Book Blurb:
Nina Barnes thinks Valentine’s Day should be optional. That way single people like her wouldn’t be subjected to kissy Cupids all over the place. That is, until her mom moves them next door to the brooding hottie of Greenbrier High, West Smith. He’s funny, looks amazing in a black leather jacket, and he’s fluent in Harry Potter, but she’s not sure he’s boyfriend material.
West isn’t sure what to make of Nina. She’s cute and loves to read as much as he does, but she seems to need to debate everything and she has a pathological insistence on telling the truth. And West doesn’t exactly know how to handle that, since his entire life is a carefully constructed secret. Dating the girl next door could be a ton of fun, but only if Nina never finds out the truth about his home life. It’s one secret that could bring them together or rip them apart.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book is not for anyone who has to get in the last word, but it is for all book nerds, especially those who live next door to so called unapproachable gorgeous guys. There’s no debating the chemistry.
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“So, this whole dance thing?” West picked up a fork, took a bite of rice, and stared at me like he was waiting for me to give him an easy out.
Not going to happen. Mess with a smart girl and suffer the consequences.
“You started it,” was the most amusing response I could come up with.
“No.” He shook his head as if trying to emphasize his response. “You started it when you invited me in for dinner.”
“Why? Because I knew you’d rather eat dirt than join us for rice? That’s your fault for being a suck-up and carrying my mom’s food.”
“I was being nice,” he shot back.
“No good deed goes unpunished.” I batted my eyelashes at him. “Besides, I was going to help her before you rushed over.”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “So I shouldn’t have helped your mom, but it’s okay for you to shove Cole off on Vicky.”
“Please. He’s a nice guy. She’ll fall for him...maybe because he’s the total opposite of you.”
He pointed his fork at me. “Where do you get off judging me?”
“I’m not judging you. I meant you’re all black-leather- jacket-brooding loner guy, and he’s Mr.-Happy-Sunshine- everyone-is-my-friend.”
“Fine. Mr. Sunshine is out of the way now, so there’s no need for us to go to the dance.”
“Nice try,” I said. “We’re going to the dance.”
“Why?”
“Because you said we were,” I said. “And lying is never acceptable. Don’t stress about this. I’m not proposing we run off to Mexico and get matching his-and-her tattoos. We’ll just go to the dance together. No big deal.”
“Right. Nothing is ever that simple.”
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My Review:
5 Out Of 5 Hearts
Genre: Humor, Romance, Teen--
Nina hates Valentine's Day, which is made even worse by the fact her brother has set her up for a date to the dance. Nina finagles her way out of the date, just to have her broody, grumpy (attractive) neighbor West claim to be her Valentine's day dance date. Well, Nina is not one to lie or back down, so her plan is to make West follow through and take her to the dance, whether he wants to or not. And what follows is a hysterical, heartfelt battle of wills.
"It's not like we're actually dating."
"It's not like you're not dating," Lissa said.
"Interesting way to look at it. So I'm not not-dating West, which makes me not-not his girlfriend, which sounds like some sort of double speak from a dystopian novel."
Entangled Teen has set a very high (and super cute, fun, romantic, sweet...) bar for their YA contemporary reads, I have loved pretty much every book I have encountered by them this last year and I am so happy to report that this is another fabulous read.
There were so many moments where I was absolutely charmed by the characters or burst out laughing while I was reading this book- seriously, I fell in love with the story right from the first chapter. The pacing was absolutely perfect, I was 100% engaged with the story and rooted for the characters, and I found myself speeding through the story because the writing was so approachable as well as I didn't want to put down the book. But this book was not all fluffy rainbows and unicorns, there was also some hard topics like mental illness that needed to be addressed, it was well done and all heart.
Nina was great, and I found so many of my own personality quirks in her- her inability to give a straight answer and her debating just for the heck of it, the fact she likes to keep people on their toes, the sheer force of her stubbornness, her love of books and all things Harry Potter (the references through the book were the best!) and the fact her fun Friday date includes hanging out at the bookstore- yeah, I am pretty sure I just found my book spirit animal (doppleganger?).
"Isn't there some guy out there with a huge library you'd rather spend your time with?"
"Awww." I patted him on the shoulder.
"Are you insecure about the size of your library? I'm sure it's fine."
West was so prickly and I could not help but love him- he was like a tiny, angry porcupine that was more bark than bite.
I could pretty much feel the loneliness oozing off West, he was so isolated and taking on the weight of the world. He had way too much responsibility and worry for a high school student- Nina's forced hug was just what he needed (whether he agreed or not). The two of them together had such a great dynamic, I just wanted to shake him and force my romantic will on him early on. And any guy who can use HP references correct is a keeper.
This is not my first book by Chris, but as of right now it is my favorite (and side note, I really enjoyed her previous books too). She has the ability to build depth and personality in her character, making them into people I love and root for and I am a total sucker for character driven stories. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a fast, perfect YA read for a winter afternoon.
Author Bio:
Chris Cannon is the award-winning author of the Going Down In Flames series and the Boyfriend Chronicles. She lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and several furry beasts.
She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures or romantic comedies. You can find her online at
www.chriscannonauthor.com.
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