Good Girl Mia feels guilty for her brother's death. It was her kidney that killed him after all...
Mia Phillips is a Good Girl. You know, one of the ones that help everyone else and make sure the rules are followed. But, she’s also got a tiny body, too much curve, and her brother Jake’s mosaic eyes which often get her the wrong kind of attention. On the outside, she’s got it all together. She’s graduated college and is set to take over running the family car dealership. She’s good at it. She likes it. But, on the inside she’s a mess, recovering from a broken heart and failing to escape years of guilt. She’s never been on any real adventures. Instead, she reads about them in books by the hundreds and avoids anything where dirt could be a side effect. She’s also made promises to her parents, her dead brother, and herself that she’s determined not to break including to never make her mama cry again.
Derek Waters is a gritty, soul singing musician with dark hair, tattoos, and book worthy abs. He and his band have just signed on with a major record label and are touring the country. He’s glad to be far from L.A. and his alcoholic father. He has his own set of baggage that he hides behind a huge smile and a famous Johnny Cash quote. He definitely isn’t looking for any kind of female distraction because after growing up in the PlayBabe Mansion, he has a repulsion to having sex just for sex.
When Derek walks into Mia’s dealership, her shattered soul seems to call to all of his broken pieces, and they find themselves throwing their best laid plans aside to tour together for three weeks. But what will happen to Good Girl Mia and Derek Waters when the tour is all done?
From award winning author, LJ Evans comes the second novel in the my life as an album series. Inspired by Ed Sheeran love songs, this contemporary romance is about forgiveness, love, & healing.
Quarter Finalist
Assessment:
Plot: This is a well-plotted work takes a typically timid young adult on a cross-country trek in her dead brother’s cherried-out Camaro, riding shotgun with a hunky musician. The detailed, character-driven plot delivers light tension, fun, and romance.
Prose: Evans's prose is simple and unpretentious, peppered with regional colloquialisms and southern charm.
Originality: Evans puts a fresh spin on the cross-country road trip story, crafting an engaging romance that balances pure entertainment with authentic emotion.
Character Development: The novel lays a solid groundwork for two sympathetic, young individuals to unburden themselves of guilt and redefine themselves apart from past circumstances.
Date Submitted: May 31, 2018
I'm a picky reader. I want a story I can feel. I want to be so wrapped up by the characters emotions they feel like my own. I want a book that breaks my heart to pieces then puts it all back together again and Mia and Derek's story did all of that and more. So many books out there skip over how harsh life can be, they focus on just the love and sex. Which I get, it's an escape. I'm so thankful Ms. Evans doesn't do that though! Her beautiful way with words just floats off the page and straight to your heart pulling you in and allowing you to feel Mia's heart. Following her as she learns to forgive and allows herself to heal was such a pleasure and a breath of fresh air in a genre saturated with alphas and all their trappings. Just a joy to read! And another one-click author for my list!
After the tragedy that struck Mia's family, she was left with a gaping hole in her heart filled with guilt and regret. Guilty because she has failed, regret because she should be the one to take his place. But, Good Girl Mia needed to smile and be strong, so she put up a front and became a support pillar for her family even though she was struggling with the weight of it all.
"I was just the invisible girl from nowhere who, like always, helped from the shadows."
Where the first book, my life as a country album has broken my heart in devastating ways, Mia's story was one of healing & forgiveness, of letting go and finding love in the most unlikely places.
"To err is human; to forgive, sanity."
I've come to love and worship the author's writing after the emotional mess she had reduced me into in Jake & Cam's story, and once again the author proved her talent in Mia & Derek's story when she used lyrics (from Ed Sheeran, the philosopher of love this time around) to craft chapters and chapters of words filled with heartfelt emotions and beautiful characters that enticed your entire heart and soul.
"I was a book girl, and words were like a drug to me."
There was such magic in her words that you can't resist highlighting every sentence because it spoke dearly to your heart, not to mention, I was completely and irrevocably wooed by Derek Waters. Oh, that man with a voice.
After a long streak of reading contemporary romances, Derek & Mia's relationship was a refreshing change. I loved the simplicity of their emotions, how straightforward they were with their feelings and most of all, Derek's wooing tactic - which was just the plain old traditional goofy charm and boyish jokes. Somehow, Derek does resemble Ed Sheeran in a way.
I actually loved that the characters don't cuss as much and it was a clean romance at its best!
I'm looking forward to the third book (because it features one of my favorite characters, whose name I shall not reveal) and I know that LJ Evans will once again deliver a lyrical masterpiece.
This was just as touchingly written as the first novel ♡ I absolutely loved that Ms. Evans took us back to these amazing characters and gave us another incredible tale. I literally cried for the first little bit as we were reminded of the heartbreaking pieces of book one. Mia and Derek are just as breathtaking, just as broken and just as made for each other as Jake and Cami ♡♡♡ I loved this story as yet again my heart was gladdened by all the mess and heartache that love can heal. These two beautiful beings needed each other just as much as the air that they breathed! My heart was most certainly heavily invested in learning what would happen! Would Mia and Derek have a happy ending? Would either have to give up their dreams or their cherished family members? Ms. Evans resolved these matters in a breathtakingly surprising way! I would literally read anything that this author wrote, she's that talented and her words speak to my heart and soul ♡♡♡♡
My Life as a Pop Album by LJ Evans has been selected as a finalist in the romance category of the 2020 Independent Audiobook Awards. The audiobook is narrated by the talented Sarah Puckett. Ms. Puckett was nominated six times in the awards including two times for My Life as a Pop Album both in the romance category and the female narrator of the year category.
The Independent Audiobook Awards honors the best in independent audiobook production and performance. A proud part of the HEAR Now Festival.
Incredible honored to have MY LIFE AS A POP ALBUM nominated for Contemporary Book of the Year in the 7th Annual UTOPiAcon Book Awards.
Being included with Amy Harmon and ohter fabulous authors is a dream come true. Win or not, it was amazing to be on the list.
Thank you to the book community who nominated my story.
Sixty-six books from six genres advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2018 BookLife Prize. Scored and selected by Publishers Weekly reviewers, the quarterfinalists are as follows:
Romance/Erotica:
Collision
My Life as a Pop Album (My Life as an Album Book 2)
The Thin Place
Sugar Street
The Cost of Hope
Awakened By Time
Uncharted: A Survival Love Story
After the Gold
Saving Miss Lillian
The Legendary Duke (Put Up Your Dukes Book 2)
