Blog Tour Review - The List By: Kate L. Mary + A GIVEAWAY!!!

Title: The List
Author: Kate L. Mary
Publisher: Lyrical Press, (May 26th 2015)
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
From: the Publisher & Author
Format: eARC
Add to: Goodreads
Order a copy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

NOTE: This is a "New Adult" novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 17+

Synopsis: The List. Twenty things every girl must do before she turns twenty. . .

Body piercing
Get drunk
First kiss

But thanks to her crazy, over-protective father, Annie Roth is way behind schedule. Good thing it’s her first semester of college, because Annie is more than ready to start checking off items. . .

Fake ID
Skinny dipping
Road trip!!!

Where it gets complicated? Ryan and Chris. Best friends. Both sweet, funny, totally hot, and totally into Annie.

But there are some things on The List that Annie only wants to do with Ryan. . .

Lose it
Get Heart Broken
Fall in love

Review: 3 Stars - The List – the first title in author Kate L. Mary’s College of Charleston series tells the story of a college freshman, sheltered her whole life who is now looking to spread her wings, find herself and to experience some of the things she’s missed while being a teenager.

With a secondary cast of characters, nineteen year old Annie finds friends who are ready and willing to help her as she faces many rites of passage. Making a list of twenty things to do while she’s still a teenager she embarks on a freshman year to never forget.

I guess I should start this review off by saying that I was really looking forward to this one by the synopsis alone. I liked the idea of her finally taking a leap and living out from under her over protective father. I wanted to see just how far she’d push her boundaries and if she’d stay true to herself or go off the deep end of crazy out of control.

As I read I liked the secondary characters more and more because they were just as important to Annie’s journey as Annie’s story itself. Yet there were some characters that rubbed me the wrong way and that are where things started to fall flat.

The story is there, there’s no doubt about that. I was just rubbed the wrong way about a few things. It started almost at the beginning and didn’t let up. I did have some strong feelings while reading – mostly frustration and anger for Annie and that’s truly one of the reasons I rated the book 3 stars. For the most part I did enjoy Annie and her story because there’s so much more to her than just spreading her wings and finding out who she is. I was eager while reading to find out what she was hiding about her families past.

The one thing I did love was the relationships she builds with a group of friends she meets via her dorm roommate. I liked that she was ready and willing to try new things but still remained true to herself, never pushing things too far even with the few times things could have gone very, very wrong. I liked how the secondary characters welcomed her into their group with open arms, even with the complications that quickly came about within the group.

While there were parts of the story that let me somewhat down, I did like the story and am glad to see that there will be another book to find out what happens next to this group of friends. I also hope to find out what happens next for Annie and the possible effects of her choices with her new friends.

In the end, while I was a bit let down I did enjoy the story enough to not only finish reading but to look forward to what comes next for the characters in future books. This is a great book for fans of contemporary “New Adult” titles. And while this is a complete book it appears the rest of the series will center on other characters so although this is the beginning of a series I’m assuming you can read this as a standalone title. However, readers will get a better idea of each character and their relationships much better if you read the series from the beginning. That’s just my input. Enjoy!

About the Author:

Kate L. Mary is a stay-at-home mother of four and an Air Force wife. She grew up in a small town just north of Dayton, Ohio where she and her husband met at the age of twelve. Since their marriage in 2002, they have lived in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and California.

Kate enjoys any post-apocalyptic story – especially if zombies are involved – as long as there is a romantic twist to give the story hope. Kate prefers nerdy, non-traditional heroes who can make you laugh to hunky pieces of man-meat, and her love of wine and chocolate is legendary among her friends and family. She currently resides in Oklahoma with her husband and children.

Be sure to check out her bestselling BROKEN WORLD series, now on the top 100 book in dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction on Amazon.

Find Kate Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY!!!

Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)
One signed copy of The List

a Rafflecopter giveaway