The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend By: Kody Keplinger
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.  But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.
I read this book last night, in one sitting. I have this horrible habit of reading before I go to bed. The reason it's horrible is because I can never actually put a book down when I say I will. It's always, one more chapter! Or ten more minutes! In the case of The Duff, I started it around 2 A.M., and didn't fall asleep until after I finished it around 5. Since I wake up for school around 8, this wasn't a very good plan. But I don't regret it, because this book was awesome. I don't think I've ever read a book containing enemies-with-benefits. Friends-with-benefits, sure. But enemies? No. And it was really good. I was a little afraid I would be kind of disgusted with the relationship, but I wasn't. The sex wasn't the main focus of the book, it wasn't even very detailed. It was just something that happened, and what was important was Bianca's thought process before and after. And their banter? I loved it. Even when they were making fun of each other, which was often, you could tell they got each other. They were totally on the same page humor-wise. "Spanish, huh?" he said, glancing down at the scattered papers as he grabbed them. "Can you say anything interesting?" "El tono de tu voz hace que queria estrangularme." I stood up and waited for him to hand over my papers. "That sounds sexy," he said, getting to his feet and handing me the stack of Spanish work he'd swept together. "What's it mean?" "The sound of your voice makes me want to strangle myself." "Kinky. Bianca and Wesley are both imperfect people, and their flaws made them really likable. I mean, even though they were both kind of jerks, I was still rooting for them. Wesley said some of the stupidest things (like repeatedly calling Bianca 'Duffy'), but he was sincere. He never said anything he didn't mean. And even if what he said sounded harsh, it was honest. He didn't bother with white lies like most people. "He wasn't perfect, or even remotely close, for that matter, but, hey, neither was I. We were both pretty fucked up. Somehow, though, that made everything more exciting. Yeah, it was sick and twisted, but that's reality, right? Escape is impossible, so why not embrace it?" I found Bianca easy to relate to, even though I haven't ever had a enemy (or friend)-with-benefits. I understood how when she's going through a lot of stuff she kept it inside, trying to find a way to deal with it. Some people might have been frustrated that she didn't open up to her friends, but I found her dealing with it on her own very realistic. I mean, how many kids go to school announcing all their problems? Not many that I know. I definitely recommend this book. It's a quick read, and I wish there was a sequel so I could read more of Wesley and Bianca's sarcastic interactions. I want to read more books with interactions like theirs, because that's how people really communicate. Or at least how I do. "Wesley Rush doesn’t chase girls, but I’m chasing you."

Blue-Eyed Devil

If you are interested in reading my Blue-Eyed Devil review, I suggest you first read Sugar Daddy. Otherwise this is a huge spoiler. And I just don't want to do that to you.

Sugar Daddy

Sugar Daddy (Travis Family #1) By: Lisa Kleypas
SHE'S FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS Liberty Jones has dreams and determination that will take her far away from Welcome, Texas---if she can keep her wild heart from ruling her mind. Hardy Cates sees Liberty as completely off-limits. His own ambitions are bigger than Welcome, and Liberty Jones is a complication he doesn't need. But something magical and potent draws them to each other, in a dangerous attraction that is stronger than both of them.  HE'S THE ONE MAN SHE CAN'T HAVE When Hardy leaves town to pursue his plans, Liberty finds herself alone with a young sister to raise. Soon Liberty finds herself under the spell of a billionaire tycoon---a Sugar Daddy, one might say. But the relationship goes deeper than people think, and Liberty begins to discover secrets about her own family's past.  WILL THEY FIND THEIR HEARTS' DESIRES OR WILL HEARTBREAK TEAR THEM APART? Two men. One woman. A choice that can make her or break her. A woman you'll root for every step of the way. A love story you'll never forget
This book was a refreshingly different love story. It's hard to summarize, as it follows Liberty's life over the course of about nine years and I really don't want to give ANYTHING away. As I read I fell in love with Liberty and Hardy, and when he left I was crushed. They felt so real I was totally attached to the idea of them. And I couldn't even blame Hardy for leaving. I really thought he was doing the right thing for his future. I knew from the summary there was going to be another guy, but I really thought it was going to be one of those situations where it's so obvious Hardy was the right guy for Liberty. I mean, how often do love triangles actually leave you completely torn? In Twilight I really liked Jacob, but I knew Edward was going to end up with Bella. In One Tree Hill I thought Brooke was awesome, but I was Peyton/Lucas all the way. It wasn't like that in this book. I wanted both of the men. I really shared in Liberty's indecision. By the way, I'm not mention the name of man #2 (the "Sugar Daddy") because I really feel like it would take away from the middle of the book. I assume that's why it was left out of the book summary, as well. I will say that I think the "Sugar Daddy" got way too little feature time, but even with that the "Sugar Daddy" still made me fall for him. I don't think I could have made the decision myself. I wholeheartedly recommend this book, and the two that follow it (Blue Eyed Devil and Smooth-Talking Stranger).Four stars!

Altered

Altered By: Jennifer Rush
When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe? Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev...and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them. Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities. Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.
You know that saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover"? Yeah, I completely ignored that when I picked up this book. The cover looked so cool I put it on my to-read list before I knew what it was about. I'm totally glad I did, too. Anna was an extremely likable main character. She was easy to relate to, even though her life isn't anything like mine. Her life probably isn't very similar to yours, either, unless you grew up working for the government and taking care of four genetically modified guys. Anna just comes across as a very rational person. I hate when I'm reading a book and the main character does something really stupid and I feel the need to put the book down and yell. Do you ever get that feeling? Another likable thing about this book is that the romance is in the background. This is a good book with a character who has a crush, not a romance novel. And sometimes you want to escape from thoughts of love and forever, but that can be really hard to do with a YA novel. This book is filled with a bunch of twists, and I didn't call over half of them. Really refreshing. It's a pain when you watch a movie and the main character is walking into the same room as the killer and all you can do is sit and watch. Besides a few loose ends, this book was great. I'm guessing there's going to be a sequel, which I am absolutely looking forward to. Check it out and let me know how you like it! I give this book four stars.