Sonntag, 21. August 2016

Daring The Bad Boy - Monica Murphy

Title: Daring The Bad Boy
Author: Monica Murphy
Rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for letting me receive a digital copy of this book before its official release.
Annie McFarland is sick of being a shy nobody. A session at summer camp seems like the perfect opportunity to reinvent herself—gain some confidence, kiss a boy, be whoever she wants to be. A few days in, she’s already set her sights on über-hottie Kyle. Too bad her fear of water keeps her away from the lake, where Kyle is always hanging out.

Jacob Fazio is at Camp Pine Ridge after one too many screw-ups. Junior counseling seems like punishment enough, but the rigid no-fraternizing-with-campers rules harsh his chill. When a night of Truth or Dare gets him roped into teaching Annie how to swim, she begs him to also teach her how to snag Kyle.

Late-night swim sessions turn into late-night kissing sessions…but there’s more on the line than just their hearts. If they get caught, Jake’s headed straight to juvie, but Annie’s more than ready to dare him to reveal the truth.

This is what I call a summer read. And it also happens to be the exact kind of story that I wish I had written. Seriously, this Daring The Bad Boy is so similar to the book idea I've had in mind for over five years now, starting to write it down and then quitting again. To be honest, Monica Murphy has a better way with words than me, no arguing about that, but I am jealous. Because this is everything I hoped my book would be too.

Annie and Jake are about the sweetest characters you will ever come across. Granted, Jake is described as the typical bad boy, but you can't help but love him. Whenever he is around Annie, you just want to give him a push right into her arms, make them both see they are perfect for each other. Because they are.

Annie is this shy girl that would rather dig a hole into the ground and hide in it than ever make the first move on a boy. Which is why she kind of depends on Jake. There is a guy at camp called Kyle. Everybody has got a crush on him, everybody already had something going on with him, and Annie wants her share, this year being her first at camp ever. She's got a secret that she only shares with her best friend at camp and... Well, Jake. And in order to overcome her fears, Annie and Jake find themselves hanging around each other quite a lot.

I don't want to give away the story, which is why I'll be quiet on the characters and their background, but I absolutely enjoyed this book. I wouldn't have thought it'd end up as one of my favourite summer reads ever, but it totally did. When I got to the part they first saw each other, when I got to the scene in which Annie tries to prove she isn't a coward, I found myself wanting to read until my eyes burned, until I was so tired, I had to put my phone away and still couldn't fall asleep because the story had me hooked. That's what I call a page turner, a book worth loving. Now I can understand why so many German readers are obsessed with Monica Murphy's books. She's a genius. While this story could have easily been somewhat of a dull read, it wasn't. It was perfect, expect for one part toward the end, in which I kind of ended up hating Annie. Maybe, if you decide to give this book a try, you'll be with my on that point. Maybe not. I'm just trying to defend Jake, because he was this ultimate book boyfriend.

I don't know why there is a warning about sexual situations in the summary of this book. Truth be told, I didn't get the impression of that at all. Well, if kissing counts as sexual situation, then I guess you're right, but other than that, it's totally harmless. Felt like I had to say this at last.

So... Forget about your schedule, forget about whatever it is you wanted to do the rest of your summer (or any other season for that matter), make sure to go to your local book store and buy this beauty, or go to any digital shop and buy it. It's not that often that I love a book this much, but I did. Daring The Bad Boy was a highlight for me and if it happens to be a highlight for you too, share it with me.

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