Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The Dating Debate by Chris Cannon ~ Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

About The Dating Debate:

Nina Barnes thinks Valentine’s Day should be optional. That way single people like her wouldn’t be subjected to kissy Cupids all over the place. That is, until her mom moves them next door to the brooding hottie of Greenbrier High, West Smith. He’s funny, looks amazing in a black leather jacket, and he’s fluent in Harry Potter, but she’s not sure he’s boyfriend material.

West isn’t sure what to make of Nina. She’s cute and loves to read as much as he does, but she seems to need to debate everything and she has a pathological insistence on telling the truth. And West doesn’t exactly know how to handle that, since his entire life is a carefully constructed secret. Dating the girl next door could be a ton of fun, but only if Nina never finds out the truth about his home life. It’s one secret that could bring them together or rip them apart.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book is not for anyone who has to get in the last word, but it is for all book nerds, especially those who live next door to so called unapproachable gorgeous guys. There’s no debating the chemistry.

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This is such a cute fun read. It draws you in and reads fast. It's quirky and deals with some interesting issues. I enjoyed it.

I love Nina! She's a bookworm and I love her love of Harry Potter. Seriously, Cole is unacceptable because he's never read Harry Potter. Hehe. Yep and that starts the fun with her neighbor, West. Nina's not into Valentine's Day. When her brother tries to set her up with a friend to go to the dance, she's desperate to get out of it. So when West is trying get out of his own date, Nina agrees to be his date. And so starts the friendship between them.

West is hiding a sweet guy. No one is allowed in their house. A surprising issue that I've never seen come up in a YA book keeps his mother inside. No one else can know. His cousin know. And they're his friends. His only friends really. West tries to help his mom as much as he can. It's sweet. And he longs for the time he can leave for college. He longs for normal.

I loved the friendship that develops between them. Nina likes to debate with him. He's not used to that. It's adorable really. He starts to notice more about her and he likes what he notices. Sweet. And they discover they have more in common. West reads too! Love that about him.

This would be a great read for the young end of YA. It's sweet and a great first love story. Even though these guys are seniors in high school, it really has that younger vibe going.

“So, this whole dance thing?” West picked up a fork, took a bite of rice, and stared at me like he was waiting for me to give him an easy out. Not going to happen. Mess with a smart girl and suffer the consequences.

“You started it,” was the most amusing response I could come up with.

“No.” He shook his head as if trying to emphasize his response. “You started it when you invited me in for dinner.”

“Why? Because I knew you’d rather eat dirt than join us for rice? That’s your fault for being a suck-up and carrying my mom’s food.”

“I was being nice,” he shot back.

“No good deed goes unpunished.” I batted my eyelashes at him. “Besides, I was going to help her before you rushed over.”

He looked at me like I was crazy. “So I shouldn’t have helped your mom, but it’s okay for you to shove Cole off on Vicky.”

“Please. He’s a nice guy. She’ll fall for him...maybe because he’s the total opposite of you.”

He pointed his fork at me. “Where do you get off judging me?”

“I’m not judging you. I meant you’re all black-leather- jacket-brooding loner guy, and he’s Mr.-Happy-Sunshine- everyone-is-my-friend.”

“Fine. Mr. Sunshine is out of the way now, so there’s no need for us to go to the dance.”

“Nice try,” I said. “We’re going to the dance.”

“Why?”

“Because you said we were,” I said. “And lying is never acceptable. Don’t stress about this. I’m not proposing we run off to Mexico and get matching his-and-her tattoos. We’ll just go to the dance together. No big deal.”

“Right. Nothing is ever that simple.”

About Chris Cannon:

Chris Cannon is the award-winning author of the Going Down In Flames series and the Boyfriend Chronicles. She lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and several furry beasts.

She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures or romantic comedies. You can find her online at www.chriscannonauthor.com.

Author Links:

Author Website: www.chriscannonauthor.com

Author Blog: http://www.chriscannonauthor.com/blog/

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