The Boyfriend App (App #1)

The Boyfriend App was a fun read, but I had a few problems.

1) It's not a major problem, really, but Audrey talked about so many different guys I wasn't even sure who she liked for 1/3 of the book. Like I said, not a big deal, but I found it confusing.

2) What kind of high school (no matter how influential popular girl's daddy is and who she's related to) lets someone get away with bashing a student's head into a dumpster so that she passes out? That's really not okay.

3) No app can promise true love forever and it was my understanding that Audrey was just helping match people up. How can the world be pissed off that some of the relationships didn't work? Some of them did, so there's obviously something to it, it's not a money-back guarantee, though.

4) How am I the only one who seems to have a moral dilemma about messing with the hormones in a guy to make him go all lusty for you? Seriously, not one guy ever complained and most of them had to have known they were "under the influence."

5) Is it just me, or does Public Party seem like a revamped Myspace? Myspace, really??

6)Danny Beaton seems to be the only music that exists.

7) The transitions were clunky. I often found myself wondering if I'd skipped a page or missed a paragraph.

Besides all that, there were some things I liked:

1) Hacking is cool.

2) I liked that not everything was completely tied up in the end, though it was still a pretty happy ending overall.

3) Lindsay and Nigit are adorable.

4) I liked Audrey's group of friends. Nigit was amusing (I find the impromptu Michael Jackson dance/song highly amusing). It was nice to watch Mindy grow into her own a bit. Lindsay is about the best friend/cousin one could ever ask for. Aidan was cool, but he lacked a little bit of character since it seemed he was mostly there for love interest status.

The Nutshell: The Boyfriend App was a potato chip read: good and slightly addictive, but empty brain calories in the end. I enjoyed it and finished it quickly, but I had quite a few problems along the way.

Near Miss

I had heard a couple of different things about this one. It was cute. It had a paranormal twist. It was fun. I began reading it not necessarily sure how the story was going to go, even though I originally thought this was just going to be a cute chick-lit. It was, but there ended up being a lot more going on.

I really liked Audrey! She was a great character! So smart and loyal and still trying to figure things out. Audrey had never had a boyfriend, so she was a little apprehensive. I also really liked Aidan, her best friend, and Lindsay, her cousin. Then there was a slue of supporting characters that were each individual and added to the story. You also have your villains in Blake and her father.

I thought the story would be predictable and it wasn't. There is a sci-fi twist, as in technologically. It added a completely different dimension to the story and it affected everyone. I thought the whole idea of there being an app that could help you find a boyfriend and the way the technology worked was very creative. I could totally see teenagers buying into it. There is one part where it is absolute mayhem and I about died laughing. So great!

There were only two things that I didn't like. One was that I wish Audrey would have had a little more integrity because I felt what she did was wrong and that she should have just exposed the company in some way instead. The other thing is that there were brief, but strongly suggestive parts that I felt were almost just for shock value and those I could have done without.

Overall, this was a very fun and surprising read! It had some great characters and an intriguing plot. I'm curious to see what Sise writes next.

Content: Some innuendo, some strong suggestive content
Rating: 3.5 stars
Original review posted on my blog: http://tressaswishfulendings.blogspot.com/2013/05/book-tour-review-and-giveaway-boyfriend.html

It has been quite some time since I have read a funny, smart, romantic, and thrilling contemporary ya book. It's hard to find all four of those in one binding, but The Boyfriend App delivers!

Audrey is really cool and I'd love to spend a day with her and her friends (they're kinda like my friends, except with the coding and what not).

The story line is a first for me. An app building contest for an overrated phone cooperation (ahem, Apple). So. Freaking. Awesome. Honestly, it's an app that I wouldn't mind giving a shot actually (for Android, please!)

I loved that Audrey is smart as hell and didn't underplay that for anyone. Aidan is so sweet! Lindsey reminded me of the closeness that my cousin and I share. Nigit and Mindy are GREAT supporting characters.

Sise knows how to surprise and I was down for the ride the entire way. I was laughing, shocked, and at one point, crying.

I really don't have a single thing to complain about.