Monday, June 22, 2015

Remember When 1 (Remember Trilogy #1) by T.Torrest [Audio Review]

 

Years before Trip Wiley could be seen on movie screens all over the world, he could be seen sitting in the desk behind me in my high school English class.

This was back in 1990, and I cite the year only to avoid dumbfounding you when references to big hair or stretch pants are mentioned. Although, come to think of it, I am from New Jersey, which may serve as explanation enough. We were teenagers then, way back in a time before anyone could even dream he’d turn into the Hollywood commodity that he is today.
In case you live under a rock and don't know who Trip Wiley is, just know that these days, he’s the actor found at the top of every casting director’s wish list. He’s incredibly talented and insanely gorgeous, the combination of which has made him very rich, very famous and very desirable.

And not just to casting directors, either.



I can’t confirm any of the gossip from his early years out in Tinseltown, but based on what I knew of his life before he was famous, I can tell you that the idea of Girls-Throwing-Themselves-At-Trip is not a new concept.
I should know. I was one of them.
And my life hasn’t been the same since.
 

 4 High School Experiences Stars

I’ve seen T.Torrest around a bit and I never picked up one of her books. I finally saw Remember When 1 on audio and well you know I was all over that.  It really is the best way to experience books (in my opinion).

Remember When 1 is part of trilogy. Remember When 1 is a full novel, so don’t think it is a mini book.  The ending will leave you satisfied, so don’t think it’s an epic cliffy.

I didn’t know anything about this book, I think I remember reading the Hero is a famous actor, but other than that I went into this book blindly. I will be honest, the tone was something I had to get use to. It’s a book where the Heroine retells her relationship with the Hero when they were in high school.  So everything is in past tense. 

The time frame is set in the early 90’s.  This was also something I had to get use to. I grew up in the late 90’s, so I got some of the references, but some of them, not so much. I did like that it was set in New Jersey and some of the accents were very cute to listen. I consider this more a YA novel, than NA. There are some steamy parts, but overall, it reads as a very sweet, YA book.

So, Trip is the main guy and he is a famous actor. This is the story of Layla’s relationship with Trip before he got famous. I loved that it was in high school! I did think the book would fast forward a bit, like towards the middle or end, but I never got that. The whole book is in high school, which is fine, but I wished I got a little teaser to book 2.

Trip is the new guy in school and Layla thinks he is all kinds of yummy. Layla is a typical girl. She is living it up on her last year in High school and she just wants to go to college and well have fun. Unexpectedly Trip and Layla form this crazy tight friendship, which I found very very very cute. I loved the innocence of Trip and Layla’s relationship.  The relationship was pure friendship, but of course Layla starts to develop feelings, but she can never Trip that.

There was a bit of angst mixed in the story because Layla has many opportunities to tell Trip her feelings towards him, but she keeps on chickening out. I was screaming at her to tell him! Trip is your typical high school boy. He’s kind of in his own head. I liked that he liked Layla as a friend, but I sometimes found he JUST liked her as a friend, if that makes sense. I wanted to see him have more feelings towards her. Layla and Trip do steal some moments, but I wanted more.

The book is fairly descriptive and I usually have a problem with that, but in audio format, it was fine for me. Torrest really set the tone and pace of the book. I was very much consumed with the story.  My favorite part was the last 30% because that is where I felt the story picked up a lot. 

Overall, I had some highs and some lows with this one, but I liked it. The last bit really hooked me and it’s got me curious on how the story will progress.

Audio

What made the experience of listening to Remember When the most enjoyable?
I thought the length of the book was kind of perfect. It wasn’t too long and it wasn’t too short. I found the relationship between the Hero and Heroine very sweet and innocent. Something I enjoy listening to. I got really into the story. 

What was one of the most memorable moments of Remember When?
The most remember parts to me are when the Hero and Heroine progress their relationship.  The relationship between Trip and Layla is very slow and sweet, so I was very happy with anything that kind of kicked the relationship up a notch. 

Have you listened to any of Allyson Ryan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This is my first Allyson narration. I would say she has a deep voice, but since the story is retold (so it’s in past tense), she fit Layla perfectly. She read at a perfect pace and I thought the bits of New Jersey accent was cute (note the Heroine doesn’t have a NJ accent). I’m not a fan of her impersonation of Trip’s voice, but I did like that she made her voice deeper for his parts.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I was all over the place with this book. I found it starting out fairly sweet and innocent and then I got caught up in the angst and I wanted to yell and scream and then I was listening like crazy when it picked up towards the end. It will make you feel an array of emotions, but in a good way.
 
SERIES

 
Remember When #1 AMAZON FREE
Remember When #2 AMAZON
Remember When #3 AMAZON
Remember When Box Set AMAZON





 T. Torrest is a New Adult fiction writer from the U.S. She has written many books, but prays that only a handful of them will ever see the light of day. Her stories are geared toward readers of any age that know how to enjoy a good laugh and a dreamy romance.

Ms. Torrest was a child of the eighties, but has since traded in her Rubik's cube for a laptop and her Catholic school uniform for a comfy pair of yoga pants. She likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. She's not much into health food, but she does enjoy talking about herself in the third person.
A lifelong Jersey girl, she currently resides there with her husband and two sons.

She also LOVES to get friend requests on goodreads and facebook
and personal messages from readers via email ttorrest@optonline.net.
 

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