Tag Archives: Lisa Burstein

Mia and the Bad Boy (Backstage Pass #2) by Lisa Burstein-a review

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MIA AND THE BAD BOY (Backstage Pass #2) by Lisa Burstein-a review

Mia and the Bad Boy

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE SERIES:  Five guys thought winning a making-of-the-band reality TV show would be the pinnacle of their career…until their band scored a sell-out stadium tour and became the hottest group in the country. Trying to keep their personal lives out of the tabloids while they maneuver media near-disasters and dodge rabid fans leaves little time for romance—not that their manager would allow it anyway.

But maybe, if their luck holds out, a summer on the road might lead each guy to that one girl he’s been waiting his whole life to sing for…if fame doesn’t get in the way.
Join The Heartthrob, The Bad Boy, The Big Brother, The Shy Guy, and The Cute One as they hit the road in search of their one true love. Could it be you?

About the book: Release Date May 19,2015

This good girl’s about to meet her match…

Ryder Brooks is living the dream—he’s famous, loved by millions of girls, and miserable. All he really wants is to write his own music, not Seconds to Juliet’s sugary sweet pop. In order to do that, though, the “bad boy” of the band will have to play by the rules. And that includes behaving with his new—and super cute—über-good-girl tutor.

Mia Reyes is in fangirl heaven. Tutoring her favorite member of her favorite band? It’s a dream come true…until it turns into a complete nightmare. Ryder is nothing like she thought. He’s crude, arrogant, and pretty much a total jerk. And the worst part? She’s roped into pretending to be his girlfriend so that no one finds out he’s being tutored. Fake kisses, plenty of PDA, and even sharing his hotel room…

But sometimes even the baddest of bad boys needs a little redemption.

•••••••••••••

REVIEW: MIA AND THE BAD BOY is the second installment in Entangled Teen Crush’s contemporary, young adult Backstage Pass romance series focusing on the boy band Seconds to Juliet. Each installment will be written by a different author focusing on a different member of the band. This is seventeen year old bad boy rocker Ryder Brooks and sixteen year old Mia Reyes’s storyline.

Told from third person perspective MIA AND THE BAD BOY follows shy, quiet, nerd girl Mia as she is hired to tutor Ryder Brooks for his high school GED. Ryder has kept secret his failure to complete high school ( among other things) and in this Mia is hired by the band’s manager to help prepare Ryder for his final test. Without alerting the media or the other members of the band, Ryder suggests Mia pose as his girlfriend in the hopes of fending off the nosy paparazzi who make it their business to uncover everything about the band. What ensues is a quick build up of friends to lovers between a bad boy, and a good girl who is afraid to do anything wrong. But Ryder hides another an even bigger secret and when the truth is revealed, Ryder accuses Mia of betrayal and breaking his heart.

The relationship between Mia and Ryder begins as employer and employee. Ryder is desperate to complete his GED in the hopes of attending a prestigious music college and Mia is the last in a long line of tutors who must get past Ryder’s bad boy ways. When our couple must make public their relationship, what was once pretend becomes something more; something real. Because MIA AND THE BAD BOY is a young adult storyline, the lone $ex scene is implied and fades to black.

The secondary and supporting characters include all of the members of SECONDS TO JULIET as well as the band’s smarmy manager LJ Pearl. There is a mention, in the story, as it alludes to the real-life boy band NSYNC and in this, the series reflects some of the issues encountered by JT and the boys with their own success and controlling business manager. From a ‘making of the band’ type scenario to worldwide success, the comparisons are many including the name of the band’s manager which is too close to NSYNC’s original manager Lou Pearlman. There is a slight One Direction feel to the boy band make up as well.

MIA AND THE BAD BOY is a quick and easy read without the usual drama of the YA triangle –thank goodness. The characters are engaging and animated; the storyline interesting and predictable but familiar. There is little to no foul language; and no suggestive or graphic imagery. If you are a fan of the YA storyline, you may enjoy MIA AND THE BAD BOY and the Backstage Pass series, but saying that, the storyline is geared to a younger reader, perhaps teen girls who thrive on the boy band phenomenon.

READING ORDER
1. Aimee and the Heartthrob by Ophelia London (April 2015)
2. Mia and the Bad Boy by Lisa Burstein (May 2015)
3. Daisy and the Front Man by Rebekah Purdy
4. Anya and the Shy Guy by Suze Winegardner
5. Abby and the Cute One by Erin Butler

Copy supplied by the publisher (Entangled Teen Crush)

Reviewed by Sandy

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Sneaking Candy by Lisa Burstein-a review

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SNEAKING CANDY by Lisa Burstein-a review

Sneaking Candy

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 9, 2013

All I ever wanted was to make a name for myself as Candice Salinas, creative writing grad student at the University of Miami. Of course, secretly I already have made a name for myself: as Candy Sloane, self-published erotic romance writer. Though thrilled that my books are selling and I have actual fans, if anyone at UM found out, I could lose my scholarship…and the respect of my faculty advisor, grade-A-asshole Professor Dylan.

Enter James Walker, super-hot local barista and—surprise!—my student. Even though I know a relationship is totally off-limits, I can’t stop myself from sneaking around with James, taking a few cues from my own erotic writing…if you catch my drift. Candy’s showing her stripes for the first time in my real life, and I’ve never had so much fun. But when the sugar high fades, can my secrets stay under wraps?

REVIEW: SNEAKING CANDY by Lisa Burstein is a new adult, contemporary romance storyline focusing on twenty two year old Candice Salinas and James Walker. Candice is a full time student at the University of Miami, working on her Master’s thesis and a TA for the handsome yet irritating Professor Anthony Dylan. But life on campus is about to get complicated when a chance meeting at school would reveal that her latest love interest is her new student; her professor begins to unravel the true identity behind a romance author; and her thesis presentation is about to be sabotaged by rumors and innuendo of late night trysts and forbidden romance.

Candice knows a thing or two about betrayal and rejection. She left New York to pursue an education and degree in writing much to the disappointment of her parents and ex boyfriend. Meeting James Walker put everything into perspective-a new life; a new start and a the possibility of a new love but then everything falls apart when James is the newest transfer student assigned to Candice’s class.

The storyline follows Candice and James as their forbidden desires and relationship begin to take on a life of its’ own. James is everything Candice’s parents would despise and he is the forbidden fruit as far as the university ethics committee would agree. But there is more to Candice than a relationship with James. Candice has a secret that could also put her scholarship in jeopardy if discovered and Professor Dylan is going to use this information to his advantage. But James has a plan and one that will require a twist in the truth about Professor Dylan and reality that is life for his TA and all of those that came before.

Sneaking Candy is a storyline of forbidden desires, betrayal of trust and the misuse of power by the people in charge. The relationship between James and Candice is sensual and sexual and the excitement is additionally charged by the perceived wrongness of their actions and forbidden love.

The secondary characters including Candice’s best friend and muse Amanda are colorful and I hope there is a potential for future storylines.

Lisa Burstein pulls the reader into a fast paced, well-written, interesting storyline where the attraction between two people cannot be tempered by the rule and regulations that govern their lives. Both Candice and James are consenting adults but the appearances of impropriety have far reaching consequences for more than just our leading couple. Candice will be forced to confront the truth about appearances when the reality is not even close but in doing so, will reveal the love one man has for the woman who has captured his heart and soul. Sneaking Candy is a story of forbidden love with a little humor, romance, sensuality and  a HEA.

Copy supplied by publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy

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Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein – a Review

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Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein – a Review

 

Dear Cassie

Links to purchase Dear Cassie: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Description:

What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?

 

Review:

DEAR CASSIE by Lisa Burstein is the follow up novel to Pretty Amy.  This takes place right after the girls are arrested for possession and intent to sell after they were stood up by their prom dates.  Cassie tells her own story starting from the airport until she arrives at Turning Pines Wilderness Camp.  She journals her whole experience at the camp. This is really Cassie’s story of going from a hurt and vulnerable girl, to one who learns to love and forgive in an unlikely setting.

Her fellow “campers” are an interesting mix.  There is Nez, the compulsive liar, Troyer, the girl who won’t talk and then there is Ben.  Ben is trying to break down the barriers that Cassie has erected around her heart. Cassie doesn’t want anything to do with him, because of the past betrayals in her life. 

Cassie is not always a sympathetic character.  She has been badly hurt in life and she lashes out at the people who are trying to help her heal.  Her vocabulary is peppered with the F bomb and she is constantly chewing her cinnamon gum, because she craves her cigarettes.  Once the author allows Cassie’s character to crack and begin to heal, the reading became easier and I started rooting for her success.  It’s hard to be a teenage girl and Cassie has many things that she needs to heal from and people she needs to forgive.  Cassie is a tough nut to crack!! 

Ben is a wonderful character, and he never gives up on Cassie!  He is funny, sympathetic and he needs to convince Cassie that he will not betray her.  He helps her to learn to move on in life, and to let go on some of her pain and sadness.  Lisa Burstein is very gifted with her character development.  She allowed me to go from hating a character to feeling nothing but love and admiration for Cassie.  This book would be great for teenagers who are feeling alone in life and for the adults that love them!  

 Reviewed by Jules

Copy supplied by publisher.

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