Everything ~ Melissa Pearl

• Publisher: Melissa Pearl
• Publication date: 4/24/2015
• Series: Songbird Novels, #3

Jody Pritchett had a dream...but life had other plans. Instead of singing and dancing on Broadway, Jody's a twenty-year-old single mom, living at home with her disapproving father and overbearing sister. The choice to keep her little Angelia came with a high price and although she adores her baby girl, it doesn't take away the sting of kissing goodbye her chance at a career on the stage.

Leo Sinclair had his own dream...but got lost along the way. After a failed marriage that left him hollow and downtrodden, the Australian songwriter wonders what joy his future could possibly hold. Encouraged by the one family member who doesn't think he's a failure, Leo decides to stop living the life everyone expects him to and start chasing his dreams again.

When the perfect opportunity comes knocking, Leo leaves Australia behind and hops a flight to LA. With his sights set on selling a musical to a Broadway producer, Leo is determined to finally realize his life-long dream. But life gets in the way again, when he spots a young mother outside his apartment in tears. He never realized how one person, one voice, and one Angel could have him contemplating abandoning his dreams once again.

As these two burned hearts wrestle to overcome their past struggles, Leo and Jody must decide what dreams are worth clinging to...because, sometimes, everything you want is not everything you need.

@ Goodreads

Review

This book was heartbreakingly real. Everything about this book grabbed my attention and broke my heart.

I absolutely adored the characters. They were real. They were broken. They were filled with faults. They were the most relatable characters I’ve read in a long time.

Jody (aka “Jo”) is one of those characters that wasn’t relatable because of her situation (at least for me) but instead I could relate to the way she saw herself and how she handled different events. She wasn’t one of those characters that did everything right yet was misunderstood by everyday. Instead she was a girl that made mistakes and then struggled to make up for them. Jo was truly a character that struggled just to survive and put her best face forward. Sometimes things in books sound a lot easier than they actually are, and I loved how Melissa Pearl delved into the struggle of being a single parent. Jo struggled to be the parent she felt her daughter deserved. Of course she got distracted at moments and frustrated when it was a hard day yet this just made her more admirable. I loved that Jo didn’t always do the best thing and automatically knew how to be a good mother or a good daughter. The struggles presented in this book made it into a 5-star read for me.

The only thing that threw me off the book was the fact that the romance was really fast paced. And by this I mean it seemed like Leo and Jo are introduced and within a few meetings are following in love. I think I would have liked to see more conversations that were deep and meaningful. The romance just seemed a little fast paced and rushed to me, but then again this was overshadowed by how great everything else was!

I found Leo Sinclair to be extremely adorable. He was so enthusiastic and just overwhelmingly good-hearted. It was easy to crush on him and want him to get all of his dreams. Some of my favorite parts of this book were Leo and Jo just enjoying each other’s company and being goofy together. Their romance was so sweet and pure. It was two hurt people healing each other by putting themselves on the line and wanting the best for each other. Just reading about their relationship brought a smile to my face because of how adorable their family was. This read is definitely light hearted and a great weekend read (or a great read after a long work day!) – so pretty much a great read at any time!

I have to say that this book is definitely a future re-read! The characters were great, the storyline was amazing, and the ending was perfect! So obviously I think this book should be on your TBR list.

 

Other Books in the Series

(Linked to Goodreads)

 

Author Info.

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books. Recently she signed with Evatopia Press and her first Evatopia book is coming out in February 2014 - True Colors, The Masks Series #1. She is very excited to be trying out new things this year while continuing to publish under her own name as well. She has six books planned for 2014 and is excited about writing each and every one of them.
"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

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