Shae Ross

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Adorable new adult romance filled with great humor, steamy romance, and fun characters. This was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun romance.

Opening Sentence: “I can’t believe I let you guys talk me into this,” Devi says.

The Review:

Ryan Rose knows how to win and this spring break she is going to win something big. With her two best friends she is competing in a high-profile entrepreneurial competition show more where the prize is $100,000 and a chance to work for a fortune 500 company. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and there is no way the girls are going to lose. They have to beat the other team, which is made up of three frat boys from a rival university. But Team Ryan does have one slight advantage: people tend to underestimate three beautiful college girls.

Jett Trebuchet’s has never had a problem with getting what he wants. He is smart, driven, rich, and talented, so things tend to come easy for him. That doesn’t mean that he hasn’t worked for what he has, but when it comes to winning he really doesn’t know how to lose. So when he finds out that the competition is a group of girls he is pretty sure that his team will win. What he doesn’t expect is the instant attraction he feels towards the other team’s leader, or the fact that the girls will do anything to win!

It is kind of pathetic how much I adore Ryan. She is someone that I am nothing like, but wish I was more like. Her confidence shines whenever she is under pressure and she is never one to back down from a challenge. Losing is never an option and she will do whatever she has to to win. I loved her sassy attitude and how she always seems to have a comeback for everything. But she also has insecurities like any normal girl would, she is just better at hiding them from others. I instantly liked Ryan and as her story unfolds I developed a deep connection with her character. She is someone I wish I was friends with in real life!

Jett is a gorgeous frat boy who turned out to be way different then I originally thought. When you first meet him he seems like your average rich college boy with a major competitive streak, but as you get to know him you see that he is so much more than that. He is actually a really sweet guy that has worked extremely hard for everything he has. He is very respectful, giving, and just an all around great guy. It was really fun to watch the relationship between him and Ryan develop. They are both ridiculously competitive, but obviously crazy attracted to each other. I thought that they had amazing chemistry and in all honesty they are perfect for each other. Jett is a boy you easily fall for and he was a great addition to the story.

Pretty Smart Girls is an adorable contemporary romance with lots of humor, sexy times, and likeable characters. When I read the synopsis for this book I was already cracking up so I figured it was going to be a funny book and I was not disappointed. I found myself laughing out loud plenty of times throughout the story, but I did feel that there was more humor in the first half of the book versus the second half. That’s not to say that there wasn’t any funny parts in the second half because there was, I would have just liked to see a little bit more. The romance was really cute but it did develop very quickly. Personally, this didn’t bother me at all and in many ways real relationships develop quickly as well, but I imagine some people won’t love this aspect of the book. I adored all the characters and I hope that we get to see more of them in future books. I also loved how Ross ingrained emotional moments throughout the story. Not everything was all fun and games, which gave the story a lot more depth than just a fluffy romance. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to anyone that it looking for a fun new adult contemporary read.

Notable Scene:

Her index finger presses to her lips, and with a wideeyed expression she hisses out a slow shhh. “I was having a perfectly relaxing morning until you showed up.” She turns her back to me but her mouth is still moving. “it’s bad enough we have to spend the day together. I know you Wolverines like to hear yourselves talk.”

In the time it’s taken her to finish her sentence, I have stepped up behind her and am hovering over her shoulder, as close as I can get without spilling coffee on her.

“Did you just shush me?”

FTC Advisory: Entangled provided me with a copy of Pretty Smart Girls. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

Book Review
Book Title: Fearless (Pretty Smart Girls #2)
Book Author: Shae Ross

Introduction: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

Quick Summary: Devin Dalton (aka Devi) and Ben Winslow have crazy chemistry - but after a summer of "no's" coming form Devi, Ben and Devi finally get together. But of course, this isn't going to be a smooth ride, they are in for a fight with some drama in "dealing with their past" department.

Thoughts: show more This book is centered around post-college "new adults". They are dealing with trying to finds jobs, figuring out what they are doing in life, and the obvious post-college hurdles that grads have to come by. There is lots of romance, and some sexy scenes, and lots of drama.

I wasn't totally impressed with this book. It is definitely a great spin on a romance novel, but I saw all of the major plot points coming. All of the drama was very stereotypical of any soap opera / romance novel. But, that being said, this book was written with the college/post grad aged readers in mind. It was beautifully written and I did enjoy reading it - I just hoped that there would have been some spin that didn't leave me feeling cheated when I guessed the ending.

The opening line of this novel definitely gets five stars - it got me hooked instantly, and I had to finish the book. I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting since I loved these characters. They were so well developed over time, with little bits of information slowly being revealed about them, and they were overall likable. I understood and felt for them when something bad happened. I embraced these characters and their story!

This book is in dual POV which helps give you insight into both Devi and Ben's point of view. I really enjoyed that I could see through both of their eyes and read their thoughts. They had different reasons to their behaviours even though they were very similar characters. They are loud, outspoken and they both are determined to get what they want.

There is also a sub-plot in this book which (without spoiling) is very cute and heartwarming (with a pinch of heartbreaking at the same time. It works perfectly with this compelling story and gives the reader a break from the sexy romance and heated drama.

I did not read the first book (but I would like to!) and I understood it perfectly. So anyone who is worried, you'll understand the story just fine!

I really enjoyed this book, but overall it just didn't hit the bell. It's definitely a four out of five story - juts not a five out of five.

I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who loves the YA romance scene and wants a little bit more romance/sex, fans of adult romance but want a little bit more plot, and essentially anyone who loves a good soap opera.

Four out of five stars. show less

Book Review
Book Title: Fearless (Pretty Smart Girls #2)
Book Author: Shae Ross

Introduction: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

Quick Summary: Devin Dalton (aka Devi) and Ben Winslow have crazy chemistry - but after a summer of "no's" coming form Devi, Ben and Devi finally get together. But of course, this isn't going to be a smooth ride, they are in for a fight with some drama in "dealing with their past" department.

Thoughts: show more This book is centered around post-college "new adults". They are dealing with trying to finds jobs, figuring out what they are doing in life, and the obvious post-college hurdles that grads have to come by. There is lots of romance, and some sexy scenes, and lots of drama.

I wasn't totally impressed with this book. It is definitely a great spin on a romance novel, but I saw all of the major plot points coming. All of the drama was very stereotypical of any soap opera / romance novel. But, that being said, this book was written with the college/post grad aged readers in mind. It was beautifully written and I did enjoy reading it - I just hoped that there would have been some spin that didn't leave me feeling cheated when I guessed the ending.

The opening line of this novel definitely gets five stars - it got me hooked instantly, and I had to finish the book. I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting since I loved these characters. They were so well developed over time, with little bits of information slowly being revealed about them, and they were overall likable. I understood and felt for them when something bad happened. I embraced these characters and their story!

This book is in dual POV which helps give you insight into both Devi and Ben's point of view. I really enjoyed that I could see through both of their eyes and read their thoughts. They had different reasons to their behaviours even though they were very similar characters. They are loud, outspoken and they both are determined to get what they want.

There is also a sub-plot in this book which (without spoiling) is very cute and heartwarming (with a pinch of heartbreaking at the same time. It works perfectly with this compelling story and gives the reader a break from the sexy romance and heated drama.

I did not read the first book (but I would like to!) and I understood it perfectly. So anyone who is worried, you'll understand the story just fine!

I really enjoyed this book, but overall it just didn't hit the bell. It's definitely a four out of five story - juts not a five out of five.

I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who loves the YA romance scene and wants a little bit more romance/sex, fans of adult romance but want a little bit more plot, and essentially anyone who loves a good soap opera.

Four out of five stars. show less

**I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are my own and not influenced by my source.**

This book was a lot of fun: which is exactly what I was expecting!

I loved the chemistry between all the characters. It's there from the start and continues to the end. It makes the romance a lot more fun and enjoyable as well. Despite the fact that the story takes place in a week, I definitely could see why all the relationships would work or why certain people were drawn together. It show more really worked.

The plot was a lot of fun but also realistic in certain aspects. It's got plenty of drama to keep you entertained and I thought it balanced well with the character development.

Overall: this book was really addicting to read and I had so much fun reading it! I'm definitely picking up the next one in the series!

Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps! show less