Memory Lane Monday #20: Banana Edition ~ Review ~ What A Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn

Memory Lane Monday is a weekly meme that Amber at Paradise of Pages and Kristalyn (and Beighley) at The Sarcastic Palmtree, came up with. We have been wanting to re-read some of our favorites but feel overwhelmed by all the other new books coming out that our re-reads get put to the side. We have decided we don't want to put them aside anymore, so we will be taking turns putting up our reviews on our blogs throughout the month. This does not mean we won't keep up with recent releases, it just means we will make more time for those we have read before as well.

Courtesy of watching his mom’s relationships, Sebastian Hawkins knows what girls need to do to get a guy. He has what he considers a PHD in hooking up. When he needs extra cash for a car, Sebastian starts up an online venture as The Hook-up Doctor, to anonymously help girls land the guy of their dreams. Of course, his services don’t offer a happily-ever-after guarantee. He’s seen firsthand getting together never means staying together.
And then he falls in love…
With the last girl he would expect…
Totally not in his game plan.
Suddenly, Sebastian finds himself muddled in the game he’s always prided himself on. He can’t even pick up girls at parties anymore! Why would anyone want to be in love when it turns you into a stuttering, screwed-up, mess with really lame stalker tendencies? Stalking? Totally not his gig.
But the Hook-up Doctor won’t let himself go down easily. He’s always known how to give a girl what she wants and now it’s time to figure out what a boy wants… and he definitely plans on getting it.

If you would like to see my memory post for this book you can click here!

At First Sight

So... Yeah... the cover gives a good character description for Sebastian, which I like a lot.  There are LOTS of books out there that have people on the cover that don't really relate to what the book ends up describing them, which sucks a lot.

Characters and Relationships

Although Sebastian may seem like some regular fake jerk on the outside, you really get to see that there's no way that could be possible because he always does everything with good intentions.  He has seen a lot of jerks hurt his mom, which is why he is very close to and protective of her.  It's also why he doesn't really do the whole relationship thing.  What I like is that he and his friends are all one tight group, they all support each other, no matter what life throws at them.  The only other character I really enjoyed this time around was Party Girl Crystal.  I forgot she makes many appearances throughout the book and I like her role in the overall story.

Is This A Kissing Book?

Yes... it IS a kissing book... That being said... the story isn't all based on being romantic and stuff, it's more about discovering what it's like to find something more serious than a fling or hook-up and chasing after the person of your dreams.

Don't Leave Me Hanging

There really isn't a cliffhanger, BUT there is another book.  It's more like one of those endings where you go "awwwww"...  Now I'm not saying that's what I did... but it's definitely a nice ending to the book.

The Best Gems

• Hook-Up Doctor Emails
• Horrible Flowery Scents
• Fun at the Beach  ;)
• The Good Ol' Hug n' Roll
• Hanging with Party Girl Crystal
• Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

The Sum Up

I love this book!  It's the first independent book I ever read and I think that if I had read any other one at the time, I would've never tried another one again.   I definitely recommend this book to everyone... especially those who are looking for a book that's a little more like a Romantic Comedy.  Nyrae Dawn does an AMAZING job at writing a boy voice that I can't even describe how well she does it.  I also love her overall style of writing.  She had me captivated from the first chapter and, for some reason, I almost liked it better the second time around.  I've read this book multiple times and I'll definitely read it again!

Thanks for visiting!  Come back next week to see my review of the amazing sequel "What A Boy Needs"... 

~Banana

Here's how Memory Lane Monday works:

• Each week the co-hosts will trade off with recapping when it is a re-read or what they have heard so far about the book and the other co-host will put up their review. 
• The participants can read anything that they remember reading in the past, or something that they have wanted to read that has been around for a while and just haven't gotten around to reading it yet for whatever reason.
• Participants can decide if they want to recap the book before reading it or just put up a review of what they read.
• Anyone can join in, just please link back to our blogs as well as add your name to the linky so we can hop around and see what everyone is reading.
• Please put our banner on your post as well, so we all look the same!
• We ask you kindly to follow BOTH of our blogs.
• Most importantly remember to just have fun! :)

We will be providing each week a linky that you will be able use to link your posts for us and everyone else to see as well. All we ask is for you to put up our banner as well as a link back to both hosts on your post.