3/5 stars
Balzer + Bray, 2013
384 pages
YA Contemporary
Scheduled to release December 31
Source: Received an e-ARC through the publisher at Edelweiss.
Warning: Blogger is cranky!
As I've shared, I've been having trouble focusing on reading and blogging. I hoped though that a cute YA contemporary would bring me back, perhaps this one. Unfortunately it was not to be. Though this book has promise, it fell far short of amazing to me.
My overwhelming impression was that I just. did. not. care. I didn't care about Wren and her averageness, I didn't care about Grayson's expulsion from his fancy prep school, I didn't care about his schemes with his friends, I didn't care about their relationship. Wren is so dull and for the most part we only see her interest in Grayson, not any other interests she might have (and her friends are sorely underdeveloped so we don't get much of a sense of her personality from hanging out with them.) Grayson has slightly more spark though it's of the bad boy sort, which isn't what I like.
So the characters were a bust. What about the plot? The big conflict revolves around some seriously sketchy stuff Grayson has done that he wants to hide from Wren. This leads to all sorts of drama with his best friend and Wren's ex-best friend in addition to a lot of crying and inability to communicate. I found Grayson's situation pushed the bounds of believability (he has done a lot of terrible things but with skill and panache). The plot didn't capture me either. To sum up, no-go on the characters as well as the plot. What does this mean? Perhaps still something to check out for YA contemporary fans but I would suggest you skip.
Cover: Points for accuracy: Grayson does wear a blazer with the suede patches (and I fully agree with Wren about how cute this is) and they seem to be in their own private world as they lean in for the kiss.
