What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

This book just didn't work for me.

I normally love cringe teen romances, but this one just had a little too much cliche, but without it being super cute.

It just felt a little bit forced to me,

Also, I know next to nothing about golf, so those bits were kind of just not at all interesting to me... Which I expected, but also I hoped the story would make up for it.

Also, I just wasn't a fan of any of the guys in this book? They're kind of stereotypical, and overall just not that great.

Hoping I enjoy my next read more!!

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I’m a big fan of friends-first love stories, so this book already had that going for it. It was a fun, quick book to read. According to the Acknowledgments at the end, the author based the setting and some characters on her own life, which kind of made me like it even more.

The characters were relatable and, for the most part, likable. Kate (16) and Scott (17) were a good match for each other, and it was both entertaining and frustrating to watch them dance around their feelings for each other. I enjoyed watching Kate overcome her insecurities as a female golfer. I liked Scott pretty immediately; however, his behavior at Olivia’s party really turned me off of him. Fortunately, he did redeem himself in both my eyes and Kate’s. I wasn’t sure if I should like Stuart (16? 17? 18?) or not, so I kind of withheld any attachment for him for a while. Kate’s older sister Tracey actually annoyed me, to be honest. I think she gave Kate terrible advice on multiple occasions, though she was a good sister in the end. I didn’t realize that Will (Kate’s brother) was younger than she was until a little bit into the book when his age was given (13). From the way he acted, I thought for sure he was Kate’s twin or a little older (it made it confusing since I knew Tracey was older and had been accepted to college). Olivia was really a one-dimensional character, and I wish Kate had been able to have a good female friend; however, I do recognize that it’s not realistic to expect every female main character to have good female friends. Kate had Scott and her siblings, and honestly, that can be enough.

I wish that Kate’s photography had been included a little bit more. It seemed like such a big part of her, but it hardly had any space on the page. In fact, it was pretty much forgotten for a good deal of the book, even though she was a finalist in a competition and her artwork was being featured in a gallery with adult photographers.

The vandal wasn’t that difficult to figure out, but that’s okay. I didn’t read this book for its mystery elements. Stuart’s part in everything did make it more interesting, though. And, btw, I hate Mr. Landon. Cowardly, passive-aggressive jerk. Personally, I found the “partnership” between Kate’s dad and Mr. Landon to be extremely unbalanced. Mr. Landon owned 75% of the business, but it didn’t seem like he contributed anything to it, even finances.

I appreciated that this book didn’t come across as a “girls are better than boys” book. I’m all for strong females, but I really hate it when that happens at the expense of strong males. Men don’t have to be emasculated for women to be strong and powerful. I really do think we’re better together.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

Note: A little swearing. Teen drinking at a party.

Parent’s Perspective: I’d be okay with my daughter reading this when she’s a teenager (I don’t see my sons being interested). I think it’s important to talk about a few things, though. Honesty, I never went to a party like Olivia’s (in high school, college, or ever), and I hope I’m raising my kids in a way that they’ll avoid them, too. Something that really bothered me was Scott’s behavior when he was drunk. Let me change that—I think it was great to portray him that way when he was drunk; the drunk people I’ve observed have been pretty similar to that. And I’m glad that Kate left and responded to him the way she did. What sits badly with me is that she and Scott never talked about it. She flat-out said (to herself) that it was the first time she had ever felt unsafe with him, and I think that’s a big deal. She later told him that he didn’t do anything wrong when he was drunk; instead, she should have told him the truth about how he acted and told him how she felt being around him. It would be good to talk about some of Tracey’s advice, too. For example, she basically told Kate that she should have let drunk-Scott kiss her and that she should go back and fix things. Seriously.

This book was quite cute from the beginning. It brought back all those memories from the young innocent crush era of my life. How uncertain though can be about someone else’s feelings and the constant wondering “does he/she like me?”. The nervous excitement of finding out you may have a chance with your crush. It was a cute book and I enjoyed the fun dynamic between Kate and Scott. The story revolves around Kate trying to save her family’s golf course and I liked how it showed the downside and hardships of owning a golf course. Overall it was a quick read.

Oh the joys of teenage love! Is he looking at me? Does she really like me? Was that touch supposed to mean something?

I really loved this cute YA about friends who could be more? Should be more? Set around Summer working at the golf club owned by our heroine.

Kate is having a summer she's never forget and not in a good way. Her family business is tanking, the guy who has been her best friend for the past four years is all of a sudden sending mixed signals, her best friend EVER is acting like she hates her and the fate of the family golf course is on her shoulders in which she needs to make state to garner some publicity for their course.. Throw in a new hire - with a cute British accent and she's toast.

I loved Kate and how she really just wanted the best for everyone and was willing to help in anyway. The dynamic between her and Scot was awkward and funny and I loved it all!

It was fun to have the background to the story revolve around the golf course. Having grown up with a family of golfers, it was fun and brought back memories of my own on the course.

My 12 year even read it and loved it. Great YA and can't wait to read more from this author.

"Falling for Wonder Boy" is the second book is the Vernon High Chronicles series. In this second installment, Kristine Carlson Asselin turns away from Ice Hockey and turns to golfing. Kate Anderson is the sixteen year old daughter of the owner of a small golf course. Her goal for the summer is to qualify for the New Hampshire Junior State Golf Championship. But pressure is added on her shoulders when she overhears that she needs to win to bring back new clients to the course before her family goes bankrupt. Between navigating the pressure of being one of the only girls to compete in such tournaments, and being stuck into a love triangle with two of the golf course employees, Kate is set for an eventful summer.
Falling for Wonder Boy was a great light read that h ad me hooked. If you liked the first book, this one is even better, the pace just keeps pulling you back into your book. It also goes touch some very important subjects like running a family business, sexism in sports, and how hard it can be for small businesses to compete against bigger ones.

While I would have never read a book about golf mainly because the sport absolutely bores me to tears.. I had read something similar before and had found that story positively great for the YA/contemporary genre. This book though.. it could have been so much better had it been developed in a different manner.

There is one thing that bothered me from the beginning, all starting with the character of Tracey. As an older sister myself, I would never in a million years make my own sister’s believe that misogynistic actions are in any way okay. I absolutely loathe the saying “boys will be boys” and for this book to reiterate this concept not once but more than that just shows that we live in a society where all actions that men commit can be explained away by that line. This concept is not okay. And for this kind of book being allowed to be out in the world potentially making young girls think that it’s okay for them to be treated in a certain way without being able to stand up for themselves? No. Just no.

Maybe the author didn’t mean for this to come across in such a way so I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt. I hate doing this because I am such an easy reviewer and I love falling in love with books but this book just went far above my limits.

*ARC received in exchange for honest review*

I received Falling For Wonder Boy by Kristine Carlson Asselin from Netgalley. However, I will not be able to read, review or leave a true rating on retail websites or Goodreads because I did not see the review was due on my calendar since Thursday had three events in the calendar and can not get into the book knowing it's due in three days. I won't have time this month and don't want to stress myself more with trying to get this book done. Sorry, this one is all me this time. I'm not able to just mark it as did not finish here for some reason. Please don't take my low star rating personally, I was told here that I had to leave a one star rating. I will not be providing a rating anywhere else. Thank you.

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I was very excited for this contemporary mostly because it is set in a small town in New Hampshire, and I actually live in a small town in New Hampshire. The summary sounded like a lot of fun, and I liked that it focuses on a girl golf prodigy whose parents own a rinky dink golf course.

Overall, I did enjoy Kate as the MC. She has a lot of insecurities, she struggles with friendships changing, with being "one of the boys", with sticking up for herself. I was proud of her when she made good choices (like saying no at a party when shes pressured to drink, to leaving situations that make her uncomfortable) and appreciated when she put herself out there.

Scott was an interesting enough love interest. He definitely had the friends-to-lovers trope going on, but I did find a lot of things I didn't like about him; he had a temper, he didn't always make smart choices, and he wasn't always nice.

I was a little disappointed that Stuart wasn't more of a triangle-worthy character, as everything pointed towards that being his role in the story, and he never stepped into it. Realistically, his character could have been left out completely and very little would have changed. Despite that, I did enjoy what little we saw of him, and wish there had been more.

My biggest qualm with this book was this: on multiple occasions the actions of the guys in the story were written off as "boys will be boys". I LOATHE that excuse, and I was incredibly disappointed to see it used to often.

Specific examples here:
<spoiler> The first instance occurs after Scott gets drunk and is an idiot to Kate. She is understandably upset, and instead of being indignant on her behalf, her older sister tells her that he's a boy and he can't help it, and that she needs to stop being so sensitive about it. The author had an opportunity here to let Kate step up and say "no, thats not a good excuse", and instead she has Kate agreeing and forgiving him with no more reservations.

The worst occurrence happens after Kate is caught in a storm during a tournament and finds herself surrounded by boys all while wearing a now very wet white shirt. The responses to her being VERY UNDERSTANDABLY upset are 1) for her sister to tell her she shouldn't dress that way if she can't handle the consequences, 2) for Kate to get jeered at and talked about for days, with multiple guys oogling her chest, and 3) for this behavior to yet again be brushed off as "boys being boys". INFURIATING. </spoiler>

All in all, this was relatively amusing to read, but my feelings were overshadowed by how disappointed I was in the attitudes of all of the characters. Its 2018 and time to stop teaching people that its okay to act like this.

Falling for Wonder Boy by Kristine Carlson Asselin is the 2nd book of the Veron High Chronicles young adult series. Kate Anderson 16, signs up to try out for New Hampshire Junior State Golf Championship, where she might be the only girl. Kate's family owns a small golf course, which is barely making it. Someone is sabotaging the course, which is not helping their business. Kate's determined to find out who is doing the damage, with the help of her best friend, Scott, who she has feelings for. This book was a quick read, but not my favorite young adult book by this author. I will be looking for her next book though.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I realize belatedly that picking up a novel about a young girl interested in golf probably wasn't the best idea for me as I'm typically not a fan of most sports and while I may not <i>hate</i> golf with a fiery passion as I do with American football (gag), I definitely find it to be a fairly boring activity outside of goofing off. That said, while I didn't have a high level of interest in the main sport of this book, the golf aspect of it genuinely wasn't all that bad. In fact, after reading the afterward in the book about the original title, I'm actually genuinely annoyed that it was changed in the first place. <i>The Sweet Spot</i> is by far an infinitely better title for a book than <i>Falling for Wonder Boy</i>. It's certainly a million and one times less vapid, in my opinion.

<i>Falling for Wonder Boy</i> by Kristine Carlson Asselin definitely had a lot of potential as a novel, but I don't feel like it ever reached a lot of that potential. The best thing that this book has going for it is that the characters are actually decently written and developed. Unfortunately, the piece that really bogs down the novel is it's predictability and the lack of reasonable motive in the villain. Ironically, I had the arsonist pegged exceedingly early in the novel. While there was a brief moment when I questioned my certainty, it didn't last long and ultimately left me with a feeling that the author was simply trying to, but couldn't quite complete the process of, throw the reader off the trail.

But the arsonist, in the end, was painfully obvious and the story as a whole ridiculously predictable. It didn't make the novel terrible, and in fact I was ready to say it was just a mediocre book but not a bad read and I would have had it not been for Tracey. The main reason that this book ended with a two-star rating rather than a three was due to the main character's older sister, Tracey, who at regular intervals existed as the character to make excuses for misogynistic actions as though to question the main character's hurt and anger at certain mistakes made by her crush.

There was almost a 'boys will be boys' approach to the advice that Tracey gave her younger sister, alternating between a commentary that one should forgive a boy's terrible behavior because otherwise they will blow their shot at their crush and the idea that boy's are worthless and awful, neither of which are ideas I would ever want any young girl developing. And this is not to say that the level to which Tracey showed these problematic pieces of herself was enough to condemn the book as a whole, because it wasn't. And I'm sure that it wont bother everyone. But for me, it was too much.

<i>I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>