REVIEW and GIVEAWAY
How to Quit Your Crush
by Amy Fellner Dominy
How to Quit Your Crush by Amy Fellner Dominy 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
Mai Senn knows Anthony Adams is no good for her – no matter how hard she might crush on him. She’s valedictorian; he’s a surf bum. She’s got plans, he’s got his art. Complete opposites in every way. Vinegar and baking soda, they once joked. A chemical reaction that bubbled.
Yeah, they bubbled. Maybe still do.
Good thing Anthony’s got the perfect plan: two weeks to prove just how not good they are together. Whoever can come up with the worst date - something the other will seriously hate, proving how incompatible they truly are - wins.
Like taking a snake-phobe to the Reptile House at the zoo (his idea).
Or a cooking class where they don’t even get to eat the food (her idea).
It’s all about the competition, and it’s meant to help them finally crush their crushes. But it wasn’t supposed to be so hot. Or so fun. And when Mai’s future becomes at stake, will she be able to do the right thing and quit Anthony forever?
Excerpt
“If I start taking off my clothes, stop me.”
Josie pauses with her hand on the doorknob of Jason’s house. Through the heavy wood door, I can hear the thrum of music and the loud chatter and laughter of our graduation party in progress. A rager. I think that’s the correct terminology. I’ve never been to one myself.
“Are you planning to take off your clothes?” Josie looks over my outfit. Crisp, sleeveless black button-down tunic with satin trim. Black leggings. Gray booties.
“No, but I’ve never had alcohol before.”
“How much are you planning to drink?”
Jason’s party is officially alcohol-free, but that won’t stop kids from bringing it in. Apparently, the students of Cholla High, while not known for high test scores, are geniuses at sneaking in booze.
“Enough to feel it,” I say, “but not enough to kill any brain cells. I need them all for college.”
“I’m pretty sure you’d have to kill a lot of brain cells before you started peeling off clothes.” Josie wipes at the corner of my mouth. “Lipstick.”
She pins me with a suspicious look. I never wear makeup, not even lipstick. With one exception. Her gaze says she knows that, and she’s wondering why I’m wearing it tonight. I bought the lipstick this past semester during a momentary blip of recklessness. How else to explain it?
Explain him. Anthony Adams.
“It’s in honor of graduation. That’s all.” Josie Walters, Best Friend in the Knowable World, was against my crush from the start. Of course, she hated baseball players with a passion. Now she’s madly in love with one.
She pushes open the door. Memories greet me along with a wall of sound. We were here two months ago to watch a baseball game. But really it was so I could stalk my crush.
“I’m not getting drunk, either,” Josie says. “I’m grossed out by the idea of vomit in my hair.”
“So we agree. No undressing and no puking.”
“We could stand on a table, though,” she says brightly. “Do a sexy dance.”
“Do we know any sexy dances?”
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“The witty banter pulled my spirits up so many times during this Quarantine. I absolutely encourage everyone to read this book. All the stars and then some!” ~ Susan's Reviews
“Mai and Anthony are two main characters that the reader will immediately resonate with and will have to devote some time to sit down and finish the book in one sitting - it's just that good. Highly recommend.” ~ Victoria
“I was immediately pulled in and fell in love with Mai and Anthony. My heart was broken and healed over many times throughout their story. This book was too short, I want more! I absolutely recommend this book!” ~ Readingmypages, Catherine
“Once I got hooked, it was impossible to put it down until I was done with the last page. Give it a try and you'll not regret it. 100% recommended.” ~ Johanna
“I utterly adored How to Quit Your Crush. It was full of sweet, romantic moments with a little humor and drama mixed in. The perfect YA read.” ~ Lozzie
My Review
School valedictorian Mai has a crush on baseball player Anthony, a match that makes no sense. But, then again, “crushes aren’t sensible.” In fact, the two of them are opposites. As Anthony says, “we have almost nothing in common - from the way we were brought up to the way we want to live our lives.” Nevertheless, when Anthony runs into Mai over spring break, she “woke something up in me. Made me feel human again.” When school goes back, Mai comes to her senses and breaks it off, even though (or especially because) she is still attracted to him. Anthony volunteers for a program Mai is attending because he figures that “I just need to spend more time with you, and all the ways we’re different are going to start bugging me.” Mai and Anthony decide that a two-week fling is just what they need to get over each other. So, they begin “planning dates … that we’ll love and the other person will hate.” Hmm, I wonder how that will work out for them.
The story is told alternately by Mai and Anthony, who are both beautifully flawed, totally likable and, in fact, perfect for each other. This book is cute, humorous, romantic, and full of baseball references. What’s not to love?
Some of My Favorite Lines
“She once complained that my kisses made her stupid. I loved that.”
“There are no promises in life. You have to live for the day and quit dreaming about tomorrow.”
“My heart might be broken, but it still aches.”
“You were so busy going through the motions, so worried about what came next, you never saw what was going on around you.”
“I speak around a heart-shaped lump in my throat.”
“You lose so much more than the person, you know? You lose the life you would’ve had.”
About the Author
Amy grew up loving to read and figured out at an early age that books were magical and necessary. She started submitting her own stories to be published when she was thirteen. Amy is now the award-winning author of nine books spanning young adult, middle grade, and picture books. Titles for Entangled include Announcing Trouble and the companion novel, How to Quit YourCrush. Amy lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband and a puppy who is training them.
Giveaway
Enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card or one of two ebook copies of Announcing Trouble by Amy Fellner Dominy.
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