With Prom finally coming up and her Senior Year ahead of her, Kate decides that this is her last chance to snag Mick - the star quarterback. Of course, Kate isn't one of the popular cheerleading girls. Operation Prom Date was one of those teen books that we see so often in the movies where the geek type girl or in Kate's case the girl who loves shows like Vampire Diaries and Arrow, so much she named her pet after Klaus. This reminded me of when I was five and was a big fan of The Little Mermaid and named my fish Flounder and cat Ariel. The other thing I loved about Kate was that she talked my talk with Shipping favorite stars and I loved the Arrow references as I am such an Oliver Queen girl. The thing is Kate doesn't know how to flirt or get Mick's attention in the way she needs and is running out of time. Enter Cooper Callahan. Cooper and Kate used to be friends along with Amber before popularity and cliques came into play. Now Cooper is out of a rowing partner to train with, and he knows Kate can row, so the pair strikes up a deal to help benefit each other as Mick rows too. Again total cliched moment as we know what to expect with Kate finally getting her man but is he the man that Kate expected or will she realize that her OTP is with someone else? Someone who she can be her complete self with and accepts her for who she is, not who she has become and someone who won't put pressures on Kate but wait till she is ready to move forward with the big stuff? For me, Operation Prom Date helped me relive all my favorite romantic comedy films like She's All That and Mean Girls.
Find out in this cutesy YA read aimed at 14-18yrs "Operation Prom Date" by Cindi Masden.

Loved Kate and Cooper! This is a fantastic and fun YA! This is the type of book that when you finish you just have a huge smile on your face Such a sweet and flirty romance!

There's nothing particularly new here - it's the classic teen story of the fake boyfriend used to lure the crush - but it was still pretty cute. I liked the relationship between Kate and Cooper and enjoyed that we got to hear both of their perspectives. At times it gets a little too cheesy, but that was to be expected. It was a good choice for reading as I recover from the hospital.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Jordan – ☆☆☆☆
Operation Prom Date (Tactics in Flirting #1) by Cindi Madsen was such a delightful lighthearted young adult book. Kate, the main character, was likable, fun, and very relatable. I especially enjoyed all the pop culture references! Fairly predictable storyline, but still an enjoyable easy, quick read. I can’t wait to see what comes next in the Tactics in Flirting series and I will definitely be looking into what other books Madsen has to offer.

Kate has been crushing on the hot quarterback, Mick, since her sophomore year in high school and with it being her last semester of senior year, there's only so much time left to snag him as her prom date. However, due to the fact that she seems to be inept at flirting, she's resorted to enlisting help from Cooper, who used to be her friend before he turned popular practically overnight. Cooper is in a bind since his rowing partner just broke his wrist and when he remembers that Kate was pretty good at rowing, they decide to strike a deal. He'll help Kate snag Mick's attention if she takes his rowing partner's spot to help him train. The only problem is that he had no idea how much he was gonna enjoy spending time with Kate.

Overall, I think Operation Prom Date was a solid four star read and I am sure readers will easily fall in love with this charming story. If you enjoy reading young adult romance books, then this book will easily win you over and have you wanting to ship this couple too!

So much swoony, feel-good adorableness here!

Operation Prom Date is everything that is good about YA romances--a slightly geeky, fairly awkward heroine; a seriously nice (and ripped! bonus...) hero; a friends-to-something more pairing--throw in the perfect prom dress and a bearded dragon, and I'm not sure what else you could possibly want :)

Often the romantic-tension-could-be-fixed-with-a-conversation-type plots drive me crazy, but here it actually worked. Kate and Cooper were both trying to stick to the plan (he helps her land her dream prom date, she helps him train for the rowing contest while his regular partner is unable to, both are super-adorable as they use military terms to refer to their mission a la what Kate used to do with her dad) and every time one of them started to get other ideas, Ms. Madsen gave them a perfectly reasonable reason for them to deny it. Even when I was thinking Gah! You're each other's OTP! Wake up already! and trying to come up with ship names that didn't just sound like their actual names (fortunately, Cooper did a much better job with that than I did) I still loved every minute that I spent with these two.

And then the ending? Made every second of semi-frustration totally worth it.

Anxiously awaiting book #2!

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

4 stars

Operation Prom Date was a sweet quick read, I really enjoyed it.

The storyline was cute, sweet and I loved watching Kate and Cooper together. They were likable, smart, funny and just perfect together. They made me laugh and swoon with antics, these two were going to have a very happy life together :)

Operation Prom Date by Cindi Madsen is a lovely read and a great start to the Tactics in Flirting series, looking forward to reading more in the near future.

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*Thank you to Entangled ~ Crush via Netgalley for the advance copy.*

I received a copy of this from netgalley for review.

This was another great Entangled Teen book. I loved Kate and Cooper, but especially Kate. She is nerdy, sweet, funny, and has a bearded dragon for a pet. I disliked Mick early on and kept cheering for Kate and Cooper to finally admit their feelings to each other. I love a great romance and this book didn't disappoint me.

Operation Prom Date is a young adult contemporary romance by author Cindi Madsen. I have read some of Cindi’s adult romances and I really enjoyed them. They were fun and flirty so I was really excited when I saw she was coming out with a young adult romance. And even more excited when it was called the Tactics in Flirting series. Operation Prom Date is the first book in the Tactics in Flirting series. And I have to tell you…I flippin’ LOVED this book. It was so cute. I felt like my face was going to hurt after because I was smiling so much.

Operation Prom Date had so many elements in that I love. It had a plot to get a guy that involved using another guy, it had a great friends to more storyline, and it has tons of geeky fandom references! Kate and Cooper are the two main characters in this story, and Operation Prom Date is told in dual narrative between their points of views. What I appreciated most about this was the fact that this was a true friends to more story. Neither Kate nor Cooper had a crush on each other at the start of the story. It developed over time on both of their sides, which was very refreshing. And super cute to get to see their feelings grow in each of their chapters.

Cooper is very into astronomy and rowing (crew). I loved Cooper. He is such a great guy. And Kate is a numbers gal. A super math nerd (I envy the ease at which she can calculate odds and percentages!) but also a total romantic. I loved all her talk of OTP and the different shows she watches. She is always talking about who she ships and cannon couples. I just loved it. The fandom geek inside of me was totally geeking out!

It has been a long time since I have read a young adult contemporary that I loved as much as I loved Operation Prom Date. It is so freakin’ cute. You will fall in love with Cooper and Kate. I promise. This book is perfect for fans of all things fandom. If you liked All the Feels by Danika Stone, you will enjoy this one. I loved it! One of my favorites of the year for sure. I totally ship Kate and Cooper. And Cooper has ton book boyfriend material written all over him!

Loved this one! So quirky and sweet and fun! The chemistry between Cooper and Kate was PERFECT and I think fans of YA will tear through this as fast as I did. I can't wait to read more from Cindi Madsen- her writing style is so enjoyable.

Adorable! I thought this story was so cute. It was light and fun and I loved the characters in this story.
Friends to lovers is always a fun trope and this has become a favorite YA for me. Such a sweet story. I thought the characters were relatable and fun to read about. Can't wait to read more from this author.

I haven't read a teen romance in a while and this is one book that will not disappoint. Kate is the nerdy girl and Cooper is the nerd turned cool guy. They're not BFFs but tolerate each other enough to be friends. Shipping fictional TV characters and Maths are her passion while astronomy and rowing are his. So when Kates decides that her last year in high school needs to end with her forever crush being her prom date and Cooper needs a rowing partner to continue with his training. they join forces. But what following in more that mutual cooperation and quid pro quo. Cooper realises that Kate gets him better than anyone else he knows and Kate can't help comparing Cooper with her crush Mick who seems to keep failing to match up to Cooper. Emotions naturally run high considering all those natural teenage hormones and what you get is a hilarious but sweet romantic comedy of a story. I am really looking forward to the next in the series. I totally shipped Coopate or Kater or however this is done. ;oD

5 STARS!

This was a perfectly fluffy read. Sometimes "fluff" is boring or stilted with lack-luster characters. Not one of those adjectives describes Operation Prom Date. It may not be Austen or Steinbeck, but it achieves everything it should in a fun YA story. And when I say fun, I mean funny! I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. I have to admit that I was initially wary of the familiar romance trope that OPD follows - pseudo relationship to achieve a goal - but author Cindi Madsen succeeded in creating a refreshing story from the familiar. Weaving witty banter, an inspiring hero and heroine with the perfect amount of conflict makes for the ideal escape from the heavier drama-filled young adult book. Ultimately, Operation Prom Date was a sweet surprise and has me excited to dig into more of author Cindi Madsen's work.

This was a sweet and fast read. It's a very fluffy story, the characters are decent, and so is the writing. The romance portion of the story was well executed, and the whole text is very easy to consume; it's filled with pop-culture references and light humor. I really liked it.

In Kate's world of fandoms and OTP's, she clings hard to the fact that there's one person for everyone. In her mind, her true real life OTP is herself and Mick. The only problem is Kate is shy and introverted while Mick is one of the most popular boys in school. So, of course, she's basically had no contact with him. Enter Cooper, an old friend who has gained some popularity recently. Kate enlists Cooper to help her win Mick over in time to go to prom and for his efforts she'll help be his stand-in rowing partner while his real one recovers from injury. Hi-jinks ensue, feelings grow and fade, and Kate is left to question just who is her OTP.

This book was adorable. I related instantly to Kate. I mean, she ships Olicity so how could I not? I mean, look at them...

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Ok, sorry, got side tracked. Anyway...I pretty much just got Kate's world. However, the one thing I couldn't get behind was her "OTP". I guess the saying 'love is blind' comes to play here because Kate was pretty much blind to anything about Mick that wasn't in her already perfectly constructed picture.
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And then there was Cooper, who obviously was her true OTP because they were just too freaking adorable together. Cooper initially accepts Kate's crazy plan because rowing is his life and he doesn't want to lose practice time. But over the course of spending long hours together, he realizes that Kate is a breath of fresh air from his very scheduled life. She gives him strength when he needs it and even when they seem to be falling apart, she's still there supporting him.

I will say one thing that drove me nuts about Kate is when she's internally complaining about Cooper not liking her back because he isn't showing any signs so he obviously doesn't feel the same way. Girl, you asked him to help you land another guy! Why would he reveal his feelings to you when he thinks you're still in love with Mick?! Ugh, teenagers...

Overall, I adored this. This was my first book from Madsen but am definitely ready to read more.

I most definitely have a new couple to ship now - Kaper! This was such a cute, sweet friends to lovers story. Kate and Cooper are both enjoyable characters. I had an idea of where the story was going, but it was still great to get to see their relationship go from friends to more. It was a steady build-up and was not rushed at all. I loved that Kate wasn't this perfect person. She was awkward at times and didn't have a filter, but she owned who she was and didn't make any apologies for it. I also really enjoyed her fandom shipping. Cooper was a great guy and the perfect person to be with Kate. I really loved this story and am looking forward to reading the next one in this series.

Operation Prom Date by Cindi Madsen......What a great fun book, I enjoyed everything about it, easy and a quick read. Kate was a fun and likeable character. Kate wants her crush Mick to ask her to the Prom and it was fun watching the story play out. I highly recommend this book. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book from publisher via NetGalley.

Swoon-tastic, adorable and delicious! I flew through this book faster than Cooper and Kate could have ever rowed. I mean that in the best way possible. It has been a long time where I was able (and wanted) to not put a book down for a second. I started Operation Prom Date on a Friday night and finished it Sunday afternoon. I adored every second of this adorable romance and I could not ship these characters any harder if I tried.

We start off our story with Kate, who is some-what of a loner and prefers to stick to herself. However, all she wants for her senior year goal is to land her crush for prom. Definitely not the easiest feat when you're shy, your best friend has abandoned you, and your crush is one of the hottest guys in school. However with the help of an old friend, Kate sets out to get exactly what she wants and I couldn't have loved following her more. Especially that she is a math nerd and I'm a math teacher, easy soft spot for our protagonist!

Kate isn't the only star of the show though. I adored Cooper and everything he stands for with his intelligence, blonde locks, and Kanye-scale abs he is everything you ship for in a boy. Then, there's Kate's mom who constantly had me laughing. She reminded me of my mom actually. It makes me so happy when an author can create a character that connects to something you love in your life.

Overall, this contemporary story was everything I look for in a fun, but adorable romance. I loved it from the very beginning up until the very end. If you want an quick, charming story with perfect references, characters, romance, parents, and pets (can't forget the pets) this is definitely a story for you. Cindi effortlessly weaves so many amazing qualities into this story and I cannot wait till her next one!

Kaper is my OTP!!!! I loved this story so much!!

Kate is crushing on the high school quarterback and enlists Cooper to help her on her mission of landing him as her prom date. But what happens when the mission is to land the wrong guy?

This book is full of the best show references and ships and I loved how Cooper felt lost half the time Kate was talking. As someone who only watches half of what she does, it was great to not feel alone. This book was hilarious and adorable! I never wanted it to end!!

4.5 “Operation I Ship It So Hard It Hurts” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Entangled Crush!

OMG, this book just filled me with the fuzzies and I can barely deal with how happy and giddy I am right now. I just finished this, and I had to run here and write this review because my heart is too full of love.

Operation Prom Date is the best kind of book because it seems innocent and silly enough than BAM! You start reading it and it knocks you on your butt with how cute, adorable, sweet, hot and funny it is. To say I didn’t expect to love it this much is an understatement. I’m seriously in love with this book, you guys.

One of the themes featured in this book is shipping, and in case you don’t know me, let me just tell you this: I live for shipping characters in books, movies and TV series. Like Kate, the main character in this story, I’m obsessed with fictional couples (despite not being able to rely on the age excuse, like Kate does) and this book gave me another ship. Kate and Cooper deserve all the shipping gifs on the Internet because that’s how hard I fell for them.

Anyway, onto why I love this book and these characters so much… It’s quite simple, this had exactly what I need when I grab a YA Contemporary Romance: tons of feels, likable characters, perfect pairing, tension that melts your Kindle, slow burn romance that squeezes your heart and, a bonus, humor.

I had a stupid smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. The only time I wasn’t smiling was when they finally got together, but that’s because I was tearing up. That’s how awesome Kate and Cooper were—their big scene mad me tear up, which I realize it’s quite silly, but also cute, right?

The best things about how this romance is the stages this pairings went through. First, they were only classmates who made a pact: Cooper would help Kate get the attention of the boy she had a crush on and Kate would help Cooper train for the rowing competition until his partner is better from an injury. It was innocent enough, and they were completely platonic, which means you get to fall in love with them with every step they take. It’s such a joy. Then, as they start spending time together, their friendship grows so strong and it’s SO. FREAKING. PERFECT.

Kate and Cooper are so, so fun together. They made me laugh hard so many times, like when Kate is explaining to Cooper about what shipping fictional characters mean, about OTPs and canons and vampire shows (*cue to me crying because that TVD ending was horrible and my OTP didn’t have the ending they deserved and I’ll never recover from that*). Cooper’s reaction to that how thing was hilarious and so sweet, because he doesn’t mock her. They banter and joke about it, but it’s such a healthy relationship that you can already see their friendship—and, yes, romance—going so far. At that point I was already shipping them hard.

And then there’s Cooper passion for stars and planets and the space in general, and how Kate respects that and even encourages him to share what he knows with her. Again, they banter and joke about it, but it never feels offensive or like they’re mocking each other. It’s actually all sorts of cute. And funny. SO funny.

There are so many great scenes between them. I can’t even keep track anymore. Even when things get tricky because Kate takes too long to figure out she’s obsessing over the wrong guy, and Cooper takes too long to make a move, the story is still perfect because it made me feel so much. I suffered with Cooper as he slowly fell for her and realized he was hurting from seeing her with someone else. The pain was real, you guys. It hurt so good, you know?

Then I swooned really hard. Really, really hard when things finally started moving toward the happy ending. It was my favorite scene of the book.

Aside from the perfect romance, I loved the relationship between Kate and her mother. It was just fantastic and I wish I could see more of that type of easy mom/daughter relationship in YA.

Another thing I should say is that I’m way too interested in the possible story of Vance Mitchell and Alana Kelekolio. Even though they had exactly one scene together, that “I have a boyfriend” x “I have a goldfish” exchange was precious. I want to see where it’s going—if it goes anywhere.

Last but not least, I should say this book wasn’t perfect. I do realize the whole “changing in order to get the attention of a boy”/“pretending to be someone else” plotline could’ve been dealt a little better if Kate’s realization in the end had been bigger. I wish she had had a light bulb moment in the end more significant than the one she did, because I’m afraid the message was too subtle and could be misinterpreted. Having said that, I liked that Cooper never came across as judgmental or tried to take the choice away from Kate. He said more than once that she was smart enough to know what she was getting herself into, and I liked that he respected her choices. I also approved of the fact that the author didn’t turn the other guy into this villain. It could’ve been easily done, but thankfully it didn’t happen.

So, from this absurdly long review you get the idea that I absolutely loved this, right? I adore when Entangled Crush delivers exactly on what it promises, and Operation Prom Date gave me a main character that shared my obsession for fictional ships, a love interest that was swoon-worthy to whole other degree, and a pairing to ship until it hurts.... All of that in a book with a stunning cover!! Couldn’t have asked for anything better!

This has to be the cutest, most adorable teen Entangled romance that I’ve read in a while! This book is all kinds of amazing 😀 .

I had read one book by Cindi Madsen before, but it was a NA book, Crazy Pucking Love, and I wasn’t impressed by the book or the writing. But this one is a totally different story. Operation Prom Date is told in the first person, dual POV, and it’s fun and light, and it makes so many pop culture references that my heart was just about to explode from happiness.

Which leads me to the characters, and oh boy, these 2 were kind of great. Kate is a serious student, super smart, who loves to watch tv shows and ship the couples in them… but she wants a fairy tale moment and that’s why she is convinced that she has to go to prom with Mick. I really liked Kate, I thought she felt real, because she had so many different sides to her. I liked to read about her.

Cooper though… WOW! The guy is kind of dreamy. I loved that he didn’t keep the different parts of himself hidden, he truly didn’t care what other people thought, and he was happier for it. I liked that he knew what he loved, even if felt trapped by his dad’s choices for him. I loved that he put friendship and Kate’s needs ahead of his own, because that is love.

I’m a fan of these kinds of romances, where the girl thinks she wants one guy and ends up falling for the guy who is right next to her, and it was super well done here. The author managed to show their friendship and how much they meant to each other as friends, before the romance crept in the way, and that just made the romance all the better.

I shipped them… BAD! They were so cute together, and they talked about everything, from the most inconsequential thing, to very deep and heavy stuff, and their connection was so well achieved.

TO SUM IT UP, IF YOU’RE IN THE MOOD FOR A VERY CUTE AND HEARTWARMING TEEN ROMANCE, WITH A SLIGHT DOSE OF ANGST (SMALL), GIVE THIS ONE A CHANCE, I’M TELLING YOU IT’S VERY WORTH IT!