Book Nerds Across America

Book Summary
There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets.

Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose a Nice or the Bad?

Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be – whoever the girl doesn’t choose will die.

What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.

Flo's Review
The Love Interest pokes fun at YA (in a subtle, good-natured way), and it is super fun. The whole idea of a love triangle has pretty much been beaten to death. And in those you always have the safe, but beautiful, boy next door. This is the guys I usually go for, honestly. Simon in Shadowhunters. Jacob in Twilight. Et cetera, et cetera. Then the other boy is the new guy who comes out of nowhere, bringing an air of danger with him. But he's also beautifully broken. Jace and Edward, if we're continuing with my first examples. Both boys try to win the affections of the girl's heart -- and, of course, the girl is awesome and a force to be reckoned with all by herself.

So in this crazy world, there is a organization that cultivates Good Guys and Bad Guys (Nice and Bad) to battle for the affections of a girl's heart. This girl is one who will be important to society in some way, so the guy who wins will spend his life learning her secrets and sharing them with this evil organization. The evil organization then uses this information for its own gain.

And the other guy literally dies.

So there's that. 

I really like how this book very honestly explores the idea of identity and being what you are told you should be, versus who you really are. Caden doesn't think of himself as a true Nice. Dylan is not the classic Bad either. And they both struggle with that.

But then, it continues poking fun by exploring the idea of "what if the two guys fell for each other, instead of falling for the girl?" Brilliant. Brilliant premise. I was so excited to read this when I first heard about it, and I'm very happy to report that it lived up to my expectations. I spent an entire Saturday in Caden and Dylan's crazy competition and had a great time.

Cale Dietrich managed to throw in two plot twists that I wasn't expecting! I know for one, I literally put the book down and said aloud, "Plot twist!" Clever, because this just isn't a fluffy spoof story. It's a real, intense story with a well-thought out plotline and fully developed characters. There was only one aspect that seemed to be not thought out well enough to make full sense, but the rest of it did.

The Love Interest comes out May 16, 2017 and if you'd like to read a fresh spin on a familiar story, I recommend you pick it up.


Thank you to Macmillan for providing me with an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Oh, how I love some Love Triangles!! Let's see if my lists matches yours:

1.  Alex, Aiden and Seth -  This triangle come from Jennifer L. Armentrout's Covenant series!!! I LOVE THIS SERIES!!  This is by far one of my favorite love triangles!!

2. Shelby, Dade and Leo - This triangle come from The Amethyst Dragon Series by D.C. Grace.  I have just recently read this series and loved it!

3. Sameya, Gabriel and Maximus - This triangle is from Taboo Kisses by Gracen Miller.  Yes, yes this is the book that Gracen warned  me that I would blush a lot in (which I did) and this is the same book that has made me look at strawberries in a WHOLE new light.

4. Cassie, Conner and Jackson - This triangle comes from The Barking Mad Tale of a Teenage Werewolf by Katella Stegmann.  I love this series!  I love these werewolves and I love it all.

5.  Olivia, Cash and Nash -  This triangle comes from The Bad Boys series from M. Leighton.  Hello, twin hot guys ........ what more do I need to say!!!!!!!!!!!!


Now, go over to Jacque's Book Nook, Confessions of A Book Addict and Dreaming Dreams and see who they put on their lists!

Mary's Review:

Twilight. Just saying that one word makes me think of one person. Well, at least one vampire. I am all the way TEAM EDWARD. I think that Edward is a perfect fictional character: strong, smart, loving, and immortal. I cannot imagine anyone being describe so perfectly. I could write forever on Edward (but the other Booknerds need to weigh in too). So, here is a few quick examples on why I am Team Edward. He saved Bella more times than I can count, James, Victoria, Riley, and the Voltori. He quotes poems, plays piano, and listens to classical music. He loves Bella with every part of his being and would go to the end of the Earth for her. Oh yea and he is a hot vampire!

Jacque's Review:

I was a Harry Potter fan who could not for the life of me understand why the first three Twilight movies were breaking all of the Harry Potter records.  Last November, I decided to find out for myself.  I reluctantly started reading Twilight.  As soon as I was introduced to EDWARD, I totally understood.  I ended up reading all four of the books and bought all of the movies in less than a month.  Edward is described as exceptionally good looking, but that is not what attracted me to him.  I was fascinated with how well spoken he is.  I would read and re-read just about every conversation he had with Bella.  While some may say that he is overprotective and controlling, I felt that he was simply trying to do everything within his power to protect her.  He wanted nothing more than for her to be happy and to have every life experence that he was not able to enjoy as an immortal.  He is brilliant, well read, appreciates music, and is sensitive to Bella's needs.  How could anyone not love a man who writes you a lullaby and sings you to sleep?  Edward truly is perfection.

Flo's Review:

It's fitting that I'm writing this today, because yesterday I just scored a TEAM JACOB messenger bag for $4 from a closing Blockbuster! And as I am writing this, I am relaxing in my Team Jacob yoga pants. A friend asked me earlier this year, "How can you be Team Jacob when you know how it ends?" A lot of people assume that I'm Team Jacob because of Taylor Lautner -- let's face it, he is an attractive young man. But I was Team Jacob even before I saw any of the movies. Jacob's body temperature is naturally warm because he's a werewolf, and I think this is a representation of his personality. To me, Jacob is always warm and loving. He loves Bella as she is and does not want or expect anything else from her except to be herself. "You wouldn't have to change for me, Bella," he tells her. She could be with him as she is -- she can completely be herself around him, and he can completely be himself around her. I think a part of my Team Jacob tendency comes from the fact that I tend to root for the underdog. (Pun TOTALLY intended!) Yet, even though Jacob knows that his chances are slim, he does not give up. His love is not dependent on her loving him in return. He swears to her that he will never give up on her, and even when she makes choices that hurt him, he is still the same -- constant, dependable, loving Jacob.

Mary's Review:

I was a little bit unsure about reading this book.  Nothing against Andrea Cremer but I was not sure if I wanted to get into another werewolf series.  But I gave it a chance AND fell in love with another book series.  Calla, Ren, and Shay (oh, how I adore a love triangle) are characters that you cannot forget.  I can tell you that I am TEAM REN.  Calla is a strong alpha female but Ren (who is to be her mate) is a strong, caring, bad boy. They have been matched to be mates since birth and they have known it all their lives.  Until Shay sweeps into Calla's life and turns it upside down.  Calla always followed the rules until Shay changed that.  However, she still cares for Ren and wants to keep her family and the pack happy, but how can she when she loves another.  On top of all that she has to obey the Keepers, the true leaders of her kind, but she begins to feel that Keepers are not what she thought.  With Shay by her side and still having Ren to be her mate Calla must choose a life she knows or a life of love.

This is a must read for everyone.

Jacque's Review:

I have to agree with Mary on one aspect. When I started reading this book the first thing I thought was....I know exactly why Flo made this selection.  Our Team Jacob girl turned us onto another werewolf series. After only a couple of chapters my opinion changed and I was hooked.  Andrea did not waste any time getting to the heart of the story.

I was undecided as to who Calla should choose, since she had great chemistry with both Ren and Shay.  There were times when I could truly see the positives that both had to offer.  Ren provided a sense of security within a life she has always known.  The Keepers would provide for them and she could maintain contact with her family and friends.  Shay on the other hand, shook up her entire world and allowed her to see life for what it truly is.  By the end, I was 100% TEAM SHAY.  They made an excellent team as they worked together to unravel the mysteries within the relationship between the Guardians (werewolves), Keepers (the masters of the guardians), and Searchers (who are considered to be the enemies of both).

The booknerds have an ARC of Wolfsbane, the next installment in this series, which is scheduled to be released the end of July.  We are BEYOND excited about this fact and can't wait to see what happens next in this love triangle.  Check back for our reviews of Wolfsbane.

Flo's Review:

The thing that immediately struck me about this book when I first saw it was the gorgeous cover! I love the purple tones that somehow bring a richness of color and yet still manage to represent night. I know there is currently lots of discussion going on about changing the covers, and I am in the camp of keeping the original ones.

It didn't take me long to get sucked into the complexity of Calla's world. The tagline on the cover so accurately and succinctly describes her dilemma: as alpha female, she is in charge of assuring the compliance and happiness of her pack...while she sees no way she can make any choices of her own. Nightshade is a longer book, coming in at 450 pages, but it reads like a breeze.

Another strength of this book was its plethora of fabulous one-liners!

As for the great Ren vs Shay debate.....I have to say I am firmly in the TEAM REN camp!  He is the no-nonsense, tough alpha male, but with Calla he is questioning and vulnerable, and I love that he has both sides to him.

Finally, I really enjoyed learning more about the pack as the book went on. We know in the beginning that the meaning of being a pack is having each other's backs, but throughout the book we get to see just how deeply that goes.

...and Holy Cliffhangers, Andrea Cremer! I cannot wait to read Wolfsbane!