Tomboy to the core, Toni Valentine understands guys. She'll take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests over manicures. So Toni is horrified when she's sent to the Winston Academy for Girls, where she has to wear a skirt and learn to be a lady while the guys move on without her.
Then Toni meets Emma Elizabeth, a girl at school with boy troubles, and she volunteers one of her friends as a pretend date. Word spreads of Toni’s connections with boys, and she discovers that her new wealthy female classmates will pay big money for fake dates. Looking for a way to connect her old best friends with her new life at school, Toni and Emma start up Toni Valentine’s Rent-A-Gent Service.
But the business meets a scandal when Toni falls for one of her friends--the same guy who happens to be the most sought-after date. With everything she's built on the line, Toni has to decide if she wants to save the business and her old life, or let go of being one of the guys for a chance at love.
When I first requested this book from Netgalley, I had a lot of hopes for it because I loved the sound of it. But then I checked it out on Goodreads, and it turns out that it had a low rating. Because of that, I lowered my expectations. And then, when I actually read the book, for the first 5% or so of the book, the main character sounded like a kid instead of a senior in high school. Those things made me cringe.
But the thing is, after that 5%, it got better, and I was finally able to enjoy it! I can relate to the struggles of the main character, although sometimes it seemed like she was laying the self-pity too thick, but it was manageable. Also, the guy MC was a jerk without him seeming like a jerk, and I kind of didn't like that, but aside from those, I enjoyed the book quite well.
What I loved the most was the main character's journey from being a tomboy to accepting that she can be girly and boyish at the same time. She is allowed to do that, and that is her own choice. I just love books tackling self-discovery, so I give this one a thumbs up for that!
Overall, I was really taken by surprise by this one because my journey went from expecting to like, to not expecting to much, to actually not liking it, then to liking it. It was crazy, but I'm glad that I enjoyed this one!
