Review: The Bad Boy Bargain by Kendra C. Highley [Giveaway]

badboybargainThe Bad Boy Bargain
By: Kendra C. Highley
Publisher: Entangled Crush
Publication Date: Nov. 14, 2016
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:

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Baseball player Kyle Sawyer has many labels: bad boy, delinquent, ladies’ man, fearless outfielder… Only one of them is actually true. But then sweet ballet dancer Faith Gladwell asks him to help wreck her reputation, and everything goes sideways.

Faith knows a thing or two about love, and what she had with her cheating jerk of an ex wasn’t it. When he starts spreading rumors about her being an Ice Queen, Faith decides it’s time to let a little bad into her life.

Lucky for her, Kyle Sawyer—dark, dangerous, totally swoonworthy Kyle Sawyer—is landscaping her backyard over Spring Break. Shirtless. And if she can convince him to play along, “dating” Kyle will silence the rumors.

But Faith’s plan threatens to expose Sawyer’s biggest secret of all…and that’s a risk he’s not willing to take.

 

 

My thoughts…

The Bad Boy Bargain is a cute story about a boy who was bullied and rose above it and a girl looking to get revenge on her cheating boyfriend. Instead of being the little shrimp that everyone picked up, Kyle beefed up, started dressing differently, and created a new persona for himself. One that insured that the other guys would leave him alone. He went from being the little guy who was shoved into lockers, to the guy you envied for all the chicks he was with but steered clear of him because he would kick your butt if you looked at him wrong. However, it’s all a lie. So when Faith asks him to help her out by pretending to hook up with her, he starts to feel guilty about leading her on. She has no idea that she’s putting so much faith into a fraud.

I loved that Kyle was not actually a bad boy. Not that bad boys are bad or anything, but that trope has been done before. Instead we get an insecure, awkward teen boy who pretends to be a bad boy. I honestly don’t know how his bad reputation spun so far out of control. That’s one thing that wasn’t really brushed up on. I mean, for years the other kids thought he was this player who smoked, raced cars, shop-lifted, and hooked up with college girls… and yet there’s no proof of any of that. Even Faith caught onto his game within a couple days. She noticed that he didn’t smoke, was very respectful towards her and her parents, he treated his vehicle like a prized possession, and he was a little awkward when he interacted with her. So, I guess I don’t understand how the other kids never caught on. However, I loved that Kyle was a fake. He was this sweetheart who just wanted to do right by others. He wanted to make his dad and grandpa proud, he loved his work as a landscaper, and he took pride in the things he did. He was anything but a bad boy and I loved it.

The romance between Faith and Kyle was also really sweet. I mean, you had Faith who just wanted the resident bad boy to pretend to date her so that she could rub it in her ex’s face to shut him and everyone else up about her being a prude. Then you had Kyle who was even less experienced as Faith when it came to the opposite sex. These two started off as one thing but soon found themselves gravitating towards the other. I really liked the slow build of the romance in this one.

The Bad Boy Bargain is a fun read. It had some predictable moments but I still really enjoyed it. This is a good book for anything looking for a sweet and light young adult romance.

 

 

Favorite quote..

“Girls are resilient. And another word of wisdom? It’s always the quiet ones. Those girls? I’m telling you, they’re the best. Don’t go for the flirty, bold ones. They’re too into themselves. Sweet girls, given the right care and feeding will blow your mind.”

 

 

 

Meet the author…

kendraKendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to four self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes in everyday magic, extraordinary love stories, and the restorative powers of dark chocolate.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

 

 

Giveaway time!

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5 Thoughts on “Review: The Bad Boy Bargain by Kendra C. Highley [Giveaway]

  1. I do enjoy the pretend to be dating books 😀

  2. Sometimes predictable is good. It’s those kinds of stories where you can just kick back and get entertained with similar to sitcoms. 🙂

  3. Yay! I just joined. Thanks so much for this opportunity

  4. I wonder that sometimes especially with historicals when the hero is a terrible rake but it’s all pretend. How in the world does everyone believe it when it’s not shown. Sounds like a cute read though 😀

  5. I like the sound of how this one is actually about an awkward teen pretending to be a bad boy. Like you said nothing wrong with a bad boy, but it’s a bit overdone at times. Kyle sounds like a sweet and fun characters to read about. I always like a good slow building romance! Great review!

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