Cover
Auf dem Cover sind zwei Personen zu sehen. Ein junger Mann und ein junges Mädchen, die sich in Liebe zugeneigt sind.
Ich finde das Cover schön und schlicht. Es passt gut zu der Geschichte und verrät schon ungefähr was passiert. Mir gefällt es gut, auch wenn es kein übermäßig wunderschönes Cover ist, es passt zum Inhalt und alleine das gefällt mir schon.

Meine Meinung
Wie man am Inhalt bereits unschwer erkennen kann, habe ich dieses Buch auf Englisch gelesen, da es bis jetzt noch nicht übersetzt wurde. Zurzeit lese ich allgemein sehr gerne Englisch, daher hat mich das überhaupt nicht gestört.

Cami möchte unbedingt Köchin oder besser gesagt Küchenchef im Restaurant ihres Vaters werden oder auch in jedem anderen Restaurant, eigentlich ist sie da überhaupt nicht wählerisch. Ihr Vater jedoch wünscht sich, dass seine einzige Tochter aufs College geht und einen Abschluss macht. Er wünscht sich, dass ihr alle Möglichkeiten offenbleiben. Immer wieder geraten die beiden aneinander, wenn es um dieses Thema geht. Ansonsten verstehen sie sich sehr gut und sind ein gutes Team. Ich fand es äußerst amüsant, das Camis Vater immer auf Französisch mit ihr geschimpft hat. Er kommt ursprünglich aus Frankreich und hat erst mit Mitte zwanzig richtig Englisch gelernt.

Julian ist ein Ex-Marine und kommt mit sehr schweren Verletzungen aus Afghanistan zurück. Er hat im Krieg schlimme Dinge erlebt und muss nicht nur seine körperlichen Verletzungen auskurieren. Julian musste Unteranderem auch ein Bein amputiert werden. Alles in allem ist er in keiner guten Verfassung als er Cami im Krankenhaus das erste Mal trifft. Er wirft sogar Dinge nach ihr, weil es ihm so schlecht geht.

Zu Beginn sticheln die Beiden viel und tun alles was sie können, um sich gegenseitig das Leben schwer zu machen. Cami muss jedoch immer wieder zurückstecken, da von ihr erwartet, wird gut mit Julian umzugehen, da er verletzt und als Gast im Haus ist.

Es dauert jedoch nicht lange und die Beiden fangen an wesentlich besser miteinander auszukommen und sie verlieben sich ineinander. Julian denkt über vieles anderes, als Cami. Er schafft es viel zu einfach, sie zu provozieren.

Mir hat der Anfang sehr gut gefallen, in dem sich die beiden einfach nur anzicken und die ganze Zeit streiten. Es ist ziemlich lustig, dass zu lesen. Auch später im Buch finde ich Cami und Julian einfach nur niedlich.

Ich hatte viel Spaß dabei ihre Geschichte zu lesen und konnte auch einmal mehr feststellen, dass sich Bücher auf Englisch irgendwie schöner Lesen lassen. Sie klingen einfach viel besser, beziehungsweise scheint es so, als würden sich die Autoren dort besser ausdrücken. So kommt es mir vor. Das könnte allerdings auch nur eine Täuschung sein.

Was ich jedoch mit Gewissheit sagen kann, dieses Buch ist schön, es ist romantisch und es ist lustig. Alles in allem kann man es durchaus als lesenswert bezeichnen.

Wertung (4/5)

www.valaraucos-buchstabenmeer.de

Review can be seen on Books and Swoons .

*I received a copy of this book for a blog tour through NetGalley, but it did not influence this review in any way.*

My rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars

To be honest, this was a surprising read for me. I had a little bit of trouble when I first started the book. It felt like I was being told the story instead of experiencing it. It also felt like there wasn't any real consistency between scenes. However, things change fairly quickly once I managed to get sucked into the story, when Cami and Julian first meet. 

Cami is this bubbly, all over the place, sweet girl and Julian is this abrasive, rude and hot ex-Marine. When they first meet, their polar opposite personalities cause them to clash right away. They just seem to hurl insults at each other and while Cami was insensitive at time, I believe that Julian deserved it. So when she had to apologize to him, I felt a little indignant for her. He was being a prick and she was just being honest. *pouts*

I love Cami and Julian together. Their banter is so entertaining and how they just seems to bicker about everything reminds me of my boyfriend and I. And the best part is that when they did get together, it didn't stop. It continued but only this time, to make up, there would be some delicious kissing! 

One of the things that got to me about this story was the fact that both Cami and Julian are confused with what they want to do with the rest of their lives. And like in many typical teenage relationships, the feelings for the other person would take on a bigger priority. However, Julian (gosh, I just love him for this) pushed both himself and Cami to figure out what their dreams were and pushed to follow them and that they would make the relationship work no matter what. Julian knew that his and Cami's dreams would separate them but he still wanted them to pursue their own path and do what they wanted to do. He didn't want to influence Cami into choosing a path that would just forced her into not following her dreams. I have yet to see something like this in a YA novel and Sabrina Elkins did such a good job at it.

Sabrina Elkins really impressed me with this book. I went in expecting a fluffy romance novel and I came out with a fluffy romance novel with a hero I just love. A hero I would love to see more of in books. Cami a fun character and I'm that both got their happy ending.

I wasn’t expecting that much from this book. The reason I signed up for blog tour was because this is a Harlequin Teen novel, and I tend to enjoy anything published by Harlequin Teen. I only vaguely remembered the synopsis from when I signed up for the tour. I was very pleasantly surprised by the issues and depth I found.

 

I was immediately drawn into this story. I read the bulk of the book in one sitting. I felt connected and really “in” the story the whole time. It flowed nicely. I’d definitely call it a quick read, but in no way is it a “light” read. It’s not profound, but the characters are dealing with real issues that readers their age may deal with. The range of conflicts and personal struggles was interesting to me too. They were dealing with sexual discovery, family discord, break ups, and life after high school. They were also dealing with things that are less common, like PTSD and futures that don’t include college.

 

It’s hard to say what captivated me more: the story itself or how much I adored the characters. I think there was a slight lack of depth in a couple of secondary characters, but Cami and Julian were perfect. Their relationship with each other was just fun to read. They also had believable and entertaining relationships with others. Cami deals with some issues with her father, awkwardness with her stepmother, and she has a wacky friend that I loved. I felt like both Cami and Julian had a good arc, though Julian’s wasn’t as pronounced since there’s never anything from his perspective. Still, they both developed and learned about themselves and each other throughout the book.

 

The writing wasn’t spectacular, but it was appropriate for the book. I felt neither amazed nor disappoint by it, and I’m okay with that. There was a good deal of sadness and some hard moments in this book, but it always felt hopeful. Julian was surly and angry, but I never felt like he would stay that way. Cami was confused and angsty, but I knew she would figure things out eventually.

 

I think this will be a great read for anyone who enjoys the contemporary romance genre within young adult fiction. I did notice a number of lukewarm reviews on Goodreads, though. I was a bit surprised, since I enjoyed the book thoroughly. Still, I think it’s worth mentioning here that it didn’t meet many readers’ expectations. I’d also like to note that the publisher recommends this book to readers 16 year old and up, and I wholeheartedly agree. There are some steamy scenes in this book. Definitely recommended!

CHARACTERS
Cami was probably one of the main reasons why I felt so connected to this book, because like her, I am at a point in my life when I have to make all these decisions regarding my future. I loved how passionate she was, especially towards cooking, and how she was able to see past Julian's shortcomings. Their relationship was pretty solid, and they were quite mature when it came to each other's decisions.

PLOT
This book absolutely took my breath away. I started off thinking it was going to be just another sappy romance, but it was so much more than that. It dealt with real problems - facing losses and hardships, and being courageous enough to decide things on our own. It showed the struggles that we undoubtedly have to face sooner or later, and how we have to stay determined in working through these things. The romantic aspect of the novel began flirtatious and such, but as the characters of Cami and Julian grew, so did the strength of their relationship. Overall, the story was very nicely written and well-paced.

CONCLUSION
This one is fun, sweetness, and romance all rolled into one! It focuses on self-discovery, but with an added touch of cuisine (even the food descriptions were mouthwatering!) and French culture. I totally recommend reading it!

Also posted at Fathomless Reveries