Love and Other Foreign Words | Erin McCahan

Can anyone be truly herself--or truly in love--in a language that's not her own?

Sixteen-year-old Josie lives her life in translation. She speaks High School, College, Friends, Boyfriends, Break-ups, and even the language of Beautiful Girls. But none of these is her native tongue -- the only people who speak that are her best friend Stu and her sister Kate. So when Kate gets engaged to an epically insufferable guy, how can Josie see it as anything but the mistake of a lifetime? Kate is determined to bend Josie to her will for the wedding; Josie is determined to break Kate and her fiancé up. As battles are waged over secrets and semantics, Josie is forced to examine her feelings for the boyfriend who says he loves her, the sister she loves but doesn't always like, and the best friend who hasn't said a word -- at least not in a language Josie understands.

I've noticed a pattern whenever I read a love story starring a nerdy girl. 

We begin getting to know the character and all her little idiosyncrasies: 

A guy starts liking her and they get close and start sorta having a relationship: 

The girl messes up the relationship because of her inability to love or trust anyone. 

The girl learns to love and they get back together and have a happily ever after. 

It happens every time. But I still liked this book, and I'm still going to read every other book like this. It's a vicious cycle. But I still do recommend this book as a cute contemporary. 

What I Thought Was True | Huntley Fitzpatrick

From the acclaimed author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle has never so badly wanted to say good-bye to her island home till now: the summer her Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, takes a job there as the local yard boy. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

A magnetic, push-you-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti

In the mood for a cute adorable love story, I picked this book up, expecting it to just as great, if not better then My Life Next Door. (MLND) Being completely honest, I wasn't satisfied. While the setting created a picturesque scene for a beautiful love story, I didn't relate to any of the characters and wasn't too fond of the setting. While in MLND I could picture myself as Samantha, good grade, only child, etc. I couldn't picture myself as Gwen. Many of her actions throughout the book made me think:

She was super contradictory and hypocritical throughout the whole book and I just really didn't like her. 

Another problem I had, although more of a personal preference, was the choice of names in this book. Samantha and Jase from MLND vs. Gwen and Cassidy. Cassidy? Cassidy is definitely a girl's name, which left me so confused throughout most of this book. 

I will admit that I usually am a bit harsh with love stories, there are certain things that just have to be perfect in order to work. And while MLND was perfection, this one wasn't. And although I didn't like it, you might! So don't let me discourage you!