Sunday, July 6, 2014

You Never Know

The one thing I have enjoyed the most about blogging is getting to meet and know new authors. Working in a bookstore for so many years, you become familiar with the names on the shelves. Blogging has opened up my eyes to this whole world of independent, self-published masterpieces. Melinda Harris' novel, You Never Know is oozing with passion for writing that you don't see in every book you read. It was a plot that I haven't encountered before, and that had me hooked.

"Over the past eight years, twenty-six year old Sam Harper has come to realize a few things: her son is the light of her life, a pint of Cherry Garcia will cure all that ails you, her mother is a biscuit-and-gravy-filled genius and nothing, absolutely nothing, ever goes as planned. "


Sam Harper lives a normal life working at the County Courthouse while raising her son with the help of her loving mother. Sam and her quirky bunch of friends has an odd pastime. They spend their free time watching the filming of a TV show that is going on in their small Georgia town. Sydney, Liz and Rose are the kind of friends every girl wishes for. The four of them remind me of a small town Southern version of Sex in the City. 
" Sydney?" Liz calls to her as we start putting out the plates and silverware. "I assume you feel you are the most helpful by sitting on the couch and looking pretty?" 
Sam is a FANGIRL to say the least. She has a self-proclaimed obsession with the quiet, keep to himself star of the show, Ethan Grant. The media portrays him as a jerk BUT Sam knows better. The story of these friends, their relationships and all that goes on in the small town of Delia keeps you engrossed til the very end. Ethan steals your heart with the first text! And as he comes out of his shell, you fall more and more in love with him. And then...
BAM! 
Melinda Harris drops a twist of ALL twists. I will admit, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop with this story. You are reading and you hit some small relational (is that a word?!?) roadblocks, but nothing that constitutes a twist. Nothing prepares you for the twist that yanks at EVERY emotion you have invested in this story! Well played Melinda! Well played.

I had trouble placing this book into a category. It read with the innocence of a YA novel, but these characters were in their twenties. The lack of steamy scenes made me hesitant to label it a NA novel. I ended up going with the generic label of 'Fiction.' I would be curious to know what others labeled this book as. Regardless, it didn't stop me from enjoying myself in this sweet story of the impossible dream crush. Now for a few of my favorite quotes:

"I promise I'm not some Cassanova that lures girls into his trailer with lasagna."

"Ethan is comfort food for my soul."

"Monopoly later?" Ethan asks, as we look around the room. 
"I'm not sure we should do that," I say. 
"And why is that?"
"Because I will dominate you."
Ethan's smile is sinful. "I kind of like the sound of that."

Last, but not least - the NEXT book in the Fangirl series comes out this month! I will be reading this next. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a sweet story of friendship, love and family.
Now let's show Melinda Harris some LOVE: 

I leave you with ONE question (please answer in the comments!!!) Who would you SET-STALK while filming? Fangirl over? 

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