Rowena and Ames buddy review of Over It (Kiss Off #2) by Sarah Billington.

Warning: Sexual References, occasional coarse language.

Teen Youtube song writing sensation Poppy Douglas’s lead singer boyfriend Ty’s been criss-crossing the country and living it up on tour for months while Poppy has been stuck in the boring suburbs, finishing out the school year.

But it’s Summer now, and the best thing just happened: Poppy’s royalties for writing the hit song The Kiss Off just came in. She’s minted, and she knows just what she’s going to blow it on.

Ty’s band Academy of Lies are headlining a summer music festival, and Poppy is taking her girlfriends along for the best weekend of their lives. It’s all organized: the weekend is going to be full of camping under the stars, backstage passes, VIP rooms and partying like rock stars, not to mention some long awaited one-on-one time with America’s favorite front man.

Except, when someone drops out of the trip and Poppy takes the opportunity to mend a broken friendship, it doesn’t quite go according to plan. And when she meets her boyfriend’s BFF from another band, the paparazzi form their own totally wrong conclusions. There’s also the matter of Ty’s ‘super fan’ stalker, but the less said about her the better.

The biggest test of all comes in the form of an opportunity too good to pass up. But will insecurities and jealousy stand in Poppy’s way? Can Poppy and Ty’s relationship even survive it?

Life is about to get much more complicated for Poppy Douglas, but what can you expect when your boyfriend is a rock star?

Ames: I was so looking forward to reading Over It…and when the date got pushed back for its release, that filled me with some trepidation. Pushed back release dates don’t usually mean good things. And I definitely had some issues with Over It. But overall, I was caught up in Poppy’s story and I want to read more. What about you?

Rowena: I’m the same as you. I read The Kiss Off and enjoyed it so I wanted to read this one. After all the release date pushbacks, it fell off my radar until it popped up into our Book Binge email…then I got excited all over again. Also, like you, I had issues with this book but I still want to continue the series.

Over the weekend, I watched 27 Dresses on T.V. and it was one of those DVD on TV showings where the producers, the writers and the actors share tid-bits from the movie, their thoughts and what not. One of the producers talked about Jane’s character. She talked about how writing Jane’s character was tricky because as a protagonist, she had to have conflict but she also had to be likable and there’s a line that you can’t cross or people will hate your main character. I kept thinking about that while reading this book. Poppy had to have conflict for the story to move forward but there were times when Poppy got on my nerves so much that I wanted to wring her neck. But Billington did a good job of pushing me back and then pulling me back in with other stuff.

Ames: Poppy got on my nerves too! I think Billington went over that very fine line of creating a likeable heroine with conflict a few times, but each time she did bring it back. And some of Poppy’s antics did have me cracking up. The beach scene? I laughed out loud. And there was other stuff going on that was interesting too.

Rowena: I laughed at that scene too because stuff like that only happens to Poppy. I also really liked the introduction of Gordo. He was an interesting character and I was going to be really mad if he turned out to be a new love interest for Poppy. Because I’m so Team Ty! But I thought Gordo was cute and I liked seeing him make bonehead decisions when trying to save the day.
I thought for sure Hamish was going to hook up with one of Poppy’s friends. Poor Hamish, didn’t get any kind of action…haha. And I totally knew who Ty’s stalker was. Well, not at first but I knew something was off about that chick and when she came up to be the stalker, I fist pumped because I was right.

The thing that made me the most mad about Poppy was every issue Ty had with her. She came all that way to see Ty and yet, she was making all of these plans that didn’t include Ty. What the hell? And then she’s pissed off at him for not being as supportive of her as she wanted? Oh, bite me you dumbass teenager. LOL. I’m glad Billington turned her around. I’m glad that I didn’t hate Poppy when I closed the book. She learned her damn lesson.

Ames: I loved the way Gordo was introduced! That scene had me cracking up. And I like how it created this little inside joke for them. I like how quickly they became friends. I also like how secure Ty was. Because even though the media was trying to make it seem like there was a love triangle, there wasn’t really. And poor Gordo, all his attempts to make things better kind of made them worse. But at least he wasn’t the one to drop Poppy on her head! haha

Ok, part of the reason I was annoyed with Poppy was she was letting everyone pull her in different directions. She really needed to stand up for herself and I’m glad she got her gumption back at the end. And that’s why I was happy that I still liked Poppy by the end of this book -she’s a fun character who is crazy talented. She just needs to be more confident in herself.
I liked her friends too. Even when they weren’t getting along.

And I had an inkling about who the stalker was but OMG I didn’t expect her to be so totally crazy!!

Rowena: She really was off her rocker, huh? Crazy stalker girl.

I hear you about Poppy. She really did need to get herself because it was really frustrating to see her put everyone and everything above Ty. When Ty tells her that at the end that the concert (with her and stalker girl) wasn’t about her. It wasn’t about them. It was about the band. And she ruined that. I about fist pumped in the air because that was it exactly. My issue with her. Her insecurities drove me bat shit crazy. Ty was completely confident that nothing was going on with Gordo, and he had such faith in them together but to see that Poppy didn’t have the same confidence in them as he did had to suck for Ty.

Yeah, things were different now because Ty was so successful and his life was turned upside down but he was handling it the best way that he could and all of Poppy’s issues about everything? Were her issues and she took them out on Ty, which pissed me off.

Her friends were cool too. I liked seeing them fight and bicker their way toward becoming actual friends. They sure have come a long way from that first book.

Ames: I agree 100%, her issues were definitely all about her. But despite all that, we do see her character grow by the end. Which is why I want to read the third book right NOW. haha I liked the way it ended. It wasn’t a totally happy ending, but it was realistic.

Rowena: I’m right there with you. I want the next book right now and even though I wasn’t ecstatic about the ending, I still liked the book as a whole. Poppy drove me crazy but I didn’t hate her. It was more of a frustration that you usually get for your best friend or sister who acts completely dumb and yet you still love them. I’m glad that I read this book because the writing style flowed nicely, the story moved at a great pace and the characters did their job. They kept me interested in what was coming and while the book wasn’t perfect, it was still a solid read.
I’d give this book a 3.5 out of 5. You?

Ames: I am giving it the same grade, 3.5. Despite Poppy being annoying, you nailed it, its like the antics of a friend or sister and you still love them. That’s how I felt. I highly recommend starting with the Kiss Off though, this is not a book that can be read as a stand-alone. Billington has a very engaging writing style that makes you want to be friends with these quirky characters. 🙂

Rowena: Amen, to all of that. And we’re done.

This book is available from Indie Inked. You can purchase it here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.