Stage Lights

Hearts to Follow #3

by Dana Burkey

Tessa has always been confident. Some even say too confident. But that comes with knowing what you want, and always getting it. Show after show what she wanted was the lead role on the stage, and that was exactly what she got. But as her senior year of high school approaches, Tessa is looking for something bigger and better. So, when Tessa is cast in a college level theater production of Romeo and Juliet, she knows just what she wants. Anthony, a college junior and the hottest guy Tessa has ever seen, is cast as Romeo opposite Tessa’s Juliet. The casting is perfect in Tessa’s eyes, and she is certain her time on stage will only speed up things off stage. Going after what she wants like always, can Tessa land her leading man? With her sights set firmly on Anthony, can Tessa find true love under the stage lights.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

43 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Dana Burkey is a self-published author living in Bellingham, Washington. She has been enjoying her time in the Pacific North-West since 2009, making her move there after graduating from Youngstown State University in Ohio. She began self-publishing young adult fiction in August of 2014, and is most known for her TNT Force Cheer Series. Currently Burkey is enjoying performing improv, creating stories, and looking for life's next adventure.

Reviews

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stage Lights was another okay read, but again, i didn't like it as much as the first.

Tessa annoyed me at first, but by the end i started to like her. Anthony wasn't quite as bad as Nick, but he still wasn't very likable.

This one was slightly better than the second, but out of the series, the first is my favorite.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last of the 'Hearts To Follow' stories was a little different to the other two, with more of a surprise ending (in a way). Fans of the other two stories will probably rank this in second place, but 'Just Pretending' still wins out in the end.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.

A cute, quick little story. Stage Lights follows the story of Tess, who is friends with Summer, the lead character from the second novella in the Hearts to Follow series.

Tess, a high school student, is taking on the role of Juliet in a summer play at a college and wants her Romeo of the stage to be her Romeo in real life too. Unfortunately, in a true Shakespearean comedy of errors, miscommunication reigns, hearts are broken, and new loves forged.

At times the romantic elements seemed a bit forced to me. I don’t particularly care for love triangles, and while this wasn’t a love triangle per se, it was a convoluted love mess of sorts.

I found it somewhat frustrating to witness the back and forth between Tess and Anthony and Tess and Ian, and I was a little disappointed by how quickly Ian seems to get over his feelings for Tess and fall head over heels for someone else at the end. He’s supposed to be in college I thought? I realize there isn’t a huge difference between a seventeen-year-old and a freshman in college, but I got the impression that Ian and his brother, Anthony, were upperclassmen.So, this juvenile treatment of feelings seemed out of character for him.

Maybe this is just my view of the world, but at some point people stop experiencing the trivial “love” affairs of high school and experience meaningful connections with other human beings. So, the ending just really didn’t work for me. However, I am quite a bit older than the characters in this story so there may just be a generational disconnect there.

I still maintain that this series works well for high school aged people. I think it may work particularly well for teenage girls between the ages of fourteen and sixteen or seventeen. The characters of Tess and Tony are relatable and familiar, and the way Tess over analyzes every moment with Tony will probably strike a chord with many young, female readers.

I wanted to like this more, but as it is I am only able to give it three stars. Just Pretending, the first novella in this series, is by far the best of the three stories.

[Aja: The Narcoleptic Ninja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.

Stage Lights is the third and final installment of the Hearts to Follow series and I'm a little disappointed to see it end. I want more!! Where do I get my hopeless romantic fill from now!?

That being said, I didn't like Stage Lights as much as I liked the previous two books. The story is the first of the series to be told in first person point of view which really threw me off in the beginning. From there the story follows Tess in her quest for love with the leading man in her play. Tess just struck me as kind of eh, and I don't think that impression really changed. She's a little rude for starters, discounting what Summer says because of the way her romance played out and also getting annoyed and silencing her phone when her friends text her was just... ouch.

The ending to this was really unexpected but I actually really liked the way that things ended up playing out and I found it satisfying overall. Burkey's style is still really fun and easy to read and she's great at really bringing the story to life for her readers.

Aside from some small editing errors, etc. this series is a really solid read and I'm so glad that I had the chance to read it. I will definitely be looking forward to more of Burkey's work in the future!

[Madi ~☆TheBookNerdDiaries☆~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I also posted this review on my blog -> https://bookandbastille.wordpress.com...

This was my least favorite Hearts to Follow novella because of the romance and the fact that I was confused for almost the whole novella. My cofusion ties into the romance as well. I was so confused as to how old Tessa was and she had a crush on a college boy. I thought she was a high school sophmore. When she kissed him, I actually started to root against it. Sophmores and whatever year in college Anthony do not mix in my opinion. I just didn't like Anthony as a love interest and Summer wasn't my favorite character.

Love at last word?: Yes, but I didn't like the characters.

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[Nia Ireland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for a copy of this audio in exchange for an honest review.

This is really not my usual genre and I came across this completely by happy accident.


​This book was my favourite of the three in this series by far. Tessa was my favourite character in the second book, Changed?, because she was so friendly and outgoing and she proved my instincts right in this book - she learns that she can't always get what she wants but behaves graciously and takes the feelings of others into consideration, ​even if it's sometimes a little late in the day.

The characters in this book are a little more mature than those in the earlier stories, which was a little easier for me to relate to. All in all, I really enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it for teenagers looking for a lesson in love!

[Yamna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for a copy of this audio in exchange for an honest review
Summer manages to become friends with Tessa in Changed. Tessa has always had a passion for acting which has made her quite confident in her life. Many readers will hate her for her confidence and her constant efforts to get the attention of the other MC, Tony. I didn't exactly love Tessa but I didn't hate her either. Tessa came out to be someone who was quite inconsiderate at times. She didn't think about whether Tony was actually into her or not but then again, I don't blame her either. Tony didn't seem that like-able either. The end was surprising but I liked it.
I will certainly read more from Dana and I still like how cute her stories are.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: Downloaded for free from Amazon.co.uk)

This was an okay story, and I liked the way things worked out.

I liked Tessa most of the time, and I felt quite sorry for her with the way things went. She didn’t really understand what was going on, and I couldn’t really blame her for it.

I thought Anthony was maybe a bit bad given the way he acted, and the things that he should have told her but didn’t, and I felt quite angry about that.

I did like the ending, and it was a pretty brave ending for the author to go with.
6.25 out of 10

[Dana Burkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third YA novella and I am so excited to share it with everyone! Thank you to my cover designer Bethany Walters for her amazing work designing for the whole series! If you enjoyed the book please take a moment to post a review on both Goodreads as well as Amazon! Thanks so much!

[I.D. Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will honestly admit that I did not see the ending coming in this one! I won't spoil it for those who are planning to read it but it didn't end up the way that I thought it would and I found that intriguing. This is the third of Burkey's works in this series I have read and I found this one much more surprising than the first two that I have read. I felt that the main character, Tessa, is well-developed and the fact that the story is told from her perspective allows the reader to identify with her struggle as she attempts to determine whether or not the love interest reciprocates her feelings. I also love how Burkey incorporates Romeo and Juliet into the story because, as a high school actress, that was certainly the one play I always wished to have the opportunity to perform. I think a lot of young ladies reading this novel will concur.
I am looking forward to reading more from Burkey. She has a conversational tone that makes for a quick, enjoyable read.
I have been given a free ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Kel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was provided a free copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.

Stage Lights by Dana Burkey- In this third installment of the Hearts to Follow series you get to know Tessa’s life on stage and off stage better. After landing a break as Juliet, she finds her Romeo is none other than the handsome Anthony. After a few miss-read signals things get interesting as Tess finds the chemistry she though that was brewing between her and Anthony really isn’t there. Will she find her true Romeo or not?

Tessa is a strong character that throws herself into everything whole-heartedly, whether It’s her acting, her friendships or even her romances. Her self realization that things were not what they seemed and finding she didn’t need a man in her life to be happy was good and a very positive message. This novella, like the prior 2, could have used a good proof-reading. That aside, I feel the underlying message of Stage Lights was good.

[Krys · Rating 3 out of 5]

After being hyped up on that 'Changed' juice, I feel this story fell flat. Don't get me wrong, it was an okay read and I still found myself intrigued enough to finish it but, after looking so closely into book 2, there was not much for me to find here.

As with the previous two books that had some semblance of character development, i feel that the continuation here was rushed. In the end, I still do not know much about Tessa or her co-characters and that is always a frustrating feeling at the end of a book.

The plot however was not as predictable as the first 2 novellas and was definitely the saving grace of this story. Oh how I wish I could give a spoiler here. But alas you must read to find out... ;-)

I was given a free copy of this novella in exchange for my honest opinion!

HONESTLY :-D

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received all three books in the series (audio versions) Hearts to Follow Series from the author Dana Burkey on Goodreads asking for reviews. I will say I enjoyed all three books in the series ... Book 1 - Just Pretending Cammie, Josh and Nick - main characters. Book 2 - Changed Nick and Summer. Book 3 - Stage Lights Tara and Anthony. Tara was introduced in Book 2 she became friends with Summer near the end. This young adult series was funny and engaging with the young female characters who had strength and did not fall into peer pressure. If my granddaughter was in High School I would have let her listen to the series. I pretty sure she would have enjoyed all three books. Just Pretending and Changed were my two favorite out of the series. Great read for YA. I did not think this book started out as well as the others. The ending was great though.

[andreana · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I was given an avanced readers copy on audible of this book and the rest of the series) I didn't enjoy this as much as the other two novellas because I got kind of tired of the all-happy-and-never-a-problem plotline. Though this one had my attention, the novelty of a "perfect world"
has kind of worn off. Still, I enjoyed this book and the entire series. I still kind of want more cute little novellas, because they brighten my day.
This time, the description was a bit lacking but the romance had varied from the "girl wants boy but can't have him" plot line to the girl being happy and single. Overall, I really enjoyed this novella.
Follow the author on her social medias for more updates about her books:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanacBurkey/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanaCBurkey

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[Laura K · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the last two books in the series, I did not see this one coming at all! It was a totally different feel to it, and even though it was first person like the first book, it was a different voice for sure and it was cool to hear about Tessa and her theater friends. I know some about theater, so it was neat to hear about that world. I also was totally not ready for the end. It was not what I thought it was going to be at all, and that was amazing! As with the other books in this series, there were a few editing errors, but they still did not take away from the book. I look forward to more from this author, and honestly, I am pretty sad the series is over now. These short and sweet reads are great!

[Samantha Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has got to be my favorite book from the Hearts To Follow series! It was better written than the previous books and the story was just better developed. I loved getting more of the theater aspect. After reading the second book I was hoping to see more of Tessa, who we didn't get a clear idea of who she was in the first book. This was an extremely quick and easy read with an honest good story-line. The characters were well developed and the situation was more believable than the first two. Just the fact that Tessa doesn't end up with either of the boys from the story is intriguing because most authors would force Tessa with one of the boys and the ending would have less of an impact. Well worth the read and it was very good. So glad I picked up this series.

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a good ending to the Hearts to Follow trilogy, in my opinion it's better than the second one but not as good as the first. However, it's still a brilliant book following Tessa (summer's theatre friend from book 2) and her love adventure. The characters were well written and thought out, I personally like that each book is different but links with one another. One flaw, just a little one, but the main characters (Cam and Tessa) are a little bit clueless with the signs. Tessa didn't see obvious flirting in Ian and that bugged me, I'm not sure if it's part of the book. But despite this I enjoyed it throughout! Another great story to end the series.

[ASA Writing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a way to end the series I have enjoyed so much. I liked that it was in first person, but was still really different from the first book in the series that was also in first person. The story was fun to read and also had a lot of twists that I did not see coming. The ending was really nice, not what I thought was going to happen at all. I think this was a great end to the series, although I would love to read even more!

I was given a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Brittany Williams]

This is my favorite book out of the Hearts to Follow series! Probably because I absolutely love Theater, have been doing it for 18 years, and I have dealt with relationship dramas backstage. It was a cute book that had me turning the pages so I could see if the production was well done and if Tess ended up with her crush. A fun, warm book that I will definitely read again! :)

[Jamie Heggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story about Tess, Anthony, Ian and Jodi. I found myself wanting to read more about Summer and Nick as the beginning but soon fell in love with the next set of characters. Give this cute summer love story a try!!

[Esther Haddie's Haven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, another great follow-up, but I do feel a little let down about the ending. Though I do like that both Tony and Ian were great guys. I thought Tess would want to be with Ian after a while, but then the ending. Author did a great job to make an interesting story. I still loved it.

[Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read just pretending changed now I will be reading stage lights here is review for stage lightshttp://www.amazon.com/review/R1BOJTLR...

[DanaBurkeyFAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

This last book in the series is I think my favorite!!!!!!!!!!! It is really cool to see how it took the story and picked it up from where the last one ended!! But it wasn't the same kind of people as book 2 as in book 3. Sorry, I'm trying to reivew without giving things away!
I guess I can say that the book is really amazing and I loved that it wasn't an ending I saw coming!! I really thought I knew what was going on but then it happened and I was just in shock!!!!!! I kind of want to read the whole thing again, but want to keep reading her other stuff too! Everyone read this book and series and Dana Burkey!!! She's the most amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lauri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received the audiobook for an honest review.

A cute short story, that is school appropriate, that I can offer to my students. They will groan when they discover that the play being performed is "Romeo and Juliet", required reading last year. However, I believe they will enjoy the plot twists enough to give this story their thumbs up.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can get past the horrible grammar and spelling mistakes, this is an enjoyable story. The main character is young and naive but likeable and you're drawn into her little love triangle. A good, quick read.