After Hours by Claire Kennedy
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June 16th 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rate: 4 STARS!
Synopsis: Isa, Xavi, Peter, and Finn know that a job at the high-end Waterside Cafe isn't just about waiting tables. It's about the gossip, the hook-ups, the after-hours parties and, most of all, it's about Tips.
Tips--the high-stakes game based on dares. Whoever completes the most dares wins the collected money. A sum that could change a wasted summer into a Summer to Remember.
Isa is the new girl with an embarrassing secret, and as long as she stays on top of her game, she sees no reason why anyone could ever find out.
Xavi will do anything for the money...absolutely anything.
Peter, Xavi's stepbrother, has been in love with her for years, and he thinks the game is the perfect time to confess his feelings. Finn is in the game just for the thrill. He has enough tips coming in to keep him happy...even if those tips come with some conditions.
From seduction to stealing to threats, the dares are a complete free-for-all, and only the best can win.
The sophisticated Waterside Cafe is anything but classy behind the scenes...and things are about to get dirty.
I would have normally given a book this good a five star rating. In fact, under normal circumstances, I would be giving it a five star rating- but I must say that while the synopsis is very catchy it is also misleading as it makes you expect something in equivalent of James Dawson's Cruel Summer and what you get is a good book, that doesn't seem all that great as it hasn't hit that exceptional mark!
Pretty much everything that the book has is described in the synopsis. With maybe a few twists- well, one major one that I can think of now- and I was expecting SO much more! The characters were quite good, but something about the writing kept me from connecting with them, in that way that I would have loved to. I expected Tips to be more than a simple Dare game- maybe with dares a little more, well, dare-y instead of just kissing a guy and getting a whole jar full of money.
The Waterside cafe as well, gave off this comfy old vibe, not the hip and sophisticated place it was supposed to be. There were side characters for no reason at all except to beef up the book a little. But there were things I LOVED about the book as well, including Xavi and Peter- becasuse, if nothing else, Claire Kennedy NAILED their relationship, pushing up my three stars to a four!
While it isn't the book out there, in conclusion, you just might like it more than me, and so I'd recommend it as a one time, rather short read!
Here is Claire Kennedy's OFFICIAL Writing Playlist:
BAD (Lexi Larsen)
BILLIONAIRE (Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars)
ANYTHING BUT MINE (Kenny Chesney)
AMERICAN KIDS (Kenny Chesney)
WOULDN'T IT BE NICE (Beach Boys)
GOD ONLY KNOWS (Beach Boys)
BAD REPUTATION (Joan Jett)
SUDDENLY I SEE (KT Tunstall)
YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT (Rolling Stones)
CAN'T BUY ME LOVE (Beatles)
BILLIONAIRE (Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars)
ANYTHING BUT MINE (Kenny Chesney)
AMERICAN KIDS (Kenny Chesney)
WOULDN'T IT BE NICE (Beach Boys)
GOD ONLY KNOWS (Beach Boys)
BAD REPUTATION (Joan Jett)
SUDDENLY I SEE (KT Tunstall)
YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT (Rolling Stones)
CAN'T BUY ME LOVE (Beatles)
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Claire Kennedy is a pen name for author Amanda K. Morgan. She is a freelance writer living in Nashville, TN. She covers events and works as a technical writer when she isn't working on her YA novels.
At age 15, Amanda finished her first novel and continued to write in college, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in English and an emphasis in Creative Writing.
Amanda is an avid volleyball player and spends time playing both indoors and out. When Amanda isn't writing, she enjoys being entirely too busy and trying new things. Endeavors as of late include appearances in music videos, TV, and movies, rock climbing, and attending as many concerts and shows as her schedule allows.
Amanda headed up the Do The Write Thing for Nashville Project (with co-organizers/authors Victoria Schwab and Myra McEntire), which tapped some of the biggest authors, editors, and agents in the industry for an online auction that raised over $70,000 for Midsouth flood relief.
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