Customer Reviews

Love on Cue (Romantic Comedies (Mass Market))

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had to keep reminding myself as I read this, that this book is catagorized as teen fiction.

The story is simple, a teenage thespian, shy in the world, transforming on stage, has a huge crush on "Mr. Perfect." The theme is that sometimes what we are looking for is right in front of us the entire time.

The story is cute, charming and very simple. I don't believe teenagers would enjoy this book, but it offers a fun story for the 9-12 set. The book is clean-cut and there is no objectionable language in the story. The characters are likeable enough but lightly drawn.

As an adult, I found the dialogue unrealistic. The characters had no depth. The entire story except for a scene or two take place at the school. I don't think pre-teens will be bothered by these weaknesses.

It has a cute, predicable ending. I do believe girls 9-12 would enjoy this book as young girls are fascinated by teenagers. I can recommend it for this age group, though not for teens and certainly not adults.

"Love on Cue," which is part of the "Romantic Comedies" series, is a cute but ultimately forgettable light romance that fits well for the target audience.

Maggie is a shy, self-conscious high school student who comes alive when she's performing onstage. When she finds out her crush Derek is thinking of trying out for the spring play, she's psyched - but then the spring play becomes a spring musical and potentially her worst nightmare. The problem? Maggie can't sing. The solution? Maggie turns to her friend Nico, the school theater group's music guy, for vocal help. His encouragement and coaching help Maggie land the lead - but she still has to get over her shyness to land her dream man.

I was intrigued by this book because the plot sounded similar to a book I had read in middle school, which was part of the now out-of-print Sweet Dreams series. In fact, I have to wonder if this is the current Sweet Dreams type of novel, since the elements are all there: teenage girl trying to navigate through the confusion of love, light romance, very clean and sometimes even cheesy. I devoured the Sweet Dreams series as a kid, and if I was a younger reader, "Love on Cue" would be something that I would have snapped up just as eagerly.

But as an adult reader, I found it sadly lacking. The characters are pretty flat, and the characterization is light to nonexistent. Topics such as Calla's weight issues/body image are introduced, sort of addressed, and then neatly wrapped up with little conflict or character growth. Maggie is so oblivious to Nico's crush on her that it borders on callousness; after she lands the lead role, she still needs Nico's help in developing her voice, and it feels a bit like she's just using him. And I have trouble believing that a high school student could be that out of touch with her feelings - she can't perform well in rehearsals without knowing that Nico's there to support her, but it never occurs to her that maybe that's because she's attracted to him. All of that makes it hard to like Maggie, especially since she doesn't really seem to grow as a person, and her sudden boldness is quickly introduced in the last few pages to create the happy ending.

The intended audience (ages 9-12) won't care about the one-dimensional plot and characters, but older or more discerning readers will be bored and most likely won't care for this. For most readers, I'd say skip this one.

OK, confession... I didn't realize this was a teen romance until I had it in my hands. I ordered it on a whim without reading much of the details, and I do read a lot of Young Adult lit to prescreen stuff for my young book-loving daughter. I have to admit that I found this quite a nice little book, with strong writing, a decent plot, and fun characters. It's not a deep read, by any means, but it is fun! As a parent, I also want to note that though there is a lot of kissing, nothing goes further than that and this book is perfectly PG in content. I allowed my nine year old to read it.

The protagonist, Maggie, is a bright, yet very shy, high school junior. She becomes extremely awkward in the presence of her crush. The plot involves a school play, a long term crush that might finally be returned, and a mysterious punk rock musician who seems to want Maggie to be more than a friend.

This book is part of an extensive series of books known as "The Romantic Comedies" written by various authors.

Oh my loving GOD this book is awful!! Sorry - as a former High School theatre geek myself, I wanted so badly to enjoy this story - it was quite honestly one of the worst books I've read in a really long time. I started with zero stars, gave her one for accurately portraying the silly hierarchy that goes with theatre kids, but took that star away for her misguided thinking that the setting of a high school play would actually warrant more than 50 pages. If I had to read one more detailed account of theatre excercises I was going to throw this book out the window.

I then went ahead and gave her a point for at least having a semi-cute ending. If you did not receive this book as a loan from a friend, a loan from the library, or sorted out of the trash behind a bookstore dumpster - don't waste a dime on this!

Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies are always a fun read. These books are not necessarily the best written novels but the stories are always fun and you know you will get a happy ending. I think some adult romances could take a note from these books b/c they are characterized well which is much of the battle in writing any novel since you want your characters, for the most part, to be endearing and relatable.

Normally Maggie Tannery is a shy and self-conscious high school girl, but she completely transforms when she is put on stage. When it's time for auditions for the school's annual production Maggie is sure to be a shoe in. Better yet, her long time crush Daniel might just be playing the lead along side her, and hopefully not just in the play if Maggie has things her way!

Then the unthinkable happens. A new drama teacher comes into the picture and instead of performing Romeo and Juliet, she's thinking more along the lines of Cabaret, a musical. Maggie is devastated thinking she has no chance to make even a small role, as she can't really dance let alone sing. All hope is not lost though as she turns to Nico, one of the school's most musically talented students, to give her voice lessons. The thing is their voices aren't the only thing in sync and soon enough Maggie doesn't know which leading man is right for her.

This is one of those super cute Simon Romantic Comedies that takes absolutely no time to read, but is still quite enjoyable. Yes, the story was very clichéd and yes, there wasn't much character development, but I couldn't help but wish that I would be put in Maggie's position.

While she wasn't all that developed, I would still say that Maggie was a good character. She was relatable in the fact that she was shy and didn't have the guts to talk to her crush and she had a hard time choosing which guy was right for her, which are both problems teen girls face.

Catherine Hapka created a cute little book that is perfect for reading at the beach and is sure to pick you up when you're feeling a little bit down.

Nowadays so many kids are hypnotizied by sci-fi (at least my kids are!). I gave this book to my daugher to read and she thought it was "okay." She didn't say anything else about it. She said nothing stuck out in her mind about the book.

My Thoughts: I had this one sitting here for a while. I bought it when it first came out at the beginning of summer but never got around to reading it yet. I read it in one sitting! I really enjoyed the concept of the play and how it got turned into a musical. We meet Maggie who gets to play opposite of her crush Derek. She wants to take this opportunity to get close to him, but when the heart is involved things don't always go as planned. Yes, it was predictable but its one you still want to read because we all need some romance in our life's, right? We meet all Maggie's friends and we realize how popular Derek is. Honestly, I didn't really like him too much from the beginning but had a crush on someone else. That is for me not to tell, and you to figure out. If you haven't had a chance to read this, its only around 200 pages so if your in between really thick books right now, give this one a shot!

Overall: Cute! If you like plays or musical, its a must read for sure! Its also one of the cheaper books on amazon so go buy it right now!

Cover: I'm usually not a big fan of covers that aren't "real" people but I like this one. Its cute and stands out. I like the sheets in their hands too. Very cute. (Reviewed by Princess Bookie)

Predictible from the first few pages, it's a light read, that will appeal to middle school girls. Some have suggested as young as third grade, but I think there are too many allusions to theater that an 8-year-old wouldn't understand unless extremely precocious. The characters are pretty stereotypical, and generally the dialogue doesn't ring true.

I requested this book to see if it is something my third grade daughter would enjoy and I am pretty confidant that she will. I will update my review and let you know what she thinks. The book centers around Maggie Tanner, a self-described "quiet and ordnary" girl who loves to act in the school plays. She loves the theatre because she is "able to beome whatever character I'm playing ; free to say whatever she would say, do whatever she would do, feel whatever she would feel." Don't we all have fantasies of being someone else? Someone more outgoing or confidant? I think girls of all ages will relate to that very well. Now for the plot...
To her utter shock, in the upcoming play, she will be acting next to Derek, the hunkiest and most "perfect" guy in school and am not sure how to talk to him outside of theatre rehearsals. She also finds herself spending lots of time with the Nico, the free-spirit who coaches her in singing for the upcoming musicale. The plot is pretty predictable but the writing is not. It is witty and fun and engaging and I "highly" recommend it for girls 8 and up.