Review-A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris

A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris
Entangled Teen
August 6, 2013

From Goodreads:

Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

   

Before I give my review of this awesome book, I thought I'd imagine where I'd want to be sent should the illustrious Reyna ever grace my presence and offer me such an adventurous journey. While another century in the distant past has a romantic notion, I have to admit if I could spend time in any time period it would be this one:

When wearing a colored blazer was all the rage:

And because of course every guy was either like this:

Or this:

And your friends looked like this:

And you wore prom dresses like this:

And of course danced at your prom like this:

And your first kiss went like this:

And because to get to that first kiss, the guy did this:

And most of all,  because the 1980s gave us the Truffle Shuffle:

So there you have it. Big hair, bad makeup, wild clothes, and (in my humble opinion) the best music. What can I say, living a Bon Jovi song is just my romantic fantasy. So I admit it, I'm a closet 80s wannabe. *sigh*

And since I'm in a throw back kind of mood, here is my Austin:

The Ultimate Surfer Boy, Kelly Slater

(O.K. not technically from the 80s, but close enough and still the Best Surfer Dude!)

My Review:

1. Take a pinch of prim and proper

2. Sprinkle in a dash of magic

3. Add one hot surfer

4. Mix at high speed

Voilà

You get a mouth-watering sixteenth century fairy tale with a tangy twenty-first century twist.

Oh where to start on this book.  There is just too much to love. For one, Alessandra is an adorable main character. I love how proper she is. I also love how determined she is to fit in during her time traveling adventure. She wants to be like her independent, assertive cousin, Cat. But as the saying sort of goes (slightly modified), you can take the girl out of the sixteenth century, but you can’t take the sixteenth century out of the girl. Try as she might, being prim and proper is who she is and flashing some ankles and elbows ain’t in the cards. At least until she meets Austin.

Oh Austin. You had me at “Like what you see Princess?” Um, why yes I do.  What can I say? I’m a sucker when the bad boy has a nickname for the good girl he’s so obviously got the hots for! Every time Austin called Alessandra Princess I got weak in the knees. And FYI, he calls her Princess a lot.

Watching the relationship evolve between the two is like one big adrenaline junkie high. He infuriates her, surprises her, makes her blush (a lot), irritates her, and boy does he kiss her. He challenges her to be her true self, to uncover her inner independent woman and break free from the “perfect princess” persona that every one else sees. And the way he gets her to open up? He basically dares her. Little does he know, when this girl is all in she means it!

The best part of his “challenge” is that the new found boldness Alessandra finds helps give her the confidence she needs to uncover the real Austin. While his goal was to get Alessandra to live a little, he can’t shake the effect she has on him. Alessandra isn’t the only one doing some opening up.

The supporting cast of characters is fantastic. We get to see Cat again and she’s as spunky as ever. The added addition of Lucas completes the adorable Scooby Gang. There’s some fun drama from resident mean girl Kendal, and both Jaime and Hayley are girls I would have loved to be friends with in high school. And I can’t forget Reid. His flirting with Alessandra helps nudge Austin’s true feelings to the surface.

I can’t even begin to decide my favorite scenes. There are quite a few:

1. Goldschläger (need I say more?)
2. Austin’s Romeo to Alessandra’s Juliet
3. Secrets shared over some funnel cake
4. Alessandra’s first Victoria Secret shopping experience
5. When Austin first meets Reid
6. Surfing and kissing and surfing

And I have to include just a small portion of some fabulous Austin lines:

1. “I warned you about playing with fire.”
2. “It’s a roller coaster, Princess. It’s fun. Are you allergic to fun?”
3. “I’ve got you, Alessandra. I promise nothing’s gonna hurt you. You can trust me.”
4.  “You need a guide, a tutor to teach you how to take a chance, grab what you want, and not give a damn.”

I could really go on and on with the Austin lines, but that wouldn’t be fair. I can say that there are a lot of them, so get ready to swoon!

There are a few added twists to the story. The Scooby Gang uncovers some interesting history and one member keeps a very important secret. When it’s time to go home, how will the twenty-first century Alessandra fit back in to the sixteenth century she left behind? You’ll have to read the book to find out! So go forth and SWOON!

As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels. As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends.

She grew up in New Orleans, watching soap operas with her grandmother and staying up late sneak reading her mam's favorite romance novels. Now a Cajun cowgirl living in Houston, she still stays up too late reading her favorite romances, only now, she can do so openly. She firmly believes life's problems can be solved with a hot, powdered-sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations.

She homeschools her two beautiful girls and loves watching reality television with her amazing husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult Fun, Flirty Escapes, and LOVES talking with readers!  

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