I am thrilled to host Melissa Pearl and Brenda Howson on The Forbidden Territory blog tour today! If you love romance and adventure this is a great read for you:) On with the REVIEW! [But first can I just say how cool the cover is? Yeah. Really creepy, huh? Way to rock it ladies!]
4.5/5 stars!
Lexy and Mica are sick of their town and old boyfriend drama. They decide four days in the bush Geocaching is the perfect cure for their boredom especially since the plan includes the two hotties they’re seriously crushing on––Tom, an exchange student from Oxford, England and Eli, Lexy’s brother. The backpacking/camping trip of their dreams gets steamy almost immediately when love and terror bring the couples together in ways they never imagined. Lexy and Mica will discover a courage they never knew they had and that Tom and Eli are hotter than they dreamed. Love and terror––the perfect combination for a summer read. Set in the bush of New Zealand, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this part of the world and love stories that take place in settings that are unique for YA fiction. At least the YA fiction I read.
I have to say that I struggled with Tom’s character and didn’t really get him at times, but I totally dug the relationship between Lexy and Mica. I’m a sucker for gal-pal stories and this delivers. I love how Lexy and Mica’s relationship grows. Apart from Lexy & Mica and Mica & Eli I felt the other relationships weren’t developed as fully. I look forward to learning more about them in the next books. I felt that the terror in the bush was dialed back a bit too much for my tastes. Fortuitous events seemed to get the characters out of trouble more than their abilities or character development. Call me crazy, but I would have liked to see them suffer a little more. But, that’s just me. And, well, I know people who’ve been kidnapped, so…there’s that.
I love Lexy & Mica and can’t wait for their next adventure. Pearl and Howson do a fabulous job of taking the reader to a beautiful part of the world. Nail-biting at times, you will enjoy this story of adventure and romance.