Going Too Far is $3.79 at Amazon, and $3.99 elsewhere. I reviewed this book in 2009 and gave it a B-:
Both characters defy expectations in every direction, especially and most notably with one another. I found myself rereading moments of dialogue so I could gently lift another layer and wonder at what’s underneath and behind each character’s words. Echols packs a ton of motivation and meaning into spare replies of two or three words, and captures that wonderful tension of noticing someone, really noticing them, and then realizing that they might have noticed you, too.
All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far…and almost doesn't make it back.
John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget.
But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge — and over….
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Smart and Sexy by Jill Shalvis is $1.99 as a reissue from Kensington. This book was originally published in 2007. While some readers loved the humor, others thought the suspense plot was ridiculous and the timeline too short.
Noah is a bad-boy rebel who's always gone his own way, but when the stowaway on board turns out to be his secret crush, he'll make it his mission to keep the passenger satisfied. . .
Flying Solo Is Way Overrated Noah Fisher has worked for months to make Sky High the most prestigious charter airline in California. He's long overdue for a break–something involving ski slopes, cold beers, and hot ski bunny babes, not necessarily in that order. The itinerary doesn't include being hijacked by Bailey Sinclair, gorgeous widow of one of Sky High's wealthiest (ex-) clients.
But here they are, and being crammed in a cockpit with the scared, stubborn, unbelievably sexy former model he's been fantasizing about invokes Superman tendencies that could get Noah in serious trouble. Bailey is desperate to find the stash of money hidden by her conniving, thieving late husband–before the bad guys he owed find her. It's a long shot, but nothing compared to the gamble she's taking by being so close to Noah.
Every minute in his company has Bailey thinking about doing crazy, reckless things like touching, grabbing, kissing. . .and oh wow, being kissed right back. Suddenly, seat-of-your-pants seems like the only way to fly, and maybe it's the altitude playing tricks, but this is one trip she never wants to end. . .
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Such a Rush is also $3.79 at Amazon and $3.99 elsewhere. I haven't read this one but at this price I'm going to grab it – I've been meaning to read it for awhile. I have no idea what flying has to do with standing backwards in a windstorm, though.
Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.
But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.
By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they’re determined to keep the banner planes flying.
Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly.
I highly recommend both of the Echols books—they’re YA romance done right, in my opinion. Such a Rush, in particular, worked for me on a number of levels, especially since the main character is a rather prickly (which I love).
I’ve read Going Too Far and quite enjoyed it. Aside from Jennifer Echols’s amusing idea of what’s “shocking” and “rebellious” in teenagers (Hair dyed blue? My goodness me, if you go to college looking like that, the other students will think you’re anti-social, by gosh!)* it’s pretty good.
* if it turns out that dyed hair really is some sort of serious social signal in that particular college/part of the US, then I apologize, but I still maintain that the idea of a college student with dyed hair being in any way a shocking stand-out is laughable.
I admit I really liked Smart and Sexy. Yes it’s kind of silly but it has Shalvis’s usual great dialogue, touch of humor, and sexy love scenes. If you like Shalvis you’ll like this one I suspect.
I haven’t read any Jennifer Echols yeat—going to have to grab that last one from B&N. Thanks!
Alina, as a teenager from a small town that has many that go on to local branches of state schools…blue hair would certainly cause someone to stand out and be labeled different. Your assumption is completely off-mark, especially in the setting of GOING TOO FAR. I had a friend with bright red hair that was labelled as someone very different – and red is at least a hair color found in nature, though not in the candy apple red variety like hers.
And I think it is safe to say that blue hair would stand out. GOING TOO FAR read as very real to me, someone who has grown up in a small town and been labelled different for something. It’s a very real book that totally hits the mark in the way it portrays its characters. SUCH A RUSH is even better.
I might try the Jill Shalvis.
CarrieS – I couldn’t comment on your review, so fwiw, here are some mm pnr I think you might like. Irregulars by Nicole Kimberling (uf anthology), Incursion by Aleksandr Voinov (space opera) and Claimings, Tails and other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala (sfr).
The commenting closure was my fault – I accidentally set the comments to expire before the entry posted. Oops! It’s open now. Sorry about that.
I hope if you’re buying one of the books on sale you’ll tell me what you think!