Review of The Boy in the Woods By Jen Minkman

Title: The Boy in the Woods
By Jen Minkman
Publication Date: October 4th, 2013

Blurb:

Julia fell down on her knees next to his lifeless body, her heart filling with dread as she noticed the left side of his face was covered in blood. He had fallen off the motorbike, hitting his temple on a sharp-edged rock. His head injury looked really, really bad.

"Michael?" she whispered softly, putting a trembling hand on his forehead. "Can you hear me?"

Julia has been in love with Michael for years. He's the hottest guy in school, and she can't believe her luck when they finally hit it off during Senior Prom. Her dream doesn't last, though: after a few dates, he callously dumps her out of the blue. Summer vacation starts with Julia feeling heart-broken and miserable.

But then she rescues Michael in the woods when he has a motorcycle accident in a heavy thunderstorm. From that point onward, her life is turned upside down. Michael has changed completely after the blow to the head that nearly killed him... and he wants her back. But why is he so different? And will she be able to trust him this time around?

Can the boy who broke your heart ever win it back again..?

Soundtrack to the Book: Youtube & Youtube

Excerpt:

Julia trailed behind her boss as she walked over to the cash register, looking left and right to catch a glimpse of her other colleagues.

"Kolbe!" her brand-new boss shouted toward the entrance. "Come and help me out, will you?"

Julia stopped dead, frozen in her tracks. Was she going deaf, or had Martin just said… Her heart hammered ridiculously fast as her eyes zoomed in on the front door.

"He'll come and help you at the register." Martin's voice sounded as though it was coming from far away. He left her standing there, rooted to the spot.

Julia tried to snap out of her paralysis and stumbled the final few steps to the counter. Her breath hitched when she saw an all-too-familiar figure walking in her direction. She swallowed. But surely it couldn't be. Oh God, no. No, no, no. This was not happening.

And then, she couldn't look anywhere else but up, straight into two eyes green as the forest.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Julia stared at him in alarm.

"I work here," he replied unfazed, a half-smile tugging at his lips.

"Since when?" It was simply not possible that she, in her unfailing stalker mode, had somehow missed this: Michael holding a job at the same bookstore she'd applied to two days ago.

"Since last week."

His smug composure quickly turned her initial befuddlement into outright infuriation.

"Why?" she demanded fractiously.

He raised an eyebrow. "To earn some extra cash?" he declared in an 'isn't-that-really-obvious' tone.

"But why here?"

Michael started to chuckle. "Why are you giving me the third degree?"

"Are you following me or something?" she grumbled, her heart treacherously leaping in her chest for a moment as she considered the possibility.

"Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble here, but I think it's the other way around. First, you turn up at the pub I always hang out at on weeknights, then, you decide to take a jog near the place where I almost had a fatal accident, and now you turn out to have applied for a job at the same store I've been working at for the past week. What does it look like to you?"

Shucks, he was right. Julia resisted the urge to stamp her foot like a little girl. "In your dreams, you arrogant bastard," she muttered. "Everybody says I should stay away from you."

In the silence that followed, she could still hear her heart beating in her throat.

My Review:

I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

Julia is a young girl who lives in a small town where everybody knows everybody as the saying goes. Julia is in her last year of school. In the fall she will be going to the University where she lives. A while back Julia went out with this guy and ended up at his house in his bedroom with him. Julia gave herself to him and had never heard from him since. He hurt her very badly and now Julia doesn't really trust anyone especially him.

But even after everything that she has been through she still has feelings for Michael. She knows she should stay away from him even her best friend Gaby tells her the same thing but at the same time Gaby is like you know it is your life and I can't tell you how to lead it.

At the beginning of the school year a new guy Thorsten moves in the house across the street. Julia's little sister Anne and Thorsten's little sister Sabine are best friends. Julia likes Thorsten and thinks that he is a really great guy but she is still being drawn to Michael. Julia feels as if she is sending mixed signals to Thorsten and really she is.

Julia gets a job for the summer at a bookstore. She thinks this is real cool as she loves books and reading. She finds out on her first day of her new job that the guy that hurt her is working at the same store that she is. She loves her new job and figures she can handle working with him.

How can anyone be so lucky as to have two guys be in love with you at the same time? Julia is very lucky in this department because she has both Michael and Thorsten in love with her. They don't fight over as a matter of fact they get along just fine. Now that is two very grown up people you know when they can get along with each other for the feelings of a girl. They both care so much for her that they will both sacrifice their own feelings just for her.

The Boy From The Woods will keep you in suspense all the way through the book wondering who it is that Julia really cares about. Is she in love with Michael or is she in love with Thorsten? Who will she chose? Will she choose the nice guy Thorsten or will she choose the bad a** guy Michael? Or does she even have to make the choice? Want to find out? Well then you are going to have to head on over to Amazon there and pick up a copy of The Boy From The Woods and find out. You won't regret it because it is a book that is just filled with a whole lot of mystery and suspense. You will fall in love with all of the character as if they are your best friends too.

About The Author:

Jen Minkman (1978) was born in Holland, in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn. When she was 19, she moved between The Hague, Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium) and Cambridge (UK) to complete her studies in intercultural communication. She is currently a teacher of English, career counsellor and teenage coach at a secondary school in Voorburg, Holland. She tries to read at least 100 books a year (and write a few, too!). She is a published author in her own country, and translates her own books from Dutch into English for self-publication.

In her spare time, she plays the piano, the guitar and the violin. For every novel she writes, she creates a soundtrack.

'I have always been drawn to writing. My first book was a sci-fi novel at the age of eight, which I painstakingly typed out on my dad's typewriter and illustrated myself. Nowadays, I stick to poetry, paranormal romance, chick lit and/or fantasy. In my home country, I am the first-ever published writer of paranormal romance, and I will gradually make my books also available in English (seeing I have to re-write and translate the books myself, this will take some time!).