Book Review: Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer) by Monica Murphy

Daring the Bad Boy by Monica Murphy
Expected publication: August 22nd 2016 by Entangled Crush
Review Copy: Provided via NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon

Description From Goodreads:
Truth or Dare was never this much fun...

Annie McFarland is sick of being a shy nobody. A session at summer camp seems like the perfect opportunity to reinvent herself—gain some confidence, kiss a boy, be whoever she wants to be. A few days in, she’s already set her sights on über-hottie Kyle. Too bad her fear of water keeps her away from the lake, where Kyle is always hanging out. 

Jacob Fazio is at Camp Pine Ridge after one too many screw-ups. Junior counseling seems like punishment enough, but the rigid no-fraternizing-with-campers rules harsh his chill. When a night of Truth or Dare gets him roped into teaching Annie how to swim, she begs him to also teach her how to snag Kyle. 

Late-night swim sessions turn into late-night kissing sessions...but there’s more on the line than just their hearts. If they get caught, Jake’s headed straight to juvie, but Annie’s more than ready to dare him to reveal the truth.

My Review:
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the perfect light read. It's cute, predictable, yet fun - although I admittedly found myself growing frustrated with the characters from time to time. Is it perfect? No. But that's okay because it's exactly what it sets out to be: a sweet YA book.

So, if I enjoyed it, why did I only give it three stars? Because as much as I enjoyed it, I just couldn't connect with it. When it came to Annie and Jake, there was some character development over the course of the book, but there wasn't enough of it. And some of the lines were just far too cheesy. Most notably? The final conversation between the two characters. I can handle some cheese, but in this case, it was just overly cheesy.

That isn't to say "Daring the Bad Boy" isn't a book worth reading. I'd still recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, light read because the story is still fairly entertaining.

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