Anything to Have You by Paige Harbison
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley for Blog Tour
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley for Blog Tour
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website
Nothing should come between best friends, not even boys. ESPECIALLY not boys.
Natalie and Brooke have had each other's backs forever. Natalie is the quiet one, college bound and happy to stay home and watch old movies. Brooke is the movie—the life of every party, the girl everyone wants to be.
Then it happens—one crazy night that Natalie can't remember and Brooke's boyfriend, Aiden, can't forget. Suddenly there's a question mark in Natalie and Brooke's friendship that tests everything they thought they knew about each other and has both girls discovering what true friendship really means.
Natalie and Brooke have had each other's backs forever. Natalie is the quiet one, college bound and happy to stay home and watch old movies. Brooke is the movie—the life of every party, the girl everyone wants to be.
Then it happens—one crazy night that Natalie can't remember and Brooke's boyfriend, Aiden, can't forget. Suddenly there's a question mark in Natalie and Brooke's friendship that tests everything they thought they knew about each other and has both girls discovering what true friendship really means.
Having read Paige Harbison's other book, New Girl, I knew I had to get my hands on Anything to Have You. So, I jumped at the opportunity to be on the blog tour and have the chance to finally read it. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, because there are so many negative reviews. I actually found myself really engaged by the story – even though I thought it was a bit too long – but I really thought that while this had the same bones of many contemporaries in YA, Harbison's latest novel had a spark. There was something different and something unique about this story... it's clearly not a fluffy read, but has some darker elements to it. It reminded me of Elizabeth Scott's The Unwritten Rule, but had a different twist of events at the end.
A lot of the negative reviews had problems with the characters, and I could kinda see why. I liked Natalie because I could relate to her. I would honestly rather stay home and watch movies than go out. Sometimes I wish that she had more of a spine, but otherwise, I did love her character because I could see where she's coming from and it was easier to empathize with her in contrast to Brooke. Brooke just straight out annoyed me. Throughout Natalie's narrative she annoyed me, but it was only when the perspective shifted I could kinda see why she acts the way she does. Nonetheless, I still disliked her immensely until the end of the book. Aiden was probably the only character I whole-heartedly LOVED. His character is an absolute sweetheart, all around good guy and wants to do the right thing.
I wasn't expecting a switch in perspectives because I thought the story would be completely from Natalie's side, but I liked how we got to see both sides of the story, and it really gave more depth to the story. While I did like how the perspectives go over the same events giving us the story from both sides, at times I felt that Brooke's side was more of a recaps, because it rushed through the parts that Natalie's story already covered, and I feel that this is what contributed to my lack of empathy for her character.
There's a big twist at the end that I definitely did not see coming. It isn't what you'd expect actually– from the blurb, it's pretty obvious that one thing is going to happen, but there's another HUGE something that happens. It was quite a jolt, a punch to the stomach that had me going, "WHAT?", but I feel that's what made the story a lot more interesting.
The end was great, but what I really loved (surprisingly), was the end of Brooke's story. Something from the beginning comes back at the end and had me smiling with realization. Completely cliché, but in the best way!
Paige Harbison's take on contemporaries is unique in style and captivating in narrative. Anything to Have You was engaging, capturing the ups and downs of friendship and love in a voice that teens will find riveting and one that they can relate to. Paige Harbison's third novel has me excited for what will hopefully be many more to come.
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Paige Harbison recently graduated from Towson University with a Bacehlor of Science in Fine Arts. She grew up on the outskirts of Washington D.C.. She spends most of her time with friends – who give her constant inspiration for characters – and calls it research. The rest of her time is spent writing, painting, and following all of the worst TV shows.
Website ● Goodreads ● Twitter ● Facebook ● Pinterest
Website ● Goodreads ● Twitter ● Facebook ● Pinterest
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It's giveaway time!
Enter in below for your chance to win...
One of 5 print copies of Anything to Have You
(US/CAN only)
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