Title: My New Crush Gave To Me
Author: Shani Petroff
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 Stars)
Release Date: October 31, 2017
“Forget an electric jolt, this was shooting stars, Christmas morning, first-place trophies, early Harvard acceptance, and fireworks all rolled into one. I never wanted the feeling to stop.
My wish had come true.”
Synopsis
Charlotte “Charlie” Donovan knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: Teo Ortiz. He’s a star athlete, a National Honor Society member, and the most popular guy in school. Plus he contributes to the school paper, where Charlie is a co-editor. Basically, he’s exactly the type of guy Charlie’s looking for. The only problem is—he barely knows she exists.
But Charlie has a plan: rig the paper’s Secret Santa and win his heart with the perfect gift. The catch? She has no idea what to get him. Enter J.D. Ortiz–Teo’s cousin, and possibly the most annoying person on the planet. He’s easy going, laid back, disorganized, and spontaneous—the exact opposite
of Charlie (and Teo). But he knows what Teo wants, so she’s stuck with him.
Yet, the more time Charlie spends with J.D., the more she starts to wonder: Does she really know what, or rather who, she wants for Christmas?
Review
My New Crush Gave to Me is the perfect holiday read for all your contemporary needs. We follow Charlie Donovan as she searches for her dream date to Noelle Hawkins’ annual birthday party. Charlie is convinced she’s found her guy in Teo, star athlete, stellar GPA, and absolutely no clue she exists. Charlie enlists JD, the school paper’s resident photographer and Teo’s cousin, to help get the perfect secret santa gifts so she can land her dream guy. But not everything goes as planned along the way, and Charlie has to figure out who and what she really wants.
Things I Liked
This book gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings! This was honestly the perfect book to read after a super weird paranormal and get me back in a happy reading mood. This is such a great holiday read to cozy up with. I loved seeing the caroling, tree decorating, secret santas and all the fun holiday traditions – it made me want colder weather asap.
All of the relationships in this books are swoony and adorable. Even though there is a bit of an insta-infatuation on Charlie’s side with her and Teo they have some really cute interactions. Morgan and Ira are toothachingly sweet, and Charlie and JD’s banter is matched by none.
Morgan was such a great best friend to Charlie. She’s super spunky and supportive. And an amazing baker too! I also love reading about bakers in YA because I LOVE baking and it’s fun to see characters who share your hobbies. And I loved that she and her boyfriend were Jewish and talked about Hanukkah and their traditions as well.
JD was the arrogant-yet-thoughtful guy who works with Charlie on the paper, and helps her with her crush on Teo, his cousin. I really liked him! He was such a genuinely good person with such a happy nature, despite his slacker persona . I loved his relationship with his parents and how he and Charlie grow to be friends.
Things I Didn’t Like
Charlie was probably my least favorite character. I liked that she was focused, but she was a little too rigid for me. She was a very my-way or no-way type of person and I just didn’t connect to her like I did others. But I did like all of the dynamics with the other characters, so she didn’t ruin the story for me or anything. I just didn’t click with her.
I almost finished this book in one sitting, that’s how easy it was to read. The only reason I didn’t was because it got late, and I was tired. My New Crush Gave to Me was the perfect fluffy contemporary book. Holiday books are always fun and instantly make me happy, and this one is no different. We get great banter, cute flirting, fun holiday activities, and all the wonderful drama of high school politics. This is a book that has such a pure entertainment factor, you can’t put it down.
About the Author
Shani Petroff is a writer living in New York City. She’s the author of the “Bedeviled” series, which includes Daddy’s Little Angel, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Dress, Careful What You Wish For, and Love Struck, and is the co-author of the “Destined” series which includes Ash and Ultraviolet. She also writes for television news programs and several other venues. When she’s not locked in her apartment typing away, she spends a whole lot of time on books, boys, TV, daydreaming, and shopping online.
Giveaway
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A million thank yous to Xpresso Book Tours for organizing and hosting this tour! Make sure you follow along to see what these other amazing bloggers have to say about this amazingly adorable holiday read!
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Purchase links
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Life of a Literary Nerd 
Thanks for being on the tour! Great review! 🙂
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