Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

Posted 15 January, 2014 by Danny in Blog, Danny, Danny's Book Review / 18 Comments

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren MorrillBeing Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill
Published by Delacourt, Random House on January 7th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Source: Publisher
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3.5 Stars

Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.

Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over.

When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than being yourself.

Lauren Morrill’s Debut Meant To Be was one of my favorite books last year. It was cute, fun and so damn romantic. So, of course I was eager to pick up Being Sloane Jacobs, and hoped that it would be as amazing as Meant To Be.

2 Girls – 1 Name – 1 chance to escape!

What is the chance that you meet a girl with exactly your name (take out your middle name) and who’s passion is also sport on ice? Slim to none! Yet Sloane Emily and Sloane Devon meet in a hotel when they are both on their way to summer camp. As similar as their names are, as different are their characters and their life, yet but are eager to escape both for different reasons! So they form a plan to switch places and hope to escape their problems for a few weeks.

Same Name – Different Attitude!

I loved how different the girls were. Sloane Devon the Ice Hockey player is all rough and full of spunk and attitude, while Sloane Emily is more quite and soft. The story is alternating between the both girls and I was initially scared to be confused by their similar names, yet their personality made it was to keep track on who is who. Lauren Morrill definitely did a wonderful job painting two distinct characters with different background and voices.

You can’t escape your Problems forever!

Of course, as much as the girls want to escape their life and problems, they have to deal with them at some point. Just by switching places doesn’t make your life suddenly easier and slowly the begin to realize just this. However, the form new friendships and also finally and wonderfully found love and romance, yet of course not without some drama. The story itself was cute and nice, but it didn’t completely win me over and sucked me in. Additionally the concept felt like a little far-fetched, just because you can stand on skates it’s not like you suddenly can play either figure skating or play hockey. Plus, they were both supposed to be super talented so there was no one who really questioned their identity. The romance also was more lukewarm and also didn’t help to totally absorb me.

Bewitched Rating

Rating 3.5

Bottom Line

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill was a cute story about two girls who would love to escape their families and problems and end up switching places. Lauren Morrill creates tow wonderfully distinct characters, which makes the alternating POV’s easy to follow. However, it lacked the final spark, the one that catches you and sucks you into a story.

 

 contemporary

Additional Info

Lauren Morrill is a fantastic author and I love her writing so much, I know she will be one of my auto-buy authors even though I was not totally and completely in love with Being Sloane Jacobs, I’m excited for her next book!
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18 Responses to “Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill”

  1. YEah, while the concept does sound cute, just because you can do the basics of skating definitely doesn’t mean you can do the hard stuff like hockey or figure skating!
    Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted..Waiting on…SIXTH GRAVE ON THE RIGHT by Darynda JonesMy Profile

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    Danny 1/16/2014

    Yes I would say that these two sports are so different that I just can’t believe that they just could switch…
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  2. Aww. I’m sorry this didn’t complete win you over but I’m still glad you had fun reading this. I was totally in the mood for this which is why I reckon I enjoyed it more than many readers.
    I loved Sloane Emily’s story more than Sloane Devon’s one. I liked her romance much better.
    Lovely review!

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    Danny 1/16/2014

    Yes totally, it might be also a mood thing – so I’m so happy to hear you liked it much better! And yes, Emily’s romance was definitely cute while Devons didn’t do anything for me.
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  3. We had much the same reaction to this one Danny! It was cute and I enjoyed it, but you really had to suspend disbelief on the skating aspect. Also, I would have loved more romance. MORE ROMANCE, DANNY! I liked Matt a lot, I just wanted more time with him, and I didn’t feel like we got to know Nando at all. He was almost unnecessary. Still, I’m looking forward to what she writes next:)

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    Danny 1/16/2014

    YES the romance was one aspect of MTB that I absolutely loved!! IT was slow and cute and utterly sweet-Here it was just some kind of side plot that wasn’t given much room. Matt I loved (of course I did)
    Nando was absolutely underdeveloped and didn’t do anything for me;(
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  4. I also loved Meant To Be and was hoping this would be just as good. I understand what you mean about the book missing that spark, I think I even used similar wording in a recent review of mine! But, it sounds like this is a nice relaxing story for when you need a break from “deeper” books.
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    Danny 1/16/2014

    Oh definitely, this is one of these books that you can read fast in one sitting without going any deeper into the story. I’m still kind of bumped that it wasn’t “more” – I loved MTB so much. But then.. it’s never fair to judge an a book by the previous book by the author. Still, looking forward to see what she writes next!
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    Andrea @ The Busy Bibliophile 1/16/2014

    I think that’s a huge issue with me, comparing a book to the author’s previous books. (It’s like you’re reading my mind – I have a review coming up that is all about this!) It’s not really fair, but I tend to do it.
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  5. For some reason, Meant to Be just didn’t click for me, but I’ve seen so many positive reviews for Being Sloane Jacobs, so I’m definitely going to give it a shot. Plus, I love ice skating and The Parent Trap.
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    Danny 1/16/2014

    Oh that is too bad, but unfortunately sometimes a book doesn’t click for you. Maybe this one will be more “your” book!
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  6. I felt the same way. I liked the characters but struggled with thee unrealistic aspects of the story. I also thought the ending needed a bit more. I was hoping to love this as I loved Meant To Be but this was just a middle of the road read

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    Danny 1/16/2014

    Yep definitely a mediocre book for me too.
    the ending was very rushed and everything resolved way too easy for me. After we spend all this time with them to go through their issues, the ending would have deserved a little more…
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  7. Yours is the second review I’ve read with similar comments, lukewarm romance, and not buying the switch. Too bad, Meant To Be was adorable!!
    Heather @ Buried in Books recently posted..E. J. Wesley’s Winter Thrills and Chills Tour “With Friends Like These….” Character ReviewMy Profile

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    Danny 1/16/2014

    Yeah lukewarm is definitely the best way to describe it… Maybe you love it better Heather and it just wasn’t my book!
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