Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols

Another bit of summer fluff here...or is it? Well yes, it is. But it's very good fluff. I was somewhat torn throughout reading this book. On the one hand, it is so very close to basically having an Idiot Plot. On the other hand, the author just about saves it.

Okay, so the blurb of this book is a little misleading. There are quite a few pages before we even get to the yearbook titles thing and really, the story isn't about the titles at all. But I understand the author is making this a series and the yearbook titles are the glue holding it together so I'll let that slide. Really, this book is a romance pure and simple. It is about nothing more than the relationship between Tia and Will and, while this would usually be a bad thing, remarkably, it works.

A lot of this is down to Tia's character I feel. She is immensely likable, outgoing and free from all the petty insecurities/complaints most female YA characters sadly have. In short, she's just fun.

Will is equally well-crafted. He's not quite as likable as Tia perhaps but he's definitely well-rounded and seems realistic. In fact, all the characters in this book are extremely well done. My only complaint is that side characters didn't get more of the limelight but given that the sequels are apparently going to focus on them, that could be excused.

Sadly this book's plot is what lets it down. Will and Tia can't be together because Tia doesn't want a boyfriend for almost justifiable personal reasons. They flirt, get together, break up for 180 odd pages and while it is handled far better than it could have been, it's still not entirely thrilling. I was also startled by the abruptness of the ending which just came out of nowhere. Again I'm torn though because would dragging it out longer really have been much better?

Overall, Biggest Flirts is one of the better attempts at YA romance I've seen. It's fun, the characters are engaging and while there is some hints of an Idiot Plot, the characters themselves do not actually behave like morons. As far as fluff goes, you could do a lot worse.

Overall Score:

.5