LOVE AND OTHER SECRETS 

THE FIRST KISS HYPOTHESIS #2

Publication Date: September 3, 2018

Publisher: Entangled Teen Crush

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: Ebook 150

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Star lacrosse player Alex “Kov” Koviak has it all. Or so everyone thinks. He’s real good at pretending his life is perfect…until he meets Bailey. The girl challenges him and pushes him and makes him laugh like he’s never laughed before. Their friendship is their little secret, and he’s happy to keep her to himself.

Between school, two jobs, and trying to get into NYU film school, Bailey Banfield has zero time for a social life. But then she meets Alex in her express lane at the grocery store, and their secret friendship becomes the only place she can breathe. She refuses to complicate that with more. No matter how charming Alex can be.

When Bailey decides to film outrageous promposals for her NYU application, she enlists Alex’s help to plan an over-the-top, epic promposal to someone else. Too bad the only prom date Alex wants anywhere near Bailey is him.

For a guy who seems to have it all, he’s about to lose the only thing he’s ever wanted.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Crush contains a cocky lacrosse player in over his head with his secret best friend, unexpected midnight kisses, swoon-worthy slow dancing, and movie-night cuddling that’ll make you ache. You’re going to want an Alex of your own!

An Entertainingly Cute and Adorable Best Friends to Lovers YA Romance

I love reading light and fluffy teen romances and Entangled Teen Crush books never fail to win me over. They’re delightfully adorable, swoony, and just really fun to read. Love and Other Secrets was no exception and certainly had me feeling the FEELS.

I enjoyed Christina Mandelski’s “The First Kiss Hypothesis,” so I was really excited when I read the blurb for Love and Other Secrets. With promposals, stolen kisses, slow dancing, and cuddling with your secret best friend, I couldn’t wait for the swoons, butterflies, and heart melting moments. There were definitely many of those, but what I liked the most about this book was the nostalgic feeling I got while reading — going through all the emotions, heartbreaks, and confusion as a teenager dealing with falling in love for the first time was bittersweet and relatable.

Let me back track for a second. I actually requested for this book (because of the synopsis) and was also invited to review it. I also joined a blog tour, but unfortunately had to back out cause of something personal that happened. I don’t want to get into details about why I took a hiatus, but Love and Other Secrets was a lovely pick-me-upper. I wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy or serious so this book was exactly what I needed to get back into reading. I just wanted a nice little fun escape to make me feel happy… and this book did that. It was a wonderfully cute and entertaining friends to lovers story that made me smile, laugh and aww. And when a book does that, well, that book’s pretty much a big YASSS for me.

Now let me get into what else I liked about this book. The writing style was easy to read so I breezed through this fairly quick. Both the POVs were really great too, but I definitely had more fun getting into Alex’s head… even though I did want to slap him a few times. The storyline was enjoyable with plenty of sweet surprises. I thought Alex and Bailey were likable, charming, and just so adorable together. I loved their frustrating, but undeniably cute chemistry. Yes, I got annoyed a few times with all the drama and miscommunication between them, but that never stopped me from rooting for Alex and Bailey to have their HEA. I thought the promposals were outrageous, but so hilarious to read about. LOVED LOVED LOVED the ending! It was satisfyingly heartwarming I couldn’t stop smiling. So, yes… I absolutely had an awesome time reading this story and cannot wait for the next installment. (Crossing my fingers for it to be about Caleb).

Love and Other Secrets by Christina Mandelski was a quick, funny, and somewhat cheesy read, but overall a fantastically cute story from start to finish. If you’re looking for a best friends to lovers YA romance that involves some crazy promposals and plenty of swoons, or just want to read something entertainingly adorable, then I think this is the perfect book date for you.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, swoons, and opinions are my own.

THE FIRST KISS HYPOTHESIS

Nora Reid believes scientific laws control everything, even love. With her grandparents’ epic first kiss story cemented in her brain, Nora develops a hypothesis she’s determined to prove: for each person in the world, there is exactly one other person, and at first kiss, they’ll experience an immediate and intense reaction.

But after four years of zero-reaction kisses, she comes up with a new theory: maybe that pesky crush on her stunningly hot best friend Eli Costas is skewing her results.

She needs to get rid of him, and fast.

Eli Costas is an injury-prone lacrosse star with a problem—the one chance he had at winning over the girl next door resulted in the most epically sucktastic first kiss ever. And now she’s…trying to get rid of him? Hell no. It’s time to disprove her theory and show her exactly what she’s missing.  Game. On.

The First Kiss Hypothesis is satisfyingly sweet, deliciously adorable, and irresistibly swoony! The plot was entertaining, hilarious, and had plenty of sweet moments that made me smile like a dork. Nora’s theory about finding true love, while quite silly and something I would never do, was a unique concept that had me intrigued the entire time. I don’t want to give too much away, but Nora and Eli’s love story is positively charming. Not to mention, it involves a lot of pies… lots and lots of yummy pies!

Christina Mandelski was born in South Florida, where her love of reading was cultivated in a house full of books. Stories like The Little House series, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Secret Garden, filled her imagination and fueled her dreams to be a writer. That dream came true when her first young adult novel, THE SWEETEST THING, was published in 2011, and she’s beyond thrilled about her upcoming series for Entangled Crush. Chris lives in Houston with one handsome husband, two beautiful daughters, and two freakshow cats. She has a fondness for the beach, her family and friends, and she still loves to read (especially curled up with a good cup of coffee!) She also enjoys shopping, traveling and eating, especially cake. Always cake. When she’s not doing these things, you can find her holed in a cozy spot with her laptop, writing. Visit her at www.christinamandelski.com.

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Do you like reading friends to lovers romances? If not, what are some of your favorite YA contemporary books that made you swoon?

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend lovelies!