Challenge Accepted

4.2 (3)

0.0 (0)

149 0

Write Review Add to favorites

Author(s)

Amanda Abram

Genre(s)

Age Range

14+

Release Date

January 25, 2018

ISBN13

1977030777

ISBN10 or ASIN

Emma Dawson and Logan Reynolds have been neighbors and enemies for as long as either one can remember. Despite the fact their BFF fathers have been encouraging them their whole lives to be friends, they've managed to avoid each other at all costs. Emma thinks Logan is a callous jerk who cares about nobody but himself. Logan thinks Emma is a stuck-up goody-two-shoes with no life. The two couldn't be any more different...which is why Emma is so confused when the Emerson High Computer Club's "Summer Fling Compatibility Test" concludes they're a perfect match. But Logan’s not confused. He lied on the test to make his "sometimes girlfriend" think they're not meant to be and now Emma is furious that he made her lose out on the chance of having a swoony summer romance with the perfect guy. Forced by his stepmother to make it up to her, Logan decides to help her win the heart of her lifelong crush: his best friend, Matt. He knows how much of a challenge this will be. Matt is good-looking, popular and outgoing. Emma is quiet, bookwormish, and scared of everything. However, Logan is convinced that with some major tweaking, he can transform Emma into someone Matt could fall for. But as the summer heats up, so does their budding friendship… and soon, they may be faced with the biggest challenge of all: falling for each other.

Editor reviews

6 reviews

Overall rating

4.2

Writing Style

4.3(3)

Plot

4.7(3)

Characters

3.7(3)

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A(0)

View all editor reviews View most helpful

The Girl Next Door

May 07, 2018

Overall rating

3.7

Writing Style

N/A

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED alternates POV between the nerdy Emma and the popular Logan. After messing up Emma's chances at a summer romance, Logan is forced by his stepmother to make it up to her. That's how Logan comes up with the brilliant plan to hook Emma up with his best friend Matt since she's madly in love with him.

Before Logan, Emma never dreamed of having the opportunity to talk to Matt. She's very shy and quiet, but Logan forces her out of her comfort zone. He takes her to parties and tries to morph her into the girl Matt would love to date. The only problem is that both Logan and Emma become confused about how they feel for each other.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED is a contemporary romance about the girl next door. To me, it was a little cliche and I wish there was a little more depth with the characters, but overall it was a decent read. I did like the alternating POV and adored the perfect way it ended.

Final Verdict: I would recommend this story to fans of contemporary romance and stories about the nerdy girl next door. This was an easy read that would be perfect for the summer.

Bethany Wicker, Listings Manager & Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 858 reviews

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

New Impressions

April 12, 2018

Overall rating

5.0

Writing Style

N/A

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Readers will find 'Challenge Accepted' by Amanda Abram hard to put down. Her writing style perfectly captures teenage life, from the steadfast friendships to the certainty that one knows what is right for oneself without necessarily seeing the bigger picture.

Abrams' main character, Emma, is literally the girl next door. Yet, despite all of the stories that say otherwise, that does not mean it is a match made in heaven with the boy next door. In fact, it means exactly the opposite. Logan, her next door neighbor, who also happens to be her father's best friend's son, is more like her nemesis. They get on each other's last nerve, and this is only exacerbated by the fact that Logan cheats on a charity compatibility test and winds up with Emma as his supposed "perfect match."

While Logan's reasoning for lying on the test doesn't hold much water - that he wanted to give his girlfriend a reason to break up with him if he wasn't compatible with her - his decision is a good one. Grace is not the kind of person one wants to be involved with, but more importantly, not the type of person one wants to cross. Logan's choice only compounds problems for him, especially when it comes to Emma, who he finds himself helping, despite everything he stands for telling him he shouldn't.

Logan's egocentric, jerky way of acting around Emma is truly frustrating at times, but the underlying emotions that begin to come out as he spends time with her are realistically developed, as are Emma's own feelings about Logan, as he tries to help her find her "real" compatibility test match.

The parents in the story and Logan's and Emma's friends provide some much needed perspective that the two main characters are loathe to accept much of the time. Sometimes it's hardest to see what is right in front of you, and Logan and Emma are no exception to this.

A story about the power of reshaping past impressions and forging bonds that seemed impossible, Logan and Emma's relationship in 'Challenge Accepted' is a testament to Amanda Abrams' dynamic writing style. Readers will be flipping pages well into the night and dying to get back to the story the next day.

Good Points

A story about the power of reshaping past impressions and forging bonds that seemed impossible, Logan and Emma's relationship in 'Challenge Accepted' is a testament to Amanda Abrams' dynamic writing style. Readers will be flipping pages well into the night and dying to get back to the story the next day.

Beth Rodgers, Staff Reviewer Top 50 Reviewer 365 reviews

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

Cute and Quirky Romance

April 05, 2018

Overall rating

4.0

Writing Style

N/A

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

A fun enemies to lovers romance.

The story:
Emma wants to find love... or at the very least, a summer romance. But she's not like the other girls in her class and doesn't think there's any way she'll find a boyfriend except for the charity compatibility test. Enter Logan. Next door neighbor and bane of her existence. While they're families have been friends for a long time, he's spent that time tormenting her.
When she's matched up with him after he lies on the test, he has to make it up to her so he promises to make her into the kind of girl his best friend would go for. A friend Emma has loved from afar for years. Only in doing so, he didn't realize he'd want the old Emma- who she was before his transformation- to be his.

What I loved:
This book had me up late. I love love love the enemies to lovers trope and this one hits every beat you'd want it to. Quick, rapid fire fights. Friends secretly pulling for them to be together. Humor. Lots of humor. It's definitely a page turner and I never once lost interest.

What was just okay:
The characters were a bit much at times. They seemed every bit their age, which is how it's supposed to be I guess. Logan is hard to forgive after everything he pulls and never seems to learn from his jerkiness. The end is a happily for now as most YA romances are, but I was left with the feeling that one day, he was going to break her sweet little heart.

Final Verdict:
A read worth every minute of time with a quirky sense of fun and a whimsical view of high school summers of parties and beach days.