The Way to Game the Walk of Shame, from Jenn P. Nguyen

Hello, there! I am so sorry that I’ve been posting so little over here, THIS WEEKEND WILL CHANGE MY LIFE, I PROMISE!! Annelise, dear, are you trying to convince us or your royal self?

… Never mind that, let’s talk about my most recent finished book and second in June already (!) 🙂 I received The Way to Game the Walk of Shame, from Jenn P. Nguyen, in exchange for an honest review from Xpresso Book Tours 🙂 Thanks, guys! I loved it and this is the time to say all the reasons why!

Taylor Simmons is screwed.

Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip.

Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I already established some facts about myself after so many months as a book blogger:  Fake bf/gf? Check. Nerd guy or chick with popular guy or chick? Check. Strong and fearless protagonists? Check. A Swoon Reads book? CHECK! The Way to Game the Walk of Shame was 99,9% perfect for me and I loved every single page and moment! I read it on less than 24 hours working and sleeping, as I NEEDED TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN! Taylor and Evan were an awesome couple, Jenn kicked ass with her writing and quotes, everything. Well, except for this title. I liked it more as “The Love Contract”. Besides being more accurate, The Way to Game the Walk of Shame IS SUCH A LONG AND CONFUSING TITLE D: I actually explain it to my mom three times before she understood that I was talking about a book and I really gave up saying the title aloud for my friends. Such a turn off for a perfect romance 😦 Still, 5 stars!

The narrative is first person and, while I’m stubborn and still hold my ground on my opinion on them, I have to admit that a good author can make it work with any point of view. I fell in love with Taylor and Evan, our narrators, and laughed hard so many times that almost all my Kindle file is highlighted in blue – that’s how I mark my favorite quotes in ebooks 🙂 I was captivated by Nguyen’s writing style since line one, as she uses many metaphors (I love them) and has snarky and fun characters. I love people that can hold on the good humor even when they are screwed for eternity, haha!

The plot was simple, as Taylor and Evan had to make their “relationship” work, but as every romance, it had its twists and complications. All natural and very, very difficult. I was taken aback a handful of times thanks to the sudden twists and that was very entertaining, haha!

The characters were my favorite kind of people: funny, smart, snarky, pervs on the bottom, driven by their passion. I hated Lauren and I didn’t care much for Carly, Aaron or Kimmy – friends and family – but Taylor and Evan made it all up for them. Evan was the perfect guy on his imperfections and Taylor was simply awesome. I don’t even have the words to say how much I loved her and related to her in several levels. I just need an Evan type on my life now, haha!

The strongest point in this book is how Nguyen built her characters’ relationships and all the humor behind it. I am almost positive that I’ve brain dead for the last twenty minutes now, so I’ll edit this review tomorrow to make my point about the quotes and show you some 🙂 Oh, and I need gifs and infos on the book, yes. Annelise, dear, stop thinking aloud and finish this review already!

Overall, if you love contemporary YA, light and heartwarming reads, awesome protagonists and comedy, you should read The Way to Game the Walk of Shame 🙂

Thanks so much for bearing with sleep drunk me! I love you guys and will see you tomorrow when I won’t be this wasted, haha!