The Filipina Booknote

Originally posted at The Filipina Booknote


This book has been screaming cliché just from reading the blurb. You know, the usual good girl with a tragic past reforms a very very bad guy with a flirt reputation and gets him to fall in love with her? This was exactly what the book was. Or so I thought. I had to eat everything I said about getting annoyed. :p



Olivia Grace Beaumont is not just an innocent, geek, astronomy loving girl. She had a very tragic past she wants to bury and just treat it like it never happened, although that can’t be possible. After highschool, she decided to attend Winston College, a school three hours away from her home, thinking college would be her fresh start away from Jasper, her hometown. But after literally bumping to this hot cocky Brax Jenkins and a first kiss, Liv’s college life started to steer away from what were supposed to be her quiet new life. What started as a cute banter and exchange of friendly texts, evolve into a relationship neither one of them expected. But secrets and dark pasts haunts them and unless both of them bare their secrets and begin to trust each other, their relationship is going nowhere but down.

At the beginning I though the story would be one big cliché that would leave me disappointed. Yes, I know that the blurb was screaming that but what made me try this one was the cover. Although it was titled “Stupid Girl”, I was thinking maybe this was another case of having a wrong title and improper blurb. Honestly, Liv irritated me at the beginning. She was supposed to be this guarded, vigilant, and careful girl because of her past and I was expecting her to be more careful with whom to trust or be with. But just because of Brax’ kiss that “jolted” her, she became drawn to him. Okay, okay, I know that this exact scene was very crucial because it was how they met, but it won’t hurt if it took a lot more effort on Brax’ part to gain Liv’s trust right? Anyways, after this irritating part, I started liking the story AND the characters.



Maybe it was the geek part in me that has made Liv’s love for astronomy charmed me. She is a strong female character for me, but not in the sense where she can fight and flip douches. She was strong enough to suck everything up from her past and live the life she really wants, or dreams. On the other hand, I see Brax as not really the typical bad boy you often meet in NA books. Although he has a mysterious side, everything said about him or rumored about him was true, and he admits it. He has lived a life of “usuals”, and that was what made him drawn to Liv, or to him Gracie.(You have to read the book if you want to know all about Gracie!Smile with tongue out) By mid section of the book, I already considered Brax book boyfriend material, but I never thought he would mess my list of top book BFs. Just when I thought he never exerted enough effort for Liv was the moment he became every emotionally fragile girl's dream guy. He rarely uses words that would charm Liv, but whenever he said those it was always sincere and it touches your heart. Every girl knows how lovely it feels everytime a man calls you beautiful while staring at you, and Brax never failed in this.



I never thought I would like these two at all. Liv was a bit stupid at decision making and Brax was a bit of a jerk at start, but slowly their simple conversation started to make me smile. I caught myself thinking that in reality guys really have this way of acting like a jerk just to get a girl’s attention, and girls have this need to trust their instincts whenever they meet someone they feel attracted and interested. Just like the way Brax gets fascinated by Liv, and how Liv can’t help but be with him. They were really attracted to each other when they met and it was really clever that Cindy Miles had her way to make readers see that their case wasn’t instant love. Seeing both of them level up their relationship and grow was beautiful. The way they tamed and comforted each other was making my heart skip a beat, and their love was just like the stars, it has always been there even if you don’t see it. In addition, Liv’s family is so adorable and you get that feeling of familiarity with them because they portrayed a realistic way of how families really are. Brothers protecting their sister, and sweet grandparents who always seemed to know what to say whenever problems and heartaches arise.



Obviously, I fell in love with their story. Their love was so contagious, I can feel it even after closing the book. Theirs was a beautiful love story, and contemporary romance junkies like me should definitely give this a try. Just get past the irritating-Liv-pages and I am sure you’ll love this book just like how I did.
"I'd made the right choice all right. And sometimes, what seemed like the stupid choices turned out to be the only choices."