After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.
Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?
I was so excited when I first heard of Wild Cards! I loved Simone’s other series. I remember reading all of her books back to back until I got Simone Elkeles overdose. Wonderful times. I was a little nervous at first about Wild Cards. How can this book come close to her other series? At the end, I did not have to worry because like always Elkeles wrote an awesome book.
Before gushing about how much I loved Wild Cards I have to explain why this book wasn’t a solid 5 star read for me. When I first read the summary of Wild Cards I thought that when it described Derek’s stepmom as “ditzy” it would be a mild case of it, but this woman was oblivious to her surroundings. I also wanted her to make a connection with Derek earlier in the book or to try harder to win his affections instead of just being in the background. Ashtyn’s dad also got on my nerves he wasn’t supportive at all, and I wanted to punch his face off! The lack of parenting was the only thing I didn’t like about the book.
Now with what I loved about it! I loved Ashtyn to death. I loved her determination to go for what she wanted. There were many obstacles in Ashtyn's way, but she never gave up. She was awesome. The romance was oh, so sweet and hot! I melted every time there was a mention of Derek in the book. He made me want to stay in liquid form for the rest of eternity. He was a bad boy, but I could see that he was also missing his mom and dad, I just wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be ok. I also loved, of course, Elkeles’ writing. The way she writes teenagers makes me want to be one again, and the plot was fantastic. It was so easy reading Wild Cards. This book and I were meant to be together!
Wild Cards is the kind of book that will not allow you to do anything else but read it. Say bye to: bathrooms breaks, sleeping and working.
I felt the same way about her dad but I grew to love the stepmom in the end. I completely agree, Simone's books takes me back to young love. Sigh. :)
ReplyDeleteI kinda liked her at the end too. I just wanted to slap some sense into her at the beginning lol. :D
DeleteYeah her stepmom was not my favorite either. Parenting was not this book's strong suit for sure lol. I still enjoyed it overall though it was a really sweet, romantic read and it was just what I needed at the time! :) Great review, doll!
ReplyDeleteThanks!! I can't wait to see what she writes next!
DeleteI'm glad you really enjoyed this one! I have heard a lot of mixed things but I have a copy and I'm more looking forward to picking it up now!
ReplyDeleteI hope you like! I can't wait to hear what you think about it.
DeleteDerek sounds so swoonworthy! Great review, I'll keep in mind that the mum is oblivious though.
ReplyDeleteSounds yummy so glad u enjoyed it I've heard good things about this author
ReplyDeleteGet the population demographics from the city. Toronto laundromatsYou want a good mix of ethnic backgrounds and the more kids (the more dirty laundry) the better. A neighborhood full of retired people is bad news
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