the boy next door has an attitude problem. and nina barnes is happy to debate that with him until the sun sets. when west smith claims that they are attending the valentine's dance together, she holds him to it. she says it's because he said it was happening, and she doesn't lie, so they need to make it so and thus the dating debate begins.and before west even knows it somehow he's in a relationship that he never intended. he doesn't let people get close. because all he wants to do is leave everything behind. his home life is not good. his mother is a hoarder who doesn't leave the house. and his father, besides not being the warm and fuzzy type, ignores the problem never realizing how it affects west.
but opening up to someone as open and generous as nina, puts west's secrets in danger. and he wants to confess the truth to her. but his shame about his home, the extent of his mother's mental illness, run very deep. and he'd rather cut everything else out instead of own it. but this isn't a way to live. you can't keep cutting good things out of your life. so west has to learn how to let nina in for real. how to listen to what she needs and accept that there are things about her that will always make him a little crazy, but he also loves her.
as a pair, nina and west are absolutely delightful. their dialogue is snappy and fun. the way they play off each other and make each other better is basically what you want for all your romance couples. they are better together than apart, and luckily they figure that out with minimal drama.
**the dating debate published on february 6, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (crush) in exchange for my honest review. keep reading for some additional book info, including an excerpt.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Nina Barnes thinks Valentine’s Day should be optional. That way single people like her wouldn’t be subjected to kissy Cupids all over the place. That is, until her mom moves them next door to the brooding hottie of Greenbrier High, West Smith. He’s funny, looks amazing in a black leather jacket, and he’s fluent in Harry Potter, but she’s not sure he’s boyfriend material.
West isn’t sure what to make of Nina. She’s cute and loves to read as much as he does, but she seems to need to debate everything and she has a pathological insistence on telling the truth. And West doesn’t exactly know how to handle that, since his entire life is a carefully constructed secret. Dating the girl next door could be a ton of fun, but only if Nina never finds out the truth about his home life. It’s one secret that could bring them together or rip them apart.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book is not for anyone who has to get in the last word, but it is for all book nerds, especially those who live next door to so-called unapproachable gorgeous guys. There’s no debating the chemistry.
BUY THE BOOK
EXCERPT
“So, this whole dance thing?” West picked up a fork, took a bite of rice, and stared at me like he was waiting for me to give him an easy out. Not going to happen. Mess with a smart girl and suffer the consequences.
“You started it,” was the most amusing response I could come up with.
“No.” He shook his head as if trying to emphasize his response. “You started it when you invited me in for dinner.”
“Why? Because I knew you’d rather eat dirt than join us for rice? That’s your fault for being a suck-up and carrying my mom’s food.”
“I was being nice,” he shot back.
“No good deed goes unpunished.” I batted my eyelashes at him. “Besides, I was going to help her before you rushed over.”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “So I shouldn’t have helped your mom, but it’s okay for you to shove Cole off on Vicky.”
“Please. He’s a nice guy. She’ll fall for him...maybe because he’s the total opposite of you.”
He pointed his fork at me. “Where do you get off judging me?”
“I’m not judging you. I meant you’re all black-leather- jacket-brooding loner guy, and he’s Mr.-Happy-Sunshine- everyone-is-my-friend.”
“Fine. Mr. Sunshine is out of the way now, so there’s no need for us to go to the dance.”
“Nice try,” I said. “We’re going to the dance.”
“Why?”
“Because you said we were,” I said. “And lying is never acceptable. Don’t stress about this. I’m not proposing we run off to Mexico and get matching his-and-her tattoos. We’ll just go to the dance together. No big deal.”
“Right. Nothing is ever that simple.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Cannon is the award-winning author of the Going Down In Flames series and the Boyfriend Chronicles. She lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and several furry beasts.
She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures or romantic comedies.
GIVEAWAY
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated. No spam please. Let's keep things fun and nice and respectful.