Party Games (Simon Romantic Comedies)

PARTY GAMES WHITNEY LYLES YA Romance Rating: 3.5 Enchantments Sara Sullivan is always finding herself at the coolest parties. That's because she works as the assistant for her mother's hugely successful party planning business. She may only be fifteen-going-on-sixteen, but she's well on her way to becoming like her mom. She doesn't even mind much that she'll be spending most of her summer planning other people's parties instead of having fun with her best friend Allie - that is, until she meets Ian. Ian is a talented guitarist for an upcoming band called On the Verge. On top of that, he's super hot and super sweet. Sara finds herself obsessing over her new crush, constantly wondering if he's as interested in her as she is in him. But Sara's daydreams will have to wait. She's gotten involved with planning the sweet-sixteen birthday bash for uber-spoiled and beautiful Dakota London. It's Sara's job to fulfill Dakota's every want and need regarding the party, no matter how ridiculous or impossible the task. Sara has just about had it with serving Dakota, especially when Dakota tells Sara to make sure Ian is Dakota's date. With Sara's feelings on the line, will she be able to pull off this party? I am a big fan of the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies; however PARTY GAMES did not rank among my favorites. This was because in the first half of the book, the plot seemed to wander around with no real point. The story did pick up, though, especially towards the end. I was rooting for Sara to get the guy, but it was mildly annoying that Sara kept on putting the party business before her own love life, and I was glad when she finally learned her lesson in the end. I was a little disappointed that Ian's character wasn't as well-developed as Sara's. In the end, PARTY GAMES was slightly enjoyable but it didn't completely wow me. PARTY GAMES is Whitney Lyles' first young adult novel, though she has written several novels for adults. You can visit her online at her website: www.whitneylyles.com or on MySpace: www.myspace.com/whitney_lyles . Rachael Stein Enchanting Reviews August 2008

i loved this book! it was good to see that just because you're rich, beautiful, and "popular"...you don't always get what you want. i didn't like the way the author put it in a third-person perspective. i would've loved to see what was going on in sara's mind.

Sara helps her mother run a party planning business. She's so good at it, her mother decides to give her one account - which happens to be the Sweet Sixteen party of the ultra-popular Dakota London. Soon, Dakota is calling her 24/7 with demands. She even wants Sara to convince a boy to be her date for the party, but not just any boy - she wants the one that Sara's crushing over. Torn, Sara doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to see Ian with Dakota, but she doesn't want to be fired, either. Sara's stuck between a rock and a hard place and agonizes over her decision. PARTY GAMES takes responsibility to a new level, with a twist of fun and a dash of romance. Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel