Main Characters: Leesie Hunt, Michael Walden
Series: Michael and Leesie’s series (I have no idea what it’s called), Book 1
Leesie Hunt has many rules: No kissing. No sex. No dating outside the Mormon faith.
When Michael Walden—a deep-sea diver who lost his parents in a violent hurricane—arrives in town, Leesie sees someone who needs her. They fall for one another, even though his dreams are tied to the depths of the ocean and hers to salvation above.
Will their intense chemistry be too strong to resist?
Leesie and Michael must make the hardest choice of their lives: whether to follow their beliefs or their hearts.
Readers will be swept away by this tale of forbidden romance told in online chats, Leesie’s chapbook poems, and Michael’s dive log. It’s as steamy as Twilight and just as clean.
I read this book a while ago but wanted to review it here because it was brought to my attention again since my niece Chaylene is reading this book. She started it and was wondering if the book was going to be preachy since Leesie is a goody good Mormon girl. I couldn’t remember much of it so I went ahead and re-read the entire book. Ha! I’m glad to see that it was still enjoyable this time around.
This story follows Michael Walden as he tries to move on with his life after the death of both of his parents. He now lives in his father’s old room with his grandmother and though he has to go to school, all he thinks about is diving. He’s a deep sea diver just like his parents but as much as he thinks about diving, he’s too scared to dive again since he lost his parents.
At school, he keeps to himself. Not wanting to make friends, not wanting to be there but having to go anyway. He forms a tremulous friendship with Leesie Hunt, the town’s goody good Mormon girl and soon that friendship turns into so much more and Leesie Hunt turns into so much more than a friend. Their blossoming romance is what kept me invested in this story. I adored it. It reminded me so much of the relationships I had growing up in a Mormon household.
The strict rules, the forbidden loves and all of that took me right back to my high school years, wanting to be with the non member at school but knowing that my parents would disapprove. All of those memories were wrapped up in Leesie and Michael’s story and I think that’s what I enjoyed most about the book. The story held true to Leesie’s beliefs but it wasn’t preachy. This book isn’t about the Mormon Church, it’s not trying to baptize the readers..it’s about a Mormon girl falling in love with a Non-Mormon boy and trying to find some middle ground between the two of them.
I really enjoyed getting to know both Michael and Leesie. My heart went out to Michael and I was so glad when Leesie finally came into his life because she was just what he needed. He needed someone to help him grieve for his parents and watching the both of them get closer and closer was too freaking sweet.
The story is well written and it’s easy to follow along. I loved the personal touches with Leesie’s poems and Michael’s dive log, it made their world seem so much more real to me and I totally ate everything up. This book is a good one and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a cute romantic YA story. Mothers out there, I recommend this book to all kids 13 and up.
..and that’s your scoop!
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com
I love that cover, for one, and the story sounds really rich – brilliant review! 🙂
I really enjoyed this one also. 🙂
I really enjoyed it too. Hope your niece likes it. Thanks for the reveiw.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog
I like it too. I read a few blogs that didn’t like it. But I do, I prefer this cover over the other one. It’s a cute book, you should definitely check it out.
I hope to read this book soon. Having been there myself, and still trying to find my way through it, the subject matter of falling in love with a non-member hits home for me. Thanks for the review!