The Bookworm Crush By Lisa Brown Roberts
“‘Tell me more about your planet.
She blinked. “My planet?”
“Where the book people live.'”
(pg. 90)
About
Author: Lisa Brown Roberts
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Click to buy The Replacement Crush (The companion novel that come’s first)
Click to read other book reviews
Other Lisa Brown Roberts Book Reviews
Synopsis
Shy bookworm Amy McIntyre is about to compete for the chance to interview her favorite author, who hasn’t spoken to the press in years. The only way to win is to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight, but that level of confidence has never come easy.
The solution? A competition coach. The problem? The best person for the job is the guy she’s secretly crushing on…local surfer celebrity Toff Nichols.
He’s a player. He’s a heartthrob. He makes her forget basic things, like how to breathe. How can she feel any confidence around him?
To her surprise, Toff agrees to help. And he’s an excellent teacher. Amy feels braver—maybe even brave enough to admit her feelings for him. When their late night practices become less about coaching and more about making out, Amy’s newfound confidence wavers.
But does Toff really like her or is this just another lesson?
Review
Spoilers Contained Below
To the RedHead Recs,
Picture this: A girl walking down the Barnes and Nobles aisles, a pile of books already in her hand because, DUH, of course she would grab every book she passed by! Then she turned down the contemporary aisle, you know, her favorite aisle, just looking at all the titles and thinking, “How I wish I had the money to buy all of these books?” Then she stopped in her tracks. In front of her line of sight is a book with a white cover. A girl with fiery red hair in a yellow dress is on a ladder reaching for a shelf of books. Looks like me on a good day (minus the red hair). Then she sees the font coloring: pink. Then she thinks to herself, why does this cover look so familiar, but also new. A lightbulb went off in this girl’s mind. This girl was me.
Because apparently, there’s a sequel to the Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts!!!! That’s why the cover looked so familiar to me! It had the same white background with the girl on the cover and the same pink font. But this book cover seemed more vibrant than the other one, which good for Lisa Brown Roberts that she got an upgrade 👏🏼. I’m not saying the Replacement Crush cover wasn’t nice, just not as bright.
Anyway, obviously I grabbed it and bought it and read it or we wouldn’t be here discussing it 😆
To me this book was probably the most relatable book any bibliophile could read and it was also equally hilarious. It’s been a long time since I sat down with a book and had a good laugh or just wanted to throw the book at the wall because of how dumb certain characters were being at certain points—-I’ll get into that more later. But I think this book really was a beautiful continuation of the series where we get to see more of Amy and Toff. Naturally, Toff was my favorite side character in the first book because of his charisma, so it was nice to revisit him and to see this story play out.
With the first book, we see Toff as this charismatic, charmer whom everyone loves. And in this book it’s kind of no different. Everyone, literally everyone falls for Toff in some way or gives him special treatment because of his Thor like looks and his surfing status. I mean, even the cop gave me multiple warnings when some cops wouldn’t have been as lenient to that. But it’s Toff we’re talking about here. There was also this one girl that I can’t forget who gave Toff a free drink at the coffee shop when Toff was meeting with Amy and then Amy went to the bathroom. That girl said to Toff something along the lines of, “Why are you there with her?” or something so disgustingly negative that it almost sounded like pity. I really didn’t like that girl and Toff felt angry at her too because who was she to hit on him and tell him she was sorry that he was there with Amy. The point being, though, was that she gave him a free drink and that’s the kind of treatment Toff got all the time because of his looks. There’s this interesting idea that Lisa Brown Roberts brought up though in how she said Toff felt objectified as a man, and when you think about it, as a society we only think we objectify women because generally that’s the most common form we’re aware of. But we also objectify men sometimes in the way that when we see an attractive man, we think that we can just go up to him and flirt, ask for something, and expect something in return. Toff could be egotistical about it sometimes, but I also liked how he knew it was wrong that people gave him special treatment and that he didn’t like that feeling of being eye candy to people. If you were Toff and people always gave you those looks and those stares, it can be uncomfortable and sometimes feel like harassment? I know at one point if I were him, it would start to feel like that for me. So I think we just need to be more aware of how we objectify the sexes and what is uncomfortable.
Something I really liked about this book was the storyline of Toff. Yea, sure, he’s a cool dude, but he’s also a lost, broken boy who needs love and healing and it was so interesting to see that other side to him. I loved how we had those dark moments when Toff would have flashbacks or when he would lash out in stubborn anger because those were his vulnerable moments and for him to feel that is natural given all that he’s been through. At a young age, Toff’s mother passed away and he couldn’t remember much of her, but what he did remember was all meaningful moments. Like anyone in his position would feel, he wished he could have had more time to spend with his mom. After she passed away, Toff and his dad fell into this sadness, where life was hard and I can only imagine how painful it was for both of them. They both found healing with time, but what helped the dad through it was Rose, Viv’s mom. In this book, Viv and Toff’s dad tie the knot and finally tell Viv and Toff that they’re getting married and for Toff it’s a bittersweet announcement because he’s happy for his dad and Rose, but he also felt like his dad was finally moving on. I also got the sense that Toff didn’t want a new mother because he loves his birth mom and Rose marrying his dad probably felt like he’s trying to replace his mom and that doesn’t sit well with him and it becomes this point of contention in his life where all the old feelings arise again. I get where Toff is coming from because it’s not easy to move on from a passing of anyone, let alone a family member, and when a person moves on—–as to get married to that person—- it can feel like that person is replacing the person who passed away and that can feel very uncouth. But I think that Rose and the dad are such a good match and if they make each other happy, then I think that there’s nothing wrong with that because they aren’t doing it in a way to disrespect or not pay homage to the mom, but in a way that came from just genuinely falling in love again and living. And they deserve that.
Whenever the wedding was brought up, Toff got really uncomfortable and shut down because I think part of him thinks that if he can ignore it, then it’s not real. He started to push Viv away too and I could really see how that was hurting their brotherly-sisterly relationship. Viv was beyond excited for her mom to marry Toff’s dad (I’m sorry, does have a name that I didn’t pick up on? 😂) and she thought Toff was just as excited as her, but he’s not. So when Viv texted him or asked him about it, he ignored her and it’s hard because they were very close and by him pushing her away, it made it hard for her to understand how he felt. I think if Toff would have talked to her about it, she would have understood.
Another person that Toff was kind of distant from was also his dad. Before saying he was going to marry Rose, their relationship was strong and they would tell each other everything. His dad was always adamant that Toff go to college and not to go pro right away, which is an argument they always had. They seemed to butt head on a lot of things in this book, especially when Toff got hurt and he couldn’t surf. He was stubborn and was like, “No, I’m going to be right back on it,” but the dad told him to heal and all those things. The dad was MAD when Toff got hurt because as a parent that’s scary to get a call saying your son got hurt as badly as Toff did when Toff never usually got hurt in that way. I don’t think the dad was so much as mad at Toff, but mad at the situation because he was scared, but that fear translated as anger to Toff because you can’t be mad at a person for getting hurt unintentionally. But one of the most beautiful moments in the book was when the dad and Toff really had a heart to heart about the marriage. They were able to talk about howToff felt and why it was hard for him and the dad was also able to open up and share his side of how he would always love the mom and him getting married wasn’t his way of replacing her, but to love and live in her memory. There was also the moment Toff asked him “How do you know what love is?” I mean, what vulnerable a cute question because our baby, Toff was in love and he wanted to know whether or not what he felt truly was love 😅. It was so cute how the dad talked about the mom and how they were both able to remember the good moments about her again. There’s also something so beautiful when they hug because they have both come so far as father and son and to see them have such a strong relationship after all that they’ve been through is so so beautiful.
There were also moments though where Toff would have flashbacks and those were probably the darkest times for Toff. The beginning of the book started with Toff learning about the marriage and him in a dark alley, really absorbing everything because he needed that space to understand the situation. Then there was the moment when he was out in the ocean surfing and got distracted by a memory that he crashed and caused his ribs to be badly hurt. During one of his dates with Amy, they were at the carnival and they were at this coin machine that pressed images into the coin, and can I just take a moment to say how TRIGGERED I was by that!! Not in a bad way, but in a good way! As a kid, I remember I would also get those imprinted coins at Disneyland or the waterpark and it would be so fun to see what image would come out. I can’t say they have those around now anymore, or I don’t think they do, but I forgot those things existed until reading it here and it brought back so many good memories. For Toff, it brought back so many fond memories too where he and his mom would spend hours at this machine and the more would give him a lot of coins because she knew that those imprinted ones made Toff happy. Another moment I was in complete tears for though was when Toff went to the engagement party towards the end and he brought two coins that he kept under his bed. Then he gave Rose a bunch of flowers where the color of the rose symbolized such a sweet sentiment. But that’s not what made me ball my eyes out like a baby! It was when Toff gave Rose one coin and he kept the other and was like:
“He handed the bouquet of peach and cream roses to Rose. The florist had told him peach symbolized appreciation and gratitude, and crew was for charm and thoughtfulness. All of those fit Rose. . . .
Toff handed her one of the stamped carousel pennies. His dad leaned in, putting a hand to his heart when he saw what Toff held. Dad looked up, holding Toff’s gaze, his eyes filling with tears . . . Rose didn’t move, her eyes wide flicking between Toff and his dad
“My . . . my mom and I made these together at the pier before she died . . . I thought if I hid these, she’d . . . she’d get better. . . . You’ve always been there for me, Rose. For so long, you’ve been like a mom. I didn’t realize . . .”
(pg. 308)
I mean, how can you not cry at that!!!! 😭
It was sooooo heart touching because he was so hesitant to move on and fully let Rose into his life, but him doing that represented how he was ready for this new chapter that included her; It showed that he was willing to try and a way to show Rose that she was welcome into his life. Rose knew how hard it was for Toff because Rose is a kind, caring person where she knew Toff was hurting in a lot of ways, but she also always saw the absolute good in him. This whole scene reminded me a lot of Home Alone 2 where Kevin gets the turtle doves from the toy store and he gives one to the pigeon lady and he keeps one so they are always connected. It was soooo sweet.
I also feel like part of that healing process to get to where he was now with moving on was Amy.
Amy, we didn’t even mention her yet, but she’s me in a nutshell 🤪.
In the first book, we didn’t get to know much of Amy except that she’s a good friend. She’s still a good friend, but she’s very timid and lacks confidence because she’s this good girl image of being academic, loving books, and being the good older sister. The book opened up with her kniffiti (knitting graffiti) bombing a bench, which I would very much like to see this so-called bench and her running from the cops whom she thinks is chasing her because of her kniffiti. She falls down in an alley and Toff’s there and helps her through the situation. The cops do find them, but they have to do this whole ploy with her acting as the fake girlfriend and like they were just sneaking out to “make-out.” I WAS LAUGHING.
Amy was soooooooo uncomfortable with the situation because she’s not a good liar and Toff kept touching her. Did I forget to mention, Amy already had a huge crush on Toff and always imagined him as her boyfriend and all those things we girls do? 😅. So for Toff to touch her and fake being her boyfriend for the cops, amped up the awkwardness in making her feel like it was all too real or wanting it to be real. Girl, I can relate. That had to suck though, because she liked him a lot and he didn’t even know it and here Toff was acting like it wasn’t a big deal to him when to her it meant the world.
So why was Amy bombing a bench with knitting?
Because she was entering a book competition to interview her favorite author Lucinda. And bibliophiles will do anything to win.
This competition involves three parts: art, favorite OTP, and getting a non- reader to read a romance book. In all these tasks, Amy has to post about them so the publishing company, Heartracers, sees it so it generates interest so she is more likely to win. But like a lot of antisocial bibliophiles, we aren’t the most social, DUH, we’re reading 🤪. So her posts don’t get the most likes or interest compared to others, but Amy really wants to win.
You know who is a winner?
Who has multiple surfing trophies and girls lined up at his doorway?
Toff. Her crush.
Because, of course.
So Amy enlisted Toff as her “swagger” coach to win the competition. Toff agreed to it after their whole Bonnie and Clyde escape. Once Toff makes a promise, he never backs out of it.
But let’s talk about the root of why I think Amy felt the need to have a “swagger” coach. I mean, who even uses the word swagger anymore? Not to judge you if you do, just a genuine curiosity. I feel like Amy didn’t need “swagger,” as so much confidence. From the beginning you can tell she is like most bibliophiles in being quiet, behind-the-scenes-, and timid and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being all those things because I am too. But I think people don’t give credit to us bibliophiles as often as we should because we also all have a spunky side to us that no one sees behind our books. Here’s my theory: bibliophiles are the most intuitive and funny people you will meet. 1) We read sooooooo many books that we are more understanding of situations because we’ve read about different perceptions/walks of life 2) Mostly every character or every book has someone who is funny and sarcastic, so we have a smart mouth to know how to talk back to people 3) We have high expectations of people because we know fictional people who se the standard. And I think the right person will all come along one day and bring that spunk out of us, and for Amy that person was Toff.
He really unburied the spunk in Amy and it was such a fun, transformative journey to see Amy become confident in her own skin and to stand up for herself. I loved the moments when she would talk back to Toff and assert herself because, yes, girl you DO THAT! 👏🏼 I also liked when she stood up for Toff when they were at that restaurant and this enemy surfer dude to Toff came up to him and talked him down, but Amy clapped back. I mean you go sis! I was just loving it because there were so many moments where Amy was a bit quiet and reserved, but there were moments where she wasn’t. It’s just highly relatable in knowing how I’m the same in that we have both parts in us: quiet and proud.
One of the funniest parts that I absolutely was LAUGHING my head off for was when they were first talking about the whole book world 😂. Since I’m in the “book world” or planet as Toff would say, I know everything Amy was talking about and I could feel Toff’s confusion because I’ve been an Amy trying to talk to a Toff before. And it’s hard because when you’re in this book world, you know the in’s and the out’s, the terminology, that it’s natural. So when other people don’t seem to know it, it’s kind of like, how do you not know it kind of thing? But it’s people like Toff who really brings me back down to earth. It was funny when Amy was trying to explain what an OTP was to him 😂. Or the part when he asked:
“You have more than one copy of the book?”
“You have more than one surfboard.”
(pg. 92)
This is along the lines of what I’m going to say to someone when they ask me the same question 😂. Do you have multiple copies of a book?
The part that really brought the steam was the book face part. When Amy was explaining the book world to Toff, she mentioned bookstagram and I as a sucker because I HAVE A BOOKSTAGRAM! And gosh only knows, I’ve tried to do a book face photo before 😆. Anyway Toff was like, “So this is what book nerds do in their free time.” I mean, he’s not wrong. Or how he looked at the book posts weirdly because he wondered why people liked taking pictures of books, let alone the whole book face thing where there’s a face on the cover, and people take a picture of themselves usually as the other half of that face. Toff was soooooo out of his element and very judgmental in a funny way. It’s funny because I get it. I used to be so uncomfortable with posting book photos because I felt people were judging me for it, “Like who’s that girl taking photos of books?” and it’s hard because none of my friends knew it or understood why I would do that. But I realized at the end of the day, it’s not their social media, it’s yours and if you want to post about books, the ocean, food, fitness, or makeup then you post what you want. Because if that’s what makes you happy, then that’s all that matters. Sure, I might not have the same interest as another person, but I won’t judge them for what they post. So I post what I want and if it’s a picture of a book, so be it. And I liked how Toff wasn’t judgmental in that way, but just curious as to this book “planet.”
After being eased into the book world, Toff had the idea of doing a book face photoshoot with Amy for her OTP post. So she brought a lot of books, and asked Dallas to take the photos. I liked how Dallas purposely brought that cover with the two characters who look exactly like Amy and Toff on it. Gotta love Dallas! There was one moment where Amy and Toff almost kissed when they had that book next to them. Super cute! Dallas was in the background, snapping photos of how lovey dovey they looked. Could make a good book cover if you asked me. I also really liked how Amy posted those lovey dovey photos, because readers do chew that up because we read about all this fictional love with a good girl and the jock, so it’s encouraging when we see it in real life 😂. I mean #Bonnieandclydeforever.
They were soo cute. But during the bookface photoshoot, Toff was starting to develop feelings for Amy, while Amy was just trying to keep her cool because she didn’t know Toff liked her in that way at that point, so she didn’t know if that was real to her. And part of what I felt going into this whole Bonnie and Clyde relationship at first was that Amy was more infatuated with Toff. He was good looking, so Amy would naturally like him and she has for a while, so that’s why I just thought Amy had so much admiration for him that I couldn’t see it as being more than just another crush.
Another favorite moment besides the book face photoshoot, was the vlog interview where she questioned Toff about what he thought of a book. This was the third part of the challenge and, of course, Toff was going to be her reluctant reader because if it was anyone else, that wouldn’t make much sense in the scheme of the whole book. Toff did NOT hold back on his flirting or his charm or trying to push Amy’s buttons. During the interview, Amy kept saying how they weren’t together and she even told Toff to not lead the fans of #Bonnieandclyde on, but he did it anyway by teasing her with sexual jokes and kissing innuendoes. Gosh, if I were Amy, I would be utterly embarrassed because some of those things did and didn’t happen. But you can’t deny the chemistry between them. Toff really knows how to work the camera and hold interest and if I were watching them, I would have been shipping them hard because I love love 💞. What was funnier was how Dallas, Rose, and Viv were also there while she was interviewing Toff and their laughter made me laugh. When they say laughter is infectious, they meant it 😂.
I also liked the way that Toff helped Amy open up and be confident. One of the ways was when he tricked her into doing karaoke, which was another fun scene. Amy was angry and anxious when she realized that that was what Toff was making her do, but I think Amy genuinely had a good time. If you can sing in public, then you can definitely do other things too. I also enjoyed the moments when Toff and Amy were first talking and they watched Pride and Prejudice online together or how she told him all about Mr. Darcy and her favorite OTP. When this scene happened, there was every part of me that was like, I KNOW!
What did I know?
I knew that since this was a young adult contemporary, Toff and Amy would fall in love, someone would screw it up (Toff), and then Toff would have to win her back. And when Amy and Toff were talking about how Mr. Darcy won Elizabeth back, I KNEW that if Toff were to win back Amy, he would have to pull a Mr. Darcy. I bet you $1000000000 (not really), but that’s how confident I was that that’s what was going to happen.
Just you wait! 😁
But what really sold me as it being love was how Toff opened up to Amy. I think it takes a lot for a person to open up and be vulnerable and if a person can do that with you, then you’re lucky and special to that person. Toff opening up to Amy, meant Amy was special to him. He told her about how he thought often about his mom, the perfume he smelled after his mom passed away, and he even took her to that special spot where they laid in a hammock underneath the stars. That was such a cute scene because they were there and having a deep conversation—-something you don’t do with just anybody. And I liked how Amy never pushed Toff to say anything he wasn’t ready for and how she listened because I feel like half the battle is just wanting someone to be there and to listen. So Amy doing that meant a lot even if she didn’t say much.
It wouldn’t be a teenage book if there wasn’t some promiscuous, “fun time.” It was a very personal scene though because Toff was very gentle with her and you could tell her cared about it. There’s a part of me that felt like they rushed into it because they were feeling all that they were, and these things are usually done in the heat of the moment, so that’s okay.
OHHHHH, BUT WHAT MADE ME M-A-D?
When Toff ghosted her!!!!! 😤
If I was Dallas, I would have whooped his butt. Or VIV! I couldn’t stand Toff!!! What a clichéd boy thing to do. Have “fun” with a girl then ghost her!!! Like that’s exactly what you would expect from Toff and Amy was devastated and confused because she was like what happened?
Amy it’s nothing wrong with you, boys are prone idiots sometimes.
Toff didn’t talk to her because he was lost and confused in his feelings as well and needed space to think. Boy, you could have called her at least, and asked her if she was okay? Don’t ignore her because that seems like a hit and run kind of situation.
I would have Dallas whooped him! 🤪
Gosh!
And there was this whole reference to the penguins too that I think Amy picked up on. Toff is notorious for loving penguins and it’s a cute fetish, but he once said how male penguins have fun once a year and then bounce. That’s what he did with Amy. YOU DUMMMY! 😩
Even Dallas knew what an idiot he was being.
Then they talked through it and went on this date because they wanted to try and be something more. Toff was so excited because he got her a gift and everything and it was really cute to see him wandering around in the store, not knowing what to get her. Then it hit him and he bought her glittery barrettes and a charm with a Volkswagen van and a flower on it. By the way, they had “fun” in a Volkswagen van, so it’s a good reminder for her to have that to not forget 😂.
At this dinner though, there was something that didn’t click for me as to why they had a big blowout argument. I know part of it had to do with that enemy surfer dude I mentioned earlier, so maybe Toff was being tense because of that.
But if he couldn’t get any DUMBER, he just did.
They were talking about what they really were and if it was real and then Toff said, again if I wasn’t clear, THE DUMBEST thing a boy could ever say.
“‘Please tell me what’s going on with you. Why did you shut down tonight. . . . And why you shut me out before the party.”
“Gosh, Amy . . . I don’t want to talk. I just want to . . .” He sighed, closing his eyes. “Can’t we just be with each other?”
“What do you mean, ‘be with each other’? . . . Do you mean. . . sex?”
“Yeah.” He rose up on his elbows, his gaze roving over her. “Let’s just. . . you know. . . dinner sucked, but at least we can end the night with a bang.”
(pg. 333)
A bang.
A bBaNg?
A BANG!
I know what I can bang upside your stupid head.
Idiot 🤦🏻♀️.
Like first you wanted to have this nice evening with her and give her a gift, and then you shut down and then you tell her you just want sex and to “end with a bang?” I know f-boys who are nicer than that. If I was Dallas now, I would thoroughly whoop his butt.
Or in the terms of the dad:
“Why are you so smart about some things and so clueless about others?”
(pg. 345)
But that was such an insensitive thing to say to her, let alone any girl!
But good for Amy in standing up for herself in telling Toff her true feelings. It takes some real courage for a girl to do that and I’m proud of Amy for having the confidence to be like, “You know what, I like like you and always have, but I’m not going to take two poops from you until you figure it all out.” I like how she recognized that she wasn’t the issue here and to walk away from that because it also takes a lot of guts to walk away from a crush, especially if you liked them for a long time. It’s more difficult too if you want something to happen, but know you deserve better. So I’m happy she knew that.
Suffice to say, Amy did win the contest because Amy’s a champ and I just really loved the confidence she exuded when she was interviewing Lucinda. It really was a testament to how much she grew. I also liked how whenever she was having negative thoughts about Toff creeping in, she stepped back and reminded herself to have a good time because that’s what she was there for. There was this part too where she talked to Lucinda and Lucinda asked Amy if Bonnie and Clyde were a thing. Lucinda knew that that was a touchy subject for her, so she didn’t push it. Then afterwards she talked to Amy about how she knew that there was a spark between her and Toff and to never give up on that. Lucinda even knew what we all saw. But still, Amy didn’t need Toff to be confident because that was with Amy all along, but he showed her that she could be and I liked that that’s what Toff idd for her.
Toff was a mess after Amy opened a can of whoop butt on him.
Good for him.
I think he needed a slap of reality to his ego if no one was going to physically slap him.
Dallas wanted to, but knew that as a friend he couldn’t do that.
Even Brayden, Amy’s brother, didn’t like Toff all that much afterwards because Toff majorly screwed up. We’re going to pause here and talk about how FUNNY, CUTE, and ANNOYING (in a good brotherly way) Brayden was. He’s a realistic younger brother if there ever was one. I liked how he would always bug Amy or make jokes at her that she was dating Toff. Of course, he also didn’t listen to Amy, but when it came to his surfing idol, Toff, he wouldn’t bat an eyelash 😂. He’s so cute in the way he blackmailed Amy to make Toff give him private surf lessons even though Amy and Toff weren’t dating at the time. I also liked how much he idolized Toff because it was adorable. He would follow Toff and make up rumors about him. Brayden kind of thought of Toff as his big brother, which I liked. There was also the times Brayden would call Amy and Toff out for kissing and I would laugh because it’s funny how I could hear Brayden groan or be like eww towards that. But he was also a good brother in the way he allowed Toff and Amy to have their kissing time and to help them out whenever they would sneak out or back in. He was also good in knowing when not to idolize Toff (towards the end). He was good on giving Toff those cookies though. Which reminds me of how Amy’s dad is a master baker, which is soooo cool. How fun is that?! The story about Toff eating all of Amy’s cupcakes on her birthday was quite funny and how the dad called him cupcake boy and baked him cupcakes to tease him.
So how did Toff win Amy back after he knew he was being a dummy?
I mentioned it earlier 😉.
He was going to pull a Mr. Darcy! 🥺💕
And he sure did.
It was the day of his big surf competition and he just got cleared by his doctor to surf, but he still shouldn’t surf to be safe and ease back into it. Being Toff, he had to surf because surfing is his whole life. So he went to the surf competition, but his heart wasn’t really in it because it was with Amy.
The moment that Toff left the surf competition was honestly the best moment of the whole book 💕. It was the moment he finally got his stuff together and realized that there’s more to life than winning—-there’s love.
So he tried to make a big gesture to get to Amy at the Lonely Hearts Book Club meeting because Viv invited Toff secretly to come since Amy came back from California. He didn’t have a ride to see Amy and his car broke down and everything was going to poop. I thought for a moment that he was literally going to pull a Mr. Darcy and a horse was going to show up and he was going to ride it to Lonely Hearts or that he was going to run in his wetsuit all the way there 😆 How amazing would have that been?
But then his dad called and was like:
“‘Are you at the Spectacular.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not?” Dad sounded shocked.
“I was,” Toff said, “but I left.” He stopped pacing and leaned against the van. “I made a smart decision for once.” Hopefully more than once. “I’m not one hundred percent. Wasn’t worth it.”
Dad didn’t say anything for a long beat; then he chuckled into the phone. “I’ll be damned. You do have a brain.”
(pg. 356)
Ugh, the dad was soooo funny 😂!
You do have a brain!
But I liked how he said he was proud of Toff and that he loved him because he knew his son was doing the right thing. And I think as a dad or a parent in general, you want your son or daughter to follow his/her heart to do the right thing even if it is hard. That’s why when Toff went after Amy instead of surfing, his dad began to take him seriously when it came to him going pro.
“All my life, surfing was all I cared about. Winning is—was–everything.” . . .
“I still want to win, but I figured something out. All the wins in the world don’t mean anything if you can’t share it with the person you love . . . or celebrate with the person you love when she wins.”
(pg. 380-1)
That’s a winning speech right there! 👍🏼
Honestly, this speech kind of made up for all dumb things he said. I mean, two dumbs make a good speech, am I right? I loved how he barged into the book club and he asked to talk to Amy in private at first, and Mrs. Sloane was like, “You can’t expect us to leave after that entrance . . . it’s been ages since I’ve seen a good show.” 😂. I really love Mrs. Sloane. She’s a recurring character that you just gotta love. If Mrs. Sloane were a grandmother, I think she would be soooo fun! I wouldn’t mind reading another spin off where we have Mrs. Sloane play matchmaker. While we’re on the topic of her, I also loved that part where she flirted with Toff and asked him out. You shoot your shot, Mrs. Sloane. I also loved how she still has a knack for those dirty romances because you know at her age, you still have to have some thrills if you know what I mean 😆. I would love to be half as funny as her when I’m older.
But back to Toff and Amy.
They made up and shared a kiss because Toff finally had it figured out and him wearing a fandom Pride and Prejudice shirt really sold it to Amy. Freak, it sold it for me 🥺! I also really liked the part where Toff and Amy were a couple and hanging out at her house, then the dad comes in and thanks Toff for getting him a job as a baker. That’s why Toff asked Brayden for cookies when he screwed things up big time. Toff was trying to help Amy’s family because he knew how hard things were for them and since Amy loved her family, he wanted to do something for what she loved. And there’s something so beautiful about that because part of making it up to her, he could have bought her flowers, chocolates, or any type of materialistic thing, but she thought about the root of what would help make Amy happy. Part of the hardship that Amy was dealing with was her family issue and money, so for him to actually care and to help out was such a mature and kind thing to do. What a keeper, if you ask me.
Then they had that moment where they were back in Toff’s van like in the beginning of the book, and I thought it was such a nice full circle moment. The cop was there again and Toff and Amy were actually making out as a real couple. What was funny though was how the cop let them off the hook again because his daughter was following their whole #Bonnieandclyde journey and he was rooting for them as much as anyone else. The power of the internet, people. It was just really nice to see how everything turned out for them with their HEA or their HRN.
I like that Lisa Brown Roberts mentioned how it was a HRN rather than a set in stone HEA, because that leaves it very open ended for the reader. Most books, we don’t get to see life beyond the chapters that our beloved characters go through, but most times we assume that these characters stay in love forever, but sometimes that may not be the case. They’re both young teens and things might happen to change their circumstances and maybe they will fall out of love. But I think they have a real thing going for them and that they do have that happiness right now. It’s so important to always remember to hold onto that happiness right now and not worry if someone/something better will come along or what ifs because that’s not going to help the station. All you can do is care and be present in the moment and if a person is happy right now, then that’s all that matters.
So I’m happy right now with how Bonnie and Clyde—-Amy and Toff—-found each other and I’m rooting for them in the long run. But it’s okay if they don’t because at least they are in love at the moment. And I think that’s what’s so crazy amazing about books is that it truly is about chapters. We all go through different chapters of our lives and books highlight the most transformative and pivotal parts of a person’s life because we don’t see the build up or the aftermath, but we see everything in that season to get that character where he/she needed to be. And maybe you can’t see it, but this chapter in your life is another season too. And it will get you to where you need to be with who you need to be.
Hold onto that hope, fellow bibliophiles or people of the world. Things do get better. In the meantime, I hope you nothing but a HRN.
If you read this book, what was your favorite part? Least favorite part?
Do you know anyone like Toff in your life? What makes you feel the most confident?
Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕
I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this. 🥰
And as always, with love,
Rating
4.67 Crocs, Vans, and Wing tipped shoes
Characters: Loved getting to see the overall development of Toff and Amy. At first glance, you seem like you really know them, but then this book really challenges you on what you thought you knew. Also, shoutout to Mrs. Sloane, the ultimate crush😆
Plot: Cute idea of a bookworm falling in love with a non bookworm. Every bookworm’s dream
Writing: Easy to follow along and get into. The third person double perspective made the journey more purposeful in how you get to see both sides of how they felt or thought about each other.
Romance: I would like to order a tall cup of Toff hold the ego, minus the dumb words, but lots and lots of charisma and heart
Vivian’s Rating Scale
- Birks – lots of emotion and navel-grazing
- Wing Tips – bossy but irresistible heroes
- Crocs – Funny heroes, imperfect heroines
- Vans – testy heroes full of sarcasm
- Go-go boots – Vivian’s highest rating: perfection