Book Review: Behind the Scenes

After reading the title of this book and knowing who wrote it, I was sure I was about to read about scenes of people's behinds.

And guess what? I was right.

I read Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler and thought, "Shit. This is as good, if not better, than any YA romance novel I've ever read."

(This is a good time to let you know that I'm not being compensated in any way for this review. I did receive an ARC, but with no requirements or guidelines for my review. I will not, however, refuse to accept a Chipotle e-card from anyone for any reason EVER.)

Let's start with a line from the "About the Author" page in the back of the book:

Dahlia Adler is an Assistant Editor of Mathematics by day...

Okay, I bet you're thinking the exact same thing that I thought when I first read that: Damn, Dahlia sounds like a MAJOR nerd! Then add to that the fact that no one knows what the hell an "Editor of Mathematics" even is, and your expectations for this book fall somewhere between nerdish and geekish.

But, holy crap...this book is FREAKING AWESOME!! Now I'm not saying that Dahlia is not a total nerd-geek, I honestly don't know (but let's be honest...editor of mathematics??), but even if she is, who cares?!

Let me start with the characters.

Ally, the MC is one of my favorite characters in contemp YA. This is why: she's put in a very difficult situation, a situation no one would really know what to do in, and then, after a series of almost-meltdowns, she has a full-blown meltdown. It's basically what we all would have done in that situation, and this makes her one of the most believable characters I've read. She was funny, likable, and very real. Throughout the book I was imagining what it would have been like to be in her situation when I was in high school, and it was both fun and scary to think about. Ally is a great character!

Liam, the boy. Oh lord. After this book is on the shelves a few weeks all I'm going to be reading on Twitter is, "OMG I have a new book boyfriend!" Ladies, calm yourselves. Overall, I like Liam. I like him because he is an absolute gentleman to Ally and treats her with respect. His character gets pretty damn close to the "too perfect to be real" line, but the fact that he never comes across as an arrogant prick really seems to even things out. I'm glad that he has some darker history, some stuff from his past. It makes him much deeper than just a six-pack stud.

The rest of the characters are great, too. And I don't mean good, I mean great. From the family members to the friends to the Hollywood gossip bloggers, every character had an important part in making the story move forward.

The pace of the story, the way it unfolds, is perfection. Seriously. I kept turning pages like I was a robot. I forgot I was reading the story because I was so caught up in the story. THAT is all I really need.

The romance in the book is wonderful. I was misled just enough to never really be sure what was going to happen. The relationship that developed was sincere, and I was rooting for it to succeed. It's a great love story, a truly great love story.

Mark my words...if Dahlia keeps this up, she'll be one of the top YA Romance novelists on the block. All that "Editor of Mathematics" nonsense will be history.

I give Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler 6 out of 6 abs per pack.