THE ROSEWOODS SERIES BY KATRINA ABBOT
Jennifer's Overall Take on this Series:
I really enjoyed this series and I will grab book #5 as soo as it comes out in October ! Katrina does a great job depicting the teenagers, their friends, their love interests in a funny and relatable way.
Brooklyn Prescott (if that's even her real name) is the new girl at The Rosewood Academy for Academic Excellence, now that she's moved back to the States after two years living in London. Rosewood, a boarding school for children of the rich and famous and known for its celebutantes, is missing just one element important to any junior's education: boys. But luckily for Brooklyn, and the rest of the Rosewood girls, there's a boys' boarding school, The Westwood Academy, just a few miles away. On her very first day, Brooklyn meets Will, a gorgeous and flirty boy on campus to help with move in. But is he who she thinks he is? And what about Brady, the cute stable boy? Or Jared, the former child actor with his grown-up good looks who can always make her laugh? As Brooklyn settles in at Rosewood, she's faced with new friends, new challenges and new opportunities to make herself into the girl she always wanted to be. Whoever that might be. Taking The Reins is the first installment of The Rosewoods, an exciting new Young Adult series for readers who love fun, flirty love stories.
Jennifer's Review:
Taking the Reins was a good, light, fun book that will make you laugh out loud. My only complaint -- it is pretty short and I finished it in a couple of hours. This first book in the series revolves around Brooklyn -- a feisty but shy, young girl. She is the new girl at the Rosewood Academy for Academic Excellence. Having moved back to the states from the London this book takes us with Brooklyn while she struggles to establish herself within a boarding school where there are already established and long standing friendships, and all the while tries not to be distracted by the Boys at Westwood Academy for boys. We follow her as she is swept into a whirlwind of events including riding at the Rosewood stables, friends, school, and cute boys: Will, Brady and Jared are three boys who capture her interest - - but who will she pick?
I got a recommendation for this book with a link to get it for free on Amazon. So I figured I would check it out. I am glad I did -- it was a good light summer read -- fun & flirty!
Taking the Reins is the first book in the Rosewood series. Brooklyn Prescott is the new girl at The Rosewood Academy for Academic Excellence. She is back in the States after being in London for a couple of years with her parents. I would say this book was all about introductions. On her very first day, Brooklyn meets Will, a gorgeous and flirty boy on campus to help the girls move in. He is from the all boys school Westwood. As the book progresses we meet too other boys -- Brady, the cute stable boy and Jared, the former child actor.
As we follow Brooklyn as settles in at Rosewood -- she vows to take this opportunity to make herself into the girl she always wanted to be -- a little more fun, flirty, etc...
The book is pretty short and like I said I feel like it was an introductions type (no direct plot but an intro of what is to come in future books)of to the main characters and the setting. The ending is rather abrupt -- normally that would bother me but since book 2 already exists I was able to dive right into that one to satisfy my curiosity of what happens next.
The only issue I had was that there were three boys loving Brooklyn and since Brooklyn professes that she is a pretty plain, normal girl that boys had never fallen all over in the past I found that pretty hard to believe. I liked Brooklyn's personality so it was not a far stretch for one boy to fall for her and possibly even two but the third one (who had a great girlfriend) was the one that really threw me over in the believability. Not that is stopping me from moving on to book 2 :-)
Ideal for the young reader {aged 12-16} or for those (like me) who love young adult stories that are fresh, engaging and convincing! I cannot wait to read more within the Rosewoods series that has sparked a sense of interest…
Masquerade (The Rosewoods #2)
by Katrina Abbott (
It's not like planning the dance is her only concern either. On top of classes she's got equestrian team practice, and Coach Fleming has been acting very oddly. Talked into sneaking out to collect some intel with her friends, Brooklyn may have stumbled onto a huge, juicy secret that could involve the coach in a potentially career-ending scandal. And then there's Jared, who seemed to be into her, but has suddenly disappeared without a trace - not even a text message.
Things at Rosewood are getting complicated for Brooklyn, just as she's starting to fit in. The more she tries to uncover the secrets surrounding her, the more she realizes that her friends and even the faculty are all wearing masks. Does she dare look underneath them? Or does she put on one of her own?
Jennifer's Review:
In book 2 of The Rosewoods series, Brooklyn Prescott finally finds herself as a part of the Rosewoods girls and as result is happy and secure. She is the Rosewood Academy's School Liason which puts her in the position to deal with Westwood Boys academy's Liaison quite a bit. Along with finding true friends, she also deals with the many boys in her life who got introduced to in book 1: Dave (AKA-Will), Emmie's boyfriend who clearly is off limits to Brooklyn but as we know -- they had a connection in book 1 and then are thrown together in this book as school liaison's team planning the school dances - things get tricky with this relationship and was my least fav storyline; Jared (Abe), Dave's roommate, who is a total sweetheart and Brooklyn starts dating him in this book; and finally Brady, Brooklyn's Equestrian coach, who due to him being a Coach at the school is off limits but they in my opinion have the strongest connection. So its a love square. I plus a lot of other readers may not love love triangles or squares but in this case its not a huge focus and you will definitely be rooting for just one of them -- totally Team Brady over here! The book does continue on from right where book 1 leaves us but does leave us with a MAJOR cliffhanger at the end!
Playing the Part (The Rosewoods #3)
Kaylee Bennett has never felt like she really fit in at The Rosewood Academy for Academic Excellence, but this year she feels even more like an outsider. Life has done a one-eighty for Kaylee and as she returns to the posh school for girls, she can’t bring herself to tell her secret to her friends and definitely not her long term crush, Phillip Carson. Not that Kaylee could ever imagine he would be attracted to a quiet bookworm like her anyway. But then there’s Declan Ryan, the gorgeous exchange student who seems to be interested, until Kaylee finds out his secret and why he might actually be into her, and it has nothing to do with her charm or love of English literature.
To complicate matters, Kaylee gets stuck running the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet, directing both Declan and Phillip with the help of Rosewood’s sexy first year teacher, Mr. Stratton—as if the Westwood boys weren’t enough of a distraction!
Determined to stay away from Declan and make things work with Phillip, Kaylee isolates herself from her friends and hides out in the house of cards she’s built to protect herself, but how long will it stay standing?
Playing The Part is a companion book to Taking The Reins and Masquerade, the first two books of The Rosewoods, an exciting new Young Adult series for readers who love fun, flirty love stories
To complicate matters, Kaylee gets stuck running the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet, directing both Declan and Phillip with the help of Rosewood’s sexy first year teacher, Mr. Stratton—as if the Westwood boys weren’t enough of a distraction!
Determined to stay away from Declan and make things work with Phillip, Kaylee isolates herself from her friends and hides out in the house of cards she’s built to protect herself, but how long will it stay standing?
Playing The Part is a companion book to Taking The Reins and Masquerade, the first two books of The Rosewoods, an exciting new Young Adult series for readers who love fun, flirty love stories
Jennifer's Review:
Book 3 -- Well this was a game changer! This book is not told from Brooklyn's point of view. Its from Kaylee Bennett and seems to run parallel in time to book 2. For Kaylee, she is not new to Rosewood but coming back to Rosewood for her this year is much different than past years. Her whole life went from being great to NOT - and its much more than financial hardship in her life. She has been allowed to return to Rosewood but on a scholarship. Since all of her friends are all rich she didn't want them to know this detail in fear that they would start to treat her differently.
Then there are her boy troubles with Phillip, the boy who she threw up on the year before at the dance and Declan, the new handsome Irish boy who saved her from embarrassment by asking her to dance. She has always had a crush on Phillip, but Declan -- he is nice, cute, and a little mysterious. However, when she finds out something that changes her mind about him, she's not so sure about anything anymore. Along with these troubles, she also has to run the school play due to her community service assignment. With no time to spare for herself, she feels like she's going to be driven insane.
This book could of gone two ways with a complete change of point of view from a secondary character and being written in the same timeline as the previous book -- as I don't think its easy to write in a parallel time and hook the reader in addition to bringing a secondary character into the starring role. Katrina pulled it off beautifully! Kaylee was a sideline character in the previous two books but she had mystery to her. I enjoyed being able to see more into why Kaylee acted like she did in the other books.
Then there are her boy troubles with Phillip, the boy who she threw up on the year before at the dance and Declan, the new handsome Irish boy who saved her from embarrassment by asking her to dance. She has always had a crush on Phillip, but Declan -- he is nice, cute, and a little mysterious. However, when she finds out something that changes her mind about him, she's not so sure about anything anymore. Along with these troubles, she also has to run the school play due to her community service assignment. With no time to spare for herself, she feels like she's going to be driven insane.
This book could of gone two ways with a complete change of point of view from a secondary character and being written in the same timeline as the previous book -- as I don't think its easy to write in a parallel time and hook the reader in addition to bringing a secondary character into the starring role. Katrina pulled it off beautifully! Kaylee was a sideline character in the previous two books but she had mystery to her. I enjoyed being able to see more into why Kaylee acted like she did in the other books.
Brooklyn Prescott is starting to settle into life at The Rosewood School for Academic Excellence. Now that the masquerade ball is over and was a total success (whew!), she can return to her non-party planning life! She’s dating Jared officially now that he’s returned from Japan, and he’s even asked her to read his memoir of his life as a child actor, a great honor for Brooklyn, the wannabe journalist.
But just as things seem like they’re sliding into place, Emmie breaks up with Dave, who is suddenly showing interest in Brooklyn. More confused than ever, Brooklyn doesn’t know what to do—stay with the great guy who is obviously into her, or take a chance with the one she’s been crushing on since her first day on campus and risk alienating her friend and roommate? And what about Coach Fleming, who she has to resist every single day at equestrian practice?
One kiss starts the ball rolling and a second changes everything, causing a chain of events Brooklyn never could have imagined. As the holidays approach, Brooklyn needs to figure out who and what she is most thankful for. But then who she really is catches up with her and turkey dinners and horse shows are nothing compared to suddenly being faced with a life or death situation.
Reading Between The Lines is the fourth installment of The Rosewoods, an exciting new Young Adult series for readers who love fun, flirty love stories
But just as things seem like they’re sliding into place, Emmie breaks up with Dave, who is suddenly showing interest in Brooklyn. More confused than ever, Brooklyn doesn’t know what to do—stay with the great guy who is obviously into her, or take a chance with the one she’s been crushing on since her first day on campus and risk alienating her friend and roommate? And what about Coach Fleming, who she has to resist every single day at equestrian practice?
One kiss starts the ball rolling and a second changes everything, causing a chain of events Brooklyn never could have imagined. As the holidays approach, Brooklyn needs to figure out who and what she is most thankful for. But then who she really is catches up with her and turkey dinners and horse shows are nothing compared to suddenly being faced with a life or death situation.
Reading Between The Lines is the fourth installment of The Rosewoods, an exciting new Young Adult series for readers who love fun, flirty love stories
Jennifer's Review:
The fourth book in the Rosewoods series continues with Brooklyn and her always changing life at Rosewood Academy. There were many things that occurred that I did not see coming at all. The first one being her brother Robert showing up on campus??? He definitely added a different element as we have focused so much before on the Westwood boys. I actually not sure what to think of him yet but I am interested in seeing where Katrina takes his character and with who :-). Then there is what happens with Brooklyn and her array of boys; seriously, I just didn't see ANYTHING coming. The boys: Dave, I'm not really sure what to think of their relationship, as I am totally partial to Brady. and the Brady -- what to say? Love him!
All in all, this book was another great read by Katrina Abbott with plot twists, laugh at loud moments and that ending was not at all expected. I can't wait to see the rest of the developments in book 5 - coming in October 2014. There are still so many questions to be answered... I think this is maybe the best book of this series. Still TEAM BRADY!
The book is an easy short read and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something light and entertaining to read :
KATRINA ABBOT -- @AbbottKatrina
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