BLOG TOUR: FALLING FOR SHAKESPEARE by Erin Butler + #GIVEAWAY

FALLING FOR SHAKESPEARE by Erin Butler

Publication Date: Sept 8, 2015

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Purchase at Amazon

Summary:

Katie thought she knew where her life was going. She was dating the captain of the football team,had a BFF for life, and everyone at school wanted to be her. But then her pregnant teen sister’s pregnancy changes all that. Everyone dumps her, including her friends and boyfriend.

Hey, Katie, welcome to life at the bottom of the high school food chain. This is how the other half lives.

Then there’s Nick. He’s a straight-A student and self-professed geek who’s had a thing for her since middle school. He needs a date for the winter formal, and Katie needs something to keep her busy. Nick’s plight becomes her personal pet project. She will help him get over his insecurities and get a date. Besides, she was popular once. She knows how to get dates.

But Nick has other plans. He’s going to use these “dating” lessons as a way to win Katie’s heart.

REVIEW

Taking this one at face value for a contemporary ya romance, it was pretty good. It had all the elements there that'd you want in it. I just think that some of them could have been highlighted more if the pacing had been a bit better.

Part of the problem is that I didn't connect to any of the main characters and Nic bothered me. He was all "oh she only sees me as a friend" and to change that he changed himself. I'm not really okay with that. I also thought it was a bit of a cop out to have Reese be the bad guy instead of Katie owning up to all the bad things she did. I wasn't a fan of their relationship.

I was a fan of Jer though, in the brief moments we got to see him. He actually wanted to make a change and to have Reese be a better person. I think I would have enjoyed this story more if it had been about Katie reforming herself into the person she wanted to be and falling in love with Jer again.

I did like the notes from Romeo but I didn't think they were well used for the plot. I thought they should have been highlighted more in the beginning to bring it full circle.

I think the background characters could have been better developed but they were just pieces to the Katie and Nic puzzle and not that important. However I do think the story should have had maybe a prologue about how Katie fell from grace to give us some back story before diving into what was currently happening.

Overall: 3.5/5 for me if you look at it as just a romance novel.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

What was your favourite part of FALLING FOR SHAKESPEARE to write?

Erin Butler: My favorite parts were Katie’s dating lesson scenes. Katie’s so serious about it and Nic finds them kind of ridiculous. ☺

What do you hope readers take away from FALLING FOR SHAKESPEARE?

EB: I hope readers find it a fun and enjoyable read. Sometimes you need a book to just take you out of the everyday grind, you know?

When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?

EB: Not usually. A name always pops into my head and I just go with it. When naming four brothers from LAST WISH (HOW WE LIVED #2), I did choose the third and the fourth brothers on purpose because the first two came out with very Irish names, so I wanted the last two to match.

Do you write with music on? Are there specific songs you listen to when writing certain characters?

EB: I wish I could write to music but I’ve never been able to. For whatever reason I need complete quiet. Music does inspire me though. When I wrote HOW WE LIVED, I listened to the album Some Nights by fun. on repeat. After a couple songs, I would pause and then write a few chapters. Then listen, then write. Their lyrics are quite inspiring.

On a side note, I just saw Nate Ruess on tour for his solo album, Grand Romantic. It was awesome!!

What was the easiest scene to write in FALLING FOR SHAKESPEARE?

EB: The easiest scenes for me to write are always the beginnings. When I start a book, I always know where I want to go with it at first so I’ll write until I get stuck. Then, I sit down and have to do a little plotting for the middle.

ABOUT ERIN BUTLER

Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she loves to read. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially fangirls over a sigh-worthy romance.

She lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. Preferring to spend her time indoors reading or writing, she’ll only willingly go outside for chocolate and sunshine—in that order.

Erin is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal novel, and the forthcoming contemporary romance titles, HOW WE LIVED and FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION. You can visit her online at www.erinbutlerbooks.com.