Sworn

The Vampire Legends #1

by Emma Knight

When her dad is transferred, Rachel Wood is uprooted from her home in Pennsylvania and forced to enter a new high school, in 10th grade, in an affluent suburb in Westchester, New York. She finds herself in way over her head, as she struggles to come to grips with meeting new friends, finding a boyfriend, avoiding the cliques of mean girls, and figuring out how to survive in such a hostile new world. She has trouble navigating this new world, where drinking and drugs seem the norm, and where social pressures build on her from every direction. Everything seems to go wrong for Rachel, until salvation comes in the form of Rob, a football player who takes a liking to her. But just as there romance is about to blossom, she finds herself confused by his actions. As things reach a low point, Rachel meets a mysterious boy from her school, Benji, a loner who keeps apart from the other kids, and who takes her on a ride on his motorcycle. They have an unforgettable night together in an amusement park-until something goes horribly wrong, and Benji shocks her by saving her life. Rachel knows that Benji is different from everyone else, and she knows that he is the love of her life. And as their romance deepens, she has to decide if she is willing to give up everything to find out his secret...

Genres: Vampires, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Supernatural, Paranormal Romance

160 pages, ebook

First published September 7, 2011

Reviews

[Cheyenne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly this book made me mad. The thing that's so aggravating is that Benji just popped out of nowhere and all the sudden they're in love. Sorry if I spoil it for you fans or people who want to read it but there's nothing to spoil. It sucked. Rachel wanted to figure out all his secrets because she was so in love when they knew each other for five minutes so sorry if I'm being negative but really? I just couldn't even get through this book without getting mad and that's saying alot. I would have enjoyed this book if Benji was eased into the book but he just came out of nowhere with some "secret" when the real secret was that this book royally sucked. And I don't intend that with a pun.

For those of you who enjoyed it, I'm glad but I did not. Their feelings were based on the past and when you all the sudden fall in love and get mad at a guy because he's hiding something from you and you want to know what type of relationship you have when you've known the guy five minuted... you're nuts. Thats what made me mad. The author didnt ease Benji in she just made them fall in love and that was that. She broke all the rules to be with a guy who she knew and spent time with for a day out of the blue.
This just made me mad.

[Tiffany Zimmerman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm ashamed to even admit I read this book. It is awful. Horrible even. Poorly written and the characters were ridiculous.

It broke her heart that he didn't trust her! Sad but hey idiot, he met you less than 24 hours ago.

I hate to bag on authors because really, kudos to you for not only starting and finishing a book but for getting it published. But did you read it?

[Steen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't even know what to say about this book. I only downloaded it off of the Google store because it was about vampires, free and I needed something easy to read. The only good thing about it was that it was fairly short.

The most frustrating part about it was that about half way through I realized that so far there has been no introduction to any 'person' that could be a vampire. We don't see him until almost the end and it was instant love. ~rolls eyes. She literally just was snubbed by her first true love, runs into this guy and then is madly in love with him. She just says oh well who knows why the other guy (I can't even remember his name that's how much I don't care about him) snubbed me but that's okay because I just met real my true love....again.


She doesn't even know this person for a day and notices all these strange things about him. It ends with her demanding to know what he is and saying that if he doesn't tell her she doesn't want to see him. I mean really? He leans over to whisper and then it ends! I mean, come on, it would have been more effective to have the last line of the book "I am a vampire"! We KNOW he is one considering Sworn is book #1 of the VAMPIRE LEGENDS. GEEZ if the author was trying to build up suspense it really didn't work.

I rated it one star because this book seems like a first draft. There were lots of grammar errors, repetition of thoughts right after each other, and incomplete sentences. Also it really bugs me when things that are normally a common occurrence, but change all of a sudden and then switch back, are not explained. For example Rachael (her name was Rachael right?) and her siblings always get picked up by their mother from school but conveniently one day she decides to walk home and meets the 'vampire'. There is no mention on how her mother knows she doesn't have to wait for her or anything. Wouldn't her mother worry or sit there waiting for a long time. It wasn't like it was planned that she would walk home. She literally walks out of the school and then decides to walk home and I think even mentions that this way she wouldn't be a debbie downer in the car when her sister shares her excitement with her mom about making the cheerleading team. Then the next day she is being picked up by her mother again. There are probably other examples but I don't remember.

I would say pass on this book. I won't be reading the next in the series. I don't care for any of the character, nor what happens to them, and it really is hard to read with so many glaring errors.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing wasn't great. The main character was a rather annoying teen. And then to top it all off it goes from seeming like a contemporary about wild teenages making bad choices to become a paranormal Twilight rip off in the blink of an eye. Also, for those that like a full story within one book this is one that just cuts off to continue in book two right as the story got going.

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was fucking awful. Typically, I'm not that blunt in my reviews. However, this book made no sense whatsoever. There were so many errors that needed edited that it was hard to read. Also, all of the plot inconsistencies were ridiculous. The main character was head over heels "in love" with a guy, then completely forgot about him as soon as the next guy came along a few seconds later. Her parents were over protective and worried about her going out to the movie with some friends, but they don't care at all that she hopped on a motorcycle with some guy she doesn't even know, and stayed out all day at a carnival with him? Yeah, right. We didn't even get into anything resembling a vampire until over 80% in. Yeah, I could go on and on about how much I hated this. I want the time back that I spent reading it. Needless to say, I will not be continuing on with this series because I just don't have faith that it will improve. I don't recommend this book to anyone.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is quite possibly one of the worst books I have ever read.

I'm not a fan of vampire books, which should have been my first clue, but it was free and I liked the cover. I don't have any knowledge whatsoever about vampires, and I could have written a better book. Actually, not once are vampires mentioned or even hinted at in this book, except for at the VERY end with Benji's cold hands and freakish super human strength. This book is essentially a boring story about a boring, desperate, pathetic girl who falls in love with literally the first guy she meets at her new high school. I absolutely despised Rachel. This book is loaded with cliches, stereotypes, bad grammar, tons of name dropping, and a serious case of telling rather than showing. I felt more connected to Rachel's belongings than to any character in this book.

Even though this book is free, please do not waste your time. This book almost felt like a parody, or like it was written by a middle school student for an English project.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I added up the amount of times the name Rachel is in a chapter, let alone the whole book, I would probably puke. Rachel did this, then Rachel went here. Rachel said this. Rachel thought that. Rachel wanted this. It was like a bad fanfiction writing - shame as the storyline actually could have been good.

*SPOILER*

My next biggest dilemma is the romance. Benji literally just pops out of nowhere. Their meeting is so unrealistic as this stranger just picks her up out of nowhere and whisks her away to an amusement park where they immediately fall head over heels in love. She's known the guy for all of one night and is coocoo for coco puffs over him.

It was an easy read - but not worth anything, Glad this was a freebie.

[Astha Bhardwaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly speaking this book made me think about my decision of giving it 5stars.

Wow never in the world I read a book like this.This book had all shorts of teen daily life problems but never gets to the point at the right time.

From the staring I have been waiting for the hero to come but he did come until 76%of the book was over and his entry was as good as a supplementry character in the storry.
In most of the story heroine is shown to be worried about what would her parents say if she is late or missing when the hero comes every thing evaporates ,she saw him for the firsr time and yes for bike ride and a surprise from a total stranger.

The heroine is shown to be a spine less women who can have a crush with in seconds .Her crush changes much faster than speed of light.

This book drove me total nuts and made me want to switch to something else.God this books is a total WTF type book.

If it had been a book on teen life then it would have been the best but for a paranormal book it would drive any nuts to not find the most wanted paranormal creature in the book .

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished it and said, "this might be the worst book I've ever read." I recommend that people throw this out and read a good vampire love story like the Vampire Academy series or a really excellent paranormal romance series Die For Me by Amy Plum. I feel like I need to go read a classic to clean this garbage out of my brain.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was honestly painful to read. So many grammatical errors it was distracting. I found the idea/story line to be interesting but the author included so many unnecessary details and seemed to leave out so many more details that would have really enhanced the story line.
Fortunately, the second two books in the series (that is all that have been released at this time) were much better and made it almost worth reading the first book.
I feel SO bad about being so harsh on the author but it really was very painful to read. I struggled and it took me a really long time to get through the book.

Without giving away too much about the book, some of the things that I would have liked to see differently in the story line or just bothered me too much to be able to let myself be transported into the story were.....
-the older one gets, presumably the wiser one gets so if the main male character is over 3000 years old, one would presume he would have a much more wiser mindset then that of a 15 year old. This was actually pretty much my feeling of all the vampires.
-The attitude of Rachel being as bratty as she was, was irritating but understandable but not enjoyable to read. I just wanted to slap her most of the time.
-I would hate to believe that parents of children as old as the three in this book would really act as if they were 20 and not seasoned parents. The parents in this book remind me of college students with their reactions.

I know it's difficult to believe but I would recommend giving it a try, the story is pretty decent but lots of room for growth as a writer I feel. I am very happy to say that the writing does improve in the next books because there are a lot of redeemable qualities with the ideas the author brings to the vampire table.

...still, the story jumps around too much and there isn't enough character and relationship development to paint a believable picture so I find myself not caring about many of the characters.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sworn drew my attention because of it's kick arse cover and it's price. Twilight kind of ruined me for most normal Vampire-meets-a-human-chick novels. But I thought I would try this one on for size. And quickly learned that you cannot always judge a book by its cover. From the beginning I was slightly bothered by the writing. It was too abrupt and choppy for my tastes, but I kept reading because I wanted to learn what happened to Rachel. But it took the entire novel for her to meet her vampire. There was no build up to that, not even a revelation for Rachel where she realizes Rob is a jerk, her new friends are against the grain on the outside but just like all the other rich kids. The only character that seemed to have a lick of sense in the book was Emily.
It reads quick, however and is a good taste of what it feels like to want to fit in. But in the end I felt like I was reading a satire, while knowing I wasn't.
But again, kick arse cover art!

[Ingrid · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly felt that this was a big waste of my time. The grammar and spelling gave me a headache. The story telling brought tears to my eyes. I feel like I destroyed brain cells jut by reading this. The dialog was atrocious! Much of the story had so many Twilight parallels I felt as if I may as well have been reading a rewrite of the Twilight series. A big annoyance was the list of big name retail items mentioned. I counted at least 36 (Kipling, Urban Decay, Converse, etc...) and the majority of them were mentioned within the first few chapters. It was like a big advertisement for everything commercialistic and materialistic. Huge disappointment. I have downloaded the entire series in the hope that it would exceed my expectations and have been sadly let down. I may be a glutton for punishment but I have begun the second book in the series in the hopes that Ms. Knight can redeem herself to me. At this point, however, I don't have high hopes.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

*SOME SPOILERS*

I normally don't write reviews because if I loved the book, I feel like my stars will show that. If I hated the book, I feel bad about criticizing the author. But in this case I realize, that it's better to just give a bit of warning to the people who might read this in the future.

First off, cover art and plot synopsis. The cover for this book is really quite nice, I like it a lot. The description of the plot too makes it seem like it is going to be a pretty interesting novel (if you like YA novels about vampires and romance). It discusses how the main character, Rachel, moves to a new town, and has to get used to the changes in her life- making new friends, boyfriends, and so on. So far so good.

Then, you actually read the novel. It didn't start off that bad, like many other reviewers mentioned, there was an insane amount of product placement, but in the beginning it did not bother me that much. I felt like it helped in developing Rachel's character for the book, showing the brands that she likes. However, as the book went on, and the product placements continued and amplified, it started to annoy me more, and was really unnecessary. We know she likes JC Penny. Gap. Branded makeup. It's not necessary to continue describing her outfit in terms of brands throughout the whole novel.

Another thing that I have issue with is the pacing of the novel. It's a short read, but it took a really long time to finish because the pace was very slow. It was at least two-thirds into the book before the "vampire" even shows up! The whole beginning and middle (I use those terms loosely) of the book just consisted of Rachel trying desperately to make friends, falling in "love" (again- used extremely loosely) with the "hottest guy in the school". doing things that she doesn't like or agree with and feels bad about in an attempt to be popular and accepted. The character does call to mind the feeling many real-life high schoolers may face (a desperate wish to have friends, fit in, and be cool), but it really does not make for an interesting character- especially not one that I feel sympathetic to.

Eventually, Rachel gets stood up by the guy she "loves" (with no actual explanation given for his sudden change of heart), and mopes around, deciding to walk home from school suddenly, where she then meets her "real love", Benji. After Benji offers her a ride home, she

"hesitated for a minute. She figured she didn't have anything to lose; she might as well get a ride home."

Nothing to lose, except possibly her life!

And then they go to an amusement park together. Because they love each other. After having met like 5 minutes ago, Rachel allows this guy, who she thinks, maybe, attends her school (keep in mind, she doesn't really even remember him that much, just that she thinks she may have possibly seen him in the cafeteria?!), take her somewhere. Stranger danger much? Even when Benji is asking to take her to the amusement park, she asks where they are going (because he just asked her if she would like to go somewhere), and he says that is a surprise, but that he knows she's "going to love it"? How? He doesn't even know her, she might hate amusement parks!

From that point on, it just gets progressively worse, with Rachel suddenly obsessively in love with Benji, and feeling something is off about him (because he won a carnival game that no one else can win, that means he must be something else?), she continuously demands that he tell her how he does some things and what he's hiding from her. She becomes even more whiney than in the beginning of the novel, and the dialogue is extremely weak.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. I do feel like it was a good attempt by the author, and I don't want to take away from the pride she should feel for having completed, and gotten published, a novel, but it just really was not my cup of tea. I'm glad I was able to read this one for free. I was thinking about reading the next novels in the series, because I saw that some reviews stated that the others are better, but I really just do not feel like paying money if it is just going to end up more of the same: weak dialogue, obsessive (and sudden/without reason) love, and drawn-out, unnecessary details about brands. I feel like this could have been a stronger novel if an editor had gone through and cut about half (or more) of the unnecessary information/plot and just had her move to the school, meet Benji, and have them (and us as readers!) get to know each other more before they suddenly were "in love". Or, even if the novel wants to go for a "love-at-first-sight" feel, at least flesh the characters out a bit more so the readers can feel invested in the novel. After however many pages, I really just don't care about their "love". And I wish I did.

[A is for Ayesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading this after like seven years for nostalgia purposes. And giving it five stars for the same reason.
Don’t judge me…

[elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book could be the example of how not to show in every telling not showing English class ever.

So the best thing about this book is the plot, and considering it is basically a retelling of every other 'vampire' novel I've read (and I haven't read THAT many). New girl, new school 'unpopular' and average looking who suddenly stops hearing from her best friend 5eva and wow is suddenly and completely unexpectedly a boy magnet. Shocking and so different I know. However, there is some great stuff with Peer Pressure that could have made this book great and something a bit different but it didn't go down like I wanted it to...

The characters... wow. NOPE. Meet Rachel, she's the most stereotypical character I have ever seen in a YA novel and that is saying something. She has a brother and sister, and they're cool and popular and make friends super easy - obviously. And two parents who are there ever so slightly more than some parents but still not really there. A best friend who's a bad influence. Seriously bad influence. The first time I hang out with someone I would totally take them to the middle of the city and buy them a fake id, then to a tattoo parlor. I mean... seriously! Then the boys... I'm not even going to go there okay.

The development was... poor. Along with the pacing. This was two of the fastest cases of insta-love I've ever read, based on little to no foundation in the story. Yes, two cases, one book, one character and love after one look and a conversation.

And we're not going to talk about the writing. But lets just say, not my style. I like to be shown and not told, and this book seriously insulted my intelligence in that area. That and the pacing felt all off.

This book wasn't for me, and I can't see it being for many people. Also it ends on a 'cliffhanger'...

[Keith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Briefly: a badly written and edited, unimaginative, uninspired piece of work that doesn't deserve publication.

My trawl through free Google Play YA fantasy e-books has thrown up some gems of bad writing, illogical and pedestrian plots, and outright bizarreness, but this has to be one of the worst to date. What's so bad about it? Let me count the ways...

-Copious errors that any editor worthy of the name should have found, including typos, missing words, incorrectly capitalized words, and more.
-Incredibly plodding writing almost on a "See Spot Run" level, with (among other things) whole paragraphs leadenly listing what brands of clothes/makeup the protagonist is wearing, and endless expository waffle telling the reader what she's thinking instead of showing it.
-A plot that has very, very clearly been cribbed straight from Twilight but with more mundane teenage shenanigans* - such that it ends just as our heroine is about to find out that the Obligatory Brooding Superhuman Handsome Guy she's proclaimed herself madly in love with after knowing him for about 24 hours is a vampire. (After proclaiming the same thing about another guy then changing her mind a day or two earlier.)

*The mundane teenage shenanigans - romance aside - are something vaguely resembling a redeeming feature, in that they could be turned into a more interesting story. I wonder if perhaps the author would prefer to write non-fantasy fiction, but felt obliged to include vampires for great moneys?

[Marsha · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Sworn" was a really disappointing read for me. During the first fifty pages or so, I quickly grew tired of all of the references to various stores and brand names (i.e. JCPenney, etc). For a while there I thought it would never end. Then, too much time was spent exploring the whiney angst of the bratty teenage herione, Rachel. By the end of the book, I realized that I just did not like her character very much.

Rachel Wood and her family are forced to move to Westchester, N.Y. when her father's company moves. While her brother and sister are okay with the move, Rachel is not and shows her disdain by moping, whining and just acting like a brat. Upon attending her new high school, she has difficulty making friends and actually has made somewhat an enemy of one of the popular girls, Arielle. This is where the story does not work for me. This is suppose to be a supernatural romance; but, the majority (80%) of the story is just about Rachel being a brat. It wasn't until the last 10% of the book did the reader get any inkling of something unusual happening.

I will be honest, this story just did not capture my attention or interest. I will not be going to to read the next book in the series.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is the first time I've ever given a 1 star rating to a book, but I have many reasons why so let's begin my rant. the book is super short. it's more of a short story. the ebook is 96 pages. the writing was horrible, it reminded of chick flick books towards middle schoolers. the main character had the typical "we're moving, I hate my life, I miss my friends, they're ignoring me" then it goes to "oh there's a cute guy at my new school who is super popular and for some reason takes an interest in average me" then in the second to last chapter, BOOM- random guy named Benji appears who main character has love at first sight. they spend the day together then do a whole twilight scene where he saves her, is cold, skips class, goes to a meadow, they go to the dance, Benji fights with her other love interest, and says she's his girlfriend after hanging out for the third time and he says they can't be together for certain reasons.
sorry, but hated the book. if it was just a boring book about going to high school it would've been fine but the twilight wannabe stuff was horrible
this review happens to be longer than the book
p.s. I don't need to know the main character's whole make up routine like what she used, how she put it on, and what the brand out it was. unnecessary

[Jody · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off, there are so many grammar mistakes I was literally grinding my teeth. In the first chapter, the MC describes her new house as white with black shudders. Really?? Then, there is so much 'name dropping' of products I started to wonder if the author got kickbacks. Urban Decay, Maybelline, Covergirl, Wal-Mart, Target, the list could go on forever. The MC is unlikeable and washy-washy, being a typical rebellious teenager one minute, then straight and narrow the next.
As for the storyline, I almost felt like I missed something, or it was two books tacked on together. The first 3/4 of the book is teenage girl and all her normal problems being blow way out of proportion. (Just like a real teenager, believe me, I know). Nothing paranormal AT ALL. Then all of a sudden there is this mysterious paranormal guy that just appears out of nowhere. No foreshadowing, just boom! new character.
One of the worst YA books I've ever read.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, honestly, the story has potential, but the execution was clumsy. The development of the plot was jerky and abrupt in places, and really slow moving in others. The random insertion of morals seems contrary to the main characters rash decisions in other instances (to leave class, skip school, go places she knows she isn't supposed to with people she barely knows, sneak out to go to a party, etc.). Another issue? The male lead doesn't really show up until more than three-quarters of the we through the book, so the reader has zero time to really connect with him (Benji) before the book just abruptly stops. I sincerely hope that the sequel goes more smoothly and that we are given more reasons to be interested in the two leads.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a frustrating short story to read. While the writing is not bad the flow of the story is all over the place. I actually enjoyed the way Knight's writing felt at times, but then the story would speed up suddenly and it no longer mattered. The relationships in this practically sprang out of nothing and her connection with Benji felt premature and childish due to the speed at which it developed. Also the over use of brand names was extremely annoying and was just too much.
I do give her credit for trying to breech the subject of peer pressure but the execution could have used some work.
It takes a lot to frustrate me to the point of regretting the free download but this one managed it.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't read this book. It's a waste of space. I think even the editor threw his/her hands up two thirds of the way through and said "I quit. Only select+all+delete could make this better." This book appears to be written as maybe Twilight fan fiction or plagiarism almost? It's like someone thought "hey, how can I make Twilight worse" and then they wrote this.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome book:]

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my am I glad this unadulterated piece of crap was over with quickly. It must have been written by an 8th grader.

So horrible. So stupid. Why did I waste my time?

[Cary Morton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to get through Sworn by Emma Knight but instead ended up DNFing the book at just 8% in. Look, the start wasn’t bad on-premise, and I’m sure, had I gone on to read more, the plot would have been mediocre, but okay. It had that vibe. The problem is that the writing was awful. I ran across misspellings, bad grammar, bad punctuation, and improper tense all in the first chapter.

The narrative style was full of mundane tasks, redundant thoughts, and an abundance of ‘telling’. Frankly, the writing was rudimentary at best, and it made it hard to continue. What little I saw of the characters made them seem cliché, and lacking depth. I was skimming before the first chapter ended.

For other readers who have a day job that doesn't involve being a copyeditor – you might get past this, particularly if you are a teen. I could not, however. Good luck.

[Wonda · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, a third of the way through it and I'm like where are ANY vampires??? If I have to listen to this girl whine about her life for one more chapter, seriously! No plot, one whiney character...no thanks!

[Booknerd_dragon (TANIA) · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's just a wanna be "twilight meets teen fiction" book

[Sandrasson · Rating 1 out of 5]

No. Sadly I did not like it. Poorly written and a bad plot. Nothing made sence and everything went to fast from one thing, one emotion, to another. Will not read more books in this series.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different

This was a short but good read. It did seem like it took forever to get to the good parts of the book though, that did kind of bother me a little bit. Other than that I did enjoy it and I am moving on to the next book 'Taken' 😉 YA paranormal 💖

[Halle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was, hands down, the worst book I have ever read. *Spoilers ahead*

I started reading and immediately didn't like it because of the repeated times Rachel's name was used. Like, we get it. Her name is Rachel. She literally wouldn't have dialogue with anyone, or even be thinking about anyone else, but her name would be used to start every sentence. Argghhh.

I tried to keep an open mind and trudged on. Then I got annoyed by the constant name dropping. I knew more about what her notebook looked like than her parents, brother, and teacher that were repeatedly brought up.

Which leads me to my next point: it felt like a book where nothing happened and then everything happened all at once. This time line was literally a week and a half. A week and a half where she "fell in love" with not one, but two guys. And the second guy was supposed to be the "vampire true love" of hers, but he doesn't even come into the picture until literally the book is about to end. I found myself looking at how many pages were left and wondering how the author was going to fit the vampire bits in. Well she certainly surprised me by thinking that her "cliffhanger" was going to be good. HELLO it's literally a vampire series so we know what he's going to say.

I just really couldn't get over how unrealistic everything was. It was very poorly written and felt like a pre-teen was writing fanfiction about what her life was going to be like in high school after reading twilight. That may sound harsh, but if you read it you'd understand.

I'm seriously not over that time line. She was supposed to meet Rob on a date on Monday, but he stood her up so she met Benji and went to some random amusement park with him (when she literally just met him....hello stranger danger!) And what was up with her description of Benji? First of all she describes him wearing a handkerchief on his head, but then describes him taking off his helmet.....HOW DID SHE SEE IT THEN?!?!? That is just one of many continuity errors that annoyed the crap out of me in this book. He's supposed to be this gorgeous guy who she fell in love with at first sight, yet she vaguely recalls seeing him before. If she saw him before and he's that gorgeous, there's no way she wouldn't remember him, and how can it be love at first sight of she saw him before and she didn't fall in love with him then?!?!? The author should have just kept it that she hadn't seen him before.

Then the day after her date (which is Tuesday on the timeline) she skips this important class to go meet him. Why? There is no reason he couldn't have met with her after school or something. And she pats herself on the back for having "willpower" because she doesn't succumb to peer pressure later on, yet doesn't care about missing out on an important class. Later she gets a text from her friend Emily asking if she's going to the homecoming dance the next day. Who has homecoming on a Wednesday?!?!? Since when do high school's have football games not on Friday or Saturday? It made no sense. And that part where Benji claims she's his girlfriend when they literally do not even know each other was so weird. And she seemed surprised when Rob was confused....like girl you just promised to dance with him and turned around and left wth no explanation and then you got a boyfriend in the span of one day....I would be confused too if I was him lol. And then that awful fighting scene happens, which I won't even get into. She gets on the motorcycle with Benji, but was described as wearing super high heels and an extremely tight and short dress...like.....?

Overall, this book was very annoying and all over the place. The only good things about it was that she did have good descriptions on what it can feel like being nervous about fitting in. The description of her going out with the punk kids was also pretty decent, even though I felt that sequence was a bit unnecessary. Benji should have been introduced waaaaaay earlier in the book, even if she didn't directly talk to him. The characters were very flat all together and I didn't find myself rooting for really anyone. Rachel doesn't say more than ten sentences to him, and yet can just tell that she's in love with him. Honey, that ain't love that's lust. Horrible book, but I almost want to rate it more because kudos to the writer for getting this horrendous book published. I say all this but I probably will read the rest of them because at least I was entertained. Even if I had to stop reading repeatedly to get over my secondhand embarrassment from reading such an awful book.