Just Ella by Annette K. LarsenBook Summary:
A Proper Romance
Ariella was only looking for a distraction, something to break up the monotony of palace life. What she found was a young man willing to overlook her title and show her a new and vibrant way of life. But when her growing feelings for Gavin spiral out of control and clash with the expectations of her station, she will discover that the consequences of her curiosity are far more severe than she’d imagined. I watched in helpless horror as two guards hauled Gavin to his feet and dragged him from the room. My voice was frozen, unable to protest as another guard took hold of my arm, leading me upstairs. From the confines of my room, I stared into the darkness beyond my window, hoping to catch one more glimpse of Gavin. He was gone, and I wondered if he would have been better off if he had never met me. I write clean romance. Why? Because that’s what I love to read, but over the years I’ve discovered it’s quite a challenge to find good clean romance. I believe it’s a genre that many people are looking for and too few authors are writing. My first novel, Just Ella, took me many years to write because I wanted it to be more than just a cutesy love story. I wanted it to have depth, to feel genuine. Hopefully I succeeded, but you’ll have to be the judge.
Audience: YA* (clean)
Genre: Romance, Historical Fantasy
Length: 294 pgs.
Rating: ***+ (Liked it a lot)
Review: I liked the sweeping way this book took place, encompassing several years of a romance instead of just a few months. There is a lot of emotion and conflict--tender moments and intense ones. I could picture so many of the scenes so vividly. There were a few moments that were overly dramatized for me and some that made me not like Ella very much (for instance, when her actions get Gavin in big trouble and it separates them, she never asks if he's okay and her actions make her seem selfish rather than heartbroken). Still I liked the fairy-tale feel of the book and it was a good read.
Content: Rated 1-5, 1 being minor instances, 5 being text is saturated
Violence: 1
Language: 0
Sex: 1+ (kissing passionately)
Source: Received a review copy as part of the "Just Ella" blog tour.
*The main character/narrator is 16-17 during the book, making it technically classified as YA; however, the book reads more like an Adult Romance.
Try This Like Historical Romance? Read HEART OF THE OCEAN by Heather B. Moore.
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Praise for Just Ella "I fell in love with this book. Treat yourself to something wonderful. You can't go wrong with Just Ella!" ~Inspired Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
"By far one of the best romance novels I've ever read. Pulls you in with great, likable characters and keeps you going with a sweet and exciting love story--plus a good plot to give it even more substance. Full of those tender moments you want to go back and read again, plus exciting moments, clever humor, and some suspense as well." ~Jana Miller
"Annette Larsen writes a love story that takes time, is complicated, and yet still sweeps you up in the romance (without the cheese, thank you). It's compelling and emotional and sweet and you will love every page." ~Kimi
Book Blast/Blog Tour Special
Grab your copy of Just Ella for just $3.99!
Author Annette K. Larsen
I was born in Utah, but grew up in Flagstaff Arizona and St. Louis Missouri, the fifth of seven children. I attended college at Southern Virginia University and Brigham Young University where I studied English and Theater. I now live in Idaho with my husband and four children.
I have Charlotte Bronte to thank for the courage to write novels. After being bombarded with assigned reading about women who justified abandoning either their families or their principles in the name of love, I had the great fortune of reading Jane Eyre. And that was it: finally a heroine who understood that being moral and making the right choice was hard, and sometimes it hurt, but it was still worth it. After rereading it several years later, I realized that if I wanted more books to exist with the kinds of heroines I admired, then I might as well write a few myself. My books are about women who face hard choices, who face pain and rejection and often have to sacrifice what they want for what is right. The consequences are often difficult or unpleasant, but it the end, doing what’s right will always be worth it.
I believe there is no substitute for good writing or good chocolate. Fortunately, one often leads to the other.
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