Saturday, May 21, 2016

Blog Tour - THE YEAR I MET AUGUST by Renea Porter


Title: The Year I Met August
Author: Renea Porter
Genre: New Adult Romance

Release Date: May 13, 2016



It was the summer before college and Murphy was ready to experience life, as any girl should. During an outing with her sister she meets August. He's older, and more experienced than she is.

She knew a relationship at this point was almost pointless. With an internship at the end of summer and then college in the fall. Her schedule was full.

Murphy told herself that she could walk away from August without any repercussions. If only her heart had listened. 

Walking away at the end of the summer was difficult. But they agreed to keep in touch and see each other whenever possible. They still didn't put a label on their relationship.

Eventually August showed his true self. He was so ashamed, he hid his secret from her for as long as possible. Now that his secret was out, Murphy had no clue how to handle it.

Will she stay with him so they can deal with it together? Or will it be too much for her to take on?



The Year I Met August is a cute and quick read that deals with real life issues and first love.  This is the first book I have read by Renea and I have so many mixed feelings about this book.

Murphy is spending time with her family ten days before she leaves for college. She is pretty much a nerdy girl, who has never had a first kiss or date.  Her sister introduces her to August and her life is never the same.  He’s older and has more experience but he is so sweet with her.  He actually cares about her, without trying to get in her pants.  He actually wants to get to know her.

The ten days they spend together are magical for them both.  They just enjoy each other’s company and I love how relaxed they both seem.  There’s no pressure, just being together.  When Murphy’s controlling father tries to cause an issue, Murphy stands up for herself, finally.  This is one issue I had with Murphy.  She seemed to be always doing what her dad wanted her to do, not what she wanted. I felt torn about her character.  I wanted her to stand up for herself, not avoid the issue.

After she leaves for college, she and August continue seeing each other and I was pleasantly surprised how well they stayed in contact.  We all know not many long distance relationships work, but they both tried.  Until August shows up and she finds out his secret.  This really shocked me because I was not expecting that at all.  I was so disappointed in him myself.

It was a major deal breaker for Murphy and I do love that she did stand up for herself and didn’t back down.  This is where she earned my respect. My heart broke for her because you could feel how much she loved August.

But, we soon find out she has her own secret and as much as I wanted to be happy about how she deals with things, I just couldn’t be.  I felt her priorities were not where they should have been.  I admit, I do understand why she did things like she did, but I felt she could have done things different, too. For someone who had so many feelings for August, she seemed so cold and uncaring at times, too.

It’s amazing how ten days can change Murphy and August’s lives so much and alter their entire world.  Being so young, they were both dealing with their own life’s struggles and my heart broke for them both.  At times though, I felt confused by each of them and very disconnected.  As much as it seemed real, it seemed hard to believe, too. I did love August, until I didn’t by his actions.  I liked Murphy but at times, she seemed emotionless.  When they were together, they were perfect but it took a lot of work to get there.  Overall, I do give this book 4 stars because it is a good story.



I took a drink of my tea. “I was supposed to just walk away after ten days. I thought that was possible. But clearly I was naïve in thinking so.”
“Hey. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“What if all this is too good to be true? They say if it’s too good to be true then it’s not real. I’m scared that August and I will drift apart, and I don’t know if I can handle that.”
She reached over and covered my hand with hers. “Quit over thinking it. Just go with it. Don’t you think you deserve to feel this way? He’s your first boyfriend. Yeah, you’ll have doubts, even fights. But that’s why they invented makeup sex.” She grinned.
“Melanie!”
She laughed. “Anyway, it’s good to sit and chat, but I should get you back.”
“Will you tell Mom hi for me? And that I love her. And that I’m sorry.”
Melanie stood and hugged me. “Of course. I got your back, always.” She flicked my hair over my shoulder.
We loaded back into the car and headed back to the house. We talked candidly on the way back, and soon, we arrived. “I guess I’ll say bye to you now. I don’t know if I’ll stop at the house or not.” She exited the car and hugged me tight.







With over ten books out, Renea Porter is best known for writing realistic stories with realistic characters. Her stories may even cause you to shed a tear or two. She mainly writes New Adult and Contemporary Romances. However, she's not afraid to venture into other genre's like Paranormal Romance.

She enjoys spending time with her husband of fourteen years, and step son. She calls Pennsylvania home, but loves to travel and try new things. In her free time you can catch her reading books, watching reality tv, and baking.

No comments:

Post a Comment