As soon as I see a book that features a chronic illness that I personally have, I’m all OVER it!
Thank you Margaret K McElderry Books for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.
Synopsis: Cara Hawn’s life fell apart after her father cheated on her mother and got remarried to a woman Cara can’t stand. When Cara accidentally posts a rant about her father online, it goes viral—and catches the attention of the TV producers behind a new reality dating show for single parent families. The next thing Cara and her mother know, they’ve been cast as leads on the show and are whisked away to sunny Key West where they’re asked to narrow a field of suitors and their kids down to one winning pair. All of this is outside of Cara’s comfort zone, from the meddling producers to the camera-hungry contestants, especially as Cara and her mother begin to clash on which suitors are worth keeping around. And then comes Connor. As the son of a contestant, Connor is decidedly off-limits. Except that he doesn’t fit in with the cutthroat atmosphere in all the same ways as Cara, and she can’t get him out of her head. Now Cara must juggle her growing feelings while dodging the cameras and helping her mom pick a bachelor they both love, or else risk fracturing their family even more for the sake of ratings. Maybe there’s a reason most people don’t date on TV.
This was so adorable, I loved it. I was shocked to see that the story was more about the relationship between mother and daughter, but it struck a lot of chords with me between being a high school teacher and a mother of a daughter myself. I’m blessed to have a wonderful relationship with my mother, and this book really reminded me of that. I normally would say that a lot of young adult books really seem to focus on either mother/daughter or father/daughter relationships too much, but this particular book fit the trope so well, I really can’t complain. More romance next time? Yes! But for now, this will be a top loved book of mine, for sure!
4.5/5 Stars
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