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brendalovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
The writing was okay, but the ending was just ridiculous.
halynah's review against another edition
4.0
Easy to read,emotional and delightful book. Enjoyed it!
jessicajessica101's review against another edition
4.0
Je ne sais pas pourquoi j'ai attendu autant de temps pour lire ce livre, j'avais surement peur d'etre déçue après la saga des Fuentes, mais c'était mal juger le don qu'à Simone Elkeles pour écrire et créer des personnages qu'on ne peut plus quitter une fois notre lecture commencée. C'est simple, j'ai lu ce livre en une fois, tout simplement parce que je ne pouvais plus m'en détacher J'ai ris, j'ai été touché, j'ai souris. Ce livre est vraiment une pure merveille et je le conseille chaudement ! Encore une fois, l'auteure nous prouve qu'on peut écrire une histoire d'amour sans tomber dans la niaiserie, et qu'on peut créer des personnages à la fois forts et faibles !
thepaige_turner's review against another edition
5.0
Check out my review here: http://thepaigeturnerblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/wild-cards-by-simone-elkeles/
viviennemorgain's review against another edition
4.0
Certainly not her best. It's been a while since I last read so many clichés. And I found the amount of telling instead of showing scandalous, just like other readers. But after a while it got better and some of the minor characters were superb. However, there were inconsistencies and unexplained details, too. So, I'm expecting a much better sequel, because this does not live up to Perfect Chemistry, that's for sure.
shirleymak's review against another edition
5.0
I CANT HANDLE LIFE RIGHT NOW THIS BOOK WAS SO FREAKING GOOD AND IT'S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME SINCE I FINISHED A BOOK IN ONE DAY BUT OMFG SIMONE ELKELES GIRL YOU ARE SO GOOD.
LIKE WOW I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH
IT ALSO REMINDED ME OF THE STEALING PARKER KINDA BOOKS AND I FREAKING LVOE THOSE SO YEAH OK
LIKE WOW I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH
IT ALSO REMINDED ME OF THE STEALING PARKER KINDA BOOKS AND I FREAKING LVOE THOSE SO YEAH OK
books4susie's review against another edition
5.0
"Love is the toughest game of all."
Derek Fitzpatrick finds himself expelled from the Regents Preparatory Academy at the end of his junior year for a stunt at graduation. He took the blame so that five of his friends wouldn't get in trouble but he never believed for one moment that expulsion would be his punishment. With his father on a six month deployment as the commander of a submarine, Derek must now live with his new stepmother and her five year old son, Julian. Brandi is only eight years older than him. When she announces that she is moving back home to Chicago, he doesn't want to go. With no way to stay in California, he will have to move to a new city to finish his senior year of high school. To make matters worse, Brandi announces that she and his father are going to have a baby. Derek is floored.
Ashtyn Parker is the only girl on her high school football team. Her mother left the family to go to New York and her father has checked out on her life. Joining the football team hasn't made her father, a former state champion football player himself, any more interested in her life. Truly alone, she has dated Landon McKnight, a fellow teammate for the past year. Now getting ready to start their senior year of high school and hopefully win a state championship, everyone knows that the college scouts will be there looking at Landon but will be seeing all of them as well. At the start of summer, the team gathers to vote on a team captain for the upcoming year. Ashtyn and Landon are both shocked when Ashtyn is voted as team captain. Landon doesn't doesn't take it very well.
Brandi has taken Derek and Julian to live with her father, who she hasn't seen in years. Derek picks up on the tension between them two of them, especially when her father says that she didn't mention a stepson coming with them. Put out at first, he makes sleeping arrangements for Derek. As they all go into the house, Derek notices that Brandi hasn't mentioned that she is expecting. Wanting to escape the confines of the house, Derek goes out into the overgrown backyard. He spies a tool shed and looks around. A hot looking girl comes up behind him with a pitchfork and demands to know why he is there. She accuses him of being from Fairfield to prank her but Derek doesn't know what she is talking about. Warning him, she throws the pitchfork at his foot and locks the shed. Derek is now trapped.
Ashtyn goes into the house looking for her father and finds a woman rummaging in the refrigerator. Looking twice, Ashtyn realizes that it is her older sister Brandi, whom she hasn't seen in seven years. Telling her sister about the guy she has locked in the tool shed, Brandi realizes that she has meet her stepson, Derek. They run outside to free him. Derek is able to locate the key hidden inside the shed and passes it out to Brandi. She unlocks the door and introduces her sister Ashtyn to her stepson Derek.
Ashtyn spars with Derek immediately. Finding him attractive, he is the last thing she wants to think about. Her problems with Landon are just beginning when he cannot let go of the fact that she was voted football captain over him. Julian literally worships the ground Derek walks on and even her dog prefers Derek over herself. Deep down, all Ashtyn really wants is to be accepted and loved by her parents. Derek is finding it hard to keep all thoughts of Ashtyn from his mind. He wishes for just one more day with his dead mother. Trying to make the best of his situation, he tries repeatedly to break through Ashtyn's tough exterior. Soon all of her friends are drooling over his physique and flirting unabashedly. Even though Ashtyn is technically Derek's step aunt and is constantly irritated by him, it isn't long before her thoughts begin to stray to him. The tension between the two of them is thick.
Landon and Ashtyn break up when he transfers to Fairfield to play football and become captain of their team. The two of them were going to attend an elite football camp in Texas that summer. Landon was going to be Ashtyn's ride. Derek gets a letter from his maternal grandmother wishing to see him one last time before she dies and to make up for all of the mistakes she made when her daughter married Derek's father. Ashtyn pushes him to go to Texas to see her and drive her to the camp, since she has no other way to get there. Derek eventually relents and the two of them drive together to Texas.
Can Derek break though Ashtyn's tough exterior? Is Derek willing to accept his new life or will he bolt as soon as he can? Will Ashtyn finally get acceptance from her father? Can the fractured Parker family find its way back to one another? Will Ashtyn be able to lead her team to a state championship against Landon and Fairfield? Does Derek makeup with his grandmother before it is too late? What secrets is Derek keeping from Ashtyn and how do they impact her? And will the two of them ever be able to admit their feelings for one another?
michalice's review against another edition
4.0
When I first heard about Better Than Perfect I was instantly intrigued, when I checked it out on goodreads realised that I already have this book down on my wish list, under the USA name. It took me a while to get around to reading this book, and I wish I had read it sooner than I did.
Better Than Perfect is the first book I have read by Simone, although I do have a lot of her other books waiting to be read. I began reading with no idea what to expect but I quickly found myself engrossed with the story, and I needed to keep reading to find out more. The characters she creates are likeable (with some exceptions) and realistic. The story has a way of drawing you in and not letting you go, and as quickly as I started I found myself reaching the end far too soon.
Ashtyn is an enigma, she has one persona for her friends and boyfriend, and another for staying a t home. She acts and dresses differently, but I really did like her. She was a character that I instantly felt a connection with, even though she is nothing like me, and I could not wait to see what went on with her. Derek I had mixed feelings about, his prank was ingenious and I like how he stood up and took the full blame, however I didn't like his attitude towards his Step-Mum, or towards Ashtyn. But given the circumstances and what he has dealt with, you can understand his unwillingness to adapt to changes he didn't want or ask for. On the other side thought, I do like how he stands up for Ashtyn and puts his pranking skills to fantastic use.
Landon is an ass, plain and simple. From the minute he was first introduced I did not like him, His actions towards Ashtyn were uncalled for, and taking credit for things he didn't do that help Ashton was wrong. How he treats her throughout the boo, especially towards the end, was so wrong and I really wish I could reach into the pages and give him a slap or two.
Better Than Perfect was a surprising, but fantastic read. I enjoyed every single page of it and I can't wait to see what comes next in this series. One thing that I liked was how Ashtyn was allergic to purple, initially I thought this was just a way to say she didn't like eating purple skittles, but later on in the book we soon find out that this is not the case, and props for Derek for helping her out. This duo go through a lot of ups and downs within the pages of Better Than Perfect, and I really enjoying taking this journey with them.
Better Than Perfect is the first book I have read by Simone, although I do have a lot of her other books waiting to be read. I began reading with no idea what to expect but I quickly found myself engrossed with the story, and I needed to keep reading to find out more. The characters she creates are likeable (with some exceptions) and realistic. The story has a way of drawing you in and not letting you go, and as quickly as I started I found myself reaching the end far too soon.
Ashtyn is an enigma, she has one persona for her friends and boyfriend, and another for staying a t home. She acts and dresses differently, but I really did like her. She was a character that I instantly felt a connection with, even though she is nothing like me, and I could not wait to see what went on with her. Derek I had mixed feelings about, his prank was ingenious and I like how he stood up and took the full blame, however I didn't like his attitude towards his Step-Mum, or towards Ashtyn. But given the circumstances and what he has dealt with, you can understand his unwillingness to adapt to changes he didn't want or ask for. On the other side thought, I do like how he stands up for Ashtyn and puts his pranking skills to fantastic use.
Landon is an ass, plain and simple. From the minute he was first introduced I did not like him, His actions towards Ashtyn were uncalled for, and taking credit for things he didn't do that help Ashton was wrong. How he treats her throughout the boo, especially towards the end, was so wrong and I really wish I could reach into the pages and give him a slap or two.
Better Than Perfect was a surprising, but fantastic read. I enjoyed every single page of it and I can't wait to see what comes next in this series. One thing that I liked was how Ashtyn was allergic to purple, initially I thought this was just a way to say she didn't like eating purple skittles, but later on in the book we soon find out that this is not the case, and props for Derek for helping her out. This duo go through a lot of ups and downs within the pages of Better Than Perfect, and I really enjoying taking this journey with them.
reddyrat's review against another edition
4.0
Did you like Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles? Or anything else Simone has written? Did you like Katie McGarry's books? If so, you will love Wild Cards.
Wild Cards is a hot, edgy romance between two hard edged characters. It's a light book. I don't mean light as in cute or funny, rather that it's like candy. It's a great read on a surface level, but I got frustrated if I went deeper. That's how I generally react to edgy romances of this kind.
Derek wants us to think that he's a bad boy. He puts up a snarky, tough front, he got kicked out of his boarding school. But really he's a sweet softie. He got kicked out of his school for a hilarious prank that the jerk principal overreacted to. He has a strong sense of justice, he's devastated by the death of his mother. Plus, he's adorable with his little 5 year old brother (step-brother or half-brother, I can't remember). Derek is immediately likable and he was the highlight of this book for me.
I wasn't as much a fan of Ashtyn. I felt bad for her. She's desperate for attention from her neglectful father, so she went out for football to gain his respect. And even that backfired. She's a talented and ambitious football player. But I had trouble reconciling her supposed toughness as a football player with how weak she often seemed. Especially around her awful ex-boyfriend. It's like she's going out of her way to be the stereotypical female and the football player at the same time. Maybe I've been influenced too much by Catching Jordan and Dairy Queen, but she didn't seem believable to me as a girl tough enough to play football in a male-dominant world. As awful as this sounds, I thought she was too much of a "girl."
That said, it's hard not to be sucked in by Ashtyn and Derek's immediate connection. Not insta-love - chemistry. Their conscious dislike for each other masked their subconscious attraction. The hard-edged banter was hilarious. Especially on Derek's end.
And of course the romance is steamy, much like I remember Perfect Chemistry being. Simone excels in getting her characters almost there and then stopping. Nothing like ratcheting up the tension and the uncontrollable urge to flip pages. The breaks felt realistic though. The characters - mostly Derek - purposely did or said something outrageous to stop themselves from doing what they really wanted to do. Their baggage and fears got in the way.
Wild Cards is a good book. It fulfills every spot on the edgy romance checklist. I like edgy romance, but it's not my favorite genre. So I liked this well enough, but not as much as many other readers. But knowing enough about the genre on an objective level, I think it's a great read.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Wild Cards is a hot, edgy romance between two hard edged characters. It's a light book. I don't mean light as in cute or funny, rather that it's like candy. It's a great read on a surface level, but I got frustrated if I went deeper. That's how I generally react to edgy romances of this kind.
Derek wants us to think that he's a bad boy. He puts up a snarky, tough front, he got kicked out of his boarding school. But really he's a sweet softie. He got kicked out of his school for a hilarious prank that the jerk principal overreacted to. He has a strong sense of justice, he's devastated by the death of his mother. Plus, he's adorable with his little 5 year old brother (step-brother or half-brother, I can't remember). Derek is immediately likable and he was the highlight of this book for me.
I wasn't as much a fan of Ashtyn. I felt bad for her. She's desperate for attention from her neglectful father, so she went out for football to gain his respect. And even that backfired. She's a talented and ambitious football player. But I had trouble reconciling her supposed toughness as a football player with how weak she often seemed. Especially around her awful ex-boyfriend. It's like she's going out of her way to be the stereotypical female and the football player at the same time. Maybe I've been influenced too much by Catching Jordan and Dairy Queen, but she didn't seem believable to me as a girl tough enough to play football in a male-dominant world. As awful as this sounds, I thought she was too much of a "girl."
That said, it's hard not to be sucked in by Ashtyn and Derek's immediate connection. Not insta-love - chemistry. Their conscious dislike for each other masked their subconscious attraction. The hard-edged banter was hilarious. Especially on Derek's end.
And of course the romance is steamy, much like I remember Perfect Chemistry being. Simone excels in getting her characters almost there and then stopping. Nothing like ratcheting up the tension and the uncontrollable urge to flip pages. The breaks felt realistic though. The characters - mostly Derek - purposely did or said something outrageous to stop themselves from doing what they really wanted to do. Their baggage and fears got in the way.
Wild Cards is a good book. It fulfills every spot on the edgy romance checklist. I like edgy romance, but it's not my favorite genre. So I liked this well enough, but not as much as many other readers. But knowing enough about the genre on an objective level, I think it's a great read.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
mandikaye's review against another edition
4.0
I was intrigued by the idea of this book, but to be honest – I really didn’t have high hopes that I would enjoy it. I mean c’mon – a female football player who falls for the bad boy?
But I was oh so wrong.
I couldn’t stop reading!
Wild Cards had just the right amount of drama, angst, and swoon-worthy love.
At it’s core, this is really a fairy-tale romance told within the context of a Contemporary YA.
You’ve got a bad-boy who is deeply hurt and needs to be “fixed” by the love of a woman.
You’ve got the tough girl exterior that’s just hiding the fact that she wants to be held and loved and taken care of.
The two butt heads and spend a lot of time fighting their undeniable chemistry.
And in the end – well, it’s a fairy tale romance. It ends exactly the way you would expect it to.
It also appears that this is the beginning of a series. I’m not sure if that means we’ll get to see more of Derek and Ashtyn in the next book or if it will be more like Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits series – where each book is about a different couple. I expect it’s probably the latter. We might even get a book about asshole Landon! I’d like him to get a chance to redeem himself.
But I was oh so wrong.
I couldn’t stop reading!
Wild Cards had just the right amount of drama, angst, and swoon-worthy love.
At it’s core, this is really a fairy-tale romance told within the context of a Contemporary YA.
You’ve got a bad-boy who is deeply hurt and needs to be “fixed” by the love of a woman.
You’ve got the tough girl exterior that’s just hiding the fact that she wants to be held and loved and taken care of.
The two butt heads and spend a lot of time fighting their undeniable chemistry.
And in the end – well, it’s a fairy tale romance. It ends exactly the way you would expect it to.
It also appears that this is the beginning of a series. I’m not sure if that means we’ll get to see more of Derek and Ashtyn in the next book or if it will be more like Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits series – where each book is about a different couple. I expect it’s probably the latter. We might even get a book about asshole Landon! I’d like him to get a chance to redeem himself.