Mini-reviews: How to Get Over Your Ex and The Next Forever

How to Get Over Your Ex by Nikki Logan
Publisher: Harlequin Kiss
Publication date: January 22nd 2013.
My rating: 3 stars

After her on-air proposal is turned down by her commitment-phobe boyfriend, Georgia Stone must learn to survive singledom. Unfortunately, thanks to a clause in her contract, she has to do it under the watchful gaze of brooding radio producer Zander Rush. And so begins the Year of Georgia! Lurching from salsa classes to spy school, Georgia discovers a taste for adventure. Her biggest thrill so far? Flirting with danger-aka the enigmatic Zander. But admitting she's ready for more than just a fling...? Definitely Georgia's scariest challenge yet!

How to Get over Your Ex was a super sweet book that I found great to unwind to after a long day at work. It’s one of those books where you can kind of predict what’s going to happen, but you don’t really care. 

In How to Get over Your Ex we find ourselves in the typical situation where two characters are forced to work together. Georgia just made a fool of herself on the radio by proposing to her boyfriend in front of millions of listeners and he rejected her live on air! Georgia just wants to go home and hide away forever. But on the day she finds sympathy from the radio producer Zander, he helps her sneak out of the building and then offers her a proposition she can’t reject. He will offer her $50,000 to spend how she wants, if she allows them to film a follow up show with her; the life of Georgia. All about how she’s getting on afterwards.

Georgia initially starts finding things to do that will please the listeners; salsa classes, cooking classes. But as the months progress and she starts spending more time with Zander (who of course volunteered to be the person to attend and record everything Georgia does) Georgia realises she’s not being true to herself, and decides to make a spur of the moment decision to do what she wants to do. 

It was a lot of fun watching the attraction grow between Zander and Georgia. No matter how many excuses Zander tried to come up with, it was obvious that they were just perfect for each other. Zander at times could be hugely infuriating always pushing Georgia away, but I supposed being burned badly once before did result in him holding back a lot. The way Georgia’s character grew in this book was hugely admirable, she was able to show the listeners of Eros station, that she could develop a happy fulfilling life without her ex Dan about. How to Get over your Ex was a super quick read, you can’t bear to part with Zander or Georgia until they both get what they truly deserve. 

I recommend picking up this book if you’re looking for something light and fun to squeeze in between some heavy going reads.

The Next Forever by Lisa Burstein
Publisher: Entangled
Publication date: January 13th 2013.
My rating: 4 stars

One night in college can change everything… Away at college, Amy just wants one night alone without her high school sweetheart, Joe. So when he invites her to go to the library, she heads off on her own instead. How she ended up at a house party with the mysterious bad-boy Trevor is another story… Joe so isn’t going to the library. He needs space from Amy, too, so he’s decided to rush a fraternity, to get back the swagger he had in high school. But it doesn’t take long for the brothers to invite him to the real rush here the beer is flowing and one particular girl has set her eyes on Joe. Over the course of one wild night, both Amy and Joe will have to decide if their futures belong with two new people, or whether the next forever will have their first loves in it.

The Next Forever follows up in the life of Amy and Joe; two of my favourite characters from Pretty Amy. I much prefer reading follow up books months down the line than epilogues tacked onto back of books. And The Next Forever proved this to be the case once more as it provided a heartfelt insight into Amy and Joe battling their own demons. 

I had always wanted Amy and Joe together ever since I came across them in Pretty Amy. Amy was so lost back then and needed the stability to keep her from drowning from the ideas floating around in her head. So it was great seeing months later that they’ve managed to make their relationship work. But their relationship was again tested with both Joe and Amy not quite sure about what they wanted, afraid of what could be around the corner and having niggling doubts at the back of their minds. 

Sometimes you just need to take a risk to realise what you want in life, to test what’s really out there. But then you also need to know when to take a step back, when you’re coming to a point of over stepping the line and hurting someone you love so much in the process. And this is what Burstein looks at in The Next Forever, have Amy and Joe found their next forever in each other or is it still out there just out of their reach?

With dual pov’s from both Joe and Amy, were given a much greater insight into their characters; the ideas they have tumbling around in their heads, just how much of a hardship they have in deciding what’s right and wrong and just how vulnerable they are. Amy and Joe had a lot of inner turmoil to deal with in The Next Forever but I think it was a step that they needed to deal with before they could realise that what they were after all this time was in front of them all along.