Blog Tour: The Way to Game the Walk of Shame (Jenn P. Nguyen)

Taylor Simmons is screwed.

Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip.

Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.

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Without even being very aware of it, this was my third read of the month with the “fake relationship” thing on it, and it was by far my favorite fake relationship of the three.

I’ll start by saying that I really liked the writing, it’s simple, but it flows well, and both POVs have distinct voices. And it’s funny!

I really liked both main characters and they were so different from each other. Taylor was very academic oriented, and had only one goal: get into Columbia University to become a lawyer. No other option! So when she’s waitlisted for her only goal, she gets a bit crazy, which leads to a lot of drinking and ending up on Evan’s bed… totally dressed. I loved that Evan didn’t freak, instead, he was awesome from the start. I really liked Taylor, but I loved Evan, he put up a front of slacker and disinterested, while he was just scared and afraid.

It was funny to see Taylor trying to be always so in control, while Evan was a wildcard. They definitly balanced and complimented each other out. Evan taught Taylor to relax a bit and enjoy simpler things, while Taylor helped Evan realize and reach for his dreams and ambitions.

I liked this “fake relationship” because it was NEVER really fake. Contrary to what’s usual in this type of plot, there wasn’t a specific person or group of people that they were trying to fool, instead they wanted to project their relationship to the world, which meant that they weren’t only together when people were around. We see them becoming really good friends throughout their time dating, to a point that it’s clear how they fell, and they never much pretend, not even to each other.

One thing that I could have done without was the love square that happened at some point, though I appreciated that at least it wasn’t a simple triangle. Another thing that made me low a bit of my rating was the ending. It was cute as hell, but I wish it had a bit more of a resolution. Though I was extremely happy when I realized that we got to see what happened at that awesome party at the beginning.

Overall, I would strongly recommend this book. It’s such a cute contemporary romance, and a perfect summer read :).

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About the Author:

Jenn Nguyen fell in love with books in third grade and spent the rest of her school years reading through lunchtime and giving up recess to organize the school library. She has a degree in business administration from the University of New Orleans and still lives in the city with her husband. Jenn spends her days reading, dreaming up YA romances, and binge watching Korean dramas all in the name of ‘research’. The Way to Game the Walk of Shame is her debut novel.

Website | Twitter

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 Giveaway (US only):

A print copy of The Way to Game the Walk of Shame

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