Tag: Leigh T. Moore

Review: Undertow by Leigh T. Moore.

Posted January 28, 2014 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Under Tow
Rowena’s review of Under Tow (Dragonfly #2) by Leigh T. Moore.

Falling in love will pull you under…

Bill Kyser has a plan to take the sandy farms of his hometown and turn them into a world-class tourist destination–and become a billionaire in the process.
Alexandra “Lexy” LaSalle has a plan to change her life by becoming a world-famous artist.
Meg Weaver has a plan to hold onto Bill no matter what she has to do.

Three friends, three dreams.

One fatal decision will change all their lives forever.

In Dragonfly, Bill Kyser gave Anna the three journals that held the story behind the powerful developer’s seclusion and the damaged lives of his family members.

Anna hoped to find a way for Julian to know the truth, but as she digs deeper into the tragic events of the past, she realizes silence could be the only option.

Now she’s in an alliance with the man she formerly feared. And if Julian finds out what she knows, she could lose for good the boy she’s starting to love.

This is the second book in the Dragonfly series by Leigh T. Moore and it starts off not too long after the first book ends.  Anna is working for the town’s newpaper and she’s dug up a story that has been buried, one that involves the boy that she’s come to care about a lot but the two adults that are also involved in the story want her to keep her mouth shut about what she thinks she knows.  In an effort to get her to understand why she couldn’t tell their secrets, Bill Kyser (her ex-boyfriend’s Dad) gives her three journals to read and to understand.

So she does.

She spends a weekend delving into the past and the more she reads, the more confused she gets because at the center of all of the lies and secrets, is the boy that she’s fallen in love with.  Julian.

This book digs into the secrets from the first book. Anna finds out some stuff about Julian’s parents and also about Jack’s parents.  The story of Bill and Meg Kyser and then Alex Lesalle was a complex story with an ending that broke hearts and ended lives.  It was interesting to see Bill Kyser’s character come to life.  In the first book, he’s kind of a dick and while you wonder about him, because he’s suck a jerk, you don’t really care about him.  But in this book you get to see life happen to Bill and understand that the life he had before shaped the person that he is now.  His story wasn’t an easy one.  It was raw and it was emotional and you see the grief, the guilt and the secrets pile up until it feels like your drowning.

I’m glad that I read this book.  While I missed Anna and Julian being at the center of the story, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it.  I was wrapped up in Bill, Meg and Lexy’s story and it made me thirsty for more.  I’m anxious for the next book and I can’t wait to dig in.  This was a solid story, one that I would definitely recommend.  If you’ve read the first book and enjoyed it, you’ll like this one too.

Grade: 3.25 out of 5

This book is available from Leigh Talbert Moore.  You can purchase it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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Review: Dragonfly by Leigh T. Moore.

Posted September 5, 2013 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

DragonflyRowena’s review of Dragonfly (Dragonfly #1) by Leigh T. Moore.

Main Character: Anna
Love Interest: Jack, Julian

Dragonfly
“Gossip Girl meets VC Andrews in this contemporary family saga. Love, lies, and betrayal become the new normal when Anna enters the world of Jack and Lucy Kyser.” –Magan Vernon, international bestselling author of The Only Exception

Three bad things I learned this year:
-People you trust lie, even parents.
-That hot guy, the one who’s totally into you, he might not be the one.
-Things are not always how they appear.

Three good things I learned this year:
-Best friends are always there for you, even when they’re far away.
-That other hot guy, the one who remembers your birthday, he just might be the one.
-Oh, and things are not always how they appear.

Anna Sanders expected an anonymous (and uneventful) senior year until she crossed paths with rich-and-sexy Jack Kyser and his twin sister Lucy.

Pulling Anna into their extravagant lifestyle on the Gulf Coast, Lucy pushed Anna outside her comfort zone, and Jack showed her feelings she’d never experienced… Until he mysteriously withdrew.

Anna turned to her internship at the city paper and to her old attraction for Julian, a handsome local artist and rising star, for distraction. But both led to her discovery of a decades-old secret closely guarded by the twins’ distant, single father.

A secret that could permanently change all their lives.

This is the first book in the Dragonfly series by Leigh T. Moore and it was a fast read.  Lots of things happen and the ending was a bit abrupt but there’s another book out already so it’s hard to stay mad about all of that.  I’ve read a few other books by Moore and thought I would enjoy this book as well and well, I did.

This story introduces Anna Sanders who just lost her best friend right before senior year.  She didn’t lose her because she died or anything like that.  She just moved away, leaving Anna behind and while Anna misses her, what can she do?  Anna expects that her senior year is going to be a dud because she’s all alone but much to everyone’s surprise, her senior really takes off.

Anna meets the Kyser twins and is thrown into their rich world when she starts dating Jack and becomes friends with Jack’s twin sister Lucy.  Anna is drawn to Jack through sheer lust and the attraction gets her every single time that she’s around him.  Jack is mysterious and quiet but there are things going on with him that nobody knows about so it’s hard to trust him….but none of that matters to Anna.  She likes him and she’ll take him any way that she can.

But then there’s Julian Lasalle, a guy that she’s known for a while, who she considers a friend is starting to get real flirty with her …and she likes it.  But Julian has always been off limits to Anna because her best friend had a thing for him and called dibs on him.  Now that she’s gone, he’s game and he’s acting like he really wants to be caught by Anna.

A lot of things go down in this book and I thought it’d be hard to keep up but it wasn’t.  Talbert does a great job of sucking you right into the thick of everything that’s going on and keep you there until the end.  Too much happens to make you bored and before I knew what was what, I was wrapped up in Anna and the boys in her life and I was wearing my Team Julian t-shirt proudly.  At the beginning, I thought that I’d be Team Jack but there was too much mystery surrounding Jack and I found that I couldn’t forgive him for all of the low-key crap he had going on.

I really came to love Julian over the course of this book.  I thought that whatever was happening with Julian and Anna was great and it was sweet and it’s not done.  So much has yet to happen and even though I wasn’t a big fan of the ending in this book, I’m looking forward to reading the next book.  I’m itching to find out what’s in those journals that Mr. Kyer gave Anna to read and I’m curious to find out how Anna deals with all of the information that she’s going to get from those journals…and I’m mighty curious to see what happens next with Julian.

Lots of stuff going on but it was a fun to be apart of and I definitely recommend this book to readers of contemporary YA.  This one doesn’t disappoint.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Leigh T. Moore.  You can purchase it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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Review: The Truth about Letting Go by Leigh T. Moore

Posted February 26, 2013 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: The Truth about Letting Go by Leigh T. MooreReviewer: Rowena
The Truth About Letting Go (The Truth, #2) by Leigh Talbert Moore
Series: The Truth #2
Also in this series: The Truth About Faking (The Truth, #1)
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: February 21st 2013
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 276
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Ashley Lockett has always followed the rules. She's always done the right thing and played it safe until her ideal life is shattered when her dad dies suddenly.

Fueled by anger and grief, she vows to do everything opposite of how she lived before. Then she meets Jordan. He has big dreams, he's had a crush on Ashley for years, and he's a great kisser. But he's also safe.

Enter Colt. He is not safe, and he's more than willing to help Ashley fulfill her vow.

This is the third book by Leigh T. Moore that I’ve read and I’m pretty stoked to say that she keeps getting better and better with each read.  I am definitely a fan of her work.  This book is about Ashley Lockett’s journey to coming to terms with her father’s death.  Her father died of cancer and she’s struggling with her grief and the grief that she doesn’t see her mother or brother showing.  She’s angry with God for not answering her prayers to cure her father.  She’s angry that her mother has thrown herself into work and isn’t showing an ounce of grief over the loss of her father and she’s angry that her brother has gone on with his life as if nothing has changed.

To make matters more complicated, Ashley is pulling away from her friends for reasons that she’s not aware of.  Her best friend feels like a complete stranger to her and the only girl that she looks forward to talking to is a plus size girl who she meets down by the creek.  The creek that she goes to, to think.  To clear her head and to talk about her Dad with someone who had nothing but good memories of him, along with her.

Ashley is mad at the world and she’s looking to be a little bad.  The very last thing that she wants or needs is someone to care about and to care about her but when she meets Jordan, thing start to get away from her.  Her intention to go after the bad boy Colt, her intention to do anything and everything that would make her forget her grief.

When we first met Ashley, I wasn’t at all sure that I was going to end up liking her because of the way that she lashed out at her brother Will and her mother.  She’s out of her mind with grief and she doesn’t know how to deal with it and she acted like a total brat about the whole thing.  I’m not a fan of teenagers who think that it’s their right to be douches because they’re hurting or because they’re sad.  But Ashley wasn’t that bad. She didn’t step over the line of no return and I’m glad for that.  I really enjoyed getting to know her as the book continued on.  It was pretty neat to see her come around and it made the story even better when the alleged bad guy, turned out to not be bad at all.

The characters all came to life for me throughout the book as well.  Jordan was a fabulous character that wormed his way into my heart at the very beginning and even though I should have hated Colt for being a punk for a lot of the book, I didn’t hate him.  I liked him and saw the goodness that he didn’t show many people.  Ashley’s family were pretty great too.  It was good to see Harley’s parents from The Truth about Faking It and it was nice to hear that Harley and Jason are still going strong.

Overall, I’m glad that I got this book for review.  I’m glad that I read this book and I definitely recommend this if you’re in the mood for a good, coming of age contemporary YA novel.  Leigh T. Moore is a great author that really knows how to weave a story in a way that keeps the reader invested throughout the entire story.  I enjoy the way that she tells Ashley’s story and I’m looking forward to reading even more from her.  Kudos to Leigh T. Moore on another winner of a story.

…and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from the author. This book was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://goodreads.com

four-stars


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Get ROUGE FOR FREE…

Posted December 19, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

…on Amazon for two days.

Today and tomorrow, all kindle owners can get a free e-copy of ROUGE by Leigh T. Moore. After Thursday, the e-copy of ROUGE will be on sale for only 99¢ through Christmas.  I really enjoyed this book and you can read my review of the book here.

To check out where to get your free e-copy of the book for a limited time, check it out:

This is a good book and a great deal for Kindle owners.  You won’t want to miss this!


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Review: Rouge by Leigh T. Moore

Posted December 5, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 5 Comments

Review: Rouge by Leigh T. MooreReviewer: Rowena
Rouge (Cheveux Roux, #1) by Leigh Talbert Moore
Series: Cheveux Roux #1

Publication Date: November 10th 2012
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 302
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Romance, velvet, sequins, and murder...

Hale Ferrer is the rising star of the hottest cabaret in New Orleans. And her one goal is escape. Escape from the lies, from the crime, and from her growing fear that one day she'll have to earn her living in the secret back rooms, where the dancers do more than dance.

But she won't leave behind Teeny, the orphan-girl she promised to protect.

Freddie Lovel is rich, handsome, and in love with Hale, and he's ready to sweep her away with him to Paris. But her heart is captured by Beau, the poor stagehand with eyes as blue as Louisiana iris flowers.

Denying her fears, Hale is ready to choose love and a life with Beau, until a predator hidden in the wings launches a chain of events that could cost her everything--Teeny, their one hope of escape, and possibly even her life.

I’ve never seen Moulin Rouge and I’ve never been particularly interested in seeing it either.  I’ve heard that I’m missing out by not watching that movie but meh, I didn’t care….until now.  This book has made me want to break out my friend’s DVD of this movie because it was a good read.  It’s got everything that a great story should have.  Characters that leap right off the pages and into your heart, a story that had me antsy for more and a forbidden love that I couldn’t help but love.

This book follows Hale, a young woman who sings in a cabaret type show, on the brink of turning 18 and trying to take care of her 12 year old charge.  Hale and Teeny share a small bed in Hale’s room and Teeny is getting older and bigger and it’s getting harder and harder for Hale to shield her from Gavin, the owner of the show.  Hale is afraid that once Gavin start taking notice of Teeny, that she’ll have to start earning her keep and because Teeny can’t sing or dance, Hale is scared of how Gavin will make her earn that keep.  She knows what happens at night on the other side of the clubhouse and Teeny doesn’t have the promise that Hale has.

Freddie Lovel is the answer to all of Hale’s problems.  He’s rich and he fancies Hale so Hale needs to play nice with him so that he’ll take Hale and Teeny away from the show and take care of them.  But when Beauregard starts working as a stagehand for the show, Hale is presented with a problem.  His touch ignites something in her that Freddie doesn’t but she needs Freddie to take her and Teeny away from the show before Teeny becomes a prostitute but all of that is jeopardized with Beau now in the picture.

Hale was one of those strong heroines that handles her business.  She takes care of her own, even if that means she goes without.  You won’t be able to help yourself, you’re going to love Hale.  She’s hard working, she’s loyal and she’s caring.  She loves fiercely and I really liked the person that she was in this story.  I thought that Moore did a fabulous job of making the reader understand just what Hale was up against and what Hale was trying to accomplish for herself and for Teeny.  She’s the kind of heroine that people can get behind. She’s the underdog that you want to come out on top.  You want good things to happen to people like Hale and man, I ate this book right up.

The characters really drove the story for me.  I thought it was such a good read and I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a solid story with wonderful characters that will worm their way into your heart and stay there.  Your heart will soar and your heart will break but you will definitely leave this book, anxious for the next one.  Thanks so much to Leigh T. Moore for providing this book for review, it was a definite treat for this reader.

…and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from Leigh T. Moore. This book was received from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

four-stars


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