Blog Tour Stop : Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally

 The Thing I Can't Forget Blog Tour was organized by Giselle @ Xpresso Tours.

Hi guys!

Welcome to my tour stop for the Thing I Can't Forget Blog Tour. As part of my tour stop, I will be sharing with you lovely readers my review and an interview with the author. You can also scroll down for a chance to win a grand prize!

Enjoy

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Things I Can't Forget (Hundred Oaks #3)
Author : Miranda Kenneally
Publisher : Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date : March 1st 2013
Goodreads - The Book Depository
Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different…

This summer she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He’s the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt…with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy…

Personal Thoughts

After Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker, Miranda Kenneally is on my auto-buy list. When the opportunity to review her latest title, Things I Can't Forget, came up, I jumped right into it. Although I loved Kenneally's first two novels, I have to say that Things I Can't Forget is my favorite, which is very surprising since I'm not into too much religion in my books.

Kate was a surprisingly intense character that I really enjoyed reading about. I had no idea that I would end up loving her so much because I didn't really connect with her on first instant. Miranda Kenneally did a fabulous job at portraying the inner tumult that Kate went through. Kate has always abidden by the rules of a good Christian, so when she helps her best friend get an abortion, she became plagued by the guilt that she sinned. She didn't let anyone know about what she was going through and slowly let the sin eat her away on the inside. She also failed to understand non-Christians and had a tendency to unknowingly hurt them. I'm not going to lie, she really judged people, but not in the mean girl way. Although that characteristic trait should have really bothered me, it didn't. I felt like Kate's devotion to Christianity made her a very realistic character. Over the course of the book, she meets people are believers, but do not necessarily practice everything that the church asks them. They have their own faith about their religion. Kate began to realize, albeit at a snail pace, that just because somebody doesn't practice the same lifestyle and doesn't have the same mindset as you do it doesn't mean that they are horrible people. I loved watching Kate's growth in Things I Can't Forget because it felt very palpable to me. Her interactions with the secondary characters was also really well done. I loved how each person she met at camp helped her to blossom into this beautiful character, in the process shedding her narrow-mindedness and learning to become a better person according to her own definition and not the Church's.

Miranda Kenneally has this uncanny ability to write fictional love interests that make you swoon over them. If you thought Sam and Will were perfect, wait until you meet Matt. Gorgeous, sweet, charming and very respectful. I loved the guy. He might be one of my favorite book crushes right next to Etienne St Clair, from Anna and the French Kiss, and Lucas from Easy. Matt and Kate's relationship wasn't so easy because of Kate's hesitation to get physically close to him, but it was the kind that gave me butterflies in the stomach. Matt was such a lovable guy. I really liked the fact that he respected Kate's decisions no matter what. He never pushed her to do things she wasn't ready to do. I loved him for that. Their relationship wasn't just about the physical aspects, but it was so much more. It had so much depth and I found myself enjoying them so much together that I was craving for Matt&Kate scenes. And, the most important part, the make-out scenes! *Faints* They had a lot more swoon-factor than Kenneally's previous books and I loved them! Things I Can't Forget was very heavy on the religion, but not in a choking way. I thought Kenneally handled it perfectly. Also, one of my favorite parts of this book were the growing friendships between Kate and the secondary characters. Parker played a very important role in Kate's growth and I was really happy to see her back! This book had a lot going on : religion, friendship, family, first love, first experience with sex and I thought Miranda Kenneally dealt with all of these themes tactfully. Her writing was as elegant as ever and she's extremely skilled at writing dialogues. Honestly, I can't wait to read her next book, Racing Savannah, already!

All in all, although Things I Can't Forget has heavy religious undertones, watching Kate grow as a character and coming to terms with her guilt was worth my time. Miranda Kenneally took me on an emotional adventure along with Kate and the rest of the cast. A wonderfully well-written book with delightful characters and an adorable, but steamy romance, Things I Can't Forget was a brilliant book that deserves a lot more than 5 stars from me.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

Interview

Hi Miranda! I'm so glad to have you on the blog today! I simply love every single thing that you write! :)

Thank you for having me! I’m glad you enjoy my books.

My first question to you, could you describe Things I Can't Forget in less than 10 adjectives to my readers?

That’s a fun question! I would say:

Loyal, guilty, sexy, summery, sinful, sunny, sporty, understanding, faithful, and hot!

Where did you get the inspiration for the title of the book?

Actually, my editor Leah Hultenschmidt came up with it!  I don’t have much say in my titles.  Before Leah named the book, I was just calling it “the sexy church camp book.” Leah is the genius behind the titles “Catching Jordan” “Stealing Parker” and “Racing Savannah” too!

Religion plays a major role in Things I Can't Forget. What made you want to write about it in your book?

It wasn’t so much that I wanted to write about religion, but that I wanted to write about openness and being willing to accept the beliefs of other people, even if you don’t believe them yourself.  While I’m not really a Christian anymore, the idea of faith intrigues me, especially the extremes to which people will go to make other people believe what they believe. I think we should all be allowed to believe what we want. I wish people could be more accepting of others.  

You write YA contemporary. Do you think you would ever want to venture into some other sub-genre, say YA paranormal or dystopian?

I’ve actually written three dystopian books that I haven’t tried to sell. I loved writing them! But I need to work more on my world-building before I try to sell a paranormal or dystopian. Want to hear about two of the dystops I wrote? One is a futuristic Lord of the Rings set in a shopping mall and one is like a cheap rip-off of Zenon: Girl of the 21st Centure, that Disney movie. Have you ever seen that?

You dreamed of becoming a country singer when you were younger. So tell us, are you a good singer? (P.S We would love to see a video of you singing!)

I am not a bad singer, per se, but I don’t have what it takes to be famous. Alas. But I was in my school’s show choir and musicals and I am always up for karaoke. I don’t have any videos, but here’s a picture of me singing “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child in some karaoke bar in Jersey.

Briefly tell us the story of how George W Bush came to use you as an armrest. It sounds so interesting!

I was in a meeting about the Nuclear Security Summit at the White House. I was sitting in the very back corner of the room, out of the way. All of a sudden this hidden door beside me opened and I felt someone leaning on my shoulder. I thought, “I hate it when people touch me!” and then everyone in the room jumped to their feet. I looked up and there was George W. Bush leaning on me. I couldn’t stand up to show respect because he was holding me down! Then he patted my back and said, “So this is how many people it takes to put on a Nuclear Summit, huh?”

I read on your biography that you're a big fan of Star Trek! Who's your favorite character ever from the series?

Whoa, what a hard question! I really like Data, the android from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I wish I could read an entire book in 5 seconds like Data can. Now if you had asked my favorite episode, I would’ve said “Cost of Living,” in which Lwaxana Troi (Deanna’s mother) makes Lt. Worf take a mud bath with her on the holodeck.

My final question to you, what can readers expect from Racing Savannah? 

It’s a lot more like CATCHING JORDAN than my other books!  Savannah is poorer than any of my other characters. Her dad is a groom, and they live together in the staff quarters on a high-stakes horse farm. Savannah trains to become a jockey while falling for the owner’s son, Jack. Because Savannah is so underprivileged, she has some self-esteem issues to work through.


Thanks again for having me! Great questions.   

Author Biography

Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes, and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband.

Author Links:

   -Website: http://mirandakenneally.com/

   -Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4506073.Miranda_Kenneally

   -Twitter: https://twitter.com/MirandaKennealy

   -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miranda.kenneally

Giveaway

Prize :
Grab Bag with Miranda's favorite books

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you guys read this book yet?
If yes, what did you think of it? Be sure to let me know in the comments below!

Thank you to Giselle for letting me participate in this book tour!

Be sure to check out the Xpresso Book Tours page