Book Blurb:
Summers are supposed to be fun, right? Not mine. I’ve got a job at my dad’s company, which is sponsoring a college scholarship competition. I just found out that, in addition to my job assisting the competing interns, I’m supposed to vote for the winner. Totally not what I signed up for.
My boss is running the competition like it’s an episode of Survivor. Then there’s Carlos, who is, well, very distracting––in a good way. But I can’t even think about him like that because fraternizing on the job means instant disqualification for the intern involved.
As if that’s not enough, an anonymous informant with insider intel is trying to sabotage my dad’s company on social media...and I’m afraid it's working.
Much as I’d love to quit, I can’t. Kristoffs Never Quit is our family motto. I just hope there’s more than one survivor by the end of this summer.
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“Let’s see where helping me on my project falls on this list.” Carlos picks up a pen and clicks it, eyeing me from underneath ridiculously long lashes.
Cautiously, I take a tiny step toward his desk so I can read the list.
“Number three.” I point to the napkin. “Teamwork.”
He nods and underlines the word. I notice he’s added numbers six through ten. Nothing is written next to those numbers, except for ten, next to which he’s drawn a smiley face.
“What’s that for?” I point to the smiley face. He leans back in his desk chair and grins up at me.
“Not sure yet.”
My heart throbs in my chest and my imagination is off and running, fantasizing about number ten.
Carlos points to number five: nicknames. “I think this is where we left off at lunch.” He clicks his pen repeatedly and I resist the urge to snatch it out of his hand. “I’d prefer not to be nicknamed for a pasta, but I gave you a cereal nickname, so…” He shrugs but keeps his eyes on mine.
“I…pasta…what?” He’s not making sense.
He bites his bottom lip, and I have no trouble picturing what will make me “smiley face” if we ever make it to number ten. Also, I’m pretty sure he’s a mind reader because his gaze drifts down to my lips, then back up to my eyes.
“The Manicotti. Who is it?” He glances across the room. “Elijah? He can be sort of cheesy.”
My mind analyzes his words, sliding them around like one of those puzzles where you have to move a string through twisted metal. And then it clicks.
“You read my notebook! You’re the one who—” Panic zings through me as I remember what I wrote about him, Carlos is trouble, and his editorial comment, True. Is Carlos adorable?
Apparently I’m not the only spy around here.
“Why’d you pick this desk?” I’m desperate to change the subject.
“I like the view.”
“But it’s better by the windows.”
“Depends on which view we’re talking about.” He gives me a cryptic smile, one that makes my stomach dip. “Anyway, I saved your notebook. You’re lucky no one else read your notes.”
Mortified and defiant, I cross my arms over my chest. “You didn’t have to read it. You could’ve just returned it.”
“I was just checking to make sure you’d listed all of Mr. Mantoni’s rules.”
“Uh huh.”
Across the room, Elijah stands up and stretches. He glances at us, an amused smirk twisting his lips like he knows something I don’t.
Carlos writes on the napkin again. Number six: healthy disagreement.
“You’re kidding, right?”
His responding grin packs more heat than it should.
“I think we’ve gone off track.” I’m proud of how calm I sound, even though my nerve endings are exploding like firecrackers.
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My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Romance, Teen--
Wanting to spend more time with her workaholic father, Laurel comes up with a plan (and a lot of begging to get it approved!) to work with him at the office. Her job is to "assist the interns" but in actuality she will be a huge part of the selection process to choose who will be the winner of the full ride scholarship- the catch is that none of the interns know. Laurel gets to battle the lies, heartache, drama and crushes that come her way this summer.
If you like Star Wars references pertaining to every situation, this is the book for you! Laurel somehow or another has the ability to make a connection or pun to Star Wars no matter what disaster or plot she finds herself in. I will admit while I have seen all the Star Wars movies, the references at times went over my head and I was confused as to what she meant. I guess this is probably how all my acquaintances feel about me and the fact I can quote and use life references in any circumstance to the show Friends. On that note, I respect her nerdiness and ability to go all in for her fandom.
I also thought that it was really sweet that the entire reason Laurel got herself into this mess was to spend time with her father- she was willing to set herself up for any kind of job at his company for the opportunity to spend a little more time with him, even if it meant only during the commute. You could easily feel how important family was to central plot of this story and I am always a fan of YA that stresses familial love and support. Along the way she found herself some romantic love as well as friendship, two other kinds of live a person needs, and the last two that Laurel was expecting.
I don't want to give too much about the book away because the development of relationship and the surprising turns Laurel took with her choices was most of the fun of the book, finding out that first impressions may be the wrong impression and to not be so judgy because people have the propensity to surprise you! As a side note, Trish snuck up on me with her snark and bold actions, so much so that she became one of my favorite characters.
This was my first book by Lisa Brown Roberts and I enjoyed her cute characters and fun plots. I would gladly read more from her in the future, especially if I am looking for a romance with heart and banter.
I am voluntarily reviewing an advance, complimentary copy of this book.
Author Bio:
Award-winning romance author Lisa Brown Roberts still hasn’t recovered from the teenage catastrophes of tweezing off both eyebrows, or that time she crashed her car into a tree while trying to impress a guy. It’s no wonder she loves to write romantic comedies.
Lisa’s books have earned praise from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and the School Library Journal. She lives in Colorado with her family, in which pets outnumber people. Connect with Lisa at
www.lisabrownroberts.com.
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