Monday, May 27, 2019

Blog Tour: The Boy Next Story


The Boy Next Story
Tiffany Schmidt
Series: Bookish Boyfriends, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
The second book in a series where your favorite literary characters come to life, inspired by the timeless classic, Little Women!

There’s no one better than the boy next door. At least not according to Aurora Campbell, fourteen, who has been in love with Tobias May since their very first sandbox kiss. The problem is, he’s in love with her older sister, Merrilee. And Merri is already dating one of his best friends.

Rory is learning all about pining as her class reads The Great Gatsby, a book she doesn’t find “great” at all. Also not great—her GPA, something she needs to fix, quickly, if she’d like to apply for the chance to spend a week studying art with her hero in New York City over winter break. But when Ms. Gregoire assigns her to read Little Women for extra credit, Rory discovers more than she expected—both about herself and Toby. Maybe she wasn’t in love with the boy next door. . . but the boy next story.

Love is complicated, and it’s all about to get even trickier for Rory at Reginald R. Hero Prep . . . where with the help of one quirky English teacher, students’ fantasies come true, often with surprising consequences.
REVIEW

We are back at Hero High for another adorable installment of Bookish Boyfriends. This book focused on the youngest Campbell sister, Rory. And you see: Rory liked Toby, but Toby liked Merri, and Merri, very much so, loved Fielding. Yes! We are dealing with several cases of unrequited love here, but with the right book recommendations from their sort of magical English teacher, both Rory and Toby were able to tackle the issues of their hearts.

As with the previous book, Schmidt gives us a great heroine to cheer for, and I was especially behind her, because of all the personal struggles she was experiencing. First, she was enamored with someone, who didn't really see her, and that had to hurt. Then, she was constantly being left behind by her two older sisters, and that exclusion left her very wounded. As if that was not enough to deal with, the one place where Rory usually found her bliss, art class, was becoming a war zone, and her less than stellar grades might keep her from an amazing artistic experience. My heart genuinely ached for her, because it seemed like Rory just couldn't catch a break. But as with all books I enjoy, Rory went on a personal journey. She made some changes to her life, thanks to a few literary recommendations, and good things started to happen for her, especially because she started to realize her own worth.

As with the pervious installment, this one featured storylines from two classics - The Great Gatsby and Little Women. I did like the way that Schmidt wove these books into the plot, but as with the last book, I liked the second storyline more than the first, and felt like the first part could have been trimmed a bit.

Still, it was a delight watching Rory enjoy some success. Her trip to NYC was rather wonderful, and I can't complain about the way that trip ended. The romance was terribly sweet and adorable, which is what I expected from Schmidt, but what really played a big part in my enjoyment of this book were the family dynamics.

Though this was a romance, the relationship between the three Campbell sisters earned a lot of attention, and you know what I love? I love a great sibling bond. These three young women were very different from on another, and expressed themselves in very different ways, but it was the synergy they had a group, that made them unstoppable. It was fantastic to see them working through their various issues together, and I thought the pairing with Little Women was a really smart move.

Overall: Another solid edition to the series. It was fun, cute, and entertaining with some good messaging and a wonderful family focus.

* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK LINKS


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tiffany Schmidt is the author of Send Me a Sign, Bright Before Sunrise, and Hold Me Like a Breath (Once Upon a Crime Family book 1).

She’s found her happily ever after in Pennsylvania with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous puggles.

You can find out more about her and her books at: TiffanySchmidt.com, TiffanySchmidtWrites.Tumblr.com or by following her on Twitter @TiffanySchmidt.



What two books would you want to guide your story?
Let us know in the comments!

20 comments:

  1. This sounds so good, especially as Little Women is one of my all time favourite books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The one thing that stood out in both the books in this series was the way she worked the classics in. It was a nice way to guide the character's growth and story arc.

      Delete
  2. What an adorable cover! You know how much I love reading about sibling bonds, so this sounds right up my alley. Interesting that you found the second story better than the first. I always find myself gravitating towards one story too with books like this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same. Love sibs, and there was more of that in this book, than its predecessor, and those were some of the highlights for me.

      Delete
  3. I love seeing modern authors incorporate classics into their narratives. This sounds adorably cute Sam! I love that it's part of a series as well, it's giving me To All The Boys I Loved Before vibes but for a younger audience. Wonderful review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Both books in the series were terribly adorable, and now that you mention it, the sisters did have a vibe similar to that of the Song sisters.

      Delete
  4. I am living for the Little Women and Great Gatsby vibes!

    www.thebookishfairy.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Both of the Bookish Boyfriend books incorporated two classics. One book highlighted the things the MC wanted to change, the other highlighted the positive things. I tended to like the part of the story, which embraced the second book more each time. That was where all the warm and fuzzy feels were.

      Delete
  5. What a neat twist on a Little Woman retelling Sam!! I do love a great sibling love book even if there is romance there too. When balanced well it makes for a dynamite read. ❤️ Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wouldn't call these retellings, but rather the author has the MC use the books as guides, and the parallels are explicitly pointed out, which is sort of one of the things I find interesting.

      Delete
  6. I love Little Woman and The Great Gatsby! Poor Rory, sounds like she went through a lot with her feelings being unrequited and feeling left behind regarding her sisters. It sounds like she made a lot of character growth. I like that the girls had such a good sibling bond and had their own unique distinctive personalities and ways of expressing themselves. This story sounds like it was an enjoyable read! Lovely Review Sam!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rory definitely grew tremendously over the course of this book, and it was nice to see her finding her place in the family

      Delete
  7. I loved Little Women, The Great Gatsby not so much. Glad you enjoyed it, Sam! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This sounds like a really cute read and you have me intrigued by the combination of Little Women and The Great Gatsby. I loved both stories when I read them but can't imagine them being woven into a story together. I almost want to read it just to see how that worked, lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The author explicitly uses the classic storylines to push the protagonist in the right direction. It's a fun approach.

      Delete
  9. This sounds really good Sam. You always make me want to run out and read these books. I will have to get this one too. Thanks for the great giveaway. I want to start with the first before I read Rory's story.

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never talk about my stinker reads, only the ones I like. These books are really cute and I hope you get a chance to meet Rory.

      Delete
  10. I love that it is integrating classics into stories. I love when books do that because I am someone who loves classics as well as modern stories! Interesting that you think the beginning could've been cut a little so the story could neaten up a bit more. And yay for being able to love the sibling relationships in the book! I am glad that took a bit of a forefront. I would be disappointed if it didn't as it is Little Women inspired!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I felt that way about both Schmidt's Bookish Boyfriend books. The focus on the first story was a bit too long. I have an expectation for contemporaries, and if they are going to lean towards the longer side, it had better be for a good reason. Parts in these books could have been trimmed without sacrificing any of the plot. As far as complaints go, it's not the worst.

      Delete