[Blog Tour] Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Godwin: Review & Giveaway
Author: Nikki Godwin
Release date: March 14th 2013
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: Drenaline Surf # 1
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance Sports
Tour organized by: Oops I Read A Book Again Blog Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Add to your library: Goodreads
After seventeen-year-old Haley Sullivan meets a mysterious stranger who plays by his own rules, she's more than determined to learn every trick of the trade from the master himself. But her dream-chasing mentor disappears after that night, and according to the local newspapers, he's been dead for years. Knowing he's very much alive, Haley enlists best friend Linzi to join her on a scavenger-hunt-style road trip that ultimately lands them in the surf town of Crescent Cove, California. Mystery guy is no mystery here, though – he's Colby Taylor, the west coast's biggest professional surfer.
If Haley wants to talk to the wave rider again, she'll have to get past his four intimidating bodyguards who are highly skilled in the business of sending starstruck fangirls back to where they belong. Haley is up for the challenge if it means chasing her dreams and escaping the perfectly corporate future that's been planned for her. But dealing with these bodyguards isn't exactly what Haley imagined it'd be. Sure, being thrown off a jet ski sucks, but falling in love with one of them might just be worse. (via Goodreads)
It is an undeniable fact that I fell in love and still am in love with Nikki Godwin's American Girl On Saturn. Not only with the novel but also with her writing style. It made me feel a lot of emotions and it is truly one of the swoon-est (is there such a word) YA novel I've ever read. That's why I'm pretty much hyped about Chasing Forever Down and needless to say, I did expect a lot since it is Nikki Godwin. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing to expect a lot or not. Though I still kept my guards up because I don't want to be that disappointed (after what happened to one of the most anticipated reads I've had at the end of the year) again.
So yes, was I disappointed or not? Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. Okay, please mind the word bit there. Just a bit because Chasing Forever Down has similarities with AGOS. As much as I love AGOS, I wanted to feel how CFD can stand up on its own. I'm talking about the characters and their experiences. Like how Haley and Linzi are Chloe and Aralie. Like how the Spaceships Around Saturn are Colby and his bodyguards. Like how Colby the surfer is Benji the star. Like how A.j. is Noah. Like how Alston is Jules. Like how the characters' experiences are pretty much parallel to the other. And so on and so forth. Although I would have to say that even if the characters also had their differences, I felt as if I was somehow with the characters of AGOS at times. See? That's the reason for the word bit. It's important to be this accurate anyway. And EVEN I felt those similarities, it didn't make my reading experience any less enjoyable.
It was totally silly and somehow stupid and somehow great for Haley to decide to search for that random guy who made her feel herself at a random night. Really? Would you have done the same thing she did? Sure, she did a little research about the person first. But it was only during the journey itself of finding that guy that they totally knew him. If I were her, I'd probably make my way home immediately. I don't know. It was such an impulsive decision. I somehow get that she felt suffocated by her parents. But that's the thing. It was only said that her parents made her do this and that. Not the actual scenes of the idea. So it was a bit weak for me. Still, I was glad she took that leap of faith in chasing down her forever.
Haley and Linzi's journey was a lot of fun. Especially when they arrived at Crescent Cove. Of course, they did everything they have to do to get past the bodyguards and meet with Colby. It was a little weird how these bodyguards were not literally bodyguards. They were these human checkpoints before you can have an encounter with Colby because that guy was always in his cave. Each bodyguard was different. I would have opted for the first one because he was the nicest and he was just really a good guy. The flirty guy didn't really impress me. I don't know why but I just didn't feel him that much. I even liked the party-animal bodyguard because he actually has a heart. I want a best friend like him too. The weirdest thing was, I liked the last bodyguard who the locals said was the hardest to get past through. True enough, he had this talk-to-my-hand vibe. He was such a snob. But that's only at first. And honestly, it was quite weird how Haley and that bodyguard develop feelings with each other when they barely talk. Sure, they know and see each other. Yet they weren't really talking at first at all. BUT I actually felt their connection and all. It wasn't on the same level of swooniness (again, is there such a word) with AGOS but it was sweet. That bodyguard was something. So yes, that's why I dig this novel.
In the end, Haley was able to chase down her forever. It might not have ended up the way she imagined it to be but it was more than she asked for. I'm excited to see what's in store in the next novel because that's where Haley will have to meet the horns of her parents.
Despite the fact that I was a bit disappointed, the second novel of Nikki Godwin is not disappointing at all. I know. I'm being vague here. And I never do vague really. But the overall impression of Chasing Forever Down with me was great. I didn't even say I was a bit disappointed with the whole novel. Just with the elements mentioned earlier. The romance of Haley and that bodyguard made up for it. Not to mention the idea of Chasing Forever Down. It was quite lyrical and soulful somehow. Chasing Forever Down was a great novel about chasing your dreams and finding much more important things than our dreams. Be ready to have a fun, enjoyable and sweet read with this one.
About the Author
Nikki Godwin is a Young Adult/LGBT author from the southern USA. She can't live without Mountain Dew, black eyeliner, and music by Hawthorne Heights. When not writing, she's internet-stalking her favorite bands and keeping tabs on surf competitions. She adores Liam Payne of One Direction and pro surfer John John Florence.
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