The Lifeguard

Great read, just wished it had been fleshed out more. My Overal

Great read, just wished it had been fleshed out more.

My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: First off I'd like to thank netgalley and the publisher of this book for giving me a chance to review this.

I went into this book after simply having read the cover and the synopsis. Plus, I'm a lifeguard so there was a big draw for me to read it. I was expecting this to be a beachy summer romance. And while it did take place on a beach and there was romance, this novel wasn't at all like I expected it would be.

That wasn't a bad thing and in fact I found myself rather enjoying reading this. Sirena was a character that I actually enjoyed reading about. Her world is falling apart back home and she's trying to rediscover herself. The relationship between her and Pilot was interesting. I also really enjoyed seeing them interact with each other.

I really liked the novel, the characters, and the writing. Basically I really enjoyed this novel except for one thing. I felt like the paranormal element was a little rushed and didn't seem fully developed to me. I feel like I would have liked this novel better if a) the paranormal element hadn't been included or b) the paranormal novel was fleshed out more throughout the entire novel.

Having stated that, I did really enjoy reading this novel. It's a quick read and for the most part it is really enjoyable.

In Summary: An original, intriguing novel that I enjoyed reading. While this wasn't my favorite novel I've read this year, I still liked it.

Warnings/Side-notes: To be honest I can't remember everything in here language wise. I can't remember if it swore or not. However, language aside this novel is very clean.

The Wrap-up: A book that I really enjoyed reading. I just wish that the paranormal element had been better developed/not there at all. Still, a novel that I really enjoyed reading. This is a summer book where a girl meets a guy--except the guy wants nothing to do with her. I really liked exploring that dynamic.

great beach read!

Really loved this book. It's not just a summer romance book...there's a whole other side to it - it's much deeper than all these other summer romances I've been reading. It's about a girl going through a lot of changes one pivotal summer and meeting an extraordinary guy but then there's a whole super natural side - pretty amazing. Definitely recommend!

The Lifeguard started off as the perfect contemporary I just nee

The Lifeguard started off as the perfect contemporary I just needed. A troubled girl because of her parents divorce, a cute, actually perfect, lifeguard she meets at the beach, and the setting is the beach! THE BEACH! The problem is it kind of started to slow pace in the middle, which bored me for a significant part of the book.
The main protagonist, Sirena, is fine. She is just a normal girl, spending her summer at the beach with her aunt because her parents are getting a divorce. All her feelings are realistic, and she is an artist! (Like myself) Sirena meets "The Lifeguard" when he was on duty at the beach, and is immediately mesmerized by his beauty, which I hated. I don't like it when there is instant love, or anything like that in books. Here, Sirena felt this pull towards him.
"The Lifeguard" whose name you learn later as Pilot, doesn't acknowledge Sirena at first. Which is when the slow pace of the story begins. Throughout 70 pages or so of the book, Sirena is trying to get his attention. It bored me a lot. I hoped there was more interaction between the two of them, or ANYTHING, even the teeniest bit of advance in their relationship in those 70 pages, but barely much happened.
And did you know this book had a paranormal twist in the end? I honestly felt that there was no need for the tiny paranormal part of this story. It just confused me, and I didn't really get Pilot's "special powers". I did hope for more cute, fun stuff in this book. While i might not have enjoyed it much it was overall enjoyable, especially the first half of the book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It started off slow with

I have mixed feelings about this book. It started off slow with Sirena being shipped out to her aunt's while her parents separated. The first half of the book is her worrying over what life will be like when she goes back to not one home but two split between her parents. That part was a little dragging for me but then Sirena becomes stalkerish over the lifeguard, Pilot and things started to get uncomfortable. She buys a new bikini to wear at the beach so that he notices her over his girlfriend and steals a painting of him at an art gallery that was painted by a local artist, who just so happens to be her friend. She went from being a normal teenage girl to crossing over to creeper'ville. She didn't act like any 17 year old I ever knew. Yeah, maybe I took the photo of my high school crush(turned sweetheart, now husband) from yearbook club when they were just going to throw it away but I never stole anything of his. I just thought that some of the things that she did and thought were a bit far fetched and shallow to me.

However, once she almost dies she seems to calm down some and that was when I really got invested in the story. That is when you find out that Pilot is a shaman and that he can heal people. The two of them start to become really close and he opens up a little bit more.

Needed to be More

The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal is unique within the YA Genre. It had a touch of philosophy written into a semi-paranormal romance...which is why I hoped I would love it. I do love anything philosophical, but love this novel, I didn't and I am deeply saddened. I felt like this book had a lot of potential...it just didn't quite get there. It fell short in the world-building department for me. The story never swept me off my feet like I hoped it would.

Sirena's parents are getting a divorce so they ship her off to Rhode Island to stay with her aunt for the summer. She spends most of her time on the beach...sometimes drawing and painting, sometimes enjoying the view of the on duty lifeguard but always thinking about her parents. Now...while some will say that Sirena's and Pilot's relationship was insta-love...and maybe on Sirena's part it was...but honestly, I thought it moved a little slow on Pilot's part.

Pilot was a tad bit annoying. Usually when I feel a character is annoying, I can overlook it because I feel like they have a reason to keep secrets or try to dissuade the significant other from falling for them. I do believe these were Pilot's intentions, but in the end, it didn't seem like he had all that much to hide. And his relationship with his ex-girlfriend turned sister-like-friend bothered me. For something that was supposed to be completely platonic (at this stage), they were often caught in seemingly compromising situations.

I loved Antonio...the mysterious friend of Sirena's aunt who turned out to be much more. He is the gatekeeper, so to speak. He is the fountain of knowledge...the one Sirena can ask about the ghosts residing in her aunt's attic. Antonio is also the answer to Sirena's questions about Pilot and his uncanny sense of timing.

It takes a tragic event for Sirena to realize that her parents' divorce will not be the end of the world. Once this happens, the story speeds up and becomes more interesting...only to lead to an unsatisfying end...at least in my opinion.

I truly had high hopes for this book. I mean, who doesn't want to love a book with a hot guy on a beach for the cover. And I loved the name Pilot...how hot is that? Don't get me wrong...there were definitely good points in this book...but overall...it was simply average.

*I was provided a free and uncorrected e-copy of The Lifeguard by NetGalley and Albert Whitman in return for my honest review.

Great book

Review:
The Lifeguard will leave you wanting more. It will keep you in it's clutches till the very last page, which ends sorta anti-climatically. I loved this book and if you want a feel good book, then you will too!! :)

Cover: Whew, did someone turn up the heat in here? Dang, if I had a body like that, and was a guy I would never wear a shirt. I would just walk around shirtless and be like, "Touch my abs, you know you want to!" LOL :)

Plot: The story started off a little slow and it slowly progressed, but you wanted to know about Sirena and all her struggles with adjusting. After a slow progression, it's like BOOM! one change after another, and you just want to read and read and read!! :)

Characters:
Lets begin today with Sirena. She is dealing with her parents divorce and was shipped away to Rhode Island with her aunt for the summer. Frankly, I didn't like Sirena, until the end. She was a little petty and a flat character. Then she meets Pilot and everything change, and the story gets interesting.

Pilot, sigh Pilot. I love that name. It is unique and fits him perfectly. Residential white knight and perfect all around. My kind of guy. Plus he's mysterious and reserved, but he is always there to save Sirena whenever she needs saving, or even just a ride. Which is often enough!

All in all: I loved this book! I hope there's a sequel just so I can read about Pilot again!! :) I feel very smiley today! 41 out of 41 stars!
~~Sam :)

No text was provided for this review.