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…
Hello guys. Once again I read this book with Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much, as a buddy read. Go to her blog on the next couple of days to read her take on this book.
The story of this one, once again, revolves around a fake-relationship, but this book had probably the most unique group of characters and protagonists of all. Also guys, you know I’m a sucker for this trope, right?
In all its Entangled glory, this romance is told in dual POV, third person narration, and it’s done super well here. Mandy and Caleb had very distinct voices and personalities, and I thought the writing showcased their personalities perfectly.
I loved both main characters. Loved them. I wasn’t really sure at first when this book started, how I would feel about peppy/hippy Mandy and dark and broody Caleb, but they were wonderful, and their personalities complemented each other quite nicely. I loved that each of them had depth and various layers to them, because that made them very interesting.
I could identify with parts of both of them, and I think that’s why I loved them so much. I really liked that the author included a character with ADHD and dysgraphia, and her difficulties were a big part of the plot, and she explored how that affected her day to day. And I really liked how low key and misunderstood Caleb really was, and his love for books and literature.
The plot followed the usual “fake turned real relationship”, but it had a few twists, especially because of who the guys apparently were. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Caleb and Mandy, and that it was clear from very early on how they brought up the best in each other.
I was overall super happy with this book, though I sometimes wanted to slap Mandy out of her fantasy – even though I quite understood why she liked to live in it. I do wish she had believed her friends and everyone else warning her about her crush, Gus, and that she had realized earlier the truth, because seeing Caleb hurt wasn’t fun at all. I also wanted to know more about Caleb’s mom, and all of their friends, because they were seriously awesome…. especially Blue Ranger :D.
I highly recommend this YA romance, it was fun, unique and heartwarming. Give it a read.
My Tiny Obsessions 