The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

Title: The Heartbreakers

Author: Ali Novak

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

“When I met Oliver Perry, I had no clue he was the lead singer for The Heartbreakers. Unbeknownst to him, I was the only girl in the world who hated his music.”

Stella will do anything for her sister—even stand in line for an autographed Heartbreakers CD…for three hours. At least she met a cute boy at the Starbucks beforehand. A blue-eyed boy who looks an awful lot like…

Oliver Perry. Of course Starbucks guy is the lead singer for her least favorite band. Thanks, universe. But there may be more to Oliver than his world-famous charm, because even after she insults his music—to his face—he still gives her his number. Seriously, what is her life?

But how can Stella even think about being with Oliver—dating and laughing and pulling pranks with the band—when her sister could be dying of cancer?

Light and fun contemporaries make for the best summer reads. They provide the perfect escape for a few hours and I’m always on the look out for more. With Ali Novak’s The Heartbreakers, that’s exactly what I got.

Stella Samuel is the last person who would ever go to a signing for The Heartbreakers, the hottest boy band around. But for her sister, Stella is ready to do anything, even wait in line for hours just to get a CD signed. The one upside to a day spent in boy band hell is the cute guy she met at Starbucks that morning, even though the chances of seeing him again are pretty slim. But when she finally gets to the front of the signing line, Stella is shocked to see that the boy from that morning is none other than Oliver Perry, front man of The Heartbreakers.  Before she knows what’s happening, Stella is hanging out with Oliver and the rest of the band. And at the end of the night, he gives her his number. But as much as Stella would like to think about being with Oliver, she can’t help but think that she should be spending time with her sister instead, because who knows how much time she has left with her?

Last year, I read Ali Novak’s debut My Life With the Walter Boys and really enjoyed the story. It was light, it was fun and it sucked me in. When I heard about her sophomore novel, The Heartbreakers, I knew right away that I wanted to read it. Not only was it from an author who’s previous work I had enjoyed, but it was also about a girl and a boy band and I would have been sold on the book for that reason alone. And The Heartbreakers was just as fun as I had hoped it would be. And it was also just adorable as I expected it to be. And it was addicting. When I was reading, I couldn’t put the book down. I was drawn into the story, wanting to see what would happen with Stella and Oliver, what the deal was with the Heartbreakers and what would happen to Stella’s sister. But as fun and adorable as the story was, it was also surprisingly emotional. The Heartbreakers was about more than just Stella falling in love with Oliver, who happened to be in a boy band. It was also about a family affected by cancer, about the fear of losing someone you care about, the fear of missing out on opportunities, and it was about finding yourself and your place in the world. So all that to say that in many respects, The Heartbreakers took me by surprise by how much it played with my emotions. But all in a very good way.

I loved reading this story from Stella’s perspectives because there was so much more to her than I thought there was going to be. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect her to be a flat character, but I didn’t necessarily expect her to be as layered as she was. Stella was someone who cared deeply about her family, who was passionate about what she believed in, and who wasn’t afraid to share her opinion. And it made for some hilarious moments, especially when she first meets all of the Heartbreakers and insults them. And caring about her family made for some rally touching moments between her and her siblings. Because I absolutely loved the sibling relationship in this story. There were plenty of touching moments between Stella, Cara and Drew, and I would have been happy to read an entire book about the dynamics between the triplets. And then there were the Heartbreakers. And they were hilarious. I was pretty much laughing anytime they were all together doing something ridiculous. Of course most of the focus was on Oliver and much like Stella, it didn’t take long at all for me to be charmed by him. But I still loved reading about the other boys in the band. They were all so charming in their own way and I’m seriously hoping I get to read more stories about these boys.

Ali Novak’s The Heartbreakers was an undeniably fun read. It completely sucked me in and I enjoyed every moment of this story. But don’t let the yourself be fooled by how adorable the story sounds, it also packs a bit of an emotional punch. 

My Life With the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

Title: My Life With the Walter Boys

Author: Ali Novak

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: March 1, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Jackie Howard does not like surprises. Chaos is the enemy! The best way to get her successful, busy parents to notice her is to be perfect. The perfect look, the perfect grades--the perfect daughter. And then…

Surprise #1

Jackie's family dies in a freak car accident.

Surprise #2

Jackie has to move cross-country to live with the Walters--her new guardians.

Surprise #3

The Walters have twelve sons.

(Well, eleven, but Parker acts like a boy anyway)

Jackie is now surrounded by the enemy. Loud, dirty, annoying boys--who have no concept of personal space. Okay, several of the oldest guys are flat-out gorgeous. But still annoying. She's not stuck-up or boring--no matter what they say. But proving it is another matter. How can she fit in and move on when she needs to keep her parents' memory alive by living up to the promise of perfect?

I'm always on the hunt for a good, light and fun contemporary story. When I first read the description for Ali Novak's My Life With the Walter Boys, it sounded like just that. I got sucked into this story right from the start. My only wish is that the story wouldn't have ended because I was just that into it.

Jackie Howard never thought she would have to leave the comfort of New York City. But when her family dies in a freak car accident, she finds herself moving to Colorado to live one of her mom's childhood friend's family. Life with the Walters is nothing like Jackie thought it would be. For starters, she never thought she would be sharing a house with eleven boys. Sure, they might all be gorgeous, but that doesn't mean they aren't annoying, loud, messy and have no concept of personal space. But living with the Walters, Jackie starts to realize that it is possible for her to continue living her life, even while grieving her family's death. But navigating life with the Walters is more complicated than she could have ever thought.

I love contemporary stories that allow me to just get lost in a story and enjoy every moment of it. That's exactly what Ali Novak's My Life With the Walter Boys did for me. Right from the start, I found myself getting sucked in to the this story. I loved the idea of reading a story about a girl living in a house with 11 boys. I have one brother and that sometimes got intense so I can only imagine what it would have been like to live with 11 boys. But beyond just the measured chaos this brought to the story, My Life With the Walter Boys was just a fun story. Sure it has its sad moments, especially when Jackie has to deal with her grief, but more often than not, Ali Novak's story put a smile on my face, that's if it wasn't making me full on laugh. There were just so many humorous situations in this story, which is to be expected when you're dealing with 11 boys ages 21 to 5 crammed in one house. And that's really what made me love this story so much. Even though there were so many of them, each one of the characters was memorable and I loved reading their stories. My only concern is where the story ended. I loved the ending, but as soon as I flipped over the last page, I started wishing and hoping for a sequel. Because I need one. Badly.

I loved reading this story form Jackie's point of view. Jackie was someone who had never really interacted with boys before the start of this story. Often, this meant she had no idea how to navigate a lot of the situations she found herself in. And I loved her awkwardness around some of the boys, especially with a certain Walter boy. More generally though, I loved how she had completely different relationships with each one of the boys. As much as I loved seeing her intact with Nathan and Danny, the majority of the story focused on her interacting with Cole and Alex. I have to admit that this love triangle of sorts made parts of the story a little awkward. But even with the awkwardness, I loved reading about Alex and Cole. The two brothers couldn't have been more different and each one brought something to the table. Alex was more subdued, and if I'm being honest, he's probably the type of person I would gravitate to in real life. But there was just something about Cole that drew me in. I feel like I never really got to the bottom of who he really was. I can only hope that any sequel would revolve around him. I would read that in a heartbeat.

I really loved reading Ali Novak's My Life With the Walter Boys. This is the kind of fun and light-hearted story that makes me love contemporary so much. If you are looking for a fun story that will allow you to escape your own life for a few hours, then My Life With the Walter Boys is the book for you.