Derek has a perfect body, THE sexiest smile and a car - Ashtyn's only way to escape from her crazy life. But Derek likes to play by his own rules and is keen to take Ashtyn on a ride she'll never forget. As they spend more and more time alone together, will Derek's flirty games drive Ashtyn wild?
Better Than Perfect is book one in the Wildcards series, it is the same book that was released last year as Wildcards it isn't book 2!
I absolutely loved this book and I am sure that I will love the next books to come in this series. Why did I love it so much? Females playing sport is why. There are a lot of books out there with have male characters playing sport and females typically are portrayed dancing, netball or cheerleading and not sports which are typically male dominated. I love it when books are brought out that don't follow these stereotypical female sports which is why I such a huge fan of this book, Catching Jordan & Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally, Hooked by Liz Fichera and Head of the River by Pip Harry.
Ashtyn is the kicker for her school's football team and surprisingly (to her at least) to picked as captain over her boyfriend Landon who is the QB. Landon who I thought was a total douche right from the beginning just becomes distant and ignoring Ashtyn after losing the captain spot to her, seriously dude you are just an idiot. Landon was just a character who you hated. Ashtyn loved football, she spends hours just kicking the ball through the posts until she has perfected it.
Derek just got kicked out of boarding school for playing one too many pranks on the school. His step mother is Ashtyn's older sister who she hasn't seen since she left when she was 18, Brandi. Derek doesn't want to be there, Derek isn't a fan of his step mum and would much prefer to spend the summer at boarding school.
Throughout Better Than Perfect we get to see how high school relationships change, how different situations affect them and how sometimes you might need some help to get to where you want to be. The team dynamics (sorry sports psychology words coming out here) of Ashtyn's football team really shows how well they fit together, get along and play the way that they do. The relationship between Ashytn and Derek progress naturally the way that you see in real life.
Better Than Perfect is a great foundation of the Wildcards series with the ending making you want to find out what is going to happen senior year. It breaks the gender norms in sport with a female being on the football team which is different from many other novels.
Thanks to Bloomsbury Australia for this review copy.
Rating: 4/5
Keely xx
