13/13 :: Solving for Ex ARC {review}

FROM GOODREADS:

Ashley Price doesn’t have much in life after being bullied so hard she had to leave her old school to live with her aunt and uncle in Pittsburgh. But the camera she borrowed from her best friend and secret crush Brendan, and her off the charts math abilities, make things a lot more bearable. Plus, since Brendan is the captain, making the school Mathletes team should be easy.

But when gorgeous new girl Sofia rolls in and steals Brendan, Ashley’s place on the team, and her fragile foothold on the Mansfield Park Prep social totem pole, it’s on. Sofia is everything Ashley left her old school to escape. The only thing Ashley didn’t count on is Sofia’s sexy twin brother Vincent.

Vincent is not only the hottest boy in school, he’s charming, sweet, and he’s got his eye on Ashley. He’s also not taking no for an answer. There’s no real reason Ashley shouldn’t like Vincent, but with the
battle lines being drawn between her and Sofia, Ashley’s not sure which side he’s on. Or which side she wants him to be on.

She does know Sofia is trouble with a capital T, and she’s determined to make Brendan see it.

SOLVING FOR EX is a YA contemporary romance that remixes Mansfield Park as Clueless meets Mean Girls in a crazy mix of high school society, mathletic competition, and teenage romance.

I’ve been following the author of this book, Leigh Ann Kopans,  for a bit on Twitter, and when the call went out for ARC requests, I eagerly threw my hand up. Metaphorically speaking. It came in late on a Friday evening, and by a wonderful chance, it so happened that the weekend that followed was clear of all goings-ons and the housework was up-to-date., and I parked myself on the daybed and read as I watched the children play. Somehow, all the planets aligned, and I actually got it read in the day!

I really liked it. Even though it is classed as a YA (young adult) novel, it is still quite enjoyable as an adult. And I think is says a lot about Leigh Ann’s skill at her craft that I felt a physical reaction to the anxiety of the protagonist when the typical high-school-girl cattiness started causing issues – and this, almost a decade and a half since I was in high school! I will admit I haven’t read Austen’s Mansfield Park to be able to give a compare-and-contrast (my Austen binge is currently focused on Emma and Northanger Abbey), but it works as a stand alone work. Possibly the only thing I didn’t really enjoy was a couple of too-overt-for-my-liking Austen references – Mansfield Prep competing against Northanger is the one that really stuck out to me, and likely that is just because I am also reading Northanger Abbey at the minute. It’s perfect for what it was, a nice read for a sunny spring Saturday – I’d give it four stars.

1. Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
2. Anne of Avonlea – LM Montgomery
3. The Brethren – John Grisham
4. A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson
5. The Red Queen – Phillipa Gregory
6. The White Queen – Phillipa Gregory
7. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak (NEW)
8. The Partner – John Grisham
9. PS I Love You – Cecilia Ahern
10. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
11. Restaurant at the end of the Universe – Douglas Adams
12. Life, The Universe and Everything – Douglas Adams
13. So Long and Thanks for all the Fish – Douglas Adams
14. Mostly Harmless – Douglas Adams
15. Change in Altitude – Anita Shreve (NEW)
16. Change Baby – June Spence (NEW)
17. The Life and Times – via ff.net, Marauders-era HP fanfic (which I feel justified in including – at 577k+ words it’s nearly THREE times longer than the Deathly Hallows) (NEW)
18. Death Comes to Pemberley – PD James (NEW)
19. Unlocked
20. Unveiled
21. Unraveled
22. Unclaimed
23. The Heiress Effect
24. A Kiss for Midwinter
25. The Governess Affair
26. The Duchess War
27. Broken Promises – Dawn Pendleton (NEW)
28. Just One Damned Thing After Another – Jodi Taylor (NEW)
29. Pride & Prejudice
30.Solving for Ex – Leigh Ann Kopans

In Progress:
Emma
Northanger Abbey
The List of My Desires

So that brings the current year to date total to 30 books read, 14 of them re-reads, and 16 of them new.