Blog Tour: Amateur Angel & REVIEW

Synopsis
Only 18-years-old, Ashley is no ordinary teenager. Not only is she dead, but upon her death, she mistakenly enters the wrong line in the afterlife, a line meant for trained, guardian angels. With a pair of wings on her back, Ashley is sent to Los Angeles to replace another angel whose "assignment" was none-other-than Cannon Michaels, a current member of the band Sendher, the sexiest man alive, and Ashley's celebrity crush in life.
While exposed to Cannon's selfish, judgmental behavior and his reckless, rock-and-roll lifestyle, Ashley is far from meeting the requirements of a true guardian angel. She misses her family and friends. Will she ever be able to accept her own death? What will she do when she jeopardizes her position as an angel and Cannon's physical safety by falling in love with him?

Author:

As a first-time author, I cannot express- not even in words- how excited I am about the release of my debut novel, Amateur Angel. It took a lot of hard work and sleepless nights. There were many disappointments and rejections along the way, but in the end, my persistence and determination eventually paid off. In many ways, I think writing a novel is easier than finding an agent to represent it and then a publisher to buy it. Two years ago, I almost gave up on my dream to become an author, but then my son, Kyle, wrote a special poem for me, and it inspired me to write a new book and try again. The new book was Amateur Angel.

Here is his poem:
You fail and you fail,
You fix and you fix,
You wait and you wait,
Until you succeed.

I hung this poem in my closet and read it every day when I was getting ready to go to work and each night before I went to bed. It is still there and always will be. I know what I’m about to say will sound like a cliché, but based on my own personal experience, the best advice I can give anyone is to always believe in your abilities, hold your head high, swallow your pride, accept criticism and then learn from it, and most importantly, never give up.
I grew up in San Diego County and attended San Diego State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in education, and my teaching credential. I am a high-school English teacher in the East County of San Diego where I also live with my husband, our son, and two dogs.
Being a lover of Victorian literature, my favorite author is Charles Dickens although I haven’t quite finished reading all of his books. Someday I’ll finally finish David Copperfield- I promise. If you are one of my students, you are either laughing or shaking your head at this.
I lead a very busy life, but when I’m not teaching, grading papers, or attending my son’s soccer games, I find time to write novels, my greatest passion.


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My Review
Not my usual style of book but I thought it sounded interesting so I chose to do a review as part of the tour. I was given an e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Ashley dies on her 18th Birthday, sucks right? Well it gets worse from there, she accidentally gets in the wrong line in the afterlife and ends up being sent back to earth as a Guardian Angel. She isn't too upset to find her assignment is the lead singer of the hottest band on earth and her real life crush Cannon Michaels, but she has a lot of work ahead of her and no idea how to do it. With no training and no experience and still missing her own life she must try to keep Cannon safe, but some people just don't seem to want to be saved.
As I started reading this book I thought, 'this is a bit silly', but I was intrigued and had to know where it was going. I immediately liked Ashley, she was feisty and funny and very open. She got easily embarrassed and shy, she was clumsy and strong willed, but also determined and not afraid to try hard and make the best of a bad situation.
Cannon Michaels is the sort of guy you love to hate, he has moments of true tenderness and love then five minutes later he's being a complete a**. I actually wished that Ashley could reach out and slap him and tell him to get a grip and grow up. But you see more and more of his personality come out and you find out more about his past and present throughout the book which helps shape his character and really shows how much he changes and grows. 
I loved how the world of Guardian Angels is set up and explained. It's a refreshing change and made for enjoyable reading. I read this in about an hour and a half in the end and was actually disappointed when it ended - I wanted more. I really felt like I was getting into it and I wanted to see what would happen next. I was hooked.
Very enjoyable and an easy read, defintely one to check out.
The cover is pretty cool too, I love it. :D 

My Rating