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10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston Review

Good Morning Bookish Friends :)


I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

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Now that it's well into November,  I will be reading lots and lots of Christmas themed reads, and today I'd like to share a review with you all for a cute contemporary holiday themed read that I finished a little while back.


10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston:



Source: Library

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: October 1st, 2019

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary


Synopsis:


Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship. Cue devastation.

Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents' house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That's when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.

When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she's started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.

This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever... or is it?


(synopsis from goodreads)




My Review:

For years I've been disappointed with just how few young adult holiday themed reads there actually are. I was excited when I first heard about this one, and I knew I needed to go ahead and give it a try. After finishing it, I can happily say that's it easily become a new favorite, and I hope to see more like this from the YA genre in the future.

10 Blind Dates may just be one of the most adorable books I've ever read. It had a quirky component to it, and it was overall such a fun read. Many of the passages, especially some of the more bizarre dates that Sophie's family sets her up with, had me laughing so hard I had actual tears in my eyes. Ashley Elston knows how to accurately portray the fun and chaos that can follow where large families are concerned, and I loved that. While I honestly think this story could have worked set at any time during the year, the fact that it takes place over the holidays just gave it an extra dose of the warm fuzzies, and made a great book even better. 

I went into this one expecting a fun, light hearted holiday read. While that was definitely an element of the story, I was actually quite surprised by the depth and dimension included in Sophie's reunion with her family. A big focus of the story ends up being on the importance of family, as she reconnects with her large, over eager extended family that she's found herself distancing away from in the more recent years. I loved her journey to discovering the true meaning of family, and how it's them that will have your back in the end no matter what. 

I really enjoyed this one overall. I read it almost entirely in one sitting, as it's a super fast paced read, and I could barely put it down. I did have a few issues with some of the content, but overall it ended up staying pretty clean which I was also impressed with. The ending was fairly predictable (I knew who she was going to end up with by about a quarter of the way through the book), but in a pleasant way, and I did really enjoy the way it was done, and I thought it wrapped up the story nicely. 

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All in all, this one was a definite winner in my eyes, and is one of my new favorite holiday reads. I will most definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

Final Rating: 4/5



Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)

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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