Hello, everyone! I’m pleased that today I am included on the blog tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours for this upcoming book. It was a great read, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you. There’s also a giveaway at the end of the post, so be sure to check that out.

Release Date: July 19, 2016

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 352

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Rating: 4/5

Official Description:

The Devil Wears Prada meets Sex and the City in a wickedly funny debut novel about a girl who lands a dream internship at a magazine in New York City. If only she hadn’t lied about being a dating expert on her resume . .

Harper Anderson has always thought she should have been born somewhere more glamorous than her sleepy Northern California suburb. After all, how many water polo matches and lame parties in Bobby McKittrick’s backyard can one girl take?

Already resigned to working at a Skinny B’s Juice Press for the summer, Harper is shocked when the ultra-prestigious teen magazine, Shift, calls to say they want her to be their teen dating blogger for the summer. All she needs to do is get her butt to New York in two days.

There’s just one teeny, tiny problem: Apart from some dance floor make-outs, Harper doesn’t have a whole lot of dating experience. So when Shift’s application asked for an “edgy” personal essay, Harper might have misappropriated her best friend’s experiences for her own. But she can just learn on the job…right? Will the house of lies Harper has built around her dream job collapse all around her, or will she be able to fake it until she makes it in the big city?

My Review:

Honestly, I don’t read a lot of contemporaries. It’s not that I have anything against them; I just don’t tend to gravitate towards them, so I was entirely sure what to expect when I decided to join the blog tour for this coming-of-age story.

And truth be told, I ended up loving it!

Is the plot a predictable? Definitely. A little ridiculous? Totally. I mean, internships for high schoolers?! C’mon. And the editor of the magazine is absurd and obsessed with sexcapades and juicy dating material, which I am positive would not fly in magazines who’s target audience is a bunch of minors. But I ended up loving it anyway. It was like the teenage version of The Devil Wears Prada, which is a favorite chick flick of mine.

I found Harper to be really relatable: quirky, awkward, smart but socially incompetent. She definitely reminded me of myself as a teenager and young adult. I think a lot of young girls could connect with her, her desires to fit in, and the little white lies people tell to do so. I know I’ve definitely done it. We all have.

The book had a nice theme and commentary running about how we present ourselves to others and how often truth is fabricated or embellished to fit our narrative and how we want to be perceived. It actually made me quite self conscious of how much I use my social media and use social media, such as Instagram, as self-promotion for this blog and my other professional ventures. The characters are constantly pulling out their phones.

I think what I liked best about it though was just that it made me laugh, in the best of ways. I genuinely laughed out loud throughout the book. My husband kept asking me what was so funny. It was a refreshing change of pace for me. This book may not be the most original or freshest in terms of plot, but it’s got heart and is a light, entertaining, perfect summer read.

Find the book on AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES | INDIEBOUND | SIMON & SCHUSTER | GOODREADS

About the Author:

Laura Stampler is a Californian turned New Yorker. After graduating from Stanford University, she became a journalist, interning—and then worked on staff—at various newspapers and magazines. Laura has written about everything from dating to social media stars to social justice issues at Time magazine, Business Insider, Huffington Post, The Nation, The New Republic, and The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably looking at pug gifs on the Internet.

Find her on TWITTER | TUMBLR | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

Giveaway:

Last but not least, the tour is hosting a giveaway for the book for US participants only. 2 lucky winners will each receive a free copy.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!

If this book interested you at all, you can also take a gander at these other blogs on the tour to get a bigger perspective of the book and whether you should pick it up. They will be posting throughout the week their own reviews, author interviews, and guest posts from Laura Stampler. Here is the official schedule; check them out:

July 11^th – Fictional Fox – Review

July 11^th – Curling Up With A Good Book – Author Interview

July 12^th – Fiktshun – Review

July 12^th – The Anatomy of a Bookworm – Review

July 13^th – The Phantom Paragrapher – Review

July 13^th – Whatever You Can Still Betray – Guest Post

July 14^th – Creatyvebooks – Review

July 14^th – Latte Nights Reviews – Review

July 15^th – Here’s to Happy Endings – Review

July 15^th – Books & Beauti – Guest Post

Thanks for participating, everyone! And thank you to Rockstar Book Tours and the crew behind this novel for including me. This truly was a great read! Later this week, I will have some Listopia for everyone as well as a Fictional Fashion post inspired by BB-8, the cutest droid ever!

Tootle loo, darlings!