Chris Cannon
Series: Dating Dilemmas, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Entangled Crush
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
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.I almost never pass up an opportunity to read an Entangled contemporary, because I know I will get a low angst, low drama story with a sweet romance and likable characters. Once again, I got what I expected with The Dating Debate.
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.
Who?
Nina, an avid reader, who had sworn off all boys, except fictional ones, following the demise of her parents' marriage. She was still reeling from the betrayal and abandonment her father inflicted on her, and was struggling with trust issues.
West, the boy next door, with his brooding good looks and his lone wolf approach to life. He appeared to be content with his solitary status, but was actually weighed down by a family secret.
What?
When Nina butted in and saved West from his ex-girlfriend, he concocted a lie, that he and Nina would be attending the Valentine's dance together. This led to forced time together, and eventually, real attraction. However, as West and Nina grew closer, he was forced to decide between letting Nina in or protecting his family secret.
Why?
I found The Dating Debate to be a fun read. There were quite a few things that charmed me, and I smiled quite often as I read this book.
- West and Nina were easy to ship. I liked both of them, and also liked them together. They would get into these "arguments", which Nina would always call "debates", but they were not dramatic. In fact, they were often quite amusing. They were very sweet together too, and I appreciated the way their romance grew slowly.
- I actually found Nina's love for books adorable. She had these dates with her best friend, where they would go to the book store and loiter in the cafe and read. She also often wore bookish merch, and even discussed the importance of having the hardcover, paperback, and ebook version of the same book.
- I thought "the secret" was handled well. We saw the effect it had on the person suffering from the problem as well as the family members.
- West was a complicated boy, and it really broke my heart when he finally opened up to his parents about how their secret was affecting his life. I loved seeing him let his guard down with Nina, because the boy really needed to be able to do that sometimes.
- Gidget, the dog, was pretty fabulous. She stole just about every scene she was in.
- There was this side plot, that seemed a little random at first, but then I sort of understood its purpose. I may not have fully embraced the secondary plot, but I got a grand gesture out of it, and you all know how I love me a grand gesture. Therefore, I was happy.
- I got an epilogue!!! I always want more. I want to know what happened after, and this epilogue was the perfect kind of epilogue for me. It was jump ahead, and it made me very happy.
Overall: A sweet romance, punctuated with quirky characters, fun "debates", and lots of bookish love.
**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
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.”
“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.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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. You can find her online at www.chriscannonauthor.com.
Would you date a boy who didn't like Harry Potter?
Let us know in the comments!
This really does sound fun! I love when characters have a love for books too. Adding to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of fun, and the issue addressed is one I have not really encountered before.
DeleteLove bookish characters and this has a trope I love. Sounds super cute - great review!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite bookish moment was when she explained how you needed the paperback, hardback and ebook in case of an emergency. =)
DeleteI love books that have both a light and emotional aspect to it! <3 Also, the way you described the heroine and her best friend's love of books... Gah, I totally miss my bookstore trips with my BFF. T_T Awesome review, lovely! Glad you enjoyed this.
ReplyDelete- Aimee @ Aimee, Always
I sort of thing that is an Entangled signature. There is some depth, but it's relatively light.
DeleteLove it when book characters also love to read!!!
ReplyDeleteJen Ryland Reviews
Me too! It's like an automatic way to connect to them.
DeleteThis sounds like a cute one! I love the romance that comes out a little slowly. Great review!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun watching the romance grow, and I really liked those two together.
DeleteThis sounds so sweet! Nina and West sound so likable. And I love the fact that Nina is bookish. :) Plus a grand gesture AND an epilogue? I know you had to be loving that. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know I love the sweet romances. There were a lot of great characters in this book, and I really loved that Cannon let me peek into their future.
DeleteLove the sound of this book. Light easy reads which are low angst but cute and shippy sounds great. I liked the idea of the fake date to a dance thing and then you mentioned the MC Nina likes books and I was just all over wanting to read this.
ReplyDeleteI feel like all Entangled book are low angst, low drama, and very sweet and fun. The stand out in this book was Nina's family and West's family secret, which is one we haven't seen much in YA.
DeleteI am huge on endings, so Cannon won a lot of points with me by giving us an epilogue.
ReplyDeleteThis one didn't work for me, but I'm happy you enjoyed it! I do agree that Gidget was pretty amazing. Dogs are the best!
ReplyDelete“Awww.” I patted him on the shoulder. “Are you insecure about the size of your library? I’m sure it’s fine.” -- This was my favorite part!
Do You Dog-ear?
Sorry it didn't work for you. The light and breezy romance usually works for me, as long as I like the characters, and I did like these two.
DeleteEven though I don't read much romance, I could still see myself getting into this one, especially with the main character being such a book nerd and the boy being so complicated. It sounds like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteIt was a cute book. If I was not a romance reader, I might take this out from the library to try it out, but since I am a romance reader, I enjoyed it.
Delete