***Review*** A French Girl in New York by Anna Adams

Maude Laurent is a spirited 16 year-old orphan who grew up in a small, provincial town in the North of France with a passion for piano and a beautiful voice. One day in Paris, she is discovered by an American music producer who takes her to New York to live with him and his close-knit family while producing her first album, with help from teen pop star, Matt. Maude will dive into a new fascinating world discovering New York City, music, family, love and the truth about her past.

I'm choosing this because:

If you remember, last month I did a promo (http://shadowsireview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/book-promo-french-girl-in-new-york.html) of this book and I asked the author if she’d like me to review it sometime, imagine how pleased I was when she said yes and sent me an Amazon gift card for me to purchase the book with! I love the idea of the book, music is something that I feel passionately about (I have eclectic taste, my main love is rock though. I heart me some guitar!) and books about music are something I adore, so the second I was asked to do the initial promo I knew that this was a book I wanted to read and now here I am!

Judging a book by its cover:

The cover is very pink, girly and pretty. It’s a lovely mash up of Paris and New York. What with the Eiffel Tower and an apple (the big apple! You get it right?) and while I do like it, the font needs work. It doesn’t really match the girliness of the images and the pink and is really rather plain. Font is an important part of the cover, it has to fit, otherwise you lose a focal point for your potential readers.

Pricing the (possible) awesomeness:

So as I’ve stated, I got mine as a gift in exchange for an honest review. This honest review in fact. But if my review is enough to make you want to buy this book then please visit Amazon where it’s £2.06 (Also what is it with Amazon? Why are their prices so random?)

  

I did like this, let me put that out there first of all. It was an easy read, light, fluffy fun that makes you really root for the good guys (and gals) but it lacked something for me. The annoying thing is I’m having trouble putting my finger on exactly what that something is. However, I have a few issues. Okay, so I’m going to put them as little mini paragraphs so it isn’t a block of me whinging.

Song Lyrics – I have issues with authors writing song lyrics. They never end well. Too much like poetry and no musical vision as far as I’m concerned. This is no exception. The lyrics we hear for “Sunrise” are particularly bad, extra mature cheddar on the cheese scale. (I’m not just hating, you’ve seen me write poems and I’ve also written songs. I have experience in the field and the lyrics in hear don’t feel authentic.)

Back Story and Narrative – I’d have liked the story in 1^st person. I wanted to hear Maude’s point of view. I wanted to be in her head to share her sorrows and joy. As for the back story, there was a great idea there that could’ve been developed to make our main character a stronger person but it feels like she forgot about it until it was needed for the plot.

I have one more complaint but I’m saving it for the end of my review. You’ll get why when you see it. However, my above complaints are just what I’d prefer the book to be. You might love it as it is. The story is decent though. For me it’s a mix of ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Drina’ (http://www.goodreads.com/series/40321-drina). This is actually a massive compliment, ‘ Cinderella’ is one of my favourite fairytales and ‘Drina’ is a book that kept me sane as a child.

Maude – Well this is Maude’s Cinderella story. I have to say I did love Maude. She’s fierce, she’s loyal, she’s determined, she’s passionate and she’s such a likeable character. I found myself really getting behind her and wanting her to succeed. She deserved her happy ever after. Even though it took her a while to get the courage to tell others what she needed.

Matt – He’s our love interest. Teen heartthrob, player, loveable idiot. I wavered with him. It depended on how he treated Maude because sometimes he had that well known YA ailment known as “I am a teen boy, therefore I can be a divvy” and treated Maude really bad. She deserved better! I don’t like guys that play with hearts, a girl is not a hobby Mr Popstar! However I have to admit the chemistry between him and Maude was really something and that definitely made me like him a bit.

Jazmine – She’s the daughter of James Baldwin (who’s the guy who discovers our wonderful Maude and wants to make her a star!) she’s also the character I liked the most. She’s so vibrant and full of life and made me giggle and I want to be her friend. I would’ve liked more of her. There’s this one moment in the story where I just want to hug her and tell her it’s okay.

Overall this is an enjoyable story though it has its faults. It doesn’t take too much effort to read and that means it’s perfect for summer and holidays. As I’ve pointed out there are a few things that made me enjoy this less but my final complaint is a game changer. It’s a pet hate of mine and seeing it really ruins a book for me.

The End – These are the final two words of this book. A book should be open ended. I like to believe that the characters in stories are just merrily carrying on their lives in a parallel world and those words kill that idea. Especially as I was led to believe that this is book one in a series. It’s silly and makes me less likely to continue a story. I mean why would I if it’s finished? You get what I mean?

Anyway, I don’t want to drag this down with too many negatives as it really is a nice story with characters to love and hate and it gives you the chance to relive any dreams of popstardom you may have had (or is that just me?).

 I was going to give this 4 stars, but then I got to “The End” and it’s a game-changer. I just can’t get my head around why you’d do that. Other than that I do recommend this. It’s a fun read that won’t take too much of your time and we all need a read like that once in a while. 

I'd like to thank the author, Anna Adams, for allowing me to review this book and I hope this makes it worth it. I've been honest and fair.