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introvertinterrupted's Reviews (1.08k)
This is the type of book you could read at any age and connect to. The main character, Bianca is a tough as nails girl who's heart has been hardened by the pains of love. Adamant about never falling in love again, she chooses to enter into an "enemies with benefits" relationship with Wesley, the notorious womanizer of her high school who has problems of his own. Together the two teenagers work through their problems in the form of..ahem...advanced cardio for the grown and sexy. However, even with their preconceived rules of "no feelings" being involved, Bianca and Wesley learn the hard way that love can infiltrate your heart when you least expect it no matter how hard you plan.
Keplinger's characters are well developed and likable. Even though Bianca does come off as cynical at times, the reader gets shown that her feelings of anger and frustration are justified. The way that this character antagonizes over being "the duff" a.k.a the designated ugly fat friend, is something that is especially well portrayed by the author and made into a relatable point for anyone who chooses to read this book due to the fact that most people have felt like the dud of their circle of friends at one point of their life or another.
On the flip side, Wesley's character while clearly placed into the cliched role of being resident bad boy is endearing opposed to annoying. Even when he makes Bianca feel ashamed of herself by calling her the duff, it's apparent that his character is battling his own set of demons and does so only as a knee-jerk reaction to his pain.
Keplinger's choice to use cliched roles in her work is balanced off by the fact that her storyline is solid. Never does the reader feel as if they are being rushed off into a tidy conclusion. Instead, the author paces the story so that her audience can get the full benefit of watching the character's lives come undone and then slowly pieced back together again. Both Bianca and Wesley's character are funny, interesting, and sarcastic enough to keep readers entertained and willing to stick wound to finish Keplinger's story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a good chick-lit book or who just loves a good novel about bad boys and strong opinionated female leads. Yet, I would caution against letting younger readers begin this book being that it is meant for a mature audience due to explicit sex scenes throughout the novel.
Keplinger's characters are well developed and likable. Even though Bianca does come off as cynical at times, the reader gets shown that her feelings of anger and frustration are justified. The way that this character antagonizes over being "the duff" a.k.a the designated ugly fat friend, is something that is especially well portrayed by the author and made into a relatable point for anyone who chooses to read this book due to the fact that most people have felt like the dud of their circle of friends at one point of their life or another.
On the flip side, Wesley's character while clearly placed into the cliched role of being resident bad boy is endearing opposed to annoying. Even when he makes Bianca feel ashamed of herself by calling her the duff, it's apparent that his character is battling his own set of demons and does so only as a knee-jerk reaction to his pain.
Keplinger's choice to use cliched roles in her work is balanced off by the fact that her storyline is solid. Never does the reader feel as if they are being rushed off into a tidy conclusion. Instead, the author paces the story so that her audience can get the full benefit of watching the character's lives come undone and then slowly pieced back together again. Both Bianca and Wesley's character are funny, interesting, and sarcastic enough to keep readers entertained and willing to stick wound to finish Keplinger's story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a good chick-lit book or who just loves a good novel about bad boys and strong opinionated female leads. Yet, I would caution against letting younger readers begin this book being that it is meant for a mature audience due to explicit sex scenes throughout the novel.
I felt like this novel dragged on forever. It had the potential to be such a good book however, Brashares made Daniel into this character who was monotone. The fact that Daniel has actually lived multiple lives in various time periods was wasted by how long the character spent rehashing his love for Sophia. Not to mention, Brashares makes Sophia's character into a vapid being. Until she meets Daniel, she is adrift then afterwards, she stays the same way only now she uses Daniel's claim that they "know" each other from long ago as her purpose as a character.
By the end of this novel, I was bored. Brashares story had the potential to be a good stand alone novel, but of course, it had to be made into a trilogy. Therefore, and even more implacable ending was made than was necessary. While I do feel that Brashares is an author who has good story ideas, I feel as if her actual execution falls on the long-winded side. Even with her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants saga, it felt as if the story could have been condensed so it fit into the final book (Sisterhood Everlasting). I would recommend this books with reservations.
By the end of this novel, I was bored. Brashares story had the potential to be a good stand alone novel, but of course, it had to be made into a trilogy. Therefore, and even more implacable ending was made than was necessary. While I do feel that Brashares is an author who has good story ideas, I feel as if her actual execution falls on the long-winded side. Even with her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants saga, it felt as if the story could have been condensed so it fit into the final book (Sisterhood Everlasting). I would recommend this books with reservations.
