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Theresa Troutman

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Life's What You Make It: Love's Great Adventure Series Book 1: Love's Great Adventure Book 1 Kindle Edition

by Theresa Troutman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 124 ratings

Book 1 of 4: Love's Great Adventure

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Unruly. Disobedient. Reckless.

I've heard it all.
And quite frankly, they're right.
Which is why I got shipped overseas to "start over."
And America wasn't all that great.

Until her...

Tess Hamilton.
She's pure, sweet, and everything I'm not.
And I'll try like Hell to be if it means I can have her.
But Tess won't let me in--won't give me anything I want.

Now, I have to figure out a way to take down my conniving mother,
Win Tess' heart,
And make my mark in this place.

Piece of cake.

**16+ due to sexual situations, language. Romance Series, New Adult, Family Saga. Can be read as a standalone.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Fans of John Green will be enchanted by this romantic tale! Hgiardina wiki.ezvid.com/m/9-wonderful-novels-about-adventures-away-from-home-lnre7vkTuM7N2

"Loved this book. Gossip Girl meets the Royals with amazing 80s references. A well-written love story with a real life feel." Author Emme Burton - Snack

"Masterful. Definite 5* read and would recommend it to any YA fan. It's also a book I would read over and over again. Great work!" Author Melyssa Winchester - Count On Me Series

About the Author

Theresa Troutman lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and their crazy dog, Niko. She loves reading, theatre, traveling and is an active member of the SCBWI. Her other works include: My Secret Summer and A Special Connection.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00JNKAV2A
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kia Ora Books (April 12, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 12, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3079 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 361 pages

Customer Reviews:
4.3 124 ratings

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Theresa Troutman

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Theresa Troutman lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and their crazy dog, Niko. She loves reading, theatre and traveling. Her books include: My Secret Summer, A Special Connection, By My Side, Burn For You, and the Love's Great Adventure Series: Life's What You Make It - Book 1, Love This Life - Book2, London Loves - Book 3, She Will Be Loved - Book 4, With a Little Luck - A Love's Great Adventure Novella.

Feel free to contact her on her Facebook and like her page. https://www.facebook.com/theresa.troutman.author

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7364733.Theresa_Troutman

Twitter: @theresatroutman

Website: http://theresatroutman.wix.com/theresa-troutman

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

124 global ratings

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AndieLovesBooks

Well written, sweet story

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2015

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I'm so, so glad I ran into this story, I'm absolutely stunned how good it was, how I couldn't put it down. Usually I'm a standalone, told in first person kinda girl, so I'm really surprised how quickly Life's What You Make It become my favorite.
I found it refreshing and exciting that the story takes place in the 80's, I rarely read stories like that before, and I found this uniquue and well written. I was born in the 90's, so I don't know much about that era, and I enjoyed all the music and culture.
Tess is a very likable heroine, and Sebastian with his Brittish accent and bad boy ways is perfect book boyfriend material.
Sebastian and Tess are both high school seniors, and have a lot of growing up to do, especially Sebastian, and I'm glad I got to see their journey toward adulthood.

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J. Faltys

Compelling Story of Opposites Attracting

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2014

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I've always been drawn to the theme of opposites attract and in this story the couple in question couldn't be more opposite as they not only come from two very different social circles but from opposite sides of the globe. In this story money can't buy you everything, particularly love. Rich playboy Sebastian soon learns that lesson in a most unexpected way which leads to a journey of self-discovery and ultimately happiness.

Sebastian grew up with an uncaring mother and a father he never knew. The only person to love him unconditionally was his nanny. His life was set out before him giving him no choice but to rebel. Too much drugs, sex, and a friend's death lead to a desire to change (along with his mother's banishment of him) and in America he finds the will to change as well as some heartache. He goes from an irresponsible boy to a man in a few short months. He learns self-worth and that he can make it on his own. With the love and support of a good girl he becomes the man we knew he could be behind the facade of anger he surrounded himself with. Sebastian is a charming character, even when he's being bad. He truly cares for those closest to him and it's those caring glimpses that endears him to me and has me rooting for him. Seeing him become the voice of reason amongst those still partying showed even further how much he's matured and that he is something beyond his mother's name and wealth.

Tess is a truly good and studious girl....almost too much so at times. It's hard for her to let her hair down and when she does so for all the wrong reasons it's a disaster and a disappointment. She's a bit naive as well when it comes to matters of love which felt a bit unrealistic as she's heading off to college. She certainly makes Sebastian wait which was new for him but showed the importance of their relationship. She's a kindhearted soul though, supportive of him and it was sweet watching their relationship evolve. She knew all the dark parts of him and accepted him nonetheless.

From start to finish this was an emotionally engaging story with compelling characters. It was interesting seeing how the rich live in vivid detail and how meaningless and superficial their lives are. Sebastian was a delightful character who never hid his past but accepted it and moved on to become a better person, a more real person. Though Tess's immaturity bothered me at times I still appreciated her ability to bring out the real Sebastian, one less angry and happier in his own skin. The secondary characters are equally as colorful, Sebastian's friends Penny and Alistair especially, and I'd be interested in seeing their evolutions from such a tragic event as they both are carrying emotional baggage. This was my first book by Ms. Troutman but won't be my last.

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Tami Czenkus

Brilliantly Unique!!

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2014

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Theresa hit it out the park with this brilliant coming of age story. Entitled Sebastian never had to answer for his actions, until Lady Irons slams him back into reality and sends him to America to make him see the error of his ways! He never expected to have feelings for his American tutor Tess.
Tess has only one thing that is important to her, that is her education and her future. Life takes Sebastian and Tess through ups and downs. Will Love find its way and allow them to get their Happily ever after, or will life prove to be too much for either of them.
I absolutely Adore this series and I love the music themes throughout the book. Kudos Theresa

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Sassy Southern Book Blog

It had the potential to be an amazing 5 star read but never got there and maybe ...

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2015

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So I'm really struggling with this review, I'm giving it 3 stars it's almost a 4 bit didn't quite get there for me. It had the potential to be an amazing 5 star read but never got there and maybe with all 3 books together it would. It started out really slow and boring in the beginning but built up a bit but just stayed there for me. I could guess what was going to happen and there was no surprises for me. Like I said it had potential and was very well written but never fully pulled me in. But that however does not mean you won't like it,as it is very well written. It's set back in the 80's which I kinda enjoyed as I grew up in the eighties. .lol
Sebastian is a spoilt rich boy who's getting out of hand. Over the course of one week his life went spiraling even more out of control. So his mom sends him to America to finish his high school out with a tutor.
Tess has her mind focused on what she wants and there is no room for boyfriend's in that picture. She takes the job as a tutor to raise money to help with college. In no way did she see a complication of falling in love in her life. But will Sebastian change his ways and can Tess find room in her life for love? Find out when you read this book.

2 people found this helpful

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Beck RR

The Jug Handle

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2014

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Okay, as a Jerseyan I have to start off mentioning that I loved the bar they went to was The Jug Handle. HA! Very cute!

A tragic beginning and a possible romance where I wasn't sure what I wanted to happen. But take a privileged sexy British guy, and add a smart, sweet American girl and you'll find yourself lost in their romance.

An intriguing read that left me wanting more!

One person found this helpful

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Nicole M.

Sebastian and Tess

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2015

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How can you not like a book that reminds you of your early years? The fact that this story takes place in the 80's had me smiling from ear to ear.
I absolutely adored the story of Tess and Sebastian. There is nothing better than that first real love. The story flowed amazingly well. The secondary characters were also well written.
Cannot wait to see what comes next for this couple.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

CPet

Can't wait to read Book 2!

Reviewed in Canada on April 25, 2016

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Life's What You Make It

This is a book about young love and two people from not only completely different continents, but completely different worlds. I started out hating Sebastian and his group of spoiled, rich, entitled friends in England and was worried about the fact that I wasn't going to end up liking the main male character of this book, but wow, things certainly changed and he certainly changed! Guess what? I love Sebastian, he ends up being so sweet and so dedicated to Tess. Tess is smart and incredibly stubborn and frustrated me at times, but she seems to be the perfect match for him. Oh the feels...I love when an author can make me hate, then love, then want to throw my iPad across the room! While the ending isn't a cliffhanger, you can definitely tell there's much more to come from this couple and their future lives together.

shirley sauer

Patience

Reviewed in Australia on April 25, 2014

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don't give up and follow your gut. if you don't try something new, you'll never succeed in anything and then you may regret it.

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Life's What You Make It: Love's Great Adventure Series Book 1: Love's Great Adventure Book 1 Kindle Edition

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Theresa Troutman

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