One Old, One New: The Emma Mills Edition

One Old, One New features two books - one old, one new, which are connected in some way. Today, I am sharing two books by Emma Mills.

Famous in a Small Town
Emma Mills
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Henry Holt
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

For Sophie, small-town life has never felt small. She has the Yum Yum Shoppe, with its famous fourteen flavors of ice cream; her beloved marching band, the pride and joy of Acadia High (even if the football team disagrees); and her four best friends, loving and infuriating, wonderfully weird and all she could ever ask for.

Then August moves in next door. A quiet guy with a magnetic smile, August seems determined to keep everyone at arm's length. Sophie in particular.

Country stars, revenge plots, and a few fake kisses (along with some excellent real ones) await Sophie in this hilarious, heartfelt story.

Every book she writes makes me love Emma Mills more and more. I swear, she writes books just for me, because each one leaves me warm and fuzzy and in a state of elation. And, yes, she did it once again with Famous in a Small Town.

I am not even sure where to start here, because I loved so many things in this book, but it is my firm belief that it's the characters that standout the most in Mills' stories.

As always, Mills assembled a cast of characters, who were interesting, witty, relatable, and essentially, people I would want to be friends with. But the strength was not in their individually, but rather in the friendship dynamic that existed between them. It was always a special treat, when Sophie and her whole squad were on page together. From the way they interacted and joked around, to they way they deeply understood each other was a thing of beauty. There was fun and snappy banter and lots of shenanigans, but there were also these really deep parts, which may or may not have caused me to shed a tear or two.

Several different storylines are woven together in this book, and one of my favorites was Sophie's quest to get Acadia's most famous citizen, Megan Pleasant, to help their marching band raise money for the Rose Parade trip. This mission had her re-creating the week in Acadia per Pleasant's famous song, as well as searching for the reason Megan had not returned "home" in so long. I was pretty surprised by what Sophie discovered, and it was a lot of fun tagging along with the gang as they searched for the answers.

There was another big reveal, which made me gasp out loud. I did NOT see it coming, and was so surprised by the revelation, and yes, once again, I cried. Well done with this one, Emma Mills, because it packed such a punch in the feels for me.

And, because you know I am all about the romance, I have to talk about Sophie and August. They hit it off right away, but August kept his distance. My heart broke a little for him, when I learned why he was trying to keep Sophie at arm's length, but I was still shipping these two. Let me tell you, they were adorable and precious and so much fun to see together. Their banter was fantastic, and I wore a stupid grin almost every time they interacted with each other.

Other things that made me smile:

• Fries with friends
• The girl in the blue boots
• Macaroni and cheese, the good kind, that you make on the stove
• The texts between Sophie and her sister
• Mullets!
• Teen Zone 2
• Rollin in the Cutlass
• Uncle August and his nieces ❤️

Overall: Another outstanding Emma Mills book, filled with family, friends, humor, and feels, lots and lots of feels.

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

This Adventure Ends
Emma Mills
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Henry Holt
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Sloane isn't expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens.

Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met. When a beloved painting by the twins' late mother goes missing, Sloane takes on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her across state lines—and ever deeper into the twins' lives.

Filled with intense and important friendships, a wonderful warts-and-all family, shiveringly good romantic developments, and sharp, witty dialogue, this story is about finding the people you never knew you needed.

I can never really narrow down what it is that I love about an Emma Mills book. It's really a combination of everything, and the way it all makes me feel. Here's a hint: her books make me happy, and this book left me with a smile that totally reached my eyes.

Since I am bad at articulating my love for Emma Mills' books, I will just give you a list of five fabulous things in this book.

1. The friendship was the heart of the story. Sloane was sort of a loner back in NYC, which was why relocating during her senior year didn't seem to phase her, but luck brought Vera and her crew into Sloane's life, and they decided to "keep her". This group had their ups and downs, but there was so much love and affection shared between them all. Each of them served an important role as part of the whole, and Sloane fit right in with them. It was a beautiful thing to see. 
2. The relationship between Sloane and her dad was pretty fabulous. These two definitely shared a special bond, and I loved their interactions. It was easy to see where Sloane got her wit and humor from too.  
3. I loved the twins so much! Gabe and Vera were quite a pair. They played off each other so well, but they also were there for one another and supported each other. Both were still working through their grief from their mother's death, and I was just so happy that the universe brought them into Sloane's life. 
4. The search for the painting was something I really enjoyed. I absolutely adored the excursions, which led them to more excursions as Sloane's obsession with the painting escalated. 
5. Gabe and Sloane and the slow burn for the win. These two danced around each other for almost the whole book, but I enjoyed the way they were feeling each other out, and their banter was so, so good. They also were able to uncover parts of each other they kept hidden from the world, and connections like that are gold. 

If you asked me what I loved about this book, I would have to say EVERYTHING! Once again, Emma Mills has won my heart, made me smile, and left me wanting more. 

Do you have a favorite small town book?

Let us know in the comments!