Review: What You Always Wanted

* part of the If Only line *

Maddie Brooks blames her high standards for guys on her love for old movies. What guy her age can compete with Gene Kelly?

Maddie and her family move into a new town, where she meets her new neighbors. One of them becomes her best friend and the other could be her new crush (especially when she uncovers he's hiding a few secret dance moves)

But there's a reason his dance moves are a secret, and the more Maddie pushes him the more he retreats. At the moment, baseball is his one true love.

Can Maddie accept that?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book and I'm a huge fan of this line. I really liked the addition of theater in this book and the old movies. I hope that readers look up the movies that Maddie loves and discover them and pass them around. 

I really liked Angela and Tiffany. They had a great friendship and some fantastic moments.

I loved the banter between Jesse and Maddie.  

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library

Final Thoughts: A fun romance with flair. If you're a romantic comedy fan, don't miss this one!

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors

This week's topic is:  Top Authors I've Only Read One Book From But NEED to Read More. I went through my books read on Goodreads - when I came to ten, I stopped, but I'm sure there is more! After all I have a HUGE TBR list! 

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

One book I read of the author - but I need to read more because these were really good!

What authors do you need to read more from?

SummerTime Review: Wish You Were Italian

Books perfect for the beach or to read by the pool

Pippa's annoyed with her family shipping her off to Italy for the summer - for an art history program. She's not even interested in art history. Her father feel guilty and slips her some extra cash, which she finds when she lands.

When she finds the money, Pippa decides to be a little reckless and stay in Rome for a few nights. Then, after meeting a girl in the bakery and a boy at a gelato stand, she decides to ditch the program all together.

The girl from the bakery takes her home to meet her family. The family invites her in, gives her a place to stay and offers to show her the sights.  When her new friend Chiara travels to her aunt's house, Pippa goes along too.

Pippa's happy to be seeing more of the countryside - and to meet some hot guys, especially Chiara's cousin. Before she left home, Pippa and her BFF made of list of things she wants to do while in Italy. And falling for for a hot Italian guy is on the list. Pippa knows it's just a matter of time before her family uncovers the truth, but until then, she's determined to have the time of her life.

My Thoughts: I loved this book - for the travel descriptions: the sights and the food. I loved the romance - even though there was a love triangle, I really liked the final result. I loved how Pippa met Chiara and how they fell into an easy friendship. I confess I would have liked going to the art history program (but that's just me.) I loved seeing all the art and architecture there and long to go back and explore more. I also really enjoyed the connection Pippa had with her grandmother: sweet, honest, and refreshing. A great summer book if you're longing for a vacation, but can't get away. You don't have to leave home to be transported to Italy.

Cover Thoughts: Love it
Fun Fact: I traveled to Italy several years ago, so I could easily place myself in Pippa's shoes. Here are a few photos from my trip.