The Year of Falling In Love

Isabella Anders / Sunnyvale Series – Book 2

By Jessica Sorensen

Buy : Amazon

Book 2 in Sunnyvale Series.

Synopsis:

Isabella Anders just found out Lynn and her dad want to send her to a reform school. But with the help of Grandma Stephy, Isa’s dad agrees to let her move in with her grandma.

Isa is more than relieved to be moving out. And after going on an unofficial date with Kyler, she wonders if maybe her life is starting to turn around. But then she discovers the truth about what really happened to her mother.

Not ready to fully accept that her mother is a murderer, Isa turns to Kai for help. Kai is more than willing to help, but to protect Isa, he keeps some of the more brutal details about her mother’s case to himself until he can find out more.

But when a mysterious blue car starts showing up everywhere, and Isa receives a threatening text message from an unknown caller, Kai realizes someone is dead set on destroying Isa. And he might not be able to protect her.

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Robin’s Review

Just a few months ago, author Jessica Sorensen published The Year I Became Isabella Anders, the first novel of her new Sunnyvale series.  It’s a great pleasure for me to read the young adult genre, so I jumped at the opportunity to begin reading a series from the ground floor.  Sorensen had a strong start to her Sunnyvale series, writing a multifaceted story composed of several subplots and intriguing characters whose backgrounds seem to be shrouded in mystery.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Year I Became Isabella Anders, giving Sorensen a 5-star rating which I felt was well-deserved.

The Year of Falling in Love picks up where the first book of this series left off. Having been emotionally abused by her family for years, Isabella is a confused and lonely teenage girl.  When her father and stepmother threaten to send her away to a boarding school in Montana, Isa finds a new home with her Grandma Stephy and cousin, Indigo. She also finds friendship and support from the two Meyers brothers who live next door. Kyler, the boy she’s had a crush on for years, convinces Isa to hang out with him to help keep her mind occupied. However, it’s his troubled brother, Kai, who is Isa’s true friend and protector.

Told from the alternating first person points of view of Isabella and Kai, readers are able to see several subplots which seem to unfold all at once. Isa is being followed by someone in a mysterious blue car, and she’s also noticing camera flashes out of the corner of her eye. At the same time, Kai’s life seems to be spiraling out of his control, leaving him in much the same position as Isa. Because a portion of this novel is told from Kai’s point of view, we should be able to gain some understanding of his position. But instead of finding answers from his perspective, I found this created even more questions about Kai, his relationship with his family, and the trouble he’s gotten himself into.

One of the very best parts of this story is the developing relationship between Kai and Isabella. His feelings for Isa appear to be genuine, and although she’s supposed to be dating Kyler, it’s becoming harder for her to ignore the growing feelings that she has for Kai. Subplots involving Isa, the Meyers brothers, and both families are becoming more complex as they continue to unwind. Jessica Sorensen has done an outstanding job of creating mystery and intrigue in this series. She appears to be world-building in this novel, guiding her Sunnyvale series to what I can only assume will be a dramatic conclusion. Although not as strong as the first novel of this series, The Year of Falling in Love is still a very good, and I’m assigning it a 4-star rating.

Michel’s Review

It’s interesting how different people can read the same book and walk away with different perceptions.  While my blog mate, Robin , felt this book was not as strong as the first book in the Sunnyvale Series, I walked away with a different opinion.

First of all a reader must understand that Jessica Sorensen has a unique way of delivering a story.  She slowly builds the story with mystery, intrigue,and adds subplots that tie into the main plot. She introduces the readers to the main characters and their issues that drive the story.  She then slowly begins to unfold the story creating sexual tension, revealing passages, and creates intrigue.  The romance is a slow build that becomes stronger throughout the story. There are dark moments and beautiful light hearted moments throughout the story that make her characters become more compelling.  It doesn’t happen in one or two novels, it takes time to build the perfect story. Jessica Sorensen is a genius at building this kind of story that keeps the reader invested in the story.

I saw this novel as part of an intricate puzzle that was being revealed piece by piece. The first novel, The Year I Became Isabella Anders, gave this puzzle a center.  The second book, The Year Of Falling In Love, built the borders around this puzzle and added a few pieces to the overall picture.  The next installments will fill in all the gaps,add more color to the picture, reveal secrets hidden deeply among all the pieces, and will complete the compelling story into a beautiful portrait of two people finding themselves and falling in love.

Some readers may feel like The Year Of Falling In Love was too busy. My impression was that it was building a solid plot in a dynamic, compelling story.  It moved the series along and built the intrigue.

 In the first novel of the Sunnyvale Series, The Year I Became Isabella Anders the readers were introduced to the main characters, Isabella Anders, Kai Meyers, and Kyler Meyers.  The readers got a glimpse of who the characters were and how their family life was a driving factor in their story. It added a mystery of Isabella’s past, gave the readers an insight of the abusive nature of Isabella’s family, and introduced problematic factors behind the closed doors of the Meyers family. A love triangle began to develop between Isabella and the Meyer brothers. The readers were left with mixed impressions of both of the Meyer brothers.  While one brother seemed sincere in his interest and genuine friendship, the other brother seemed a superficial with his sudden interest in Isabella.

The second novel of the Sunnyvale Series, The Year Of Falling In Love, began to showcase the mystery and intrigue that is driving this series.  The tension with Isabella’s family, her newly found strength to rebel against her family, and the beginning of revealing secrets about her mother, keep Isabella’s head spinning.  Add the tension of a love triangle with a boy she has crushed on all her life and a boy that has always been her friend and this book becomes more than a mystery, it becomes a complicated romance.

In the first book the reader gets a good insight of who Isabella is as an individual.  In the second book the reader begins to see her grow and become a stronger young woman. The first book introduces the Meyer brothers and the reader begins to see the differences between them.  The second book gives a stronger impression of who Kai and Kyler Meyers are.  Kai seems to have the same issues with his family as Isabella has with hers. He has always had Isabella’s best interest at heart.  Kyle, the perfect Meyers brother, is still a bit of a mystery.  While it seems that he is interested in Isabella, it also seems like he has his own agenda. He has no compassion for his younger brother. There’s a bit of a mystery as to where he fits in the overall puzzle.  My creep radar was going off where he was concerned.

Although there was minimal romance in this book, Jessica gave the readers enough romance to keep the readers satisfied. Isabella had romantic encounters with both of the Meyer brothers. Each of those encounters left a solid impression.  I think the readers will begin to choose which Meyers brother they want to win Isabella’s heart.

Jessica Sorensen did an excellent job creating the love triangle tension between these three characters.  She also did an excellent job adding more layers to the mystery and intrigue of Isabella’s past.  She created enough mystique and tension to keep the readers wanting more of the Sunnyvale series.

Jessica Sorensen has once again created a dynamic series and delivered a captivating installment to the story.

I can’t wait for the next book in the Sunnyvale Series. I want the rest of the story!

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Isabella Anders has always been the girl that never fit in. Most days she feels invisible, especially when she’s around her older sister, Hannah, who catches the eye of everyone, including Kai and Kyler, the boys who live next door.

Isabella has had a crush on Kyler for years, but knows he’ll never see her as anything more than Hannah’s little sister, unless she finds a way to standout.

When Isabella gets an offer from her grandmother to travel overseas for the summer, she seizes the opportunity, hoping she’ll discover more about herself. And she does, but not in the way that she expected.

Three months later, Isabella returns home an entirely new person. The change is enough to catch both Kyler and Kai’s attention. But Isabella is still struggling with what she discovered over the summer and until she deals with the truth, she’ll never truly be herself.

Buy: Amazon

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Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.