Release Date: March 29,2016Published by: Bloomsbury USA Children’sIf Only, #8Source: LibraryFor fans of: Contemporaries, Romance, Chick-lit, LOL, Realistic Fiction, Stand-alones, YA
If only…he was the boy she’s been dreaming of.
Theatre girl Maddie Brooks has always had high standards for guys. But she has yet to find one who can live up to the classic Hollywood heartthrobs, especially the dreamy song-and-dance man Gene Kelly. When Maddie begins to carpool with Jesse Morales, her new neighbor and star pitcher of the baseball team, she’s struck by his wit, good looks, and love for his family—but a guy so into sports is definitely not her style. Then Maddie discovers that Jesse was raised as a dancer and still practices in the community theatre’s dance studio to keep in shape. Perhaps her perfect dream guy exists after all! But when it becomes clear that baseball—not dance—is Jesse’s passion, can Maddie find a way to let her dream guy go and appreciate the charms of the amazing guy in front of her?
This fun, high school theatre romance in the If Only line is for anyone who has ever wished for that impossibly perfect guy.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I saw this one popping up along the blogosphere and at the time I needed a light, fluffy romance so I grabbed it up as soon as I could. And this book gave me exactly what I was looking for. There’s flirting, romance, drama, and laughing. All that you need in great chick-lit.
“Contrary to popular belief Texas is not all tumbleweeds, cacti, and horses. I haven’t seen a desert yet, and the people in Houston mostly look the same as people from back home, but with the occasional cowboy boots.“pg. 1
Maddie has just moved to Texas and she is NOT excited about it. She has no friends and she’s sure the house they’ve moved into is about to fall in. But things get more interesting as she meets her neighbors from across the street. Then she meets Jesse who is super cute and awesome, but not exactly what she was looking for. But what happens when they both think outside the [theater] box?
“Reality has a lot to learn from the movies.“pg. 18
I loved the theater aspect. I’m a huge theater geek and even appeared in some plays in college. But my love for them was nothing like Maddie’s. To be honest, sshe seemed a bit much at times. More like annoying really. She wanted everyone to conform to her standards, but she didn’t think to maybe compromise and mold to theirs. It just seemed that she was trying to change the entire world to do what she wanted and that never works. Coming from someone who’s tried, all it does is get annoying.
“If you like someone, even just as friends, you share stuff about yourself, open up..“pg. 132
As for Maddie, I found her to be annoying and selfish. She was always crying when things didn’t go her way and sometimes I just wanted him to say “Ok Maddie, time for you to stop crying.” She was like a kid throwing a tantrum when she didn’t get her way. Then there’s Jesse. I was so happy when he said those things to her. I know how hard it is to make someone think the way you want them to. It doesn’t work and she needed to understand that.
“That doesn’t seem like Ryan. […] At all.” “Right? He’s not anything close to what I thought I wanted. […] But he’s wonderful.“pg. 160
But the romance was really cute. I liked the accidents that happened between them along the way. The meet cute and the dates with other people made this a contemporary romance more of a rom com and I couldn’t have liked that more. There was so much to swoon about and then right after there was so much to laugh about. Rae did a really good job on the balance.
“This whole day is proof that time changes things. You just have to have the patience to see it through.“pg. 310
I really enjoyed the light, fluffy, atmosphere of this book. It was just what I needed at the time. “If Only” this could happen every time I read!
Overall, I give this
(Original rating was 3.5, but I rounded up!)