Blog Tour: The Edge Rules - Melanie Hooyenga

The Edge Rules
Melanie Hooyenga
Series: The Rules. #3
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Left-Handed Mitten Publications
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Sixteen-year old Brianna had everything she wanted: money to ski all over the world, underlings to do her bidding, and parents who gave her every freedom—as long as she played by their rules. But when she’s busted shoplifting and assigned to the Chain Gang, she ditches her shallow ways and realizes being herself is easier than manipulating people.

Forced to partner with kids she’d never dream of befriending, including Xavier, a boy who makes her pulse go into hyperdrive, Brianna vows to be a better person. Breaking Old Brianna’s habits isn’t easy, but her infatuation with Xavier—someone her parents would never approve of—motivates her to keep trying.

Even when he convinces her to trade her swanky skis for a beat-up snowboard.

Brianna lets go of her need to control everything and finally starts to feel free—until her past threatens to jeopardize her first real chance at love. She discovers balancing on the edge is as challenging in life as it is in snowboarding, and when a new friend is in trouble, Brianna must decide between the superficial things that used to be her world and putting her friend’s safety before herself.

REVIEW

Brianna was raised believing, that appearance was everything, and she put a lot of time and energy into becoming the local queen bee. But after falling from grace and hitting rock bottom, Brianna held that mirror up to herself, and was NOT happy with who she saw.

This book was billed as a romance, and it had romance, don't worry, but really it was a redemption story. I LOVE redemption stories, because I like to believe that we can all stumble, make mistakes, and atone for our transgressions.

Brianna had turned into a terrible person. She was making poor choices and alienating others, because she was unable to properly manage her emotions. It could not have been easy for her to acknowledge that fact to herself, and that was one of the things that earned her some empathy from me.

I loved seeing her take those steps towards being a better person, and I liked that Hooyenga made it clear, that this was a difficult journey for Brianna. She tripped a little, but she often caught herself, and self-corrected. She experienced tremendous growth over the course of the book, and I was very proud of her.

I was also glad to see her parents doing a little growing too, because they played a role in how she became the mean girl. I guess you could say, that Brianna's arrest was a wake up call for the whole family.

Now for the warm and fuzzy parts! The romance! Xavier was interesting from the start, but the more I learned about him, and the more I saw him interacting with friends and family, the more I adored him. He was just a good person, and the perfect person to accompany Brianna on her journey to becoming a better version of herself. It was great spending time with these two, because I could sense the attraction and the tension, but there were also those little stirrings of something more.

The friendships that developed while Brianna completed her community service were wonderful too. Something different brought each character to the clean up crew, and they were all from very different backgrounds, but at the same time, they shared so much common ground, and I love that Hooyenga highlighted those similarities.

It was also a lot of fun being out on the slopes with Brianna and Xavier. The closest I have ever gotten to any sort of snow sports is watching them from the lodge as I drank my hot cocoa, but Hooyenga did an amazing job pulling me out onto the mountain. I shared Brianna's highs and lows out there, and I really enjoyed getting to be a part of it.

There was one other super delightful little thing you should keep your eye out for. I won't give too many details, because it's a spoiler if you ask me, but keep an eye out for Piper, because she was too adorable to be contained on the page.

Overall: A great story of redemption, and how one can really start living once they abandon the quest to keep up appearances and start looking beyond the surface.

* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Multi-award winning young adult author Melanie Hooyenga first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. She has lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but has finally settled down in her home state of Michigan. When not at her day job as a Communications Director at a nonprofit, you can find Melanie attempting to wrangle her Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with her husband Jeremy.

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