Blog Tour (Review) & Giveaway: Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins

Welcome to my stop in the Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins Blog Tour, hosted by YA Bound Book Tours!

 

Stir Me Up
by Sabrina Elkins
Release Date: 10/01/13
Harlequin Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

Cami Broussard has her future all figured out. She'll finish her senior year of high school, then go to work full-time as an apprentice chef in her father's French restaurant, alongside her boyfriend, Luke. But then twenty-year-old ex-Marine Julian Wyatt comes to live with Cami's family while recovering from serious injuries. And suddenly Cami finds herself questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Julian's all attitude, challenges and intense green-brown eyes. But beneath that abrasive exterior is a man who just might be as lost as Cami's starting to feel. And Cami can't stop thinking about him. Talking to him. Wanting to kiss him. He's got her seriously stirred up. Her senior year has just gotten a lot more complicated….

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My Thoughts:

I don't know what I was expecting when I started reading Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins. I think I thought I was going to read one of those stories that have my emotions all over the place. But it wasn't one of those stories.

Stir Me Up is told from Cami's POV. She is a senior in high school, works full-time at her father's restaurant, and is dealing with the dilemma of going to college to study- that is what her father wants- or pursuing to become a chef like her father. I just felt that Cami got on my nerves more than once, because she was just a little too naive for my liking in the story. But yet again I kind of liked her character because she felt realistic. The situations she encounters in the story are what any seventeen/eighteen year old would experience and they would react to them in the some what the same manner. I did feel sorry for Cami's character because of the pressure her father puts on her when it comes to becoming a chef. At the beginning of the story I didn't much like Cami's character, but as the story progresses I end up liking her. By the end of the story she seems to mature in her way of thinking and she finally stands up for what she wants in life.

When we first meet Julian he is at the hospital recovering from his wounds, and let me just say he freaked me out a little.  At the beginning of the story Julian is a big jerk and is closed off to Cami. But this is understandable because he was wounded in the war and he has come back with severe injuries that have an emotional and physical affect on him. I would like to say that I would have loved reading from Julina's POV in Stir Me Up. Why? Because I feel like I would have understand his character much better and I would have had a deeper connection with his character. I would have loved to had that inside glimpse into his thoughts. I loved Julian's character right from the beginning, because I just love the broken characters.

Cami and Julian's relationship starts off with them fighting all the time. These two can not be in the same room without bantering their head off with each other. Cami is always throwing stuff at Julian and he is always embarrassing her or making her feel uncomfortable. But once Cami takes a real good look at Julian, she sees that he is just struggling to get back to a normal life routine. Cami makes up her mind that she is going to start being nice to Julian and get close to him, even when he tries to be rude to her to push her away. I just loved the way Cami and Julian's relationship develops in the story. Cami and Julian support each other and they bring out the best in each other.

Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins is a fast-paced sweet romance read. There was potential for Stir Me Up to be a great read, but I just wasn't sucked into the story as I wanted or expected to be. The ending is a HEA in a way, but in my personal opinion it is kind of open for there to be a second book. 

Final Verdict: 3.5 Stars

 

About the Author

I am a former journalist who worked for the Los Angeles Daily Newsand other newspapers in the greater Los Angeles area. Prior to this I worked in advertising, writing ad copy for corporate travel accounts and major motion pictures. My first job out of college was as an administrative assistant to an executive chef and a food & beverage director at a Four Seasons hotel. I also spent some time working as a prep cook for Spago in Beverly Hills.

I received my Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California. While in graduate school, I had the privilege of studying fiction writing under renowned author Hubert Selby, Jr., and comedy writing under famed comedian Shelley Berman. I am a past participant of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers Summer Writing Workshop.

Raised in the woods of Vermont, I now live in the greater Los Angeles area with my husband and three children. STIR ME UP is my first novel.I am a former journalist who worked for the Los Angeles Daily Newsand other newspapers in the greater Los Angeles area. Prior to this I worked in advertising, writing ad copy for corporate travel accounts and major motion pictures. My first job out of college was as an administrative assistant to an executive chef and a food & beverage director at a Four Seasons hotel. I also spent some time working as a prep cook for Spago in Beverly Hills.

I received my Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California. While in graduate school, I had the privilege of studying fiction writing under renowned author Hubert Selby, Jr., and comedy writing under famed comedian Shelley Berman. I am a past participant of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers Summer Writing Workshop.

Raised in the woods of Vermont, I now live in the greater Los Angeles area with my husband and three children. STIR ME UP is my first novel.

Find Sabrina  Elkins:

Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Goodreads 

 

***GIVEAWAY*** 

WIN 1 OF 3 STIR ME UP FUN FOODIE GIFT PACKS! COOKBOOKS-CHOCOLATES-MAGNETS

Cami’s Cookbook Pack Le Petit Paris: French Finger Food by Nathalie Benezet 500 Soups by Susannah Blake Godiva chocolate bar Stir Me Up magnet 

Julian’s Late-Night Pack George Noory’s Late-Night Snacks by George Noory Dinner and a Movie by Katherine Bebo Godiva chocolate bar Stir Me Up magnet 

Sweet Desserts Pack Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor Cutie Pies by Dani Cone Godiva chocolate bar Stir Me Up magnet 

RULES AND RESTRICTIONS: Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 18 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner’s name will be selected. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity. 

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  Blog Tour Hosted by:
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