Mini Reviews: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark Perini

From Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out - without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is one of those books that I wouldn’t have read if it wasn’t for the blogosphere. I kept hearing how adorable the story was … and after reading it, I’d have to agree. I loved trying to figure out who Blue was! More importantly, this book deals with issues like identity, acceptance, and questioning what's normal - and does so using characters that feel real. Considering this is Albertalli’s debut, I’m looking forward to seeing what she writes next! 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was released by Balzer + Bray in April 2015.

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From Goodreads: Eve's time as a fashion model nearly destroyed her-now she's determined to build a career behind the camera lens. But landing a coveted photography internship brings her face to face with her dark past-and her ex. While Eve is snapping pictures, up-and-coming male model Alex is launching his career-which, for him, involves maintaining a fake relationship with his (secretly) underage co-star, Elana. But Alex is falling for Eve, and Eve won't let herself get hurt again. If Alex can pull off a fake love with Elana, can he convince Eve to risk a secret affair with him? 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: I normally avoid reading New Adult books because I find that the plot usually involves a lot of drama and/or is sacrificed in favour of romance – or sex scenes. Imagine my surprise then when Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark Perini, a book I requested for review, turned out to be a NA novel.

Thankfully, Halfway Perfect doesn’t have too much drama because Eve and Alex were pretty open with each other and knew right from the start that if they decided to have a relationship, it would have to be a secret so that Alex’s modeling career wouldn’t be jeopardized. I also really liked that the romance didn’t overshadow the plot, which shows the not-so glamorous aspects of being a model.

Halfway Perfect was released on May 5, 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Sourcebooks) for free via NetGalley.