Tag: Huntley Fitzpatrick

Review: The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Posted August 18, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 5 Comments

Review: The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley FitzpatrickReviewer: Rowena
The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Series: My Life Next Door #2
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: August 18th 2015
Genres: Young Adult
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

A surprising, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door—great for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To find the liquor cabinet blindfolded, need a liver transplant, and drive his car into a house.

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To . . .well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle.

Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this novel is for readers of The Spectacular Now, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and Paper Towns.

I really liked this book.

I didn’t re-read the first book before I jumped into this one so I didn’t remember all of the minor characters from that book until I dug deeper into this one. Tim Mason was Sam’s oldest friend from My Life Next Door and he was the party boy that was always getting into trouble but I remembered that I didn’t hate him. He proved to be a good friend to Sam and so I knew that I was going to like him. I just wasn’t prepared for how much I was going to love him.

I loved his crush on Alice. I loved his flirty spice attitude where Alice was concerned. I loved seeing his feelings for Alice grow into something bigger and stronger than even he was prepared for. And I loved seeing Alice crush and then grow those very same feelings…for Tim.

The entire time that I was reading this book, my heart went out to Tim. He had a domineering father, a mother who was self-involved and a sister who was crazy in her own way but at Tim’s core, he loved his family…and I loved seeing them rally behind him when he needed them most. Things just kept falling at Tim’s door and I didn’t think I could hold up under everything that was piling up but Tim surprised me with how big his heart was.

The whole thing with Cal broke my heart but Fitzpatrick did a great job of fixing that heart because the whole story ended the way that it was supposed to end. Seeing Tim connect with Cal and seeing their bond form from beginning to end made this story that much more heartwarming.

I really liked that even with everything that both kids were going through, the romance between Tim and Alice didn’t suffer. At least in my opinion. I adored their romance. It wasn’t traditional and it wasn’t perfect but in the end, it worked itself out. I loved that both Tim and Alice were able to be there for each other when nobody else could or knew how. I loved the support that they got from each other. Alice and her experience with kids and Tim with his experience with the rich. I loved that they worked their issues out and that being together made them stronger as individuals.

This was a great story from beginning to end. I enjoyed seeing the Garretts (all of them) again and it was nice to see Jase and Sam still going strong. Fitzpatrick did a great job of making me love the hell out of both Alice and Tim and I definitely recommend this book to fans of the contemporary YA romance but also of the first book in this series. It was a great and entertaining read. Loved it!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

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

four-half-stars

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Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Posted July 19, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments


Rowena’s review of My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Main Character: Samantha Reed
Love Interest: Jason “Jase” Garrett
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

I’ve been itching to read since before it came out so when my BBB got it for me, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to dig right in and I was happy that Fitzpatrick didn’t disappoint. This book follows Samantha Reed as she grows close to the family that lives next door to her, without her mother knowing. Her mother is not a fan of the Garretts from next door because they’re loud, messy and there are so many of them. Compared to the colorful family next door, Samantha has known a very strict upbringing. Her mother is a single mother, in politics. She’s got goals to go national with her politics and her new boyfriend, Clay, is helping her get there.

Her mother is turning into a completely different person and the more she changes, the more Sam clings to Jase and his family. With the influence of the Garretts, Sam finds herself changing but she likes the changes she starts to see in herself. The Garretts are good people and she has totally fallen in love with the whole lot of them, from the parents, all the way down to young George. Most especially with Jase Garrett. As the story progressed, you saw the relationship between Jase and Sam grow until it was bursting with love and I totally loved it.

I really enjoyed getting to know both Sam and Jase. Sam was one the people that grew the most throughout this book and I really liked the person she grew to be. The person that grew the most was Tim (a friend of Sam’s) and man, the transformation in him was both believable and adorable. I loved the person that he grew to be as well. Who knew that the total douche in the beginning of the book would turn out to be one of the best friends that Sam could have ever had in her corner. The way that the Garretts took the both of them into their fold was great and I really enjoyed getting to know each character in this book.

I thought Fitzpatrick did a great job of fleshing each character out and even though we only get Sam’s point of view, she did a great job of making the other characters in the story just as three dimensional as Sam was.

Sam’s Mom needed a swift kick to her throat with how dumb she was but alls well that ends well. I couldn’t believe that Grace let Clay control her the way that he did, for as long as he did. After everything happens and she just let Clay tell Sam what to do, threatened Sam the way that he did, I wanted to karate chop her in the neck and choke her the heck out. How dare she let anyone talk to her flesh and blood like that. But aside from Sam’s Mom being a poopy head, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed Sam going through all of her imperfect moments to get to the ending that she deserved and I really enjoyed seeing her blossom into that happy girl at the end. Her journey was an emotional one but one that I enjoyed.

I definitely recommend this book to fans of contemporary YA and to fans of Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Echols and Susane Colasanti. This was a good one.

…and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from Dial Books.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

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Book Watch: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Posted November 11, 2011 by Rowena in Promotions | 5 Comments


“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen year old Samantha wishes she was one of them… until the day Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything.

Jase can sense that his beautiful neighbor is missing something in her sterile home, and as the two fall fiercely in love, his family makes her one of their own.

But when the bottom drops out of Sam’s world, which perfect family will save her–and will her perfect love survive?

Set among the haves and have-nots of a coastal New England town, My LIFE NEXT DOOR captures the angst, the heartache, and the raw-nerve emotions of first time love—and biting loss.

This book sounds like it’d be a good one. Samantha sounds like an interesting character and I’m itching to find out what could possibly happen to Samantha that would cause her family (whichever one that is) to have to come to her aid. In contemporary YA, it could be anything. I’m a fan of the cover as well and I’m anxious to be apart of the romance that will blossom between Jase and Sam, so yes…I’m excited for this book. Must get my hands on a copy!

..and that’s your scoop!

Pre-order the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://goodreads.com

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