Em & Em by Linda Budzinski ~ Blog Tour Review

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Em & Em by Linda Budzinski 

About The Book

Em & Em

by Linda Budzinski

Release Date: September 15, 2015 

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Genre: YA, Contemporary
Source: Publisher/Author through Chapter by Chapter

The last thing sixteen-year-old Emily Slovkowski wants is to move away from her home at the Jersey shore, gorgeous surfer boyfriend Zach, and her entire identity. But that’s kind of how Witness Protection works, and Em must prepare herself for an epic do-over as she starts a new life in the Midwest.

Even as she pines for sandy beaches and the night life of the shore, the newly-named Ember O’Malley finds herself making new friends, taking photos for the high school newspaper, and thinking an awful lot about the paper's editor, an oddly cute cowboy named Charles.

When Em stumbles upon a shady beneath-the-bleachers exchange between one of the school’s football coaches and a student, she refuses to get involved. The last thing she needs is to be witness to another crime or call attention to herself. Besides, she finally has some real friends - well, real except for the fact that they don’t know a single thing about her - and she prefers to keep it that way until the trial.

But as her day in court approaches, Em begins piecing together what she saw that day beneath the bleachers. And, as her own past secrets start to catch up with her, Em needs to figure out who she really is - Em or Em.

Review 

Em & Em by Linda Budzinski is not just a pretty cover, although I absolutely love the cover! Em & Em as the name suggests is somewhat of a coming of age story as a girl in a very serious and mysterious predicament tries to figure herself out.

Emily has witnessed a crime in her hometown of Jersey Shore, forced to move away and be in the Witness Protection Program she, along with her sister and Mother are relocated to a small town and Emily is renamed Ember, hence, Em & Em title. 

I really enjoyed Linda's writing style, she flipped back and forth between present and past and whilst the main story is the present life of "Ember" she flips back to give us little insights into "Emily's" old life, so we are slowly given glimpses on what could've happened to land her in the predicament that she is in. I loved reading this because I was so keen to find out the mystery behind what actually happened and what she actually witnessed, but I also enjoyed reading it because I got a glimpse on how Emily was and how much she's grown since she was Emily.

Linda was also very creative and informative in the Photography aspect, Emily is a Photographer so she goes in depth in describing this as this was Emily's creative release outlet and despite not being a photographer I'm an artist in other ways so I totally appreciated that part too. 

I also loved the secondary characters and the book certainly wouldn't have been the same without them, most especially Claire and Charles, definitely my two favourites. 

Em & Em by Linda Budzinski really grasped me from the beginning right till the end, the mysterious aspect certainly had me glued to its pages but as I was so concerned about what happened with the crime before I knew it I was heavily invested in the characters and the relationships they were forming. Will definitely be checking out Budzinski's other books in the future. 

About The Author

Linda Budzinski

Website | Goodreads | Twitter

I live in Northern Virginia with my amazing husband, Joe, and our feisty chihuahua, Demitria (also known as Dee Dee, The Puppy, and Killer).

I grew up in a tiny town called West Grove, in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the second grade, I announced to my parents that I wanted to be a “Paperback Writer,” just like in the Beatles song. I majored in journalism in college and now work in marketing and communications.

I’m a sucker for romance and reality TV and have been known to turn off my phone’s ringer when watching “The Bachelor.”

My favorite flower is the daisy, my favorite food is chocolate, and my favorite song is “Amazing Grace.”

I am represented by the wonderful Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger Inc. My first novel, THE FUNERAL SINGER, was released in September 2013 by Swoon Romance, and my second, EM & EM, will be released on September 15, 2015.

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