Series: None
Author: Kelly Anne Blount
Published March 2nd 2020 by Entangled: Crush
Goodreads Synopsis
I hate you, Fuller James.
I hate your floppy hair and your lopsided grin and those laughing blue eyes that always seem to be laughing at me.
I hate that you’re the most popular guy in school and I’m still the girl who sneezed and spit out her retainer on someone at a middle school dance. It’s just such a cliché.
I hate that I’m being forced to tutor you in English and keep it a secret from everyone. Because otherwise it might put our basketball team’s chances at winning State in jeopardy, and even though I hate you, I love basketball.
I hate that it seems like you’re keeping a secret from me…and that the more time we spend together, the less I feel like I’m on solid ground. Because I’m starting to realize there’s so much more to you than meets the eye. Underneath it all, you’re real.
But what I hate most is that I really don’t hate you at all.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Ever since Wren was in middle school, she has been ostracised by most of her year, especially her ex best friend, Marissa, who dropped her as soon as the most popular boy in school, Fuller James, starts to go out with her. To make matters worse, Fuller also landed her with a hideous nickname, and now the only people at school to call her by her proper name are the teachers, and her two best friends, Dae and Brandon. After Fuller launches a food fight in the cafeteria, and aggravates Wren enough to retaliate, she finds herself in the principal's office, basically being blackmailed into tutoring Fuller enough that he passes AP Literature, and isn't benched from the team. Neither really want to be seen with each other, but when some of Fuller's team mates see them together, Fuller ends up making a bet that he can get her to go out with him, and then he'll publicly dump her, in order to save his cool. The issue here, the more he spends with Wren, the more he actually realises that he is falling for her, and he needs to make sure she doesn't find out about the bet.
This book was so fun, and enjoyable. I flew through it one Saturday morning, and just found myself adoring the characters, especially Wren. She has dealt with so much, and with the added complication of sick relatives, she shoulders it all with what seems to be ease, but the more that she can talk about it, and Fuller is perfect for this, the more she comes into her true self, and I just love her! Fuller initially appears as a basic jock, but his family life has it's own difficulties, and very few people know the real him. Like with Wren, he can be open, and that shows him in the best possible light. I found their chemistry perfect, and knew they were made for each other.
The plot was a little predictable - of course that bet situation would come to bite Fuller at the worst time, and Marissa - the ex best friend, and ex girlfriend - isn't going to go down without a fight, she needs a bit of bitchiness. However, it was still a perfect YA contemporary read, and I'm so glad Entangled approved my request!
Dates Read:
February 15, 2020Rating
4 Stars
