Review: Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

Book: Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens
Release Date: February 14, 2011
Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing
Source: Teen Book Scene
Grade: 4 Stars

Synopsis:
Ashlyn: A lonely society princess living in NewYork City.
Daddy hired you to be my bodyguard.
Colin: Childhood enemy, now her protector.
Daddy thought I'd be safe. He thought I'd never fall in love. He thought he could keep me forever.
Charles: obsessed with keeping her safe, keeping her his, he hires the one person he knows she could never fall in love with: Colin.
Daddy was wrong.

My Thoughts:

Jennifer Lauren’s writing has come to shine in this novel. Contemporary is definitely her style.

Ashlyn was a great main character and I felt bad for her because her family was so messed up and her dad was so controlling and “overprotecting”. I liked how she was a really good musician and she wasn’t just some stereotypical dumb blond.  Colin was a great character too. He was the good body guard and l liked how he had some mystery to him, but it wasn’t blown over the top like it would be in other books.

Ashlyn and Colin’s relationship didn’t really make sense to me. She hates him and yet all she does is think about his eyes and hair and what not. There were sweet parts of their romance though. For example, my favorite part was when Ashlyn was playing the piano and then Colin came in and sat next to her. So sweet.

There are a few other things I didn’t like about the book either though. I can’t say that I loved the writing. At times it felt like Jennifer Laurens was describing everything too much and then too little. Also, some of the events that happened didn’t seem realistic like Ashlyn’s old body guard falling in love with her and then her just blowing it off.

I really liked this book and I’m glad I read it. This is one that I kept reading until I couldn’t anymore.

Grade: 4 Stars

Review: Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens

Book: Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens
Pages: 280 Pages
Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing
Date Released: August 15th 2009
Source: Author

Synopsis:
I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoë's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoë lost in her broken life. Zoë escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoë's autistic sister. After Zoë is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

My Thoughts:

 This book was a really fun read, but I wasn't sure I really liked it. The plot was great, but the characters were lacking and there were some parts of the book that didn't need to be in there at all.

 Guardian angels are great to read about, and this story's no exception. Matthias and Zoe make a cute couple and I love how they mesh perfectly. I didn't like how Abria wasn't really in the last part of the book though. I mean, Matthias was only there because of Abria, without Abria, there would be no Zoe and Matthias. When Abria was in the book, I felt so fuzzy inside because she was so adorable! She reminded me of my baby cousin, cute and innocent. Luke was also a pretty good character, although I didn't think his drug use didn't need to have such a big impact on the story. It's suppose to be a subplot, but it acts like a main plot.
 A lot of people-including me-can relate to this book because there are a bunch of things that happened that weren't otherworldly. For example, Zoe partied a lot because of the stress in her family, or Luke's trading/doing of drugs because of the stress.
 Heavenly wasn't that kind of book where after you read it it changes you, but it was a fun book to read and I can't wait to read the second and third! If you like books like Hush, hush and Fallen, this may be the right book for you.

Writing 8/10

Setting 7/10

Characters: 6/10

Plot: 9/10

Cover: 10/10

Ending: 4/5

44/55= 80% B+