REVIEW for Spring Breakup

A big thank you to author Stephanie Hale for sending this book to me!!!

TITLE: Spring Breakup

AUTHOR: Stephanie Hale

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

Spring Breakup is actually the third book in the series. I was a little fearful at first that I would be playing catch up for most of the story, but I have to say that this book could pretty easily stand as a stand alone book. Hale does a great job of "resuming" the first two books nicely in the early part of this third book and it works very well for those of us who are coming in towards the end of this series (I am not certain if a 4th book is planned).

Spring Breakup is a light, breezy, fun read. There is a little of everything to keep your interest. Our main character Aspen is a pretty ordinary teenager and what I liked about her is that Hale chose to sort of go "middle of the road" with Aspen's personality. In the opening chapter, as I was reading it, I thought "oh no, another bratty teenager on the horizon" - as we find Aspen throwing a hissy fit at the airport when she learns that her suitcases appear to have vanished. But, as I read on, I actually really started liking her very much.

Aspen is in Vegas along with her boyfriend Rand and their friends Angel and Lucas. As soon as Aspen sets food in Vegas, things start going wrong. Her friends are feuding, she gets food poisoning and there is a pesky Miss Teen Queen Pageant in town. While at the hotel, Aspen hears that Miss Illinois (Aspen's hometown) seems to be missing - somehow Aspen ends up right in the middle of the investigation. Its not her fault - these things just seem to follow her around.

I loved the light, down to earth writing here. Hale mixes her characters well and I found myself laughing out loud at some of the dialogue and I also found myself cheering at some of the comments coming out of both of the girls. Although Aspen is in the same hotel as her boyfriend and she has obviously had sex before, she does not see the need to share her hotel room with him - I liked this. No because I am a prude, but rather because I like to see strong female characters who are okay with making decisions that are not always the most popular but are the right ones.

The story of the missing Teen Queen contestant is cute and is charming to the storyline, but actually, I would have liked to read more about Aspen and her friends - this little twist kind of felt unecessary to me!

Still, this book is a great summer read and I suggest it. I think I am going to go out and buy the first two in this series.