Genres: YA Romance, Contemporary Romance, YA Fiction, YA Contemporary, Clean Romance, Sweet Romance Blurb: I’ve admired my crush from afar for years, and now I’m finally going to grab his attention. Online, I’m a popular plant YouTuber who keeps her identity hidden. In real life, I’m a nerdy senior who’s known as the most awkward girl at East Beach High. My secret weapon? Wesley Stirling. East Beach High’s resident charmer and playboy. He’s going to be my dating coach. Turns out he needs tutoring in math and suggests a simple arrangement. I’ll teach him pre-calc and he’ll teach me how to flirt… and kiss. But when our dating lessons begin feeling like the real thing, I start wondering what Wesley’s true intentions are. Solving simultaneous equations is easy. Solving matters of the heart? Not so much. “Hey, Wes?” I returned my gaze to my cell phone. Violet gave me a soft smile. “Thanks for calling me tonight.” I stared at the beautiful girl on the screen, wishing she truly was here with me now. “I missed you, Vi,” I murmured. Violet’s lips parted as if she meant to say something, but no words came out. Oh mannnnn. This was too freaking sweet! The book was filled with lots of happiness, sunshine, and some deeper themes that really added to the overall experience. I loved it so much. 💗😍 i really did. H I G H L I G H T SI wasn’t staying home to study; I was staying home because I wanted to talk to Violet. 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 “And I love chorizo and Nutella sandwiches,” Olivia added. Note: I’m intrigued... 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 Oh shoot. Ophelia was right—I liked Violet. 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 Even though I’d never learned to play any instruments—unless you counted squeaking on the recorder in third grade, which my parents’ eardrums were still recovering from—I viewed myself as an honorary band member, as I helped with their social media. Years of being a YouTuber had honed my skills. Now I could Instagram with the best of them. Note: I remember those squeaking recorder days lollll 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 A small seedling of hope sprouted within my broken heart, but I refused to let it grow. “It doesn’t matter. Wes will tire of me too. I mean, I’m not like the other girls.” 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 “Don’t go out with Chase,” Wes murmured. “You deserve someone much better. Someone who appreciates everything about you.” Ugh! I let out a frustrated sigh. “Yeah, well, that’s never going to happen.” Since the guy standing in front of me would never see me as anything more than his nerdy friend. Note: This is perfectionnnnnn 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 I sighed. No way would Chase ever fall for someone like me. Note: GOOD! YOU BELONG WITH WES. 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 Ash smirked. “Besides, I already knew you liked her. It was obvious when you missed her at lunch. You were like a toddler who’d had their favorite toy taken away.” 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 Yup. I was a certified emotional weirdo. But I was a plant-loving weirdo. And that made me the best person to teach this class. 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 “N-no,” I blurted out. “I mean, yes. I’m ready for our bio exam. Well. Maybe. I… I didn’t get a chance to study too much. Our neighbor’s cat wouldn’t stop meowing last night. I think she must be in heat.” Chase took a step back, his eyes darting past me as if searching for a way to escape this conversation. Note: Whattttt the-- 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 Everything snapped into place. How had I not realized before? Violet liked Chase, and she struggled to talk to him. But that didn’t make sense. Violet was gorgeous and hilarious. She must have realized that any guy would be thrilled to have someone like her interested in them. Present company excluded, of course, as I wasn’t into relationships. Note: NO ONE BELIEVES YOU 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 He could tell I was getting stressed out, and I hated seeing how much that worried him. Beneath his cool exterior, Micah was a sensitive guy. 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 “So,” I began, making one short syllable last almost an eternity, “let me guess what you want me to do to win Chase over. You want me to take off my glasses, put on more makeup, get a new haircut, and start wearing dresses so I become drop-dead gorgeous, right? Well, if that’s the case, I gotta point out the obvious. One, I already wear skirts, and two, I don’t need glasses, and three, I hate wearing a ton of makeup. So, unfortunately, this is what you have to work with.” I motioned to my face. Having expected a chuckle, I was surprised when Wes quietly studied the road instead. “Why do you keep doing that, Vi?” My smile fell. “D-doing what?” “Putting yourself down.” His tone was uncharacteristically sober. That wasn’t where I’d expected this conversation to go. I grabbed my floral skirt, twisting and bunching the voluminous material in my hands. “Out of habit, I guess.” Note: WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HIT THE SAME WHEN A FICTIONAL GUY IS LIKE: “Why do you do that?” IN SUCH A CALM YET SERIOUS WAY?! 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 “Sounds great.” Wesley stood and took my hand in his. Hand… holding… what? Coherent thoughts escaped me. Stunned, I gazed down at our joined hands. Wesley Stirling was holding my hand. My hand! 📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖 As I walked with my two best friends, reveling in the gorgeous day, the door to the nearby orchestra building opened, and I froze in my tracks. Do you ever watch those cheesy romance movies? You know the ones I mean. A hot guy appears, and suddenly everything moves in slow motion, then he’s magically shirtless, riding a unicorn, and out of nowhere, a hose sprays him with water? Yeah, well, that’s what happens every time I see him. Chase Patrick Bond. Note: Dang it...I forgot her “crush” wasn’t Wes 😭🤦♀️ Some points that NEED to be shared... 1: The bromance is BACK, baby! 2: Violet and Wes are adorableeeee 3: “How long have you liked him?” convo 4: Wes quoting Shakespeare 5: A fellow Kdrama lover!! 6: “Do I make you swoon?” (I’M SWOONING) 7: The high-five 8: I have thoughts about this Jay guy... 9: She’s awkward but HE gets awkward because of HERRRRRRR 10: We’re here for the caring brotherssss! 11: Wes and his notebook? I just can’t even 12: “Come help me with my hot glue gun” 13: When I tell you that I love Wes... 14: THEY ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER 15: Chase needs to vanish lol 16: Chapter 12. I highlighted PARAGRAPHS 17: “Yeah. I do.” 18: THE “NOT DATE” DATE 19: Danggggg it, Wes. Now I’m mad at you 20: Okay, his concern for her is too precious. I can’t stay mad now 21: Noooooo, everything is wrongggg 22: SHUT UP. GO FOR IT, WES 23: (I got distracted with reading, so I neglected my notes list. Sorry not sorry) 24: “Chase doesn’t know you at all.” 25: Oh my goshhh, I knew this was going to happen and it’s still killing me! 26: Now I’m saddddd 27: Ugh, this is the WORST 28: I love the girls’ friendship 29: Little boxes... 30: Ohhh HE DID NOT. Wes is the best As far as content goes: Any language or suggestive content was very mild. Side character had cancer. Divorced/absent parents. Bullying (aftermath of past experiences), anxiety, fear, and stress were some elements that were present in the book. None of this was triggering for me, but could be for other readers. The tutor deal was perfect. The mixed messages drove me crazy in the best way. Wes and Violet were beyond perfect for each other. I loved how the story was about taking changes and overcoming the past. They both had their struggles and I really enjoyed seeing their growth. 🙌😊 I can't wait for Olivia and Micah's story! It's a fake relationship romance, so I'm sure that I'll love it!!! 💕 About the Author:
Ginger loves the color yellow, baked goods, and all things Halloween. When she’s not busy playing with kids, she enjoys reading, listening to sappy pop music, and dreaming up love stories featuring brave heroines, a touch of magic, and hopeful endings. Ginger lives with her husband and two Pokemon-loving boys in sunny California. She has yet to see a soot sprite, but always keeps her eyes open just in case! To find out more about Ginger and her books, or to sign up for her newsletter, visit https://linktr.ee/GingerLiWrites
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |