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The Exchange
Her exchange student experience of a lifetime is no longer a dream but a reality. Desiree has packed her bags, said goodbye, and is headed a world away to Australia. Will she find the adventure she's longed for? Or lose herself entirely.
The Graff family has lived the last two years haunted by the death of their exchange student and how the community now views them. There were so many unanswered questions surrounding the death. Their sons had both responded differently. Brett had gone on to live life as if everything was normal, but Justin fell into a deep depression that no one seemed to be able to pull him out of. Until...
We either choose to live life in the present or dwell in the depths of the past.
The Graff family has lived the last two years haunted by the death of their exchange student and how the community now views them. There were so many unanswered questions surrounding the death. Their sons had both responded differently. Brett had gone on to live life as if everything was normal, but Justin fell into a deep depression that no one seemed to be able to pull him out of. Until...
We either choose to live life in the present or dwell in the depths of the past.
364 pages, ebook
Published January 11, 2018
About the author
Lori Ann Gerlisky
6 books51 followersAbout the author
Well, I'm really just a reader now. I had the writing bug several years ago and put that down as an accomplishment of things I wanted to do in life. I might write more books in my Citrus Bay series after I retire from my day job.. but we shall see.
Happy reading everyone! It takes a lot of time and hard work to be a writer. Take that into consideration when you sit down and write a review of something that an individual has put months and years of time into, as well as their heart and soul.
We are all just people living this life together. Authors entertain you. Remember that when you decide to rip their hearts out with an unkind review. Kindness goes a long way.
Well, I'm really just a reader now. I had the writing bug several years ago and put that down as an accomplishment of things I wanted to do in life. I might write more books in my Citrus Bay series after I retire from my day job.. but we shall see.
Happy reading everyone! It takes a lot of time and hard work to be a writer. Take that into consideration when you sit down and write a review of something that an individual has put months and years of time into, as well as their heart and soul.
We are all just people living this life together. Authors entertain you. Remember that when you decide to rip their hearts out with an unkind review. Kindness goes a long way.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 21, 2018
3 stars!
I don't usually do ARCs but having been a foreign exchange student myself I jumped at the chance to read The Exchange.
The story:
Desiree, a young high school student, is awarded a scholarship for an exchange student program to Australia by a family who lost their daughter during her foreign exchange year.
As she settles into her new life, Desiree meets the host family of the young girl and falls for one of the boys.
Thouths:
There were a few thingsI didn't like about the stories and the characters.
Too be entirely honest, I found Desiree to be ungrateful, selfish, too immature and totally unprepared for a foreign exchange programm.
For example: She was often annoyed by differing terms in Australien english because as she put it "the reason she chose Australia was so she didn't have to learn another language". I'm sorry but this is just not the kind of attitude a foreign exchange student should have. She expected everything to be like at home but with kangaroos and koalas.
Another example: She didn't want to meet the people who awarded her the scholarship because it made her uncomfortable. I agree that you shouldn't be forced to do stuff that makes you uncomfortable but jee whiz, do you know how much those programs cost? You could suck it up for a while, be grateful for that experience and have a coffee with the people giving you that experience.
So overall I could have liked her a bit better.
The other problem I had was with the story as it was so darn slow. Nothing was really happening until everything happened at once at about 80%.
Personally, I would have liked it better if there were a few more scenes between Justin, her love interest, and her. They are supposed to be in love but go weeks without any kind of contact. It was just too little for me.
There is a bit of a paranormal thing going on towards the end. That was okay but too honest, it wouldn't hold up in court or justify the arrest of two people. But as it clearly is paranormal, I probably shouldn't compare it with reality.
It's not an overall bad book but the aforementioned things kept me from enjoying it completely.
I don't usually do ARCs but having been a foreign exchange student myself I jumped at the chance to read The Exchange.
The story:
Desiree, a young high school student, is awarded a scholarship for an exchange student program to Australia by a family who lost their daughter during her foreign exchange year.
As she settles into her new life, Desiree meets the host family of the young girl and falls for one of the boys.
Thouths:
There were a few thingsI didn't like about the stories and the characters.
Too be entirely honest, I found Desiree to be ungrateful, selfish, too immature and totally unprepared for a foreign exchange programm.
For example: She was often annoyed by differing terms in Australien english because as she put it "the reason she chose Australia was so she didn't have to learn another language". I'm sorry but this is just not the kind of attitude a foreign exchange student should have. She expected everything to be like at home but with kangaroos and koalas.
Another example: She didn't want to meet the people who awarded her the scholarship because it made her uncomfortable. I agree that you shouldn't be forced to do stuff that makes you uncomfortable but jee whiz, do you know how much those programs cost? You could suck it up for a while, be grateful for that experience and have a coffee with the people giving you that experience.
So overall I could have liked her a bit better.
The other problem I had was with the story as it was so darn slow. Nothing was really happening until everything happened at once at about 80%.
Personally, I would have liked it better if there were a few more scenes between Justin, her love interest, and her. They are supposed to be in love but go weeks without any kind of contact. It was just too little for me.
There is a bit of a paranormal thing going on towards the end. That was okay but too honest, it wouldn't hold up in court or justify the arrest of two people. But as it clearly is paranormal, I probably shouldn't compare it with reality.
It's not an overall bad book but the aforementioned things kept me from enjoying it completely.
June 18, 2018
Despite being a big fan of TV shows like Supernatural and The Walking Dead, I haven't read many supernatural romances. I tend to prefer straight contemporary; I can't explain why.
But I signed up to review The Exchange in Goodreads' New Adult Book Club because it sounded really interesting (Here is where I should mention that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review).
The premise of the novel is that Desiree wins a scholarship to be an Australian exchange student. When she gets Down Under she meets the Graafs, a family that hosted an American Exchange student, Dana Lyn, two years ago. While staying with the Graafs, Dana Lyn died under mysterious circumstances.
The story starts off well. Initially, Desiree finds herself attracted to Brett Graaf, one half of the very handsome Graaf twins. But as she spends more time with Justin Graaf, she feels oddly drawn to him, strangely connected to the late Dana Lyn, and completely uncertain whether one of the Graafs had something to do with Dana Lyn's death.
I was fully invested for the first three- fifths of the book, when Justin was dark and brooding. But Gerlisky started to lose me when he started conversing more. He was always providing too much information. It felt like he was lying and providing too much information as a cover. But I think it was just Gerlisky trying to speed up some exposition instead of having the conversation flow naturally. The entire last fifth of the book felt very rushed to me. First there was nothing going on and then EVERYTHING was going on, both romantically and thematically.
This was the same complaint I had in the last Gerlisky book I read. I'd like to see her work more on developing reasoning behind her pairings.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the story. I liked the mystery. It even piqued my interest in reading some more paranormal fiction! With a little fine tuning The Exchange could seriously be a five star read. But as is, I'm giving it about 3.5. A solid effort that needs a little more work.
But I signed up to review The Exchange in Goodreads' New Adult Book Club because it sounded really interesting (Here is where I should mention that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review).
The premise of the novel is that Desiree wins a scholarship to be an Australian exchange student. When she gets Down Under she meets the Graafs, a family that hosted an American Exchange student, Dana Lyn, two years ago. While staying with the Graafs, Dana Lyn died under mysterious circumstances.
The story starts off well. Initially, Desiree finds herself attracted to Brett Graaf, one half of the very handsome Graaf twins. But as she spends more time with Justin Graaf, she feels oddly drawn to him, strangely connected to the late Dana Lyn, and completely uncertain whether one of the Graafs had something to do with Dana Lyn's death.
I was fully invested for the first three- fifths of the book, when Justin was dark and brooding. But Gerlisky started to lose me when he started conversing more. He was always providing too much information. It felt like he was lying and providing too much information as a cover. But I think it was just Gerlisky trying to speed up some exposition instead of having the conversation flow naturally. The entire last fifth of the book felt very rushed to me. First there was nothing going on and then EVERYTHING was going on, both romantically and thematically.
This was the same complaint I had in the last Gerlisky book I read. I'd like to see her work more on developing reasoning behind her pairings.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the story. I liked the mystery. It even piqued my interest in reading some more paranormal fiction! With a little fine tuning The Exchange could seriously be a five star read. But as is, I'm giving it about 3.5. A solid effort that needs a little more work.
July 17, 2018
Couldn't put it down. Characters are fascinating and storyline is riveting
June 23, 2018
The story of The Exchange is a nice blend of mystery and romance. There is a environment of suspense right from the Prologue where a event of 2 yrs back was shone till the spine chilling revelation. Mysterious events keep on happening every now and then.
Apart from the mystery, I really loved reading about Desiree's experience as she lives a new life in Australia away from her family.
The romance apart of the book was good but I had a few problems. One minute Desiree is swooning over another guy or questioning her feelings and next minute she is again back into the real one's (don't want to reveal the name because of spoilers) arms. She was very confused for a long time. If we take out all these conflicting parts, then the romance part was really sweet and beautiful.
I felt the end confrontation part happened little too easily, so I guess that was also a problem I felt with this book. Yes I had a few issues with this book but the good points about the book outweighs the negative ones so I ended enjoying this book a lot.
If you are someone who enjoys books which has both mystery and romance then you should definitely pick up this book, you would not be disappointed.
Apart from the mystery, I really loved reading about Desiree's experience as she lives a new life in Australia away from her family.
The romance apart of the book was good but I had a few problems. One minute Desiree is swooning over another guy or questioning her feelings and next minute she is again back into the real one's (don't want to reveal the name because of spoilers) arms. She was very confused for a long time. If we take out all these conflicting parts, then the romance part was really sweet and beautiful.
I felt the end confrontation part happened little too easily, so I guess that was also a problem I felt with this book. Yes I had a few issues with this book but the good points about the book outweighs the negative ones so I ended enjoying this book a lot.
If you are someone who enjoys books which has both mystery and romance then you should definitely pick up this book, you would not be disappointed.
June 23, 2018
This story was intriguing. Once I started reading this I couldn't put it down. Loved the storyline. It was a great combination of Suspense and Romance. Can't wait to read The Homecoming.
I received an ARC and volunteered to leave a review.
I received an ARC and volunteered to leave a review.
June 7, 2018
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NABC*
First I want to say Lori Ann hit this book out of the PARK!! As somebody who went to Australia for an exchange student program (mine was only a month long) I was overly excited to start reading this book and had very high hopes for it.
And she did NOT disappoint!
The book is a sweet teenage love story that you can't help but feel giddy and angst all at the same time. You can feel everything that Desiree feels. She truly had a life changing experience and I can't wait for the next book to see what happens next. This book was just amazing, I am still in shock and awe of all the twists and turns and surprises that you NEVER see coming. I was completely engrossed on this book, I could not put it down! I just devoured it!!
I definitely recommend you take the time to read this wonderful story!
First I want to say Lori Ann hit this book out of the PARK!! As somebody who went to Australia for an exchange student program (mine was only a month long) I was overly excited to start reading this book and had very high hopes for it.
And she did NOT disappoint!
The book is a sweet teenage love story that you can't help but feel giddy and angst all at the same time. You can feel everything that Desiree feels. She truly had a life changing experience and I can't wait for the next book to see what happens next. This book was just amazing, I am still in shock and awe of all the twists and turns and surprises that you NEVER see coming. I was completely engrossed on this book, I could not put it down! I just devoured it!!
I definitely recommend you take the time to read this wonderful story!
June 6, 2018
I LOVED this book! I couldn't put it down. It was an excellent combination of suspense and romance that leaves you to the bedroom door. Desiree was very lovable and I found myself cheering for Justin even after a rough start. I will absolutely be patiently waiting for book 2, The Homecoming.
October 19, 2018
The Exchange is a smart romantic mystery with a paranormal twist. After a slow start this story picked up steam and blows you away at the end. I listened to the audio version of this as I was exercising and it made my workouts fly.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews