Friday, December 8, 2017

Blog Tour: The Heartbreak Cure - Amanda Ashby

















The Heartbreak Cure
Amanda Ashby
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
How to get over a heartbreak:

Step one: Eat your body weight in brownies.

Step two: Throw yourself into your dreams of becoming a famous writer.

Step three: Beg your (hottie) ex-neighbor to act as your fake boyfriend.

Step four: Skip step three unless you’re ready for some serious fallout.

After being dumped and humiliated over the summer, Cat Turner does what any sane girl would do. She asks bad boy Alex Locke to be her fake boyfriend and show the world (and her editor at the school newspaper) that she's fine. Problem is, the more time she spends with Alex, the more she risks getting her heart broken. For real this time.


Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains a swoony bad boy who will melt your heart, brownies, and witty banter. One, two, or all three might prove addictive…
REVIEW

This book combines two of my favorite tropes, friends-to-more and fauxmance-to-romance, with a result that left me with a case of the warm fuzzies and a smile on my face.

Cat and Alex went back a quite a few years. As former neighbors, they shared a childhood and a friendship. I was won over in the first chapter, when Alex came to deliver some of his grandma Birdie's Heartbreak Brownies. I loved the way Alex and Cat interacted. There was an ease and a familiarity, and I pretty much started shipping them immediately.

I wholly embraced both Alex and Cat straight away. Cat was an aspiring writer, who had her heart broken via YouTube. I instantly hated the boy who did this. I mean, he exploited her Goodreads list! This left me rooting for Cat. I did not want him to take anything else from her, and I stood behind her choice to pursue a fauxmance in order to save her chance at writing for the school paper. I found my solace in the fact that Cat was lucky to have a great support system in her mom, her best friend, Alex, and even Alex's grandmother.

Alex was so much more complicated, and his back story was really tragic. I wanted to hug him, and force people to see him for who and what he really was. He was treated quite unfairly, and it infuriated me that they could not see how he was working so hard to improve himself and his life, while still giving so much of himself to other. I was pretty overjoyed to see that Alex actually had a few people on his side, and even had someone unexpectedly watching over him.

The romance was sweet and adorable. It was fun to watch the attraction between Cat and Alex blossom, and I was whooping it up when they finally acknowledged it. I also enjoyed the side romances. There was some love in the air for a bunch of the characters, and I adored it, because everyone deserves their happy ending.

The auxiliary characters in this book and the relationships they forged with the main characters were great too. Cat and her mom had a really wonderful bond. Due to their circumstances, they were quite close, and I always love seeing positive families and non-traditional families in YA. There was also Nikki, who was a fun and fierce best friend. I knew Cat would be ok with Nikki on her side. The bond that was growing between Joe and Alex was quite special as well, but my favorite connection was between Alex and his grandmother. He was so sweet and doting, and you could tell how much he loved her. Those precious displays added polish to the heart of gold I already knew Alex had under his bad boy exterior.

Overall: Another solid Entangled read that delivered what it promised: a swoony boy to melt my heart, witty banter, but also an adorable romance that warmed me up and left me in a happy state.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK LINKS

AMAZON | AMAZON AU | AMAZON CA | AMAZON UK | B&N | IBOOKS | KOBO 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Amanda Ashby was born in Australia but now lives in New Zealand where she writes romance, young adult and middle grade books. She also works in a library, owns far too many vintage tablecloths and likes to delight her family by constantly rearranging the furniture.

She has a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Queensland and is married with two children. Her debut book was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award, and her first young adult book was listed by the New York Public Libraryʼs Stuff for the Teen Age. Because she’s mysterious she also writes middle grade books under the name, Catherine Holt and hopes that all this writing won’t interfere with her Netflix schedule.

She also runs writing workshops and loves to speak to people about Buffy (er, she means writing). See her Website for more information.


FOLLOW THE TOUR


December 4, 2017 – Twirling Book Princess – Spotlight
December 4, 2017 – Books and Ladders – Guest Post
December 4, 2017 – Definitely, possibly, maybe – Review
December 4, 2017 – Electively Paige – Review
December 5, 2017 – Chapters through life – Review
December 5, 2017 – Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf – Review
December 5, 2017 – Adventures Thru Wonderland – Review
December 6, 2017 – The book slayer – Review
December 6, 2017 – Here’s to Happy Endings – Guest Post
December 6, 2017 – Ambersworldofbooks – Review
December 7, 2017 – Sincerely Karen Jo – Review
December 7, 2017 – BookCrushin – Guest Post
December 7, 2017 – The Avid Reader – Interview
December 8, 2017 – Haddie’s Haven – Review
December 8, 2017 – Chapter by Chapter – Interview
December 8, 2017 – MrsLeif’s Two Fangs About It Book Reviews – Spotlight
December 11, 2017 – Dani Reviews Things – Review
December 11, 2017 – Eru Books and Recs – Review
December 11, 2017 – Between Books – Review
December 11, 2017 – Gata Leitora – Review
December 12, 2017 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – Guest Post
December 12, 2017 – Closet Geeks and Slow Mo – Review
December 12, 2017 – BookHounds YA – Interview
December 13, 2017 – Cuzinlogic – Spotlight
December 13, 2017 – To Be Read – Review
December 13, 2017 – ashleysgotbookcitement – Review
December 13, 2017 – A Dream Within A Dream – Spotlight
December 14, 2017 – The Book Corner Buzz – Review
December 14, 2017 – What Is That Book About – Spotlight
December 14, 2017 – The Books You Read – Review
December 14, 2017 – Amanda Gernentz Hanson – Review
December 15, 2017 – Sasha Says – Review
December 15, 2017 – Southern Belle Charm – Review
December 15, 2017 – Sophie Reads YA – Review
December 15, 2017 – Stuck In Books – Spotlight
December 15, 2017 – the bibliophagist – Review









Do you have a favorite "heartbreak" food?
Let us know in the comments!

16 comments:

  1. AHH! This sounds amazing and what an awesome review too! Thanks so much for puthing this one on my radar. It truly sounds like a magical read.
    Hope you have a great night and Happy reading 💖xoxo

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    1. Super fun and sweet. I smiled a lot and really enjoyed it.

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  2. This one sounds amazing! I love the friends-to-more concept. It sounds like the author did a great job creating the characters and there backstories. I love when you just can't help but root for the characters in the book! Great review!

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    1. It was very fun, and had just the right amount of drama to make it interesting. I really liked Alex, and rooted for him to overcome his past, because he deserved good things.

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  3. I'm a huge fan of those tropes as well and the romance does sound adorable. I hadn't heard of this one before so thank you for introducing it to me!

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    1. Fun and adorable romances are my favorite, and this one delivered. I liked the romance, but I have to say, I loved all the friendships and the support the main characters received. Made me heart warm.

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  4. Great review. Fauxmance-to-romance is one of my favourite tropes (the main reason why I love To All the Boys I've Loved Before so much). The romance seems so adorable that I need to add this novel to my wishlist.

    Happy readings & Thank you for the recommendation.
    Tânia @MyLovelySecret

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    1. To All the Boys is one of my faves, but I think it's because I love the Song sisters so much! This was adorable, and it had a little grit too.

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  5. I really enjoy these types of books! They really do just give you such a wonderful, laid back feeling. Sounds like this one is a sweet romance that I should add to the TBR asap. :)

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    1. I have read a lot of Entangled books, and I like that I can depend on them to be low drama, low angst, and endearing. Sometimes, you just want that.

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  6. This sounds really cute, Sam! I would be mad at the boy who exploited her Goodreads list...you don't do those things :) Glad you enjoyed it!

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    1. I laughed so hard at the Goodreads reference. That was fun. This was fun and cute, but also included issues like cyber shaming and the damage gossip can do. I am always a fan of authors who can included more serious topics without making the story too heavy.

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  7. This book sounds soooo cute! I absolutely adore fake relationship and friends to lovers. Every single one I've picked up is just too adorable, and I need to give this one a try too. Wonderful review!

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    1. Friends to more always works for me too. I think it's because the characters usually know so much about each other and tend to have an easy way with each other that is pleasant to watch.

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  8. This sounds like such a great read! I love fake relationship stories - I think my favorite is Love Not Allowed..it was such a great story. I can't wait to check this one out, too!

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    1. It was cute, but also had substance without getting too heavy. Fauxmance, friendship, and family will always win me over.

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