My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions
Author: Becca Wilhite
Series: ---
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
How Received: review copy
Sarah Howard's first year at the university is everything and nothing she expected especially when a very cute boy named Ben in her Art History class starts to show interest in her.
Sarah feels like she's an average, normal, everyday girl. So, when Ben (to whom she secretly refers as Adonis because she thinks he could be a Greek god) begins to take interest in her, Sarah is in denial. For one thing, last year she was deeply crushed and humiliated by Jesse James a guy who she thought liked her.
She's determined not to get burned again. But in her heart of hearts, what she really wants is a Jane Austen kind of romance. Ridiculous, right? That kind of romance doesn t exist anymore . . . or does it? Sarah is smart and fun to be around and even pretty, despite her Medusa-like red curls. She even plays the guitar. (So does Ben!) Yes, Sarah is everything Ben has wanted. He's crazy for her, but Sarah is just not getting it. She's playing hard to get, and if she s not careful, she s going to lose a real hot gentleman -- her 21st-century Mr. Darcy.
Buy | Borrow | Brush Off
I've had this book sitting on my shelf for a while and since it was part of my "Oh, this looks small. Let me read this!" pile, I figured I'd tackle it. I mean, come on; it's a girl who is obsessed with romance novels and Mr. Darcy and all that.
(Side note: I feel like Sarah from the book would like Sarah Maclean's writing if Sarah from the book were real.)
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, though I did spend a good portion of the final bit of the novel slamming my head against the wall. [SPOILER] See, at the end of the book, Sarah is COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to Ben's feelings for her and his feeling are so painfully obvious and she's just like "I'm not good enough for him waaaah" that I was - literally - hitting my head against the wall in frustration. But it's okay; it all worked out. [/SPOILER]
I loved the characters - Sarah makes fun of stereotypes while being one herself, and I always love when that happens; it makes me giggle. As far as her character goes, I loved her (the last bit aside) and thought it was interesting to be in her head; normally I have little patient for girls who are all, "Woe is me. One guy hurt me and now I'll never get a guy." but she reminded me a lot of one of my real life friends, except with better hair.
Also, Ben? Hello, realistic attractive guy. Ben's kind of awesome and I thought realistic, especially as this is set in college - he suits his place in the world really well. I liked it.
And yes! It's set in first semester of college! Which means BONUS POINTS for this book! I'm in the firm belief that YA needs more stories involving college or taking place at the beginning of college life. We're still YA then, and teens who are going to college may want to read about it. So mad props.
Overall Rating & Final Thoughts: 8/10. It's cheesy romantic story, and you'll headdesk a little, but it's really cute and a fast read.