Book Review: There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

At First Sight: Hotel heiress Finley is heading to Ireland as an exchange student, hoping it will be the jolt she needs to get back on track. Years before, he older brother Will went on the same program to the same town, and whatever he found in Ireland changed his life.

It has been two years since Will died - in a terrorist bombing in Afghanistan, where he was building schools - and Finley hasn't really coped with it, she still misses her brother, has had a long streak of bad choices that she's trying to put behind her and doesn't know how to let go of her grief.

But, armed with Will's travel journal from his time in Ireland, Finley is set to change that by going to all the places her brother loved, the places that made him see God. Because Finley really needs to see God again.

And, when on the plane she meets the hottest teenage actor, Beckett Rush, things get a little more complicated - as he's staying at the same place she is while he's filming a movie, and has taken an interest in Finley since she's the one person in his life who never tries to kiss up to him.

Soon, Finley is consumed with her quest to find Will's Ireland, and with the life of Mrs. Sweeney- the grandma she has had to adopt as part of one of her classes' requirements. And Beckett becomes her biggest ally in her quests, even though Finley is quite reluctant to accept his help. 

Second Glance: I'm very conflicted about how to start my review of There You'll Find Me because over all it was a good read and I definitely enjoyed it when I was reading it, but at the same time I had a ton of problems with Finley and I never really grew fond of her.

Finley shuts down a lot and doesn't want to reach out to other people and I understand that's part of her grief process and everyone lives it differently, and all that, but she wasn't very likable, and she has a very annoying way of parroting calorie counts and saying things that imply that one single cookie is going to give you flabby arms - and eventually you understand she has an eating disorder, but until you do it just comes off as annoying and offensive.

Now, onto the good stuff. The settling is beautiful, I love all things Ireland and I loved how the town and people are described. I really liked the scenes with Mrs. Sweeney, she was a bit mean but her story was interesting. And I actually found Beckett Rush kind of swoony - though he did frustrate me sometimes, his dog loved him and that gave him, like, 100 instant brownie points.

I also liked Erin and her family - they are the ones hosting Finley -and the little bits of information they drop about running a B and B. And the school drama -though a bit predictable - lightened the mood of the book because Finley sure got moody sometimes.

Bottom Line: Don't be fooled by the cute cover, this book isn't exactly fluffy. But it is an enjoyable read and other than my issues with Finley, I liked the characters and settings. Also, it is Christian fiction and it reads like Christian fiction, if you know what I mean, and not only because the romance is pretty tame.
1/3