This was such a sweet and adorable Young Adult Romance! It was basically "You've Got Mail" (with Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan), the high school Pokemon GO! version. :)

Elena and Oliver are both the teenage offspring of sporting goods store competitors, whose rivalry has been strong for a few decades (despite the fact the two stores originally started as one, founded by their grandparents). They find themselves thrown together when Oliver needs tutoring, and then they just can't stop bumping into each other all over town.

The small town they live in, North Pole, is very big with their Christmas theme (how could they not be with a name like North Pole?), which adds some extra fun and whimsy to this story. The town, and its inhabitants, reminded me very much of the small town on the show Gilmore Girls, which is definitely not a bad thing.

Overall, I thought this was the perfect light-hearted YA romance read to curl up with during some cold weather.

I absolutely agree with this statement: "Fans of Gilmore Girls, Pokemon Go & You've Got Mail NEED to read Any Boy But You!" Julie Hammerle was a new author to me, but I adored her writing style and her characters were so fun! This was such an enjoyable read, touching on some more serious family issues, yet somehow still being lighthearted and cute. The online gaming app in the story was especially interesting to me- I think because I spend a lot of time with my 13 year old son play Pokemon Go! A great, clean teen romance!

I have been reading lots of other genres like adult romance and fantasy so I was due a break from them. When I came across this blurb, I was interested because of the mysterious messaging theme. And adding in the concept of arch enemies being involved with each other, the author had me sold on reading the book. It was time for a sweet romance and this one hit the spot!

It has all the characteristics of a teen romance - little bit of angst, a touch of betrayal and cute romance between an imperfect pair. I call the pairing of Elena and Oliver as imperfect because neither of them are oh-so-perfect in their characteristics. Oliver while being brilliant enough to create an app which has the entire town immersed in a game, can't pass all subjects at school. Though he is cute, he is anti-social. Elena is a goody person who can't go against her parents but that doesn't stop her from being curious enough to take part in the game. It's small things like these which add to the charm of the protagonists.

When I started the book, I was like "Uhuh" because I felt Harper might be interested in Oliver. But I loved the way the author played out Harper's romance though the ending kind of made me sad. The beginning chapters had me feeling sad for Elena and her family because of the town people flocking to the Princes but as the story progressed that feeling diminished and I started feeling dislike for the feud.

The premise of the story is interesting for a teen romance lover but it's actually Elena and Oliver's shy and snarky (do they go together?) relationship which is the real hook in the story. The romance is light but cute with a sweet undertone to it. The slow buildup and the ultimate reveal of their identities had me swooning at times. The ending had a couple of surprises and I wish more of their together-as-couple scenes could have been included.

All in all, it is an adorable teen romance which had me giddy and smiling softly in turns.

I received a review copy and this in no impacts my thoughts on this book. It is my honest and unbiased review.

My one line review : A cute fun romance between an imperfect pair.

My rating : 5/5

My reread factor : 3.5/5

SWOON!
A winter romance with a super cute heartthrob and a game that rivals pokemon. So what's not to love?

The character building is done well for the MCs. For the support cast it's not bad but they feel a bit cliche and flat in compare to the MCs. Not to say that I didn't like North Pole or it's inhabitants. The support cast, though cliche is quite alright, just in compare to the brilliantly written MCs, they feel a bit flat retrospectively.
I totally adore Elena and Oliver. I could related to both of them. Enjoyed both POV and more than that their chemistry felt real. Their bickering and banter was really entertaining, I totally swooned for them!
Elena and Oliver are so different, they both deal with life differently. It's interesting to see how they each see the same situation.

The story line is the classic rom-com/hallmark kind. And while some of it is a tad, well cliche. I couldn't care less. Because this has all the swoon and cuteness a girl could ask for.
There were quite a lot of dramas thrown in and a bit of mystery, which I actually quite enjoyed.
The only reservation was the end for me. It's too hallmark for my taste. There was this huge build up... and then boom. All is solved. HEA. The end.

This is the first book of Hammerle I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. While I have a bit of an issue with the way the end went, I felt all the anticipation, heartache, giddiness and happiness she put into this book. I think she excelled at putting me into the MCs frame of mind.
I can't wait to read more of her works

I read this in one sitting, it was captivating and entertaining.- it's a great cute&fluffy! All the swoon, all the cuteness and definitely a must read.
When is the next book coming out?

Oh and who wishes they had access to the game as well?

Any Boy but You is the first book in the young adult contemporary romance series, called North Pole Minnesota by Julie Hammerle. I have Julie’s other book, the Sound of Us sitting on my TBR pile, but after having read Any Boy But You, I need to bump it up the pile. Because Any Boy But You was super cute. I loved the concept behind it.

Elena and Oliver start texting anonymously through a popular app game, but little do they know they are from rival sporting goods families. I cracked up when I saw the concept behind the story. Like a modern day Romeo and Juliet, but for the texting and app generation. It was super cute. I totally dug the fun and flirty writing style, and I adored the characters. The book is set up in my favorite narration style as well…dual narrative with both Elena and Oliver’s points of view.

The writing in Any Boy But You is great. It is quipy, with plenty of pop culture references and it just makes you happy. This is a feel good read if there ever was one. It put a smile on my face. It is a bit predictable, but in the way I wanted it to be. I easily finished Any By But you in one sitting, and I was grinning from ear to ear by the time I was done.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a light read full of great characters, fluffy fun and a good ole family rivalry, Any Boy but you by Julie Hammerle is the book for you. This is a quick, feel good read that is super fun. I can’t wait to travel back to the land of North Pole, Minnesota for the next book in this fun series.

I really liked this young adult story that reminded me of those Shakespearian tragedies that featured families that had feuds lasting generations but had a romance entangled in it.

Elena Chestnut worked in her family’s sporting goods store which was struggling to keeping afloat thanks to the rival sporting goods store run by Oliver Prince’s family. Right from the beginning, the author set up the Chestnut versus Prince family feud. Thanks to the title, I already suspected how the story would conclude, but I was curious as to how the author would get the readers from loathing to love. I was really impressed by how the author wove the story around the Stash Grab app, which reminded me of the Pokémon Go that was all the rage this summer, and it really worked in keeping the story fresh.

I enjoyed the journey because it was not insta-love. The Chestnut – Prince feud was exasperating but betrayal is often the cause of long-lasting grudges. What I found thought-provoking was the parent’s indifference to the effects of their grudges on their children and the community. This self-centered attitude was evident in Elena and Oliver’s actions towards each other as well as their neighbors. I am glad that the main characters all grew as people and made better life choices. It was encouraging to witness characters develop as the story unfolded. I really ended up liking Oliver and Elena whereas in the beginning I didn’t really care for their attitudes.

The author’s writing was entertaining and the plot was laid out really well. I found the characters to be likable especially Elena, Oliver and Harper. The unsung heroes here were Harper and Oliver’s mom. The mother because her intervention caused Oliver to exist outside his computer and Harper because she was the link between Elena and Oliver. The second half of this story was a little more angst-filled and I was even more captivated by secrets that I could clearly see would blow up in people’s faces. I took pleasure in how Elena and Oliver got together and the effect on their families.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a light and charming read with a fresh twist on the enemy to lovers trope.

I really wanted to like this book. And I did. But not as much as I was hoping. The writing itself wasn't too blame. Julie Hammerle is able to pull you in and keep you there with her talent for setting up awkward scenes. It was a cute story and for those fans of You've Got Mail, it may be just what you are looking for.

But I wasn't looking to read a teen version of You've got Mail mixed with a dash of Gilmore Girls. I wanted original. In most romantic comedies you know who the girl is going to end up with from the very beginning. It's a given. But you are there for the journey. You want to know how they are going to end up together. I didn't feel I was given that. It followed an already scripted story with a few differences (ex: Minnesota instead of New York, Sports stores instead of Bookstores, etc.)

I also didn't connect to the main character, Elena, as much as I would have liked. She was nice with everyone but Oliver, and with him she was flat out mean. Overly so. To where you are pitying him. I liked Oliver, a lot. But then I was only able to root for one of them, which kinda sucked.

So, all in all I am going to have to give it 3 out of 5 Stars.

This was yet another book that was part of my “I don’t have a clue how many books I’ve requested for February, but it should be fine“… SPOILER ALERT: It wasn’t! I ended up with way too many books to read this month, but I digress. This sounded cute and different, so I’m glad I got to read it.

This was my first book by Julie Hammerle and I did enjoy the writing. The book is told in dual POV, on the third person.

One of the biggest differences from other YA cute contemporary romances, is the fact that a lot is going on in this book. The story has a lot of different elements, and while that makes the story well rounded and complex, it also made the plot very slow. A little bit too slow for my taste.

I liked the story of the feud, though it irked me a bit the amount of hate that Elena and Oliver had between them. This made it difficult to connect and like them sometimes, especially Elena, who was constantly rude and irrational when it came to Oliver, even when he was nothing but nice and honest with her. The fact that I didn’t really connect with the characters, took a bit away from my connection with the book itself.

One of my favorite parts of the book was Harper, and I’m really hoping book 2 is about her. But again, while I enjoyed the moments between Elena and Harper, who had been BFFs for a long time, it was the new friendship between Oliver and Harper that won my heart. Oliver was an introvert who didn’t quite know how to make friends, but he cared about Harper and he helped her sort out her feelings and thoughts without ever judging or pressuring her. I really really loved these moments.

The romance was cute, and I liked that they got to know each other well through the chat before finding out who they were, because they wouldn’t have given each other the chance otherwise. But I was not 100% convinced on their chemistry. Still, they had some pretty cute moments.

Overall this was a fun and cute book, with a sort of complex plot and lots of elements. It’s definitly worth a read.

Love-hate, Romeo & Juliet vibes with a modern twist. This is a very light read. Realistic characters. Swoon. A fairly quick read and perfect for readers trying to get out of a slump (not that I was in a slump, just thinking out loud). I love the Holiday theme throughout the book. In all honesty (and I am being honest), this is totally my kind of book. Oliver. *swoons*

In North Pole, Minnesota, a town where it's Christmas every day of the year, the Chestnuts and the Princes have been feuding ever since 1969, when their sporting goods store split and they went their separate ways. They now own two competing stores across the road from each other. Oliver Prince recently moved to North Pole from Miami so that his father could take over the family business. He develops a mobile app to help promote the store - Stash Grab, based on the popular Pokémon Go game. Meanwhile, across the road, Elena Chestnut spends most of her junior year working in her family's store, but it's rapidly losing business to its competitor. Elena nevertheless starts playing Stash Grab in an effort to win plane tickets she can use for spring break. She begins an online relationship with one of the other players - who happens to be none other than Oliver. What will happen when they each find out who their online crush is? And what secret is Elena's mother and Oliver's father hiding from everyone? Will these two feuding families ever be able to resolve their differences?

I absolutely love the setting for this series, a small town that lives Christmas 24/7. The shops all have cute Christmassy names, like Santabucks (coffee shop), Santa's Worksop (hardware store), and Pie-lent Night (pizzeria). Told in the third person from the points-of-view of both Elena and Oliver, we get to see their developing relationship from the two different perspectives. This is a true feel-good romance and family drama that will leave you with a smile on your face.

I look forward to sharing the romantic misadventures of more of the residents of North Pole, Minnesota, in upcoming books in this series.

Warnings: coarse language, LGBT themes.

Any Boy But You by Julie Hammerle is a sweet mix of a Romeo and Juliet tale with You’ve Got Mail. It shows that romances in small towns may be more complicated due to family history, but are just that much sweeter.

Elena Chestnut and Oliver Prince hate each other, because they are supposed to. Their families own rival sporting good stores, and like Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, their families have been in a feud for as long as they’ve known, but neither Elena or Oliver know all the reasons why.

Falling for each other, in disguise, was definitely not part of the plan. Elena is driven by her commitment to her family but rankles at what she has to give up. Oliver is driven by his passion for computers, but loses it because of bad grades. The game Oliver creates to drive business for his family’s store gives Elena an opportunity to, surreptitiously, win something for herself. Little do they know the person they are chatting with in the game, and opening up to is their mortal enemy.

One of the great things about this book are the ebbs and flows of their relationship, the effect that finding out separately that they were chatting with a hated enemy but still having some of that bond with the formerly anonymous person they were talking to. As it turns out their families histories with each other is even more complicated than they ever knew, which adds to the dynamic and richness of the story. In the end the future of their families businesses and their future together depends on putting the past where it belongs and moving together into a new future.

Overall, Any Boy But You by Julie Hammerle was a good novel filled with humor, romance, and a bit of mystery (in regards to the family feud). I happily recommend.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review.)

Review originally posted at The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange, at www.anneliselestrange.wordpress.com =)

*~.Book Analysis.~*
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I’d like to start by saying that Entangled Teen Publishing changed my tastes for contemporary YA romance. It was a gender I used to run away like hell from and now, every time I see a new title from them, I go bouncing towards it like a puppy, haha! The get all the elements I like about a contemporary YA and the authors they have under them are amazing. Also, I’d like to make it clear that no one paid me a thing to say those things, haha! I just can’t believe how much my reading tastes branched since I started blogging and it’s a wonderful feeling ❤

Now, to the book, haha! I was head over heels with Elena and Oliver since page 1. Yup, that simple. I connected to Elena in personal way I didn’t expect to and I found myself cheering for her exactly because someday I want to change my life as well. She was an example for me in faithfulness to her family and to herself despite life happening and I want this kind of strength when facing chaos. Add to this a brilliant and witty storyline, a cute and nerd boy, awesome friends and the North Pole = 5 big and shiny stars!

The narrative style was third person (yay! #discreet) with switching points of view between Elena and Oliver. I was in love with both of them and their feud was really funny, haha! Hammerle writing style was fluid, simple and enchanting, the kind that grasps you by the neck and forces you to read “just one more page” until the book ends right in front of your desperate-for-more eyes ❤

The plot revolved around Elena and Oliver’s lives crushing into each other and was quite simple, despite the touch of mystery in the background. It’s nothing that assiduous mystery readers won’t guess in 5 seconds after evidence is shown, but keeps us intrigued to see if we were right, haha! Also, the pop references all over this book. OMG. I died several times thanks to the awesomeness of this *—*

The characters were precious. I have no other adjectives to use here, as even the sidekicks and minor ones rocked hard. Elena was everything for me as a strong and decided protagonist and Oliver was the epitome of cuteness with his computer addiction and gaming through life attitude ❤ I laughed hard with both, especially as they chatted during their games and fell for each other.

*~.Cover Analysis.~*
I generally love Entangled’s covers, as they are usually young, vibrant, colorful, fresh and very connected with the book’s story. With Any Boy But You wasn’t any different and I was in love with Elena at first sight, haha! If you read the book, you’ll realize that the couple laying in the snow is just perfect in every possible way ❤ Also, these fonts make my heart go wild with pleasure?
~*~
Trying to be more objective in life in general, I’m just going to shut up and leave these quotes here to do my job and convince you that this book is the best #shameless:

“Since Elena was alone in the bathroom and therefore had no one with whom to celebrate her having upper hand, she high fived her own reflection in the mirror over the sink.”
~*~
“Channeling her mother, Elena wondered how no one had managed to injure themselves yet.”
~*~
“If she let him [Oliver] kiss her, it would not be meaningless for him. Kissing Elena would be Stash Grab plus Wizard World times a million. Kissing her would be everything.”
~*~
And this killer piece of dialogue between Elena and Oliver on their online chat:
Oliver: Ha-ha, that’s for sure the most honest I’ve ever been with anyone, and you’re just a tiny avatar on my phone.
Elena: I guess it’s easier to be honest with an avatar.
~*~
If you like YA, pop culture references, highly intelligent dialogues and main characters, JUST READ THIS BOOK. #simplelikethat

Thanks so much for reading!

Any Boy But You is an adorable, feel good story that reads like a quirky ode to Pride and Prejudice. It’s full of that love-hate, push and shove, combined with a generations-long rivalry that keeps you on your toes and infuriates at the same time.

Here’s what I loved about this story:

It’s fun. There’s a super creative competition going on that sets up a virtual meet cute for out main characters and it’s a rush. Sometimes it’s so much easier to be honest and open with a stranger and using the Stash chat has allowed Elena and Oliver to not only grow, but recognize their own shortcomings, the stupidity of their family hate, and cast off their prejudice.

The love-hate is epic with these two. There are tons of barbs and calling each other out. They hit where it hurts and it’s not necessarily mean, but truths that the other needs to hear to see their flaws and work on them. Elena is a sarcasm queen. She’s got some insanely quick and pointed lines that will make out laugh out loud.

The romance. No matter how hard they fight it, resistance is futile 😉 It’s weird, it’s awkward, and with the amount of animosity, it’s pretty explosive, but when it’s real, it’s good.

There are a number of LGBT characters. I appreciated that it wasn’t a huge deal. So often in YA books, the fact that a character is gay is made a gigantic arc where it’s like they have the plague or something. Here, it is an exploration, a realization, and hey, no one flips out, so that was awesome.

Here’s what I would have liked more:

The secondary characters were interesting. They had unique personalities and many times, they made the main characters question themselves. However, there was nowhere near enough of them. Regina and Harper. I would have loved to see more of them. Especially the friendship between Harper and Elena, the sibling relationship between Oliver and Regina, and while I loved Craig, it felt like he had more of a presence than Regina and Harper combined. More interactions.

This book could have been at least 50 pages longer. It moves at a steady pace and it goes by pretty fast. There were places that could have been more developed, like above comment, and the story would have had a stronger chance for the reader to form more emotional connections with the characters.

I expected more conflict. When identities are revealed, it’s kind of a shrug. This made little sense. After all the hate and anger and effort to insult, flipped switch. It was too sudden.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Any Boy But You by Julie Hammerle, which is the first book in the North Pole series! In the Minnesota town of North Pole, the town that celebrates Christmas year round, two sporting goods stores are competing for business. The two stores have been owned by the same families for fifty years and have been archenemies for decades. The families are both dealing with their own problems and difficulties among the business competition and within their families. We get to know the main characters, Elena and Oliver, well because of the alternating points of view. I enjoyed reading about the creative ideas that both businesses came up with to help gain customers, such as a North Pole version of Pokemon Go and the seasonal themes of both stores. This cute romantic story earns a 4 star rating from me for a diverse set of supporting characters and a unique setting!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
As an adult reader, I'm giving this title three stars, but I do believe younger readers will appreciate it more. Teens will no doubt find the Pokemon Go angle addictive, as well as the enemies-turned-crush angsty sweet.

Julie Hammerle's writing style flows fluidly, the pacing quick, without over-description, written in a way to engage both younger and older readers without confusion or being 'dumbed' down.

Elena and Oliver's families own rival sporting goods stores. Enemies come head-to-head when Elena has to tutor Oliver. I felt both Elena and Oliver were written authentically for their age-group, realistic in their ‘voice,’ and were a good fit for one another.

The kids were told to be enemies by their families, and this tainted their interactions and thoughts of the other. They begin chatting with each other via a game app and don't realize it's their mortal enemy. The kids connect, find they truly like each other, but it all gets muddled up with the family feud. This is a perfect recipe for angsty dramatic yumminess. Some great interplay back and forth between Elena & Oliver – banterific.

As I stated above, younger readers will eat this book up, but as an older reader, it was hard to swallow the 'reason' as to why there was a rivalry – a bit too over-dramatic, unrealistic, and irrational. Immature on their families' parts, which is a no-no for me (adults not behaving maturely). Just let it go, not infect your children.

Recommended to young adult readers looking for a book where enemies turn into each other's crush.

Young Adult age-range: 14+

received in exchange for a honest review.

Normally I don’t break down my thoughts but I am going to try it and see how it goes.

Characters:

Oliver: loved him. My favorite of everyone. Watching him go from anti-social and a jerk to sweet and kind but also grand gesture romcom swoony was amazeballs. He was a perfect mc. He was your tech geek. Rather be on technology than interact with people. To me this was his way of not letting anyone hurt him. Except his Stash Dash game for the store started to change that. He slowly opened up and we saw the real Oliver. and the ending was so swoony. He went from one to growl at to one you cheered on. Julie Hammerle does a great job at getting you to fall in love with this surly guy.

Elena: she frustrated me at times. her holding on to the feud and laying into Oliver even when he was being kind was my growling moment to her and at the end I wanted to smack her upside the head. She didn’t even think what he was feeling only what had happened and her own pain. Overall though she was a great character. she was smart, sassy and kind. She put Oliver in his place when needed.

Harper: lost and confused. Glad she had Oliver seriously Oliver helped her. She was adorable though in her movie world and how she encouraged Oliver was awesome.

The parents: let things between them go to far but overall in the end got to see through Oliver that it was time to let go of the past and move forward and forgive one another. When they did this we get to see how nice and wonderful they were. It truly was Oliver’s gesture and swoony moment at the end that showed everyone what was wrong and that it needed to stop.

the Plot: fun, flirty and sassy. I love the feud but don’t. It hurt people unintentionally. The competition was nutty and how the whole town got into it was crazy but it did bring together two people you wouldn’t imagine would ever be in a room together without scowling. Oliver and Elena were two people that found each other to be burdensome. Elena when tutoring Oliver treated him like a bug to squash and Oliver scowled. Neither knew why they were at war but were. Oliver’s olive branches were scoffed and it was great to see how they learned about one each other and fell for one another. It was flirty, entertaining and sweet. Seeing the most unlikely save the day and fall in love and be the more accepting of it was awesome.

Overall: Fun book. Love Oliver. Very entertaining and sweet. Look forward to seeing Oliver’s dad find someone or even Harper. A wonderfully flirty and entertaining way to begin what looks to be a wonderful series.

As they say, there’s a fine line between love and hate. As for Oliver and Elena, they're dislike of one another is the bi-product of a decades long feud between their two families. With online pseudonyms, they are able to get to know each other without the hindrance of names and faces that puts them on guard.

After a slow start and tepid middle, the story picks up with some fun hi-jinks and a sweet finale. I liked Oliver from the start, but I didn't really gel with Elena's personality. She was often times quick frustrated and defensive - two traits that I didn't like. It wasn't until the last 25% of the book that her behavior improved and by then it was hard to change how I already felt towards her. I still enjoyed the sweet ending and HEA, but with the slow beginning, it felt like it took too long to get there.

Any Boy But You by Julie Hammerle.....What a sweet heartfelt story that keeps you flipping pages. The characters are very likeable and relatable, Elena and Oliver were fun to see their stories unfold. I am enjoying Julie Hammerle she definitely know how to tell a story. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book from publisher via NetGalley.

When I read the blurb and the comparison to You've Got Mail, I was hooked. Throw in a Romeo and Juliet aspect and you have the awesome first book in the North Pole series.

This was a really cute book about two teens who have no idea why they are supposed to hate each, only that that is what is expected of their families. Even the people in the town have taken sides between these two families and it has always been that way.

For the most part, this was a fun, lighthearted story but it did touch on some issues that can be especially difficult to navigate during the teen years. I absolutely loved Elena. She's feisty and an amazing friend. Oliver was hilarious once he started to come out of his shell. I can't wait to see what's in store of the rest of these characters as the series continues.

*This is my voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy*