Author: Jenn P. Nguyen
Publisher: SwoonReads
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Publication Date: June 7th, 2016
Paperback, 336 Pages
Summary: Taylor Simmons is screwed. Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip. Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.
I received an ARC of this book from SwoonReads in exchange for an honest review, and I couldn't be more excited about it. The title itself was witty enough and made me laugh, and the story itself was new and refreshing.
As the summary explains, Taylor Simmons wakes up in a bed that isn't her own -- it belongs to the most notorious womanizer in their high school, and people had taken notice that she left with him the night before. As a last-ditch effort to dispel the rumors, she manages to convince Evan (her partner in crime) to pretend to be her boyfriend, because going home with your boyfriend is certainly more acceptable in high school terms than it is to go home with any random person.
There's only one problem: Taylor and Evan are both such great actors that it becomes hard to tell what's real and what's fake...and they start to seriously fall for each other.
I really enjoyed this book. Taylor was a character that I saw a lot of myself in, mainly in being so organized and overextending herself in school (and even wanting to go to Columbia University -- and I definitely caught on to the fact that Jenn named one of the characters in the story using her own last name). Evan was also super funny and sarcastic, and I laughed out loud at several of his little quips and sexual innuendos. (He's definitely a typical high school boy, let me tell you.)
I also found the whole fake-dating agreement interesting, even if I called it from the very beginning that they would really end up falling for each other. Reading the story in dual-perspective was super helpful because you got to see both characters fall for each other on their own terms and in their own different ways, which was super sweet.
(Mild spoilers ahead so please skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read the book yet!) The only thing that kept me from giving this book a five star review was the fact that I felt this book had a touch of insta-love. Pretty much from the get-go Evan started developing and sharing his feelings for Taylor...I personally just felt that the love came up way too early in the story, but that's just my opinion as a reader. Some people may like that and not like it to be dragged out, but I think it just felt a tiny bit too insta-love-ish, that's all.
All in all, The Way to Game the Walk of Shame was a witty, hilarious novel about a bad situation turning into something amazing that you can't live without. It was a funny and heartwarming read that I'd definitely recommend to anybody looking for a good type of pick-me-up read!
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