Snapshot by Angie Stanton - Review

Snapshot by Angie Stanton

The Jamieson Collection #2
First published June 2012

Published by Vanguard Management Inc.

Marti Hunter hates rockers and anything remotely related to the rock-and-roll lifestyle. She thought she’d left that all behind, along with her drug-addicted mother and absent-minded, rock legend father. Now she lives with her grandmother, and Marti’s life is finally normal. Just the way she likes it.

For Adam Jamieson, normal is not possible. He is the genius guitar player of the band Jamieson. He’s ecstatic to finally get a two-week break from his micromanaged life and a chance to hang with regular teens. Adam’s shaving off his trademark curls and going undercover.

But when Marti, the reluctant rock princess, and Adam, the undercover guitar wizard, meet, sparks fly in more ways than one. They spend their time alternating between making out and driving each other crazy. But their summer adventures of skinny dipping, storm watching, and stolen kisses are brought to a halt when tragedy strikes.

Suddenly, they’re on opposite sides of the country, just when they need each other the most. Can Marti survive life with her dad and his vicious girlfriend? Will Adam get so fed up with his over-managed life and controlling parents that he quits the band?

Snapshot. A moment in time that changes two people forever.

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Darian’s Review:

I read the first book in this series, Rock and a Hard Place, a few months back. I’ll admit I’m typically not much of a YA fan and was hesitant about reading it. But Stanton’s writing style, ability to tell a story, and talent for plot pace quickly washed those worries away. I’m happy to report that her sequel, Snapshot, also holds the things I loved about reading Stanton’s work the first time around.

True to Stanton’s style, the book starts off with lively characters that you can’t wait to get to know. Marti has many characteristics of your average teen. Throw in a bit of spunk, a dash of Stanton’s amazing ability at fleshed out emotions, and poof! She’s a girl any teen (or woman) can relate to and love.

Stanton has this way (which I have to say I’m a tad jealous of) of drawing you so deeply into the story that you completely forget the world around you. The story flows effortlessly, and again she paints beautiful scenes throughout the book, highlighting different aspects at just the right moment. Being a writer myself, I can’t help thinking about the author while reading a book. It just happens. Did they slave over it? How many drafts did they do? How many times did they write this scene to get it just right? But I didn’t think about Stanton once. Her story took me by the hand on the first page, and led me through it until the last page.

Stanton is one of the best I’ve seen at plot pace. She lifts you up so high that you’re smiling while reading, only to make you gasp at the precise moment, of course then urging you to hurry up and get to the next chapter. She’s really quite fantastic at creating the perfect timing for the story.

I felt the emotions of every character so raw that it seemed as if I knew them, that I was living the story with them. The challenges they faced in coming together and being torn apart made my heart race, and stop. I had to keep reading, and again, finished the book in one sitting.

Overall this was another great read by Stanton. She has a fantastic ability in creating real characters, real emotion, and real drama – with flare. There are about four authors that I will blindly buy their books, because I know it will be a good read. Stanton has now made that list. She’s just a very talented writer who clearly has what it takes to bring solid writing and stories time and again.

About the author:

Angie Stanton never planned on writing books, she wanted to be a Rockette. However, growing up in a rural setting with her brothers' 4-H pigs as pets, dance didn't work out. Instead she became an avid daydreamer. After years of perfecting stories in her head she began to write them down and the rest is history.

She loves dipping french fries in chocolate shakes, all natural disaster movies and Broadway Musicals. Angie is a proud double finalist of the 2011 National Readers Choice Awards for Love 'em or Leave 'em, as well as a finalist for the Golden Quill Award.

When not writing, Angie is concocting ways to make more dreams come true, whether it be tickets to a Broadway show or convincing her family they should rent an RV and travel the country.
 

Find out more on her website, Twitter, and Facebook.