Welcome to The Cozy Reader’s stop on the Blog Tour for Courtney Cole’s second book to The Paradise Diaries series, Mia’s Heart!

 

 

Mia’s Heart (The Paradise Diaries, #2) by Courtney Cole

Lakehouse Press | November 13, 2012 | 458 kb

Procurement

eARC via Kismet Book Touring

My Grade

Plot: 4

Setting: 5

Writing: 5

Originality: 3

Characters: 4

Romance: 4

Overall: 25/30 = 83%

Title/Cover Bonus: 5

Overall

A great addition to follow the amazing Dante’s Girl. Looking forward to the next one!

Summary (Goodreads)

My name is Mia Giannis.
I am seventeen years old.
I live in Valese, Caberra.

This has become my mantra and my lifeline, having recently lost my memory due to a scary natural disaster.
Yeah. I have amnesia. Messed up, right?

You don’t know the half of it.

Not remembering anything has turned my world upside down. My parents try their hardest to “remind” me of who I was, but it doesn’t feel right. Or, if what they’re saying is true and that really was me, I’m not sure I like that person very much.

And then there’s my love life. Apparently, Gavin Ariastasis is my oldest and best friend in the world. Also, apparently, we’ve never dated. But now, noticing him for what feels like the first time, he’s making my heart do somersaults. He knows me inside and out—the real me. Plus, he’s sexy and charming as hell. Sounds perfect, right?

But then… there’s the new guy. Quinn McKeyen – tall, gorgeous and deliciously American. His mischievous grin and slow Midwestern drawl turn my insides to mush in two seconds flat making me question who I really am and what I really want.

Seriously. What am I supposed to do with all that?! I feel torn between them, but I barely even know who I am, let alone what I want.

I just hope my indecisive heart will clue me in. And sooner rather than later…before I lose what little of my mind that I have left.

Trailer

None at time of review.

First Line

Five times.
That’s how many times I have looked at the clock while my mother has been
lecturing me.

Most Memorable Scene

Skinny dipping! Horseback riding.

Plot

After the many environmental disasters that have happened recently I wasn’t surprised to see it as a focal point for a contemporary romance. Without giving too much away I liked how the event brought the characters closer together. Seeing them all work together to help the community as well as each other was nice. Having a reason to bring Reece and Dante back was also another bonus!

Setting

Oh, Caberra is amazing. It was sad to envision the destruction that happened to the lovely place but Courtney does an amazing job at fixing and putting everything back in it’s proper place. The setting is not a major part of this story but helps set the mood in a few scenes. Overall, the setting in this series is as beautiful as paradise.

Writing

Just like with Dante’s Girl this book was very well thought out. Told from Mia’s point of view and it’s nice to see her character go through her issues. I feel like Mia did a great job with the narration and don’t feel like I missed anything story wise from other characters. I must say I have a massive soft spot for Gavin and wouldn’t have minded a scene from his POV.

Originality

This is the only area I struggled with while reading. There are SO MANY common areas in this to Dante’s Girl. When Mia runs down the hall in her heels just like Reece did I had to roll my eyes just a smidgen. That scene was followed by a scene by the pool as well.

Characters

We know Mia pretty well from Dante’s Girl but she’s going through something major. She’s a bit different but in a good way. We are also familiar with Quinn from what Reece told us in the first book. I find that I wanted to know a bit more about him then what we did learn. And then there’s Gavin. Oh Gavin, you had me in the first book and this one  you’ve managed to hook me again. I hope the next book is all his, he deserves great happiness and he is so swoon-worthy it hurts my heart.

Having Reece and Dante back was nice.

Romance

The romance in this one seems a little setup, obviously. The issue that Mia is working through makes the romance a little tricky. Because of the trickiness I didn’t get that crazy love feeling I did in the first book. I was pulled in two different directions and because of my love for one of the characters I wanted the one thing to work out when I KNEW it wasn’t going to.

Title/Cover Bonus

These covers are amazing. The title to this one isn’t amazing but it works fine.

Ending

It ended how I thought it would. I was happy with the ending and I am hoping for another book. Preferrably with Gavin’s happily ever after.

Series

Check out Dante’s Girl – the first book in the Paradise Diaries Series
goodreads | amazon | B&N

Connect with Courtney Cole

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could.
She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds.
Every Last Kiss is her debut novel and she followed it with the rest of The Bloodstone Saga (Every Last Kiss, Fated, With My Last Breath and My Tattered Bonds).
Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Giveaway

Courtney Cole is giving away one signed copy of Mia’s Heart. US/Canada only. To enter fill out the below Rafflecopter form.
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