Mundie Moms

Friday, June 26, 2015

Winter 2016 Cover Reveals from Epic Reads: Day 4 / Day 5


Epic Reads wrapped up their amazing cover reveal week with these last few covers. Check out the cover reveals for Day 4 and Day 5 below. If you missed the 1st three days of cover reveals, check them out here.




Find out more about each of these titles here



Find out more about these titles here.

Check out the rest of their cover reveals here.

HELLO, I LOVE YOU by Katie M. Stout / Book Review




By: Katie M. Stout
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Released on: 6.9.15
Rating: 4 Stars - I Enjoyed It!
Purchase it from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Source: book from author to review, in exchange for my honest review

A teen escapes to a boarding school abroad and falls for a Korean pop star in this fun and fresh romantic novel in the vein of Anna and the French Kiss.

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.


Hello, I Love You is a sweet, feel good romantic read that swept me off my feet, and left me grinning long after I finished reading it. 

I swear I'm on a contemporary kick, which is really unusual for me. I'm blaming it on summer, and being stuck indoors while it swelters outside in this Texas heat. Hello, I Love You was just the book I've needed this week. It's a cute, refreshing, enjoyable, quick, romantic read. It's a story with memorable characters, a great chemistry, and setting that is so vividly detailed, I felt like I took a trip to Korea along side Grace. I might have fallen in love with KPOP in the process of reading this book. 

Grace knows the ins and outs of the music industry. She hails from an industry great, which part of the reason for her trip half way around the world. She wants to get away from it all, and just be herself. No music, no fame, no celebrity drama, no nothing. What she doesn't except, is to lose her heart to KPOP's biggest heart throb, whom also happens to be her new roommates twin brother. Despite obvious differences, Jason and Grace have a lot more in common than the two of them could possible realize. At first they don't hit it off all that great, but that's what made reading their story enjoyable. Aside from their bantering, there's an obvious chemisty between the two of them, and I loved seeing those sweet moments they share.

I enjoyed reading about Jason and Grace getting to know each other. Their story was well paced, as was their getting to know each other. I felt like I was able to get to really know both Jason and Grace, and understand why they act the way they do. Along with Jason and Grace, Stout introduced me to some other great characters who really made this story for me. Like Jason's bandmates, and Grace's new best friends/room mate, Sophie. I loved the secondary characters in this book! They were fabulous. Their interactions together were great, and added a lot to Grace's story. 

While I enjoyed Stout's writing, and the sweet romance in this story, there are a few things I wasn't a fan of. For one, Grace was a little too hot and cold towards Jason. At first it made sense, but as the story continued, it was a little annoying. Especially towards the end of the book after she's already admitted to herself how she truly feels. Even though I understood the reasoning for why she does act like this, I felt like she flipped out, and overreacted one too many times. Thankfully by the end of the book she does resolve these things. There's a reason behind Grace's reactions and feelings that Stout reveals during this time. t's during this part of the story that it does get a little heart breaking, which I wasn't excepting at all. I admired Grace for finally coming to terms with, and learning to resolve the things she's been running from for so long. She grew up a lot during this time. Thankfully Grace has Jason, who's there to love her and support her through this.

Aside from Jason, Grace has a great support team with her best friend Sophie. Grace is fun, and has that kind of personality that I liked her from the moment she's introduced into the story. Grace's other support comes in the form of her younger sister Jane. Jane is a character who's mentioned through out the story, but her key role isn't until towards the end of the story. I loved what transpired between Grace and Jane during this part of the story. It allowed me to see Grace getting closer on things she needed, and coming to terms with things she's ran from for so long. Through this, Grace sees the possibility of finally moving on, and achieving the future she wants to have. 

Katie M Stout does a beautiful job at creating a story that made me feel very much apart of Grace's travels and studies abroad in Korea. I've never been to Korea, but Stout made me feel as though I was there right along Grace as she over comes her culture shock, learns to embrace her new home, makes new friends, falls in love, and discovers herself. Stout's vivid descriptions made me feel like I was there walking through the streets, riding a bike or taking a bus, and taking in all that Grace sees and experiences. I love it when an author is able to make me feel like I'm there, in the story's setting. 

Over all this is a great read. Stout's beautiful writing really sucked me. I love how how was able to take me on a whirlwind of a trip to Korea, and all from the comforts of my home. I love it when an author is able to totally immerse me into their story like that. Being that this is Katie's debut, I can only imagine how awesome her next book will be. I for one can not wait to read it. If you're a fan of traveling, romance, and an enjoyable fast paced read, Hello, I Love You is a book I'd definitely recommend picking up this summer. 

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