Jolene Perry

Wow. This book completely took me by surprise! I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this. I didn't expect it to be so intense and emotional. I read Night Sky in one sitting because it was just so easy to get lost in the story and captivated by the characters. It's books like this one that make me want to read more contemporary novels. Night Sky was just wonderful!

I was maybe a quarter of the way into the book and wondering where Perry was going to take this. I was worried that the show more rest of the book would just be Sky and Jameson talking about how much they like each other. But no, we are thrown into a whirlwind of a story without a boring moment in sight. There is so much depth to this book and it's very easy to get emotionally invested in the story and the characters.

Jameson is a seriously likable character! He's going through such tough situations but he doesn't just sit around and mope for the whole book. He throws himself headfirst into life and new experiences and I really admire him for that. He's just a really nice guy who's always looking out for those around him. His relationship with his mom is really sweet and it's interesting to see them take turns at helping each other. Sky is simply brilliant. Her character is so intriguing and complex; I couldn't wait to find out more about her! I liked how their 'honesty pact' brought both good and bad things to their lives.

Finally, I love the title. Before I read the book, I just thought Night Sky was a generic and not so memorable title. However, after reading it I love how much meaning it has. I would never have guessed there was reason behind it and I love that! It makes a lot more sense now. Night Sky is a lovely book that I'd recommend to anyone who loves contemporary novels or would like to dip their toes into the genre! show less

I wanted to read The Summer I Found you for several reasons. First, I am drawn to anything about teenage illness and the diabetes caught my attention. Second, I respect vets and those who serve or have served in the military and I love to read about them, so this romance with broken but amazing sounding Aidan sounded like something that I would enjoy his journey to healing and moving on from a life that he never thought would be over so soon. Third, I have read a few of Jolene Perry's other show more books and enjoyed so given the perfect storm above, it was a no brainer.
I really connected with Kate. I think she was described as just this side of weird and that sounds just like me. She ends up blurting out blunt things, sarcastic, awkward things and I do the same. She handles it with more grace than I do, and she found an admirer in Aidan because most people act like the missing arm is a non-issue, and Kate, first time meeting brought it up, asked him questions and even made harmless jokes. And that made him feel more like a person than he has in a long time. But he has other battles--he has nightmares that plague him and he has no idea what he wants for his future moving on.
Kate and Aidan had some pretty obvious and immediate chemistry, but there were some concerns with him being so over high school and she is hiding her diabetes because ironically she enjoys that someone doesn't know and doesn't make a big deal out of it. Her parents smother her as she's trying to learn to deal with the disease and she is not the most responsible with it, but I think its because she isn't accepting that this is something that will forever shape her life and interfere even if in minor things.
But as Kate and Aidan become friends, they both realize things about themselves and their illness/disability. And they also find a safe outlet, an ease of opening up and the freedom found in comfortable silences, just being with someone.
The issues of PTSD are so important to me, because my mom suffers so I really appreciated seeing it dealt with in ya lit. Aidan's struggles are real and hard and she writes that very well.
So--as far as title and cover, while lovely, I think that they are somewhat misleading. Because this isn't really the light romance that you would think on first impression. Don't get me wrong, the synopsis does let you know, and I loved what I found inside, just a disclaimer/worth mentioning thing.
In the end, Kate's hiding def caught up with her, and I am glad everything she learned through it and that her and Aidan figured it out.

Bottom Line: Sweet romance with characters I felt for. show less

Rating: 4.5/5

*dab her eyes with a Kleenex*

Second chances are a beautiful thing, indeed.

From the beginning of the book, sorrow and sadness clenched my heart in a iron grasp and didn't let go until I turned the last pages and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the two lovers getting finally their happy ending. It was the least they could have after all the hurt and heartaches they've been subjected to in one year.

A whirl of misunderstanding, pain, grief, loss, bitterness, love, heartbreak, a show more messy break-up and Tobin and Delia in the middle of it all, how can anyone stay stoic and unmoved by what they have been through?

I cried and cried and stayed until 2am reading in a frenzy, aching for a small flicker of happiness, to see them get past all their mistakes, overcome their fears and obstacles and be in each other arms again.

I cried for Tobin who just lost his older brother but couldn't understand why he did that to himself.

And I cried for Delia, who had been bullied her whole life by her control-freak father but then had enough of it and stood up for herself and her happiness against him.

Beautiful, emotional and hazardous for mushy hearts (like myself); Mrs. Perry and Mrs. Campbell are two authors I'm adding to watch-out-for list. show less

I'm smiling like a lunatic right now. Maybe I should give it a couple of days for all these ~feels to sink in and then write a coherent review, but I don't feel like it. There are love stories, and then there are love stories.

It starts out one way, and then it takes a complete different turn. My memory was a bit hazy on the blurb, so I found myself warming up to Craig guy because I have this habit of making sure who the hero should be and then rooting for him from the beginning, in order not show more to get disappointed in the end (I feel like I'm admitting to some sort of a crime here). So I read just the beginning of blurb again, it says Craig something, and there I was, absolutely loving the sleazy prick Craig. I'm thinking, maybe he will have some redeeming qualities? Surely, he will. He's the hero!

And then Jolene Perry did something no other author ever did to me. She changed my mind. Once I set my mind on who the heroine should end up with, it's pretty hard to do. Impossible, even. Never happened before.

The romance is so subtle at first. It's perfect. I often complain about how authors do the whole "love at first sight" thing and I just wish they would get over it already. Talk about unrealistic expectations about love. I find that it's much more enjoyable just reading about characters falling in love over time. And this is exactly what I got reading Falling.

I'm happy because...she did it so effortlessly. So there you have it. It's possible!

Both Dana and Jason are such great characters. I can't even talk about them separately, because to me, they were just so perfect together. Dana has a past that we don't really find out about from the beginning. But I could still relate to her! And most times I felt exactly the way Jason felt about her, like she had two personalities. I loved that about him, that he noticed this, and that he wanted the real one. I also loved that he was over his wife, because she was screwing him over, and he knew he deserved better than that. Oh, and he likes football. And calls the sport by its real name. I can't tell you how much I loved this.

And there is this perfect chemistry between Jason and Dana that I can't even begin to describe. He turns from hating her type to realizing there's more to her than his prejudice. She finds him rude and annoying, but also safe and comforting. And all the while, there is this pull between them and you can just feel it. The sexual tension during the hair/beard cutting scene is almost unbearable. PERFECT! I can't say it enough.
I loved it so much.

When I first stumbled upon this book, I knew I will read it as soon as it's out - it just sounded like my kind of thing. I've only ever read My Heart for Yours so it's not like I know Jolene Perry's writing. Well, I'm a fan! As a matter of fact, I'm about to go on a Jolene Perry book-binge (well, right after I finish a couple of other things)! show less