Monday, October 31, 2011

Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

imageNow is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?

Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.

Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall....

This book was so good. I read it in a single night, after being stuck in a reading slump for two months. It was simply gorgeous.Speaking of gorgeous, look at the book cover. It is amazing. I have a super fancrush on this cover (and the actual book). Jessica Martinez captured me from the very start.

We’re quickly introduced to the multiple internal and external conflicts that Carmen faces on a daily basis. Though she has quite a bit of reasons to sit around a mope, Carmen doesn’t. Throughout the novel, she remains incredibly strong. Jeremy was an interesting character. I was weary of his personality when he was first introduced, but I eventually grew to like him.

One of my favorite things about Virtuosity, if not my favorite thing, was the many topics it covered. From the stress being put on Carmen surrounding the Guarneri competition to her anxiety medication addiction- this novel really did have it all. I absolutely adored the story, along with the characters.

Virtuosity is an amazing novel that readers are sure to love. I can’t recommend it enough. Jessica Martinez is an author than you should really watch. I’m sure her future novels will be just as amazing as Virtuosity!

FTC- Publisher.

2 comments:

Little Miss Becky said...

This one sounds so good. I don't real much contemp, but I may have to try this one out!

Mandy said...

This sounds pretty good. The cover is pretty, but at the same time it kind of throws me off.

Great review. I'll have to check it out on Goodreads and maybe add it to my list.