3 Sniffs Review: BE GOOD by Dakota Madison

Title: Be Good
Author: Dakota Madison
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Short on Time Books
ASIN: B00C5YSBB4
Release Date: December 27, 2013
Source: Dakota Madison
Links: Goodreads ☆ Amazon

The Bad-Girl and the Boy-Next-Door...

After getting completely wasted at a wedding reception, bridesmaid Anna Hart wakes up in a strange bed and can't remember what she did or who she did it with.

The stranger in bed with Anna is Brett Conner, a nerdy guy who she vaguely remembers from college, but only because everyone called him Clown Hair. Only Brett isn't quite as nerdy as Anna remembers. His clown hair is long gone and Brett is almost cute--and kind of sexy.

Over the course of four weddings, in four cities, in one crazy summer, Brett and Anna start a mismatched relationship. But is there a future for the bad-girl and the boy-next-door?

Anna Hart is a party girl with a reputation for sleeping around. When she wakes up next to Brett Connor after a wedding, hungover, she can't remember how she ended up with him. As Anna gets to know Brett better, she begins to feel things she never felt with any of the other guys she's been with before. Brett promises her that he's not "that guy," but he may not be as good as he seems.

During the course of four weddings, BE GOOD shows us that appearances can be deceiving. Anna is portrayed as a "bad girl" on the outside, but she's really just a misunderstood girl who got trapped in that label of a bad girl. Brett, on the other hand, is portrayed as the "boy next-door" or a good guy, but his actions show that he's not as good as everyone thinks he is.

There were a few parts of the story that I really didn't like, one namely being how Anna constantly puts herself down. She even has a list of 126 flaws, that she's always repeating, and I really just wanted her to find something or someone who made her feel better about herself. I also didn't really like how Brett was always saying that he loved Anna, but at times it sounded really insincere and his actions at points in the story prove that he's not completely true to himself, much less Anna, about how he feels. I did, however, really like the appearances can be deceiving lesson, and Anna's transformation by the end of the book.

The Guy: Brett Connor was known as "clown hair" in college and was a math tutor. Now he's tamed his hair and works for NASA. He's only had one serious relationship before he's with Anna. He insists that he's not like all the other guys that Anna's been with, but that isn't necessarily true.

In the beginning of BE GOOD, I really liked Brett. He was sweet and he took care of Anna when she was sick. But by the end, especially after what he did to Anna, I just really wanted to pop him one. He was a complete jerk and was kind of a spineless coward. Anna is way more forgiving than I would have been if he had done that to me.

The Girl: Anna Hart has been told all her life the negative things about herself and very rarely anything positive that didn't have to do with how she looked. She has a list of 126 flaws that seem to haunt her wherever she goes. The way Brett treated her with respect boosted her self-worth and her heart starts opening to feelings she's never had before. Anna is a girl seen for her looks, so when Brett looked beyond her face to what may be inside, she quickly fell in love with him.

This girl. I just really loved her. She is so misunderstood and has so much to offer, but people rarely take the time to notice. When Anna was hurt by Brett, I loved how she picked herself up and decided to improve herself. When she finally finds her self-worth, she's not going to let anyone treat her like she's disposable again. So yay for Anna!

It all started with one drunken night after a wedding. Anna wakes up with no memory of the night before, and as Brett takes care of her and they share breakfast, something more begins between them. After they go home, Anna reaches out to Brett via Facebook and they start seeing each other.

Brett and Anna shared things with each other that they never shared with anyone one else before. Brett shared his love for gardens, even taking Anna to a number of them, and reveals the reason behind it. Anna shared her feelings and insecurities about herself as a person, and how no one was really there for her growing up.

That all sounds really nice and perfect, right? Just wait.

Then Sweater Vest starts reconnecting with Brett after seeing him in photos with Anna on Facebook. It was obvious to me that she was jealous that Brett was moving on and her way of driving a wedge between him and Anna. But he didn't see it that way. And the end result was Brett hurting Anna and breaking her heart.

But Anna became a stronger, better version of herself as a result. She started finding herself and what she's really interested in and what makes her happy. Because of Brett's jerky move, Anna found her self-worth. And that is the only reason I don't outright hate him.

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