Dragonfly by Leigh T. Moore
Series: Dragonfly #1
Publish Date: June 6, 2013
Source: Author for review – Thank you!
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N
Three bad things I learned this year:
-People you trust lie, even parents.
-That hot guy, the one who’s totally into you, he might not be the one.
-Things are not always how they appear.
Anna Sanders expected an anonymous (and uneventful) senior year until she crossed paths with rich-and-sexy Jack Kyser and his twin sister Lucy.
Pulling Anna into their extravagant lifestyle on the Gulf Coast, Lucy pushed Anna outside her comfort zone, and Jack showed her feelings she’d never experienced… Until he mysteriously withdrew.
Anna turned to her internship at the city paper and to her old attraction for Julian, a handsome local artist and rising star, for distraction. But both led to her discovery of a decades-old secret closely guarded by the twins’ distant, single father.
A secret that could permanently change all their lives. -(from Goodreads)
-People you trust lie, even parents.
-That hot guy, the one who’s totally into you, he might not be the one.
-Things are not always how they appear.
Three good things I learned this year:
-Best friends are always there for you, even when they’re far away.
-That other hot guy, the one who remembers your birthday, he just might be the one.
-Oh, and things are not always how they appear.
Anna Sanders expected an anonymous (and uneventful) senior year until she crossed paths with rich-and-sexy Jack Kyser and his twin sister Lucy.
Pulling Anna into their extravagant lifestyle on the Gulf Coast, Lucy pushed Anna outside her comfort zone, and Jack showed her feelings she’d never experienced… Until he mysteriously withdrew.
Anna turned to her internship at the city paper and to her old attraction for Julian, a handsome local artist and rising star, for distraction. But both led to her discovery of a decades-old secret closely guarded by the twins’ distant, single father.
A secret that could permanently change all their lives. -(from Goodreads)
Dragonfly by Leigh T. Moore
My Thoughts: Okay, so I read Dragonfly by Leigh T. Moore and I loved it so much. I was hooked on the summary and I just wasn’t disappointed at all.
Anna Sanders lives in the deep South – the Gulf region – and is a high school student with dreams of writing. She’s just been a bit devastated when her best friend has moved away and is feeling that loss. On a solo trip to the beach one day, she sees these two beautiful people that she later finds out are the Kyser twins, the very wealthy and well-known Jack and Lucy. Jack and Lucy do not typically frequent this area but for some reason, they’ve decided to enroll in Anna’s public school (versus the private school they’ve always attended before) and finish out their senior year among the ‘regular’ people. And, for some reason, Jack has noticed Anna. Anna can barely believe it. I mean, the guy is hot in an unearthly kind of way.
Anna also has this wonderful friend, Julian LaSalle. Julian is a budding artist – one with real talent. He’s the guy that stands out in the crowd, wearing the dark clothes, maybe the skinny jeans or something like that. He looks like a rocker – because he’s the artist-type. Julian is so kind and caring, and he and Anna have a great relationship. He calls Anna his angel and it is clear that he feels strongly for her. They’re really great friends and since BFF Gabi has moved away, Julian is now fair game (Gabi always had her eyes on Julian before, which made him off-limits to Anna). Julian is also hot in an unearthly kind of way.
Anna Sanders lives in the deep South – the Gulf region – and is a high school student with dreams of writing. She’s just been a bit devastated when her best friend has moved away and is feeling that loss. On a solo trip to the beach one day, she sees these two beautiful people that she later finds out are the Kyser twins, the very wealthy and well-known Jack and Lucy. Jack and Lucy do not typically frequent this area but for some reason, they’ve decided to enroll in Anna’s public school (versus the private school they’ve always attended before) and finish out their senior year among the ‘regular’ people. And, for some reason, Jack has noticed Anna. Anna can barely believe it. I mean, the guy is hot in an unearthly kind of way.
Anna also has this wonderful friend, Julian LaSalle. Julian is a budding artist – one with real talent. He’s the guy that stands out in the crowd, wearing the dark clothes, maybe the skinny jeans or something like that. He looks like a rocker – because he’s the artist-type. Julian is so kind and caring, and he and Anna have a great relationship. He calls Anna his angel and it is clear that he feels strongly for her. They’re really great friends and since BFF Gabi has moved away, Julian is now fair game (Gabi always had her eyes on Julian before, which made him off-limits to Anna). Julian is also hot in an unearthly kind of way.
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When Anna realizes that Jack Kyser is interested in her, she can barely contain herself. That boy is f-i-n-e fine. They see each other a little bit – he takes her out on his boat, they spend some time together on the beach, things like that. Nothing ever becomes serious, and Jack never seems like he really can wants to commit to anything. Anna is a little bit confused by this because she certainly seems to be falling for this guy. But his signals sometimes become a little confusing because he sometimes seems to be falling for her too. The problem is this: Jack is in line to fall into his father’s business, and Anna doesn’t fit into that picture. Mr. Kyser has Jack’s life mapped out for him – where he’ll attend school, when he’ll begin working in the business, etc. Mr. Kyser is a very prominent and powerful man, and he’s quite intimidating to everyone around him. When he says jump, pretty much everyone says HOW HIGH, SIR? While Jack and Anna both seem to want to take the relationship and make it real and serious, stuff just keeps happening and it becomes really hard for them to move forward. So are these difficulties something that Anna and Jack can overcome and work though?
And then there’s Julian. Sweet, sweet Julian. It is plain to see that Julian loves this girl, and I think that he has for a long time. With Julian, there is not the same type of thrill and excitement that would accompany a future with Alex because Julian isn’t wealthy or well-known. However, everything that Julian does and says to Anna makes her feel special, like she’s the only person in the room. Julian just has that special charm. Plus, Julian is confidant enough in their friendship/relationship to continue to wait for Anna’s heart, to wait for her to come around. He believes in his heart of hearts that they will be together and he’s willing to take the risk and wait for her. *sigh sigh sigh* As Anna is a writer and writes for the school paper, she does a feature on Julian and his art, which helps her land an internship with the city newspaper – and the two become a little closer over this circumstance. Julian keeps reminding Anna – in a non-pushy way – that he is waiting for her when she is ready, and she keeps this playing in the back of her mind as she tries to figure out what she should do, what her decision should be regarding these two guys. So will Anna choose this guy that has been a great friend to her over the past few years, one that she knows well and trusts and feels comfortable with? What will she do?
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You guys, I know that there are a ton of you that do not like books that have love triangles in them. I know it. I am not one of those people. I love them so hard, so very very hard. I believe that a well-written love triangle makes for such a fantastic story because I find that in love, emotions happen and sometimes hearts are split. They are wildly entertaining to read and my heart becomes oh-so-invested in the characters. Oftentimes in love triangles, it is clear that there is an obvious choice and a not-great choice. A good guy and a bad guy, perhaps. In this story, both of these guys are actually really great guys. So to me, this is a super duper fantastic love triangle and I loved it so hard that I wanted to hug my Kindle and shout to the world YES THIS IS HOW LOVE TRIANGLES SHOULD BE WRITTEN!!!
When I was reading this book, I noticed that I kept going back and forth in my mind as to what I thought Anna should decide. I loved that! You know why? Because that’s the exact same thing Anna did! She had the most difficult time deciding what she wanted as far as this romance was concerned. Her heart was so very at-war between these two fantastic guys, and rightly so. They’re both great catches. They’re well-written with great characteristics and they each stand up well as characters. I actually liked them both a lot. (Truthfully, were it me, the choice would have been easy, but I’m not a character in the book, so that doesn’t count. Ahem, I digress.) AND AND AND in the end, the way the book resolves this triangle – WOW SO PERFECT. I was so thrilled with the way Leigh T. Moore wrote this! I actually threw up my hands and said YES! (Yes, I’m a dork.) I have no idea how or if this will come back up later in this series or not but for now, just YES.
Besides the romance and love interests, there are other things in the story, even though you barely know it from my gushing over the well-written love triangle. This story has a FANTASTIC setting that I absolutely adore. Anyone that loves the Gulf coast in the deep South – you guys are going to love this one. The mannerisms and characteristics of the South run true and are carried well through this book and I actually tweeted the author about this and highlighted examples of this in my Kindle – these things are important to me because I am indeed a Southern gal. Besides the stellar setting, I loved the relationships in the book, the dynamics between the characters. While not all of them began as perfectly (read: happily) as we would want them to be, the relationships had development across the story, much like we look for character development, which I found refreshing and neat and interesting, and I kind of loved it a lot. Don’t we love it when relationships and families are mended for the better throughout the course of a story? It makes us happy, right? YES.
ALSO. There is a little bit of a mystery aspect to the story. It’s not huge, but it is there. And it is kind of fun. Now…I have an inkling that more of this will be present in the rest of the series, or at least the next book (I may be wrong here) but I think I like where this is headed. Dragonfly is absolutely, definitely a contemporary but it certainly has the makings of some mystery being added to the mix, and I’m excited to see where this will be headed when Undertow becomes available in mid-July 2013.
Ultimately, friends, this book was an absolute joy for me. I had a great, great time reading it. I recommend it to fans of YA Contemporary with Romance, fans of a great setting, and people that don’t mind very well-written love triangles. I’m extremely grabby-handed for the next book in the series in a few weeks and I also want to read this author’s backlist as soon as I can.
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Dragonfly will appeal to fans of:
Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Young Adult Contemporary Romance
with some Mystery!
Romance: Well-Written Love Triangle
Great Setting: Deep South, Gulf Coast
Romance: Well-Written Love Triangle
Great Setting: Deep South, Gulf Coast
Dragonfly by Leigh T. Moore
is currently available for purchase.
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Leigh Talbert Moore is the author of the popular young adult romantic comedy The Truth About Faking, its companion The Truth About Letting Go, and the mature YA/new adult romantic suspense novel Rouge, a Quarter Finalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
She is an award-winning journalist and editor, who has also worked in marketing and public relations for many years. Her writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the southeast and Midwest U.S., and she runs the popular writing-craft blog That’s Write.
A southern ex-pat and beach bum, she currently lives with her husband, two young children, and one grumpy cat in the Midwest.
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I have a short excerpt for you all!
Falling in Love Changes Everything…
“C’mon,” Julian said, helping me stand. “Let’s blow off this party and catch a movie or go to Scoops. This isn’t our scene.”
I shook my head. “I just really want to go home.” The tears were trying to start again. “Can I just go home now?”
“Sure,” he said, holding my cheek. I took a limping step, and he stopped. “Does it hurt to walk?”
My leg was throbbing. I nodded, looking down, and before I realized what was happening, he was lifting me in his arms.
“Julian, wait,” I held his shoulders. “I’m too heavy!”
“It’s okay,” he said, walking on. I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. I didn’t feel like fighting. Gentle pressure against my temple, and he’d kissed me. “You’ll get over this,” I heard him say under his breath.
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And now for the Giveaway!
Author Leigh T. Moore is offering
several really awesome giveaways,
several really awesome giveaways,
open both to US residents and
internationally!
Good Luck!
About Asheley
Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.
You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.
Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!
I had never heard of this book (or even this author) before, but your review has left me very curious (about both)! I am not against love triangles, but I do feel that they're overdone a bit in YA. Settings are another huge factor in why I fall in love with certain stories.. and the fact that this one is set on Gulf Coast (hello – my hometown!), I am definitely interested.
Thanks Asheley for bringing this one to my attention!
This one is super fun, G! I know lots of people are hesitant with multiple love interests but there are a ton of reasons why I felt this story line was very well written, way more than I listed here. I just loved reading it and am excited to see where the story goes in the next book. And man-oh-man I love the setting. And it feels like a summer read! Always a plus, right?
I'm a little bit… no, I'm a LOT in love with this review! 😀
There's actually a story about the setting–it'll be on "Ticket to Anywhere" June 12 if you're interested! And you know, Julian's predicament is sort of his own fault. Anna tutored him a whole year, and he never asked her out once–LOL! (As you know from yesterday's post, I could talk about books for days… But I won't.)
THANK YOU so much for this great review & for loving my book–I hope you enjoy the series! :o) <3 <3 <3
I do love this book and I'm excited for Undertow! Can't wait to see what's next for everyone!
Ah! I need to read this. Right now.
This book is so much fun – can't wait for the continuation with UNDERTOW!
Okay, first I think one reason why I don't like love triangles is that I ALWAYS pick one of the guys and pretty much stick to him. I did that just reading above. PS. It's Julian. If the other guy can't get away from his father's expectations and "downgrade" himself for a girl than he isn't going to be a good choice. But maybe I'd feel differently about him while reading this. That said, I have had relationships like the one between her and Jack. Guys who seem like great fit…but then they started running weirdly hot and cold, and sometimes it wasn't anything specific, and in the end I'm glad I didn't end up with them. Anyway, you actually did do a good job at selling this book to me, so thanks for that. I think the setting and everything else sound fun too!
Julian is a good guy – I think you'd really like him if you decide to read this book. But you'd probably feel differently about the other guy at least a little bit if you read this book. This is certainly a different type of love triangle than one you are used to – it breaks the love triangle mold in that it is written so well – and I think that you should maybe give it a try? It's been on NetGalley so maybe you should check it out. Plus the setting – down there around Heather's neck of the woods – is SO RICH in this book. You know I love all things South, but this is even deeper South than I am. I just thought it was SO WELL WRITTEN in terms of that triangle and how the MC handled it, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. This is one that I'd recommend to you and let you know that there are two guys in it, but it is completely not conventional as far as you and I always discuss. So, so great. And there is great, great resolution – at least by the end of this book. But it is a series and I am excited to see where it goes – I have no idea!