I glanced through other reviews before/after reading this book. For people who did not enjoy it, I can see some of their points, but for me, it was an enjoyable and entertaining read. I thought the premise was very interesting and I wasn't sure where the story was going to go.

As a reader of romance novels, comparetively, this didn't seem over the top :) I felt the pull of the love triange (or square) more than in traditional story lines. As for the age differences, I think in my mind I just imagined the characters a little closer in age than what was stated. I do agree that being aimed at adults, Mel probably should have been a little older (I often equate reading age with the age of the protagonist). That being said, I think this is actually fine for the same target audience as the Twilight series (I did enjoy this MORE than I did the Twilight series).

Not to really COMPARE this to the classic Pride and Prejudice (which is one of my all time favorites), but I did think that this really did showcase the prejudices people make (first impressions, sterotypes) and how they can be wrong, and be overcome. Feelings toward almost every character shifted between like/dislike throughout the book. Black/white, good/bad ... it was "shades of gray" (no, haven't read that book yet).

I still struggle with this rating sytem ... I don't care for the 5 star snippet "it was AMAZING" ... it was more along the lines of the 4 star "I really liked it" ... but I wanted to place it a step above other recent and rated books comparitively. I think this story line will stay in my head for a while :)

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