giovedì 25 ottobre 2012

Blog Tour: Shallow by Georgia Cates [Review + Interview]

Shallow
Going Under #2
Author: Georgia Cates
Published: 21st September 2012
Publisher: Georgia Cates, self-published
Format: eARC
Purchase: Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

From Goodreads:
Nick Hawke likes his car fast and his girls even faster. He blows through females quicker than his muscle car races down the "The Strip" in Collinsville and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Determined to avoid the devastation he has watched his father endure in the aftermath of his mother leaving, he believes there is no room in his life or his heart for a relationship lasting more than one night. He seeks happiness in things that won’t let him down...fast cars, adrenaline and one night stands. To his absolute dismay, all of that changes when he unexpectedly runs into an old friend and is introduced to Payton Archer, the first girl he ever wanted for more than one night. There’s only one catch...she is completely immune to him and his smooth talking ways. 

My review


Shallow is the story of two teenagers, Payton and Nick, who accidentally meet due to a car accident: since that day they couldn't remove each other from their mind. Nick has always been a Playah, the typical guy who has always played with girls without caring about the consequences; Payton instead is a direct and impulsive girl, with a breastplate of iron but a very sensitive and tender heart. It is she, with her directness and impulsiveness who will upset Nick's world; but can Nick forget all about his past and move on? Or will the past overwhelm him, ruining his plans?

I really liked Shallow: it was fluent, funny, romantic and captivating. I think the author has done an amazing work in describing the love between Payton and Nick because it was so dynamic that I found myself completely caught by the story; infact I finished the book in three days: I've read it during school lessons, on the bus, at work, everywhere! I'm really surpised by the effect this book had on me because I usually don't like love stories, but this one was different: it felt authentic, sincere, spontaneous. Even if, sometimes I didn't like how melodramatic Nick/Payton seemed; I thought that some phrases were too serious to be said by a teenager of about 18 years. Speaking of authenticity, I liked the fact that the author remained down-to-earth, meaning, that often love stories are set in unlikely circumstances, that make you dream for a while, but then you have to realise something like that can never happen to you. The love story of Payton and Nick instead, is within the reach of all: it's the story of two teens who casually meet, like each other and arrange to meet, even if with some difficulties in the middle. I mean, to those can't happen something like this? (:

One particular part of the book that I loved was the final part, in which Payton reads and comments Nick's diary; I thought it was ingenious! During the book there is no lack of descriptions of the psycology of the characters, but the reading of the diary completely shows to the readers the true feelings of the characters, their suffering, their reactions, their past.

Speaking of the characters, I really liked Payton personality because I really think we have something in common: I'm know for being just as impulsive as her (if not more!) and for using a really strong language, sometimes. But I also know that this is just a facade, instead; it is evident that Payton's personality has been greatly influenced by the scars of the past. In this case, a bad break-up has deeply marked her and threatened to influence her following relationships. For this reason, she finds it hard to trust Nick, at the beginning, and the minimal hint of his past is enough to make her take a step back.
Nick is a little stereotyped, in my opinion, so I was not as impressed by his character as for Payton's. As always he's the bad guy who is suddenly changed by the meeting with a girl, who dares to refuse him for the first time; this wound him up in the pride and the hunt for Payton becomes a sort of a personal challenge; he will soon realise it is not just this. What I liked about him is his fragility: infact, once he's in love, there's nothing left of his bad boy previous attitude and he's completely vulnerable. Oh, adorable! I know I've said he may seem a little stereotyped but I know for real that this is what usually happens to guys and this is exactly why I think the author has done an amazing work in describing an everyday story, but not without adding that little touch of magic and uniqueness.

I highly recommend this book to all of you who would like to read a good romantic, contemporary novel. I bet you'll end it up even before starting it!

Rated 4,65


Interview with Georgia Cates

Hi Georgia! Thank you for stopping by! ^^
Let's start with the questions:

-First of all tell us a little about your book; where did you get the idea of writing it?
Let me begin by saying this book wasn’t my idea. The credit belongs to my readers because I never intended on writing a second Going Under novel. They loved Payton so much in Going Under, they asked for her story. No, they demanded it.
In Going Under, we have Claire and Jessie’s story. Shallow is simply a continuation that picks up with the same characters after high school graduation. It’s Payton’s story of how she meets Nick Hawke, a guy she believes could never be enough yet at some point he becomes the one thing she can’t live without. Unfortunately, he has a past that rears its ugly head in an attempt to snuff out any future he might have with Payton.

-Payton really seems to have changed Nick completely. Can you tell us what intrigued him most about Payton's personality?
Initially, it was her obvious disdain for him. He had never experienced a girl that didn’t immediately fall for his bull. Secondly and most importantly, he was taken back by her smart ass mouth. He took her for a rich, pampered princess so he was intrigued every time something less than lady-like came out of her mouth.

-I really liked the immediacy of Payton in speaking and in interacting with other people; can we say she has a little bit of you personality? Or are you quite different from her?
We are kindred spirits. I’m not as vocal as Payton, but we share the same thought processes. Just know that although I might not say it, I’m certainly thinking it.

-While reading the book I noticed music has greatly influenced you; can you name the top 5 songs which inspired you more in writing Shallow?
Music is without doubt my biggest muse and any emotionally charged scenes had a song that inspired them. It was TOUGH narrowing this down to 5.
1. Heaven- The Fire Theft
2. Beautiful Disaster- Kelly Clarkson
3. You’ll Ask For Me- Tyler Hilton
4. Take A Bow- Rihanna
5. Kiss Me- Ed Sheeran







-Which actor would you choose to play Nick? I bet an hot one! (:
And for playing Payton?

I’m always terrible at choosing actors/actresses because I rarely watch television and although I may write about teen boys, I don’t watch them on television. With that being said, I would choose WillIam Levy as Nick. Yeah, I know he’s older than Nick, but I’m the one choosing, right? And I would choose Brittany
Robertson as Payton. She has a certain Barbie Doll characteristic about her that be so fitting for Payton.

-If you could be a character in your book who would you be? Why?
I would be Payton, of course. Who wouldn’t want to be gorgeous and witty with a mouth that can spout off insults like a machine gun? (And get away with it.)




-Is there something you regret about Shallow? Something you think you could have done better?
I wish I had given Dane a bigger role with some kind of conflict in his life. He is such a sweetie but the reader didn’t get to see a lot of him. I’ve had a lot of requests for Dane and Dallas’ story so I think we’ll be seeing more of them in the future.




-Are you working on any other book in the Going Under series? Or have you other work-ing projects?
I’m currently working on a non-Going Under project I haven’t revealed to anyone. I hope to have it out by Christmas. I chose to do this book a little differently. Instead of making an announcement with a blurb, cover art and date to release, I decided to play it by ear and let it develop on its own without the pressure of sticking to a synopsis and date to release. I think this could be the way to go for me. I’m so much more relaxed in my writ-ing and I feel like I have freedom with it that I haven’t had in the past because of sticking to a blurb.

Again, I have had requests for Dane and Dallas’ story so I definitely see that happening in the future. I also have The Vampire Agape Series I have to wrap up soon.





-Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
You’ll be seeing some definite changes in my writing style with my next project. I’ve been afraid to take chances in my early writings, but that’s all in the past. Be prepared.
It’s going to get a little wild.

Find Georgia Website | Facebook | GoodReads


What do you think of Shallow? Have you read it already? Are you planning to read it? Leave a comment!


Nessun commento:

Posta un commento

 
Images by Freepik