Vegan Virgin Valentine Book

I have a very odd, complicated, and mixed relationship with this book. I thought some things were dead on, and others not so much.

Mara is on the fast track. She is in tons of activities in school, she takes college classes, works and basically an all around shining star. She feels like she has everything under control until she finds out maybe she doesn't want the things she thought she wanted. To make things a little more interesting we see V come into the picture. V is her niece that's only about a year younger than Mara, and the polar opposite of her. Things get kind of sticky when Mara hears that V was making out with her ex-boyfriend. Said ex-boyfriend is also the one she has to beat to get title of Valedictorian. Here we see it start to unravel...

The thing that really hit home for me was the feeling of having to live up to what you think others want. Mara has this deeply embedded in her and along the way she finds out what she really wants to do. I know this is going to sound strange but I was so glad that she and her niece didn't go to the prom because they knew they didn't have to go just to prove something. The aspect of the story I most appreciated was the dynamic between Mara and V. They are so different but they learn a lot from each other despite of that. The book breaks the boundaries of what people think is successful which isn't always the right definition and how doing everything fast doesn't necessarily mean better.

What really didn't set well with me was how Mara went about with her new relationship (can't say who!). She really is secretive about it and I get why, but when she reveals what has been happening I felt that the people around here didn't really seem to have a big reaction. Going behind people's back is a pretty big deal and I expected a bigger fallout. Then there is the thing that the guy she is with seems a little to well-spoken, but that might be just me. He is sweet and really is good for Mara. There is also this one part of the book I think is suppose to be pretty romantic but it felt a little forced to me.

This is a really engaging book and I stayed up late to find out what happened. It's getting a 3.5 star rating from me (yes I'm one of the fans of the half star:D) and I'm sure there are people who will love it more than I did. Oh I have to mention that don't let the cover title mislead you, this isn't light and fluffy. The story has a good amount of depth and reminds you to smell the roses sometimes.