Wednesday 18 July 2012

Review: Fall For You by Cecilia Gray (AToMR blog tour stop)

I'm thrilled to post my review of Fall For You by Cecilia Gray as a part of the AToMR blog tour.

From goodreads

Jane Austen meets Pretty Little Liars in this fresh, new young-adult series!
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The last thing that the girls at the elite Jane Austen Academy need is hot guys to flirt with. Please. They need to stay focused on something that lasts much longer: an acceptance letter from an Ivy. But over the summer the school has been sold, and like it or not, the guys are coming. And it's about to turn the Academy--and the lives of its students--totally upside down...
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To say Lizzie and Dante are polar opposites is the understatement of the century. He's a snooty Exeter transfer with more money than Google. She's a driven study-a-holic barely keeping up with tuition. It's obvious that Dante thinks he's way too good for Lizzie. And Lizzie knows Dante is a snob with a gift for pushing her buttons. But things are changing fast this year at the Academy. And when Lizzie's quest to stop those changes blows up in her face, taking her oldest friendship with it, she has nowhere else to turn but to Dante, with his killer blue eyes, his crazy-sexy smile, and his secrets... Secrets Lizzie can't seem to leave alone, no matter how hard she tries...

One of the things I live for: Pride and Prejudice retellings! I think they are amazing, especially when they succeed in bringing back the swoony feelings I got while reading the original! I guess you can see why I wanted to read Fall For You!

Fall For You was as adorable and cutesy as the cover and blurb seems to indicate. I loved that it was set in a boarding school called Jane Austen Academy and was totally with Lizzie when she goes on a quest to save the school from the changes being imposed by the new owners (including changing the name of the Academy)!  Boys are allowed to enroll for the first time and it was great to meet Edward, Dante and even catch a brief glimpse of Wickam. I was happy Lizzie's first encounters with Dante were every bit as heated as Elizabeth Bennett's encounters with Darcy!

Lizzie was definitely a character I could root for. I enjoyed getting to know her... she was ambitious, hot headed and passionate about what she did. Unfortunately, Dante wasn't quite the Mr. Darcy. I just couldn't feel anything when Lizzie and Dante were supposed to be falling for each other. It felt like their chemistry sort of fizzled out... though it was still great to watch them work as a team to unearth the true identity of the new owners of the school.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of Jane Austen Academy and that's what truly drew me into the novel! Jane Austen Academy felt like an amazing, safe and Austenacious place and it was great to watch bonds being forged and new relationships develop while the stage was firmly set for the future installments. If you're a Jane Austen fan, you will love this utterly adorable and heartwarming retelling!

Click on the banner to check out the rest of the blogs participating in the Fall For You tour

Publication date: 10th February, 2012
Publisher: The Alpha Division, LLC
Source: A copy of this book was provided as a part of the blog tour

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

About the author

Cecilia Gray lives in Oakland where she reads, writes and breaks for food. She also pens her biographies in the third person. Like this. As if to trick you into thinking someone else wrote it because she is important. Alas, this is not the case.

Cecilia has been praised for “instilling a warmth and weight into her characters” (Romancing The Book Reviews) and her books have been praised for being “well-written, original, realistic and witty” (Quills & Zebras Reviews).

Her latest release, FALL FOR YOU, the first in a series of young-adult contemporary Jane Austen retellings received a starred Kirkus review and was praised for being a “unique twist on a classic” and offering “a compelling action of action, drama and love.”

She’s rather enamored of being contacted by readers and hopes you’ll oblige.

12 comments:

  1. I hadn't heard of this book yet! I think it would definitely be an interesting retelling of P&P based on your review!

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  2. I had read Pride and prejudice years back. Just remembering the outline of the plot now. May be time for a reread

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  3. Jane Austen meets Pretty Little Liars?? How can I NOT want to read this book? x) LOL I've only heard a little bit about this book before, but I think that the idea of a Jane Austen Academy is genius. That's sort of like taking our favourite authors and making a school in their name! Can we have a Cassie Clare Academy too? :')

    Amazing review, Ajoop! <3

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  4. I've heard of Fall For You recently and it sounds really interesting! The line 'Jane Austen meets Pretty Little Liars' absolutely convinced me to read this book! And I completely agree, I love Pride and Prejudice retellings! Since I'm a fan of Jane Austen, I am definitely going to read this book now! ;)

    Awesome review, Ajoop! ♥

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  5. Ajoop I'm glad you had fun reading this one too! I think I had a few issues with the relationship too, may be because in my head I kept comparing to the one between Mr.Darcy and Lizzie! Lovely review :)

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  6. A Pride and PRejudice retelling! Sign me up. I've only heard about this book a few days ago when I read Jasprit's review, but I totally want to go to this Jane Austen academy, don't you? The characters sound wonderful, regardless of the minor issues with the relationship.
    Great review, love.

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  7. I don't know, maybe it is just me, but I can't get excited over another Pride and Prejudice retelling. I would always be comparing it to the original. I am sure it is enuoyable for the right reader, which is not me....I am so glad you are able to post a bit more, now. Hopefully things aren't so crazy for you, Pooja!

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  8. This sounds like a lot of fun, great review, hun!

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  9. This book sounds amazing, Ajoop! <3 I like retelling, as long as it's done well. I can't hope comparing it to the original story though! x) If you say that fans of Jane Austen would enjoy this book, then I might should give it a go! x)

    Fantastic review like always, Ajoop! <3

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  10. I love Austen and this book sounds cute, thanks for sharing it..fantastic review cupcake!

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  11. I'm a big fan of Austen so I think this would be right up my alley, Ajoop. I like that Lizzie was someone you could root for, I need to form a connection with the main character to enjoy a book. I'm a little disappointed about Dante not living up to Mr. Darcy but honestly, who could? Wonderful review, Ajoop. :)

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  12. I'm a sucker for P&P retellings too! This books sounds adorbs and I love that Lizzie still retains her spunk. The idea of Jane Austen Academy is so interesting! Fantastic review. :)

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HI. Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment. :)