Blog Tour: Love Songs & Other Lies - Jessica Pennington

Love Songs & Other Lies
Jessica Pennington
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Tor Teen
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

It’s summer romance and second chances, the songs that stay in your head, and the boy you’ll never forget.

Two years after rock-song-worthy heartbreak, Virginia Miller is looking forward to a fun, carefree summer. Her friends just landed a spot on a battling bands reality show, and Vee is joining them for her dream internship on tour. Three months with future rockstars seems like an epic summer plan. Until she learns she’ll also be sharing the bus with Cam. Her first love, and her first heartbreak. Now Vee has more than just cameras to dodge, and Cam’s determination to win her forgiveness is causing TMZ-worthy problems for both of them. With cameras rolling, she’ll have to decide if her favorite breakup anthem deserves a new ending. And if she’s brave enough to expose her own secrets to keep Cam’s under wraps.

Praise for LOVE SONGS & OTHER LIES

“Reading Cam & Vee's past and present romance reminds me of This is Us! This is going on my keeper shelf.” ―Simone Elkeles, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author

“Fun and full of heart, with a hero who stole my heart!” ―Katie McGarry, author of Long Way Home and Pushing the Limits

“Boys in bands, second chance romance, and pitch-perfect chemistry. Love Songs & Other Lies hits all the right notes!” ―Gina Ciocca, author of Last Year's Mistake

“A music-infused romance about a pair of perfectly imperfect teenagers who will have readers rooting for their happily ever after. Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, contemporary young adult fans won’t be able to put this debut down!” ―Katy Upperman, author of Kissing Max Holden

REVIEW

If someone had taken a picture of me, when I finished this book, it would looks something like this:

Because, I was shedding all sorts of happy tears!

This book opened with Vee joining her bestie, Logan, and his band on a battle of the bands reality concert tour. <-- sounds interesting right? Once there, Vee discovered that her ex, Cam, was also on the tour, and that my friends, was where the fun began.

I immediately wanted to know more about the past Cam and Vee shared, and I was dying to find out what he did to make her write so many angry songs about him. Pennington delivered this information via flashbacks, and present time "discussions". If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, I am a fan of alternating timelines. I appreciate the way they kept me guessing and wanting more. They also allowed me time to speculate about what happened, which just added to the fun for me.

The alternating timeline also enabled Pennington to really develop these characters. It's an interesting and effective way to reveal the events, which shaped the characters, and made them who they were in the present timeline. I watched them fall in love, fall apart, and then get an opportunity to either get closure or start a new chapter together.

I sort of devoured this book, because there were so many things that just hit the right notes for me. You know I loved the format, but other things that kept me flipping the pages were:

• The romance! I am a lover of love, and this book featured a second chance romance, which is one of my favorite kinds of romance. I am such a fan of the idea that all is not lost, and one can redeem themselves and atone for past mistakes. 
• Cam won me over in this book. When he finally realized that he wanted Vee back in his life, he went for it. His heart was on his sleeve, and he kept doing all these swoony things. I let out a bunch of happy sighs as I wore a stupid grin. He was excellent book boyfriend material. 
• Both Vee and Cam were carrying a lot of baggage. I am always a fan of slightly damaged characters, and Vee and Cam fit the bill. They were both struggling wth some losses related to their families, and I loved seeing them work through it all, together and apart. 
• There was a side romance, which was a nice parallel to Vee and Cam's. I didn't expect it, but I really enjoyed it. 
• This book had a soundtrack, which was predominated by love songs. I enjoyed all the music Pennington incorporated into the story, because these were not random songs. They were Cam and Vee's hearts put on display, and an integral part of the story. 
• The reality show aspect was a fun extra touch. I enjoyed the dynamic it created, as well as the extra drama it added to this tale. 
• Road trips are always tons of fun, and this one delighted me in many ways. We got to visit some great cities, go to lots of parties, attend a bunch of shows, and live like a rock star. 
• The Feels!!! I was happy, sad, angry, joyful. I felt so many emotions. All sorts of tears were shed, and I just couldn't get enough of it all. 
• A grand romantic gesture! It's not secret that I am a HUGE fan of grand gestures. It makes every book better, in my opinion, and this one was so wonderful! I swear! 

Overall: A heartbreaking and heartwarming story of second chances, which was filled with a little angst and lots of swoons. 

* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Because I love them so much, I had to share some of my favorite film grand gestures.

FOREVER my favorite:

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BOOK LINKS

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica Pennington is no stranger to the combination of love and drama. She’s a wedding planner, after all. A writer since the age of ten—when she sought publication for her poem about a tree—Jessica likes the challenge of finding the humor in a sad situation or highlighting the awkwardness in a romantic one. She lives in a Michigan beach town suspiciously similar to the one in her novel, with her husband Josh and their son, Rory. Love Songs & Other Lies is her debut novel.

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FOLLOW THE TOUR

WEEK ONE

• APRIL 23rd MONDAY JeanBookNerd VLOG & INTERVIEW
• APRIL 24th TUESDAY Twirling Book Princess EXCERPT
• APRIL 25th WEDNESDAY Movies, Shows, & Books EXCERPT
• APRIL 26th THURSDAY Swoony Boys Podcast INTERVIEW 
• APRIL 26th THURSDAY Reading for the Stars and Moon REVIEW
• APRIL 27th FRIDAY BookHounds YA REVIEW & GUEST POST 
• APRIL 27th FRIDAY She Dreams in Fiction EXCERPT

WEEK TWO

• APRIL 28th SATURDAY We Live and Breathe Books REVIEW
• APRIL 28th SATURDAY Underneath the Covers EXCERPT
• APRIL 29th SUNDAY Crossroad Reviews REVIEW 
• APRIL 29th SUNDAY Mama Reads Blog REVIEW
• APRIL 30th MONDAY Casia's Corner REVIEW 
• MAY 1st TUESDAY Captivated Reading EXCERPT 
• MAY 1st TUESDAY Blushing Bibliophile REVIEW 
• MAY 2nd WEDNESDAY Here's to Happy Endings REVIEW
• MAY 2nd WEDNESDAY Books A-Brewin' EXCERPT

Do you like second chance romances?

Let us know in the comments!