The Lonesome Young by Lucy Connors

The Lonesome Young by Lucy Connors

Release Date - April 8, 2014
Publisher Website - Razorbill/Penguin
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating - 3.5/5
**received in exchange for an honest review from the publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Get swept away in the first book of the sensational romantic drama that is Romeo and Juliet meets Justified.

WHAT HAPPENS when the teenage heirs of two bitterly FEUDING FAMILIES can’t stay away from each other?

The Rhodales and the Whitfields have been sworn enemies for close on a hundred years, with a whole slew of adulterous affairs, financial backstabbing, and blackmailing that’s escalated the rivalry to its current state of tense ceasefire.

IT’S TIME TO LIGHT THE FUSE . . .

And now a meth lab explosion in rural Whitfield County is set to reignite the feud more viciously than ever before. Especially when the toxic fire that results throws together two unlikely spectators—proper good girl Victoria Whitfield, exiled from boarding school after her father’s real estate business melts down in disgrace, and town motorcycle rebel Mickey Rhodale, too late as always to thwart his older brothers’ dangerous drug deals.

Victoria and Mickey are about to find out the most passionate romances are the forbidden ones.

. . . ON A POWDER KEG FULL OF PENT-UP DESIRE, risk-taking daredevilry, and the desperate actions that erupt when a generation of teens inherits nothing but hate.

The Lonesome Young has a great setting, a deliciously tense feud, and some fantastically high stakes. It's a story of romance, betrayal, and learning to stand up for yourself. I immediately loved certain aspects of the story, but there was one aspect that didn't quite work for me.

The characters ended up endearing themselves to me rather quickly. Victoria is an intelligent, observant young woman. Her love for her sister was something I could understand and relate to. Mickey is determined to be looked at as more than just a Rhodale. He wants to rise above the stigma, and be better than his brothers. His short fuse temper adds a little bit of danger to him, but he melted my heart with how much he cares for his sister and mother.

The feud between the two families serves to create an interesting dynamic and tension. It offers high stakes that the author follows through on. We see the casualties, and the risks this type of feud can cause. The inclusion of drugs (and everything that comes with it) only increases the danger. It's this aspect of the story that held my interest, and urged me to keep reading. The romance could have almost been left out of it, except for the potential bridge between the families it creates, and the extra drama it causes. I don't think I was prepared for it to get this tense, this early. The pacing of the plot is quick, and is like a chain reaction that just keeps building.

The only aspect that didn't quite work for me was the, for me, slightly rushed romance. There was hardly any build up from the intense attraction, to them being in love. This is supposed to be a 'defy everything' type of love, and I wished it had been explored more. As mentioned, the characters themselves are great, and there is some promise in the romance. The scenes between them are filled with chemistry and tension. It would have worked better, for me, if it had been a slower build. There are only a few times where they are alone together and can actually talk, and it seems to happen in such a short span of time. The pacing of the plot perhaps creates this illusion as it seems everything is happening within days (it's actually longer than that). Lucy Connors history with writing romance is evident, and she certainly makes their attraction scorch off the pages. I fully bought into the lust, and attraction they had for each other, and that it had the potential to turn into something deeper. It's only saving grace is that situations like this help to increase feelings.

The Lonesome Young has interesting characters, a dynamite feud, and enough tension to ignite a fire. While the romance itself lacked, there was more than enough chemistry between the characters to satisfy. 

2014 Most Anticipated - The Lonesome Young

The next pick on my 2014 Most Anticipated list is being called Romeo and Juliet meets Justified. Pretty much sold IMMEDIATELY from that description.

The Goodreads synopsis also sounds amazing!

Get swept away in the first book of the sensational romantic drama that is Romeo & Juliet meets Justified.

WHAT HAPPENS when the teenage heirs of two bitterly FEUDING FAMILIES can’t stay away from each other?

The Rhodales and the Whitfields have been sworn enemies for close on a hundred years, with a whole slew of adulterous affairs, financial backstabbing, and blackmailing that’s escalated the rivalry to its current state of tense ceasefire.

IT’S TIME TO LIGHT THE FUSE . . .

And now a meth lab explosion in rural Whitfield County is set to reignite the feud more viciously than ever before. Especially when the toxic fire that results throws together two unlikely spectators—proper good girl Victoria Whitfield, exiled from boarding school after her father’s real estate business melts down in disgrace, and town motorcycle rebel Mickey Rhodale, too late as always to thwart his older brothers’ dangerous drug deals.

Victoria and Mickey are about to find out the most passionate romances are the forbidden ones.

. . . ON A POWDER KEG FULL OF PENT-UP DESIRE, risk-taking daredevilry, and the desperate actions that erupt when a generation of teens inherits nothing but hate.

Lucy was kind enough to answer a few questions about herself, and The Lonesome Young.

1 Describe The Lonesome Young in 3 words

Steamy. Suspenseful. Riveting.

2 Your book seems to deal with a Romeo and Juliet style love story. Why do you think these types of romances are so popular?

The forbidden nature of some love stories heightens the intensity, I think.  It’s a question of how high the stakes are--what are you willing to risk for the right person?  How far will you go for that one special world-bending love?

3 What three things do you need while revising?

An open mind, so that I can imagine circumstances and ideas that go in wildly different directions from where I started.  Multi-colored gel pens, because I circle and draw arrows and write in notes on the paper copy of my manuscript, totally old-school.  And the ability to hear the dialogue in my mind, in order to catch any clunky conversation.  (I’d been a writer for a few years before I first discovered that most people don’t hear voices in their heads! LOL.)

4 Are you able to share a secret about one of the characters, the world, something that inspired something about the world/characters?

I have a MAJOR secret I’m DYING to reveal about the Rhodale/Whitfield family connection, but I can’t, yet, argh!!  Book Two, Carry Me Home, will tell that one.

Here’s a secret about me, though--or at least, something I’ve never in my life really talked about very much. My family was very poor after my dad abandoned us when I was in high school.  We were only able to eat some weeks because of food stamps, and I had to get part-time jobs to be able to afford school clothes.  I was the first person on my dad’s side of the family to ever go to college.  That’s a big part of why I wanted to tell this story, set in a rural part of the country where people struggle to get by--we’re not all rich kids living in mansions when we’re growing up.  The decisions most teens today face are usually a heck of a lot harder than which fancy designer dress to wear to the prom.  So, I guess my secret is that I lived in that world, too.

5 What 2014 release are you most excited for?

Ooh! I have far too many favorite authors to ever pick one book!!  Some of my very favorites are Simone Elkeles, Katie McGarry, Eileen Cook, Mari Mancusi, Kassy Tayler, Jennifer Echols, Heather Davis, and Melissa Walker.  Of course, Sarah Dessen, Alyson Noel, Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, too.  Wow.  I could keep going for days…

A huge thank you to Lucy for taking the time to answering these questions. It's especially sweet that she provided personal, touching answers. It makes me think the romance, and character aspect of the story will be amazing because it means something to her.

If you want to learn more, check out the author's website, or the publisher's website for more information.

The Lonesome Young will be in stores April 8, 2014. Pre-orders for this title are already up, and you can get your copy at the following retailers

Chapters
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Let me know in the comments what you think of the cover, the synopsis, or what you think of Romeo and Juliet style romances. Also, check back soon for a contest where you could win one of my featured titles (these interviews may just help you win!).

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews).

Another exciting mailbox. A huge release this past week, and I am sure everyone is going to have it in their mailboxes.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Goodreads)

Harper Collins Canada made these amazing newspaper ads for certain Canadian cities. I snagged myself two copies.

I also got a few other goodies in the mail

The Lonesome Young by Lucy Connors (Goodreads)
Wizarding World of Harry Potter Postcard from Kelly (KellyVision).

Huge thank you to Penguin Canada and Kelly for these goodies. They made my week! I am excited to starting reading The Lonesome Young, and I am so freaking jealous that Kelly got to see Hogwarts!

Happy Reading, and Happy Weekend!

Waiting on Wednesday.... The Lonesome Young

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is The Lonesome Young by Lucy Connors

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Get swept away in the first book of the sensational romantic drama that is Romeo & Juliet meets Justified.

WHAT HAPPENS when the teenage heirs of two bitterly FEUDING FAMILIES can’t stay away from each other?

The Rhodales and the Whitfields have been sworn enemies for close on a hundred years, with a whole slew of adulterous affairs, financial backstabbing, and blackmailing that’s escalated the rivalry to its current state of tense ceasefire.

IT’S TIME TO LIGHT THE FUSE . . .

And now a meth lab explosion in rural Whitfield County is set to reignite the feud more viciously than ever before. Especially when the toxic fire that results throws together two unlikely spectators—proper good girl Victoria Whitfield, exiled from boarding school after her father’s real estate business melts down in disgrace, and town motorcycle rebel Mickey Rhodale, too late as always to thwart his older brothers’ dangerous drug deals.

Victoria and Mickey are about to find out the most passionate romances are the forbidden ones.

. . . ON A POWDER KEG FULL OF PENT-UP DESIRE, risk-taking daredevilry, and the desperate actions that erupt when a generation of teens inherits nothing but hate.

I love the comparison to Justified, and I am a total sucker for anything compared to Romeo and Juliet.  I am super excited for this one!

Expected release date - April 15, 2014