Although the story of the college bad boy taking the freshman nerdy girl on as a dare isn't a new concept, Miles weaves a story that is wrenching and beautiful. Olivia and Brax both have secrets that they don't want anyone else to know. They both have clear goals for themselves. They both have people and circumstances they'll do anything to protect. From their (planned) meet-cute to the last page, readers will keep wanting more.
There are a few issues with this story- ones that are fairly easily overlooked for the sake of the story. One is lack of character development for any secondary character. We get snippets of them, but they have no depth at all. Much in the vein of Katie McGarry's books, there isn't really any room for other people in the telling of this tale. They enrich it, but they're not really integral to the plot.
My other issue is the occasional chapter narrated by Brax. He shows up rarely, narrates for a few pages allowing us insight to his thoughts, and that's nice. But it's not an even split and I wonder at the motivation behind it. Why include it at all, if it's not going to fully explain things from his point of view. These segments mostly present a little more mystery to the story rather than providing real answers. Although I am thankful that their narrations don't overlap, time-wise.
Issues aside, the writing is strong. I laughed aloud in several places. I think that, more than anything, is indicative of a writer's talent,. Miles began with a hook in the prologue and kept this reader turning pages until the end- even if it meant I stayed up much later than usual to finish it.
This is the first book by Miles that I've read, under this name or her pseudonym, and because of it I am planning to read others.
Stupid Girl by Cindy Miles: 4 out of 5 stars.
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