Girl off the Grid is LIVE!!!
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Book Description:
From USA Today bestselling author, Jillian Dodd, and her daughter, Kenzie Harp, comes a travel romance that will take you on the adventure of a lifetime.
NYC fashion blogger, Camille Caldwell, gets offered a dream job by her favorite magazine. They’re going to send her on an all-expenses paid eco-trip to Costa Rica. She doesn’t know what that means, but she assumes she’ll wear fabulous clothes, sip Piña Coladas on the beach, and have her photo taken “out in nature.” Really, the hardest part of the assignment will be giving up social media while she’s gone.
Going off social media is no big deal for London-based wildlife photographer, Adam Lloyd. The only reason he even has an account is to share his photos with the world. He’s thrilled when an international publication wants to hire him, until he finds out it’s a fashion magazine. He decides to take the job anyway—after all, it will be great for his portfolio. But the minute he sees Camille, he knows it was a mistake. She has too much luggage, is too high maintenance, and way too pretty.
When they meet, their feelings are mutual—they hate each other. Can these two stop fighting long enough to complete their assignment? Will Camille give up and go home when she discovers there’s nowhere to plug in her hair straightener?
Or will they both realize that sometimes you have to go off the grid to find yourself?
Making a difference:
Part of our goal in writing this book is to make a difference. 10% of our profits (20% during release week) from this book will be donated to the Sea Turtle Conservatory. It is the oldest sea turtle research and conservation group. It was founded in 1959 by Dr. Archie Carr. Their headquarters are in Florida, but they have programs worldwide that work to conserve sea turtle populations through education, research, advocacy, and protection of natural habitats. They also have a research station in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, which was one of the places visited in the book. For more information on the Sea Turtle Conservatory, click here.
Buy Links:
Amzon UK: http://amzn.to/2qJudJN
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2s1jOcz
Link to all Vendors: http://www.books2read.com/girloffthegrid
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“Life begins at the end of your
comfort zone.” ~ Neale Donald Walsch
Jillian Dodd and Kenzie Harp transport the reader to the
tropical paradise of Costa Rica with visceral scene setting, wildlife and their
habitats all while delivering an informative lesson on eco-tourism and…who can
forget one enticing slow burn romance in this stunning YA novel. I want to go
there and see it for myself! While this is YA and obviously absent is the hot
and steamy the crux of this book is pushing your boundaries, be adventurous and
out of your comfort zone but most importantly of finding yourself.
“Life is made up of moments.
Moments that define you, change you, and test you. You choose these moments.
And I am choosing this moment to let go. Not to overcome my fear, but at least
face it head on.”
Camille Caldwell is an eighteen year old fashion blogger
from New York, she has built up a huge following on YouTube and once she has
finished her studies wants to work in the industry. When she is approached by
one of her favourite fashion magazines to do an editorial in Costa Rica she
jumps at the chance. Camille is immediately thinking high end fashion and
hotels but what the deal actually entails is an eco-tourism trip and she has to
stay “off the grid.” At one with nature is not at the top of her priority list
but with her own photographer and only a once a day video upload to the
magazine allowed Camille embarks on the trip of a lifetime.
Adam Lloyd is a London based wildlife photographer,
following in his father’s footsteps. Adam is just embarking on his career and
this is an incredible opportunity to get himself established, however a prissy,
high maintenance fashion blogger is not the baggage that he intended to take but
unfortunately, they come hand in hand. Adam is an outdoors man, he has the
experience and his parents have brought him up around wildlife all his life,
this is second nature to him, unlike Camille.
“I’ve gotten to experience a lot
of things in my life so far, but I think that moment is one I will always
cherish.”
Being chalk and cheese Adam and Camille do not hit it off in
the first instance, so there is definitely that love/hate aspect at the very
beginning. However, as Camille’s wildlife adventure continues, Adam starts to
see a different side to Camille and it just goes to show that first impressions
and prejudices can be extremely misleading. From hate to friendship to more it
was great to see these two blossom, however, their story is a delicious sub
plot, this is all about the journey.
“I read a lot of romance novels,
and I love happy endings. I wish I could write myself one, but I can’t. Because
I don’t have any idea how this is going to end. I just hope that I get to see
him again. That the distance between us won’t matter. That we’ll figure things
out. Because I think I fell in love in the jungle too.”
Even though this a co-written book, it flowed seamlessly and
effortlessly and as I said above I was transported to Costa Rica along with
Adam and Camille. The environmental issues addressed were interesting and I
found this book incredibly informative and it never once felt like a lecture.
This is a holiday I would never have dreamt of taking, however, seeing it from
these authors eyes makes me want to do just that.
As I said above, this is not heavy on the romance at all,
shy of some horsing around and some cute and tender make out sessions, however,
having become so invested in them as a couple I was desperate for an epilogue.
When I turned that final page and that was it…I was like NO! I need more!! That
is always a good thing though. While I appreciate that the crux on this story
was to bring awareness of the environmental issues, I do think an epilogue
would have given us readers closure on the Adam and Camille aspect too. Anyhow,
I loved it!!
Excerpt:
CAMILLE
The sound of a door closing wakes me up. I watch Adam come out of his cabana, walk down the steps, and into the sand. He’s shirtless, wearing just a pair of shorts with a towel thrown over one shoulder. I consider saying something, but don’t. I’m too tired to hold a conversation.
As I lie my head back on the hammock, I notice out of the corner of my eye that Adam has walked down to the water.
I wonder what he’s doing when all of a sudden he starts stripping off his shorts.
Oh, my gosh!
Before I can look away, his shorts hit the sand, revealing his naked backside. I need to get out of here. If he sees me he’ll think I was spying on him, or worse—checking him out. But somehow I get tangled up in the stupid hammock and flip myself right into the sand, landing with a thud.
He turns toward the noise, but thankfully it is dark, and I don’t think he can see me.
Actually, I know he can’t see me, because if he did, he’d totally come up here and give me crap.
I flatten myself into the sand and don’t move. Adam finally turns back toward the ocean and dives out into the water. While he’s swimming, I army crawl as quickly and quietly as possible back to my cabana. When I get to the stairs, I stand up which causes them to creak. Crap! I drop to the ground again, squatting low and hiding behind the porch rail. Then I stand fully, dart inside, and move to the window. I slide the little curtain out of the way and peek through.
I can barely make out Adam’s form floating lazily in the dark water. And I can’t help but think about how he’s out there naked.
I throw myself dramatically on the bed, realizing too late that I’m covered in sand. I go into the bathroom, take off my clothes, shake them out, and then put on my pajamas.
I brush the sand off my sheets and try to go to sleep, but I can’t. So I grab my video camera and do my video blog for today.
“It’s day two in Costa Rica. Today was truly amazing, and I wish all my Effortless Girls were here experiencing it alongside me. Actually, that’s a lie. Honestly, I’m really homesick.” A tear escapes my eye. “And I don’t mean to sound crazy, but I have no one here to talk to and all I can think about is calling home. I know, pretty pathetic, right? It’s just hard when you feel out of place. I wish Adam, my photographer, who is pretty nice when he’s not annoying, wasn’t such a pain. He thinks he knows everything about everything. Well, he sort of does. I mean, I spent a lot of time doing research for this trip but nothing compares to the real thing. And Adam, yes, that’s his name, like from the bible. And it kind of fits, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Get it? Adam and Eve, the apple?” I let out a maniacal laugh. “It’s quite possible I am a little delirious from lack of sleep. What I mean is that Adam’s dad is a world-renowned photographer, and Adam is following in his footsteps. He’s actually lived a pretty interesting life. Much different than me growing up on the Upper West Side of New York. His mom is an anthropologist and Adam has lived with indigenous people before, so he was actually a good fit for this trip.
“And speaking of the do-gooder, this morning when I jumped into the shower I was shocked to discover there was no hot water. Of course, Adam ran into my room when I screamed. Thank goodness I was able to mostly cover myself up with a towel that was barely bigger than a hand towel. And guess what he’s out doing right now? He’s swimming naked in the ocean! And that’s really why I can’t sleep. Who could sleep with that going on?” I hear the sound of Adam softly whistling a tune from outside. “Crap. I have to go! He’s back and I don’t want him to know I know he was out there! Bye!”
About the Authors:
Jillian Dodd is a USA TODAY bestselling author who lives in a small Florida beach town, is married to her college sweetheart, has two grown children and two Labrador Retrievers. She is not quite as adventurous as her daughter, but loves to travel, shop, and paint.
Kenzie Harp recently graduated from the University of South Florida—St. Petersburg with a degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: History and International Studies. She loves to travel and read, lives in Florida, and is currently planning her next travel adventure.
Connect Jillian's Website: http://jilliandodd.net
Jillian's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillianDodd1
Jillian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliandodd
Kenzie's Website: http://kenzieharp.com
Kenzie's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KenzieHarp1
Kenzie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenzieharp1
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