Review: Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal.

Main Character: Ari Mitchell
Love Interest: Blake Ellis
Series: None
Author: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

 

When an unexpected inheritance enables Ari to transfer to an elite Manhattan prep school, she makes a wealthy new friend, Leigh. Leigh introduces Ari to the glamorous side of New York—and to her gorgeous cousin, Blake. Ari doesn’t think she stands a chance, but amazingly, Blake asks her out. As their romance heats up, they find themselves involved in an intense, consuming relationship. Ari’s family worries that she is losing touch with the important things in life, like family, hard work, and planning for the future.

When misfortune befalls Blake’s family, he pulls away, and Ari’s world drains of color. As she struggles to get over the breakup, Ari must finally ask herself: were their feelings true love . . . or something else?

I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about this book all over blog land so of course I wanted to read it. The cover is gorgeous and the book blurb makes you all kinds of interested (at least, it did for me.) and I don’t know what I was expecting before I started it but it wasn’t what I got. What I got was more.

This book follows Ari as her family falls into some money that allows Ari to go and get the education her mother has always wanted her to have but didn’t have the money for. So she’s going to the same prep school that her best friend Summer goes to and she should be excited but she’s not because she’s nothing like Summer. She’s not gorgeous, she doesn’t wear the right clothes and she’s shy. Not exactly screaming popular and she was okay with it all. She was okay with letting living in Summer’s shadow but once she meets Leigh at school, Ari finds herself changing into her own person.

Leigh’s cousin Blake comes into the picture and Ari begins to focus on her own life. Before Blake came into the picture, Ari’s life revolved around everyone around her. She was the perfect daughter to her Mother, she stepped in and took care of her sisters kids while she went off and got better. I felt for Ari because she didn’t have the perfect life and when Blake came into her life, I was happy because I kept thinking, “Finally! Someone to finally be on Ari’s side” because there were so many things going on in Ari’s life that drove me absolutely crazy. At the top of all that? Ari’s family. There were times aplenty when I was furious with her Mom and with her sister. The things that Ari let them get away with made me want to punch a wall or them or something.

The relationship that blossomed between Ari and Blake was one right out of a romance novel, my favorite kind. It was sweet and it was interesting and Lorraine Zago Rosenthal did a wonderful job of drawing me right into the thick of it all. I adored Blake and I adored Ari and I enjoyed them together.

Overall, this story hit all the right notes with me. I enjoyed watching Ari come into her own and Rosenthal did such a great job of telling Ari’s story. Everything was so real and raw and I enjoyed it all very much. This book is a fabulous debut novel and has certainly made me anxious for more and while the ending wasn’t exactly the way that I would have hoped, I still enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. It’s a great read!

For all my Moms out there, I’d give this book a rating of:There are scenes and dialogue in this book that is more suitable for an older teen audience. I wouldn’t be comfortable with my 12 year old daughter reading this one. I say this because there are some sexy scenes in this one and they don’t close the door.

..and that’s your scoop!

Buy the book: B&N|Borders|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

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