A Nook for Books: Release Day Launch~ Review, Excerpt and Giveaway: Storm Warning by E. Lee and C. Quinn

Storm Warning

(Broken Heartland # 1)

By: E. Lee and C. Quinn

Pub. Date: December 12, 2013

Publisher: Self

Pages: 214

Source: eARC for Blog Tour

Sometimes you can’t see the storm coming until it’s too late...

Severe Storm Warning Tip #1:
Be alert to changing weather conditions. Look for approaching storms.

Severe Storm Warning Tip #2:
If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to take shelter immediately.

Severe Storm Warning Tip #3:
They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.

Situated just outside of Oklahoma City, Calumet County is divided into two drastically different communities: Hope’s Grove and Summit Bluffs. One is the small backward town where dirt roads lead the way to field parties and railroad tracks. And the other, a sprawling suburb where paved drives lead to the landscaped lawns of the wealthy and over privileged.

For five teenagers smack in the middle of Tornado Alley, summer is heating up fast. The winds of change are blurring the invisible line that divides the rich and the rural.

One has a secret.
One has a crush.
One has been lying.
One will get caught.
And one might not make it out alive.

They’re from two different worlds…but one summer is about to change everything.

I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.

Storm Warning is set in two different towns in Oklahoma. One town is a rich, suburban neighborhood; the other is a poorer, farming town. The teens from either town don’t usually interact with each other, but for one summer, the lives of fives teens will be entwined and changed forever.

Kyle, Cameron, Ella Jane, Cooper, and Hayden are five teenagers all going through personal issues. These issues vary from problems with parents/family to economic issues. There issues were so realistic though. I really felt a connection to each one of them. Even though it’s been 8 years since I have been a teenager, I could still feel everything that they were feeling.

I thought the plot was very interesting and I liked how they used a real storm, as well as a metaphorical storm. These kids were dealing with a lot, and eventually everything was going to come to a head.

My only issue was the cliffhanger. I don’t think anyone is a real fan of cliffhangers. But some cliffhangers work. They excite you for the next book. Then there are others that are just there to guarantee you read the next book in the series. I feel like this cliffhanger was one of the latter. I don’t think it served a real purpose, and I think the ending could have been handled differently

I am a fan of both of these authors, and I am excited to read the second book in the series, Path of Destruction.

Hope’s Grove was small. Everyone knew about her parents, and she was already dreading facing them since the news of her dad’s affair had hit. But facing them without her brother and her best friend would be her worst nightmare.

After the girls had said their goodbyes and she’d watched her friend’s taillights fade down the drive, Ella Jane scuffed her boots along the winding dirt road that led her home.

She was about halfway there, watching the sun sink low in the evening sky, when the unmistakable rumble of a pickup truck came barreling down the road behind her. She stepped aside to let it pass without looking back. But it didn’t pass. It slowed practically to a stop right next her.

She turned, wondering what the heck the driver’s deal was. There was more than enough room for him to go around. But the smiling face beneath the backwards trucker hat sent the words on the tip of her tongue swirling away with the dust the truck had riled up.

She bit her lip and grinned. Warm brown eyes gleamed in her direction. “Hey there, Ellie May. Need a ride?”

She rolled her eyes. Why Brantley Cooper couldn’t call her by her actual name was beyond her. But as long as he was talking to her, she really didn’t care much what he called her. He can call me ‘flower’ if he wants to.

He was a year older than her and a year younger than her older brother, Kyle. Smack in the middle of their ages and grades in school and usually smack in the middle of their arguments. Coop kept the peace. Balanced them out perfectly.

The three of them had met at the same time as kids but Coop and Kyle had become like brothers instantly. She’d always tagged along wherever they went. Kyle had whined about it when they were younger but Coop always made her feel welcome. He held doors open for her so she didn’t get left behind, made sure to invite her despite her brother’s protests, and lately he’d even stopped by and hung out even when Kyle wasn’t home. And this year, she’d be a junior and Coop would be a senior. With her big brother away at college, she couldn’t help but fantasize about what might happen if she and Coop spent time together alone.

“Hey, Coop. Lynlee just left so I was just…” She glanced toward home. Kyle wasn’t back from football camp yet, and her mom was baking herself to death, trying to keep her mind off of everything.

“Yeah, I heard the Wicked Witch was moving west. You up for some fishing? I have to drop my bike off at the house but we could swing by the lake after.”

She should get home. She knew she should. Should order a pizza and convince her mom to take it easy for a night.

Except…it was Coop. And in all her sixteen years, he was the one boy she’d never been able to say no to.

“Yeah. Yeah I’m up for it.”

Whether you believe in destiny, divine intervention, or just plain ol' dumb luck, several things happened in 2013 that caused E. Lee and C. Quinn's paths to cross. It may have been that the stars aligned perfectly, or the fact anytime Luke Bryan was mentioned on a social media site both of them were tagged, or maybe it was just that their small town roots and country girl attitudes were magnetically drawn together—calling out to one another, “Y'all should write a book!” Despite geography keeping them apart—Lee in Illinois and Quinn in Alabama—they did. Thanks to three-hour phone calls, ridiculous amounts of online chats, and umpteen Google Docs—Storm Warning is the first book in their edgy new Young Adult series, Broken Heartland.