The Book Beehive: Book Review and giveaway for Bred by Ginger Scott

BRED
by GINGER SCOTT

A coming-of-age romance inspired by Great Expectations

My life was irrevocably changed the moment I stepped foot inside Elena Alderman’s grand front doors. A lifeless tomb on the edge of Chicago’s Southside, the Alderman home sat in one of the city’s oldest and wealthiest neighborhoods, and Elena Alderman was the queen.

She was also mad.

Not the kind of madness that’s readily apparent. No, her psychopathy was far more surgical—more…insidious. She was surrounded by beautiful things—most notably her grand piano and her adopted son, Henry.

I fell in love with both.

My gift blossomed when my fingers touched her black and white keys. But my life began when I became haunted by the boy. Henry Alderman was a handsome blend of arrogance and seduction, and as we grew up together, I found it more and more impossible to separate him from my thoughts. I envied his life. I imagined how my name—Lily—would look with his. I became his closest friend…and more. I gave him my kiss, locked away his secrets, and loved him even when it was hard to.

But we were just a game. Elena Alderman made the rules. And when she decided to change them, she broke everything.

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REVIEW: 4.5 STARS

"He smells like a man of the world, yet home. He tastes familiar, and new."

Ok. I admit I have been told to read Ginger Scott for quite some time. I am reader-enough to admit that much. But the fact that she was YA worried me, and clean YA even more. I like the heavy angst and the emotional turmoil in books - that grit that makes my stomach clench and my insides twist, and that's hard to capture in YA, sometimes. I have recently started reading more YA because I am finding more authors that are able to deliver the type of story that I crave in a YA format. This one most definitely fit the bill. I read this one with wonder and awe. It really hit all the points I needed it to to work for me. It was a light teenaged angst with the perfect amount of over-reacting that we all know we did at that teenaged level - true to situations. If I didn't have such an emotional attachment already to Great Expectations, this story would have still produced a smile from me because of how true to point it was on many different levels.

In truth, I loved the sound of Bred from the minute I saw it, but I can't give you anything more honest or pretend to deny the fact that it being inspired by Great Expectations wasn't my biggest pull. Great Expectations was the first "love story" I ever read and I read it back in high school - so.long.ago. It's the only book I have left from getting married and moving out....and I still love it to this day, with fond memories. While the actual storyline in detail may have slipped my mind, the memories of it and how it hit me are still very prominent. Once I started to read this, the meaning and understanding hit me full force because it was told in the same vein and I honestly and personally think Scott nailed it. Had I not read Great Expectations, would I feel the same way? I can't truthfully answer that because, again, favorite book from my childhood being updated and presented to me in a current format? I couldn't walk away from the opportunity to fall in love with the same story all over again. I enjoyed every page, every word, every scenario....I read it with a smile and it was such a breath of fresh air for me. I really enjoyed this one.

The nostalgia alone put me in a state of bliss. I highlighted so much in this book because the way Scott told this one, the way the story played out, it really made me reminisce about Pip and Estella, and the circumstances that not only brought them together, but ultimately the ones that pushed them apart. I really think Ginger Scott embodied the emotions very well, so the feelings were there and they were uninhibited throughout her writing. I do feel like the POV that this story was delivered in made for a deeper connection to Lily and how she felt about Henry while leaving him as sort of an enigma - one that we got to ponder and discover all at the same time, right along with Lily. An unknown, but desired love from all angles is really what kept me turning the pages.

"Henry Alderman is my gentleman."

If I had to give any amount of constructive feedback, I honestly think my only issue with this one was the abrupt ending to some of the chapters; events that could have been fleshed out, scenarios that could have been being embellished a bit more. Of course, looking back, as I'm re-reading all my highlights, those abrupt endings would have led nowhere and weren't exactly intrinsic to the overall storyline, but the way they stopped kinda jolted me a bit. That's really all I could honestly comment on. I read this book with a wonderment and an innocence that rivaled a first love and those butterflies we now recognize.

I would be remiss if I didn't fawn over the cover of this book. It was literal perfection - to the nth degree. Seriously. If that was Henry, she nailed it - description, actions, mannerisms - everything. Absolutely nailed it. His stature and his arrogance, but his handsomeness and the heart that he was raised to not share. Titling this book Bred was so very fitting for the narrative of this book. Not only were the emotions fitting for a teenager with the broody angst of a 15 year old, but the courageous growth that the heart had to make while finding its own truth gave me a true appreciation for the power of Scott's words.

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book and not sound like a babbling teenager with a crush, but I will have this one signed on my shelf, sitting next to my hardback of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - mark my words. After reading this one, Ginger Scott will definitely be added to my list of authors to check out in this genre.

"Friends are enemies in disguise."
~BEE

PURCHASE: AMAZON - Kindle Unlimited

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~MEET GINGER SCOTT~

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling, Goodreads Choice Award and Rita award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, This Is Falling, Wild Reckless, The Hard Count, Cry Baby and Bred.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for a hella long time. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

~CONNECT WITH GINGER~

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