Blog Tour: Upside Down by Lia Riley (Review & Giveaway)

Title: Upside Down
Author: Lia Riley
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Series: Off the Map #1
Publication: August 5th, 2014 by Grand Central

If You Never Get Lost, You’ll Never Be Found

Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she'll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.

Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He's never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime . . . or if they were meant to live a world apart.

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It's always nice when a New Adult story can take the things I love about NA and be twisted into a new novel that I end up loving. Upside Down had all the things I'm used to seeing in the genre--romance, girl with some kind of an issue that makes her actually pretty easy to relate to even though you may not have experienced the same exact thing she did, a guy who used to be...over friendly with a crap ton of girls, and both of the main characters have pasts full of heartbreak and pain. The awesome thing about Upside Down was that it took all of those things, and it all got twisted into a story that didn't FEEL run of the mill. And oh sweet baby goodness, I ended up falling for this story, head over heels.

Talia has OCD. Like, actual OCD. Not the OCD moments we all have at some point. I'm talking legitimate it-messes-with-her-everyday-life-on-a-regular-basis OCD. (Fun fact, that's how you know if you have a disorder. We all have tendencies--but disorders are recognized by interfering with your every day life.) I personally do not have OCD. But I, just like every other person on this planet, have things I struggle with every day. Is my own thing as serious as Talia's? No. But still, I could understand. It also helped that the writing was done so well, that the understanding I already had for OCD took on a more close-up view, being inside Talia's head and all. So yeah. Talia has OCD, and I loved how it made her feel more REAL to me, and I liked how that tied into the story. Other than that, Talia was a pretty gutsy chick. I'd hang out with her any day. And her sense of humor actually made me laugh more than once, which is never a bad sign. 

Bran...oh, Bran. He has his issues. He has his past, and he has trouble adjusting to how things change when Talia comes around. He didn't start out as the most charming fellow, but as the story progressed, his sweeter side peeked out more and more until it was basically his natural state. I very much enjoyed watching that evolution in him. Both he and Talia grew so much throughout this novel, and if I hadn't already loved Bran and Talia (which I totally did), I would have become a fan by the time this story ended.

The romance was so great. Bran and Talia get off to a somewhat rocky start, but they have this connection right away. And instead of jumping into insta-love (seriously, they are both the exact opposite of insta-love), they talk. They learn more about each other. And we get to see them open up more to each other and learn about each other, and grow closer. It was quite beautiful.

One of the coolest things about this novel is that it's set in Australia. I liked seeing that different setting and everything that came with it. That setting, paired with the little twists in the story I'd figured could very possibly echo the same stories I've read before, created a book I turned out to enjoy greatly. There were a few things that nagged on me--such as how unstable Bran and Talia's relationship felt for a larger portion of the book than I'd prefer, and the time...or two...I wished to slap Bran. Also, the jealous feeling I got at a certain part. I did not like that. It was highly effective in adding to all the feels going on in that cluster of crap going on, which added to make the story unique, but I am still not much of a fan of feeling that way. And while I enjoyed the dual POV, as I always do, I would have liked more from Bran's perspective. He was going through so much, and while we did get a decent glimpse of that, I wanted to see MORE. Though part of the reason for that may have something to do with the fact that I heart him. ;)

Overall, Upside Down is a beautiful New Adult story that came with some surprises. I loved Bran and Talia, and enjoyed how real their characters felt. I rode the roller coaster of this novel with them, and I cannot wait to go on another ride with them in the next book! 

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Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult Romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live in Northern California.

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Review: Perfect Kind of Trouble by Chelsea Fine

Perfect Kind of Trouble by Chelsea Fine 
Release Date: June 17th, 2014
Pages: 336
Publisher: Forever
Series: Finding Fate #2
Review Copy: e-ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Description from Goodreads:
Sometimes when perfect falls apart, a little trouble fixes everything . . . 

Twenty-one-year-old Kayla Turner has lost everything. After spending most of her life taking care of her ailing mother, she just wants to spot a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. So when her late father-a man she barely knew-leaves her an inheritance, she finally breathes a sigh of relief . . . until she learns the inheritance comes with strings. Strings in the form of handsome playboy Daren Ackwood, her father's protégé. To see any of her inheritance, she's forced to team up with him. From his expensive car to those sexy dimples, Kayla's seen his type before. But Daren isn't who he seems to be . . .

Struggling to make amends for his family's mistakes, Daren has a life more Oliver Twist than Richie Rich these days. He's beyond grateful that James Turner included him in his will, but working with Turner's princess of a daughter to fulfill his cryptic last wish is making Daren wonder if being broke is really so bad. Still, she's just as beautiful as she is stubborn, and the more time he spends with Kayla, the less it feels right being without her. Soon Daren and Kayla begin to wonder if maybe the best gift Kayla's dad could have left them . . . was each other.

I absolutely adored Chelsea Fine's first novel in the Finding Fate series, Best Kind of Broken. I felt all of the feels and reading that book was such an experience. So I was positively looking forward to reading this companion novel, especially since this premise was so fun. I mean, seriously. In handcuffs with a hot guy going on a scavenger hunt for an inheritance that could very likely be hefty? Sweet. 

Reading this was an experience, too, except this time I buddy read with Val from Stuck in Books. Fun fact: buddy reading with Val is always hilarious. We had a good time with it. Made a list of characters we hated, made guesses as to what was going on with things, and discussed other stuff we liked or wanted to slap in the novel. By the time we were finished, we both agreed that this book was super flipping good.

Kayla was a character that grew on me. When we first start the story, we don't know much of anything about her other than that she stopped visiting her dad. Which sounds like a total B thing to do, yeah? But as we learned more about her, it came to light that she was actually a pretty cool chick. All she wanted was to be SEEN. For people to pay attention to what she had to say, how she felt, what she thought--instead of focusing on her looks. I liked that Kayla was so self aware, and I also liked that she didn't depend on her looks for everything. She wanted to be around people who weren't shallow. Who listened to her. As I said, she wanted to be SEEN. 

Daren was going through his own internal struggle, as well. He didn't exactly have a great sense of self worth. But goodness gracious, I loved seeing his growth with Kayla. I love this boy. He's my knight in shining manacles. He's such a great guy, but that also got overlooked by most people because of his reputation, a lot of which not even his fault. 

Both Daren and Kayla got dealt some crappy cards in the game of life, and with that they connected. I enjoyed watching that. They both went into the cuffs arrangement with a bunch of assumptions about the other, a majority of those negative. But as they went through the scavenger hunt, they spent more time together and learned more and I loved watching them learn the truth about each other. It led to some fabulous, sweet romance, that made me feel at least twenty levels of HAPPY! 

Remember, I heart Daren. My knight in shining manacles, remember. ;)

Though I really liked this book, I still had a few little issues with it. There were some times when the positioning or just something Kayla and Daren were doing didn't fit logically with how they were wearing the cuffs. Also, I was hoping for there to be an awkward scene in which they tried to use the toilet. We didn't get to see that--though it was mentioned in passing when they got the handcuffs off. And I was hoping for Daren to interact with Pixie at least a little. He mentioned that he needed to have a chat with her, but we never got to see that.

Overall, I highly enjoyed Perfect Kind of Trouble! The premise was fun and the characters were fantastic. I especially loved Daren and his shining manacles! Chelsea Fine's written another great novel and I cannot wait for the next in this series. I'm sure it's going to be just as fabulous as the first two.

 

Blog Tour: Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally (Review & Giveaway)

 

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Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally 

Release Date: July 15th, 2014

Pages: 306

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Series: Hundred Oaks #5

Review Copy: e-ARC copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

Description from Goodreads: 

Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

"Breathe, Annie, Breathe is an emotional, heartfelt, and beautiful story about finding yourself after loss and learning to love. It gave me so many feels. Her best book yet." — Jennifer Armentrout, New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You 

I love Miranda Kenneally's books. Catching Jordan is a book that I look back on whenever I need a laugh and Stealing Parker is another book that gives me happy feelings. I've always loved the characters Miranda Kenneally depicts and creates in her stories, and then their situations in the books. Going into Breathe, Annie, Breathe, I expected a book that made me think a bit, touched my heart a bit, and made me laugh a bit. What I got was so much more than that.

Annie is probably my favorite Kenneally MC yet. I loved her strength and determination to fun that race no matter what. Reading this book, I thought a lot about when I used to run for school or cheerleading or whatever. I was never a fan. Annie wasn't either until her boyfriend dies and she makes the decision to run the marathon he'd been training for. And that is such a beautiful thing to do. Starting out with only knowing that about Annie set her off to a great start in my mind and she only rose up in the awesome scale as the book progressed. She wasn't perfect. She had issues to deal with, of course. But she did it. She worked on it, and I admire her so, so much.

Then there's Jere, who--dear goodness--I totally fell for. Head over heels, baby. He was such a unique character with his adrenaline junky ways. And I literally mean it when I say "adrenaline junky." It's his thing. He does dangerous stuff for the thrill, and he gets injured. He has bunches of scars and is always looking for something new to try. I loved how he was dangerous in a way that I've never seen in a book boy before. He's not what I'd call a bad boy. He's a sweet boy. He treats blisters and says encouraging things and is the most wonderful of friends when you need one. The dangerous part comes in with the risk involved with the stuff he chooses to do and I found that so interesting. 

Since I was such a huge fan of Annie from the beginning, I started out sort of hesitant toward Jere. I didn't want him to pop in and mess with Annie or anything. I didn't want to throw the book at a wall. (Especially since I was reading it on my Kindle.) But I warmed up to Jere in no time. That boy is so kind and funny and if he needs a new best friend, I totally volunteer as tribute. So once I realized that Jere was awesome sauce, I started rooting for the couple. And goodness gracious, those two were so great for each other. I could not think of a better match for either of these fabulous people if I tried. 

The writing and storyline of the novel mixed together so well to leave a lasting effect on me. The biggest thing of this story is Annie's internal struggle--both race-involved and life involved and love involved. She's figuring her shiz out. And I FELT this, FELT her story so much. I was right there with Annie throughout this whole story, and I flew through this thing. A day. It took me a day to read this book. It would have been one sitting, but I had to eat dinner. Everything just flowed and the writing was wonderful, and I flat out LOVED this book.

I also enjoyed seeing characters from the previous Hundred Oaks books. It's so fun watching how the stories all tie together. And the title of Breathe, Annie, Breathe? Seriously a favorite of mine. It fits the story so well, and I heart it almost as much as I heart Jere. 

Overall, I am in love with Breathe, Annie, Breathe. This is definitely my favorite Miranda Kenneally novel so far, and Annie's story has a special place in my heart. I adored her and Jere, and it was such a great experience watching their progress throughout the story. I feel so much love right now. 

 

Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes, and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband.

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Blog Tour: Crave by Violet Vaughn (Review & Giveaway)

 

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Crave by Violet Vaughn 

Release Date: June 15, 2014
Series: Fire and Ice #1

Source: Author in exchange for an honest review

Buy It: Amazon | B&N

Description from Goodreads:

Casey Cassidy is a girl who gets what she wants. 

Determined to get over Jason and find a man that wants a family, she moves to Breckenridge, Colorado.

Landing a job skiing every day, Casey finds Blaine Johnson - a wish come true. A hunky surfer turned ski instructor, he checks off every requirement on her list.

Except for the one she forgot to add.

Blaine has a secret. A secret so big it keeps intimacy smoldering, when Casey needs fire. No matter how hard she tries, the embers won’t ignite. Can she live without passion to get the family she craves?

When Jason comes to town, Casey questions everything she wished for. Their consuming love threatens to explode and ruin her dream. Will she have to choose between a family and the love of her life?

I went into this book looking for a fun romance. The synopsis indicated that's what this book would be, and though I also sort of expected the story to be the same old-same old, I was still excited because I genuinely thought I'd enjoy it. I am now pleased to admit that this novel surprised me in how it played out, and I was very much taken by this story. I enjoyed it so much.

First and foremost, I loved that the MC, Casey, was going after what she wanted. She wasn't waiting for or expecting Jason to change. She was doing what she wanted with her life. I like that she went for it. I don't like how quickly she was to go looking elsewhere, but I can respect her choices. She was strong, she was kind, and she was determined. All very good and admirable traits for a protagonist to possess. 

The guys were magnificent. I can absolutely understand why Casey had a hard time sorting out her feelings. Jason was kind and outdoorsy, and he loved and respected Casey to no end. Honestly, he was so great it bothers me they ever broke up. But it happened, and they both moved on and that was that. Then there was Blaine. He was the seemingly perfect package for guy to settle down and make babies with. If the situation were different, I would have been totally cool with Casey ending up with Blaine. He liked kids and was great with them, and he was just as kind and understanding as Jason. Plus, he definitely loved Casey. Goodness, I love BOTH of these guys. I want a Blaine and I want a Jason. 

The romance was fabulous. It was more based around feelings of love and growing feelings and whatnot than smexy times, but that doesn't mean the novel is completely devoid of those moments. I liked the way Casey's emotions changed toward Blaine as time went on, and how she dealt with how she felt about Jason in the process. It all just fell into place in a great way.

Most of the plot wasn't hugely groundbreaking, but there was one twist that I positively LOVED. For several reasons. But other than that, while the plot did satisfy me, it irked me as well. So much could have been avoided if Casey and Jason had just talked things out in the beginning. If they'd discussed WHY he didn't want kids or like holidays. I mean, I feel like the happenings with Blaine needed to happen (and I am beyond glad they did), but I also wished we could have known what was going on with Jason. That isn't the kind of thing where you go "I want kids" and then the other goes "oh, well I don't" and then BAM. Over. Not when you love each other the way Casey and Jason did. You talk about it and go from there. But it's okay. 

Overall, I had a great time reading Crave. I loved the writing and the story, and ended up with a happy feeling when it was all said and done. I definitely plan on reading the next book, Release, and I have no doubt it'll be just as fabulous as this novel turned out. 

Violet Vaughn writes New Adult Romance in her home in New Hampshire.  She lives with her husband, two teenagers and three Portuguese Water Dogs.  An avid skier she taught skiing and snowboarding before she started her family and now skies every winter weekend for enjoyment.  Summers are full of hiking and running with her dogs.

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Blog Tour: Perfectly Messy by Lizzy Charles (Review of Effortless With You & Giveaway)

 

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Effortless With You by Lizzy Charles 

Release Date: 2013

Pagecount: 249

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Series: Effortless With You #1

Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Buy It: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Description from Goodreads:

School is out and Lucy is ready for the perfect summer: lazy days at the pool, invitations to the most exclusive parties, and romantic dates with her hot new boyfriend. That is, until she lands in trouble one too many times and her parents issue the ultimate punishment: a summer job. Suddenly, the summer can't end fast enough.

To make matters worse, the job is painting houses with Justin, the most popular, egotistical guy in school. Spending all summer with Justin might be other girls' dreams, but definitely not Lucy's. After all, Justin is cocky, annoying, and a jerk. So what if he's the most beautiful jerk Lucy's ever seen? Or that his grin makes her forget she’s mad at the world? Or that maybe, just maybe, there's more to Justin than Lucy realizes. Only one thing is certain: it won’t be the summer she wanted, but it might be exactly the one she needs.

I was kind of skeptical about this book at first. From what I could tell, this would be a cute book that I'd enjoy, but right at the beginning I kind of started to question that because the main character danced along the lines of one that would bother me the whole time. After getting used to the character and her personality, and getting into her story, I ended up enjoying Effortless With You so much.

Lucy has an attitude. Not really a snarky kickass attitude, but the kind of attitude some teenagers have that make you want to slap them. She starts out with a questionable relationship with her parents, and she's one of those mean girls who isn't outright mean, but stands by as her friend is mean. Oh, and she must have the hot I'm-only-here-to-get-in-your-pants boyfriend to top it all off. It kind of takes a bit to get to know Lucy and realize that she isn't terrible all the time. Actually, she isn't terrible at all. She just insecure and trying to do the best for herself in the way that she thinks is best--which is hard because she isn't too in tune with herself and who she is. 

And THAT is why I ended up loving Lucy. Not only does she have a magnificent character arc, but she turns out to be such an easy character to relate to. Don't get me wrong, I still wanted to slap her for her attitude problem, but by the time the story was over I actually felt like I could be friend with Lucy. You know, if she were a real person and not a fictional character. 

Justin, on the other hand, was likable from the very beginning. Yeah, he had that perfect golden boy thing about him, but he wasn't a douche. His perfect thing wasn't a cover for the A-hole he really was. He was just a super nice guy who tended to send mixed signals all the freaking time. That was my only real problem with Justin, though--that he was so clueless. And even if he wasn't clueless, it bothered me that he never really went for it with Lucy--that she had to. I LOVE that she did, but if Justin had feelings for Lucy for as long as he said he did, then he should have spoken up. Seriously. 

The storyline turned out to be a mix of Lucy's shenanigans and the happenings that lead to Lucy becoming more in tune with herself. Pretty close to everything that could go wrong for a teenage girl goes wrong for Lucy in this book. I'm not even kidding. This girl has some bad luck. I loved seeing Justin there through it all, though, even when he was sending his silly mixed signals. I especially loved watching Lucy's relationship with her mother transform. That was literally perfection, in my opinion.

And now, because I'm thinking about things going wrong for our lovely MC, I'm just going to say: ZACH PISSED ME OFF. So. Much. Not even because he was a jerkwad. Nope. Because of what he said when that thing happened at Matt's party. I honestly had to stop and say, out loud, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" when he said it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wanted to punch things at that part. Ahem. "Why are you wearing that dress if you didn't want this?" Or something to that effect. Whatever. Pissed. Me. Off.

Aaaaand end rant.

Back to the actual review. The romance was cute and sweet, but it did take a while to establish itself. More than once I wondered if Lucy would end the book single. That wouldn't have bothered me TOO MUCH, so long as she and Justin were still besties. But no worries. They work things out and they're adorable. I even loved a majority of their working up to being a couple. They're both good people and I liked the happiness. My only real problem was how long it took them to become a THING. 

Overall, I positively enjoyed this incredibly sweet story. Lizzy Charles has written a fabulous novel with an enthralling story and characters that won me over and had me rooting for them all the way through the very last page.

Perfectly Messy by Lizzy Charles 

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Series: Effortless With You #2

Buy It: Amazon | Kobo

Description from Goodreads:

Popularity isn't everything it's cracked up to be. Justin Marshall knows this better than most. For the captain of the basketball team, small business owner, and son of Minnesota's next governor, life can get pretty overwhelming. But Justin can handle anything as long as he has Lucy, the girl who fell for the man he’s trying to be.

But for Justin and Lucy, finding time together proves challenging. Stolen kisses and whispered promises just aren't enough. That is, until scandalous photos of the couple are leaked to a press intent on creating a juicy scandal during Justin's dad's gubernatorial campaign. And when Lucy becomes fair play for the tabloids and gossip pages, Justin does the only thing he can to protect her: he breaks her heart.

For Lucy, junior year is everything she hoped it would be: new friends, second chances, and a boyfriend she can’t stop kissing. That is, until the boy she’s pretty sure she loves chooses the life his family wants for him, over her.

Now it’s up to Lucy to teach him what it really means to have everything. Because for Justin, being who everyone needs him to be just might cost him the one person he can’t live without.

When Lizzy Charles isn’t scrambling to raise her two spunky toddlers or caring for premature and sick babies as a neonatal intensive care nurse, she’s in a quiet corner writing or snuggled up with a novel and a few squares of dark chocolate. Black tea keeps her constant and she loves guacamole. She married her high school sweet heart, a heart-melting musician, so it’s no surprise she’s fallen in love with writing contemporary YA romance novels.

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Blog Tour: Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols (Review & Giveaway)

 

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Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols 

Release Date: May 20, 2014

Pagecount: 336

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Series: Superlatives #1

Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Buy It: Amazon  

Description from Goodreads:

Tia and Will’s lives get flipped upside down when they’re voted Yearbook’s Biggest Flirts in this sassy novel from the author of Endless Summer and The One That I Want.

Tia just wants to have fun. She’s worked hard to earn her reputation as the life of the party, and she’s ready for a carefree senior year of hanging out with friends and hooking up with cute boys. And her first order of business? New guy Will. She can’t get enough of his Midwestern accent and laidback swagger.

As the sparks start to fly, Will wants to get serious. Tia’s seen how caring too much has left her sisters heartbroken, and she isn’t interested in commitment. But pushing Will away drives him into the arms of another girl. Tia tells herself it’s no big deal…until the yearbook elections are announced. Getting voted Biggest Flirts with Will is, well, awkward. They may just be friends, but their chemistry is beginning to jeopardize Will’s new relationship—and causing Tia to reconsider her true feelings. What started as a lighthearted fling is about to get very complicated…

 

This book was incredibly cute and fun. Our two main characters met right at the very beginning, and then the story took off from there, not leaving any room for the story to become a bore. I honestly enjoyed this whole story, though it did frustrate me at times. When it comes down to it, Biggest Flirts was fun to read and though I haven't read much of Jennifer Echols' works, I totally want to read more.

Tia, our protagonist, was actually not too bad of an MC. I did like reading the story from her point of view, and I liked her personality. She did annoy me a time or two, mostly when she got prickly or when she pushed Will away even though everyone in the whole world could tell she didn't really want to. It took her a while to get on board with how she really felt about things, but I did enjoy watching her take that little journey. 

Will was so cute and sweet. He wasn't absolutely perfect, but he was realistic, and if he were real, I'd definitely be friends with him.He had his own issues that he was working through while Tia dealt with hers, and I liked that. He wasn't there solely to aid Tia in whatever she did--he was a real person, with real conflicts, too. I didn't very much enjoy his need to find a girlfriend (or, more specifically, anything he did that involved Angelica), but he was such a nice guy that I kind of got over that by the end of the book. He won me over by that point.

Their relationship was both frustrating and adorably sweet at the same time. I loved them together--they were funny and clearly liked each other. But their rocky road to getting to that point got on my nerves sometimes. Mostly when Angelica was thrown into the situation, and Sawyer. And I really, really liked Sawyer. However, I was glad that their love story didn't play out completely the way I imagined it, and that Angelica played a smaller role in the story that I'd anticipated. As far as romance goes, though, I was satisfied with what brewed between Will and Tia. They were the cutest "friends" and then I was glad whenever things ventured into more. They made the more adorable flirty couple, and I definitely was rooting for them the whole way through this novel.

The story as a whole surprised me with how it went. I was expecting to be jealous as eff the whole time, because Will had a girlfriend and Tia "didn't want a boyfriend" and all that jazz. Instead, Will and Tia were good friends even when they weren't together and I got my fill of cuteness through that. Plus, Will's girl (if she can even actually be considered that, which I kind of doubt) wasn't too big of a deal. I ended up loving the path this story took, and the only part I didn't really like was the end. The book just ended too abruptly for me. I'd like to have gotten more from the ending--more with Will and Tia, and more with Tia and her family. 

Overall, I highly enjoyed Biggest Flirts. It was a quick, fun read, and I loved getting sucked into Will and Tia's story. I am seriously excited for more Superlative books, and more books by Jennifer Echols in general. I'm especially excited for Sawyer's book, which is going to be third in this series. Yay!

Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son. 

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