*ARC Review* The QB Badboy and Me by Tay Marley 🏈

• Theme: A funny, laid back, feel-good YA romance that covers every base a dramatic love story needs. Fairly cliche, but I could read about the same romance tropes every day and enjoy my life as a sappy romantic 🤷🏻‍♀️
• Nature of Review: Netgalley provided me with a copy of an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
• Release Date: Set to release August 20, 2019 and is being published by Wattpad Books, a new company publishing aspiring authors’ works from the story-sharing website Wattpad.
• Warnings: Sexual content, language, talk of kidnapping, murder and rape.

“This feeling could become so strong that it broke me. But I didn’t want to turn back now. I loved being in love.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Dallas’s life has been anything but easy, but she has her eyes set solely on the future: CalArts, where she plans to follow her dreams and study dance. She knows how to take life in stride and has been forced to take care of herself- but the badboy QB Drayton Lahey gets under her skin, in a way she didn’t think possible.

But when it comes down to her future, follow Dray where his football career takes him or pave her own path through the world, Dallas has a hard time deciding when her heart gets in the way. A light-hearted, hilarious, high school romance with a power couple struggling to make their mark, and stay together in the process. 

“At times I wanted to grab him and kiss him and tell him that I had a mild infatuation with his stupid face. Other times, I wanted to crush the feelings that I was having because I couldn’t tell what he really wanted and the whole thing terrified me.”

I’ll be honest here and say: I don’t really know what to tell you guys about this story. I gave it a 3.5 star rating, because while I didn’t hate this book (I actually enjoyed it) there was nothing that jumped out at me to gush over. That being said, despite the cliches and the un-notable plot line, I would read this story over and over again because it was just so much fun.

And, let’s be real, any Wattpad user or romantic reader loves hilariously fun books and reused tropes. So let’s focus on the things I enjoyed about this book:

Dallas and Dray. Their characters, individually, were both hilarious and refreshing, in the sense that the author make huge distinctions between the MCs and the side characters.  You could always tell when Dallas or Dray were speaking, versus, let’s say, Gabby and Josh. Their histories and personalities really separated them from others in their group, and each character had a voice. Dray’s was sexual and unfiltered. Dallas was sassy and calculated. Gabby was sweet and romantic. Josh was kind and lighthearted. I loved the way they were so different, but they also meshed in such a fun, hilarious way.

“Who am I? A fucking seductress? Kiss me!” I mocked drunk Dallas. Because that Dallas was not me. I didn’t know her.

I really appreciated how there were reasons and stories behind each character, and how, despite their inner insecurities (that were brought out to the reader over time) they always remain in character and true to themselves. They each had a goal they were going for, and the big part of the story was them having to navigate young adulthood, romance, friendships and their future.

I also want to point out how I enjoyed the truth in Dray’s character. He is not just a bossy, possessive guy for the fun of it. He’s more than a pretty face, but he’s had trauma in his past that causes these behaviors to come out. And in facing those traumas during their relationship, him and Dallas find a way to truly bond and understand each other on a deeper level that seems real. As well as his inability to filter himself, and his own distinct hyperactive personality traits that are like someone I know, I connected to Dray’s character in that sense as well. Men are so frustrating, but we love them anyways.

His tortured gaze glistened. It was as if the universe was in his orbs. Dark but so bright. “She was always meant to be a star.”

Overall, the plot of this story was kind of blah. But the characters were each so unique and real, their struggles were relatable, the way they had to discover their paths was entertaining to follow. If you are looking for a light, relaxing read that doesn’t make you second guess anything about the story, a story that is laid right out on the page for you, pick up this book. If you like high school romances, steamy tension, and feel-good moments, pick up this book. If the description or anything I wrote above interests you, I highly doubt you would regret giving this story a read. I look forward to reading further stories by this author on Wattpad!

“There’s nothing wrong with being in love, Dallas. There’s no weakness in making space for it in your life.”