Perfectly Oblivious by Robin Daniels Series: The Perfect Series #1
Published by Bluefields on 2017-05-31
Length: 330 pages
Reviewing eBook from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2017 New Release Challenge
Cameron Bates (Cam) could have almost any girl at Franklin High School…except for the one he wants. Unfortunately Bebe seems to be immune to his flirty charm and good looks, which means one of two things: a) she’s completely oblivious to how he feels, or b) she’s just not into him. If that’s the case, declaring his love would be disastrous for their friendship.
Bianca Barnes (Bebe) has a huge problem: the universe hates her. Every time she admits feelings for a boy, he ends up falling for her sweet, popular, and beautiful sister Beth. To avoid a broken heart, Bebe has sworn herself to secrecy. Nobody can know how she feels about Cam…Ever!
Neither person wants to confess their feelings, but the universe has its own plan. Out of the blue, Bebe is courted by a secret admirer. Cam has to step up his game and Bebe has to make a choice. Play it safe and accept the affections of her mystery man or challenge fate and take a chance on the boy she loves.
Content Description: This is a stand-alone YA contemporary romance with companion novels to follow. It contains minor language, innuendo, crude humor and steamy tension but is generally very clean. No sex. Recommended for ages 12 and up.
I first came across Perfectly Oblivious by Robin Daniels on a Facebook fan page for Kelly Oram. At the time I didn’t realize they were sisters, but now it makes perfect sense. Friends if you love and are obsessed with Kelly as I am (she’s about the only YA contemporary I’ll read), then you are in for a treat. Perfectly Oblivious by Robin Daniels is a sweet story about two best friends falling in love. Told in dual POV, the reader knows all creating some dang fine irony as we read the characters’ struggles.
Bianca Barnes is who I wanted to be growing up. Petite, athletic, the girl that’s friends with all the guys but doesn’t really date any of them. She’s comfortable in her own skin except for when it comes to her best friend and neighbor Cameron. Quite simply, she’s in love with him and has been from the day they met. But she’ll never admit it for fear that he likes her sister better. Her dilemma is classic. Been there, done that and I’m sure any girl can relate. While Bianca is confident in herself, she also has this stubborn belief that no one will like her like that. That role goes to her big sister, the beautiful, sweet, stereotypical cheerleader.
Cameron Bates is not at all what I expected. After reading three or four chapters from Bianca’s POV, I was a little surprised that the playboy really wasn’t one. He was striving to get the girl of his dreams to like him back. Like Bianca, Cam is insecure. He knows he’s good looking and their personalities match, but he isn’t sure if he’s been friend-zoned. And that scares him because Bebe (his nickname for Bianca) is his best friend and while he would love for her to be more he doesn’t want to lose her either. Again classic dilemma that I’m sure many will relate too.
The plot is fairly simple. Cam wants Bebe to notice him and hopefully become more than just his friend. The way he goes about winning the girl isn’t as simple and at times I really wanted to reach through the pages and yank on his ear. Seriously, he is super sweet in his gestures but man does he have foot-in-mouth disease when they talk face to face *smh* I really liked having both POV as it helped to understand what the other was thinking. However I did feel like it spoiled itself as you were reading and there were several instances of repetition which was distracting and pulled away from the pace of the story.
Overall I really enjoyed this debut novel. I thought that the author has done a decent job of creating believable characters and the pace kept my attention. In fact, I finished it in one sitting. If you enjoy YA contemporary or you’re looking for a light weekend/beach read, I highly recommend you grab a copy!
About Robin Daniels
Robin Daniels is a wife, mother of five and avid consumer of books. She loves reading SO much that she was actually grounded from it as a twelve year old. No Joking! Her mom caught her reading when she was supposed to be cleaning, which was a common occurrence. At that point she was instructed to go watch TV or play outside like a normal kid.
Robin is also a sucker for home design shows and magazines, and has a very co-dependent relationship with a certain diet soda who's brand shall not be named. (Though anyone with a similar problem could probably guess which one.)
Great review! I read this one shortly before it was released, and it was definitely cute and a solid debut. My issues came mostly from the whole miscommunication thing, which just happens to be a pet peeve of mine.
Lenore Kosinski recently posted…Shut Out by Kelly Jamieson
I have to agree with you on that. Towards the end, it was getting frustrating. I really wanted Cam to step up and just confess. Otherwise I really enjoyed it.
I love Kelly Oram’s books. It sounds like now I’ll have to try this author and book too! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Definitely worth a read, especially if you enjoy Kelly’s books 🙂