Kindle Euphoria

4 YA Stars

Synopsis -
Sometimes finding love means taking the scenic route ...

Living with her faultfinding mother has taught Leslie not to ask for much. Just watch your step, stay on the sidelines, and take what you can get. But she wants a mom who thanks her for cleaning the kitchen instead of yelling at her for missing a spot, and a boyfriend who does more than score her a seat at the popular table—someone who actually notices her sitting there.

So when Cain, the school heartbreaker, turns his Carolina blue eyes her way, Leslie can’t help but be tempted, even if he’s her boyfriend’s best friend. Things get even more complicated when Leslie strikes up unlikely friendships with Meredith, Cain’s girlfriend, and Dennis, a boy addicted to cigarettes and solitude. Despite his tough exterior, Dennis seems to understand Leslie in a way that no one ever has, and to need her as much as she needs him.

For the first time in her life, Leslie feels like she could belong. She’s just not sure where.

Review -
   It's been a while since I've read a YA book, and I sort of missed the sexual tension. Most of the books I've been reading lately don't build up to anything. This one was realistic in the build up it takes sometimes to get to the realization that the relationship is something more or the first kiss. I think I needed that reminder that love doesn't come in the first chapter and they're ready for marriage in a month. It gets old and boring extremely fast.
   Leslie has to deal with crap from everywhere, she gets it at home from her ungrateful asshole of a Mom, and she's got a boyfriend who ignores her and always acts like she's annoying him. She just wants to fit in and be loved. She doesn't have many friends since she moved and she's been hanging around her boyfriends popular friends and still feels like an outcast. When Leslie's boyfriend cheats on her with the bitch of the popular crew, she's taken under the wing of Meredith and Anna. Meredith is dating Cain, who Leslie fantasizes about on a daily basis. She thinks he's her ideal and she's insanely attracted to him. He's a big flirt and soon his flirting goes beyond simple flirtation into something more.
  ( Damn you for making me look through pictures of hot ginger guys. It's like having to choose between chocolate and ice cream. So difficult. You found my kryptonite.)

   Leslie meets Dennis the day she runs out of the school cafeteria because she's angry with her jerk boyfriend and when she starts ditching lunch again to avoid Cain because his advances go too far, they soon become friendly and start talking. Leslie is torn between her new friendship with Meredith and wanting to spend time with Dennis. She gets a job at the same store that Dennis works in to see him more, but things don't always go their way. She thinks she's got competition from a girl named Shannon. Shannon hangs all over Dennis any chance she gets and is always bugging him and trying to spend time with him.
   Leslie decides she'd like to be friends with Dennis even if he wants to be with Shannon because they've helped each other through some difficult times. They learn to trust each other and confide in each other. Leslie wants him as a friend no matter what even if it breaks her heart to see him with another girl.
   Leslie does her happy ending and things eventually take a turn for the better. This is a simply written book. It's not a very complicated read that makes you think, you just sort of follow along. I did like the story line and the small dramas from their past. This was a cute story with an abrupt ending. It was happy but I am a sucker for having a small glimpse of the future of a happy couple. Still a good book anyway. Enjoy.