Book Review of THE LIFEGUARD by Deborah Blumenthal

juliemartinwallace.blogspot.com is where I usually do book reviews of historical romances. Since this was a Young Adult Paranormal story I decided it would fit perfect into this blog genre, where my WIP is a YA Paranormal novel. 

What a great setting, A 16 year old girl spending the summer with her aunt in Rhode Island on the beach. Sirena’s parents back in Texas are preparing to sell the house and move into two different homes. You feel empathy for Sirena and her depression is understandable as she faces a hard reality of parents divorcing. Sirena is enamored by a blond, tan, strapping lifeguard named Pilot. 

When Sirena hears voices during a storm, she finds out her aunt’s house has ghosts; nothing menacing or too scary, just yelling when it storms outside. 

Sirena’s aunt makes her volunteer at the hospital over the summer to keep her from moping around. When a young boy comes into the hospital with a head injury Sirena is upset by the thought of someone dying so young. She’s relieved when he makes a miraculous recovery. 

Marissa, Sirena’s BFF is at camp and they write back and forth providing a clever way to tell us what's going on in Sirena’s life. 

Antonio is an 80 year old artist who encourages Sirena to become an artist. While sketching on the beach, Antonio tells stories to Sirena about his people and how they are healers. 

Pilot the hunky lifeguard saves Sirena from almost drowning. Sirena will never forget this summer as her life changes in ways that she doesn't even understand. 

This isn’t an instant kind of love story. In fact, Pilot seems to be blowing Sirena off and she becomes an obsessed teenager. The author portrays a love struck, confused teenager girl perfectly. At first it was slow getting into the conflict of the story. The ghosts sparked my curiosity at the beginning but it isn't a main focus until the end. I like the depth that Antonio brought to the story line with his ancestors legend. It’s not your normal teenager summer lovin’ story. 

For more information or to purchase your copy of "The Lifeguard":

http://www.deborahblumenthal.com/lifeguard.html

Order The Lifeguard now from Barnes&Noble.com

Order The Lifeguard now from Amazon.com

If you would like to win this copy of THE LIFEGUARD, leave a comment. Tell me if you had a summer romance? Leave a comment by Friday April 27th at midnight PST.

*I remember my best friend one summer had a lifeguard job at Golfland and I practically lived there. Ah... Those were the days.*

I received this book for free and didn't receive any compensation for this review.