Beware of Bad Boy by April Brookshire- Review

Publication Date: 

October 15th 2013

Publisher:

April Brookshire

Goodreads Synopsis:

Gianna has everything going for her, beauty, popularity and the jock boyfriend to match. Too bad it all makes her miserable. Living her life based on other peoples’ expectations isn’t making her happy. She has only one escape and she guards that secret life fiercely. 

Caleb has everything he wants, the freedom to do as he likes and plenty of opportunities to do it. With a revolving door of girls in and out of his life, he has no interest in getting tied down. Kicked out of another school, his mom sends him to live with his dad. 

Gianna hates her new stepbrother on sight. 

Caleb thinks she’s a hollow beauty. 

Then he finds out her secret and uses it to get to know the real her. 

Review

I read this book free from Smashwords.com as an e-book.

Plot- I really did enjoy the plot of this book. I know the 'forbidden love' trope in romance books is widely hated but it's something I really enjoy which I think contributed a lot to the fact I loved this book. It wasn't the typical 'cute' romance as it starts out with Caleb blackmailing Gianna, not the most romantic thing in the world. It was sexy and fiery and full of drama. I loved the progression of the story and how many twists there were throughout- the characters had so much thrown at them and you just never knew what was going to happen to them next. It ended on such a cliff hanger too, I'm dying to read the second book and find out what happens. 

Characters- Overall, I did really like the characters in this book but there were times I got incredibly irritated by some of the things they said and did. This especially occurred with the way Caleb treat Gianna at times, and despite his protective nature being one of the things making him incredibly sexy, he did take it too far at times, to the point of being controlling. I don't like when boys tell their girlfriends what they can and can't do or wear and that did occur a bit during the book. Other than this, I loved the characters and the relationships they had. Gianna had so much depth to her and I loved the message that her character portrayed, that not everyone is exactly as they appear to be. She was sweet, and the complete opposite of the 'pretty cheerleader' stereotype, despite that being exactly what she was. Caleb had that 'bad boy' act and reputation but the way he cared about Gigi right from the beginning and wanted what was best for her was so adorable. He helped her to become who she wanted to be, rather than who everyone else wanted her to be and that's  really important to me. The minor characters were also really enjoyable such as Cece who was bubbly and funny to read, and Dante. The only characters I really disliked were those who you were supposed to dislike, such as Josh. 

Writing- This book was told from dual POV which I loved as it meant we got an insight into both of the characters feelings and thoughts, allowing us to connect with them better and understand why they did certain things. I liked how sexy the writing was, and how impactful some of the messages the book shows were. It really made you think and I love books that can do that. 

Overall- I loved this book, I can't wait to carry on with the rest of the series and see what happens. It has amazing relationships that were developed so well throughout the book going from enemies, to friends to lovers and I would definitely recommend this book if you want a fast-paced read that will give you a new fictional boyfriend.