Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A quick, easy read that’s perfect for sunshine and beach days.

Opening Sentence: “You can’t just stand here, Avery.”

The Review:

Avery is a straight A student. She’s spent her high school experience either studying or with her best friend, Kendall. When it comes time for senior year, she is looking to experience love before college, but she doesn’t want any old boyfriend, she wants the right boyfriend. So when bad boy Fletcher enters her life through her father the cop, she is surprised to feel such a strong connection. But Fletcher only likes easy girls, and he’s no man for commitment – and that’s not even mentioning the bruises that stain his body. If Avery is on the lookout for Mr. Right that Fletcher is about as far as she can get. And yet, the connection is there. Is there any way Avery and Fletcher could work out?

Avery was a relatable character. She liked books (like me), cared about her grades (like me), so she was pretty similar to myself. This made it easy to see from her point of view, and when Fletcher entered the scene, both of us were screaming bad news. But of course, this being a YA romance novel, there’s more to Fletcher under his bad boy exterior.

She was trying to focus on college, and making the most of her time with Kendall, but Fletcher kept entering her head. She just could not block him out, no matter how she tried. I liked the plotline of her relationship with her parents, as well; she wanted to be a teacher and spread her knowledge, but her parents wanted a doctor. She was committed to med school for the reason of making them proud, which wasn’t the best prompt to go into a lifelong career; of course, Fletcher helped her to see the light.

Now let’s talk Fletcher. I’ll tell you that I’m usually soft when it comes to the ones labeled “bad boys” (at least in books), so this was no exception. I didn’t love him as much as I usually do with these types of characters – something was missing, and I don’t know what. I couldn’t really connect to his character, although I did experience some of his emotions, like the turmoil towards his abusive father and his hard childhood. I was a tiny bit annoyed with the “good girl falls for bad boy” cliche going on, as well as the “good girl changes bad boy” one, but what can you do?

Altogether, this was an easy book to read and super quick. It’s pretty easy to get into, and my only problems were the cliches and that I couldn’t fully connect to the love interest (which is probably more my fault than the book’s). Fletcher’s romance with Avery dominated most of the story, so if you are a fan of thrillers and action, you may want to turn away. If you want a fluffy beach read than forge ahead, this is just the book for you.

Notable Scene:

“Thanks.” I forced out.

“Put on the bandage. I promise it’ll make you feel better.”

She walked out, closing the door behind her. I looked at Spider-Man, figured what the hell, lifted my t-shirt, and placed the adhesive bandage over my heart.

Just so it could remind me that I didn’t want to hurt her.

FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Trouble from the Start. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

It has been raining for like 3 days here and I’ve had the absolute pleasure of doing nothing else but read. And when you get a quick, easy read like this, it’s the perfect match for a rainy day.

Trouble from the Start is a sweet book about looking through someone’s outer image, and finding out who they really are on the inside.

This is also a book about family and that’s what I enjoyed the most. Avery and her family are real. They remind me of my own family and that made me smile more than once.

Avery was somewhat of a snob in the beginning (and I’m glad she gets over that). She only saw the person that the rumors painted. However, she did remind me of myself when I was in high school. Never really focused on finding a boyfriend. Always worried about my grades and getting out of school to see what the real world would be all about. I grew to relate to Avery very quickly.

On the other hand, her friend Kendall, I did not grow to like.

Kendall and her boyfriend Jeremy’s relationship was sickeningly sweet. It really makes me not miss high school, where all the couples were oh so “in love”. I guess if I had read the companion novel to this one, I could understand their relationship more. I suppose I’m more of a cynical romantic. Meh.

Fletcher is a sweet heart with a few secrets. I saw it coming before his secret was revealed, but it still hurt just the same. I’m glad he has Avery, it’s the least he deserves.

I read this book in a matter of hours. It is just like candy and I did not wanna put it down! If you loved the Perfect Chemistry series by Simone Elkeles, you’ll love Trouble from the start! ( )