yabooktwins: I heart all things 'Jennifer' (Echols)

A couple of weeks ago I was having YA romantic withdrawals, I just devoured Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini and Hourglass by Myra McEntire. I absolutely loved them both. I tweeted something along the lines of wanting to feel the way I felt when I read those books. A Twitter friend was kind enough to suggest Going Too Far (Meg&John). I read it and LOVED it.

So when I found out that Jennifer Echols' had a new YA novel, Love Story (Erin&Hunter) coming out, I was super excited. Love Story came out last Tuesday, I pre-ordered and just after midnight, I decided to read it on my kindle. I actually stayed up till 4:30 in the morning and got to 75% or so. I read it on the way to work and finished it around 8:20 in the morning. I'm not really going to explain what this book is about...I'll let the summary from Amazon do it.

SHE’S WRITING ABOUT HIM. HE’S WRITING ABOUT HER. AND EVERYBODY IS READING BETWEEN THE LINES.

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions—it’s her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family’s racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin’s college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a local coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she’s sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He’s joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin’s heart with longing. Now she’s not just imagining what might have been. She’s writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

~

Echols has the ability to turn these every day stories and characters extraordinary. I fall in love every time I read one of her novels. There seems to be a formula with her novels: unrequited love, parental issues, a childhood friend, 'the jerk' and confidant male and female leads. However, each character is different in every book. Same formula, very different variables.

At first when I read Love Story, I sort of rolled my eyes at the the story only because I thought the book's story was going to be compromised of many short stories. I wasn't sure if the novel was going to be mostly stories between Erin and Hunter. But it wasn't, I actually enjoyed Hunter's stories more than Erin's because it seemed her stories were based on every day observations were better than her stories about Hunter. When I read Hunter's stories, usually a response to whatever Erin wrote the previous week, I felt like I could relate to Hunter. I could feel what he felt. How could I have doubted her [Echols]. At first I though, 'oh, I can't love everything she's written,' but I have so far!

A few things I adore about her main male characters include: determination, respect, education values and their selflessness. Now with all of these amazing characteristics, you would think she was writing about the quintessential male protagonists, they actually are not perfect, well except maybe John After. The main male characters are as vulnerable as the female main characters, I think the only difference is that the male characters choose to put the female characters first.

I have already re-read Going Too Far and Forget You twice!

I am borderline obsessed with her writing and look forward to all of her upcoming novels.