The Art of Lainey~Paula Stokes | Review

Title: The Art of Lainey (The Art of Lainey #1)
Author: Paula Stokes
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 374 Pages
Release: May 2014
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review

I read the prequel novella Infinite Repeat in March and decided that I wanted to give this novel a try. I really liked Infinite Repeat and loved Micah. I picked this book up and now here are some of my thoughts. 

First, let me tell you the main thing I disliked about this novel: Lainey. Yes, I know, the novel is told in first person and Lainey is the main character, but I had a hard time learning to like her. I understood in the beginning that she was somewhat shallow and needed to grow up, but I had a hard time connecting with her complete dependence on her friends to define who she was. When her boyfriend broke up with her she freaked out and didn't know how to define herself anymore. She did grow throughout the novel, but I felt like too much of it was toward the end and not developed enough. 

I'm not even going to get started on Lainey's friend Kendall. She just made me so mad. I could rampage about that for hours. 

Onto things that I did like.

Micah and Lainey. They start out fake dating so that he can get his ex-girlfriend back and she can get her ex-boyfriend, but then they actually start to get to know each other. I loved the development of their relationship, because it wasn't really sudden. They already knew each other somewhat and when they started hanging out they just became friends before their were any deeper feelings. They were themselves around each other (which Lainey needed) and they actually cared about what the other was feeling, even when it had nothing to do with them. It was just a really well done progression for me. 

I also loved Micah and his sister Trinity. We got more of them in Infinite Repeat, but what we get here was great. It was nice to just see two siblings and how much they love and support each other. He even made being nice to Trinity a rule for fake dating Lainey, which was so sweet. They were just adorable. Lainey and her brother Steve were a nice touch as well.

Watching Lainey discover herself and make new friends was nice. She realized that not everything about her old life was really as great as she thought it was. It's better to be true to yourself than be someone you're not. Leo and Bee were two of my favorites. She was already friends with Bee, but I think she actually learned to appreciate her. And Leo was just such a nice guy. I really would like more with these two. 

Overall I thought this was a really fun read. Parts of it really annoyed me and I think there is room for improvement, but it was fun and most of the characters were enjoyable. Or hateable. Take your pick.