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Life In The No Dating Zone by Patricia B Tighe Review

Happy Friday Everyone :)


Thanks so much for joining me today on The Preppy Book Princess.


I'm excited it's finally once again the weekend. Last weekend, and this week were both crazy busy, and so I didn't truly have a lot of time to get caught up on my never ending to do lists. As well, I didn't honestly have that much reading time. However, this weekend looks to be much more mellow, and that's definitely something I'm needing right now. But before this weekend kicks off, I'd like to share a book review with you guys that I'd been meaning to post a couple of weeks ago right after I finished the book, but unfortunately that didn't happen.



Life In The No Dating Zone by Patricia B Tighe:




Source: Birthday Gift From My Hubby

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Publication Date: December 2nd, 2014

Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

After surviving her parents' relationship drama when her older sister elopes, Claire Gardner vows not to date during high school. Now, three years later, Claire is thrust into new relationship drama--her two best friends have boyfriends. Which means Claire is spending more and more time alone. And she's more than a little peeved.

Enter Gray Langley. His year-long crush on Claire's friend Lindsey has made him desperate enough to ask Claire for help. Hesitant at first, Claire agrees--anything to get rid of Lindsey's current evil boyfriend. But as Claire and Gray plot together, an attraction develops, and now she must decide if being with Gray is worth the pain that will come from confronting her parents with the reasons for her vow.


My Review:

I'd had this book on my TBR list for over two years when I finally read it, and I was a little nervous about whether or not it could possibly live up to the expectations I'd built up for it in my mind. I'm happy to say that it definitely did not disappoint, and it was exactly what I was looking for in my quest to read a summery, swoon worthy young adult contemporary romance. 

Claire was not your typical teenage female protagonist. She's more concerned with her friends, baby sitting jobs, and family than with being wrapped up in boy drama. And in fact, she's made herself a no dating vow for as long as she's in high school. The only thing keeping her from having the perfect summer is that her best friend's can't seem to be away from their boyfriends for more than a moment at a time, and it's seriously cutting into the time Claire feels they should be spending with each other. When Gray Langley approaches Claire about getting her help to make her best friend Lindsey finally notice him, Claire sees a way to kill two birds with one stone. After all, she can help Gray be noticed by Lindsey, and in the process, maybe she can chase away Lindsey's egotistical boyfriend who's not good enough for her, and is a jerk to everyone around him.

Of course, as Claire soon finds out life seldom goes the way we plan it too, and she's unprepared for how to deal with her life when it's herself that starts to fall for Gray instead of Lindsey. Claire's fears about dating are rooted deep in family drama that occurred several years prior, and the author depicts throughout her journey just how damaging this was to a young girl's perception of love and dating. Likewise, Gray has his own family drama to deal with, after his mom chooses to leave him and his younger brother's with their father, and the consequential feelings of awkwardness as they try and still navigate having a relationship with her. 

Gray and Claire were honestly a couple that I shipped right from the start, and it's rare that I feel so strongly about both characters right from the get go, but that's definitely what happened here. This beautiful contemporary showcased so many of my favorite parts of Young Adult romances including a swoon worthy relationship that begins with the character's as friends, the developing chemistry that's both exciting and adorable at the same time, and a great supporting cast of both character's friends who truly add another layer of depth to this cute as could be contemporary romance. Suffice to say that I loved this story, and I gave it four out of five stars. It was right up there for me with many of my favorite YA contemporary authors, and I will most definitely be continuing on with this series in the very near future. I also genuinely appreciated that this book was fairly clean with only moderate scenes of teen drinking, and next to no foul language included throughout. I can't recommend this beautiful story enough, and I highly encourage anyone to read it who's a fan of YA contemporaries like I am!


Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll see you all again on Monday :)


This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners. 






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