READING: Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Publication date: July 19th 2011
Published by: MTV Books
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: Simon&Schuster Galley Grab
Rating: 3,5/5

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

Love Story begins with a  hot historical romance short story about the love between a lady and a stable boy. Erin is writing this short story for her creative writing class. Little does she know that the actual stable boy, the one she inspired her to write the story, is about to enter her class.

Love Story went by *snaps fingers* like that. You can read it all in one sitting, easy! At some points however I felt like dialogues' rhythm were interrupted, like they said one thing in one line and in the next the subject abruptly changed. Maybe it's the ARC (I hope it's the ARC!) because that was very confusing and disorienting. Furthermore, there were things that felt completely out of place, like Erin telling her roommate eeeeeeverything that has happened in her life only 20-30 pages in the book. It served the story to move forward but it wasn't believable at all since we don't know what kind of a relationship Erin and her roommate have and can't even remember her name at that point. 

Also Erin claims she lives on crackers for weeks because she doesn't have any money, but it seems she can't part with her designer, criminally-expensive bag or boots or shirts. If you are gonna starve to death better do it in style uh?

Erin and Hunter's characters were kinda neutral for me. Didn't like them-didn't hate them. They both acted like rich spoiled brats, that's for sure! And only one of them was the real rich spoiled brat, so what's the other one's excuse? 

Erin's claiming to be mature and a responsible person is kinda laughable. She wants the publishing scholarship more than anything in the world, yet she continues writing stories just to get back at Hunter, consciously endangering her chances at the much coveted scholarship every time. Why??

That said, I think the stories both Erin and Hunter wrote was the best part of the book and that's what earned it the 3,5/5. I looked forward to their stories throughout the whole book and I was never disappointed. My favourite was Hunter's first story. Whew, that was something! It almost makes me wonder why Echols didn't write the whole book like that. Apparently she can do it. Book would have been much much better!

After so many mood swings and up and downs(I love him-I hate him-I love him-I hate him-I love him…you know how it works) the ending was pretty enigmatic. Neither here nor there. When I finished the book, I thought the ending was bad. Now in retrospect, I think it was the proper ending to Erin and Hunter's type of relationship: ambivalent. 

Fans of Jennifer Echols will devour Love Story for sure. Since I'm not a huge fan though, I'm afraid it failed to fascinate me. The short stories though were amazing! 

Wow, this is long! 

OK last thing: I have no idea why Love Story appeared in the Adult section of Simon&Schuster's Galley Grab newsletter. Maybe because of the short stories' steamy scenes. If that's the case, it's totally crazy because I've read far worse sex-related scenes in YA books!