Anything to Have You

by Paige Harbison

You can’t always plan for the future.

You can’t always choose who you love…

Natalie and Brooke have been best friends forever. Brooke is the life of the party but Natalie has always been content to be the quiet one – until one night and one party, leads to Natalie waking up with Brooke’s boyfriend Aiden.

Now Natalie is faced with the two hardest decisions of her life – her best friend or the boy who gets her in ways she can’t explain? The college future she planned or the biggest responsibility she’ll ever have to face?

An unforgettable story about first love, worst mistakes and what friendship really means.

From the author of Here Lies Bridget

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, New Adult, Friendship, Young Adult Contemporary

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2014

About the author

A little bit about me...

I grew up in the Washington D.C. area, raised by a musician and a writer. I graduated high school early, and went to college in St. Augustine, FL. Then, between Freshman and Sophomore year, I wrote my first novel. Everything in my life changed when, the following semester, I signed my first contract at age nineteen.

I transferred schools three times for fun, and changed my major from Theatre to Painting in order to accommodate my new career. I graduated early from Towson University and continued to work on my first three published novels, all YA: Here Lies Bridget, New Girl, and Anything to Have You.

Throughout the next decade I worked as a bartender and ghostwriter, traveling as much as I could, living it up in the name of book inspo.

At the start of the pandemic, I moved with my family to Palm Springs, CA and finally slowed down enough to start thinking about my own next chapter, which led me to leave the service industry, take some opportunities in film and TV, and start work on my next book.

I am now based in Los Angeles, California, where I live with my dog, Tarot, my partner, Richie, and the 12-9000 uninvited spiders that live in and around our home.

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Initial reaction: This is the point where I completely and utterly understand the negative reactions taken to this book, as my own were quite strong. In sum, I think this might be Harbison's weakest work to date for a number of reasons. It's not just the handling of the themes in this book but also the presentation of the characters and the fact that the lot of it completely misses the mark for what it offers. I didn't like the portrayals here, among other things. Hopefully my full review will get into these measures and why this cast was one I found completely insufferable to the point where the narrative failed.

Full review:

Writing this review guts me a little because I like Paige Harbison's works, and I'll admit that "New Girl" was rough for me as my first read from her, but I still liked it. I think the biggest complaint I remember making was that it took a bit for the momentum of the story to get going, but ultimately, it was a valuable experience for the way things came together, especially with its function as a "Rebecca" reimaging.

This book was a different story. On one hand, it could deserve kudos for taking an unflinching look at several tough topics - drinking, drugs, sex, infidelity, pregnancy among other mentions, but I became very disillusioned with the way it was presented. It felt cliched, overly dramatic, and not all that realistic. Parts of it, don't get me wrong, felt real as far as the voices of the characters and scenarios were concerned, but it's awfully hard to care about the events contained within when the characters don't have a lick of common sense about *talking* out their issues, nor is it easy to sympathize when the characters are so insufferable that you can't stand stepping in their narrative shoes. Sadly, the latter was definitely a problem for me.

Natalie and Brooke are best friends. Natalie is the stereotypical good girl, makes responsible decisions, doesn't do a lot of partying, but is still trying to decide what college she's going to (mostly for lack of money as her father can't afford it and she's not exactly sure what she wants to do). Brooke is a stereotypical party girl, can't decide what college among the ones she's been accepted to, has a seemingly perfect boyfriend. But she swallows herself into partying more often than not, getting swept up in flirting with other boys, drinking, and in general not having much care in the world.

There's so much unspoken tension in this book, some of which actually could be easily resolved if people would actually start asking questions, but no such measure. In a better narrative, I think the unspoken tension would be a good thing, but in this, it felt a bit annoying with the careless, problematic portrayal of events that condemns one thing, and doesn't condemn/condone another.

One night at a party, Brooke invites Natalie to mingle because of wanting to get Natalie a boyfriend. Because apparently Natalie doesn't have a choice and "needs a boyfriend" to somehow have some sense of completion. Natalie isn't particularly feeling up to getting herself in a relationship, but Brooke thinks she knows better than Natalie what Natalie wants. And that bothered me almost from point one in this narrative.

"Isn't that against everything we're supposed to think now? As girls? Aren't we supposed to feel complete without the approval of a man and all that?"

I felt her wave away the comment. "Whatever. Be empowered. Be your own woman. But no matter how independent you are, now matter how much love you have for yourself, there's something only romance can make you feel."

This is from Natalie's perspective with Brooke's feedback. Bad footing right at the start. I already knew that I wasn't going to like where this was going because it undermines Natalie's own sense of asserting what she wants, and not so subtly mocks the value of independence. But I figured I'd follow it, see where it went.

Natalie becomes the life of the party, has too much to drink, and...wakes up not knowing what happened. She believes she's had sex, but she's not sure who with because she doesn't remember anything beyond passing out the night before. This has happened to her before - she's gotten drunk, lost her virginity to a guy who was a jerk. But this time...she wakes up next to her best friend's boyfriend.

Awkwardness ensues. Natalie keeps it secret because she's not sure who she slept with (considering she was seen the night before between two guys at the party: Aiden and Eric) and she doesn't want to upset Brooke. She agrees with Aiden to keep it secret, but he doesn't give her any kind of clarity on the situation either way. So, there are implied lies here.

That didn't sit well with me.

Brooke's perspective only adds a very minimal amount of perspective to the narrative; I'm not sure if it helped all that much in terms of creating a sympathetic viewpoint. For me, it made Brooke that much more irresponsible and infuriating to read about. Because it turns out she never really loved Aiden that much, but yet she's jealous of Natalie and notes the chemistry that Natalie shares with Aiden.

The level of sexual shaming in this is so rampant. >____< It's not so much that I don't think it could be realistic in some turns, but it's just...too much.

The narrative toggles between Natalie's relationship with Eric and Aiden for a time, and you really don't know for a while whom Natalie slept with until a certain revelation makes it clear that Natalie has to know who she slept with. Natalie slept with Aiden and is pregnant with his child. Drama unfolds from there.

I had a very hard time believing the (read: lack of) parental reactions in this book. Felt too convenient for the level of conflict in the novel.

Aiden's inaction and what he does in this book made me rage. I couldn't be so forgiving of what his character did and it was bad enough that Natalie couldn't remember anything from the night of the party but HE REALIZED that she didn't remember anything and still didn't tell her the truth. WTH man? The scenario felt date rape-ish to me from the very beginning, but the justifications were just as problematic. I didn't like the portrayal here.

Brooke's reaction I saw coming, but I still raged at her for the shaming, assumptions and not even to the point where she would clarify things. Still, there were moments where Natalie and Brooke were trying to work through events, even considering their relationship after the revelation and respective fallout. The ending was neater than I expected it to turn out for the scheme of events. Even then, it still wasn't taken with the kind of care that the narrative could've had with the respective pacing of the book, or with the kind of depth or maturity that the difficult subjects here would note, even considering the naivete of the girls.

Overall, for the presentation of the book, none of this novel worked for me. I saw what it was going for, but I couldn't get behind how easy some of the portrayals were, how it seemed to justify certain things and completely leave other threads by the wayside, and it felt too shallow for the level of the conflict it was taking on. It made sense to me why this book wasn't received well in some circles, and I felt in much the same boat upon finishing the novel.

Not my cuppa.

Overall score: 1/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Harlequin Teen.

[Jasprit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything to Have You was a really surprising read. Despite some obvious flaws, I whipped through this book in one day. I normally don’t do cheating books, but books which involve two best friends and one of their boyfriends I find highly addicting. (I blame my obsession with programmes such as Sunset Beach and The OC for this).

Natalie is the stay at home type of girl, she prefers spending quiet time reading or knitting whereas her friend Brooke is always at parties and getting crazy drunk. Brooke decided that this year would be different, it was their senior year at school and Natalie had to be a little spontaneous. So Natalie agrees to go to Alexa’s party and it does end up being a memorable party for a long time to come. Natalie wakes up in bed next to Brooke’s boyfriend Aiden; she remembers kissing Eric that night so knows that she couldn’t have slept with Aiden. Also she’d woken up beside him half decent, but she can’t shake the niggling feeling that she slept with somebody else.

This is where Natalie messed up if I was in her shoes I would be committed in trying to find out who I slept with. But she asks one person who denies it and then automatically assumes it’s the other guy without confirming it and then ends up telling her best friend. This was a stupid thing to do and of course there were several tell tales signs of what was to come (she was pregnant), but I was largely able to overlook this because of the gorgeous relationship which emerged between Natalie and Aiden. Yes Aiden was her best friend Brooke’s boyfriend, but Brooke seriously didn’t give a toss about their relationship, she would openly flirt with other guys in front of Aiden and even though Aiden confronted her several times about this she said she would stop, but would start right back up. Also we learn a vital titbit when we’re given insights into Brooke and Natalie’s past and this had me utterly convinced that Aiden and Natalie should be together. Seriously which friend does this?

And Brooke’s behaviour didn’t get any better as the story progressed. We were given chapters from her in the middle of the book (as I wasn’t a huge fan of hers in the first place, I really did want to skip over these and get back to what was happening with Aiden and Natalie). Aiden and Natalie didn’t go cheating behind Brooke’s back, but it was clear that they had some sort of connection which definitely went further than the relationship Brooke and Aiden had going on. The time they spent together was sweet and it was nice to see both of them who had been going through their fair share of crap with Brooke have a good time. Also Brooke wasn’t the sweet and innocent party she was making herself out to be either. Natalie and Aiden definitely made this story for me.

Harbison’s writing had a very addictive feel to it, despite there being glaringly obvious things characters should have picked up on and a sort of rushed wrapped up neat ending. I had a really fun time reading this book, it’s a book where I didn’t need to over think things, but just sit back relax and completely lose myself in this story.

This review can be found on The Readers Den

[Alanna (The Flashlight Reader) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, this book. Sigh.

There were so many things wrong here. So, so many.

This is the second book I've read by Paige Harbison, and I'm noticing a trend. Apparently, this young author thinks that all teenagers spend their out of school hours at lavish parties full of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Wow, I basically summed up the whole plot in one sentence. Huh.

I cannot begin to express how annoyed I am with the way teenagers were portrayed in this book. If they were young college students, I would be more willing to accept the plot. But these kids were 17. I know there are some pretty uninvolved and clueless parents out there, but I find it VERY hard to believe that a father would willingly let his only daughter sleep over at boys' homes during parties. I also find it hard to believe that that same father figure would give his consent to his underage daughter's drinking at said party. Are you kidding me? Am I really supposed to buy that? I feel insulted because it's so far fetched.

So, daddy-o irritated me. But it didn't stop there. There were some seriously messed up characters in this book. For starters, let's examine Brooke. Can we say psycho? Best friend from hell. Hands down. She's a liar, manipulative, and a complete skank. It was a train wreck that you just couldn't pull away from. If her character is supposed to portray teenage best friends, then girls take this as a warning-- you are better off alone. Brooke was everything I would find in an enemy, and nothing worthy of being a friend.

Then there was Natalie. There wasn't much difference in her character either. She tries to be honest, but she leaves a lot of truths out. You might as well tell a bold faced lie if you're only going to tell half truths. Natalie is supposed to be super smart and "with it" but she's a complete idiot in the game of life. I could not believe how willingly she accepted her party outcome. No trip to the doctor. No second guesses. She just rolled with the punches like you might do when you bomb a test you know you didn't study for. Um, no. When STDs and pregnancies are on the line, I need the characters to be more intuned with reality. You don't just shrug and go about your business.

Then there was Aiden-- a sneaky pile of flaming poop. I wanted to like him because he channeled my inner nerd, but I just couldn't not get beyond what he did. AND what he continued to do. Why was is portrayed as okay in this book to have a guy take advantage of a girl that was so wasted she blacked out at a party? It was if it wasn't a big deal, and that he didn't actually date rape a girl. If I had students reading this book, I would be livid. I would not want them to read this and think it's not a big deal if a guy advances on you because you were drunk. No way! Wrong is wrong.



This book screwed up every message that young females need to learn. It was a disgrace. It just pisses me off because it makes light of very important issues, and paints teenage life in a horribly unrealistic way. Do not waste your time reading this.

[Nemo (The ☾Moonlight☾ Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on The Moonlight Library
This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SUMMARY
Natalie and Brooke’s friendship is put to the test when they and those they love keep secrets from each other.

WORLDBUILDING
For the most part I bought the contemporary setting of Anything to Have You. The dialogue was almost hyperreal and the depiction of the landscape changing throughout the seasons made me yearn for snow. The depiction of teen behaviour seemed over the top to me, but I know that the legal drinking age in the US is 21 and I always have such a hard time believing that American teens get such easy access to alcohol and don’t really suffer many consequences. That being said, I don’t believe this story was a ‘typical teen’ story that it meant to represent every teen in America – I believe the teens represented here are of privilege and wealth and this is their own special story and should not be taken to represent all American teens.

CHARACTERS + RELATIONSHIPS
Natalie and Brooke were horrible to each other, but not in an obvious way and not in a way that made me dislike the book. Similar to Wuthering Heights, where the two main characters treat each other and the other characters horribly but I still enjoy reading the book, I found myself invested in this story despite not really liking either character.
Natalie was bland. She was a typical glasses-wearing brunette good girl who didn’t socialise yet somehow got nominated for Prom Queen. Her relationship with Aiden was sweet and I liked seeing her tear herself apart over crushing on her best friend’s boyfriend. I found their connection to be very realistic.
Brooke was a typical bad girl, flirting with everyone despite having a boyfriend she thought she didn’t want to lose, cheating and then getting angry when she was cheated on. But somehow I found myself sympathetic with both Natalie and Brooke, even though Brooke treated Aiden like rubbish and I really disliked her far more than Natalie. She actually reminded me of my high school best friend, a girl desperate to be lusted after by all the boys and admired by all the girls – unfortunately, my high school bestie sucked at both of those things because she had an awful personality.
As for Aiden, well, it’s hard to hate someone written to be so obviously well liked, but he is an asshole of all kinds and really I should hate him far more than I do. He did the most horrible ,despicable thing to both Natalie and Brooke, and yet all I’m thinking is how nice his final situation is.

WHAT WORKED/DIDN’T WORK
I just don’t buy that a girl who makes a point of never going out and socialising could be nominated Prom Queen. I’m not American, so I can’t be sure, but isn’t it a popularity contest? How can you be popular when no one knows your name?
I also don’t buy that Natalie and Aiden’s end of year project was ‘omg so totally cool like the most awesomest thing ever.’ I don’t understand how they could get other students to donate their sentimental keepsakes so some giant wall, let alone pay to put their shitty crap on it and then think it’s so awesome they want to take photos of it. It just seems like a really lame, stupid idea and I was totally surprised when both Aiden and the teacher fully supported it as original and awesome.
On the other hand, I do totally buy that Natalie would fall pregnant, especially as her own mother was a pregnant teen. I’ve read that it seems to be a cycle that teen mothers and daughters find themselves in and I totally think it’s acceptable to write that.
I also buy that the teens are absolutely terrible at communicating with each other, and that’s really what drives the plot. People keeping secrets or not confessing true feelings, which is exactly what immature, undeveloped teens do.
I’m still trying to work out the relevance of the title. While at first I thought it implied that Natalie would do anything to have Aiden, that wasn’t the case, because she didn’t plan or scheme to ‘steal’ him away from Brooke, she was just herself. Possibly it could mean that Brooke would do anything to have Aiden, but by the way she treated him and other boys, it is no longer relevant. I thought maybe it could refer to Natalie’s relationship with Brooke, considering all they go through they still remain friends, but then again they are pretty horrible to each other, whether they mean to be or not. I mean, in high school, my best friend went after the guy I’d been crushing on for ages and it ended our friendship. I’m still surprised Natalie and Brooke could work through everything in the end.
(It doesn’t help that when I tried to make up with my high school bestie years later, and ask her why she hurt me so much, and she confessed that she’d been ‘a selfish bitch’, I saw that she’s written in her online diary after meeting me for coffee that it was ‘so nice to see losers from high school all fat and lonely.’)

OVERALL
I don’t think it is necessary to like a (or any) character to enjoy the story. I think if a reader is looking for a slightly heavier contemporary novel that explores infidelity, alcohol and drug abuse, while still being a story about the drama and angst teens go through, then this will be the novel for you.

[Anatea Oroz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf

I requested this book for review before I went to Goodreads to check out if there are any reviews written already. I just really liked the description and went ahead and requested it. Then I went to Goodreads and saw so many negative reviews. What was going through my head was, WHY did I request it?!? But I ended up reading it and decided not to trust those people. The first chapter was terrible. I wanted to DNF the book. I don't know why, but I continued reading it. And I ended up really liking the book, can you believe it??

The first chapter in this book is actually just a really long and boring conversation that makes you want to throw the book into the trash can so you never have to see it again. But if you manage to get past that first chapter, like I did, you may find yourself quickly engaged in the story. We meet Natalie and Brooke, two best friends. While Natalie is the quiet one, a girl who prefers to stay in and just watch a movie, Brooke is the wild one, always partying and the social butterfly. One night she gets Natalie to come with her to a party, but what happened is that they get wasted and some of them even blackout. Natalie ends up sleeping with a guy, but she doesn't know which one. Is it Aiden, her best friends boyfriend with whom she woke up in the same bed with, or is it Ethan, a guy with whom she made out earlier in the night?

I liked Natalie much more than I did Brooke and I preferred reading from Natalie's POV. I realized whenever it was Brooke's POV, I was just waiting for it to switch back to Natalie because Brooke really irritated me. She was selfish, jealous and manipulative, and I just wanted to be out of her head. Natalie was really a sweet, kind and thoughtful person and a great friend. I don't see what happened that night as a mistake, I see it more like what-goes-around-comes-around kinda thing. Brooke knew exactly what she was getting herself into from the beginning, but I won't go much into details so I don't spoil the story for you. Brooke's boyfriend Aiden was a real sweetheart, I loved him!

There is a twist that happens near the end of the book, but I could see it coming from miles away so it wasn't really a surprise for me. But, I did like the ending and I think that Brooke will finally be ok.

Even though Anything to Have You started really bad, it turned out to be a great read and I really did enjoy it. There was a lot of high school drama, but if you are into those kinds of books, I am sure you will enjoy this one!

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[New Adult e dintorni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parliamo questa volta di uno Young Adult autoconclusivo di una giovane autrice americana.
Devo dire che io ero molto curiosa di leggere questo romanzo, per vari motivi, la trama mi attirava, l'autrice era nuova per il mercato italiano, e non per ultimo il fatto che dividesse il pubblico di lettori. Molte recensioni su Goodreads infatti non erano affatto positive.
In questo libro si parla soprattutto dell'amicizia, c'è la storia d'amore certamente, e anche molto intensa, ma il tema attorno al quale ruota tutto è il rapporto tra le due protagoniste, la storia d'amore non è altro che un mezzo che l'autrice utilizza per parlare del tema fondamentale.
Un amicizia tra due ragazze, con dei caratteri diametralmente opposti, ma questo lo avevamo capito dalla trama che in realtà non ci svela molto, anzi che definirei abbastanza ordinaria.



Sono stata veramente colpita da diverse cose in questo libro, innanzi tutto parliamo del tipo di narrazione, che io definirei fuori dai soliti schemi.
La scrittrice utilizza il punto di vista di Natalie, e fin qui nulla di strano, è una cosa che al momento va molto di moda, funziona e crea empatia con i personaggi. Ma qui entra in gioco quella che io definirei la novità, tutta la prima parte del libro è raccontato con POV di Natalie (la brava ragazza) e quindi noi viviamo solo i suoi pensieri le sue emozioni e non ci è dato di sapere quello che passa nella testa di Brooke (l'anima della festa) e del suo ragazzo Aidan, poco prima della metà del libro l'autrice inizia invece con flashback di Brooke ripercorrendo con questi la sua storia d'amore con Aidan, bè devo ammettere che è stata una trovata geniale perchè, benchè inizialmente la cosa ti stupisca, non crea confusione e anzi aggiunge un certo numero di informazioni indispensabili, che non protremmo avere se non cambiassimo punto di vista, si, devo dire che io ho apprezzato.
Questo escamotage con me è riuscito sicuramente ad ottenere un effetto, farmi apprezzare a momenti alterni l'una o l'altra, benchè naturalmente avessi la mia preferita.
PER LEGGERE IL SEGUITO DELLA RECENSIONE CLICCATE QUI:
http://newadultedintorni.blogspot.it/...

[Charlotte Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating 2.5/5*

I usually like Paige Harbison books. They have a realism and edginess that authors can sometimes not quite nail. Unfortunately I didn't connect with this one at all and was still trying to figure out the message the book was trying to convey.

Natalie and Brooke have been BFF's since a young age. When a new, hot guy arrives at school Brooke is the one to take a step out with him, although Natalie told her to put in a good word for herself. Brooke, who is a little jealous of her popular but introvert friend appears to take this as a challenge and soon enough Brooke and Aiden are dating. One year on, Natalie is still popular and quiet, Aiden is the nice, kind boyfriend, but Brooke isn't happy with her life. This is where the book picks up from.

The characters are very real. Brooke is obsessively jealous of her best friend and boyfriends friendship and thinks the only way to try to be more popular than Natalie is to drink and party. She seeks attention, craves it, wants guys to ogle her even though she has a boyfriend. Her jealousy soon gets mixed with antagonism. She hangs out with like-minded people who are not like Natalie. She begins to see how Natalie and Aiden are more suited as a couple but she refuses to give him up.

Natalie however goes to a party, a rarity for her. She wakes up the next day knowing something happened with a guy but is unsure who it was. Eventually, she sees a change in Brooke and keeps her growing feelings for Aiden undercover. After all, you do not get with your best friend's boyfriend, big no no!

The story is told from two POV's, Natalie and Brooke. My honest opinion is that the author wanted readers to warm to Brooke. To understand the whys and wherefores of how she works. Personally it only made me hate her even more.

Topics covered as our two best friends free-fall are drugs, alcohol abuse, pregnancy and cheating. I would say that they were all covered sympathetically, the author could have gone for a far more shocking story than she did.

Two things strike me as I finished. Firstly, the book title was wrong. It should have been Anything to be you. Certainly Natalie didn't do anything to get Aidens attention, she was just herself. And Brooke didn't want Aiden, not really so that doesn't work either. The second thing was that none of the characters talked. Even though they're all supposed to be very best friends and shared a lot of time together they never aired their laundry with each other. I mean, don't teenagers break up and make up all the time, not sit on problems and let them escalate as badly as they did in this book.

I honestly think the author took her finger off the pulse on this one and therefore it just didn't seem quite accurate. But that's just my opinion. :)

- CBx

[Sara (sarabara081) · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can find more of my reviews at Forever 17 Books.

2.5 stars!

I was really looking forward to this read. A boy coming between two friends is quite common in the teen years, at least as far as I remember and from my personal experience. In fact, I’m surprised it doesn’t come up in YA books more often, to be honest. Needless to say, I was looking forward to seeing how these characters handled the delicate situation in Anything to Have You. The result in 2 words? HOT MESS.

I literally have a whole page of notes on issues I had with this book and I apologize now that this review might be a tad spoiler-y to get my thoughts across. The overall plot, like I mentioned above, was good. A girl goes to a party with her best friend and fears she might have made a mistake and slept with that BFF’s boyfriend. And honestly, I was enjoying the read for the most part for quite awhile. It was around the 40% mark, right when things were getting interesting, that the book took a terrible, HORRIBLE turn.

The book starts out from the POV of Natalie. Natalie is a quiet girl who prefers to stay in and watch movies with her dad than go out and party like her best friend, Brooke. I HATED Brooke from page one. Seriously. Brooke is selfish. She wants everyone’s attention to always be on her. Even though she has a long-term boyfriend, Aiden, she wants to be wanted by every boy in her vicinity. She is constantly contemplating cheating on him and doesn’t seem to care for him at all, only staying with him as someone to fall back on who she knows will pay her the attention she craves. She was so superficial. She had an obsession with partying and drinking and was bound and determined to get her best friend out to ‘enjoy’ the rest of their senior year of high school. This is all stuff you learn very early in the book about Brooke. I’m all for characters having issues and being unlikable just to watch them grow and mature but I could not for the life of me stand this girl.

I didn’t mind Natalie’s character. I mean, she was a bit naive and a pushover but I was determined to see potential in her character development. We are unsure what *exactly* transpired the drunken night of the party, though it’s obvious to us readers. I don’t condone cheating whatsoever, but somehow I found myself rooting for Natalie and Aiden, despite his attachment. There was some unresolved sexual tension floating between them and you could see how much they clicked together. I had my fingers crossed Aiden would wise up and end what needed to end and move on. But just when I felt things were getting good for these two, the POV suddenly switched to Brooke’s at 40%. WHAT?! NO.

And this is where the book failed. Brooke’s POV. At this point we are invested in Natalie so the switch so late in the game did not fit. Brooke’s POV went back in time a year and highlighted specific events leading up to the present. And basically it only succeeded in showcasing even more of how horrible a person and friend she was. So the next 15% of the book was a recap of sorts of previous events from her perspective. I do not like this style at all. We see her purposely go after Aiden when it was Natalie who was interested first. And we find out that the amount of drinking and partying she does is 10 times worse. Hey, I fully admit that I may have partook in quite a bit of partying at that age myself, but this girl was taking it to a whole new level. She’d drink during the school week, carry a flask around, etc. And of course, flirt with everyone and anyone in the process. Let’s not forget her jealousy when Natalie, the best friend she pushed to get out there and meet boys, gets a kiss from a boy (not Aiden). Instead of being happy for her she gets upset because she feels irrelevant and no one is actively in her face lusting after her. Are you kidding me with all this?

Moving on, we eventually get back to Natalie and I’m happier, finding myself starting to enjoy the story again. Things were getting good and falling into place with even a twist added in. And just when I felt like we were getting what I’d been waiting for, I’m sure you can guess what happened. We switched back to Brooke. Once again we go backwards a bit to check out what we missed on her end in the last couple chapters and then spend almost the entire rest of the book watching her downward spiral. And you know what? We never got to see her change and mature. We never got to see her character development. There’s no redemption. Again, I don’t condone cheating, but she did horrible things to both Natalie and Aiden as well. She was no victim. She played the part though, all the way until the end. There was even an implication that everything she was doing to herself was because of the cheating and I did not like that whatsoever. She was responsible for her actions and honestly, she was heading in that direction way before the scandal. The only touch of a change of character for Brooke came in the epilogue. What a huge letdown to go through all of that with her just to be told about it, not given a chance to be shown.

I can see why the author chose to make this a novel with a dual POV, but if it had to be done, it could have been handled in another way than this. If we got the switches done consistently from the beginning, perhaps? If we had gotten more of a payoff with Natalie’s POV at the end? If Brooke hadn’t been so despicable until the last page? I’m not sure but I feel like I might have enjoyed the novel more in those cases.

Weirdly, I didn’t hate this book completely when it all comes down to it. I do love when a read brings out emotions in me, even hate of a character. It was like a train wreck I just couldn’t help but watch. I just kept reading and reading. And I really did start to like Natalie and Aiden. I’m just so disappointed we missed out on every payoff we built up to in Natalie’s POV’s, when the story suddenly became more about Brooke and less about Natalie. So while I had so many issues, I can’t say this book lacked drama and entertainment.

[Charnell · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, this books title should just be changed to Your Teenage Years: What Not To Do. The amount of ridiculously stupid, irresponsible and cliché things the characters did made me want to launch my Kindle across the room in utter frustration. It makes me want to stop anyone under the age of sixteen from reading this, for fear they might assume that that's a normal way for a seventeen year old to act. It isn't!

If I was to describe this book in one word, I think I would pick cliché. From beginning to end, this was just one giant cliché made up of individual clichés and pointless plot twists that you see coming way before they are revealed.Here are just a few examples: Aiden and Natalie get paired up to do a class project which means they will have to spend a ton of time alone together, convenient! Natalie gets nominated for prom queen, but totally doesn't see it coming - of course not! Gets pregnant after one night of unprotected sex and then doesn't realise for THREE MONTHS!!!

I requested this because I thought the premise sounded quite good and I'd enjoyed another one of the authors books. But, I was struggling with this book from the very beginning because I found the dialogue felt really forced, which makes it difficult to read. It also makes it harder to really connect with the characters because they don't seem very believable.

Our main character is Natalie, the quiet girl who'd rather stay at home than go out to party. Seeing as the last time she went to a part she got so wasted that she blacked out and ended up having sex with the local man whore, it's totally understandable why she doesn't want to go out. (See what I mean about terrible choices? That was her first time! *Shakes head*). But, of course, Natalie is absolutely gorgeous, beautiful, stunning and sexy and everything else you can think of - pretty much like EVERY character in the book.

I liked Natalie at the beginning, until it got to the blacking out at parties part. I just found her to be a bit of an idiot and that made her really hard to like. She gets ridiculously drunk again and wakes up in a bed, half-naked with her best friends boyfriend. She can tell she had sex the night before but immediately believes she slept with another guy and not Aiden, because she would obviously never do that to her best friend. This alone made me hate her for being so stupidly dense. But, then she goes on to not even ask or check with Eric or Aiden to see what really happened, or to see if they used any protection or anything. Nor does she think to go get the morning after pill, just in case and I'd probably have suggested an STI test too. How am I supposed to like this character?

About 40% of the way into the book it suddenly switches from Natalie's POV, to her best friend, Brooke's POV. This seemed really sudden and totally threw me off. I didn't particularly like Brooke as a character either and her life choices made about as much sense as Natalie's did.

Every plot twist that was thrown at you was one that you'd already seen coming about ten chapters before. The biggest one, and the most obvious, really had me rolling my eyes and shaking my head. The way this was pulled off was really not good in my opinion. I believe this book could have actually tried to teach a lesson or highlight a serious issue but just doesn't. I can't really explain properly without spoiling anything.

The one main issue I have with this book was how one particular plot twist was handled. Natalie finds out she is pregnant, after THREE MONTHS and LOADS OF SYMPTONS, and decides to keep the baby. This is something that does happen a lot, but I hate how badly her decision making skills are because they are what led her to this. After a night of drunken sex that she doesn't remember, she doesn't want to check to see if the partner used a condom and neither does she go get the morning after pill just in case. But then at the end we hear Brooke's POV and how adorable the baby is, how it never cries and how both Aiden and Natalie both managed to go and do exactly what they wanted at college. WHAT?!? That is SOOO UNREALISTIC. I don't think it's a good way to portray teenage pregnancy, that the baby will no way change your life of affect your plans in anyway - that is really not realistic to how it actually ends up for most teenagers. The whole thing made me completely frustrated with this book.


My reaction to practically every characters decisions in this book:
http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/sc...

1/5 Stars

Natalie was a really irresponsible character and I couldn't like her. This book had a chance to teach a lesson or highlight a serious issue but completely fails too. I want to keep this away from anyone under the age of sixteen out of fear that they will assume this is normal teenage behaviour. The book was one cliché after another and I saw every plot twist coming.

*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.

[Rabiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at: http://iliveforreading.blogspot.sg/20...

Having read Paige Harbison's other book, New Girl, I knew I had to get my hands on Anything to Have You. So, I jumped at the opportunity to be on the blog tour and have the chance to finally read it. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, because there are so many negative reviews. I actually found myself really engaged by the story – even though I thought it was a bit too long – but I really thought that while this had the same bones of many contemporaries in YA, Harbison's latest novel had a spark. There was something different and something unique about this story... it's clearly not a fluffy read, but has some darker elements to it. It reminded me of Elizabeth Scott's The Unwritten Rule, but had a different twist of events at the end.

A lot of the negative reviews had problems with the characters, and I could kinda see why. I liked Natalie because I could relate to her. I would honestly rather stay home and watch movies than go out. Sometimes I wish that she had more of a spine, but otherwise, I did love her character because I could see where she's coming from and it was easier to empathize with her in contrast to Brooke. Brooke just straight out annoyed me. Throughout Natalie's narrative she annoyed me, but it was only when the perspective shifted I could kinda see why she acts the way she does. Nonetheless, I still disliked her immensely until the end of the book. Aiden was probably the only character I whole-heartedly LOVED. His character is an absolute sweetheart, all around good guy and wants to do the right thing.
I wasn't expecting a switch in perspectives because I thought the story would be completely from Natalie's side, but I liked how we got to see both sides of the story, and it really gave more depth to the story. While I did like how the perspectives go over the same events giving us the story from both sides, at times I felt that Brooke's side was more of a recaps, because it rushed through the parts that Natalie's story already covered, and I feel that this is what contributed to my lack of empathy for her character.

There's a big twist at the end that I definitely did not see coming. It isn't what you'd expect actually– from the blurb, it's pretty obvious that one thing is going to happen, but there's another HUGE something that happens. It was quite a jolt, a punch to the stomach that had me going, "WHAT?", but I feel that's what made the story a lot more interesting.
The end was great, but what I really loved (surprisingly), was the end of Brooke's story. Something from the beginning comes back at the end and had me smiling with realization. Completely cliché, but in the best way!

Paige Harbison's take on contemporaries is unique in style and captivating in narrative. Anything to Have You was engaging, capturing the ups and downs of friendship and love in a voice that teens will find riveting and one that they can relate to. Paige Harbison's third novel has me excited for what will hopefully be many more to come.

[Michelle (Fluttering Butterflies) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anything To Have You by Paige Harbison is not being published here in the UK until February of 2014, but I just couldn't wait to read it. It sounded really good - the story of two friends who are torn apart over a boy.



And Anything To Have You started off really well. I had high hopes that it would be a story with characters and relationships and situations that I'd really fall for. I can't really work out where this book went wrong but I did finish it feeling a little bit flat. While it is an interesting concept, at times, I felt like the non-linear narrative and the lack emotional highs distracted me from really connecting to this story.

Natalie and Brooke have been friends forever. Brooke is the popular, party-going girl and Natalie is her quiet and studious friend who is more comfortable curled at home with a movie. When Brooke convinces Natalie to come to a party things start to unravel. Because Natalie wakes up having not remembered a large portion of the previous evening ... and she wakes up in bed next to Aide, Brooke's boyfriend.

Two boys fighting over a boy isn't a new concept for a book and as it should be, a lot of the narrative is focused on the strength (and cracks that have appeared!) of the friendship between two girls. The story is told in five parts, alternating between Natalie and Brooke's point of view and jumping backwards and forwards in time in order to share key scenes in Brooke's relationship with Aiden and of the friendship between Natalie and Brooke.

I really liked Natalie and Aiden's characters. I thought they were nice and friendly and relateable and it is quite easy to tell how much they care for one another. It took longer to warm to Brooke because of her sometimes selfish and self-obsessed behaviours. And I liked that the mystery of what happened between Aiden and Natalie took awhile to be revealed. Like I said though, the jumps in time between junior and senior year and the change in perspective between Brooke and Natalie made me lose the flow and emotional build-up and that meant that big reveals that should have been more shocking or emotional didn't quite work.

I do love that Paige Harbison took things to a darker more mature place with this book - drugs, sex, alcohol, everything else. Even though I only rated this book three stars there is still quite a lot of promise there and I will still look out for future books by Paige Harbison!

[Sašenka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to say something more about it but realized that I want to say too much and actually I wans't sure about all the feelings and thought I have about Anything To Have You.
Actually I know that lot of people won't like it and maybe I know why. But it won't stop ME from liking it. Because a lot of people won't appreciate the fact that this story is not mainstream. It is different as both previous books (Here Lies Bridget and New Girl) are. And I like that about Paige. SHe is not afraid of writing about mean bitches or teenage drinking or having sex.
And actually it doesn't really matter to me that I don't like Brooke. She is not a good person. But she is a great book character. She was real and I appreciate that. And those situations were real enough as well. People might say that there is no chance something like that wouldn't happen. But they should know better.
4 stars are only because start was a bit slow and if it wasn't for one accidental spoiler I would be more bored in first half of the book. But overall it was really good. Even though I liked Here Lies Bridget more. But I can't wait to read Paige's next book.

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I’d read an enjoyed both of Paige Harbison’s previous novels, I went into Anything to Have You seriously skeptical. Before publication, book’s ratings tend to be fairly high on Goodreads, but Anything to Have You already had 18 ratings and a 2.75 average a month out from publication. Ouch, right? I can totally see why most readers might be having issues with Anything to Have You, because it’s a very non-standard read helmed by unlikable heroines, however I liked it anyway.

Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

***I received an ARC of Anything To Have You by Paige Harbison from Goodreads and HarlequinTEEN in exchange for an honest review***

I was so excited to finally get this ARC, after a month of waiting for it to show up at my door, that I stopped the book I was reading at the time so I could give this book my full attention. I am so glad that I did, because this book was really hard to put down.

The two main characters are Natalie and Brooke, who have been best friends since they were little. They're the kind of friends who refuse to let anyone or anything come between them...until one crazy night their senior year, the year that everything changes between them.

Natalie is the good girl. The dependable, sweet-tempered, reserved, smart girl. She stays away from alcohol at all costs because she doesn't like feeling out of control. But she has a secret: she made the mistake of sleeping with Reed, thinking that he loved her, when in reality he was only using her to claim her innocence. Now she's pretty jaded against boys and built up a wall to keep them out and her heart safe. But there is one boy who has always had her heart, but she's terrified of telling him how she feels.

Brooke is the wild child in the friendship. She loves to party hard--drinking hard liquor is probably one of her biggest vices. She is also no stranger to sex. Brooke is lucky enough to be dating one of the hottest guys in the school,(Aiden) who also happens to be really good friends with Natalie.

One night, Brooke convinces Natalie to go to the Valentine's party at some rich girl's house (it takes a lot of convincing on Brooke's part to get Natalie to go.) Well, Brooke being the perpetual drunk that she is, manages to get pretty hammered and starts flirting with one of the football players, in front of her boyfriend. (Did I mention the part where Brooke craves attention from the opposite sex? She wants them to want her. She feels sexy when they want her. Which is wrong, since she has a boyfriend who loves her deeply. One would think having his attention would be more than enough for her, but no. She wants every guy to want her.)

Brooke and Aiden get into a gigantic fight and he storms off, leaving her wondering why he was so mad in the first place. Natalie on the other hand, she gets peer-pressured into drinking some alcohol, enough to get her feeling good. She and Eric, one of the other football players that is team mates with Aiden, finally admits that he has harbored a huge crush on her for the longest time. Alcohol impairment prevents her from making the good choice of going home, to full-on making out with this guy.

Natalie drinks more to the point that she gets black-out drunk and wakes up the next morning, naked, and in bed with...Aiden! She is almost positive that she had sex sometime during the party because her "brazil" region is hurting like it did the first and only time (up to this point) she had sex. Aiden swears that they didn't hook-up and she believes him because he wouldn't ever lie to her.

It isn't until the last few chapters that you find out who it was Natalie actually slept with and what the very life-changing consequences she will have to deal with. Her friendship with Brooke is put to the ultimate test, a test that might just end their friendship for good.

What I loved the most about this book was that it was broken up into parts, you would have maybe ten chapters that were told in Natalie's point of view, another ten chapters told in Brooke's point of view, and back and forth like that a couple more times. I loved how you got to see each girl's perspective about the situation involving Natalie hooking up with someone and the ramifications of that night.

Natalie was easily my very favorite character, mainly because she shares a lot of the same values that I do (I would much rather sit at home with a good book than go out and party like Brooke likes to do.) She is just a good girl and tries to do the right thing all the time but won't wallow if she messes up a time or two.

I was not a big fan of Brooke because this girl is one gigantic mess and wasn't a character I could relate to. She is a hard partying type of girl and I was never that kind of girl in high school or even in college. If something went wrong in her life, her answer was to go get drunk. I couldn't respect her as a person because of the choices that she made: she flirted with guys to get them to want her, even though she had a boyfriend; she doesn't love Aiden but doesn't want to let him go because she doesn't want to be alone the last semester of her senior year. And she broke a major girl code rule: she knew that Natalie was really into Aiden when he first moved to their town. She asked Brooke to talk her up to him and get him to ask her out. Natalie never showed interest in guys before, so this was major. So rather than talk up her best friend to the new boy, she took him for herself. That is a girl code no-no. You don't go after the same boy your best friend is clearly into.

This was one of my more favorite books because there were a few things I didn't see coming, one is a major thing, and usually I pick up on things almost instantly.

I really can't complain about grammar and spelling, since this was an ARC and there are always going to be little grammatical issues like that in ARCs before being published for the masses. I was definitely pleased with this book and I recommend it to everyone.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started reading Anything to Have You, I was convinced the story would turn out to be a good read. The characters seemed fun-loving, witty, and appealing. Even though it went downhill for me, with the party and Natalie waking up to realize that she'd gotten so wasted, that she blacked out and couldn't remember who she had sex with, because in fact, she knew she did. There are so many things wrong with that. The main thing being: hello? If you got drunk to the point where all logical thinking and clarity flew out the door, and you don't know who took advantage of you, because obviously someone took advantage of your drunken state, then that is in fact rape. I didn't like that such a serious issue was not brought up. If anything, it made the characters seem like that was a norm, like everything about that was cool. It is not. And I found that very disturbing. Still, it wasn't a bad read.

Let's detour from these teenagers a moment to examine their home life. Natalie's father bugs me. There's no way a parent should be that buddy-buddy with their kid and be so happy about them going to parties, where the opposite sex and plenty of alcohol would be. He was a teenager once so of course he should know the deal. And I felt his reaction to her being hungover a bit casual if not oblivious. The stern parent role should have come into play on many occasions, regardless of how smart and responsible he considered his daughter to be. If Natalie had gone out without his permission, I could have accepted that more than him just simply saying, "go ahead. go to this wild party. drink a lot, lose control, black out, then get taken advantage of."

Aside from that awful event and the way in which it was handled, or rather not handled, Natalie didn't really win me over. She cracked easily under peer pressure, never truly spoke her mind, and basically appeared as a lapdog for her so-called best friend, Brooke. I would have loved for her to be stronger and not so wimpish. Brooke was more of that and then some.

Speaking of the latter, Brooke rubbed me the wrong way since the party as well. In fact, everyone turned out to be off since the party. Anyway, back to the wild flower. Brooke is your usual spoiled girl who loves attention. She's the kind of girl who doesn't care if every single guy in the world loves her, and she gets pissed if one of these guys likes somebody else. Talk about messed up. When you look into her life outside of this, she had issues with her family, which obviously stemmed her need for attention else where, whether it be in drinking or hooking up for the fun of it. She was portrayed in such a trashy way throughout the book that it overwhelmed me. Not only trashy by her grotesque habits, but also in her selfish tendencies towards her boyfriend, deeming their relationship outdated, and also towards the person that's supposed to be her best friend since how long. It took a long time for her to come back down to earth and tap into her real feelings. However, I felt really let down by her character for the most part. When I found out how it really was from the getgo, with Natalie and Aiden, Brooke turned me off even more. Then again, Aiden wasn't so perfect either. I wanted to slap him so bad for putting Natalie through that. Not only did he come off as a rapist from jump, because once again, that whole event didn't seem right to me, I thought he should have told Natalie the truth from the moment he realized she didn't know what really happened. Jerk. No matter how sweet the book tried to make him out to be, he was in my eyes an idiot.

So, what did I like about the story? The pacing, I flew through in no time, and the writing was good. It kept me interested enough to want to finish the book, in hopes that everything would work out. And you know what, even though it enraged me that their reaction to being wasted and passing out was so normal even if they had sex with someone and didn't remember who it was, I thought that reflected on actual issues in the real world. Truth is, teens do sneak off or go with their parents approval to parties, drink a lot, and do end up in situations like that where they simply brush it off. And while I hated how all the characters did was drink, party, drink, hookup, drink, it was somewhat realistic. Even though I was never like that as a teenager, there are kids who really do that. Watch the news. There are realistic elements within this story, no matter how off it mostly was for me.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot that I loved about this book, but there were also a few things that didn't work for me. The writing in Anything To Have You is incredible. I totally connected with Paige Harbison's writing style, and I think that is why I loved Aiden and Natalie as much as I did. The book is told in dual narrative, split between the two best friends- Natalie and Brooke. Brooke is a wild child and Natalie is is more of a "homebody." But with some coaxing, Brooke manages to get Natalie to agree to come out more for their senior year and then the you-know-what hits the fan.

I really liked Natalie. I thought she was funny, and smart and sensible. I couldn't stand Brooke. I thought she was too jealous. but I pushed that aside, because I really did like the friendship that her and Natlaie shared for the most part. You could tell that they truly did cherish their friendship. But Brooke just let her emotions and jealousy for Natalie control her. Natalie is a very genuine girl. She made friends effortlessly and she always stayed true to herself and I think that her "effortlessness" is what upset Brooke the most. Natalie just breezed into parties (that Brooke dragged her too) and people flocked to her. I feel like Brooke just should have let Natalie stay home and then none of this would have happened, but that is neither here nor there.

Anything to Have You was a fairly predictable book. The writing was on the wall the whole time for most of the plot twists. One thing in particular really upset me. I'm not going to say what it was, but I really didn't want it to happen, even though I saw all the clues. And then once it did, the whole book kind of shifted for me. Brooke became even more annoying and she started taking over the story and even though the "unspeakable-thing/plot twist" happened to Natalie, she kind of got pushed into the background of the story. And she was what I liked most of all, so I was kind of bummed about that. I wanted to see more of her and Aiden developing. It was so clear to me that they would have been the perfect couple from the start and I really enjoyed watching them interact. It would have bugged me a lot more about what they did if I had liked Brooke more. What they did is absolutely not something that I would condone, but Brooke was just such a brat herself that I couldn't bring myself to feel bad for her or get mad at Natalie on her behalf.

I know from my review it may seem like I didn't care for the book that much, but that is not true. I could not put this book down! It was like a guilty pleasure for me. The writing was perfect, and it has left me dying to read another one of Paige's books just for her writing style alone. I really enjoyed Natalie as a character and I would have liked for more of the focus to have been on her. I didn't like the plot "surprise" about 3/4th of the way through and I didn't really enjoy Brooke, but I still found myself really enjoying the book. Anything to Have You is a realistic look at some of the struggles and betrayals that a friendship can go through. It isn't all sunshine and rose, but it is very well done.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Harlequin TEEN and Netgalley.)
17-year-old Natalie doesn’t go out much, but agrees to go along to a party with her best friend Brooke. Only to wake up the next morning in bed with Brooke’s boyfriend Aiden.
Suffering from a blackout, and having no idea who she actually had sex with, she convinces herself that it wasn’t Aiden, it was another boy who she’d kissed earlier in the night.
Things aren’t right between Natalie and Aiden though, and she knows that she’s developing feelings for him, even though he’s her best friend’s boyfriend.
Who did Natalie have sex with? And if Brooke loves Aiden, why is she out trying to get attention from other boys?


This was an okay story, but it took a while to get interesting for me.

Natalie was an interesting character, but I was surprised at the way she just accepted a blackout, and didn’t seem bothered about not knowing who she’d had sex with! I did like her point of view better than the parts that were from Brooke’s point of view, but I didn’t really love her. There wasn’t really all that much flirting or anything between Natalie and Aiden, and although she obviously had a crush on her best friend’s boyfriend, she was actually pretty good at not acting on it. For all that Natalie was worrying about the fact that she had feelings for Aiden, Brooke was out feeling up other blokes anyway, so to say anything about Aiden cheating on her was a bit hypocritical.

The storyline was okay, but it took me a while to really get into the story. The beginning of the book was just one big conversation/argument, and wasn’t all that engaging really. I was also not impressed when the point of view switched from Natalie to Brooke, as I didn’t really like Brooke, and wanted more of Natalie’s story, which was left on a bit of a cliff-hanger.
There were some twists in the story, but they were pretty obvious to be honest, and I saw them coming a mile off. The romance bits were okay, but other than the odd line of dirty talk weren’t exactly exciting. Considering the title there wasn’t exactly much desperation or trying at all on Natalie’s part to get Aiden to leave Brooke for her.
The ending was okay, and we did get a happy ever after, although I’m not 100% how realistic it was. The ending was probably the best part of the book, just because I like seeing the poop hit the fan, but overall this was just okay for me.
Overall; okay story, but took a while to get going.
6.75 out of 10.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anything to Have You is, quite simply, a Vegemite book. It's going to be one that readers either love or hate - and I can completely see both sides of the argument. If the likability of a character is a huge selling point for you as a reader, then go into this one prepared - most of the characters just aren't very nice people.

Natalie and Brooke are best friends, but complete opposites. Brooke is a party animal - she's an attention-seeking, binge drinking, uninvested-in-her-future bitch - and she's OK with that. Natalie is the bookworm - quiet, unassuming and (slightly annoyingly) hot without knowing it friend, who is finally convinced to go to a party with Brooke - and does something that is pretty unforgivable in a friendship.

All of this happens pretty early on in the book, and I can see why for some people it's a downward spiral - but I love to hate a character, and that's what drove me to keep reading - because I wanted to see if firstly they could actually redeem themselves, and secondly because I was curious about the drive behind the characters.

The only thing that disappointed me about Anything to Have You is that there is a large portion of Natalie's story that focuses on her relationship with Aiden. She does feel some guilt over betraying Brooke, but it didn't really feel heartfelt - more like she was going through the motions.

The book is split roughly in half - the first half told from Natalie's perspective, and the second half from Brooke's, although in getting to Brooke's perspective, it's pretty easy to despise her so much already that redeeming her as a character is almost an insurmountable task. But I think Harbison did a good job in trying to explain Brooke's behaviour and the implications of it, and by the end I felt sympathetic towards her rather than just a burning hatred.

Anything to Have You doesn't glamorise being a teenager, and Harbison did this similarly in New Girl - we may not want to think about teens drinking, having sex and being irresponsible, but I have to applaud Harbison's honestly in the telling of Anything to Have You - because these are realities for some teens.

Although it has some issues, if you can overlook or embrace (if you are bit twisted like moi) very flawed characters, confronting yet realistic scenarios and a couple of girls who really should have more respect for themselves and each other, Anything to Have you is an interesting read, that doesn't bow down to certain ideals that sometimes creep into YA literature.

[Samantha (A Dream of Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to read 'Anything To Have You' because I've enjoyed both of Paige Harbison's previous YA novels and I thought this would be an interesting exploration of friendship between two best friends. It started off well but while I liked the idea for the story and the way it developed throughout the book, I really struggled to connect to either of the main characters.

The two female protagonists have completely contrasting personalities, which makes them an unusual pairing. I identified with Natalie in the beginning because she is much keener on staying home and baking or watching old movies, than she is of going out and partying. Brooke, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild child and likes nothing more than to go out to parties and to get drunk. She flirts with other boys but she also has a long-term boyfriend, Aiden. Although I liked Natalie in the beginning, I couldn't help but feel like she allowed herself to be led quite easily at times and should have stood up for herself more. She ends up going to a party where things get out of hand and wakes up the next morning in a bed with Aiden beside her...but with no recollection of what actually happened.

From them on, the book alternates between the perspectives of the two girls as they cope with the changes in their lives and in their friendship. However much I tried, I just couldn't find anything to connect me with Brooke who seems intent on self-destructing. I also found that the constant jumps in the narrative and time-frame, sometimes made the story feel a bit disjointed.

There's a big reveal near the end which I assume was meant to be unexpected, but within a few chapters of the book I could see the direction in which the plot was going to go and I quite easily guessed what was going to happen to the characters. I was slightly surprised by the outcome for Brooke but she still didn't seem like the type of girl that I would have wanted to know.

There was also quite a lot of swearing throughout, almost excessive amounts I thought, which I didn't think was particularly needed. Not all teenagers talk like this.

Although the book was no where near as good as I was originally expecting, I'm still a fan of Paige Harbison's work and I'll continue to look out for new offerings by her in the future.

[Andi (Andi's ABCs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confession time. I’m a sucker for these kinds of books. I know it is strange and I have no tolerance for cheating nor would I ever want to be in that kind of position. But for reading purposes I’m highly entertained reading books about it. I’m not sure why, but I am. I have read some very good ones and some very not so good ones. Sadly Anything to Have You became a just okay one, somewhere between the rest I’ve read.

Anything to Have You is a story of two best friends Natalie and Brooke. Natalie has always been the good girl. Not into parties, not into dating around, not into hanging out. She is perfectly happy being at home watching an old movie. And then there is Brooke, the wild child and the complete opposite of Natalie. Parties every weekend, not interested in school and flirts with every boy in site regardless of her boyfriend Aiden. One night Brooke convinces Natalie to go to a party where she blacks out and wakes up clothed, but in bed with Aiden. Not knowing what happened Natalie tries to forget the night and leave it in the past. But sometimes forgetting the past isn’t as easy when it keeps creeping into the future.

I know right off the bat what I didn’t like about this book. It wasn’t even a question what my problem was. It was the addition of Brooke’s POV that brought this book down so much for me. I really disliked the use of it and didn’t see the point. It didn’t help me like Brooke or feel bad for her. I actually found the use of it made the characters inconsistent. Brooke was two different people in her POV and in Natalie’s POV and that completely took away from the story instead of adding to it. I’m positive without her voice I would have liked this book a whole lot more then just okay. Because really minus a few small things I really enjoyed everything else. I liked Natalie and Aiden. I liked their story and their relationship. They had chemistry and I wanted more of their story. But the whole Brooke thing just took away from all that and in the end left things choppy.

Basically Anything to Have You is an addicting read that you won’t be able to put down, there was stuff to really like and stuff that ruined things some. I liked it enough and I think others will to, but this is definitely one case where dual POVs just didn’t work.

[Lou | bookswithlou · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I've read some pretty negative reviews about how this book is unrealistic and paints teenagers in a bad light but honestly to those who think it's unrealistic you obviously don't know as much as you think you.

While I may have had problems with the characters and I didn't really like them and the way they treated each other at times, as a teenager I know things like this happen. Maybe not to the same extremes as in this book but still.

The fact is despite people saying the author portrays all teenagers as going out and partying to much slutty-ing it up that's simply not true.

This story focuses on people who are in the popular crowd at their school and I know for a fact that the people in that sort of scene at my school and the others near by do that sort of thing. They go out drinking and partying. Doing things that teenagers probably shouldn't do yet still do.

And while not everyone around them is oblivious a lot of the parents and even other students are.

So I'll be honest with you that part of the story didn't bother me at all neither did Natalie's dads acceptance of the fact that she had gone out parting and drinking. Because that shows that not all parents are oblivious to what's going on and in the end Natalie was safe and that's what matters to him, he also knew that she was smart enough to not do that sort of thing to often.

So really I didn't find the story unrealistic, it was definitely a lot less extreme than some other stories I've read.

No the main thing that bugged me about this story was Brooke.

But it's the same with every Paige Harbison book, there's always one character I can't stand, and this one was Brooke. The other thing though is that despite the fact the character bugs me they always seem a necessary part in story and character development and by the end of it they still bug me but my hatred isn't always as much.

And honestly with the way that Brooke was treated by Aiden and Natalie and her obvious need for attention it was no wonder she acted the way she did throughout the book.

All in all though I speed through this book and rather enjoyed it despite that I found it predictable at times.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if this book shows the reality of high school teens nowadays or if it was a bit exaggerated, kinda like watching the teens on Gossip Girl and 90210. Our main protagonist, Natalie has a best friend.. that best friend is awesome.. most of the time. Her name is Brooke… and Brooke got SO much on my nerves, I really really disliked how she behaved and said. She could be a stereotypical sorority girl from the chick flicks we all watch (well, they're my guilty pleasures in life!).

Brooke has a boyfriend, unfortunately Natalie has liked Aiden, the boyfriend, ever since he moved to their town.. and yes, trouble is on the way. Even though I didn't like Brooke.. I also didn't like Natalie all that much because while Brooke is the typical crazy party girl.. Natalie is the hermit; basically the exact opposite. I did like Aiden however. He was sweet, and seriously seemed to care about both Brooke and Natalie. He was very patient with Brooke, even when she would flirt with every guy in the room and act like an idiot. This book revolves around the events after a party that all three end up going to (hallelujah Natalie! you finally left the house).. unfortunately Natalie gets a bit too drunk to prove a point and blacks out. Next day she finds herself sleeping in the same bed as…. Aiden *GASP!* She doesn't remember anything and when she asks Aiden he tells her that nothing happened, while gazing at her all broodingly.

I really liked the story. I admit it. It might seem shallow but it was a ton of fun. I especially loved all the lingering feelings between Aiden and Natalie but none of them acting out on it because of Brooke. I couldn't care less about Brooke but still, I don't condone cheating or hurting people, even if you don't care about them. There is a ton of swear words in this novel.. teenagers these days have such foul mouths! But what comes down to it is that this novel was fun, entertaining, and I found myself looking forward to getting back to reading it. I definitely recommend it to older teens who want a fun, fluffy book to read next!

[A Book Vacation · Rating 2 out of 5]

To see my full review:

http://abookvacation.com/2014/01/24/a...

I wanted to like this novel, but in the end I really didn’t care for it all that much. The main characters, both Natalie and Brooke, grated on my nerves. The way they interacted with one another, the flirting, drinking, and obsessive behavior made them less than likable, in my opinion, and I didn’t find any redeeming qualities in either of them. Brooke wants all the boys attention, even if that means flirting right in front of her own long-term boyfriend. She’s melodramatic and doesn’t know a good thing when she sees it. She’s a party girl all the way, definitely not the type I’d be friends with, and her overall demeanor made me sick.

Natalie, on the other hand, is quiet. She doesn’t date or party—in fact, she rarely goes out anymore. Nor does she drink. However, she does go out one evening, under the intense pressure of her “best friend” Brooke, and ends up getting so wasted that she can’t remember anything, but she knows she slept with someone. I don’t know, perhaps I was just a good kid, but I’ve never ever been in a situation where I didn’t know what was going on, and I found it a little hard to believe that Natalie’s goody two shoes self would allow herself to get this drunk knowing that she was a lush. I know it can happen to the best of us, but I just didn’t see this as being all that feasible. At least, Brooke should have been watching out for her best friend knowing that she didn’t like to drink and obviously was a light weight… but, I guess we travel in different crowds.

Even so, Natalie doesn’t come clean right away. She’s not sure what happened, it too afraid to ask, and then continues to “accidentally flirt with Brooke’s boyfriend, Aiden—the boy she thinks she might have slept with.

In the end, this novel isn’t what I expected it to be. Based on the title and cover photo, I thought it would be something like Fatal Attraction, but it really isn’t.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I truly did.

Natalie and Brooke are best friends. Brooke, the ultimate fun girl, is dating Aiden. Natalie, who is studious and quiet, is reluctant to go to parties. Oh, and she has a thing for Aiden that she tries to squash because she's a good, loyal friend.

Of course, Natalie's anxiety over going to parties is justified because she manages to get blackout drunk and sleeps with...someone...at the next party Brooke drags her to. She doesn't remember it, but apparently she "hurts down there," so she knows she had sex.

The book is a bit predictable, the "twist" is fairly obvious, and I truly dislike the didactic nature of the story overall.

Apparently the two times Natalie has gone out to party, she got totally wasted and slept with someone. The first time she hooked up with a "manwhore" and the second she hooked up with her BFF's boyfriend. And we forgive her because love. It's OK to betray your bestie if you love him, amirite? And, because getting blackout drunk and not knowing who you have sex with isn't enough of a lesson, Natalie becomes pregnant. Meanwhile, Brooke spirals into an unlikable character who cheats on her boyfriend and is a bit of a B. She also has to teach us a lesson, because she parties too hard and ends up in the hospital because of it. So maybe it's a decent lesson -- teens shouldn't get black out drunk or start doing tons o' drugs, but it's a bit heavy handed.

The book is well written and a quick, easy read, but ultimately, it fell flat.

[Nayab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I requested this book because I loved the cover (and then the blurb) but when I started reading the further I got the more I enjoyed it.





I instantly liked the friendship between the girls, it was one of the reasons I continued reading (even when the storyline became a little slow) but when the characters had long conversations I would lose track of who was talking because of the lack of dialogue tags at the end of the sentences.





Part of the book was in Brooke’s point of view whereas part of it was in Natalie’s. I loved seeing the scenes that happened before (that we saw from Natalie’s point of view) take place from Brooke’s perspective, it gave the storyline more depth.





Some of the words Brooke used though didn’t fit with the way her character had been portrayed at times.







I had thought this was going to be a light-hearted, friends turned “enemies” kind of book (think Mean Girls) but it wasn’t it was way more complex than that. It takes a while to get started but it’s definitely worth the read.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I will never understand is why authors always feel the need to have two completely opposite best friends. Nat is not very social and prefers to stay at home, while her best friend Brooke goes out to parties, flirts and gets drunk. I get the whole "opposites attract" thing, but really? My friends and I are all very similar and all enjoy doing the same things. I have maybe one friend who is a bit different from me, but nothing extreme... we still have things in common and are similar. I just couldn't understand the friendship between Natalie and Brooke. It felt as though Natalie was mothering Brooke; always giving advice, making sure she is alive, worrying over her, comforting her. It was a very strange relationship and I don't understand why authors choose to have two "best friends" be so completely opposite.

[Jessica *The Lovely Books*]

Anything to Have You was not a book I could connect with on a personal level. I wanted to like it because sure Natalie is a cool character, even if she is a bit naive. But I just feel like this book has fallen flat...

I don't feel emotion and her best friend is an empty headed annoying girl. Plus Natalie is supposed to be this insanely beautiful girl, but I don't see what the catch is. In fact I don't see the catch with any of them. All the characters are boring and said be beautiful and perfect. Don't any of them have flaws...

I can see where the author may have been going with this but I couldn't read to the end to find out.

Maybe I'll come back to the book.

*I was given a review copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do well in school, do not party too much in case someone needs your help, and never let anything separate you and your best friend. Natalie has always followed these rules and maintained a level head. She even did when her best friend, Brooke, started dating her crush, Aiden. Brooke is her opposite: party animal, spontaneous, and wild. After Brooke and Aiden get into a major fight, something happens that Natalie can't seem to remember. All she knows is that Aiden seems to be spending more time with her...and away from Brooke. Natalie has to figure out what really is important to her without losing the people she loves the most." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id...

[Kirsti · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, even if it was predictable and full of stereotypes. Brooke and Natalie have been friends forever, even if Natalie has become quiet and doesn't party often. She's miraculously popular though, despite being antisocial. Aiden is Brooke's boyfriend, but only after Natalie asked her to talk to Aiden. Inevitably Aiden and Brooke hooked up and Natalie has been the third wheel for a year and a half. Inevitably everything must come to a head, and one druken night changes everything.

As I said, predictable. But it's written quite simply, and I simply flowed along with it. I wasn't bored, and I wanted my predictions to come true anyway. Three stars.

[Smitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come.

4.5 Stars (As you can tell, I round up not down)

If ever I wanted another couple chapters in a book, this is it. It turned out NOT how I expected and after a little contemplation, this turned out to be a good thing. I love it when a book surprises me.