Challenge Accepted
by Amanda Abram
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What do you get when you lie on a high school compatibility test just to avoid getting paired up with your clingy sometimes-girlfriend?
A match made in Hell.
At least, that’s what Logan thinks when his attempt to cheat the system gets him matched up with Emma, his shy, goody-goody next door neighbor and childhood nemesis.
All Emma wanted this summer was to organize her book collection and get over her lifelong crush by starting a summer romance with her perfect match. When that match ends up being her worst enemy, Emma learns the truth and is devastated to realize she’s been cheated out of her happily ever after.
Hoping to fix Emma’s ruined summer–and more importantly, get his blackmailing stepmother off his back–Logan agrees to make it up to her by helping her land the guy of her dreams…who just so happens to be Logan’s best friend, Matt. Sparks fly between these two as their hatred morphs swiftly into genuine friendship and so much more, and they start to question whether their real matches have been right next door all along.
Problems:
1) Um…hold on, let me think for a minute…okay, I think I’ve got one. So we find out that Emma and Logan used to be friends when they were kids, but then things changed and they grew apart (ie. Logan started picking on Emma and their friendship was dunzo). I guess I would have liked a little more clarity on what happened to change their relationship. Was it simply stupid peer pressure on Logan’s part that led to him teasing Emma or was there a bigger reason. I’m not saying he had to start picking on her because he liked her. Actually, I think that’s done a lot, and I’d appreciate a story that didn’t feel the need to harbor a decade of unrequited love.
2) Actually, I got nothing else. Sure, the characters make stupid decisions and fail to communicate properly, but that’s real life and honestly the story would be quick and boring without that drama. At least that part didn’t last too long, in my opinion.
Praises:
1) This book was pretty cute. Not going to lie, I giggled more than a few times. I didn’t want to put it down, which made my weekend go by way too fast, and I was sad when it was over.
2) I was so relieved to see that Logan actually had a healthy relationship with his stepmom, blackmailing part aside. No, things weren’t perfect, but it also wasn’t one of those “I hate you, you’re not my mother so stop trying to be” type things. They respected each other, even liked each other, and in the end his stepmom became a source of advice and support for Logan.
3) I love dual perspectives, and I wish I was confident enough to write them myself. This author did a great job not only of differentiating between the two voices without Logan sounding like an over the top douche, but I also really appreciated how little cussing or explicit sexual content there was in his perspective and even throughout the whole book. Yet it still sounded natural. It didn’t feel unrealistic, which I consider to be a major feat.
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Already read this book? Comment below and let me know what you thought. Or feel free to go read it real quick (it won’t take that long, trust me) and then come back and tell me what you think!
Shannon Stults 