4.5 Sniffs Review: CAMP BOYFRIEND by J.K. Rock #Giveaway

Monday, May 12, 2014

4.5 Sniffs Review: CAMP BOYFRIEND by J.K. Rock #Giveaway

Title: Camp Boyfriend

Series: Camp Boyfriend #1

Author: J.K. Rock

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

ASIN: B00DQZ2L7G
Release Date: July 2, 2013
Source: J.K. Rock (Paperback) ☆ NetGalley
Links: Goodreads ☆ Amazon ☆ Barnes and Noble

The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.

They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.

But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?

When Lauren receives an email from Seth, her camp boyfriend, about their upcoming First Kiss of Camp, she plans on breaking up with her current boyfriend, Matt, to have a clear conscious when she goes away for the summer. But when Matt tells her of his parents upcoming divorce and that he's going to Camp Juniper Point with her this summer, her plans become a disaster. Hearts are broken, friendships lost and gained, and lessons are learned as Lauren realizes that she needs to find herself before she can commit to anyone.

CAMP BOYFRIEND picks up two years after Camp Kiss when Lauren and Seth agreed to be a camp couple. She has moved to Texas and completely changed from the nerdy girl we met in the prequel. She's a cheerleader, part of the popular crowd, and dating the quarterback of the football team. But pretending to be happy in her role at her new school is taking its toll and she's looking forward to a summer away at camp. She just didn't expect her boyfriend to be coming with her, effective ruining her plans of possible have a year-round relationship with Seth, her camp boyfriend. Arriving at Camp Juniper Point as a new person with a boyfriend in tow has raised a lot of tension, suspicions, and distrust among her friends and fellow campers.

I loved coming back to Camp Juniper Point along with Lauren and the whole crew. And it was even more exciting with the new element of Matt add to the story. I was really kind of disappointed in Lauren's friends in Munchies Manor. They distrusted her so easily, and I thought that if they were truly her friends, they would at least hear her out, and know that certain things were not as they seemed. And that also went into how Lauren realized that people may not be what they seem as she gets to know some of the Divas' Den girls.

I did kind of feel bad for Seth in the beginning of the book, but as things went back and forth between him and Matt, I saw things that made me kind of disappointed in him. And as we learn more about Matt, along with Lauren, I was more and more on Matt's side. I really hoped that she would choose him. I still love Seth, but they way he acted in some cases just really blew it for him in my opinion.

I also really enjoyed Lauren's road to self discovery. She realizes that she doesn't need to be a science loving nerd OR a dance loving cheerleader. She realizes that she can be both. She's not just one thing. And that people are almost never just how they appear on the outside.

Seth: He was planning on trying out a year-round relationship with his camp girlfriend, Lauren, this year, but when she showed up to camp with another guy, he was really hurt. Rather than talk about it with her, he decided to leave for a little while and think things through on his own. As Lauren is working through her problems, he becomes closer to a fellow camper named Breyanna.

Matt: Following the news of his parent pending divorce, he decided to go to Camp Juniper Point with his girlfriend of eight months, Lauren, to get away from it all. But when he learns about her past with Seth, he feels betrayed and demands to know what's going on. As Lauren is working through her problems, Matt becomes friends with fellow camper, Hannah, with their similar problems at home.

Lauren: She has changed a lot since she moved to Texas with her family. She's not the nerdy girl with braces and thick glasses anymore. She's fashionable, popular, a cheerleader, and dating the quarterback of the football team. She's become more of a Divas' Den girl than a Munchies Manor girl. She was planning to break up with her boyfriend Matt before heading off to camp to be with her camp boyfriend Seth, but with Matt's news her plans are messed up and she's not stuck between two guys vying for her attention. As she learns more about each of them, and herself, she realizes that there is more to a person than what's on the outside.

So, we have the love triangle between Matt, Lauren, and Seth. There were quite a few steamy scenes between Matt and Lauren and Lauren and Seth, and then there were the death glares between Matt and Seth. Both Matt and Seth have redeeming qualities and qualities that make Lauren question them. But as the summer goes along, Lauren also realizes that there a things about both of them that she never knew. She sees a new side to them both. But when her time at camp came to an end, only one of them received an invitation to her sister's wedding as her plus one with the letter that she left for both of them at their respective cabins. Who she chose, I'm not going to say, but you all know that I'm totally on Team Matt, even though I still love Seth. But I feel that Matt is the better choice for Lauren.