Reviewer: Holly The Opposite of RightSeries: Bad Decisions #1
Publication Date: November 13, 2015
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Kylie Stafford has spent her whole life doing exactly what's expected. The right major, the right sorority, the right guys, just like her mother and her sister before her. But when everything falls apart for her, Kylie wonders if doing everything right has been utterly wrong. There's only one way to find out! She decides to try making all the wrong choices for three months. Hit on a tattoo-covered rock musician? Check. Go back to his dressing room for a hot hook-up against the wall? Gulp. Drop everything to be a roadie for him to binge on more of the best sex of her life? Maybe. Start falling for him despite her better judgment? Figure out why doing everything that seems wrong feels so darn right?
The premise of this book reminded me somewhat of Meeting Trouble by Emme Rollins, a novella I read last year because it was a free download. I’m happy to report this story worked much better for me.
Kylie is a good girl who has spent her life making decisions based on what others thought were best for her. Now she’s a college graduate with no prospects, since the coveted internship she thought she’d landed fell through. She attends a concert with her best friend and accidentally makes out with the lead singer of the band….then gets roped into being their goodie girl (the one who sells the band’s merchandise) for the evening. She does such a good job of it, they offer her the position until their regular girl recovers from emergency surgery. Good girl Kylie would have said no and gone back home to nurse her depression. But what has being a good girl ever gotten her? So she decides to embrace being a bad girl for awhile, and agrees.
Cam Watson is trying to get his band back on track after a pretty awful year. He made some questionable decisions (that involved a girl), which led to tension between the bandmates and disappointed fans. This tour is their chance to prove their serious about their music and to gain back the following they lost with their last flop. The last thing he needs is to jeopardize that with a girl, but he can’t stay away from Kylie. She’s smart, fun and understands music in a way few people do. But she’s already causing more trouble with his band and making it hard for him to concentrate. He wants her now…and maybe for always.
I thought Kylie would come across as whiny and immature, but I actually really enjoyed her. Instead of seeming careless or flighty, her decision to walk on the wild side showed an inner strength and really allowed her to find herself. She wasn’t reckless, but rather exploring her personal boundaries and deciding what ..and who.. she wanted in the future. I thought her career choice was really interesting and it played well with her position in the band. I did become a bit frustrated by her refusal to commit to things with Cam, but considering her precarious position in her real life, I understood it.
Cam was a pretty stand-up guy. He made some mistakes that cost him the trust of his fellow bandmates, but he was the first to own up to his behavior. He was doing his best to get things back on track. I liked how committed he was to the band. His slow progression from wanting a quick tumble with Kylie to being all in was really sweet.
This is a novella, so the length worked against the story a bit. I would have liked more background information on all the band members, including the main characters. It ended abruptly. I would have liked to see more with them after their issues were resolved. I can only assume they’ll have a full length book at some point, or be featured as strong secondary characters in the later books.
Though this was short, I really enjoyed the story. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series.
3.5 out of 5