Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg Genre: Contemporary-Romance Take a Bow is probably the rare few books that features music students and well basically music itself. I haven't really read a book like it since I'm not exactly exposed to the contemporary-romance world yet but for any contemporary-romance I only have one condition for them to pass the test of awesome-contemporary. |
From the fantastic author of The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom & Prejudice comes a story of all the drama and comedy of four friends who grow into themselves at a performing arts high school.
Emme, Sophie, Ethan, and Carter are seniors at a performing arts school, getting ready for their Senior Showcase recital, where the pressure is on to appeal to colleges, dance academies, and professionals in show business. For Sophie, a singer, it's been great to be friends with Emme, who composes songs for her, and to date Carter, soap opera heartthrob who gets plenty of press coverage. Emme and Ethan have been in a band together through all four years of school, but wonder if they could be more than just friends and bandmates. Carter has been acting since he was a baby, and isn't sure how to admit that he'd rather paint than perform. The Senior Showcase is going to make or break each of the four, in a funny, touching, spectacular finale that only Elizabeth Eulberg could perform.
Emme, Sophie, Ethan, and Carter are seniors at a performing arts school, getting ready for their Senior Showcase recital, where the pressure is on to appeal to colleges, dance academies, and professionals in show business. For Sophie, a singer, it's been great to be friends with Emme, who composes songs for her, and to date Carter, soap opera heartthrob who gets plenty of press coverage. Emme and Ethan have been in a band together through all four years of school, but wonder if they could be more than just friends and bandmates. Carter has been acting since he was a baby, and isn't sure how to admit that he'd rather paint than perform. The Senior Showcase is going to make or break each of the four, in a funny, touching, spectacular finale that only Elizabeth Eulberg could perform.
The one thing I look into when reading contemporary is really really simply: Cuteness.
That's seriously all it needs to satisfy my taste for contemporary-romance. Whenever I pick up a contemporary it's all for fluffiness so the rating I give for the book is equivalent to the level of cuteness. Now you know, whenever you see low ratings for my romance books, don't get turned away by it. Maybe this book isn't for me but it might be for you.
Before this book, I was actually reading some adult fiction, it could be because of my mood because once I read the first few pages of the book, I'm pretty sure I didn't like the writing. It felt, I don't know...flat...? The writing wasn't really in depth and it was like a rough scan on the surface. Naturally, I won't feel inclined to love the book.
This book switches between characters pov. At the start I have a little bit of a problem remembering but it does get easier since they are all very different people. When it switches to the antagonist's (sort of) pov, things started to really fall apart for me. I wasn't really a fan of how Sophie was portrayed. I'm not saying people like her don't exist, they do. It's just the way she was shown as this mean bitch and her consistent whining because she isn't famous yet. How she was portrayed as a character didn't make her feel real, when you make it evident why someone is an ass and give 0 reasons to why that someone deserves to be thought as someone who deserve a drop of empathy or even thought as human, this is the result. It was the cliche innocent and naive girl + mean bitch episode 101 all over again.
After some chapters into the book, the book also changed style. It became a movie script sort of book.
That's seriously all it needs to satisfy my taste for contemporary-romance. Whenever I pick up a contemporary it's all for fluffiness so the rating I give for the book is equivalent to the level of cuteness. Now you know, whenever you see low ratings for my romance books, don't get turned away by it. Maybe this book isn't for me but it might be for you.
Before this book, I was actually reading some adult fiction, it could be because of my mood because once I read the first few pages of the book, I'm pretty sure I didn't like the writing. It felt, I don't know...flat...? The writing wasn't really in depth and it was like a rough scan on the surface. Naturally, I won't feel inclined to love the book.
This book switches between characters pov. At the start I have a little bit of a problem remembering but it does get easier since they are all very different people. When it switches to the antagonist's (sort of) pov, things started to really fall apart for me. I wasn't really a fan of how Sophie was portrayed. I'm not saying people like her don't exist, they do. It's just the way she was shown as this mean bitch and her consistent whining because she isn't famous yet. How she was portrayed as a character didn't make her feel real, when you make it evident why someone is an ass and give 0 reasons to why that someone deserves to be thought as someone who deserve a drop of empathy or even thought as human, this is the result. It was the cliche innocent and naive girl + mean bitch episode 101 all over again.
After some chapters into the book, the book also changed style. It became a movie script sort of book.
REPORTER: Carter! Over here! |
It's probably another it's-me-not-you situation again. This can be seen as unique and creative but to me, I would prefer the conventional way.
There are different kinds of contemporary and this is the cute-cliche kind of romance. I'm not a big fan of cliche, hence the rating because to me, cliche seriously eliminates the cuteness of the book. But adding in a little humour is really how you get my attention. And sometimes Take a Bow give me just that.
There are different kinds of contemporary and this is the cute-cliche kind of romance. I'm not a big fan of cliche, hence the rating because to me, cliche seriously eliminates the cuteness of the book. But adding in a little humour is really how you get my attention. And sometimes Take a Bow give me just that.
Jack didn't seem surprised. "Okay, so no offense." |
It was a good, quick read but it didn't really hit my expectations for it. For romance, I guess I just have a different and more specific taste. Like I said, this really isn't a bad book, ultimately it comes down to the type of contemporary you like.