Review of One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin

Title/Author: One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin
Publisher/Date published: Spencer Hill Press, February 10th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Tomboy to the core, Toni Valentine understands guys. She'll take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests over manicures. So Toni is horrified when she's sent to the Winston Academy for Girls, where she has to wear a skirt and learn to be a lady while the guys move on without her.

Then Toni meets Emma Elizabeth, a girl at school with boy troubles, and she volunteers one of her friends as a pretend date. Word spreads of Toni’s connections with boys, and she discovers that her new wealthy female classmates will pay big money for fake dates. Looking for a way to connect her old best friends with her new life at school, Toni and Emma start up Toni Valentine’s Rent-A-Gent Service.

But the business meets a scandal when Toni falls for one of her friends - the same guy who happens to be the most sought-after date. With everything she's built on the line, Toni has to decide if she wants to save the business and her old life, or let go of being one of the guys for a chance at love.

So I was totally ready for some a fun contemporary with fluffy romance and that's EXACTLY what I got!

As a kid, I used to be a bit of a tomboy, my best friend was a boy and I didn't get why other girls weren't interested in climbing trees. So I could identify with Toni, even if I turned into a girly girl somewhere during high school. I think One of the Guys was awfully cute, but it also had themes that are so important: friendship, dealing with the loss of a parent and changing relationships. I could so feel for Toni because she sees her friendship with the boys changing and she's desperately trying to recapture the feeling of the summer when they first became friends. She's just trying to keep this friendship that's helped her through grieving for her father the same and I absolutely understood her fear of seeing it slip through her fingers even with all of her efforts. And I think that it's only after you can see that childhood friendhips need to either grow (and change) with you, or they usually die a silent death. So yeah, this is pretty much a subject close to my heart.

I loved seeing Toni make a new female friend at Winston Academy and the birth of their business and the handling of it was pretty fun. I'm not sure about how feasible it is that so many girls were in need of a fake date at this one school, but hey, it makes for an entertaining story. I also liked seeing how Toni gets more in touch with her girly side while still firmly being herself. I loved that she's this brave, loyal girl who truly cares for her mom and her friends and just tries to hold them close.

I also really liked the boys, Loch is just plain awesome and I'd want him for my friend (or more) as well. He's just a caring, reliable, good guy who has swoony moments. VERY swoony moments. Cowboy is this shy, intelligent guy who could also probably win my heart with his boyishness. I have to admit that I wasn't really a fan of Ollie. He's a bit mean at times and he's blaming Toni for something that wasn't entirely her fault and I just felt that he was throwing their friendship away over pretty much nothing. But he sorta redeems himself in the end.

So this is the background to which my cute romance is set and it was AWESOME. OMG, I shipped it so hard! I just wanted to pinch them and scream OMG YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE, BUT KISS ALREADY!!! They were both so insecure about taking action and that last scene hit me right in the feels and I totally had tears in my eyes and I don't know, this best friend turns love interest thing just works for me! Or maybe this particular ship just worked for me, cause they were just perfect! I love that they had a real basis for their romance as they've been friends for years and they really KNOW each other. There's no insta-love, but lots of awkwardness and glances and cluelessness and I JUST SHIP IT OK?

So bottom line: I totally loved One of the Guys, it was SO cute and it deals with important friendship themes. You definitely add it to your TBR list if it isn't on there already! I stayed up till 2AM to finish this, it was THAT good.

My rating: 5 stars