#AmReading YA

10 Truths and a Dare
Ashley Elston
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

It's Senior Week, that magical in-between time after classes have ended but before graduation, chock-full of gimmicky theme parties, last-minute bonding, and family traditions. Olivia couldn't be more ready. Class salutatorian and confident in her future at LSU, she's poised to sail through to the next phase of her life.

But when the tiny hiccup of an unsigned off-campus P.E. form puts Olivia in danger of not graduating at all, she has one week to set things straight without tipping off her very big and very nosy extended family. Volunteering to help at a local golf tournament should do it, but since Olivia's mom equipped her phone with a tracking app, there'll be no hiding the fact that she's at the golf course instead of all the graduation parties happening at the same time. Unless, that is, she can convince the Fab Four--her ride-or-die cousins and best friends Sophie, Charlie, and Wes--to trade phones with her as they go through the motions of playing Olivia for the week.

Sure, certain members of the golf team are none too pleased with Olivia's sudden "passion" for the game. And sure, a very cute, very off-limits boy keeps popping up in Olivia's orbit. But she is focused! She has a schedule and a plan! Nothing can possibly go wrong . . . right?

Olivia was ready to celebrate the fruits of her labor. She worked tirelessly during high school and was ready to collect her rewards. Daily Senior Week parties - check. Locking down the salutatorian spot - check. Scholarship money for LSU - check. It was all going according to plan until she learned she never earned that final PE credit. Now it was a race against the clock to make up the class time she missed, while keeping it a secret from her family. Fingers crossed she and the Fab Four can pull this off!

My love for 10 Blind Dates is no secret. That was the book where I first met Olivia and her big and boisterous family. I fell in love with this meddlesome but loving clan and was excited to get back into their world. Once again, Elston crafted a sweet and charming story featuring family and friendship with a dash of romance, and I enjoyed every second of it. 

It was shocking to see Olivia fall from grace. She was the one with everything meticulously planned, but by putting PE low on her list of priorities, her entire academic future was in jeopardy. Though it was easy to understand why Olivia didn't want people to discover her situation, it was exhausting for her, and eventually took its toll. Lots of lessons were learned, and I really appreciated how it all shook out. 

In-between the hard lesson-learning parts of this story were these amazing parties. Graduating from high school was not celebrated with such grandeur where I grew up, but I loved the idea of these parties. They were all a bit over the top, and many had some fantastic themes. I don't know if Elston based these on her own experiences, but there were a few I would definitely love to attend. 

Though I enjoyed spending more time with the rest of the Fab Four as they helped Olivia carry out her plan, I did wish there were more big family gatherings. My love for the Messina family runs deep, and I will take as much time with them as I can get. There were some great family gatherings in this book with the concert being especially amusing. 

There was also a bit of an adorable romance woven into the story. It was an interesting pairing, and I adored them so much, that I wanted more page time with them. Alas, I can get never get enough romance, but I was delighted that there was an epilogue to give me a peek into their future. 

This book had a lot to live up to, and I must say, it did a good job. It was wonderful being back with the Messina family, and though I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I had liked, the book still had the same warmth and charm of its predecessor, and it won my heart.

Better Than the Movies
Lynn Painter
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Rom-Com
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.

When her childhood crush moves back to town, Liz believes it's a message from the universe that they should be together. She concocts a plan inspired by her favorite rom-coms to win Michael's heart. Knowing she could not accomplish the task alone, she enlists her neighbor (and nemesis) Wes to help. As she holds onto to this idea of Michael being "the one", she runs the risk of actually losing "the one" who was there the whole time. 

How many books have we read that were labeled as rom-coms and just didn't live up to the title? For me, it's been many, but this was the real deal. When I set my eyes upon this cover with all it's nods to many classic rom-coms, I was eager to read it, and I have zero regrets. 

Name a rom-com trope you love, and I promise you will find it somewhere in this book. The magic of this delightful story was the way Painter was able to embrace and combine all these tropes, while still allowing her characters to have depth. Each character assumed a role, but then they would surprise me (in a good way) becoming more than the cookie cutter person I expected. 

I saw where this was going, romantically speaking, from a mile away. I still loved it! The pairing was perfect, their interactions magnificent, and each step closer to that true-love's kiss had my heart beating faster and faster. It was everything my rom-com loving self could ask for. 

There was also a grief element in the story. After her mother's untimely death, Liz sought comfort in the rom-coms they used to watch together. These movies and all their romantic notions helped her feel connected to her mother. This period in her life was proving very challenging for Liz, as she was facing endings and new beginnings, and she found herself missing her mother more and more because of that. The moments, where Liz shared her grief for her mother were heartbreaking at times. You know I shed tears for her, and I thought Painter did a beautiful job with this part of the story. It was quite touching. 

You can't see me, but I am giving this book a standing ovation! Seriously, this is me:

The book was the everything I adore about rom-coms wrapped up in one fun and fantastic package. I loved every page, every line, every word of this book. It was an incredible homage to all the rom-coms that have made me laugh, cry, smile, and swoon, and when I was done, I was filled to the brim with so much happiness, warmth, and joy. 

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Favorite rom-com?
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