Hi Munchworms!
A little while back – okay, a bit longer than a little while, but I wanted to get on top of my eARC’s back then.. – I read Busted by Gina Ciocca.
I expected it to be a light contemporary read but it ended up being… more!
Marisa wasn’t planning to be a snoop for hire—until she accidentally caught her best friend’s boyfriend making out with another girl. Now her reputation for sniffing out cheaters has spread all over school, and Marisa finds herself the reluctant queen of busting two-timing boys.
But when ex-frenemy Kendall asks her to spy on her boyfriend, TJ, Marisa quickly discovers the girl TJ might be falling for is Marisa herself. And worse yet? The feelings are quickly becoming mutual. Now, she’s stuck spying on a “mystery girl” and the spoken-for guy who just might be the love of her life…
I started reading Busted just before work. I ended up flying through it as soon as I got home. I just wanted and needed to read without stopping. This novel is so fast-paced you barely have time to catch a breath and sometimes that’s exactly what I need.
Even though there’s some teenage slang used once in a while, it didn’t really bother me all that much. I simply was too immersed in the story to think about it.
When it comes to the actual story, there are twists and turns you cannot imagine! There were things I saw coming, but there were other things that pretty much couldn’t have surprised me more. It made reading this novel much more fun than it otherwise would’ve been. I really applaud Gina Ciocca for integrating so many twists and turns in her story!
After the way Jordan had broken my heart, wanting him to secretly pine for me made me human, not weak. At least in my opinion.
But maybe there were a bit too many twists and turns? Although they were executed brilliantly, I sometimes started feeling lost and confused. In the second half of the novel so many things happen that I think I might have to reread the whole thing to really grab what happened and how everything fit together. So you might say that I feel like I’m not done reading, like there’s some unfinished business left. I don’t like unfinished business…
Although it still is a novel filled with teenagers, the teenage drama sometimes overwhelmed me to the point of “When is it going to stop?!” Maybe I’m just getting to old to read novels like this – no, 25 isn’t thàt old, right?! – or it simply was a bit too much. Pretty sure this made some things predictable as well.
He was never supposed to enjoy spending time with me. And I sure as hell wasn’t supposed to like being with him.
Overall I did enjoy this read, but some things just could’ve made it better for me.
Three yummie cupcakes!
As for the munches, let’s go with some delicious ice cream. But no vanilla! Mango ice cream rolls with caramel!
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Books & Munches 
This book does seem interesting, though not normally something I would pick up. Then again, sometimes you just want a teen drama angsty type story.
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That’s true. If there’s one thing I always give in to, it’s the sudden urge to pick up a book I normally would never read. Those often surprise me the most.
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I really enjoy those bookish surprises. 🙂
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25 is an awesome age! Beats… well, beats my age.
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Haha; every age has its benefits, no doubt!
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I’m a teenager, but I don’t like much drama in books hahaha
However I think I might enjoy the book, so I will add it to my TBR.
Is the giveaway open internationally?
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Haha; you never know!
I couldn’t find any info on it not being international – which should be mentioned somewhere if that’s the case – so I’m guessing it’s international!
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Okay, thank you!
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I actually find the premise so cool I want to go read it immediately! And that’s not something I usually do hahaha
Too bad it wasn’t that awesome, in the end, even if was short and entertaining and fast-paced – which, again, is not something more contemporaries are, so I’m curious!
I’m also a bit tired of reading about teenage drama (I’m 25 too!), but I might like this one. Who knows? Depends on the writing, I guess.
Brilliant review! 🙂
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If you feel like that, you should just do it! Especially if you rarely feel like that about a book, haha.
You never know if it might be your cup of tea! I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on it if you decide to read it!
Thank you!! 😀
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I read this book and felt very similar about all the twists and turns….I thought it could use some simplification. It was my first ever eARC, and I was pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable of a read it was.
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Oooh, my first eARC felt so special to me, haha.
You’re right though. This one definitely could’ve used a bit of simplification but who knows; some people may really like the drama-overload and all the twists and turns. 🙂
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No, 25 is so NOT old! But yeah I totally get you. Teenager dramas can wear you out in large doses.
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Hahaha.
It does feel weird to realize that though. I know for a fact that I would’ve loved the drama-overdose a couple years ago.
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Same here! That’s what time does to you 😆
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Darn you, time! – but not really. There are some good benefits about growing up too, haha.
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