Book Review: “Better Than Perfect (Wild Cards #1)” by Simone Elkeles

Title: Better Than Perfect (Wild Cards #1)

Author: Simone Elkeles

Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance

Release Date: August 4th, 2014

Published by: Bloomsbury Childrens

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I received this from Bloomsbury Childrens in exchange for an honest review. As always, my reviews are fair and non-bias.

Ashtyn’s life just got complicated. Her boyfriend is being distant and her sister’s back at home after ten years – with a stepson in tow!

Derek has a perfect body, THE sexiest smile and a car – Ashtyn’s only way to escape from her crazy life. But Derek likes to play by his own rules and is keen to take Ashtyn on a ride she’ll never forget. As they spend more and more time alone together, will Derek’s flirty games drive Ashtyn wild?

A sweet and steamy romance from New York Times bestselling author Simone Elkeles.

I was immediately intrigued when I stumbled upon Simone’s novels a little while ago because I had heard so many amazing things about her Perfect Chemistry series, so I jumped at the chance to read this! So ultimately I was going into Better Than Perfect searching for a new favourite Contemporary YA Author!

Ashtyn isn’t your typical girl and her life is far from perfect. She’s a football player for a start, and it’s really important to her that she is treated as equal and not because she’s a girl. Derek, on the other hand, is your typical bad boy. Expelled, he’s sent to live with his Father’s new Wife back in her hometown, walking right into Ashtyn’s life and shattering it into thousands of complex little pieces.

At first it seems like this is your usual bad boy meets good girl, but when Better Than Perfect gets going, it headed right into my favourite reads right away. Ashtyn and Derek’s connection is lively and they weave straight into each others lives, the game of back and forth glances and flirty conversations become more inevitable. Ashtyn is a very driven, hardworking girl and all she wants is to be noticed doing what she loves in football, maybe even to get a scholarship. But Derek isn’t driven for anything like Ashtyn is, and he knows her type just like she knows his. They’re not “supposed” to be meant for each other, but their fiery chemistry begs to differ. From the nicknames to the addictive, enchanting romance, Better Than Perfect played all it’s cards right for me. Simone’s writing style was charming and distinctive, and I can see how she is easily one of the best YA Contemporary authors out there.

Overall, Better Than Perfect couldn’t have been better – it was perfect. For fans of Katie McGarry, Simone’s novels are on my TBR list for sure now! I can’t wait to read more from her.

I think there were so many little moments that were my favourites, it would give away WAY to many spoilers if I even dared. But when you read them, they’ll become your favourites too, definitely.