A teen girl starting at a new school is torn between long-held loyalties and a bright new love in this irresistible new YA contemporary romance from the author of A Little Something Different. Paisley is really looking forward to college. She is ready to take charge of her destiny and embrace some new experiences! Finding a hot guy to make out with at her first ever college party seems like a … college party seems like a great start…until her best friend informs her that mystery guy is actually Carter Schmitt, Paisley’s sworn enemy who basically ruined their lives in middle school.
So much for new people and exciting new experiences. Oh well. Paisley will just pretend he doesn’t exist. Of course that would be easier if Carter, AKA her super-hot-sworn-enemy, hadn’t ended up in three of her classes AND the same work study. Is it too late to rethink this college thing?
Sandy Hall, author of A Little Something Different and A Prom to Remember, is heading back to college in this sweet and quirky contemporary romance.
Praise for Sandy Hall:
“If you need a cute romance to end your summer with, read this. It’s sweet. It’s adorable. It’s full of emotions. It’s one of the best romances I’ve ever read, and I’ll be reading this one again multiple times.” —Here’s to Happy Endings on Been Here All Along
“Romance with a twist.” —Booklist on A Little Something Different
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I picked this up and was immediately sucked in and loving it! There was so much fun with the back and forth between Paisley and Carter. Now, I feel like Paisley really got to taking it too far, but then there were times that I think Carter took his side too seriously or emotionally. I like that in the end, when it really counted, Paisley came out and told the truth about things that were her fault and helped Carter out. I get where he was upset with what was going on in his life, but his whole “hating excuses” thing as a reason for why he did so many things was a little irritating. Both of them had a lot of issues to deal with, and made a lot of bad decisions. But you know what, to me, that made it so realistic for how people really are. I’d say this was a good book, I didn’t adore it as much as A Prom to Remember, but it definitely kept me reading and turning pages just to see who would finally give in and figure out how to deal with the situation properly.
The Shortest Distance Between Love and Hate is a sweet feel-good YA romance that left me feeling a little lighter and a little more hopeful. It serves as a great reminder about the innocence of new connections and a time in life when it’s okay to be silly and slightly less than logical. Sandy Hall is a new to me author who I know I’ll read more from in the future (as I already have a book or 2 from her collection).
First-year college students Paisley and Carter start out on the right foot with each other only to end up on opposing sides of Paisley’s revenge-fueled feud that all began in grade school when then twelve-year-old Carter bullied Paisley’s best friend Henry. It’s not long between her initial college crush goes up in flames and Carter becomes enemy #1 as Paisley ramps up her war on Carter for these transgressions that Paisley and Carter learn a few important distinctions of friendship versus frenemies and begin to earn a spot in each other’s lives.
This story touches on many life lessons about families, friendship and forgiveness and learning to choose the right battles. I was pretty frustrated with Paisley as their initial college connection was cute and fun. They had great chemistry and I couldn’t wait to see where it went. Well, it went “poof” in no time as Hall builds on the attraction and the anxiety of it when one believes they shouldn’t care, but they can’t help it. It’s a great story about motive and redemption. After all, were Carters’ pranks at twelve any worse than hers at eighteen? Even Henry recognized that perhaps her need to punish Carter was misguided and perhaps coming from the wrong place. Pure angst!!
Hall’s characters are well developed and the banter and verbal sparring between Paisley and Carter utterly delightful. This is a fun and clean summer read for any teenager heading off to college and for those of us a few years past that, it’s a gentle reminder of the emotional complexity of young love and friendship.