Rating: ★★★★☆
GOODREADS
FIVE MOST IMPORTANT POINTS
1. SWOON SWOON SWOON
2. CUTEST plot-twist
3. You'll want summer and a hot boyfriend to run across the beach with
4. Original story
5. Heartbreaking at times
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion of the book.
Oh Huntley Fitzpatrick, you have my heart. Always. Forever. After My Life Next Door, I couldn't wait to read the companion novel The Boy Most Likely To. You don't have to have read the first book, but do it anyway because it's amazing!
In The Boy Most Likely To we follow Alice and Tim, small town badasses with her being a notorious heartbreaker and him an alcoholic with coping issues. Together, they are a match made in hell, but when Tim moves into the garage of Alice's family, they are drawn to each other.
I read this book when summer in the UK was starting (what a lovely week of summer we've had), and I was preparing to go on a trip to see my boyfriend in the States. Perfect circumstances. The Boy Most Likely To is extremely swoon-worthy and gave me serious envy of every teenager growing up in America. Being 17 and able to drive to dates (on the beach, at night) makes it all sound so much more romantic.
Though the premise is quite cliché, Huntley Fitzpatrick is a genius at navigating that comfort level of knowing what will happen and throwing in the unexpected. Though you can predict the ending, the journey there is insane and filled with plot twists that I did not see coming. I found the beginning a bit slow, because I was worried that I'd stay cliché, but trust me - it doesn't.
Both Alice and Tim are narrators and both are really well written. Personally, I gravitated towards Tim. Though both of them have some serious, way beyond the usual task of teenager, decision to make, they still stay fun and also go through the things all teenagers go through. I was just so touched by Tim's voice and how he feels about love that I could never stop rooting for him.
I love the realistic vibe of this novel. Though Tim and Alice immediately have a connection, it's not love at first sight and not a story about how love can conquer anything. Sometimes, love gets conquered. Sometimes, it breaks your heart. And trust me, in this book you will cry.
Overall, I have little to fault The Boy Most Likely To on. Like I said, the beginning can seem cliché, but that's literally only the first 20 pages. After that it's amazing and flawless and now I want to be on the beach, after running, with ice cream and romance.