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January 5, 2015

Blog Tour: Perfect Couple by Jennifer Echols


Perfect Couple (Superlatives, #2)
Series: The Superlatives #2

Release date: January 13, 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: e-ARC for Review

Perfect Couple is #2 in the Superlatives series about seniors at a Florida high school who are selected for their class's superlative categories in the yearbook, and how the labels change the way they view themselves and alter the course of their lives.
Can your heart be put to a popular vote?
As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for capturing those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents' bitter divorce has left her wondering what a loving relationship would look like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody the “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been on her case to ask Brody out.
Brody doesn’t lack in female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He seems confused about why they were matched together, too. They’re total opposites—the last people in the world who would ever be compatible, let alone the “perfect couple.” Yet ever since the class paired the two of them, they've found themselves drawn together--first by curiosity, then by an undeniable bond.
The trouble is, though they're very attracted to each other and both of them admit this, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating clearly. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But after they walk away, both of them feel so changed from making the effort that they can’t forget each other. What if that means this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?




Like I said in my review for the first book, Biggest Flirts, this is just a fun and incredibly cute series. This series follows a group of senior students who all get voted certain titles for their senior superlatives and these first two books were them dealing with the fall out of that.

Perfect Couple was way better than I expected. The first book was fun, but the main character was very difficult at times. For the most part I didn't have a lot in common with her and that made it hard to relate. In this one I related to Harper so much! She's artsy, a photographer, has a crazy sense of fashion and sometimes has trouble opening up about her feelings toward guys. This is me if you wrapped me up into a young adult character. In high school I took photography for two years, my mom was a fashion designer so I have a very eclectic sense of style thanks to her, and I'm pretty complicated with my relationships. You can probably see how much I was able to relate to Harper. She did do some cringe worthy things that I would never do, but I think it was all part of her character development. We all made stupid decisions in high school. I would have had a bigger problem with it if she had continued to do these things, but Harper grew, and that doesn't mean she's perfect, it just means she's a flawed character willing to change. So thank you Jennifer Echols for creating realistic characters.

As for the other characters, I fell even more in love with Sawyer as a side character. He's hilarious and a total clown, but we also see another side of him in this book that I wasn't at all prepared for. He's protective and sweet and I can't wait to read his story next! One character I just could not stand was Harper's boyfriend at the start of the book. Oh, dear Lord. If a guy ever did a single one of the things he did I would have been out. He's one of the slimiest characters I've read.

The main love interest, Brody, had just the right amount of depth to his character. There were serious moments, moments when I swooned hard for Brody and then there were moments when I just couldn't get the cheesy smile off my face. Another thing that kept the smile on my face throughout the book were the friendships. I saw friendships strengthen, I saw friendships forming, and I saw acts of true friendship and love all through the novel. There is little more that I love than a book with a great friendship and this one had like an 8 way friendship circle.

Overall, this is a perfect summer book. If you haven't read the first one, get to it, and if you have, then you'll want Perfect Couple as soon as it comes out. This is a feel good story with plenty of drama and great kissing scenes. 

Rating:
★ ★ ★ ★/5

Favorite Quotes:

"You?" he asked in disbelief. "You're always so calm."
"Me?" I laughed. "No, I'm not. I was able to relax when you told me because I trust you."
He watched me solemnly as he said, "You shouldn't."

I asked, "What else would we do?"
He shrugged dismissively. but he held my gaze as he said, "Get to know each other better. We were voted Perfect Couple. I feel like I hardly know you, even though the senior class thinks you're the love of my life."

"Why do you think the class chose us for this?"
"Well, our study hall also chose Sawyer as our representative on the student council, so a good portion of our school is obviously on crack." When he saw my face fall, he said, "The good kind of crack."
"Crack--you know, the nutritional kind."

I knew this was a bad idea, but today I'd found out how much fun Brody's bad ideas could be.

Maybe it was just the dim restaurant lighting, but the shadows under Brody's eyes looked darker than ever as he said, "You always make me feel better." He said this seriously, like it was a bad thing.
"That's exactly what you do for people," I said. "You make everybody feel more comfortable."
"No, that's what you do," he said.

"People will keep these yearbooks. When they show them to their kids in twenty years, they may not recall posing for the photos, but they'll see your results. You're framing how they'll remember themselves forever."

"I've studied form and color and setting up the perfect static shot, but what really excited me is catching people in action, the way a photo can tell the story of who they are."

"I don't like Aidan enough right now to sit in his lap," Kaye said. "Anyway, we would just be inscribing the traditional patriarchal hierarchy of a man being in charge and a woman infantilized in his lap."

But if the purpose of a picture was to capture the memory of a moment, I didn't need one. I would carry this feeling in my heart forever. For once I honestly didn't care how this looked. I put my hand on his wet hair and kissed him back.

Giveaway:


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About the Author:

Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son.

4 comments:

  1. I have a difficult time reading summer themed books whenever it's -21C outside, and we just got 15 cm of snow. I'll be sure to add this series to my July wishlist though, and thanks for sharing those excellent quotes!

    Carmel @ Rabid Reads

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh wow! We're still having summer weather here in Florida. Hope you enjoy it when you do pick it up, and stay warm!

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  2. Nice review. Glad you liked it, and thanks for participating :)

    ReplyDelete