Thursday, February 5, 2015

Review: One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin

One of the Guys
By: Lisa Aldin
Release Date: February 10, 2015

Description:
Tomboy to the core, Toni Valentine understands guys. She'll take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests over manicures. So Toni is horrified when she's sent to the Winston Academy for Girls, where she has to wear a skirt and learn to be a lady while the guys move on without her.

Then Toni meets Emma Elizabeth, a girl at school with boy troubles, and she volunteers one of her friends as a pretend date. Word spreads of Toni’s connections with boys, and she discovers that her new wealthy female classmates will pay big money for fake dates. Looking for a way to connect her old best friends with her new life at school, Toni and Emma start up Toni Valentine’s Rent-A-Gent Service. 

But the business meets a scandal when Toni falls for one of her friends--the same guy who happens to be the most sought-after date. With everything she's built on the line, Toni has to decide if she wants to save the business and her old life, or let go of being one of the guys for a chance at love.

Review:
I’ve always enjoyed exploring debut authors, and I’m so happy I was able to read this book because it was absolutely adorably charming and addicting.  The characters in this book were well planned out and very real, although I did want to slap the main character across the head, how can she be so clueless, sigh. 

We meet Toni and her three best friends, of course all boys, now this is definitely something that happens more often than not and should be told about because this was a great story and only great things happen between the closest of friends.  So Toni is dead set on keeping the four of them together, especially since it’s their senior year of high school and pretty soon they will all be going off in different directions, but one silly prank changes everything.  She’s sent to a private girl’s school.  She’s separated from the boys and she feels as if they begin to pull away from her.  Stuff happens eventually you will grow apart.

She comes up with this brilliant plan to try and merge her two lives together, the new and the old by making a new company – Rent A Gent.  This of course as you can imagine spells disaster in one form or another, but I will not tell you how as you have to read the book.  The trials and tribulations of these four characters are just very authentic and you can’t help but get involved in their lives.  You want them to succeed as friends but it takes a little push from all sides.  They are all very different but are close and that is what will bind the together always. 

I love the whole Loch and Toni relationship (his name is not really Loch but they have all great nicknames that I just can’t help but use them.  I so want a nickname too.) You can catch glimpses of moments between the two of them but she is just so determined not to be super girlie about it, but then she starts feeling something and can’t help but finally admit what she’s probably felt all along.  Love.  It’s beautiful to see Toni grow and discover her womanhood as she likes to call it.  You see her go from tomboy to a young lady, who has feelings for a boy.  It’s cute and endearing and I loved every minute of it.

The secondary characters are not to be wasted though because they were quite entertaining too, you have Ollie and Cowboy and let’s not forget Emma who helps Toni bring out the womanhood in her.  They all played a major part in this book as well, especially in keeping the business and friendships afloat.  They are all so different but so great together, a really amazing group of friends that I was so sad when the book ended because I really wanted to read more about them all. 


Overall I have to say this debut was a hit, it was a really great book that you have to pick up and read.  It’s all adorable and cute, not to mention a really amazing great quick read.  I really enjoyed it from beginning to end, and oh man did I want them to find the Lochness monster so bad in the lake, you know it’s probably out there laughing at everyone right now lol.  Love this book and can’t wait to see what this author has in store for her next book.  

Disclaimer:
I received this book from NetGalley and Spencer Hill Contemporary, so that I may give my honest opinion and a review. Whether it is good or not please do not let it discourage you from purchasing/reading the book yourself and forming your own opinion. What might be good for me may not be good for you and vice versa. With that said, Happy Reading Everyone!!!

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