Review: Love on the Lifts by Rachel Hawthorne

Title: Love on the Lifts
Author: Rachel Hawthorne
Blurb:

Winter Break super-secret perfect cocoa recipe:
8 oz steamed whole milk
(no skim! doesn't work!)
2 tbsp. dark cocoa powder (big scoops)
1 tbsp. sugar (can't be too sweet)
4 dried, crushed mint leaves
(or 1 tbsp. mint syrup)
Stir thoroughly. Add mint swizzle stick. Combine with cute ski instructor, or brother's cute best friend, or cute guy you never noticed was so cute...Enjoy.


Links:
Love on the Lifts on Goodreads
 
 Kala's Review:
This book was sweet and cute and clean - basically a generic romance for teens. It just didn't have that WOW factor. The plot line is one that's overused and Hawthorne does nothing new with it here. Girl likes Douchebag guy. Sweet guy likes girl. Girl takes awhile, but eventually realizes Douchebag guy is a douchebag and falls for the sweet guy. Happily ever after.

Kate was one of the most oblivious and idiotic romantic heroines I've ever read. She met Brad (her brother's college roommate) once and "fell in love" with him. Right from the start she can't give any reasons why she's head over heels for him except that he's hot. She even says "What else is there?" when her Aunt asks her what other reasons she has for liking Brad.

The setting for this book is a ski resort where Kate and her two friends (all high school seniors) have to share a 3-bedroom condo with her brother Sam and his two friends (Brad and Joe). Brad is the roommate that Kate has a crush on.

As soon as Brad enters the picture it's made VERY obvious that he's a complete dirtbag. One of his first lines is about how his favorite things are "driving fast and kissing babes." He hooks up another girl on the very first night of their vacation and moves in to the other girl's house for the duration. His lines are all skeevy and douchebaggy, he moved in with another girl, and Kate still thinks he's the most amazing thing since sliced bread.

Enter Joe. The other friend of her brother's. It's made VERY obvious from the start that Joe has a thing for Kate. He's super sweet, super attentive, flirtatious with her, asks her on a date, kisses her, and is generally awesome. But she is wishy washy about it for the majority of the book (gotta get conflict SOMEWHERE I suppose).

It bugs me that authors don't realize the best characters are not 100% evil or 100% good. Making Brad a complete tool and making Joe Mr. Perfect makes them BOTH boring. There was never any 'love triangle' or any reason for the reader to ever believe that Kate wouldn't come to her senses and go for Joe instead of Brad.

I had two other issues with the book.

1) Were they or weren't they all having sex? It's kind of implied that they were. ALL of them. Kate's friend Allie sleeps in the same bed as Sam. Kate's other friend Leah moves in with a ski instructor for the duration of the vacation. Brad moves in with his new girlfriend. Kate sleeps in the same bed as Joe. While there isn't any explicit mention of sex, it's kind of implied that everyone is pretty much doing it like jackrabbits and that's something that annoys me in a YA novel - especially one that is otherwise packaged as a sweet and clean romance.

2) The "Kate-have-a-good-time fund" .... DROVE ME ABSOLUTELY NUTS. How many times did this saying need to be uttered? ZERO in my opinion, but instead it's brought up OVER AND OVER AND OVER. I know it's minor, but I admit I have occasional pet peeves and this is one of them.

Overall, the book was just mediocre. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it that much either.

2 out of 5 stars.

Link to Kala's review on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/557310689