{Blog Tour} Review & GIVEAWAY: The Girl I Was Before by Ginger Scott

                                                         

The Girl I Was Before by Ginger Scott
Released: 23rd June 2015
Series: Falling #3
Genre: NA Contemporary
Source: Author
Pages: 273
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
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I’m the selfish one. I suppose that’s the nicest thing people say about me. I’ve heard the other things, too. “Paige Owens is a pretty girl with nothing else to offer. She’s just a good time at a party. She’s stupid, heartless, cold and useless. All she cares about is getting a guy to look at her. Why would anyone want to be her friend?” Some of those things are true. Others were true. They’re all hurtful. None of it matters. I’m ready to make the hard choices. I’m ready to face the consequences. I’m ready to be the girl I was before, and I’m done being the one who lost her way. I’m ready to become the girl Houston Orr sees when he looks at me. Houston isn’t a star athlete. He doesn’t play in a band. He’s never going to be president, and his life is so far away from simple and easy it isn’t even funny.

 He wasn’t part of my plan. But I’m starting to think plans are overrated, and maybe our stories are what we make them. And mine depends entirely on me, and the choices I make…starting now. Houston is my fairytale. He’s perfectly imperfect. He’s poetry and life. He’s truth and heartbreak, all rolled up in a tall body with dark hair, broad shoulders and green eyes that lull me into submission. He’s nothing I ever thought I wanted, but the very thing I need. He’s the only guy I’ve ever really loved, and he thinks I’m a princess. I fell into him, and now I’m holding on. But sometimes life takes away our ability to choose. Sometimes…things aren’t in your control. Sometimes, it hurts to be selfless.

My only hope is that when it comes time to choose, I get it right. Welcome to my once upon a time and wish for happily ever after.

I've loved this series ever since I read This is Falling, and it was fantastic to see it continue where each main character has their spotlight and they develop through every story. In The Girl I Was Before I can sincerely say that Ginger Scott has done it again in producing a story with realistic characters and a heartwarming romance while still demonstrating the intrinsic importance of family who are there throughout the good and the bad.

What I think really works in a book like this is the two POV's we're exposed to. Both from Paige and Houston who we have met before in the previous novels, seeing a relationship blossom between them, with hardships in between, was wonderful from both their perspectives. What's even better? - This isn't a good-girl-meets-bad-boy story, and neither is it the smart girl falling for the 'jock' (although I have to say that this author has done both of those storylines really well with some of her other books). In this case, Houston does computer science, and Paige is pretty much an academic all-rounder, especially in Spanish. What makes this book different I think is that it illustrates different personalities and how they complement each other, and how couples have to work through their issues when obstacles come up. There was some college drama in between, and sorority mean-girls to contend with, but what was a really smart move was actually making something out of that stereotype which had a real impact on the main storyline. I won't say too much, but what I can tell you is that as with all of Ginger Scott's work - there are twists where you least expect them! And you know what, that's just the way I like a novel - especially when it's a contemporary.

I've learned that life twists and turns on you, that unexpected shit falls in your lap, and sometimes it's a blessing and other times it's your worst nightmare. Through all of that, I've learned that wasting time missing out on the things that really matter is just that - a waste of time.

Of course, this wouldn't be a Ginger Scott novel without family playing an important role. I love how the characters from the previous books in the series got involved in this one, and especially exploring further the bond between Cass and Paige, There's also some complex dynamics going on in Houston's household, where there are more twists abound, but I'll leave that to you to find out! There are some really sweet moments though and some parts that you can't help but go 'aaaaaaaw!'. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Though I'm sad that this might be the end of Rowe, Tyson, Cass and Paige's stories, it was still amazing in its own right. I have enjoyed every page of getting to know these characters, through their moments of hardship and happiness, and can't wait to see what Ginger Scott will write next. 

GIVEAWAY:

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About the Author:

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling author of eight young and new adult

romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How

We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, Wild

Reckless and The Girl I Was Before.

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 newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than

15 years. 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).

Twitter: @TheGingerScott

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