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Format: Kindle (earc)
Publishers: Walker Books
Published: 1st October 2013
Pages: 342
Genre: YA, Contemporary Romance
Main Characters: Derek, Ashtyn
Date Read: 16th January - 21st January 2014
Rating Given:
Blurb:
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?
Every Simone Elkeles book I have read I have absolutely loved, so when I saw it on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to request it and it so lived up to my expectations!
I love the cover for this as it is in keeping with the story. I also love the use of colours with the dark edge to it and then the pop of colour it really stands out for me.
Another fantastic book from the talented Simone Elkeles I swear she can do no wrong in my eyes. I fell in love with the story and the characters from the moment I turned the first page. When I first started this book I was on a train and usually I can be easily distracted but not in this case as I was completely enthralled by it that I didn't know what was going on around me. I had read a review saying that they didn't like that they was instantly in love but I didn't feel like it was yes they had attraction for one another from the beginning but their feelings seemed like they grew as the story went. I loved the way in which she had the two main characters have some very serious issues it was great the way it felt more real than other books that I have read. With Wild Cards we got to hear from both Ashtyn and Derek which I am really starting to love alternating point of views as it feels like we get a better understanding of what the characters are thinking as well as making them more three dimensional. There was some laugh out loud moments that had me chuckling to myself on the train but there was also some very emotional and tender moments.
To begin with Ashtyn seemed like a strong person as she was in a sport full of guys but the more we read about her the more she showed she had some serious issues and very self conscious making her a more relatable character. Derek I loved from the start he was very funny but again he had some things that he needed to deal with and I really felt for him. There was some other characters that I loved and never expected to like Derek's Grandmother she was hilarious. I also loved some of the other football players excluding a certain character.
Overall I loved this book and I would highly recommend it to any Simone Elkeles fan or someone who just wants to read a brilliant book.
