After Hello by Lisa Mangum

After Hello by Lisa Mangum

"What if the first day of your relationship was the only day you had? 

Seventeen-year-old Sara is a seeker. She’s always on the lookout for the perfect moment to capture with her ever-present, point-and-shoot camera, especially on her first trip to New York City. 

Sam is a finder. He has a knack for finding what other people can’t—a first-edition book or the last two tickets to a sold-out Broadway show. In New York, there is always something interesting to find. 

When Sam and Sara’s paths cross, neither one of them is prepared for what they will find out about each other—and about themselves when they form an unlikely partnership in search of a seemingly elusive work of art. They have one day to find the impossible. Fate brought their talents together, but what happens when time runs out? Will love be able to overcome fate? This new novel from award-winning author Lisa Mangum explores what happens after hello."

 

Sara is stuck wandering the streets of New York while her father is in a meeting that runs late. She happens to run into Sam, and they discover that they are kindred spirits, both holding wounds that they can help each other heal. Sara accidently gets Sam’s brother fired from his job being the personal assistant to an actress with anger management problems, and spend the rest of her time in New York searching for a piece of art that will get Paul his job back. I enjoyed the characters and setting of the novel and it reminded me in small way of The Fault in our Stars, except the novel was far less depressing, as the book is ultimately not a tragedy, and has a happy ending. I guess the only problem I had with the book is that I felt like the stakes to find the art weren’t high enough personally for Sara. The book kind of slowed for me in the middle because I had a hard time believing that Sara would go through all this trouble and blow off her dad for some guy that was actually kind of a jerk to her when they met. Still, over all I found this to be an interesting read.

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Signed books: LDS Storymakers Conference

These three got signed at LDS Storymakers Conference that I went to in 2009. I love Janette Rallison. She is such a sweet lady when you meet her in person and she writes funny, clean books! Lisa Mangum gave a ton of ARC of her new series out at the conference and we all got them signed. The second book is out now. Recovering Charles was a freebee in our conference bag. I don't think Jason Wright attended that conference, but I appreciated the signed book anyway.

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

Abby is just an ordinary teen at an ordinary high school. She plans on going to college in the fall, co-directs the school play, and has a cute and nice boyfriend. There is just one problem with her life—there are no surprises. She feels trapped in her ordinary plans, and in her predictable relationship with a boy she has know since before Kindergarten. Then Dante, an Italian exchange student, moves into town and joins the school play. While everyone agrees that there is something strange about him, Abby doesn’t really believe the rumors that he is dangerous, or on the run from the law. He is handsome, mysterious, and Abby is attracted to him. As she spends more time with him strange things start to happen. Will Dante tell her the truth about his past soon enough for her to protect those around her?

Alright, from the beginning of this book I got a Twilight vibes, and I was going to be mad if the big secret Dante revealed was that he was a vampire. So, I was pleased when the book went another direction entirely. So, while the book is similar to Twilight it is totally different. I also liked it a lot more than Twilight because the characters seemed a bit more realistic and honest. I really didn’t like that the author played up so much on the fact that Dante was dangerous/deadly because he wasn’t in the way you would expect. I would have preferred more of a mysterious secret/past angle. Yet, no doubt, a deadly boyfriend does lend itself to more conflict than mysterious past does. So let’s not quibble. This is a suspenseful romance with a time travelling plot that has its foundation in historic Italy. This really is an excellent book with clever twists, strong characters, and a great plot. I really would recommend.

Lisa's Website:http://www.lisamangum.com/

(Spoilers-Present-Post-Script=Gamila’s weird musings. So, I was a Latin major, and so this book should get extra points for quoting Virgil, right? But I never really liked Virgil. I always liked Ovid or Cicero better, but I thought I would share my awkward intellectual literary ponderings with you. So, you know how I like the underworld right? Go back tohere to remember. So, with Dante and Virgil obviously present and influencing the creation of this book. Can we say that the bank scenes in this book could be a sort of underworld? On the bank there is a river, which is a huge feature of many underworld geography. They have a guide system of a sort, and clear geography and etc. If I came up with a three column comparison and contrast chart and thought for a long time I could probably write a small paper that said something interesting about the connections. What would happen if we compared Abby to Dante or Aeneas? What did she learn on the bank(aka underworld) that helped her complete her Hero’s Journey? Eh? Eh? How’s that for intellectual ramblings?! I could totally write a paper, but I won’t because I don’t have too. Hurrah!!! Okay, one way this series could get awesomely cooler is if Abby actually got to time travel to Italy.)