REVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Any Boy But You
(North Pole, Minnesota Book 1)
(North Pole, Minnesota Book 1)
by Julie Hammerle
Any Boy But You, the first book in the new North Pole, Minnesota series by Julie Hammerle, is currently on tour with Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours. The tour stops here today for my review, an excerpt, and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Elena Chestnut has been chatting with an anonymous boy late into the night. It’s a very You’ve Got Mail situation, and she has no idea who he is. He can’t be Oliver Prince, hot-and-bashful son of the family running the rival sporting goods store. Their fancy sales strategies are driving Elena’s family out of business. Elena’s mystery boy has teamed up with her in their latest sales strategy, an augmented reality game, to help her win the grand-prize plane tickets. Money’s so tight Elena’s going to miss senior year spring break with her friends if she can’t win this game.
The girl Oliver's fallen head-over-heels for online had better not be Elena Chestnut. She's his angry, vindictive Latin tutor, the daughter of his dad’s business rival, and the one girl he’d never even think of kissing. She’s definitely not his online crush, because that girl is funny, sweet, and perfect.
When Oliver asks to reveal their names at the Valentine’s Day dance, their IRL relationship will either ruin what they have online, or they’ll discover just how thin the line between love and hate really is.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains swearing, snowball fights, and sexual tension that could melt the North Pole. Read at your own risk.
Excerpt
Click below to read an excerpt.
Praise for the Book
"This was so sweet and heartwarming, I do want a big hug right now. It was not too much sweetness, though, and it tackled quite a lot of nice topics, such as sexual identity, divorce, with on the one hand seriousness and on the other hand a lot of fun and humour, too! These many ingredients made the perfect recipe for a heartwarming novel that made my heart melt, for sure!" ~ Sophie, Where Are the Books?
"I absolutely loved Any Boy But You! It's perfect for rom-com fans, especially if, like me, you love both You've Got Mail and Gilmore Girls!" ~ Ambur, Burning Impossibly Bright
"Finally something to end my disappointing books streak. I was sold when I read You've Got Mail in the summary, and it delivered." ~ Hristina Petrov, I'll Be Fine Alone Reads
"What makes this book different is one 2 sporting goods stores are involved in a town where it is Christmas 365 days a year (yep that's right 365 days) and the Chestnuts have one and the Prince's have the other. During a app game that the Prince's came up with, Elena and Oliver start talking not knowing who the other is and BOOM! Instant chemistry!" ~ Shawna Cramer, Seashells and Puppy Tails
"This novel was a fun, quick read. The pages kept going by!" ~ Dee, Goodreads Reviewer
"A Romeo and Juliet type tale without all the killing and death. Star-crossed lovers and a family feud make for an enjoyable read. Readers will be sucked in from the very first page and will be eagerly turning pages to see what happens next. Definitely recommend!" ~ Kristen Cambensy, Victim of Books
"If this book was a dish, then this book was made just right. The right amount of fluff and puff romance, character development, and also conflict." ~ Janella, The Purple Nightingale
"One of my favourite YA novels from last year was Julie Hammerle's The Sound of Us. What made that novel stand out so much to me, besides its theme, was the characters. They were uniquely drawn and not falling into stereotypes. The same holds true for Any Boy But You." ~ Sascha Darlington, Sascha Darlington's Microcosm Explored
"If you like You've Got Mail and Gilmore Girls, you are going to love this story. Any Boy But You and look forward to reading more by this refreshing author." ~ Susan, Susan Loves Books
"The best thing about Any Boy But You is seeing how Elena and Oliver's relationship develops and deepens. The novel also has a great cast of characters in this town, some of whom will be great candidates for sequel stories in the series. I can't wait to spend more time in North Pole, Minnesota, and I've never said that about somewhere cold ever." ~ Eve Scalzo, Definitely, Possibly, Maybe
My Review
By Lynda Dickson
In North Pole, Minnesota, a town where it's Christmas every day of the year, the Chestnuts and the Princes have been feuding ever since 1969, when their sporting goods store split and they went their separate ways. They now own two competing stores across the road from each other. Oliver Prince recently moved to North Pole from Miami so that his father could take over the family business. He develops a mobile app to help promote the store - Stash Grab, based on the popular Pokémon Go game. Meanwhile, across the road, Elena Chestnut spends most of her junior year working in her family's store, but it's rapidly losing business to its competitor. Elena nevertheless starts playing Stash Grab in an effort to win plane tickets she can use for spring break. She begins an online relationship with one of the other players - who happens to be none other than Oliver. What will happen when they each find out who their online crush is? And what secret is Elena's mother and Oliver's father hiding from everyone? Will these two feuding families ever be able to resolve their differences?
I absolutely love the setting for this series, a small town that lives Christmas 24/7. The shops all have cute Christmassy names, like Santabucks (coffee shop), Santa's Worksop (hardware store), and Pie-lent Night (pizzeria). Told in the third person from the points-of-view of both Elena and Oliver, we get to see their developing relationship from the two different perspectives. This is a true feel-good romance and family drama that will leave you with a smile on your face.
I look forward to sharing the romantic misadventures of more of the residents of North Pole, Minnesota, in upcoming books in this series.
Warnings: coarse language, LGBT themes.
About the Author
Julie Hammerle is the author of The Sound of Us, which will be published by Entangled Teen June 2016. Before settling down to write "for real", she studied opera, taught Latin, and held her real estate license for one hot minute. Currently, she writes about TV on her blog Hammervision, ropes people into conversations about Game of Thrones, and makes excuses to avoid the gym. Her favorite YA-centric TV shows include 90210 (original spice), Felicity, and Freaks and Geeks. Her iPod reads like a 1997 Lilith Fair set list.
She lives in Chicago with her husband, two kids, and a dog. They named the dog Indiana.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle (US only).
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