Mia and the Bad Boy

3.5 stars — This one started out much stronger than the first one, and I think a lot of that had to do with Ryder’s depth. I mean, he was still a dick, but I could at least see lots of different pieces of him behind all that…reasons, you know? And in general I liked Ryder. I mean, from how he is with his band mates, I expected him to be a pretty hard sell, but he really did have a lot of hangups from his childhood…and I felt like I did see little bits of growth in him — and fairly believable growth. His part in the conflict/climax didn’t surprise me, and I wasn’t too mad at him. It was predictable, but I was worried he was going to say something he couldn’t come back from, and in general I don’t think he did. Mia had her ups and downs for me. I didn’t quite get her relationship with her parents, and their expectations of her. I feel like in some ways her being Mexican American was used as a plot device for those pressures from immigrant parents. If that was the case, I kind of wish it’d been explored more. It affected so much of who Mia was, how she buried her dreams in favour of her parents dreams, how she didn’t know who she was. And I think that could have been really interesting, but I don’t feel like her story got nearly the same time and care that Ryder’s did. I liked her, she was sweet and sassy, bold and innocent. I just wanted MORE from her. And I totally wasn’t on board with her reaction after *that* night. I didn’t quite follow it, and I didn’t appreciate the way she would test Ryder. They were pretty cute together, I especially loved the times when they were alone and Ryder could let his guard down. Between studying, singing, and just “being normal”, it was fun to watch. The ending was entirely unbelievable and completely unexplained from Mia’s parents perspective, which is a bummer. I was expecting not to like this one as much, just because I’m not really a bad boy girl, and Ryder was numero uno dick in the first book. So maybe my low expectations helped me enjoy it more — I love when a book surprises me in a good way. Still not wow, but definitely a step up from the first book.

I wouldn't have read this book if I hadn't purchased it as part of the Backstage Pass Series. But I will admit that I liked this story better than I did the first. Ryder and Mia are interesting characters, and are much more relatable than previous two protagonists. Unfortunately, though, they weren't developed to their full potential - the story lacks depth. Their relationship evolves too rapidly for my liking. Mia loses her virginity very soon after experiencing her first kiss. She doesn't seem to think that this is a big deal - neither does Ryder. I'd have liked to see more emotion from both of them because they care about one another. For example, Ryder could've regretted messing around the way he did in the past; he could've felt honoured that he got to be Mia's first.

Loved this!! One bad boy pop star and one good girl academic, never has attraction between two characters seemed so unlikely or perfect at the same time! The author's fantastic writing, however, really lets us get to know these two and when we do they seem more the same than they initially appear. This is a fantastic book that shows us once again that people are usually more than the face they put on for the world to see. I definitely recommend this one.