Monday, October 20, 2014

Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross ~ Review

Whatever Life Throws at YouSource: e-ARC review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross


Life loves a good curveball…

Seventeen-year-old Annie Lucas's life is completely upended the moment her dad returns to the major leagues as the new pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. Now she's living in Missouri (too cold), attending an all-girls school (no boys), and navigating the strange world of professional sports. But Annie has dreams of her own—most of which involve placing first at every track meet…and one starring the Royals' super-hot rookie pitcher.

But nineteen-year-old Jason Brody is completely, utterly, and totally off-limits. Besides, her dad would kill them both several times over. Not to mention Brody has something of a past, and his fan club is filled with C-cupped models, not smart-mouthed high school “brats” who can run the pants off every player on the team. Annie has enough on her plate without taking their friendship to the next level. The last thing she should be doing is falling in love.

But baseball isn't just a game. It's life. And sometimes, it can break your heart…

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20757528-whatever-life-throws-at-you

http://www.amazon.com/Whatever-Life-Throws-Entangled-Teen-ebook/dp/B00IWVELKY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413788262&sr=8-1&keywords=whatever+life+throws+at+youhttp://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/whatever-life-throws-at-you-julie-cross/1118612180?ean=9781622664047

Review...

When I first read the synopsis for this book, it was pretty easy to decide that I wanted to read it. Seriously. I'm a huge baseball fan--Yankees specifically, but I am totally all in for the Kansas City Royals now because I just can't help myself--and at the first mention of the Yankees in the synopsis, I was instantly all over this book like YES. Then I got the book, read it, and am now in awe of just how fabulous Whatever Life Throws at You turned out because this story is honestly and truly amazing.

Since baseball was the first thing to draw me into this novel, I think that's a good place to start. The baseball laced into this story worked so well. I loved how the book was separated into parts of the season, and how the entire novel was structured in that way. It coincided well with everything else going on in the story--Annie's races, the balance of personal time between characters, and their lives in general. Baseball plays a huge part in all of it, and I enjoyed that so much.

Annie was an MC that was so easy for me to like. She was kind, smart, and a good person. Her sense of humor worked for me, too. She had her own issues to deal with, but really--who doesn't? Watching her work her way through everything was another great part of the story. Her internal conflict mixed with the other problems created a nice mix to keep things chugging along in a way that never left me bored.

Then we had Jason Brody who--ohmysweetgoodness--made my heart go all kinds of aflutter. He comes across as such a punk at first, the kind of guy who grates on my nerves and is all cocky and only borderline nice. But Brody shoves all those assumptions I made aside and proves just how wonderful a person he truly is. He made it so easy to love him. Same as Annie, he has his issues to work through, but I loved him all the while, so no worries there. 

The romance...GUYS. The romance. Jason Brody as a love interest is one of my favorite things ever. He and Annie as a couple are the best, and so sweet, and MY HEART. While they both had their individual dilemmas to face--which they both helped each other through, thus forth making my happiness level rise even more--they also had some challenges as a couple to overcome. Their relationship fit in perfectly with the rest of the story, and also added even more reason to fly through this book.

Overall, with a delicious mix of baseball and romance, Whatever Life Throws at You is a book I was reluctant to put down. I absolutely loved it! And I think it's fitting to let y'all know that one of my favorite book moments of this year? In this book. Last chapter before the epilogue. LOVED. IT. And now I can't wait to read more from Julie Cross! Her writing was fabulous this time around, and I have no doubt she'll deliver more greatness with future novels. :)



5 stars - Definitely one of my favorite books this year! If you're a fan of YA contemporary romance, this one is a must-read!



4 comments:

  1. I'm in the middle of this book right now and loving it! Thanks for the review! I can't wait to finish it :D

    Eileen @ BookCatPin

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  2. I love it when books mix romance and sports, so this sounds like it is definitely one for me. Great review!

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  3. Okay, enough already! I will buy this book! :D I don't know the first thing about baseball but still :P Great review! :)

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  4. I want to freaking read this book. I will admit that the fact that it takes place is Kansas City is definitely alluring (that's where I'm from), but I just love sweet guys and I think I would really like this one!! <3

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