Friday, December 23

Amplified by Tara Kelly


Amplified by Tara Kelly
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 304

Summary: When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . .

My Thoughts: Wow, what a novel! I loved Harmonic Feedback so I was so excited to read this one! Amplified was an amazing novel! I didn’t even have it in my possession for a week before I just had to dive in. It was calling my name, I tell you!

We are introduced to Jasmine Kiss who just recently moved out of her father’s house. She is following her own dreams and wants to play music. She deferred her enrollment to Stanford for a year and her father is furious. All he has ever wanted was for her to go to college and she has always done what he wanted so she wants to do what she wants for a change.

On the first day out of her father’s house her car breaks down. Right in front of an auto shop. All she has on her is a little savings, some clothes, a toothbrush, and her lifeline; her music equipment. Really, Jasmine is in for a rude awakening.  She’s always had money and never really had to worry about things. Her dad is a cardiologist.

She ends up taking her car into the shop and meets a boy there. He’s quite the smart ass. But he’s also very cute. She leaves her car overnight and starts on foot on her way to look for an apartment. She has enough money to rent a place but that’s about it, she needs to get a job as soon as possible.

She ends up seeing an AD for a live in guitar player for C-Side. Perfect opportunity? I think so! She shows up at the house at the same time as another guy named Dave to audition. She’s never played live before or around anyone besides her best friend so this will be quite a step up.  

The catch of the ad? It says guys wanted. It’s a house full of guys so of course they don’t want a girl living with them.

We end up meeting all the crew and there is a house full of guys alright, and a girl who lives upstairs.

She plays, ends up finding a place to live and a job! Bonus, hot guys!

The plot was pretty sweet! I loved the music angle, I loved the guys. I’m glad that Jasmine wasn’t perfect, she struggled, she played music, she had problems, and on top of it all she found some romance.

Overall: Amplified was pretty amazing. Its one of a kind. It’s sweet, romantic, and full of dreams and wishes.

Cover: Love it! Love her boots and her amp!  The yellow background looks neat too.

What I’d Give It:

5 comments:

Simply_Megan said...

I loved this as well. Great review!

Anna said...

I've been wanting to read this one for a while, glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Anna
The Bursting Bookshelf

LoriStrongin said...

I've been seeing this one around the blogosphere and it sounds like a lot of fun. I love books where music is an integral part of the book, and even better when the author really makes the music come alive through the pages, and the character alive through their music. Definitely going to have to check this one out.


Smiles!
Lori

Cass said...

@LoriStrongin: Oh, come alive the music did indeed!

Just loved this book. I'm such a fan of Tara Kelly too, and I'm just glad to know that you ALSO LOVED IT!!! :D Are you already getting excited about her next book?

It's much lighter than HF, but so effective and page-turning. Another beautiful set of characters. Also, I think I lasted a day before I dove into it. -sigh- what a beaut.

Alexa said...

I love the sound of this one. I love a guy who is a smart ass because it normally mean sarcasm and I love that. It sounds similar to Kate Brian's Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys, you should check that one out!

Thanks for the great review I will have to put this on my wish list.

 

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