Series: Boys Series

Review: The Boy is Back by Meg Cabot

Posted October 18, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: The Boy is Back by Meg CabotReviewer: Rowena
The Boy is Back by Meg Cabot
Series: Boys Series #4
Also in this series: The Boy Next Door (Boys #1), Boy Meets Girl (Boys #2)
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: October 18th 2016
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

From New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot comes the sweetly humorous story of a man who has to face his past in order to find his future.

Sometimes to move forward, you have to go back…

One post. That’s all it took to destroy the care free, glamorous life of pro golfer Reed Stewart. One tiny post on the Internet.

Then again, it’s not like Reed’s been winning many tournaments lately, and his uncle isn’t the only one who says it’s because of the unfinished business he left behind back home in Bloomville, Indiana—namely Reed’s father, the Honorable Judge Richard P. Stewart, and the only girl Reed ever loved, Becky Flowers.

But Reed hasn’t spoken to either his father or Becky in over a decade.
Until that post on the Internet. Suddenly, Reed’s family has become a national laughingstock, his publicist won’t stop calling, his siblings are begging for help, and Reed realizes he has no other choice: He’s got to go home to face his past . . . the Judge and the girl he left behind.

Becky’s worked hard to build her successful senior relocation business, but she’s worked even harder to forget Reed Stewart ever existed—which hasn’t been easy, considering he’s their hometown’s golden boy, and all anyone ever talks about. It was fine while they were thousands of miles apart, but now he’s back in Bloomville. She has absolutely no intention of seeing him—until his family hires her to help save his parents.

Now Reed and Becky can’t avoid one another…or the memories of that one fateful night.

Can the quirky residents of Bloomville bring these two young people back together, or will Reed and Becky continue to allow their pasts to deny them the future they deserve?

This warm, thought-provoking book, told entirely in texts, emails, and journal entries, is as much about the enduring bond of families as it is about second chances at love, and will delight as much as it entertains.

Meg Cabot is back with another book for her Boys series. This series is unique because the entire story is told through text messages, IM’s, newspaper articles and that kind of stuff.

This story follows Becky Flowers and Reed Stewart as they find their ways back to each other after ten years of being apart. Becky and Reed were high school sweethearts who were madly in love with each other until prom night when they got drunk and drove Reed’s fathers golf cart into the pond and Reed skipped town, leaving Becky behind without a goodbye or a fare-thee-well. Becky was left heartbroken but it’s ten years later and she is so over all of that, and over him too…right?

Reed goes on to become a wealthy professional golfer and hasn’t stepped foot in his hometown of Bloomville in ten years. The only people that he keeps in contact with from Bloomville are his siblings and their spouses. He hasn’t seen or heard from Beckly Flowers since he left her behind on prom night and while he’s sorry about it, there’s not much he can do to fix things now. Reed blows back into town when his parents go off the deep end and he’s needed to help fix their lives. He wasn’t expecting to see Becky at all but when her business ends up being the perfect way to help his parents (she owns a senior moving company where they relocate seniors to nursing homes, etc…).

Becky isn’t one to turn away business so of course she signs on to help the senior Stewarts relocate, even if it means spending time with the son that broke her heart and never gave an explanation for why he left her behind. Reading along as these two reconnected and then reunited with one another was a lot of fun. Between the shenanigans between Reed and his siblings and then Becky and her Mom, sister and best friend, I laughed my way through this book. This book has Cabot’s signature humor and the romance really worked for me. I loved Reed, loved Becky and everyone else except Reed’s sister. I hated her. Ha!

This was a fun treat and was perfect for a light weekend read. I definitely recommend to fans of Meg Cabot’s adult books and fans of contemporary romances. Good stuff!

Grade: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Weekly Reread: Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot

Posted September 19, 2007 by Rowena in Reviews | 6 Comments

Weekly Reread: Boy Meets Girl by Meg CabotReviewer: Rowena
Boy Meets Girl (Boys #2) by Meg Cabot
Series: Boys Series #2
Also in this series: The Boy Next Door (Boys #1), The Boy is Back
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: January 6th 2004
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 383
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Meet Kate Mackenzie. She:

* works for the T.O.D. (short for Tyrannical Office Despot, also known as Amy Jenkins, Director of the Human Resources Division at the New York Journal)
* is sleeping on the couch because her boyfriend of ten years refuses to commit
* can't find an affordable studio apartment anywhere in New York City
* thinks things can't get any worse

They can. Because:

* The T.O.D. is making her fire the most popular employee in the paper's senior staff dining room
* that employee is now suing Kate for wrongful termination, and
* now Kate has to give a deposition in front of Mitch Hertzog, the scion of one of Manhattan's wealthiest law families, who embraces everything Kate most despises ... but also happens to have a nice smile and a killer bod.

The last thing anybody—least of all Kate Mackenzie—expects to find in a legal arbitration is love. But that's the kind of this that can happen when ... BOY MEETS GIRL.

I reread another Meg Cabot book this week and I’m telling you, I didn’t lie when I said that I’m a Meg Cabot fangirl. I seriously LOVE that woman and thank my lucky stars that I picked up The Boy Next Door all those many months ago because I’ve got some serious issues when all I want to read are Meg Cabot books…haha. I picked up Boy Meets Girl a few days ago because I wanted to reread Mitch and Kate’s story. I wanted to feel their love again and I totally did and I realized that I felt exactly the same way this time around that I did the first time I read it and I know this because I read the review I did for this book on Sanctuary’s Finest, so I’m just going to copy that review and post it here…hehe. Ghetto, huh? Well, what can I say? I’M GHETTO! haha.

Kate MacKenzie who moved to New York from Kentucky with her soon to be Rock Star Boyfriend, who won’t commit to her and the hero of the book is Mitch Hertzog, who’s actually John Trent’s sister in law, Stacy’s little brother. Remember the hormonal sister in law from the numerous emails from John to his brother Jason’s wife? Well, it’s her little brother, Mitch’s story and I’ve got to say that Mitch is just adorable.

As much as I loved this little quirky little story about Kate and Mitch Hertzog, told through the hilarious IM’s between Kate and her best friend, Jen Sadler and numerous emails from Mitch and every single member of his family, I’ve got to say that I enjoyed and loved The Boy Next Door a little more. I mean, don’t get me wrong Boy Meets Girl was a great, fun and quick read, but it lacked the character development or relationship development, I should say that John Trent and Melissa Fuller had in The Boy Next Door. Mitch and Kate are a great match and Kate is your usual, good girl next door who cares about everyone and Mitch is the perfect guy in which he’s a tough guy lawyer who wears cartoon character ties that his nieces give him (his nieces being Brittany and Hailey, the same nieces that email John Trent in The Boy Next Door, hehe), he volunteers at the Y to play wheelchair basketball with the paraplegic (sp?) and he’s really a public defender who works for those that can’t afford the big time fees of a big shot lawyer and he’s a really good lawyer as well, he goes to whatever lengths possible to fight for his clients, to make sure that the good guys always win. He’s really a dreamboat and seriously? If it was possible to fall in love with a guy through emails, I’d be in total love with Mitch Hertzog, despite having that impossibly annoying last name.

You see, Mitch’s brother, Stuart Hertzog is the biggest ass in the whole world, and Mitch knows it. So when he has his fiance, Amy Jenkins (you’ll remember this heiffer from TBND, she’s the HR Director for the New York Journal and Kate’s boss) fire the food cart lady, who is nothing but a sweet old lady because she refused to serve Stuart any key lime pie, they’re all in for a surprise when Mrs. Lopez sues them for breach of contract. Kate is drawn into all of this because she’s the one that was put to the task of actually firing Mrs. Lopez and she’s thrown for a loop when Amy tries to frame her with all kinds of nonsense, when Kate is honest and forthcoming with any kind of information that paints the NY Journal is a bad light, Amy fires her and thats when all the fun begins.

Mitch is besides himself because it was his fault that Kate got fired so he decides that he’s going to go for his future sister in law’s throat, he’s going to bring her down and she was going to be sorry that she messed with Mitch and Kate.

Oh gosh, the things that happen throughout the book, the jealousy Mitch shows for Kate and her many “boyfriends” is so cute and the things he does for Kate is uber cute and I was totally smitten throughout the entire book with him.I really enjoyed the emails between Mitch’s family and Kate and Jen had me cracking up until about midnight this morning, right up until I closed the book. Although, the ending was abrupt, I enjoyed the rest of the book to let that get to me. There were a few things that got on my nerves like Kate’s ability to whine about the way her life is and her constant calling herself a loser was a bit much, but not so much that I didn’t enjoy the story. It was a good story and I enjoyed it very much, I think you guys will too.

But I’m warning you now, if you’re expecting some deep dialogue, an intense storyline, this isn’t the book for you. This book is very light, entertaining and funny…that’s all there is to it.

Grade: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Weekly Reread: The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot

Posted August 29, 2007 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

Weekly Reread: The Boy Next Door by Meg CabotReviewer: Rowena
The Boy Next Door (Boys #1) by Meg Cabot
Series: Boys Series #1
Also in this series: Boy Meets Girl (Boys #2), The Boy is Back
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: October 11th 2002
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 374
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

To: You (you)From: Human Resources (human.resources@thenyjournal.com) Subject: This Book

Dear Reader,

This is an automated message from the Human Resources Division of the New York Journal, New York City's leading photo-newspaper. Please be aware that according to our records you have not yet read this book. What exactly are you waiting for? This book has it all:

*Humor*Romance*Cooking tips*Great Danes*Heroine in peril*Dolphin-shaped driftwood sculptures

If you wish to read about any of the above, please do not hesitate to head to the checkout counter, where you will be paired with a sales associate who will work to help you buy this book.

We here at the New York Journal are a team. We win as a team, and lose as one as well. Don't you want to be on the winning team?

Sincerely,
Human Resources DivisionNew York Journal

Please note that failure to read this book may result in suspension or dismissal from this store.

*********This e-mail is confidential and should not be used by anyone who is not the original intended recipient. If you have received this e-mail in error please inform the sender and delete it from your mailbox or any other storage mechanism.*********

I swear, I need to read a new Meg Cabot book like every few months because I HEART HER! I didn’t have any new Meg Cabot books to read (Daphne, let’s fix that this weekend, what do you say?) so I took out a book of hers that I read last year and holy hannah, I enjoyed the hell out of the book all over again…it was as my cousin Dovie would say, “SO THE BUSINESS!”

I’m hella loving the whole email, IM, letter storytelling. Meg Cabot had me cracking the heck up with all of the emails from Mel and her best friend Nadine, the emails from the coworkers who were trying to hook up with Mel’s left overs and then the whole hot damn HR department threatening to write Mel up for being tardy to work, yet again.

All the emails and all the activity running around this book should have confused the socks off of me but it didn’t. I was so wrapped up in this story, laughing and just breezing right through this book that I finished it not too long after I started it…such a good, fast paced, solid story. I mean, I still think that Mel was a bit harsh in her punishment to John after she found out just who he really was or whatever, but aside from that, the story flowed well, kept the laughs coming and I really enjoyed it all over again.

Melissa Fuller is a gossip columnist from New York and she lives next to this old lady who is attacked in her apartment, Mel being the kind hearted heroine that she is, calls 911 to report the accident and then she risks losing her job because she stays behind to oversee everything that needs looking after in the old lady’s apartment.

The old lady has a nephew who is supposed to come through and take care of things while she’s recovering in the hospital, only the guy that Mel thinks is the old lady’s nephew, really isn’t the sleazebag Max Friedwhatever, the real Max is in the islands sexing up a really hot model. He called in a favor from an old college mate who owed him to come and dog sit and be the water plant guy for his aunts apartment so he doesn’t get disinherited and all that madness.

I really hated that Max freak. Like, wanted to do him bodily harm hated him. I wanted him to contract a tropical sexually transmitted disease and then I wanted him to melt away like the wicked witch did in the movie with Dorothy and Toto.

I loved Mel and I loved John. I hated that John had a lie to upkeep and I cringed when the truth came flying out and John was trying to do damage control. I hated reading through all of that but the light at the end of the tunnel was shining brightly and I pushed right through it all and was glad for my trouble because man was this a good book. I’m still kind of irritated with Mel for the punishment she inflicted on John but overall, I was really happy with this book the second time around.

It was just a funny, laugh a minute book that kept me turning and turning trying to find out what hilarioius email, IM or whatever else I was going to read. You would think that a story like this wouldn’t work, would be confusing to follow along with but it’s anything but, Meg Cabot sure did toot ‘dat thang with this book because the book was hecka enjoyable and just all around good, I really really recommend this book, like for real!

I hella loved John’s family. His two nieces (who’s names have totally slipped my mind, goodness I’m getting old) had me rollin’ when reading their letters and emails to him, his sister in law who was seriously on pakalolo stuff was a funny one but my favorite emails were the emails between Jason and John. The brothers. Man, the emails these two sent to each other never failed to crack me the hell up because they remind me of my brothers, they’re such manly emails and just all around funny.

Man but this was a good book, seriously….GO GET IT AND READ IT, you’ll enjoy it if you’re looking for something light, fluffy and hilarious.

This is all you need! =)

four-half-stars


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