Welcome to my stop on the Out of Play tour!
Rock star drummer Bishop Riley doesn't have a drug problem. Celebrities—especially ones suffering from anxiety—just need a little help taking the edge off sometimes. After downing a few too many pills, Bishop wakes up in the hospital facing an intervention. If he wants to stay in the band, he’ll have to detox while under house arrest in Seldon, Alaska.
Hockey player Penny Jones can't imagine a life outside of Seldon. Though she has tons of scholarship offers to all the best schools, the last thing she wants is to leave. Who'll take care of her absentminded gramps? Not her mother, who can’t even be bothered to come home from work, let alone deal with their new tenants next door.
Penny’s not interested in dealing with Bishop’s crappy attitude, and Bishop’s too busy sneaking pills to care. Until he starts hanging out with Gramps and begins to see what he’s been missing. If Bishop wants a chance with the fiery girl next door, he’ll have to admit he has a problem and kick it. Too bad addiction is hard to kick…and Bishop’s about to run out of time.
My Thoughts:
4 stars -Never has 300 pages disappeared so quickly - devoured this one!
I'm not sure if I just needed this book right now or if it was just that good, but I just never had a books pages turn so much without me noticing. I was just so into the story that I didn't notice how much or how long I'd read. Oh course, these two are both gifted authors and when you put them together magic is bound to happen.
I loved the characters. Bishop is in denial about his issues with drugs. He's talented but he has some anxiety about crowds. Doesn't really work that well for a drummer in a rock band. He uses the drugs to deal until they start controlling him. Because he doesn't think he has a problem, he goes to Alaska with attitude and resistance. There he meets hockey player and tough girl, Penny. She doesn't take his grumpiness without giving things right back to him. Between her and her Gramps, he begins to see things he hasn't before.
I love that Bishop is a guy dealing with anxiety. I love that while he struggles with that he still has these great things about him. He gets Penny like no one else. He sees her. He's talented and I love how he is with the guys. His relationship with Gramps is the best. I love how he accepts and helps. I love how he grows. It wasn't easy. There are no real good answers for this kind of issue. It was real. What made me sad was something he had to leave behind in the end. I so wished he didn't have to. Maybe it's me being idealistic but I wanted so much for him to...I can't say without spoiling. But that doesn't mean I don't get the ending or that I don't like it. I was happy. It was real.
Penny is fabulous. She's one tough cookie. Don't tell her she can't cause she's a girl. You will be eating her snow behind that snow machine of her's or hearing it with the tongue lashing she's gonna give ya. That girl has one fiery temper. But she's just what Bishop needs and he's just what she needs. That same little issue with the ending had me with her too but it's all good.
As I said the story zipped along and I really enjoyed it. Anxiety and depression issues are often very hard for me to read. There are family members that struggle with these things and I often steer clear of books about these things. I wasn't clear that it was such a big part of this book or I probably wouldn't have read it. But that would have been too bad because I think I needed this one.
If you like YA and a great read, then this is one to pick up for sure.
About the authors:
Writing has always been Nyrae Dawn’s passion. There have been times in her life where she wasn’t able to chase that dream the way she desired, but she always found her way back to telling stories.
One of her loves has always been writing about teens. There’s something so fresh and fun about the age that she loves exploring. Her husband says it’s because she doesn’t want to grow up. She doesn’t think that’s such a bad thing and luckily for her, he doesn’t either.
Nyrae gravitates toward character-driven stories. She loves going on emotional journeys with characters whether it be reading or writing. And yes, she’s a total romantic at heart and proud.
Nyrae resides in sunny Southern California with her husband (who still makes her swoon) and her two awesome kids.
When she’s not with her family, you can be pretty sure you’ll find her with a book in her hand or her laptop and an open document in front of her.
She writes for Entangled Publishing, Grand Central Publishing and is self-published.
Nyrae is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.
Jolene grew up in South-central Alaska. She’s lived in Anchorage, near the Alyeska ski resort, on a cabin on an island on a lake, and then in a boring old house.
Jolene kissed a boy on her high school graduation night. One she’d wanted to kiss for a long time. They got married two years later, have built two homes together, survived military deployments, law school, student loan debt, and two children.
Jolene plays the guitar, takes pictures, and loves to hike. She doesn’t like rivers, but loves the ocean. She loves to fly, but gets motion sick. Her ultimate vacation would be to sail through the deserted islands in The Bahamas. Two years ago, she got that wish when her parents retired on a sailboat.
She taught high school French when she was only a few years older than her students, and then taught middle school math with her degree in political science and French.
She spends grocery money on designer fabric, shoes, and books.
Jolene cannot express how many times she wished she could write a whole novel. And now she has. Many times. Life is good.
****GIVEAWAY****
An annotated bound copy of OUT OF PLAY US Only
3 eBooks of OUT OF Play (International)
3 eBooks of OUT OF Play (International)
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