Monday 7 December 2015

REVIEW: The Libby Garrett Intervention by Kelly Oram

Pages: 244
Format: Kindle
Publisher: Bluefields
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: October 24th 2015
Buy The Book: Amazon - Amazon UK

Libby Garrett is addicted to Owen Jackson's hot lovin'. But the sexy, popular college basketball player doesn't appreciate all of Libby's awesomeness. He refuses to be exclusive or even admit to people that they're dating. The relationship is ruining Libby and she's the only one who can't see it.

When Libby's behavior spirals completely out of control, her best friend Avery Shaw and the rest of the Science Squad stage an intervention hoping to cure Libby of her harmful Owen addiction. They put her through her very own Twelve Step program--Owen's Anonymous--and recruit the help of a sexy, broody, hard as nails coffee man to be her official sponsor.

Adam Koepp has watched Libby Garrett for years. How could he not notice the sassy girl with the purple skateboard and helmet plastered with cat stickers? But in all the years he's crushed on her, Libby has failed to take notice of him. Why would she when he was just a nobody high school drop out who served her apple cider several times a week? Especially when she was hooking up with a guy like Owen Jackson--a guy with a college scholarship and more abs than Kyle Hamilton.

Adam finally gets the chance to meet Libby when his co-worker Avery Shaw recruits him to take Libby on the journey of a lifetime. With his ability to play Bad Cop and his experience with the Twelve Step program he's the perfect candidate to be Libby's sponsor. But will he be able to keep his personal feelings out of the matter and really help her the way she needs? And will Libby hate him when he forces her to take an honest look at herself?
  

My Thoughts:
We first met the wonderful Libby Garrett in Kelly Oram’s previous novel, The Avery Shaw Experiment. Keeping with the theme of using science to overcome relationship issues, Avery gets to work once more by recruiting her co-worker Adam to help Libby free herself from popular jock Owen Jackson.

Libby’s relationship with Owen has been toxic from the very start. Whilst he enjoys fooling around with her, he isn’t willing to commit to being her boyfriend. He doesn’t want their friends to know they are together, he won’t be seen with her publicly, and Libby is so in over her head with him that she fails to notice. She begins acting differently and letting her friends down. 

This is when Adam steps in. Adam Koepp has been secretly in love with Libby for years, serving her cider from the coffee shop he works at on a regular basis, but she’s never really taken the time to get to know him. When Avery asks for his help in the intervention, Adam agrees but is worried about his personal feelings clouding his judgment. He plans to teach Libby that Owen is an addiction, and puts her through a twelve step programme to help her fight it.

I loved that Libby wasn’t a typical YA heroine. The book deals with her lack of confidence and her issues with her weight. She believed that no one would ever find her beautiful and love her for who she is, and that’s what I adored about her relationship with Adam. He was truly in love with the person she is, and he thought she was beautiful inside and out. 

I was glad we got to see his narration of the story as well as Libby’s, so we could see just how much he had fallen for her. It’s not often in contemporary YA that we get to read the love story from the guy’s POV and see what he sees, ignoring all of the imperfections Libby thinks she has. There are some fantastically positive messages to be found within the pages of this book.

Adam was my favourite character. He was so well-developed and I loved learning about his past. I was rooting for him so much throughout this book, hoping that he and his sister Kate would get the happy ending they deserved. He is just a genuinely nice guy that promotes healthy relationships, and that’s something we need more of in YA. 

Whilst this is a fun and charming read, I don’t think it quite matched up to the personality that The Avery Shaw Experiment had. As much as I enjoyed the characters, I don’t think the intervention worked quite as well as the experiment did. It might have been because the experiment in the previous book was unique and unexpected, so when it came to this book, I was expecting the outcome. Even though the book was less than 250 pages long, it felt like it dragged on a lot longer. 

That being said, I really did love the characters. Libby’s wit and Adam’s charm, and the sizzling chemistry between them was what kept me reading. Whilst it lacked the special touch The Avery Shaw Experiment delivered, I still found it enjoyable overall. Fans of contemporary YA will definitely love what this story has to offer.  

Royal Rating:


 
 

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