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The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes Series: The Art of Lainey #1
Published by HarperTeen
Pub Date: May 20th 2014
Pages: 376
Format: Paperback | Source: Purchased
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
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Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.
And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.
What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?
One of my favorite contemporaries from the past couple years is The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes (I’ve read it twice!), so in honor of Valentine’s Day this month, here are a few reasons why:
- It is very swoony and full of banter, and fake dating, and hate-to-love. Basically all of my favorite romantic tropes.
- I loved Lainey’s character arc, watching her transform from who she thought she should be to who she actually is. It was very well done.
- I loved the secondary characters, including Lainey’s spacey family, her friend Bianca, and Micah’s sister.
- MICAH. I. LOVED. MICAH. He was something else. He’s sarcastic but secretly sweet, he’s mysterious, he’s a baker (!!). And the sizzling chemistry he has with Lainey is undeniable.
- Time to board the ship!!! I marked a bazillion of my favorite Micah/Lainey moments, including my always favorite soccer scene.
- There is a minor character that reminds me of Chris Evans, always a plus.
Micah would most definitely not approve, but Does He Know by One Direction totally makes me think of this one particular scene between Micah and Lainey at a music show. It reminds me of Lainey coming out of her shell and how she lets Micah see that side of her, a side that she kept hidden from her ex Jason. So now whenever I hear it, I can’t help thinking of Lainey and Micah :)
Do you agree? Have you read The Art of Lainey? Let me know!
About Morgan @ Gone with the Words
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Morgan lives in the Bay Area with her husband and her beagle. When she's not snuggling or taking care of Andy, she is reading, watching Disney movies, or drinking tea. Sometimes all at once! Her twitter tends to be bookish by day, sporty by night, and active all. the. time. Her TBR pile is out of control, as I'm sure you can sympathize. She is a big fan of caps locks, OMGs, movies, Chris Hemsworth, and anything British. Tweet her!
Alexa S.
Morgan, the fact that you used a One Direction song in your song/book pairing makes me want to read The Art of Lainey, stat ;)
Morgan @ Gone with the Words
Mission accomplished! Haha!
Jessie
oh man this is SUCH a great contemporary read. I have read it twice, too — one for review and then one when I needed slumpbuster. You and I are such trope twins — cause the ones that you mention are also my faves (wooo I am sooo surprised lol) and make for such a great romance here.
Ummm clearly I need you to tweet me which character reminds you of our Cap. And I love that 1D is mentioned here. I def have a crush on the cute Irish one ssssh.
Morgan @ Gone with the Words
You have! I didn’t know that!! It’s just a happy making book for me, if it was a movie I’d watch it all the time. And I loooove that we are trope twins! Makes recs so much easier ;) And fun! Hahaha I love itttt I’m going to start spamming you with Niall pictures :D Okay as far as the Cap character, it’s towards the end! Isn’t he a soccer star or an actor or something? The one that Lainey is obsessed with and wants to meet. Caleb Waters I think. The author said she had Paul Walker in mind but my brain more often than not defaults to Cap ;)
Lauren @ Bookmark Lit
I skimmed this a little because I haven’t read the book yet, but before I got to the bottom to see who posted it I knew it was you from the 1D song ;) I really need to make this one a priority to read soon! I’m terrible about reading books I already own.
Morgan @ Gone with the Words
Hahah! That makes me laugh :D Oh I’m terrible about reading books I own too, I’m trying to be better.