ARC REVIEW: A Tale of Two Centuries (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #2) by Rachel Harris

Title/Series: A Tale of Two Centuries | My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #2
Author: Rachel Harris
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Expected Publication: August 6th 2013
Format: eBook | Pages: 320
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance
Source: Entangled Publishing
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!!!

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Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

I received a copy of this book from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This book just goes to prove that sometimes not only can a 2nd book in a series hold up but it's one of those rare cases that it, in my opinion, by far surpasses it's predecessor. Don't get me wrong, I adored following along with Cat's story in MSSSC as she stumbled her way through life 500 years in the past. But there's something so comical about taking an innocent teenage girl from very early in the sixteenth century and dropping her in the middle of Hollywood in our time that had me absolutely fall in love with this book.

You can't help but love Less. She is so sweet and proper and she comes from a time where even the thought of someone seeing a bare ankle is so highly improper and enough to give her an anxiety attack! So you can imagine, walking out of the gypsy tent and not only with the sights and sounds of our time but seeing the way people are dressed! It was a major sensory overload for the poor girl. Watching her navigate our crazy world had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

It is not right for a lady to walk barefoot--a suitor could see her ankles.

This picks up just before the end of MSSSC. So we get to see how Less wound up going from Renaissance Florence to twenty-first century Hollywood at Cat's doorstep. Can I just say that I was so happy that Cat appeared quite often throughout this book. We were kind of left hanging without a proper HEA for her and so through Less's eyes we get to follow along with a bit of what happens to her after she's returned home along with the adventures Less herself goes through.

As Lucas takes his seat, my cousin gives a valiant effort...but she cannot hide the hint of a pleased smile, the subtle shift in her posture to bring her closer, nor the discreet way her eyes keep drifting towards him.

Less grows and changes so much in this book. She starts out sort of timid and proper, a true representation of her time period. She has a passion for the stage and acting but where she's from that's just not something a lady does and she stifles a lot of herself trying to project herself as everything she's been taught a lady should be. Enter Austin Michaels, resident bad boy. Austin would rather be surfing that sitting in the classroom, he absolutely doesn't do relationship, and though he's extremely bright, he went through a lot in a short time and so  he finds it easier to just not really care...about anything.

"I can't believe Mr. Laidback and Never Shows Up actually made it to class, much less provoked you in the hallway. I also can't believe he got my straitlaced, proper cousin all tongue-tied and crazy."

They both see something in the other one that nobody else does. Something that's behind the image that they outwardly project to the world. He sees a fire in her that she tries to hide and he wants to bring it out, help her to be more free, take more risks, be more fun and not so serious and sheltered. It's so fun to watch her change and be more of that bubbly girl filled with passion that I loved so much from the first book, she truly blossoms as they learn from each other and both change and grow.

Unlike the first book, we're not left hanging on this one. That still doesn't change the fact that I want more! I am so enchanted by this world that Rachel Harris has created and I can't wait to see what she has in store with the next book, which hopefully won't be the last! Thank you Entangled for sending me this book to read and review!