• About Us
    • Disclaimer and Policies
  • Giveaways
  • Features
    • Pre-Order Deal Incentives!
    • Author Talk Podcasts
    • Flashback Friday
    • Whadda YA Know Wednesday

Fiction Fare

  • Banners
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us

Review: Amplified

December 20, 2012 by Jaime Leave a Comment

Amplified (Amplified, #1)Amplified by Tara Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars.

I really really enjoyed this book. Jasmine has graduated high school but has decided that the path her father has planned for her isn’t what she wants right now. Her hope to convince him to let her put off college for now isn’t working and he’s kicked her out of his house. She has found herself stranded with a broken down car, a backpack of belongings and her guitars and an amp. She comes from a well-to-do area but that has no impact on her life, her father is no longer supporting her desire to see where music takes her. Her limited savings isn’t going to go very far either so she lies her way into a band that is looking for a live-in roommate.

I really enjoyed the path this story took. There was no easy resolution and things didn’t suddenly fall into place for Jasmine when life started getting too hard. Her lies came back to bite her in the ass, and she had to own up to them.

While this book is really Jasmine’s story, and I loved her story, I really enjoyed all the secondary characters as well. The chemistry between Jasmine and Sean was so well written. Sean is the bassist in the band and also happens to work at the garage where her car is being repaired. From the get-go he comes across as a jerk, but as he realizes Jasmine really isn’t the person he thought she was and even acknowledges that he hasn’t been in the best frame of mind, their relationship evolves. Every other character in this book has their own things going on and Kelly weaves the story together so it is seemless and well paced. This group of late teen and early twenty year old’s all are learning that you can’t depend on others to make it… all in different ways, and most likely it isn’t going to be easy. Admittedly there were times I felt such anger for her father and where I really sympathized for the way she was raised, and while I wanted to make him the bad guy and shake him while screaming “this is your 17 year old daughter” I can see past all that and it makes it all the more apparent that we can make our own families. They don’t necessarily have to be the people we were born with.

The thing that kept me from giving this a full five stars… I found myself skimming over the heavy descriptions of the guitar/band stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I love music, but I don’t know a thing about bands and guitars and so those parts kind of took me out of the story a bit. I tried to understand it but there were some things that I just kind of skimmed over when it got to be too much.

But here… here is one of my favorite passages:

My lips moved along with hers as I whispered every word, my mind giving each one personal meaning. I may not have written the song, but I could add my story to it. Everyone out there could. That was what made music so powerful.

So… the writing was engaging, fresh and the story was realistic and believable with characters that had me invested. If you’re looking for a wonderfully written coming of age story, then this just might be it for you.

View all my reviews

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
Fiction Fare
Rumor Has It by Jill Shalvis Q&A plus a Giveaway!! (ADULT)
Fiction Fare
Review: Everneath
Fiction Fare
Review: Under the Never Sky
Fiction Fare
REVIEW: The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) By Julie Kagawa
Fiction Fare
REVIEW: The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: GoodReads, New Adult, Reviewed By Jaime

About Jaime

Avid reader and book blogger, lover of music, writing, my kid & my cats. Master of sarcasm and snark and doing what makes me happy.

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • bloglovin
  • custom1
  • goodreads
  • rss
  • custom2

Get Our Updates!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

E-Book Deals!

E-Book Deals!


Author Talk

 photo author-talk_zpscsw6iy8a.png

Archives

What We’re Currently Reading

Jaime's bookshelf: currently-reading

The Trouble with Destiny
0 of 5 stars
The Trouble with Destiny
by Lauren Morrill
The Beginning of Everything
0 of 5 stars
The Beginning of Everything
by Robyn Schneider
Forget Tomorrow
0 of 5 stars
Forget Tomorrow
by Pintip Dunn

goodreads.com

Erin's bookshelf: currently-reading

Endure
0 of 5 stars
Endure
by Sara B. Larson
The Unquiet
0 of 5 stars
The Unquiet
by Mikaela Everett
Twist
0 of 5 stars
Twist
by Karen Akins

goodreads.com

Upcoming Reviews

None yet!

Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

Challenge Participant

Recent Comments

  • Lisa Loves Lit on Waiting on Wednesday: The Queens of Innis Lear By Tessa Gratton
  • bookbunny68 on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • Kristy Petree on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • MischaS_ on Cover Reveal: Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha
  • Maggie @ ReadingDiva's Blog on Blog Tour: Tempests & Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Recent Posts

  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • Flashback Friday: Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk
  • Our Top Ten Most Anticipated Books to Screen Podcast Episode
  • Flashback Friday: The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne
  • Podcast Episode 81: #FicNews–March 2021

Recent Reviews

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George
Crown of Bones (Amassia #1) by A.K. Wilder
Courting Trouble (Goode Girls Romance #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Eventide by Sarah Goodman
All Scot and Bothered (Devil You Know #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Deadly Curious by Cindy Anstey
Review: Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
A Dark and Stormy Knight (Victorian Rebels #7) by Kerrigan Byrne

Copyright ©2010-2015 Fiction Fare « All Rights Reserved « Site Design by The CreativeB « Login