Thursday 6 February 2020

🏈 DEAR AVA ★ Ilsa Madden-Mills ★ #BlogTour 🏈



© Bianca   Janeane



• 2 February 2020
standalone Footballish Darkish Romance
• Cover Model: Christian Hogue
• An excerpt of Dear Ava appeared in the anthology Team Player 2 in 2019. (No longer available.)
This full-length version is 100,000 words.


★★★★★
4.75 Stars
The rich and popular Sharks rule at prestigious, ivy-covered Camden Prep. Once upon a time, I wanted to be part of their worlduntil one of them destroyed me.

The last thing I expected was an anonymous love letter from one of them.

Please. I hate every one of those rich jerks for what they did to me. The question is, which Shark is my secret admirer: Knox, the scarred quarterback and their leader, Dane, his twin brother, or Chance, the ex who dumped me...

Dear Ava,

Your eyes are the color of the Caribbean Sea.
That’s stupid.
What I really mean is, you look at me and I feel something REAL.

It’s been ten months since you were here, but I can’t forget you.

I’ve missed seeing you walk down the hall.
I’ve missed you cheering at my football games.
I’ve missed the smell of your hair.
The truth is, I wanted you back thenbut you had him.

And then everything fell apart that night.

Don’t hate me because I’m a Shark.
I just want to make you mine.
Still.

An excerpt of Dear Ava appeared in the anthology Team Player 2 in 2019. (No longer available.) This full-length version is 100,000 words.




Ten months ago something happened to Ava at a school bonfire.
Now she's finally back at the elite private school near Nashville.
She doesn't really belong there - she's a scholarship girl. She's not one of the millionaire kids. She's an 18 year old semi-orphan living in a home run by nuns.
The kids at school all think she's a snitch for telling the police about what happened at that party. Everybody hates her.
And then she finds a letter ... from one of the football guys. But who? Her ex? One of the hot twins? The new guy?
Whatever - she doesn't have time for romance anyway. She has to concentrate on school. Her dream is it to get into Vanderbilt College and to make a great life for her and her little brother!


I LOVED IT!
Such a beautiful young/new adult highschool dramance!

Our darlings are going through some very sad and heartbreaking and serious issues and the reader just wants to fast forward to when they can all live happily ever after in their new and perfect lives!
But of course Ava has to fight really hard for that happy end. It's not easy being back at that school and it's not easy falling for one of the guys she has hated ever since she stepped foot in this school three years ago.

I loved reading this book!
Ava is amazing! She fights so hard to make a life for Tyler and herself. And now maybe she doesn't have to fight so hard all on her own. But can she trust him? There are still some secrets left to unveil ... let's hope we'll get our happy end! ☺

PS - the cover! YUM!

DEAR AVA was ... a beautiful love story! Starting with this gorgeous cover & all the pretty words inside and the whole cast! Such a heartbreaking & exciting & mysterious & funny & sweet YA/NA romance! I adored it! Run to your nearest amazon for your own millionaire highschool football star - this one is MINE!


It's a Five-Star Read for me - but I took away the point 1 stars, because some expressions and writing style thingies bothered me. I didn't like the YOU FEEL ME? Happened a few times, by different people and it sounds so bad... like we're in a gangster-rapper crime drama. And then the other writing style I don't like - no idea what it's called - I'm sure it has a name.
It's those sentences that go a bit like that:
Wearing a suit, even on a Saturday, he's tall, about six four...
In his early forties, he's grabbing a ...
Know what I mean??? :/



ARC received for an honest review

I rarely read YA/NA stories these days -  a such an old fart, and it can make it hard for me to connect with the characters.

However, I was obsessed with Dear Ava from the minute I picked it up.

Oh my goodness, what a story!

Ms Madden-Mills completely decimated my heart in the first chapter, and boy oh boy, I couldn't wait to turn each page.

Ava is strong. she is fierce. She won't take anybody's crap and does not hesitate to stand up for herself.

I am not of a fan of the spoilt rich kids - in my stories or in real life. These Sharks, for the most part, are unlikable.

But then there is Knox, and he is😍  He has a heart of gold and even though I could be his mother, I couldn't help but love him

I love the cover, however, as hot as he is, he is definitely NOT a highschooler. He would have fit better if this was a college aged book - but this could just be me.

Heartbreaking, beautiful and full of hope, Dear Ava  is a favourite read of the year so far.


↓ Links to the book & author ↓




Hook-Up Series Book #1




Book #2

  


Book #3

  


Spider




Fake FiancΓ©e






 Wall Street Journal best selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills writes about strong heroines and sexy alpha males that sometimes you just want to slap.

She's addicted to all things fantasy, including unicorns and sword-wielding females. Other fascinations include frothy coffee beverages, dark chocolate, Ian Somerhalder, astronomy (she's a Gemini), and tattoos. She has a degree in English and a Master's in Education. When she's not pecking away on her computer, she shops for cool magnets and fuzzy pajamas.