Blog Tour Review and Giveaway: The Fab Life (The Kihanna Saga #1) by Mercy Amare

Crushed on by Shannon, on August 2, 2013, in Blog Tour, Reviews / 0 Comments

Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway – The Fab Life by Mercy Amare

Book Crushin is grateful to be working with My Pathway to Book Tours to bring you this amazing blog tour stop for Mercy Amare’s The Fab Life. Today you will see some book information, a spoiler-free review & a giveaway!

The Fab Life (Kihanna Saga #1) by Mercy Amare

Category: Young Adult, Contemporary, mystery
Publication: July 27, 2013
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon
[book rating=3.0/5.0]

It’s the life I was born to live: billionaire’s daughters, living amongst the rich & famous. But my mom kept me a secret from my dad. Until now.

I am so out of my league. Fancy parties, expensive cars, and a private school for the elite… It sounds like a dream. But everything is not as perfect as it seems on the outside. Here, the secrets are dirty, and the lies comes easy.

Welcome to my fab life.

Spoiler-Free Review:

This is a breezy, light addition to the young adult genre that will appeal to readers of the Pretty Little Liars series as well as fans of Mean Girls and even Clueless.

What I admired about Kihanna was her spunky attitude and fierce determination to not let this new extravagant lifestyle change who she is. She’s tough (with a mean right hook) and level-headed, which allows her to stand up for herself. But, she also has a vulnerable side, which makes her immediately relatable. No one in this book is what they seem, the overbearing step-mother, isn’t half bad and the pervy step-brother is actually fiercely protective. However, I found it a bit odd that Kihanna and her Dad had this instantly easy relationship and was left scratching my head over his extended absences. I mean if I found out I had a daughter I didn’t know about and then forced her to uproot her life and change her name, I think I’d take some time off to get to know her. A bit more tension in this area could serve the story well.

I have to be honest I have an issue with stories where every male character falls in love with the main female character and there was no lack of that in this book. There was of course the ubiquitous love triangle although in this book there is no clear cut hero. Both Gabe and Ty have positives and negatives and when I finished I was left indifferent to both characters. My only wish for this book was that the pacing was slowed down, some unnecessary scenes were cut, and that the relationships were allowed to happen more naturally. However, the pacing does lead to the book being a very quick, fast-paced read and many will appreciate this author’s style of cutting right to the chase.

Finally, the story is given an intriguing angle with the addition of the mystery of who is leaving Kihanna threatening notes. I have my theories on who the creepy note leaver could be but if it’s one thing about this series, no one is whom them seem. The last half of the book has a lot of action and heartache and you are left with when one heck of a cliffhanger!

I’m curious to see where this series goes in book two and how the spunky Kihanna will navigate the continuing challenges of being a fish out of water in her new Fab Life.

Book Excerpt:

“You look amazing,” I hear Gabe’s voice. I turn around, and see him standing

inches from me. I take a step back.

“Thanks.” I take a good look at him. He looks good in his designer suit. He

even fixed his hair. I have to admit, Gabriel is very gorgeous. If he wasn’t so

overbearing I think I could like him. Maybe.

“Where is your date?” He asks.

I shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine. He disappeared about ten minutes

ago with Jason and Emmett.”

“His loss is my gain.” Gabriel holds out his hand for me. “May I have this dance?”

I start to say no. I should say no. But, instead, I say “Yes.” What could it

hurt? It’s not even a slow song. Once he sees how bad of a dancer I am, he will

gladly ditch me.

Gabe takes my hand in his and leads me out to the dance floor. I hate the

butterflies that appear in my stomach when he is touching me. But I also love

them. No matter how much I want to deny it, Gabriel has a part of my heart. But

he can’t keep it.

Just as we step on the dance floor, the song changes. To a slow song. Really?

Gabe smiles mischeviously, and pulls me close to him. I put a couple of inches between us, but he pulls me closer. I should pull away, but I don’t. Our stomachs are touching, and my chest is against his. “I don’t think you realize how beautiful you look tonight,” Gabe says. “I bet every guy in this place is envious of me right now.”

Gabe’s words are sweet. Ty has said similar things to be, but it feels different coming from Gabe. Maybe more genuine? I don’t know, but I like it. I am in trouble.“I’m here with Ty,” I remind him.My words don’t affect him at all. “You say that, but where is your date? Right now, you’re mine. I intend to enjoy this moment very thoroughly.” He slides he hand down to my lower back, right above my butt. He’s teasing me, and

I pretend like it isn’t effecting me. I like his hand there. Part of me wishes he

would slide it further down.I lay my head against Gabe’s chest, and listen to the steady sound of his heart. I smell his cologne, and it smells good. Though I suspect he would smell good no matter what.Gabe leans down, kisses my cheek, and then whispers in my ear. “One day, you will be mine.”His words should make me mad, but they don’t. Instead, my heart beats faster. My stomach feels like I’m free falling, only I’m not scared. I’m excited. Whatever this is between us feels so real.Your boyfriend is Ty, I remind myself. I choose not to reply to Gabe’s comment. I just let him hold me close as we dance. I try not to think. I just want to feel. I know it’s wrong, but after this dance

I will go find Ty. I will forget this ever happened. I can’t fall for Gabe. As bad as

Ty thinks he is for me, Gabriel is that much worse. He not only has the ability to break my heart, but to rip it into so many shreds that I may never find all the

pieces.“I wish I would have went after you first,” he whispers again. “You should be mine. It isn’t fair.” “We don’t always get what we want.” I say it more for me than for him.“I know that you don’t want him,” he replies. “I see the way you look at me, and I see the way you look at him. You belong with me, Kihanna.”“Maybe so, but I am with him. Not you.” “You could be.”I take a step back. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”