After book blogger Vivian Galdi’s longtime crush pretends their secret summer kissing sessions never happened, Vivian creates a list of safe crushes, determined to protect her heart.

But nerd-hot Dallas, the sweet new guy in town, sends the mission and Vivian’s zing meter into chaos. While designing software for the bookstore where Vivian works, Dallas wages a counter-mission.

Operation Replacement Crush is in full effect. And Dallas is determined to take her heart off the shelf.

When Vivian is burned by a summer fling with her long-time crush, Jake, she decides to get over him with a replacement crush – someone who won’t take her heart and stomp all over it. The key to her master plan is to choose someone who she doesn’t feel any romantic feelings for. By playing it safe with guys that she’s comfortable with, there’s no way her heart can be broken, right? And then she meets the new guy in town, Dallas.

I really enjoyed the instant chemistry between Viv and Dallas, especially after their awkward meeting where he overheard a conversation that Viv was having with her best friend, Jaz (a conversation that no one should have been hearing). And when he eventually finds out about the list and teases her with it, it’s one of my favorite parts of the book. Honestly, Dallas was my favorite in the book. He was just this great guy, with his own sort-of mysterious new guy aura, and he knew how to play it cool when he needed to. He was also able to call out Viv on her flaws in her plan, but didn’t try to force her to stop it.

As mentioned, Viv did have her flaws, but most of the characters do, and the best ones usually do in any novel. What I really loved about Viv though was that she’s pretty relatable, and a bookworm/book blogger (so, yeah, very relatable!). She definitely showed off her nerdy side and wasn’t ashamed about it like some high school kids are and I think it was that side of her that really won me over to like her as the MC.

Overall, this was a pretty cute book. There’s a bit of drama, but they’re teenagers, so it’s bound to happen. And yes, we do get a small look at Viv’s book blog in the story, which made my nerd heart happy. I would definitely recommend this one!

Rating 4/5 stars