What a fantastically sad ending!! Not a crying one, but one that really kicks you in the gut because of some characters actions to what they thought was a problem that wasn't going to be a problem at all.

Wow, so many suspects. Or may there were just one or two or many unknowingly helping in the demise of the victim. Or may there was just one attempt at murder that got the wrong victim. Or maybe it was just an accident after all. These are just some of the thought going through my head while I was reading this excellent read.

I have read several Elin Hilderbrand books and I cannot recall ever reading a mystery by her. If this actually was her first attempt at a mystery, she did an excellent job!!

Loved, loved, loved this book!

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Goodreads Synopsis: As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents’ bitter divorce left her wondering what a loving relationship looks like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been pushing her to ask Brody out.

Brody doesn’t lack female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He’s confused about the match too. Yet they find themselves drawn together—first by curiosity about why the class paired them, then by an undeniable bond.

The trouble is, though they’re attracted to each other, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating well. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But they feel so changed from making the effort, they can’t forget each other. What if this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?

Review: 

I read ‘Biggest Flirts’ a while ago and although it was a sweet contemporary story it didn’t leave a lasting impression. Even though I didn’t remember Harper from the first book I was looking forward to reading her story.

Right off the bat I hated Kennedy. I couldn’t understand how she put up with him when he would be so awful to her! Definitely not how you want your boyfriend to act. However I loved Brody!! Harper and Brody’s relationship developed from an attraction to a meaningful connection in such an honest way I couldn’t help but love them together. One thing I did have a slight issue with was Harper took cheating on Kennedy very lightly. Although she didn’t particularly like him, you would think she would have felt a bit guilty seeing as her parents marriage ended because her dad cheated on her mom.

Then Harper and Brody find out that they weren’t actually voted ‘Perfect Couple That Never Was’ so Harper just decides that because of this they shouldn’t be together, what? How does that make sense? Who cares about a title, you like each other and are good together so ye should be together, duh! Then after breaking up they just immediately get back together, no emotional heart to heart or anything. It just made me laugh how stupid that was.

Besides all that this was definitely better than the first book and was really enjoyable. Definitely a nice light read for those wanting to read about a cute romance.

This review is also available on my blog, Bows & Bullets Reviews

When Harper and Brody are voted Perfect Couple That Never Was they are both shocked. The two couldn't be more different. Harper is the photography nerd and Brody is the star quarterback. But since that day, she finds herself noticing him more and more. Since that day, her friends have been pushing her to ask him out. Even though she has a boyfriend, she finds herself thinking about Brody more and more. She finds herself wondering if maybe the school knows what they are talking about and she should give this budding attraction wtih Brody a chance.

Harper is that geeky girl who is hiding a rocking body. She's smart and hard-working, with a desperate drive to get the best photographs. She dresses pretty conservatively for a high school girl and she swears it's because she likes it that way. But is it really? The further into this we get, the more we see her question those decisions. I both loved and hated this. I loved that she wanted to experiment. I loved that she was brave enough to try something new. I loved that the new looks work well. What I didn't love was how it was all inspired by Brody. I'm very big on the be yourself schtick. Changing solely to impress a guy is something I feel like very girl does and something that we shouldn't. We should all put our best face forward, but there is a difference between that and drastically altering your wardrobe to get a guy. What happens when you get tired of wearing those tight tops and mini-skirts? What happens when you just want to roam around comfortably in jeans and a tee, but he expects full-on glamor all the time? That isn't what happens here, but it bugged me that her change was Brody inspired. She ends up liking it for herself, but it could have easily went a different direction.

Brody was a character I wanted to love immediately, but he took time to grow on me. He's cocky and hot and completely sure of himself. He has a bit of that player vibe going on that I tend to find slimy rather than sexy. He has enough charm to keep me from being completely weary of him, but he also has a sorta girlfriend when he starts fooling around with Harper, when gives me the skeezy vibe. Beyond that, though, he was pretty loveable. It was clear that he was sincere under all the bravado.

What I really enjoyed about this, about all Echols work really, is the relationships. It's not just about boy meets girl, it's about friends and family and self. It's goes deeper than just a flirty YA contemporary romance. Both characters are realistically flawed and relatable. I didn't always agree with their actions, but they always felt authentic and true to life. That's not to say that some of their actions weren't downright stupid because they were. That whole "make Brody jealous" bit sent me into a mini-rage because we all know that was not the right move. How is that the right thing for the moment? Those moments always anger me in books. You know, the ones where the character finds out something they don't like and instead of thinking things through, they do something rash and stupid. I'm not a fan of stupid. I actively try to avoid stupid.

What I didn't like was they was this skirted around the cheating issue. Harper is dating Kennedy. No matter how much of a jerk Kennedy is, they are still in a relationship. Nothing should happen with Brody until after that has ended. Brody is sorta dating Grace, but that's a bit more vague. Either way, lust doesn't excuse a lack of common curtsey. I hate how some novels portray cheating as acceptable because it's "true love" and the characters "couldn't help themselves." I'd just like to call bullshit on that particular concept. Be man (or woman) enough to admit want and go after it, but don't deceive people to get it. I'm a bit more forgiving here because they are teenagers and hormones do run high at that age. Plus, you know, teenagers aren't as much of an adult as they'd like to believe. Also, shit happens.

I think I may have liked this a bit more than Biggest Flirt. Even though I am still a bigger Will fangirl than I will ever be for Brody. Will is that nice, boy next door type and I love seeing those. That's beyond the point. This is a perfect contemporary YA written with Echols trademark style and wit. It's addictive and I tore threw it needing to know if Harper and Brody finally worked out their shit. If you like Echols previous work or contemporary romances, then you'll love this!

****Thank you to Simon Pulse for providing me with an eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review****

In this second book in The Superlatives trilogy from Endless Summer author Jennifer Echols, Harper and Brody think they’re an unlikely match—but the senior class says they belong together.
As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents’ bitter divorce left her wondering what a loving relationship looks like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been pushing her to ask Brody out.
Brody doesn’t lack female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He’s confused about the match too. Yet they find themselves drawn together—first by curiosity about why the class paired them, then by an undeniable bond.
The trouble is, though they’re attracted to each other, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating well. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But they feel so changed from making the effort, they can’t forget each other. What if this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?

This book was utterly predictable and very superficial, but I enjoyed it enough to power through it. I read it without having read the prior book, and I didn't miss anything.

Harper was an interesting character with some dimension to her, but she definitely wasn't as 'unpopular' as she seemed. She started off being this super cool girl who sewed her own dresses etc., so I was a bit disappointed when she got contacts and a bikini and lost some of her originality. However, her drive was admirable.

I felt like she did play into gender roles a little too heavily at points. Kennedy is a total bleeeeep and I have no clue why she dates him. Her whole idea of beauty seems a little off, and Brody being the big football star was very cliche.

I also found myself rolling my eyes at points because I felt like Echols tried overly hard to make this an 'accepting' book by throwing in the token gay couple, but their whole big scenes felt very artificial to me.

The interactions between Harper and Brody were probably the best parts of this book--they were fun and flirty, and I enjoyed the bantering that took place.

I won't be reading the third book since I can basically predict everything that will happen now. Nonetheless, this book was a good way to kill time.

just love these types of stories. The ones with two unlikely people that do become the perfect couple.

Plot: It senior year and all the seniors are voting for their classmates. After being voted perfect couple, Brody and Harper take it in as a joke. Then they start to fall for each other. I really admired this plot. I felt it deepen with emotions and real life decisions. This plot goes further then just senior year but what they want for their future.

Friendship/Love: Sometimes things don’t always go as well plan. That seemed to be the case with Brody and Harper. They both had girlfriend/boyfriend ( I don’t like the whole aspect of cheating, but they are in high school, not married, etc.) so them coming to the decisions of what is best is a hard to read. They must face their feelings, their friends/family as well as themselves.

Ending: The ending ended as expected. It gave me that feel good moment of watching everything come together.

Overall, I really love this series. I can’t wait to read the next book and see what couple will be together next.