s and it worked out well, it explained their actions and reactions which I appreciated. I couldn’t fault Ginger Scott’s writing which was crisp and engaging; I may have enjoyed this more at a different time but the gamut of emotions didn’t appeal to my mood at the time so this may be it’s more me rather than the book.

Overall, Going Long was an emotional roller-coaster ride and despite being frustrated on many occasions by the characters behaviours it was entertaining none the less.

An ARC was provided by the author via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

About the author: Ginger Scott is a writer and journalist from Peoria, Arizona. Her newest novel, "Blindness," will be available in February 2014. 

Her debut novel, "Waiting on the Sidelines," is a coming-of-age love story that explores the real heartbreak we all feel as we become adults throughout our high school years. The story follows two characters, Nolan (a Tomboy with a baseball player's name) and Reed (the quarterback she wishes would notice her) as they struggle with peer-pressure, underage drinking, bullying and finding a balance between what your heart wants and what society says you should want -- even if you aren't ready. You can read it, and the sequel, "Going Long," now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other e-book outlets.

Scott has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website athttp://www.littlemisswrite.com. 

Review: Waiting on the Sidelines by Ginger Scott

Waiting on the Sidelines

Author: Ginger Scott

Series: Waiting on the Sidelines

Pages: 335

Publisher: Self

Amazon

Release date: 5^th August 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Nolan Lennox had things figured out. Named after a baseball legend, she enjoyed being the Tomboy, her closet filled with her brother’s hand-me-downs, cut-off jeans and soccer shorts. But when her first trip to high school results in a broken heart from the first boy to ever make her heart flutter and cruel words from an older girl she once thought a family friend, Nolan starts to question the very person she thought she was and wonders if her humble upbringing can compete with the afforded luxuries of her privileged peers.

Throughout the next four years, Nolan struggles to maintain herself throughout her path of discovery, learning just how cruel teenagers can be through the pressures of underage drinking, sexuality and class. And despite how life seems to continue to work against her, she still manages to listen to her heart, falling deeper and deeper for the guy the entire town adores, even if he only sees her as a friend. Can Nolan strike a compromise between her own integrity and the boy she loves? And can she make him notice her before it’s too late?

Reed Johnson came to Coolidge High School with a lot of fanfare. The son of a hometown football legend and the brother of a local football hero, Reed wore all the pressures of carrying a town without hope into the spotlight. Thankfully, he had the talent to back it up. But when he meets a girl who makes him think twice about exactly what being a hero means, he starts to wonder if following in his brother’s footsteps might be all wrong. 

Nolan Lennox was everything that was opposite of expected. She didn’t flirt, she didn’t drink and she didn’t sleep around. Nothing about her was easy, but something about her made Reed want to try harder. Though she didn’t look the part, she seemed to be spending a lot of time in Reed’s thoughts, and he wondered if she could be the one who made it all worthwhile. But could Reed handle letting her down? And would breaking her heart break him beyond repair?

Waiting on the Sidelines explores young love to its fullest, exposing how real young heartbreak and passion is and how important it is to discover yourself and hold onto your own identity. The story follows two young characters as they deal with mature situations, including the prevalence of bullying and promiscuity in today’s high school setting. Ultimately, Waiting on the Sidelines is a story of hope, honesty and those powerful, first true loves—the ones worth holding onto at any cost

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

Waiting on the Sidelines is a perfect coming of age young adult novel that kept me engrossed from the very first page as we meet our main protagonist, tomboy Nolan Lennox, a girl who knows what she wants from life; never the centre of attention, she keeps to herself and lies low. 

Told from Nolan’s POV, we get to know her that little bit more and I thought she was wonderful! She had to endure a lot at the hands of a bully but she dealt with it all with dignity and always respected herself, she easily forgave and was a great friend, watching her immense emotional growth over the course of the book was wonderful.

The main love interest is Reed Johnson who came to Coolidge High School well-known and already popular because of his family, in particular his father and older brother, a football hero but he stood out for his own sporting abilities as well. He was kind-hearted but also made a few poorly thought out decisions and ran hot and cold throughout the book which made me dislike him quite often.

It took a long while for Nolan and Reed to come together, they were friends before anything eventuated and despite not liking them being with others knowing their true feelings towards one another it was nice as teens that they got to experience other relationships and mature to eventually appreciate one another that little bit more but there were a lot of ups and downs and miscommunications for them to get there.

We are introduced to some great side characters, best friends Sienna, Sarah and Becky were wonderful and I really found myself liking Sean who was really sweet - it was also nice that the parents were present. Tatum on the other hand was cruel, a typical mean girl who constantly grated on my nerves. I enjoyed the natural feel of the dialogue and the believability of the characters' interactions.

Waiting on the Sidelines follows Nolan and Reed throughout four years of school and many firsts, the transition throughout the years was flawless and written well. Ginger Scott’s writing is simplistic and engaging and her story-telling is engrossing; the many teen issues were dealt with well and all of the characters were true to life which I appreciated.

Overall, Waiting on the Sidelines is filled with many emotional and drama-filled moments; it kept me riveted from the very first page as the characters dealt with differing situations. I look forward to reading more books written by this author.

Thank-you to Netgalley/Ginger Scott for providing me with a copy of Waiting on the Sidelines to read and review.

About the author: Ginger Scott is a writer and journalist from Peoria, Arizona. Her debut novel, "Waiting on the Sidelines," is a coming-of-age love story that explores the real heartbreak we all feel as we become adults throughout our high school years. The story follows two characters, Nolan (a Tomboy with a baseball player's name) and Reed (the quarterback she wishes would notice her) as they struggle with peer-pressure, underage drinking, bullying and finding a balance between what your heart wants and what society says you should want -- even if you aren't ready. You can read her book now in Amazon's kindle store. 

The sequel, "Going Long," will be available October 1, 2013.

Scott has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website athttp://www.littlemisswrite.com.