Review: Stay Awhile by Alysia Gray Painter

“Stay Awhile” follows Fair, Gomery and Monty Overbove, and Fair’s best pal Sutton Von Hunt as they attempt to find out where the cousins’ mothers might be and why buildings seem to be moving under their own power. 

Several weird discoveries are made during the quartet’s mountain road trip, leading the young hotelier to land on a major decision, and announcement, about the motel’s pool and the futures of her two nice neighbors. 

How she arrives at her life-changer of a decision, and the journeys she and her friends embark on, are in the light-hearted mix. As is Gomery Overbove, who is about a billion times more important in the heiress’s mind than 24,500 gallons of chlorinated water and some old diving board.(GoodReads).

It took me a while to get back into this story, but eventually when our wacky group got moving again, I enjoyed this read. Hold on to your socks, kids, this is a wild ride.

Level of Originality: 10. Rooms and buildings move around, not to mention the whole "someday science" of metaphysics and the World's Basement! i can't say more than that, but WHOA this book exists in a crazy/fun/imaginative world where literally anything is possible, and trust me, you have never seen it before.
Level of Absurdity: 10. Everyone is totally zanny. Fair still wears a snood, the Overbove boys have magical space-travel bumper stickers, and 
Level of Paranormal Romance: 6. I luuuuuvvvvv the buildup between Gomery and Fair. This book is bittersweet though, so the score is not as high as the swoon-inducing book 2 Redwoodian. But I do enjoy that these two know they are moving in on something epic, and they are taking their sweet time, giving the reader just enough jaw-unhinging statements of what WILL go down when they finally get together. It involves a meetup under the diving board in the motel pool in the dark of night. YUM.
Level of Harry Potterness: 7. Magical realism! The talky-talk here is not as accessible as your general fiction, but once you get into the language of the story, there is a lot of fun to be had.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received a review copy from Alysia Gray Painter. Happy reading followed. (We do not accept or receive compensation for reviews at YAF and WS.)

Waiting on Wednesday: Stay Awhile by Alysia Gray Painter and other random thoughts

My brain is having trouble turning back on after the holidays. As a result today's Waiting on Wednesday hosted by Breaking the Spine is a bit of a potpourri.

The list of books Young Adult Fiction and Whiskey Sours cannot wait to read grows continuously, but since yesterday's Top Ten Tuesday was dedicated to our most-anticipated 2013 reads, I will not beat a dead horse with WoW. Peruse our TTT below at your leisure.

For WoW this week, I would also like to make a plea to the book gods that we get a blurb for another book I am waiting on, Stay Awhile by Alysia Gray Painter. This is the third book in the Wilfair series (see my reviews of Wilfair and Redwoodian, which I particularly liked). The series gets better as it goes, and I am LITERALLY on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment, but I cannot even get a summary. What's a girl to do?!

And last but not least, some funny reading jokes:

 
I told you my brain was scattered! Anywho, what are you "waiting on"?

Review: Redwoodian by Alysia Gray Painter

Redwoodian, (by Alysia Gray Painter) in short:
A late-blooming nineteen-year-old visits her family's mountain lodge with her cute, motel-running neighbors. A strange building follows them, there's some romantic bickering and a cozy camp-out, and the hotel heiress takes a stand on a life-changing issue.

Redwoodian, in long:
Hotel heiress Fair Finley must steal a motel and its pool from Monty and Gomery Overbove, her handsome, friendly neighbors. But places are changing places with other places and the world is going weird, and only the cousins' moms can help. Fair, the guys, and her best friend Sutton leave LA and make for the Sierra Nevada mountains in order to find the ladies. Their journey is not easy.

Problem one? A large, underground building is hot on the group's tail. Problems two and three? Fair's favorite movie star shows up in the mountains, as does her longtime rival, and neither will stay out of her snooded hair. Then there's the curious inky taste in air at The Redwoodian. Ick.

But the biggest issue of all? Fair's desire to toss the kindly cousins out of their motel home continues to falter. Fail, really. Kaput.

If the young hotelier doesn't steal the little motel and its pool then Thurs Mathers, the crisp-shirted tycoon of front-page fame, will snatch her hotel and fast. Meaning she can't get any closer to the cousins, and Gomery in particular. Because getting involved with someone you're trying to finish off? Bad idea. Especially when the person you're trying to finish off isn't exactly stopping you. Especially when he's kind of helping. (Good Reads)

Originality: 10. AGP has painted a zany world unlike any other. Redwoodian refines and highlights this world.  And the character’s interactions feel earnest, funny, and very real, which helped me accept the magical realism aspect.

Absurdity: 10. Did you read about the buildings switching places!? And Fair runs crazy themed hotels. And the air tastes weird and people are missing and ghosts are misbehaving. But AGP brings the absurdity on purpose and I found it delightful.

Level of Paranormal Romance: 7. This book packs the swoon, which is pretty epic considering kisses have not yet even been exchanged. The Overbove cousins are undeniably dreamy--forearms have never been more attractive. By page 200 I was literally talking to my book, rooting for romance.  (PS if you count the “intimate” relations between the Overbove’s van and the mystery underground building as romance, this score skyrockets to a 18.)

Level of Harry Potter-ness: 7. This book charmed me. The quirkiness of Wilfair the first book in the series (see my review here) has been tempered and fine-tuned. Everyone is still wacky, but it is pure fun. I cannot wait to find out what happens next. There is so much more to learn about the emerging magical pattern.

Review: Wilfair by Alysia Gray Painter

Fair Finley is a hotel heiress who runs the famous Hollywood hotel the Wilfair. She dresses like a 1940s film star, but has not yet come into her own as a hotel magnate, despite her parent hopes. She tends to over-apologize via fruit baskets, and can't get the nerve to steal the neighboring motel's swimming pool. That's right. Her famous hotel, where each floor is a different design, from Rococo to Story Book, lacks a pool--a terrible oversight in Los Angeles. The problem is the motel owner's happen to be a pair of handsome cousins (with loose ties, rolled up sleeves, and distracting, attractive forearms). Fair doesn't have many friends, and these two, both named Montgomery, seem ready to be friends and have adventures, but stealing a pool from potential friends is tough. Not to mention weird things are happening at the already wacky Wilfair-- ghosts are acting strange, physical places are switching places, and the tar pit between the two hotels, a tourist attraction, has been smelling of Paris and baking bread. Something is up.

To remind you: Wilfair by Alysia Gray Painter has the best. blurb. ever. "Strange things happen, adventures are had, feelings are felt, and cheese dip is eaten."

This, my book-loving blog friends, is a Quirky Book. But, as you know, I like Quirky Books (example A, example B). I was pretty much cool with the quirky plot AND quirky narrative form (which is told from Fair's perspective). There is so much packed into this little book! Her little twin brothers run the famous 500 Dip Bar, which means we are treated to lots of discussion of dip, and they seemed to be a play on the creepy twins from The Shining (let me know if you think this, too!). I enjoyed that Fair was a person trying to find herself and learning to use her quirks to her advantage. And Fair's weirdness is kinda refreshing. I knew we would be friends when she made T-Rex claws and Raaaawwweeed at someone. 

• Originality: 9. This book is incredibly creative, but sometimes the new quirks fly by so fast its hard to catch them all.
• Absurdity: 9. BUT this book is supposed to be absurd in a magical realism kind of way. (Its not accidentally absurd in a feather-petting/ insta-love kind of way). The surreal qualities coming in increments and make you want to know more. How can a fitted sheet be shaped like London? How can tar bubbles smell good?
• Level of Paranormal Romance. 1. Fair does not fall in True Love with the Montgomerys within 72 hours. That is NOT how she rolls (who KNOWS how awkward she would be with some lip contact). But it is a nice change of pace to the general YA out there, and I hope hope hope for something to swoon over in the next book. The foundations are there, and expectations are high! 
• Level of Harry-Potter-ness: 5. I think people will be divided about the very fanciful writing style of this book. Painter makes up words (sometimes I found this confusing) and uses some wacky metaphors. Once in a while I wanted a calm moment to collect my brain and enjoy the whimsy. By the end, however, I either got used to it or things calmed down. My biggest complaint about the book was at less than 200 pages I was left wanting more plot development. I feel like we had just approached the meat of the mystery when the story ended; I learned the world and the lingo, and then things wrapped up. Nooooooo, give me more!

Overall, I was charmed by these people and am bee-lining toward the sequel, Redwoodian. If you need a good laugh and lighthearted antics, get involved!

FTC Full Disclosure: I received a review copy Alysia Gray Painter. Happy reading followed. (We do not accept or receive compensation for reviews at YAF and WS.)