Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ciao (Stories about Melissa #3) by Bethany Lopez ~ tour stop + GIVEAWAY

Ciao ( Stories about Melissa #3)


Source:  received from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

From goodreads:

Melissa has had a fantastic summer hanging out with her friends and making new ones. Life as she knows it will change when they all come together to begin their sophomore year at Dearborn High. Connections will be made and friendships will be tested. Will Melissa’s family and friends be able to help her through the challenges she will face in the upcoming months?

My thoughts:




3 stars - a sweet growing-up story with some serious pain

Like the first two books in this series, Ciao is a journal entry story.  Melissa comes from a big family and she is trying to find her place in the world as the oldest of the children.  She's pretty confused about how she feels about Jimmy and Brian.  She knows she wants them all to stay friends.  This story is her sophomore year of high school and the struggles she faces with her friends as they face the normal struggles of growing up, and the pain of losing one of their group.  It's a sweet story and I love the characters.  I'm not sure that journal entry stories are really my thing.  I love the action of the play-by-play.  But this is a sweet story and reads like a middle grade read.  I would recommend it to those who enjoy reading coming of age stories.

Favorite scene is the one shown on the cover.  Loved it more when I realized it was the cover.  I love when covers mean something to the book and aren't just something pretty to sell a book.


About the author:

Bethany Lopez was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Michigan and San Antonio, Texas. She went to High School at Dearborn High, in Dearborn, Michigan, which is where she has set her Young Adult novel. She is married and has a blended family with five children. She is currently serving in the United States Air Force as a Recruiter in Los Angeles, California. She has always loved to read and write and has seen her dream realized by independently publishing her contemporary Young Adult series, Stories About Melissa. Ta Ta for Now! and xoxoxo are available now. Book three, Ciao, will be released in Aug 2012.

***Giveaway***

There is a tour giveaway with this tour.  Check it out below.










a Rafflecopter giveaway

18 comments:

  1. The thing I love most in YA books are I can relate to them somehow. I`m still a young-adult too, and what ties me more on them is that they experience what I dream of experiencing. :)

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  2. My favorite thing is that I can relate to what's happening in the books. That's probably why I prefer contemporary over paranormal/fantasy too :)

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  3. Thank you for taking the time to read and review, Valerie. I appreciate it. I took the cover photo myself. I did a mini photo shoot, trying out different poses and scenes, it was a lot of fun.

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  4. I really like books that are written as journal entries. I seem to fly through them. Glad you liked the book, Val!

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  5. I enjoy the stories better than adult books for some reason. An the covers are awesome! Thanks for the giveaway. :)

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  6. I like that I can relate to them better. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  7. I like the fact that problems can be solved and life can be lived without a whole lot of bad language and sex.

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  8. I LOVE YA cause it makes me feel so young, with a adventure, pure love, not too complex.

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  9. I love all the romance, and how the characters are easily relatable. They are someone we can strive to be. An inspiration. Not to mention I just love that we can be taken out of our world and into another

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  10. it make me go back!! and the guys are yummm!!! thanks!!

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  11. I like this series. This book was a little more difficult to read. The tone was different because of what happened, but I enjoyed it. Nice review!

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  12. I love all the first... The growing of the characters in the story... I just love everything about it

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  13. YA seems to know no bounds. All topics are open.

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  14. I like books that are narrated differently - Letters (Daddy-Long-Legs) and Blog Posts (Things I know about Love)

    I hope this giveaway is International because I would love to win this!!

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    1. DDS @ b00k r3vi3ws
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  15. I love the intense and chaotic moments that I remember feeling while growing up. Also, I kinda think I have a young at heart personality...maybe a peter pan complex :)

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  16. Why not? The character go through what im curently going through, growing up and stuff!

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  17. I love how the characters are different, in some ways there relateable, the worlds, schools, everything is unique! The fun!

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