Summary/Cover Image from Amazon: Mia's new summer job at a posh country club is hard work, but fun, especially when a romance develops with hunky Dan. But Mia is drawn to Jamie too - sexy, rich and bored, he's got everything he could ever want, but gets his kicks messing with people's lives. Even though Mia knows that getting involved with Jamie is a bad idea, there's something so dangerously exciting about him, she just can't resist.
Review:
At first glance, I didn't expect much from Liz Bankes' Irresistible. I had heard mixed things about it, and honestly, it looked like just another summer romance read. Surprisingly enough, I was captivated by Irresistible. Similar to the cult classic Cruel Intentions, Irresistible introduces a main character you can't help but love and a frustrating yet utterly addictive romantic triangle.
Mia is conflicted about her future. One part of her knows that she should go back to school and get an education, but another part of her so desperately craves a gap year filled with travel, romance, and adventure. Mia decides the perfect place to figure out what she wants to do while earning some money is Raleigh's Great Hall Restaurant, an incredibly popular country club in her town. Raleigh's Great Hall is the place where the wealthy and famous frequently dine so Mia expects it to be more than the typical summer job, but what she doesn't expect is just how life changing it will be. Thrown into the complicated world within the country club's walls, Mia is torn between two potential relationships - one with the reliable, trustworthy Dan and one with the reckless, mysterious Jamie.
Mia is a complicated character. She's irrational and prone to risky decisions. She makes her life much harder than it needs to be, especially regarding boys. She's sometimes horrible to the people who love her the most. Truthfully, she's the kind of character who really should drive me insane.
However, there was something about her I just couldn't help but love - so much so that I easily forgave her for indiscretions, because when it comes down to it she's the prime example of any girls who has been torn between two guys - the one who's good, sweet as sugar and spice and the one who's no good yet irresistible. I feel that anyone, teen or adult, will be able to relate to her in some way, because really who hasn't been there before? Over the duration of the story, we see her experience a surplus of ups and downs, and while my heart broke for at some of those especially bad downs, it was still an incredible worthwhile transformation to witness.
Besides Mia, I also enjoyed seeing the other characters in this develop. I loved Dan. He's the prime example of the boy-next-door. His corny jokes kept me laughing, and I especially loved how sweet he was to Mia. Jamie, on the other hand, I was conflicted about. At some times, he could be charming - I could easily see how Mia was so wrapped up into his world - but other time he was just so horrible, so horrible it could make my blood boil to a point.
The plot in this mainly revolves around Mia's romantic triangle that arises, as you probably could've guessed by this point. While I'm usually not a huge fan of romantic triangles, I was hooked by this one. Even more so, I was torn between really who Mia should pick, especially given the series of grad romantic gestures that occurs. Additionally, I liked how this book also was a coming-of-age tale overall. At its heart, Irresistible really is about the decisions that may break or make you, but what you do with those decisions is how you move on and survive.
I also really enjoyed the ending - it was very open ended but I felt that it fit the story perfectly.
Basically, Irresistible is for every girl who knew a boy was bad news but couldn't resist. Will Irresistible change your life? No. But will you enjoy every minute of it? Yes (hopefully!)!
Grade: A
At first glance, I didn't expect much from Liz Bankes' Irresistible. I had heard mixed things about it, and honestly, it looked like just another summer romance read. Surprisingly enough, I was captivated by Irresistible. Similar to the cult classic Cruel Intentions, Irresistible introduces a main character you can't help but love and a frustrating yet utterly addictive romantic triangle.
Mia is conflicted about her future. One part of her knows that she should go back to school and get an education, but another part of her so desperately craves a gap year filled with travel, romance, and adventure. Mia decides the perfect place to figure out what she wants to do while earning some money is Raleigh's Great Hall Restaurant, an incredibly popular country club in her town. Raleigh's Great Hall is the place where the wealthy and famous frequently dine so Mia expects it to be more than the typical summer job, but what she doesn't expect is just how life changing it will be. Thrown into the complicated world within the country club's walls, Mia is torn between two potential relationships - one with the reliable, trustworthy Dan and one with the reckless, mysterious Jamie.
Mia is a complicated character. She's irrational and prone to risky decisions. She makes her life much harder than it needs to be, especially regarding boys. She's sometimes horrible to the people who love her the most. Truthfully, she's the kind of character who really should drive me insane.
However, there was something about her I just couldn't help but love - so much so that I easily forgave her for indiscretions, because when it comes down to it she's the prime example of any girls who has been torn between two guys - the one who's good, sweet as sugar and spice and the one who's no good yet irresistible. I feel that anyone, teen or adult, will be able to relate to her in some way, because really who hasn't been there before? Over the duration of the story, we see her experience a surplus of ups and downs, and while my heart broke for at some of those especially bad downs, it was still an incredible worthwhile transformation to witness.
Besides Mia, I also enjoyed seeing the other characters in this develop. I loved Dan. He's the prime example of the boy-next-door. His corny jokes kept me laughing, and I especially loved how sweet he was to Mia. Jamie, on the other hand, I was conflicted about. At some times, he could be charming - I could easily see how Mia was so wrapped up into his world - but other time he was just so horrible, so horrible it could make my blood boil to a point.
The plot in this mainly revolves around Mia's romantic triangle that arises, as you probably could've guessed by this point. While I'm usually not a huge fan of romantic triangles, I was hooked by this one. Even more so, I was torn between really who Mia should pick, especially given the series of grad romantic gestures that occurs. Additionally, I liked how this book also was a coming-of-age tale overall. At its heart, Irresistible really is about the decisions that may break or make you, but what you do with those decisions is how you move on and survive.
I also really enjoyed the ending - it was very open ended but I felt that it fit the story perfectly.
Basically, Irresistible is for every girl who knew a boy was bad news but couldn't resist. Will Irresistible change your life? No. But will you enjoy every minute of it? Yes (hopefully!)!
Grade: A
Irresistible is now out!
Source: ARC provided by Publisher
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I'm not a big fan of the whole triangle thing either, but it does sound like this one was done really well. From the sounds of the two, I would have a hard time picking as well. Great review.
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