Combined Review: The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

(because this is a combined review, the stats are from the newest book, and combined page count)

Release date: 2007

Pages: 587

Age Group: Young Adult

Overall:

Lori can't wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wakeboarding and hanging with her friends - including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she's always been just one of the guys. Now that she's turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that's not going to happen - not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.

Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle. Will Lori's romantic summer melt into one hot mess?

Okay, first off, I suppose I should explain why I am doing a joint review. Well, I went to Barnes and Noble, and ended up getting a book that said Endless Summer on the front, instead of Wild Roses by Deb Caletti, which I went to Barnes and Noble for in the first place. Well, I thought it was just one huge book, not two seperate books. But I kind of liked reading it this way, because then I could go straight to the sequel, and it actually felt like one book because the second book picked up exactly where the first left off. Anyways, I'll go to the review now. Notice that there are spoilers for the first book in here, and I'll make sure to put *SPOILER* in front of them. Okay, to the review!

First off, lets just make it clear that I love love triangles. Which is the main reason I bought this book. So of course, I absolutely adored these books! First off, I guess I'll start with the characters. Oh my my, Jennifer Echols really knows how to make fun and unique characters. Though Lori sometimes gets annoying with the little not so fool proof schemes she makes to solve problems, she is quite loveable and relatable. I found myself laughing aloud throughout the book as she tried to be all grown up and "sexy." She was constantly trying things that really were not for her. Like slinky tops, high heels, and heavy eye makeup. One scene I escpecially love with her is in the beginning of The Boys Next Door. A choice quote between here and Mrs. Vader. Lori: "Notice anything different?" Mrs. Vader: "I'm using the wrong font?" Lori: "Notice anything different about my boobs?" Mrs. Vader: "You changed your boobs?" Lori: "I'm showing my boobs." Even though Lori tends to get in a lot of trouble, you end up loving her by the end of the book. Echols also is a genius at adding signiture phrases to her characters, such as Adam's "Bikini or what?" or "S bend or what?", his or what phrase gets used a lot. I also loved the way she had her characters interact. Growing up with three brothers, I very much understood the crude jokes that the boys used in these books. Not only were the characters fantastic, but so was the plot. There was constant flirting, jealousy, and scheming going on throughout both books. And *SPOILER* there were always little bumps in the road for Adam and Lori, even after the first book when you thought that all would be fine in their relationship. * END SPOILER * It was really interesting to watch (or read in this case) the guys and girls circling each other and getting into jealous fits that were sometimes adorable. *cough* Adam *cough*. All in all, the plot was really wonderful throughout both books. (Although the amount of problems that the characters caused in the second book were just ridiculous, a reason I liked the first book better.) As for the writing, Echols' writing was not fantastic, but it was pretty dang good. The only problem I had was in the second book when the POV changes (my one dislike about the book, because I liked Lori's POV better.) Echols' had a little trouble portraying Adam's POV, though she did an okay job. However, I did love Echols' writing when it came to the incredibly adorable moments. Even though she sometimes has her troubles with character portrayal, she can sure write a darn good make up scene. (Which there are a lot of in both of the books, trust me.) She writes beautiful endings, (this one made me literally sigh), creates unique characters, and definitely doesn't let the plot get boring. All in all, Jennifer Echols made a wonderful summer romance read that had me swooning.

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Hope you liked the review!

Love always,

Amanda