Review: I laughed!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 21, 2013
Review:This was an extremely pleasant surprise. I didn't even know what I was expecting picking this up, I guess a cutesy contemporary teen romance, which I did also get, but in addition to a lot lot more. It reminded me of various manga where the hero and heroine meet because they are now stepsibling - in one word, promising.First things first: the humor was something I absolutely loved in this book. Violet just cracks me up. Her comments, descriptions and the embarrassing/awkward/ridiculous situations were top notch pure joy. There were some golden moments and lines she was responsible for, mostly unintentionally, but that was half the fun. It was all simple yet I actually laughed out loud at her antics and while she also did cause secondhand embarrassment to me more times than I can count, it was all in good humor. Violet's mother also had her daughter's quirky persona that slipped some great on-liners. In addition, the banter between Violet and Zane was teasing and sweet and sexy and just exhilarating to observe - they had great chemistry and at times hilarious (but swoony) dialogue.I liked that this was a more mature book than I expected, nothing explicit was described, but there were several sexy scenes going on behind the curtains that I'm sure were quite steamy. Regarding this, I also wasn't really bothered with Violet being under 18, Zane was only a couple of years older, and I can't pretend that people under 18 stay wholesome and don't ever engage in ANY activity with people slightly over 18 and aren't even allowed to. Needless to say, I really liked the two of them as a couple.The secret regarding Zane was something I didn't see coming at all, but now that I think about it, there were SOME clues, but they seemed so trivial at that time. For the most part I liked the secret, it made the plot thicker and more possibilities came about, but at the same time it was somewhat cliché and unnecessary. Violet and Zane were already a hot, adorable and fun couple, I would have rooted for them despite his secret and they could have carried the story successfully till the end even without the mysterious reveal.I didn't, however, like the secondary plot with Violets friend. I didn't really see any purpose there and neither was the friend very interesting to focus on, her "issue" was kind of out of the blue and creepy.Characters:I was so glad my first impression of Violet didn't quite hold true. Yes, she was an overreacting, immature and awkward teenager, but she was extremely likable, mostly because of her humorous comments and the sarcastic yet carefree attitude she had for everything. The jealousy fits got on my nerves, but it made for some drama and it would be too easy if everything went too smoothly in her relationship with Zane (even though he was mostly quite perfect, what a great guy!). She was also working at a retirement house, I found it nice, and it also brought about some funny situations with the residents there and Zane.Zane was really manly and mature, but boyish and sweet to Violet. I didn't even mind him sleeping around all the time because there was just something charming about him and how he took to and treated Violet. Other than being a hunk of a guy, he was like Violet, extremely likable and him keeping the secret from her I didn't mind at all.Overall:This was a surprisingly fun, cute and sexy YA story. It had faults but they are mostly due to preference. I say try this book, if nothing else, then the humor is definitely entertaining and more than worth the read.