Just Sing by Rene Gilley

Author: Rene Gilley
Publisher: The Writers Coffee Shop Publishing House

Publication Date: June 5th 2014

Blurb Description:Sixteen-year-old Lily O’Brien has one goal in life—to sing. Her dream is to get into a topnotch college vocal program, but the summer before her junior year, her high school cuts their awarding-winning vocal ensemble. She might as well kiss her dreams goodbye.

When the snobby new neighbors move into their mansion up the hill, Lily is positive summer can’t get any worse, and she’s determined to hate and ignore them—until she meets Aiden. 
He’s broken and beautiful, and they become reluctant friends. Through her newfound friendship, she finds the strength to step outside the comfort of her plan and follow her dream. 

Available from: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and TWCS PH

Author Bio: 

By day, René Gilley works as a portfolio manager for a Fortune 50 company, but her nights and weekends are spent writing young adult and new adult romance books. Her brain never shuts off—always dreaming up new situations her characters can get into. 

Her California home is often the backdrop for her books. Her debut novel, Just Sing of the SEVEN OAKS SERIES, was years in the making. Like her character, René seeing Just Sing being published is a dream come true.

She’s a wife, mother to two beautiful daughters, and four dogs. She’s proud to be a triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) survivor and believes in giving back through book profits to charities that support breast cancer. 

Connect with René Gilley on: 

Facebook, Twitter, Website and Goodreads

Video Trailer:


            

**GIVEAWAY**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Interview** 

 1.   3Things nobody knows about you:

--As part of a prior job I was part of a chocolate tasting panel
 --I’m allergic to bees

--I love to watch shows about Alaska, but don’t think I could ever live there

2.   The sweetest thing you've ever heard or written or been told:

--It’s a tie, the sweetest sounds I’d ever heard was the gasping cry of both my daughters when they were born and pissed off to be removed from their warm home. But hearing them breathe and be okay was the best thing ever.

3.   The weirdest experience you've ever had:

--My husband’s friend was the surgical tech for an minor outpatient surgery I had. Let’s just say it was for womanly stuff and was overall mortifying since I had to see him again socially.

And now, onto your masterpiece:

4.   Describe your main characters in a couple of words: 

•     --Lily- Loyal, devoted, and beautiful inside and out

•     --Aiden- Sexy, protective, and torn apart inside

5.   Your favorite dialogue/ quote from Just Sing:

•    --Man, this is hard to pick one, but if I have to narrow it down, then this one: “I used to think Aiden was an enigma. Now, I simply thought he had walls- a barrier he kept up to protect himself, and when I was lucky enough to catch those rare moments when his guard was down, it was like watching bits of brilliance”

6.   A message to all your devoted readers!

--Thank you for taking a chance on my story. My wish is that you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it. My story without readers is like a house without a family to make it a home. If you liked this book, I think the series gets better and I hope you stay along for the ride.

**MY REVIEW**

This book can be described in a string of words: a fun, light soap-opera like story.

Just Sing was a sweet book. It had a lot of things going for it- family, friendship, fun, life, problems (with all of the above) first loves, and even a small LGBT element. The characters were fun, especially Aiden- I didn't understand the decisions he made lots of times, but when he was in his nice phase, he's the guy girls drool over, sweet, good looking and troubled.

I should warn you however- contrary to what the title suggests, this book barely has a music element. It starts of with it, has a very few mentions-of scholarships and acceptance letters- in the middle and suddenly comes with bang in the end. There are no lyrics, no instruments, and no music shows. It annoyed me a bit, but mostly because I was expecting it.

It was a nice contemporary tale, a light summer read. It had fun elements as well- like a character called Barbie! It also had loads and loads of drama (Yay!) causing ups and downs in well explained, clear prose. If I were to tell you more, it would probably ruin the book.

And I'm trying shorter reviews so...

The first in a series, I will most definitely be looking forward to the next part!

My Verdict:

THE drama filled book for the summer of 2014- just don't expect so centred around music