Blog Tour: Dragonfly (Dragonfly #1) by: Leigh Talbert Moore

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Dragonfly
(Dragonfly #1)
By:  Leigh T. Moore
Published:  June 6, 2013
Source:  Author


GR's Summary:

“Gossip Girl meets VC Andrews in this contemporary family saga. Love, lies, and betrayal become the new normal when Anna enters the world of Jack and Lucy Kyser.” –Magan Vernon, international bestselling author of The Only Exception

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.

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.

Dragonfly was a story that grabbed me right away.  The story is told from the main character, Anna's perspective.  She is 17 years old, entering her senior year, and feeling down because her best friend Gabby has to move away.  While at the beach, before the new school year has started, Anna meets beautiful twins Lucy, and Jack.  Anna and Lucy exchange a few words, and Anna can't help but admire Lucy's gorgeous brother.  Once the new school year begins, Anna is pleasantly surprised when Jack ends up in her senior English class, and Lucy ends up in another one of Anna's classes.  Lucy is very friendly, outgoing, and nice, and Anna and her become fast friends.  Anna becomes captivated by Jack, and they end up spending a lot of time together.  Jack and Lucy's family come from a lot of wealth, and power.  Unfortunately, their father is cold, and their brother is arrogant, pompous, controlling, and downright rude to Anna.  The more Anna begins to have feelings for Jack, the more that he pushes her away.  Then, when she tries to move on, he's trying to win her back.  Mixed up in all of this is Julian, an artist, who is Anna's best male friend.  He's good-looking, and in one point in time Anna was interested in him, but after Gabby called "dibs," Anna kept everything between them as strictly friendship.  However, as time goes on it's obvious that Julian feels more than friendship for Anna.  She feels things for him too whenever they're around each other, but the majority of her thoughts and time is spent over Jack.  In their small town in New Mexico, everyone knows everyone else.  All of Anna's good friend's parents went to school together, and have an interesting history.  Anna's dream is to be a journalist, and when she lands an internship, she starts to uncover secrets, and she has to decide whether to keep them or reveal them.

Dragonfly took me back to when I was in high school.  I relieved the experience of crushes, confusion, choosing between boys, (worried that I would make the wrong choice), the whole "butterfly's in the stomach," nervous excitement, and first love.  It also touched on the heartbreak you experience when things don't work out as you had hoped/planned.  Dragonfly was a fast-paced, light, relaxing, easy read.  The setting was absolutely beautiful, as Ms. Moore described the white sandy beaches, and clear blue water.  I loved the characters in this story.  They really came to life, and I visualized their looks, personalities, how they dressed, carried themselves, and what was most important in their lives.  There was the perfect amount of description, so that I could visualize everything without getting bored.   

This book was exciting!  I could see the appeal of Jack.  He was older, had model good looks, came from wealth, and made Anna experience adventure in her life.  However, I was rooting for Julian from the very beginning.  He truly knew Anna's worth and wasn't so indecisive about what he wanted or didn't want from her.  He remembered her birthday, knew what was important to her, and was such an amazing friend.  I wanted to slap Anna upside the head, and yell at her, "Look at what is right in front of you're face."  I felt like she needed to get a backbone, and demand respect.  Eventually, she did, but it took way too long!  Jack wasn't a bad person.  He was just very lost.  However, I did not like the way he treated Anna, and she kept letting him hurt her, instead of focusing on the gift that was staring her in the face. 

Dragonfly was such a great story.  I loved the main characters, and even the secondary characters.  I loved that the story was carefree, fast paced, and an enjoyable read!  I think that it would have been neat to read the book from multiple perspectives.  Specifically, Anna, Jack, and Julian.  Many times, I wondered what was going on with Jack, his thought process, what his family was telling him, and why he was doing the things that he did.  I loved the fact that Anna put her investigative skills to use, and uncovered a secret.  I figured out the secret half way through the book, but was interested to see how everything played out.  Anna was a bit nosey, and pushy, and if I was her, I would regret pushing so hard, because now she is in a horrible predicament.  Dragonfly is the perfect summer read.  The setting puts you in the mood for summer, the beach, and love.  Lay back on your towel, by the water, have an ice cold drink, and read this book.  You will feel like you are on vacation!    

I give Dragonfly, 4 innocent, first love, sexy swooning, fun filled, and self discovering Stars!  If you are looking for a fun, fast-paced love story about first love, friendship, new experiences, self discovery, and growing up, Dragonfly encompassed all of this and more.  I loved every minute of reading this story, and felt like I was living through Anna's experiences.  Dragonfly really leapt off the page, and came to life for me!  I highly recommend it to readers that enjoy New Adult Contemporary Romance, and want a refreshing read that is not filled with angst, drama, and deep issues.  The best part of all is that Dragonfly is a series, and I love when the books I enjoy get the chance to continue, expand, and deepen a storyline, and characters that I have come to love, and enjoy!  Read this book!  Trust me!  You will enjoy it!  

"I'd stayed because I couldn't leave him.  Nothing could have pulled me from his bedside until his eyes opened and I heard his voice, saw that smile again."  (eARC Loc, 1758)

"I wanted to sit on the shore and let go of all of my feelings.  I wanted to turn over the leaves of the past six months and try to understand what happened to me, how I changed, and how I'd gotten off course.  I wanted to let the noise of the surf pound out the bad and help me find my way back to the beginning, back to how I was before all this happened to me.  (eARC Loc, 2709)

"I studied his face and considered for a few seconds how much of a mistake it would be to take his hand and venture out into the swirling water.  Letting him teach me to ride the waves that were growing in height, following him into the currents most people feared.  (eARC Loc, 2723)

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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.

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