Webster Casey was the dreamy boy next door and Aubrey Cash fell for him from the moment she set eyes on him.
Her parents’ marriage may be crumbling but those secret moments with Webster made her believe that love really was possible.
But then…he stands her up during homecoming and when she confronts him at the dance – he completely ruins any hope of true love for her. He’s rude, crass and above all…cruel.
And with that comes the realization that love isn’t real.
Aubrey resigns herself to that…until she meets Holland. Holland (Webster’s cousin) is brilliant and funny and sparks are flying.
But then Webster is assigned her lab partner….and more sparks fly. What ever will a girl do?
I absolutely loved the premise with this one but I really think the author leaned too hard into meeting the title’s expectations.
Cause wow. The things Webster said and did? There’s honestly not a reason to like him (even when it’s explained, it isn’t excused).
At one point he thanks Aubrey from taking time from “polishing her rock” to visit with him and his friends.
He constantly delivers these verbal slaps to her and they aren’t just a little barbed. They’re designed to be cruel.
And Aubrey gets mad at him but “sees his true self” beneath the spite and sticks with him. It’s frustrating.
The characters (on a whole) are really felt – Webster is mean, Aubrey is a cynical doormat and Holland…well. He’s actually quite decent but he gets pushed aside for not being passionate enough (apparently, passion is mistaken for emotional abuse in this book).
The more I read, the more my mood just plummeted. I really didn’t enjoy this book. It has a feeling of trying to take that “he’s mean because he likes you” to the extreme and romanticizing verbal abuse.
I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Miranda Reads 