Novel Review: Rhymes with Cupid by Anna Humphrey

Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5 (maybe 2)

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)

Publish Date: 2010

Spoilers?: Not really.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Goodman's Gifts & Stationery Store

February 14
Cashier: Elyse

3 boxes of heart-shaped chocolate . . . $12.00
Chocolate is the only good thing about this nauseating holiday.

4 containers of candy hearts . . . $5.00
Ever since my ex cheated on me, I've sworn off love. Too bad my new neighbor Patrick didn't get the memo.

1 Valentine's Day card . . . $4.50
I'm not interested. Although, he is pretty cute. And sweet. And funny.

1 singing Cupid doll (promotional item) . . . $0.00
Stupid Cupid Point your arrows at someone else. . . .

Subtotal . . . $21.50

It's going to be a complicated Valentine's Day.

Something Specific:

Quotes:

• "'Everyone needs to be needed.’” (Paperback, pg. 200)
• "'Sometimes the greatest gift you can give someone is to accept whatever it is they’ve got to offer you.’” (Pg. 205)

The Cover:

I don't really care for this cover. It's give a somewhat correct feeling, I guess, but it doesn't really have anything to do with the book. The main character bakes, but that's not a huge part of the book, and ice cream doesn't have any part of it. The people and the pose don't really resemble the characters in any way. The cover could have overall represented the book a lot better.

Review:

Honestly, this was just a very bland, meh book for me. I was hoping it would be a lot more cute and lighthearted, but maybe I’ve just grown out of these types of books.

The type of book featuring a character who is very not interested in any form of attention, whether from friend or romantic interest, to the point where they’re rude or absent. And the type of character who has sworn off love, is avoiding all person of their sexual preference. I think, at this point, I’d just rather read about a character who wants that, is maybe even looking for it, but is overall open to any form of relationship. Although maybe it was just hard to believe in this book.

So Elyse has sworn off love because her boyfriend, a year ago, cheated on her with her best friend. And then she moves and her new neighbor is a very sweet, nice guy who likes her. But she’s trying to push him off on her friend, to get her friend to stop daydreaming about this boy who is showing absolutely no interest in her, even while she’s getting upset about this.

First off, it annoyed me that Elyse was still upset about her boyfriend who cheated on her, when it’s been a year. That is way too long to hang onto a relationship, that I don’t even think was that long to begin with, without growing even a little bit from it. And then she generalizes that all men are horrible. That just annoyed me.

Plus is bothered me that she was pushing Patrick, the nice sweet boy off on her friend, when it’s obvious that Elyse liked him and that he liked her back. That’s just dumb.

I did like her friend, Dina, who’s a sweet, emotional girl, and a very good, loyal friend. And I did like Patrick. I like nice guys, and personally think that there need to be more of them in books. I really liked Patrick’s grandfather, a really sweet, smart old man with bad hearing. The ending was good, I guess, but extremely predictable.

I don’t know. It was a meh book, I was glad to be finished with it.