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![The Boyfriend Whisperer 2.0 by [Budzinski, Linda]](https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51sQFow0TxL.jpg?resize=314%2C471&ssl=1)
Linda Budzinski
Swoon Romance
February 19, 2019
Blurb: Alicea Springer was Boyfriend Whisperer Enterprises’ top success story. That is, until her dream date, Ty Walker, dumped her a week before prom. Now it’s senior year, and Alicea has taken over the business and given it an upgrade with an automated matchmaking program she designed and nicknamed Libby, short for LIBACA, which is short for “Love is But a Click Away.”
Alicea has no interest in using the program herself. She already knows who her perfect match is … Ty. She doesn’t need an app to tell her that (or worse, match her up with someone else). In a moment of weakness, Alicea allows her friends to convince her to give Libby a try. To her horror, it matches her with the last boy on earth she’d ever want to date–Darius Groves, the class deadbeat.
When she and Darius are paired up for a class project, Alicea learns there’s more to him than his bad reputation. But the more she spends time with Darius, the more she questions their match. They have so little in common. Can Alicea defy the odds and make a match of her own heart’s desire? Or will the matchmaker remained unmatched?
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SASCHA DARLINGTON’S REVIEW
The Boyfriend Whisperer 2.0 by Linda Budzinski is a fast-paced, cute young adult novel about Alicea, a brainy tech geek, and Darius, the new, perhaps delinquent, student with a mysterious past. Still infatuated with Ty, who dumped her a week before the junior prom and proceeded to serial date, Alicea obsessively tries to figure out how to get him back until Darius and his charm and off-the-charts cute-factor enter the picture.
I enjoyed The Boyfriend Whisperer 2.0 to the extent that I pretty much read it in one sitting. Alicea is caring and sweet, despite her Ty-obsession. And Darius is smart, arty, and charming. Alicea’s best friends, Maggs and Bri, and Darius’ little sister, Jaycee, round out the characters. Throw in a substantial amount of art, sports, and dancing making it an interesting and energetic read.
The Boyfriend Whisperer 2.0 is great escapist fun and highly recommended for anyone who loves to read young adult rom-coms with minimal angst.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
EXCERPT
“Want to know my favorite thing about snowflakes?” I ask.
“What’s that?”
“They’re perfect every time.”
Darius laughs. “Right. Of course.” His expression turns mischievous. “Unless … ” He pulls out an ice-blue sheet, holds it up, and slowly and very deliberately creates an uneven fold. “You do this.”
“What! You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I would.” He lowers his voice. “I am.”
I reach out to grab the sheet from him, but he pulls it away.
“What kind of monster are you?”
“I’m your worst nightmare.”
I purse my lips and glare. “Fine. Go ahead and make your imperfect flake. But don’t expect me to hang it on the tree with all the perfect ones.”
“We’ll see about that.” He picks up a pair of scissors and chops away, cutting bits and pieces off the sides, the corners, and the offending sticking-out part. His grin mocks me with each snip, snip, snip. Finally, with a great flourish, he opens it up.
It is perhaps the most hideous snowflake I’ve ever seen.
“Um. Wow.”
He holds the flake out to me. “Go ahead. Hang it. I dare you.”
“You dare me? Really? Isn’t that just a pitiful attempt to get me to hang something you know doesn’t deserve to be hung?”
Darius laughs. “Maybe.” He holds the snowflake up to my face. “I double dare you.”
“Oh, okay. Now you’ve got me.” I snatch it from him and eye the tree. “I know exactly where this belongs.” I walk around to the far side, by the wall, where the plug for the lights is buried.
“Oh no you don’t. You’re not hiding my masterpiece back there.” Darius chases after me. He grabs for the flake, but I hold it away. He reaches around me, his arm circling my waist.
I know his little sister is a few feet from us and my father is across the room, but I can’t help myself. We’re hidden by the tree, and so I kiss him—a quick, teasing peck. Only the brief sensation of his lips on mine makes me want more, so I lean into him. “What are you willing to do for this flake?”
About the Author:
Linda Budzinski is the author of four young adult novels, all published by Swoon Romance YA: The Boyfriend Whisperer and The Boyfriend Whisperer 2.0, Em & Em, and The Funeral Singer. When she’s not writing, she works in nonprofit communications and outreach. She lives in Northern Virginia with my husband, Joe, and is active with her church’s youth group. She’s a sucker for romance and reality TV and has been known to turn off her phone’s ringer when watching “The Bachelor.” Her favorite flower is the daisy, her favorite food is chocolate, and her favorite song is “Amazing Grace.”
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