Blog Tour: Reflection by Jessica Roberts – Review, Author Interview and Giveaway!

Posted September 8th, 2012 by Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed & filed under Author Interview, Blog Tour, GIVEAWAY, Jessica Roberts, New Adult, Reaction, Reflection, review.

I’m very excited to be the next stop in the Reflection Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound! Click HERE to check out the full tour schedule.

Reflection

By Jessica Roberts

Release Date: 02/17/12

289 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Bright, spunky Heather Robbins has escaped her small hometown and is anxiously beginning her freshman year of college. Rising above her rocky childhood, she’s found a place where good things are finally starting to happen: her own private apartment, refreshing college classes, and an intense attachment to a mysterious and rugged classmate, Nick Richards.

But when her dreamy college life turns out to be nothing more than a wonderful dream while resting in a coma, questions threaten.

Now, Heather must press forward to unlock the real past, and find the answers buried deep in her mind. What she unlocks instead is a roller coaster ride through flashbacks, embellished memories, and a whirlwind romance.

And when it’s all over and she comes face to face with the truth, will she lose everything she’s fallen in love with?

***Copy provided by author for review***

Before I say anything else, I just want to say this and get it out of the way: wow! I can honestly say that Reflection is unlike ANY other book I have ever read before.

Heather has lived in a small town all her life and after she graduates high school, she is desperate to leave the town behind. She lost her mother a couple of years ago and her stepfather is an alcoholic who doesn’t care about her. The only problem with starting over is that she is leaving behind her best friend Creed. Creed obviously has feelings for Heather but respects her wishes to get away This is how the story starts, the night Heather says goodbye to Creed. It is a bittersweet moment for Heather but she goes through with it anyway. Next thing we know, Heather wakes up in a hospital. She is confused and has no idea what is going on. She only remembers certain bits and pieces of her past. Her doctor explains to Heather that she has been in a coma and together they try to piece together the pieces of Heather’s past and fill in the gaps.

The rest of the story is told through a series of flashbacks. Heather is telling her doctor what she remembers about her life. Her earliest clear memory is her first day of college. Heather is extremely shy and incredibly awkward. On her first day, she meets Nick. She is attracted to him but he is very distant towards her. Just when she thinks he might like her, he ignores her the next time he sees her. But he isn’t a jerk and they keep spending time together. Slowly, oh so slowly, she and Nick get closer and closer and start falling in love. As she is telling her doctor this, he informs her that not everything that she remembers might actually really happened. Some or all of it might have only happened in her dreams while she was in a come. Now it is up to Heather to decide what is real and what was a dream. Is Nick real? Was he really her boyfriend? Was she even friends with him or did her subconscious make it all up in her dreams?

Crazy right? The whole book I had absolutely no idea what would happen. Like Heather, I didn’t know what was reality and what wasn’t. Another fact that drove me crazy was that it is not revealed how long Heather was in a copy until the almost very end of the book, which was actually a huge shocker for me. I admit that the beginning of the book was a little bit too slow for me and I was confused at first when the story kept switching to Heather’s flashbacks to her present conversations with her doctor. But I quickly got the hang of it. One thing that bothered me was that the blurb describes Heather as spunky when I don’t think I would use that word to describe her at all. She is very closed off and is afraid of letting people get too close to her, which is why her relationship with Nick is slow. I did like their relationship though, although it was a little bit too slow for me at times, it was nice to see them become friends first and see them open up to each other.

We finally get answers towards the end which was not at all what I was expecting. Not in a bad way either, but I just can’t believe the author actually ended the story THAT way! Cruel move Jessica, but genius because I am dying to get my hands on the sequel, Reaction, to see what happens next with Heather, Nick and Creed. Reflection is a unique, intriguing, emotional and incredibly thought-provoking story that will stay with you long after you are finished reading it.

Cover Love: can I just say that I am so in love with this cover! I love everything about it, the colors, the background, the way you don’t really know if the girl is sleeping or dead. It’s absolutely beautiful and goes perfectly with the story.

4 out of 5 sparkly stars!

Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from Reflection:

-Rules my memory told me I’d set up previously, some time ago. Rules that I once vowed to keep. Just two: Don’t get close to anyone and don’t talk about your past. Though I wanted to laugh at the second rule since I couldn’t remember much about my past, concern wouldn’t allow it.

-“It’s not polite to stare at people,” I hissed under my breath.

But this only seemed to provoke him since he leaned in and whispered, “The thing is, I never said I was polite.”

-I let out a large exhale and then stared into the dashboard, telling myself that dreams are just dreams. Reality is what’s real. And Nick and I are real. Nothing could change that.

-She couldn’t help but wonder if her colorful imagination had gone too far in Nick. He was real, of that she was certain. But were her memories of him real? Or were they only friends? Perhaps the better question, were they even friends?

-“Enough of this. I’m sick of all the pep talks! Wake up!”

I tried to nod. “I don’t care what it takes. Think of him if you have to. Whatever it takes. I’ll do this with you. It’s time.”

He was right. It was time.

About the Author

JESSICA ROBERTS grew up in the San Francisco, California Bay Area where she spent most of her time playing sports alongside her six siblings. She was crowned Miss Teen California her senior year of high school, and went on to Brigham Young University where she graduated in Human Development. Her love of family, church, writing, athletics, and singing and dancing keeps her life busy and fulfilled. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and three children.

Website

http://www.jessicarobertsauthor.blogspot.com/

Twitter username

@JRobertsAuthor

***GIVEAWAY***

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Keep reading to check out my interview with Jessica Roberts***

1. How many books do you have planned in your Reflection series?

Two. I’ve always liked two-book series because then you don’t have to wait forever to see how it all turns out. Reflection, Book 1, debuted in February, 2012, and then Reaction, Book 2, is scheduled for release late Fall, 2012.

2. Can you tell us anything about Reaction? Maybe share a tiny quote or teaser?

Since Chapter 1 is included as a sneak peak at the end of Reflection, here’s a little teaser from Chapter 2:

With the energy of some unidentifiable emotion, he led the way, hauling me on the dance floor so efficiently that I wasn’t quite aware how we’d gotten into dance position. The music was slow and our movement almost non-existent, but my stiff arms were braced to him regardless. We remained quiet, holding each other firmly for a tense minute, the silence pressing, the air charged. But soon I felt the muscles in his shoulders relax, causing my thoughts to slowly settle in.

He had such an athletic build, and a powerful back; a delicious combination of strength, confidence and masculinity. I felt his hand at the small of my back, the light pressure causing my blood to simmer.

I was in his arms again.

For one sweet instant, I stopped thinking completely and just let myself feel. The heat from his body; the strength of his arms wrapped around me; our legs moving in time together. My eyes closed and I breathed it all in.

3. What is your favorite non-spoiler quote or scene from Reflection?

Definitely the balcony scene. It was the first scene I wrote so it’s sort of sentimental to me. And it still makes me giggle whenever I read it.

4. What would you say are Heather and Nick’s best and worst qualities?

I’ve always thought that people’s weaknesses can also be, or at least become, their biggest strengths. I sort of play with this philosophy within the series.

For Heather, it’s her impatience and insecurities that plague her. And yet, it’s because of her patience and budding self-confidence that she eventually ends up on top. Nick believes his biggest weakness is that he’s not trustworthy (a sentiment drilled into him by his father). But anyone who knows him, knows he’s a definite man of his word. So it’s a bit of sour luck that, in the end, it all comes down to this ultimatum: his word or his heart.

5. Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?

Reflection theme song: “You’re on My Mind” by Kalai (Nick’s guitar song to Heather)

Reaction theme song: “A Thousand Years” by The Band Perry

6. Can you tell us three things about yourself that you can’t find on the Internet?

Ooh, that’s a hard one since I practically bare my soul in my first few blog posts on my website. Hmm . . . let’s see.

1. Sort of random, but I think guys that can golf are hot.

2. When I have a laughing attack (which happens often), it starts out silent and ends on a wheeze, not very attractive.

3. I’m going grey, and I hate it because I like low-maintenance so I despise that I now have to dye my hair every month! – Brutal . . .

7. Who is your favorite book dream guy?

I’m not very proud to say that I’m completely drawn to the bad-boys. The more of a jerk he is, the more I want to tame him – haha. My most recent “book dream guy” would have to be Daemon (just like a bazillion other females). But let me end with a disclaimer here: “dream guy”, meaning fictitious. In real life, arguing 24/7 with my other half would get very old, very fast.

8. Who is your favorite book couple and why?

Too many good ones! In general, I like female leads that are spunky, if not quietly intelligent, and male leads that are rugged and masculine. I’m one of those girls that doesn’t have a problem with my husband opening the pickle jar for me (that is, after I’ve loosened it for him of course – haha)

9. Describe your book in 10 words or less…

A sweet, spicy, college summer romance with a twist.

Thanks for letting me participate!! Fun questions!!

Jennifer Messerschmidt

September 8th, 2012

I enjoyed this one but I didn’t like Nick at all. Maybe she can get with Creed in Reaction! Yeah probably wishful thinking although I read the little sample of Reaction at the end and it has me very curious. For some reason all along I assumed she had been in the coma as long as she had so that wasn’t really a shock. Sweet how Creed stayed by her the whole time but I guess I can’t blame Nick since he didn’t know.