Review & Giveaway: Flat-Out Love & Flat-Out Matt by Jessica Park

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Publication date: September 11th 2012
My rating: 5 stars 

 

He was tall, at least six feet, with dirty blond hair that hung over his eyes. His T-shirt read Nietzsche Is My Homeboy.

So, that was Matt. Who Julie Seagle likes. A lot. But there is also Finn. Who she flat out loves.

Complicated? Awkward? Completely.

But really, how was this freshly-minted Boston transplant and newbie college freshman supposed to know that she would end up living with the family of an old friend of her mother's? This was all supposed to be temporary. Julie wasn't supposed to be important to the Watkins family, or to fall in love with one of the brothers. Especially the one she's never quite met. But what does that really matter? Finn gets her, like no one ever has before. They have connection.

But here's the thing about love, in all its twisty, bumpy permutations—it always throws you a few curves. And no one ever escapes unscathed.

I can’t say enough good things about this story! It was amazing! It has witty, intelligent humor, quirky, lovable characters, a very swoon worthy romance, and a mystery!

Julie Seagle has just moved to Boston as a freshman starting college but the apartment she rented in advance turns out to be a sham and Julie has nowhere to go. Julie’s mom calls in a favor from an old college friend, Erin Watkins, a successful lawyer in Boston, and Julies ends up staying with the Watkins family. The Watkins’ are an adorable dysfunctional family that takes Julie in whole-heartedly. There is Erin, the distant mother, Erin’s husband, Roger, Matt, the twenty-one year old MIT nerd, Finn, the traveling older brother. Then there’s Celeste the thirteen-year old sister that carts around a life-sized cardboard cut-out of her oldest brother, Finn, wherever she goes: “Flat Finn”. Celeste is a braniac, like the rest of the family, but she is socially stunted. No one will tell Julie why Celeste must take “Flat Finn” everywhere but she knows that something traumatic has happened.

Julie becomes attached to the whole family including Finn, who she starts chatting with online by emails and Facebook. Matt, or Matty also becomes an important friend to Julie, always there to pick her up when she needs help. Even though Celeste has her issues, she and Julie become close, and Julie makes it her mission to get to the root cause and help her. She starts helping her to come out of her shell and behave like a normal teenager. Julie is puzzled by the resistance she gets from Matt, he refuses to tell her what happened to the family to make “Flat Finn” necessary and he is reluctant to push any changes. In spite of her growing attraction to the real Finn, she can’t understand why he won’t just come home, so that Flat Finn wouldn’t be needed.

I loved this book! The humor is fabulous! Some of my favorite quotes:

Julie turned her head to Matt. ”You’re a double major? Physics and math? Jesus…”

“I know. Nerdy.” He shrugged.

“No, I’m just surprised your brains fit in your head.”

“I was fitted with a specially designed compression filter that allows excessive information to lie dormant until I need to access it. It’s only the Beta version, so excuse any kinks that may appear. I really can’t be held responsible.”

And then this swoon-worthy moment:

His mouth was soft and unhurried. Teasing, even. His tongue just brushing hers and making her tremble. She kissed him back, tasting him, breathing him in. Julie was dizzy, and shaky, and inundated with his heat. He made her temporarily lost, not able to see beyond the way this kiss felt. In this moonlit light, it was smooth, easy, instinctive. She moved her leg over his, bringing them closer together.

There’s more where that came from but that’s all you’re going to get until you read the book!

I loved Flat-Out Love and it's companion/novella: Flat-Out Matt. (Do yourself a favor a do NOT read the synopsis for Flat-Out Matt before reading Flat-Out Love!!)  So today I'm giving away both to one lucky reader.  The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Just fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win.  Good luck!!

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