Skip to main content

Review: The Boy Is Back (Boy #4) by Meg Cabot



Blurb from Goodreads:
From New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot comes the sweetly humorous story of a man who has to face his past in order to find his future.

Sometimes to move forward, you have to go back…

One post. That’s all it took to destroy the care free, glamorous life of pro golfer Reed Stewart. One tiny post on the Internet. 

Then again, it’s not like Reed’s been winning many tournaments lately, and his uncle isn’t the only one who says it’s because of the unfinished business he left behind back home in Bloomville, Indiana—namely Reed’s father, the Honorable Judge Richard P. Stewart, and the only girl Reed ever loved, Becky Flowers.

But Reed hasn’t spoken to either his father or Becky in over a decade. 

Until that post on the Internet. Suddenly, Reed’s family has become a national laughingstock, his publicist won’t stop calling, his siblings are begging for help, and Reed realizes he has no other choice: He’s got to go home to face his past . . . the Judge and the girl he left behind.

Becky’s worked hard to build her successful senior relocation business, but she’s worked even harder to forget Reed Stewart ever existed—which hasn’t been easy, considering he’s their hometown’s golden boy, and all anyone ever talks about. It was fine while they were thousands of miles apart, but now he’s back in Bloomville. She has absolutely no intention of seeing him—until his family hires her to help save his parents.

Now Reed and Becky can’t avoid one another…or the memories of that one fateful night.

Can the quirky residents of Bloomville bring these two young people back together, or will Reed and Becky continue to allow their pasts to deny them the future they deserve?

This warm, thought-provoking book, told entirely in texts, emails, and journal entries, is as much about the enduring bond of families as it is about second chances at love, and will delight as much as it entertains.
My Review:
This book is told entirely in newspaper articles, texts, chats, e-mails, journals and product reviews. While this sounds silly and a bit fun, it totally worked for me.  I liked getting so many different POV and so many different ways of telling the story. I literally devoured this -- I couldn't put it down, even for a minute.  I never had any trouble getting into this book nor was any part of it not super easy and fun to read.  It's just the kind of book that you can pick up and read in one sitting, with a smile on your face the entire time.  Also, Reed is my new book boyfriend, like one of the ones that will go down in history for me.  He was so swoony and so kind.  And I loved Becky, too -- you can tell that Reed and Becky just belong together from the start of the book. I hate to give too much about the plot away but I can tell you that Reed and Becky were high school sweethearts -- on prom night, something happens and Reed leaves town, never to return.  He becomes a pro golfer while Becky stays in Indiana, taking over her father's business.  Cue ten years later when Reed's parents are in need of Becky's services and Reed has to come back to town.  The attraction is, of course, remembered and magnetic but there was a definitely slow burn about it. I laughed out loud while reading this so many times, which is rarer and rarer to find lately.  I know I'm gushing about this but I really did love it -- it makes me happy to think about it and I know it will become a re-read.

I hadn't read any of the other books in this "series" prior to this book but I gather they are all standalone and I had no problem with context.  I definitely will go back and read them now since I loved this book so much! I highly recommend this to fans of funny and swoony contemporary women's fiction; although this is pretty light in its topics, it's so fun and the perfect second-chance romance!  The Boy is Back comes out soon, on October 18, 2016, you can purchase HERE, and I loved this so much!
It's been ten years.  Ten years! I've been in so many other relationships since Reed and I went out (well, okay—three, including Graham).
But I've had multiple hookups, if you count all the rebounding I did during freshman year, when I still thought I might hear from him.   
I have very definitely moved on.   
So why is it that everyone in this town still links our names together?   
And why is it that whenever his name is mentioned, my heart still flips over in my chest, and I catch my breath—so much so that tonight I started choking on the mouthful of camembert I was chewing?

Comments

  1. This sounds amazing!! i love when a book has texts, emails, etc as a way to tell the story. I still haven't read a a Meg Cabot book so maybe I will start with this one. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The entire Boy Series is fantastic! And Meg's Heather Wells Series is one of my favorites! ~ Shel

      Delete
  2. This sounds so adorable! I have it on my wishlist. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds right up my alley, Eva! I love Meg Cabot but this one series I haven't had the chance to check out. I obviously need to change that very soon! :)
    I'm so glad the book worked for you despite its different format. It's a fun way of telling a book.
    Can't wait to pick it up! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hmm the way this story is told in sounds really interesting! I haven't read any of Meg Cabot's books since the Airhead trilogy but I might just consider picking up one of her books someday...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I enjoyed this book so much too! I highly recommend the other books in this series, especially if you enjoyed the format of this book. The first book is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds interesting,looking forward to read :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. This sounds very cute, and I do love a good second chance romance! Wonderful review, Eva! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. OMG- I'm a H-U-G-E Meg Cabot fan, but I've never read this series before! I'm glad this works as a standalone too, because I don't think I have time for a series at the moment. Sounds great, Eva, and great review. I'm currently looking for a book boyfriend because it's been ages since I had a new one, so Reed may just as well be that one- I'm excited!!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've never read Chick Lit before, but this would be fun!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've read this series but this one sounds like so much fun! I love how it's told with texts and emails and articles... so fun! I didn't realize the books in the series were actually stand alones so I might have to pick this one up.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I love this trope, sub-genre, setting: My Best Friend's Brother/My Brother's Best Friend

I Love This Trope, Sub-Genre, Setting is a new feature on my blog in which I discuss a trope, sub-genre or setting that I love and tell you about books that are shining examples of said trope, sub-genre or setting.  Feel free to play along and please let me know about your favorite books in this realm and whether you like this trope, sub-genre and/or setting as much as I do! Today I am spotlighting the trope of:  My Best Friend's Brother/My Brother's Best Friend , which I would define as any book where the heroine either has a crush on or falls for her brother's best friend or her best friend's brother. I have to confess that I love this trope in nearly all of its iterations!  I have a younger brother so I never got to crush on any of his friends but it's fun reading about that and it's equally as fun as reading about falling for your best friend's brother -- instant sisters!  I know there are a ton

Conversations With Myself (& Hopefully You): ARC Greed

This discussion is inspired by my feelings lately when reading and reviewing ARCs versus the feelings I had when I requested those same ARCs: ARC GREED ARC greed -- have we all experienced this?  What I even mean by this term is that I sometimes feel overwhelmed when looking at Netgalley and Edelweiss and  I sometimes over-request, if only because I can!  I get greedy when I see all the new and shiny ARCs available and I will sometimes request things that have even a hint of interest for me, not necessarily focusing only on those books that I really, really want.  The problem with this over-requesting and with getting greedy with requesting (and receiving) ARCs is when it comes time to read and review these ARCs.  Last month and this month, I have looked at my ARCs with a release date in each respective month and I just haven't wanted to read any of them.  I need to start asking myself -- If I was immediately approved for this ARC, would I read it right thi

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For the Rest of 2015

Top Ten Tuesday  is hosted by the fab ladies at  The Broke and the Bookish ! What books are you anticipating for the rest of this year?