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<\/h4>\n<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ava Diaz needs saving.
\nShe just doesn\u2019t know it yet.
\nJust like she doesn\u2019t know a thing about the boy
\nshe sits next to on the first day of senior year.<\/p>\n
He thinks she\u2019s a brat.
\nShe thinks he\u2019s entitled.
\nMaybe first impressions don\u2019t always last\u2026
\nBecause Connor Ledger\u2019s about to save her.
\nHe just doesn\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Add to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen the world is at its darkest, that\u2019s when the magic appears.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n 5 stars!<\/strong><\/p>\n Jay McLean is back, and she has just rocked my world with this brilliant, beautiful YA romance. Funny, sweet, heartbreaking, emotional and gorgeously romantic, Connor and Ava\u2019s story is beautifully written and so, so special, and I loved every moment of it.<\/p>\n Ava\u2019s life completely changed following a family tragedy when she was only 15 years old. Now a senior in high school, her life is almost unrecognisable from when she was a popular, perky, confident cheerleader. Now she\u2019s quiet, reserved, and struggling with the weight of responsibility on her young shoulders which she bears without complaint.<\/p>\n Connor has recently moved to town and started at Ava\u2019s school. A basketball star, he is hoping to gain the attention of college scouts, with his eyes firmly set on a future in the NBA. He has high expectations for himself, as does his father, and he is prepared to put in the hard work to reach his goals.<\/p>\n Neither Ava or Connor have time in their lives for distractions, but from the moment they meet, they share a connection. It\u2019s one that they fight briefly before falling into an easy, yet significant, friendship – there for each other, sharing their burdens and bringing much needed happiness and laughter into each other\u2019s lives. Though they are falling hard for each other, they are both weighed down with the realities of their lives, making a relationship impossible. And OMG, the feels! The angst, the want, the longing between these two is just beautiful, and the chemistry is fantastic!<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re something else, Connor.\u201d I love this relationship! Connor and Ava are both smart, witty and sarcastic, and the teasing and banter is so entertaining! They have so much fun together, they laugh a lot, and I was laughing along with them at their playful antics. I could feel<\/i> them falling for each other, and my heart ached for them that they couldn\u2019t just follow their hearts. They have real, understandable barriers to contend with, but their need for each other proves too overwhelming for them to fight, and watching them begin to embrace that absolutely melted me.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d Jay McLean writes fantastic YA romance, capturing all of the glory of first love \u2013 the happy, giddy, excitement, the absolute abandon of throwing yourself into everything you\u2019re feeling, and yes, the hormones. It\u2019s all here in beautiful, heartfelt detail, and I fell right alongside Connor and Ava. They become so special to each other, and they find something beautiful in the midst of their turmoil, and it\u2019s truly magical.<\/p>\n We find peace in each other\u2019s arms, find solace in each other\u2019s touch, and find a <\/i>home in each other\u2019s hearts\u2026even if the space is limited.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n *dreamy sigh*<\/p>\n But real life for these two is complicated, and balancing school, planning for the future, their relationship and their complex home lives is hard. Their story is far from over and I can\u2019t wait to get my hands on their second part of this duet to see how it\u2019s all going to work out.<\/p>\n Jay has created two wonderful characters in Connor and Ava. Though their situations are unique, they feel so real! And seriously\u2026 can I have a Connor in my life? The boy is amazing, and I am totally cougar over him. They are supported throughout the story by their family and friends, and OMG, what a sensational bunch they are! Again, very realistic, the dynamics are fantastic, you can feel the connection between them, and the jokes thrown in along the way are absolute gold! All with an important part to play, they each bring so much to this very character-driven story.<\/p>\n This is a wonderful read. It made me laugh and it made me cry, and it made me re-experience the mad wonder of falling in love for the first time. I felt it all, and I am eagerly anticipating the release of First & Forever<\/i>, out soon!<\/p>\n 5 magical stars!<\/p>\n An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Heartache and Hope (#1) First and Forever (#2)<\/strong> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Escapist Book Blog is not responsible for this giveaway<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n She writes what she loves to read, which are books that can make her laugh, make her hurt\u00a0and make her feel.<\/p>\n Jay lives in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in her dream home where music is loud and\u00a0laughter is louder.<\/p>\n For publishing rights (Foreign & Domestic) Film or television, please contact her agent Erica\u00a0Spellman-Silverman, at Trident Media Group.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0FB FAN GROUP<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TWITTER<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>|\u00a0\u00a0WEBSITE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Amazon US\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon Worldwide\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback Blurb Ava Diaz needs saving. She just doesn\u2019t know it yet. Just like she doesn\u2019t know a thing about the boy she sits next to on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,49,9,12],"tags":[59,1017,110,48],"class_list":["post-44131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-feeeeeeels","category-romance","category-young-adult","tag-arc","tag-heartache-duet","tag-jay-mclean","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Heartache-and-Hope.png?fit=200%2C301&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-btN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nReview<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re something MORE, Ava.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nHe looks up now, his eyes locked on mine. \u201cYou, Ava. I want you. On your good days and your bad days – <\/i>especially your bad days. I want you to let me in. I want you to come to me and look at me the way you\u2019re looking at me now, and know that I\u2019m <\/i>all in. I just want <\/i>you.\u201d His voice cracks. \u201cGod, Ava. I want you so fucking bad, it\u2019s killing me.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\nHeartache Duet<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Heartache-and-Hope.png?resize=80%2C122&ssl=1\")
\u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/First-and-Forever.png?resize=80%2C122&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Heartache-and-Hope-Giveaway.png?resize=230%2C230&ssl=1\")
Giveaway<\/strong><\/h4>\nTo celebrate the release of Heartache and Hope, the author is giving away a $100 Amazon gift card!<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Click to Enter Giveaway<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nAbout the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Jay-McLean-Promo.png?resize=179%2C179\")
Jay McLean is an international best-selling author and full-time reader, writer of New Adult and Young Adult romance, and skilled procrastinator. When she\u2019s not doing any of those things, she can be found running after her three little boys, investing way too much time on True Crime Documentaries and binge-watching reality TV.<\/p>\n