Review: Bounce by Noelle August

Bounce by Noelle August
Series: Boomerang #3
Published: August 25th, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow
304 pages (eARC)
Genre: Contemporary New Adult
Acquired this book: Via Edelweiss in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
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{Read my review of Rebound}

Playing the occasional club gig just isn’t cutting it for twenty-two-year-old cellist Skyler Canby, who’s trying to support herself and her mother back home in Kentucky. Persuaded by her best friend Beth to accompany her on an audition for the first feature film launched by Blackwood Entertainment, she figures why not? Beth’s a shoe-in for the lead, but maybe Skyler’s newly dyed pink hair will help her stand out enough to score a small speaking part.

Never in her wildest dreams does Skyler imagine she’ll land the lead role or that she’ll have her shoes knocked off her feet by the kiss her audition partner, Grey Blackwood, plants on her—a kiss that feels very real and not at all “acted. ”

After throwing a party that causes thousands of dollars of damage to his older brother’s home, reckless musician Grey Blackwood gets roped into working off his debt on the set of his CEO brother’s newest project. Grey spends his days fetching coffee and doing odd jobs around the studio, but he lives for nights when he performs with his band. He knows if he can stay focused, success as a singer is just around the corner. But that’s tough with a distracting pink-haired girl occupying his every waking thought.

Skyler and Grey have every reason to resist each other. But, like a song neither of them can get out of their minds, they have no choice but to go where the music takes them.

Veronica Rossi and Lorin Oberweger, aka, Noelle August, are one hell of a dynamic duo. The first two books in the Boomerang series, Boomerang and Rebound, were fantastic. I completely fell in love with the characters, the writing, and everything else about these books. Having “met” Grey previously, I was excited to learn Bounce would be his book, and I quickly fell in love with his and Skyler’s story. In fact, I think it might be my favourite of the series.

I loved Grey and Skyler, separately and together. They were both really well fleshed-out and believable. Both were flawed, made mistakes, and did and said the wrong things at times, all of which made them feel very real. Grey has never really had to think about anyone but himself, whereas Sky is almost always thinking about her struggling mother and brother back in Kentucky, trying to help them however she can while still having her own life. Grey and Sky seem completely different, but they have a surprising amount in common...not to mention an instant connection, chemistry, and a bond that won’t seem to break, no matter how much they try to deny its existence. Their interactions ranged from funny to sweet to heartbreaking to swoony and sexy.

Both characters had amazing growth through the book, but Grey’s impressed me most. Watching him slowly morph from a screw-up kid who didn’t think about much other than himself and his music to someone who wanted to right the wrongs of his past, figure out his future, and prove he was worthy of love and respect, was incredible. He learned so much, and it all felt really natural and genuine. His family’s patience and Skyler’s presence in his life made him want to be a better person, and he worked hard at it. It didn’t happen overnight and there were no magical solutions.

There were fantastic secondary characters in Bounce, too. It was nice to see familiar characters again, like Mia, Adam, and Ali. I loved the strong friendship between Sky, Mia, and Beth. My favourite secondary character, though, was Garrett. When we first met him, I thought I was going to hate him, but he was absolutely hilarious, and for someone so scatterbrained, he noticed a lot more than you’d expect. His interactions with Grey were some of my favourite scenes in the book, and I loved the progression of their friendship from grudging (on Grey’s part) to something important and meaningful.

After loving Boomerang and Rebound so much, I didn’t expect to love Bounce as much as I did. For some reason, I didn’t think it was possible for Noelle August to hit it out of the park three times in a row, but that’s exactly what they did, and that’s so rare and wonderful and exciting for a reader. Bounce made me giggle, swoon, and tear up. It was sweet, funny, sexy, and ultimately a beautiful story about redemption, family, friendship, love, and life. If you haven’t read the Boomerang series, I highly recommend all three books!

"Music is where I belong. Music is my home. Music doesn't ever leave, or give you up, or smack you around, or treat you like someone else's dirty laundry. It doesn't want you to be better than you are. It doesn't make you feel forgotten, or unimportant, or ashamed. Music is all. It's everything. Home." ~ 32% of the ARC version of Bounce

Have you read Bounce or any of the other Boomerang books? What did you think? If you haven't read them, do you plan to? What's the last book you read that you didn't expect to love as much as you did? Let's talk here or on Twitter!

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