When I read K. L. Walther’s novels for the first time, I felt very conflicted. The first novel I ever read by her was The Summer of Broken Rules. I wrote a review about the book here.
The Summer of Broken Rules was, and still is, a book I feel conflicted about. On the one hand, I like her writing style. On the other hand, I hated the amount of Taylor Swift references, which is what it is famous for. When I heard Walther wrote another novel, I was curious about it. I was hopeful I would enjoy this novel more and here writing style would shine through more. With this hope, I decided to read it.
The book blurb is as follows…
Lily Hopper has two more weeks until she’s officially finished with boarding school. With graduation quickly approaching Lily is worried that she’s somehow missed out on the fun of being in high school. So, when she receives a mysterious note inviting her to join the anonymous senior class Jester in executing the end-of-year prank, Lily sees her chance to put her goody-two-shoes reputation behind her.
When Lily realizes the Jester is none other than Taggart Swell, her ex- boyfriend, she’s already in too deep to back out. Lily might’ve dumped Tag, but she still has major feelings. Plus, his brilliant plan to steal the school’s yearbooks, targets none other than Lily’s prom date: the Senior Class President, Daniel.
As the group of pranksters hide cryptic clues across campus for Daniel to find, Lily and Tag find themselves in close quarters. As the exes dodge Campus Safety guards, night owl teachers, a troop of freshmen, and even Daniel himself, new sparks fly. But old hurts and painful secrets refuse to be ignored. And with graduation on the horizon, Lily can only hope that breaking the rules will help mend her heart.
I went into reading this book hopeful there would be no Taylor Swift references in this book. I was wrong… kind of. The book does not include anything that is clearly Taylor Swift (Sans references to the girls in the book listening to her music) but it’s still there.
Knowing this, and hoping there would be no references at all, made me disappointed. That said, Taylor fans would enjoy it. Yet, this is not the only reason why I don’t like the book.
I just don’t like the story. The plot sounded very cute and like it could be an enjoyable romance story, but I didn’t like it. Lily was not a character I enjoyed reading about. Taggart was an ok character. The fact the book is told from the first person view, and that first person is Lily, left me with many questions about their relationship.
The book was ok. It isn’t my favorite young adult romance novel I ever read, but it wasn’t the worst. As for would I recommend it? I would recommend it to Taylor Swift fans. Even though it is written well, I prefer The Summer of Broken Rules. To me, I liked the couple, the story, and the character development in it more.
That’s all for now! Thank you for reading!