Back Cover Blurb
genre: YA contemporary romance, novel-in-verse
High school senior Olivia Winging gave up her love of photography when she gave up her boyfriend, Trevor Youngblood, a year and a half ago. She broke things off with Trevor because her mom married his dad, and dating your step-brother? Creepy.
Livvy hasn’t been on good terms with her mother since, and one of her stipulations for staying at the Youngblood’s every other weekend is that Trevor can’t be there. When she gets nominated for the Junior Photography in Excellence award, Trevor insists she enter. She agrees—only if every photo in the portfolio can be of him. Knowing that Livvy can capture a person’s deepest secrets through her lens, Trevor hesitates before accepting the deal.
As Livvy gets behind the lens of her camera again, her love of photography is rekindled. Unfortunately, the time she spends with Trevor also re-ignites the old flame for him she’s kept smothered for so long.
In order for Livvy to finish her portfolio, she’ll have to face her feelings for Trevor as well as deal with the animosity between her and her mother. Livvy’s always been able to capture a person’s soul from behind the camera—but she’s not sure she likes it when the lens is suddenly focused on her. If she can’t find a way to forgive her mother and admit how she feels about Trevor, Livvy may end up losing more than just the photography contest. She could lose her heart.
My Review
5 of 5 stars
I never thought novels-in-verse would appeal to me, but Elana Johnson is converting me! I am now a big fan, at least if this author is writing them. I read her first novel-in-verse, ELEVATED, and loved it. I was so excited when I found out she was writing another one, and SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE didn’t disappoint!
SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE is a romance that had me cheering for the couple from page one. Something I love about this book is that while it’s very obvious there is a physical attraction between Trevor and Olivia, the couple also fulfills an emotional need for each other that no one else can. A lot of times I feel that’s missing from romance novels, but it was very apparent and easy to see in this one. That just made me root for this couple even more, because they are so obviously perfect for each other!
I also really enjoyed Olivia’s character arc. I loved that she recognized the baggage she carried, and then actively worked to deal with it in a healthy way. She didn’t play the damsel in distress and let the knight in shining armor fix all her problems. She put in the work and ultimately fixed them herself.
I try not to compare books, but something that really impressed me about SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE is how different it was from ELEVATED. The characters and voice felt unique in each book. Because of the stanza-style, I had worried that the two books would feel really similar to me, but they didn’t.
My absolute favorite thing about this book is that Ms. Johnson takes away all the fluff and cuts right to the heart of the story. The emotions are so intense, and every word packs a punch and means something. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and sincerely hope that I will get to read many more novels-in-verse from this author!
Elevated, Elana’s first verse novel, will be FREE from Monday, September, 15 – Friday, September 19.
About the Author
Elana Johnson’s work, including Possession, Surrender, Abandon, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse From the Query to the Call, is also available for free download, as well as a Possession short story, Resist.(Simon & Schuster), is available now everywhere books are sold. Her popular ebook,
School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog, and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers.
Social Media Links
website/blog * Twitter * Facebook * Tumblr * Wattpad * League of Extraordinary Writers * WriteOnCon * Goodreads
