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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
An old tale of cheating boyfriends and betraying best friends gets a revamp in this YA, humour-filled story, starring Felix and Hazel. Written from the perspectives of both of them, you are with Hazel as she learns about her boyfriend, Jay, and her best friend, Kimmy, now becoming a couple even though Jay forgot to mention it to her. School is tough and to find out in the school cafeteria is a hard one. Felix isn't prepared to let Hazel deal with it by herself, so he puts a plan in motion.
Well-written, humorous and with plenty of opportunities for reflection and passion, this story is light and thoroughly enjoyable. Movie references from the '80s abound, including one from The Princess Bride! I would have no hesitation in recommending this.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 11, 2016
Well-written, humorous and with plenty of opportunities for reflection and passion, this story is light and thoroughly enjoyable. Movie references from the '80s abound, including one from The Princess Bride! I would have no hesitation in recommending this.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 11, 2016
The story starts off strong, right before the action which I felt appropriate because it's right before the inciting incident so I never had time to get bored. A wonderful start! It was easy to get immersed into the story so I sped through this book and loved almost every second of it! I doubt most of what happens in the story is believable but it sure is entertaining!
I like Hazel and Felix, both are both interesting characters but they do lean close towards their stereotypical archetypes of RomCom characters but they do differ a little. I like how the author dove deeper into Felix's background and growth where we learn that he's more than he appears. We learn that he became the way he was because of his past and while I'd like to see him confront it more, I understand that it wasn't quite relevant to the story.
Personally, I'd have enjoyed seeing a more flawed Hazel. She's described as perfect but I didn't get that vibe from her in the story. We see she's not perfect, if anything, I'd describe her as "safe" as she likes making the best safe decisions. I can't really pick out a major flaw other than having bad judge of character. She is relatable but not a character I would say that stands out or is particularly memorable. I would have liked to see more layers of development with them both main characters, especially Hazel.
There were some inconsistencies with the physical description of characters which threw me off in the story. It got to the point where I had to stop reading and flip back to confirm the inconsistency but eventually got more consistent.
The pacing, the character's voice, and author's tone sounded fantastic to me, I feel they are the one of the best parts of the book. I often found myself chuckling and laughing at the antics the characters had gotten into or had said. This is one of the stronger aspects of the story which I loved and would love to see more of in future books.
Now I felt that the conclusion could have been better. The characters just made the wrong choices so I feel like things could have turned out differently than how it did. It would have been clever to end things in a different way if they had only thought of it (Highlight to read: Reverse roles of "Never Been Kissed" Prom Scene anyone?). Or maybe take a higher road but the characters didn't and I felt that was a disappointment. I also felt like a character could have gotten redemption for their choices. However, the heroes weren't willing to let that happen and I feel that it could have been a touching moment and a nice way to end the story. Still the end is satisfying and as is expected so you'll be happy with the end.
Essentially, don't expect character growth or development but if you love an adorable romance and emotions flying everywhere, this book may be for you. I would have loved to have rated this book higher if the characters had more development and the ending had been more clever, touching, and maybe some redemption. Overall, if you enjoy RomComs that make you feel warm and fuzzy with a few laughs, you'll find it in this book.
3.4 out of 5 rating for me!
(A copy was provided for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.)
I like Hazel and Felix, both are both interesting characters but they do lean close towards their stereotypical archetypes of RomCom characters but they do differ a little. I like how the author dove deeper into Felix's background and growth where we learn that he's more than he appears. We learn that he became the way he was because of his past and while I'd like to see him confront it more, I understand that it wasn't quite relevant to the story.
Personally, I'd have enjoyed seeing a more flawed Hazel. She's described as perfect but I didn't get that vibe from her in the story. We see she's not perfect, if anything, I'd describe her as "safe" as she likes making the best safe decisions. I can't really pick out a major flaw other than having bad judge of character. She is relatable but not a character I would say that stands out or is particularly memorable. I would have liked to see more layers of development with them both main characters, especially Hazel.
There were some inconsistencies with the physical description of characters which threw me off in the story. It got to the point where I had to stop reading and flip back to confirm the inconsistency but eventually got more consistent.
The pacing, the character's voice, and author's tone sounded fantastic to me, I feel they are the one of the best parts of the book. I often found myself chuckling and laughing at the antics the characters had gotten into or had said. This is one of the stronger aspects of the story which I loved and would love to see more of in future books.
Now I felt that the conclusion could have been better. The characters just made the wrong choices so I feel like things could have turned out differently than how it did. It would have been clever to end things in a different way if they had only thought of it (Highlight to read: Reverse roles of "Never Been Kissed" Prom Scene anyone?). Or maybe take a higher road but the characters didn't and I felt that was a disappointment. I also felt like a character could have gotten redemption for their choices. However, the heroes weren't willing to let that happen and I feel that it could have been a touching moment and a nice way to end the story. Still the end is satisfying and as is expected so you'll be happy with the end.
Essentially, don't expect character growth or development but if you love an adorable romance and emotions flying everywhere, this book may be for you. I would have loved to have rated this book higher if the characters had more development and the ending had been more clever, touching, and maybe some redemption. Overall, if you enjoy RomComs that make you feel warm and fuzzy with a few laughs, you'll find it in this book.
3.4 out of 5 rating for me!
(A copy was provided for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.)
4.5 Stars
Loved this! Super cute and only under $3 on Amazon Kindle •o•
Loved this! Super cute and only under $3 on Amazon Kindle •o•
Read the full review on Bookaholics Not-So-Anonymous.
Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
Felix, without a doubt, the best thing about the book. He was pretty much a good guy who saw how his sister wronged Hazel and he wanted to help Hazel mete out their own brand of justice, to even out the playing field, and, in the end, prove to her ex-boyfriend that he made a mistake so that he can come crawling back and then bam! She'll break up with him, giving him a taste of the humiliation and hurt she felt. But we all know how stories like this one tend to end, so there weren't any real surprises other than Felix offering his services to help Hazel out. Now, I'm not saying that the story itself was bad and that the only thing going for it was Felix. The story was okay, but that's it. There was nothing outstandingly different about it that would have made it a fresh read, and with the constant influx of YA reads, you want something that's able to stand out in a totally good way. And Not Okay, Cupid was just...okay. Three stars. ♥
Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
Felix, without a doubt, the best thing about the book. He was pretty much a good guy who saw how his sister wronged Hazel and he wanted to help Hazel mete out their own brand of justice, to even out the playing field, and, in the end, prove to her ex-boyfriend that he made a mistake so that he can come crawling back and then bam! She'll break up with him, giving him a taste of the humiliation and hurt she felt. But we all know how stories like this one tend to end, so there weren't any real surprises other than Felix offering his services to help Hazel out. Now, I'm not saying that the story itself was bad and that the only thing going for it was Felix. The story was okay, but that's it. There was nothing outstandingly different about it that would have made it a fresh read, and with the constant influx of YA reads, you want something that's able to stand out in a totally good way. And Not Okay, Cupid was just...okay. Three stars. ♥
Hazel has her entire future planned out. She and her boyfriend are going to get into the same college, then the same grad school, and then they’ll have 2.5 kids together and live in a house with a white picket fence. At least that was the plan until he cheated on her with her best friend Kimmy. Now Hazel doesn’t know what to do. Luckily, someone else does. Felix the Player of La Playa (also Kimmy’s older brother) has a plan for revenge.
This book had so much potential. I really mean that. The premise of this book was great, but the execution was not. The whole book is very surfacey. I felt like there was the potential to go in depth several times with the characters (since Hazel’s dad had died and Felix’s was out of the picture) but nothing ever happened. The book just stayed on the surface when it could have been so much deeper. The story really would have benefited from some character development throughout, but I feel like all of the character development (and there wasn’t even very much) was packed into the last few chapters of the book. This made it hard for me to really care too much about the characters. They didn’t seem deserving of my feelings.
Another thing that seriously bugged throughout was the multitude of inconsistencies that this book had. First Felix’s eyes are blue–glacier blue. Then they’re “sweet chocolate brown”. Next they’re green, only to end up turning back to brown by the end of the story. Other inconsistencies: Does Felix have his surfboard or not? When did they get out of the car? Did Hazel see Felix waving from the shore or not? Does Hazel see Felix while he’s standing by the punch bowl or is the first time she sees him out on the dance floor? Just A LOT of inconsistencies that made it hard to lose myself in the story. I ended up having to reread certain pages to make sure that I didn’t miss something that was there. It almost seems like the author had the beginning and the end of a scene planned out, but then forgot about what she had planned while she was writing the middle. Just very frustrating as a reader.
The last thing that I was so confused about was the relationship between Felix and Kimmy. Okay, we know they’re siblings and we find out pretty early on that Felix is older than Kimmy. But at the same time I thought Kimmy and Hazel were the same age and we know Hazel is a senior…so does that make Kimmy and Felix twins? But that’s never mentioned and I feel like if they were twins, that would have been said at least once. Finally we find out (very near the end of the book) that Felix is older than Kimmy, but he was held back a year so they’re in the same grade. I just feel like this should have been explained much earlier in the book. Or Kimmy and Hazel should have just been juniors or something.
Overall, I was not happy with this book. As I said earlier, there was so much untapped potential! Based on their family situations, Kling really had the opportunity to make us care about these characters but she didn’t capitalize on it. I just feel really frustrated as a reader because I can see what this book could have been but wasn’t.
Overall Rating: 2
Language: Moderate
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Moderate
Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book had so much potential. I really mean that. The premise of this book was great, but the execution was not. The whole book is very surfacey. I felt like there was the potential to go in depth several times with the characters (since Hazel’s dad had died and Felix’s was out of the picture) but nothing ever happened. The book just stayed on the surface when it could have been so much deeper. The story really would have benefited from some character development throughout, but I feel like all of the character development (and there wasn’t even very much) was packed into the last few chapters of the book. This made it hard for me to really care too much about the characters. They didn’t seem deserving of my feelings.
Another thing that seriously bugged throughout was the multitude of inconsistencies that this book had. First Felix’s eyes are blue–glacier blue. Then they’re “sweet chocolate brown”. Next they’re green, only to end up turning back to brown by the end of the story. Other inconsistencies: Does Felix have his surfboard or not? When did they get out of the car? Did Hazel see Felix waving from the shore or not? Does Hazel see Felix while he’s standing by the punch bowl or is the first time she sees him out on the dance floor? Just A LOT of inconsistencies that made it hard to lose myself in the story. I ended up having to reread certain pages to make sure that I didn’t miss something that was there. It almost seems like the author had the beginning and the end of a scene planned out, but then forgot about what she had planned while she was writing the middle. Just very frustrating as a reader.
The last thing that I was so confused about was the relationship between Felix and Kimmy. Okay, we know they’re siblings and we find out pretty early on that Felix is older than Kimmy. But at the same time I thought Kimmy and Hazel were the same age and we know Hazel is a senior…so does that make Kimmy and Felix twins? But that’s never mentioned and I feel like if they were twins, that would have been said at least once. Finally we find out (very near the end of the book) that Felix is older than Kimmy, but he was held back a year so they’re in the same grade. I just feel like this should have been explained much earlier in the book. Or Kimmy and Hazel should have just been juniors or something.
Overall, I was not happy with this book. As I said earlier, there was so much untapped potential! Based on their family situations, Kling really had the opportunity to make us care about these characters but she didn’t capitalize on it. I just feel really frustrated as a reader because I can see what this book could have been but wasn’t.
Overall Rating: 2
Language: Moderate
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Moderate
Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Find this review and more at Ramblings From This Chick
I will admit that the cover of this book is what really drew me in. I had previously read a book by Heidi R. Kling and really enjoyed it, so I figured this one was worth a shot. Not Okay, Cupid had some cute moments and there were some things I really enjoyed. But on the whole, this book was just okay for me. I think part of my problem here was simply my age. While I do enjoy YA books, these characters were a bit hard to take at times.
Hazel McCallister has her life all planned out. Her and her perfect boyfriend Jay will graduate and attend the same college before becoming engaged and eventually getting married. But before she gets the picket fence, Hazel catches Jay with her best friend Kimmy. Embarrassed by the public way it was revealed, Kimmy's brother Felix James offers to help Hazel get revenge on them by pretending to be together to make Jay jealous. But the more time Hazel and Felix spend together, the more the lines between real and fake become. Even though Hazel and Felix start to develop real feelings for one another, in the end it comes down to whether Hazel wants revenge or Felix more.
I really liked Felix. He was cute and sweet, and I really felt like his feelings for Hazel were genuine. He had always liked her, but he had never said anything. Hazel thought that he was a slacker that was nothing but a player, and yet he had more to him than anyone knew. Hazel had everything planned out and thought she knew what she wanted. As the story progressed though, it became clear that she didn't know herself as well as she though she did though. I liked her and Felix together, and I really wish that these two had talked more. I felt like once they realized that it wasn't just a plot for revenge that they needed to communicate with one another. While some of that is age and immaturity, it was a bit frustrating here since they both made some poor decisions that easily would have been avoided had they spoken with one another.
Another big issue I had here was that there wasn't a lot of depth or development here. For the majority of the story I felt like Hazel and Felix didn't really spend much time together, so their connection while there didn't feel strong to me. I didn't believe that these two could possibly be in love, even having known each other for years. They simply didn't know one another well enough or spend enough time together for it to feel genuine. The other thing that bothered me here was that the dialogue was very repetitive and at times words or sayings used were downright cheesy. A few times wouldn't have been noticeable, but it was for the entire story and it got to the point that it distracted me from what was going on because I just kept rolling my eyes. I did think that this story had some cute moments though, and if you are looking for something light and sweet you might give this one a shot. If you are looking for something a bit deeper or mature though, this one might not be for you.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
I will admit that the cover of this book is what really drew me in. I had previously read a book by Heidi R. Kling and really enjoyed it, so I figured this one was worth a shot. Not Okay, Cupid had some cute moments and there were some things I really enjoyed. But on the whole, this book was just okay for me. I think part of my problem here was simply my age. While I do enjoy YA books, these characters were a bit hard to take at times.
Hazel McCallister has her life all planned out. Her and her perfect boyfriend Jay will graduate and attend the same college before becoming engaged and eventually getting married. But before she gets the picket fence, Hazel catches Jay with her best friend Kimmy. Embarrassed by the public way it was revealed, Kimmy's brother Felix James offers to help Hazel get revenge on them by pretending to be together to make Jay jealous. But the more time Hazel and Felix spend together, the more the lines between real and fake become. Even though Hazel and Felix start to develop real feelings for one another, in the end it comes down to whether Hazel wants revenge or Felix more.
I really liked Felix. He was cute and sweet, and I really felt like his feelings for Hazel were genuine. He had always liked her, but he had never said anything. Hazel thought that he was a slacker that was nothing but a player, and yet he had more to him than anyone knew. Hazel had everything planned out and thought she knew what she wanted. As the story progressed though, it became clear that she didn't know herself as well as she though she did though. I liked her and Felix together, and I really wish that these two had talked more. I felt like once they realized that it wasn't just a plot for revenge that they needed to communicate with one another. While some of that is age and immaturity, it was a bit frustrating here since they both made some poor decisions that easily would have been avoided had they spoken with one another.
Another big issue I had here was that there wasn't a lot of depth or development here. For the majority of the story I felt like Hazel and Felix didn't really spend much time together, so their connection while there didn't feel strong to me. I didn't believe that these two could possibly be in love, even having known each other for years. They simply didn't know one another well enough or spend enough time together for it to feel genuine. The other thing that bothered me here was that the dialogue was very repetitive and at times words or sayings used were downright cheesy. A few times wouldn't have been noticeable, but it was for the entire story and it got to the point that it distracted me from what was going on because I just kept rolling my eyes. I did think that this story had some cute moments though, and if you are looking for something light and sweet you might give this one a shot. If you are looking for something a bit deeper or mature though, this one might not be for you.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
From the summary of this one I should have ate this one up: fake relationship, perfect girl falling for the bad boy, FAKE RELATIONSHIP. It was a recipe for success...except, it wasn't. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and thought that there was too much in between the fake relationship stuff that made it kind of blah.
I had to like double and triple check that I was 1. actually reading Felix's point of view and that we weren't still in Hazel's pov because he wasn't written like any guy I know, and 2. his age. I was so confused: was he the same age as Hazel or older? It wasn't super clear throughout the majority of the story. At some points he was made to seem as though he was in college and then other times it seemed like he was a freshman in high school. I got whiplash trying to figure out his age.
I did like the fake relationship and that as they got to "know" one another, they started to realize they had true feelings for one another. But I thought it was kind of weird that they didn't know SOME of the things they learned along the way. Like that Felix at least had a job.
Otherwise this was a fun, fluffy contemporary. And it made me smile so what more could I possibly ask for?
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
From the summary of this one I should have ate this one up: fake relationship, perfect girl falling for the bad boy, FAKE RELATIONSHIP. It was a recipe for success...except, it wasn't. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and thought that there was too much in between the fake relationship stuff that made it kind of blah.
I had to like double and triple check that I was 1. actually reading Felix's point of view and that we weren't still in Hazel's pov because he wasn't written like any guy I know, and 2. his age. I was so confused: was he the same age as Hazel or older? It wasn't super clear throughout the majority of the story. At some points he was made to seem as though he was in college and then other times it seemed like he was a freshman in high school. I got whiplash trying to figure out his age.
I did like the fake relationship and that as they got to "know" one another, they started to realize they had true feelings for one another. But I thought it was kind of weird that they didn't know SOME of the things they learned along the way. Like that Felix at least had a job.
Otherwise this was a fun, fluffy contemporary. And it made me smile so what more could I possibly ask for?
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
I think this cute fluff teen romance had me right up until the Afterward which was just like seriously?! Had that chapter been cut it would have greatly improved the book because you're going along with this smile on your face and then the last words you get to read are so corny they make you want to gag totally screwing with your 80s movie happy vibe.
I love fake relationship stories and this was no exception. Is it predictable? Of Course. Are some of the characters kind of cliche? Yep. But honestly I think that's part of the book's appeal. The book's dual person point of view is nice and offers a wonderful glance into both characters. The plot and the way the book is written has a definite Molly Ringwald 80s movie feel to it and I think that's what the author was going for. The thing is if you've seen an 80s Molly Ringwald movie you'd know that the plots are predictable and most of the characters are cliche, but yet you laugh and sigh and wait for your inevitable happy ending anyway, that's kind of the appeal of watching them. You can count on what's going to happen and you know it's going to make you smile. That's what this book, though set in the modern day, offers.
If you're looking for a literary masterpiece this isn't the book for you, but if your'e looking for something funny and sweet that (minus the terrible afterward) will leave you with a smile on your face and is read just for the pure enjoyment of reading it and knowing it will make you smile, this is a book I'd highly recommend.
I love fake relationship stories and this was no exception. Is it predictable? Of Course. Are some of the characters kind of cliche? Yep. But honestly I think that's part of the book's appeal. The book's dual person point of view is nice and offers a wonderful glance into both characters. The plot and the way the book is written has a definite Molly Ringwald 80s movie feel to it and I think that's what the author was going for. The thing is if you've seen an 80s Molly Ringwald movie you'd know that the plots are predictable and most of the characters are cliche, but yet you laugh and sigh and wait for your inevitable happy ending anyway, that's kind of the appeal of watching them. You can count on what's going to happen and you know it's going to make you smile. That's what this book, though set in the modern day, offers.
If you're looking for a literary masterpiece this isn't the book for you, but if your'e looking for something funny and sweet that (minus the terrible afterward) will leave you with a smile on your face and is read just for the pure enjoyment of reading it and knowing it will make you smile, this is a book I'd highly recommend.