Disclaimer: This book contains a villain pretending to be a hero, a hero pretending to be a villain, a disco-dancing heroine, two overprotective sidekicks, a little bit of bad language, and a whole lot of swoony kissing.
Spirit committee leader Mandy Pennington is secretly in love with her best friend, Gus, but when he hooks up with her archenemy at a party, she decides to win him over once and for all. She just doesn’t know how. But who better to help than hot loner Caleb Torrs?
Caleb’s got his own problems, but when he sees Mandy pining over Gus at a party, he thinks she’s finally smoked the spirit stick and lost her mind. Maybe he has, too, because he just asked Mandy to be his fake girlfriend.She’ll get her loser friend’s attention, and he’ll get his stalker ex off his back.It’s a win-win.
But soon one fake date blends into the next and before he knows it, he actually wants to kiss Mandy. For real. Too bad their plan is working, and Gus is finally noticing the one girl Caleb just might be falling for…
I received a copy of the book from the publisher, Entangled Teen, via NetGalley for an honest review. Everything following this little disclaimer is my opinion. And now, for our regularly scheduled program . . .
Okay, first off, I LOVE THIS BOOK. I do. It’s a cheesy teen book that makes you laugh. It reminded me of the movies 10 Things I Hate About You and Sky High. Minus the superheroes.
The writing is great. It’s easy to get into and be pulled into. I was flipping the electronic pages like a madwoman wanting more. The imagery is great, the humor is beyond funny, and the whole situation of the book is straight out of a teen movie that you can’t help, but giggle.
I will have to say, I found it to be steamy at times too. There isn’t any sex, but the kisses definitely makes the heart pound. I found myself wanting to be a teen again; even though those were not my best years.
The characters are well written. Yes, they are stereotyped in the beginning. You have your hippie goody two shoes and your badass bad boy. HOWEVER, once the characters started to get to know each other, more of their personality and life situations came out. It’s very much like high school.
You have your stereotypes, but each person has their own personal drama, family issues, or something that puts them in a unique spot away from their clique. It’s the same with Brown’s chracters. Mandy may seem like a ditzy hippie, but she has a pretty rough life. Caleb, on the other hand, is aloof, but his reasons aren’t because he plainly hates people.
The main plot of the fake relationship may be a over made plot point, but it felt new again reading this book. I wanted to see their relationship unfold. It was very much a book that could translate into a movie and not lose it’s essence.
All in all, this is a fun book. I enjoyed it. I would even read it again given the chance.
Casia's Corner 