Wallflower by Cookie O’Gorman

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Wallflower by Cookie O'Gorman
Published by Self-Published on March 25, 2021
Age Group & Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Author

Wallflower (wohl-flou-erh): Identifier for someone who is shy and/or awkward. For reference, see Viola Kent.

Seventeen-year-old Viola Kent likes being invisible. Well, not literally, but she's content being a loner, reading her books, and hanging out with the animals at the shelter. She just wants to keep her head down and get through her senior year at Durham High.

Driving Dare Frost to school every day wasn't part of the plan.

And when Viola finds out her dad recruited Dare, his number one player, to be her friend?

Her inner Slytherin demands revenge.

The solution: Get Dare to be her fake boyfriend.

Convincing the star athlete to pretend is easier than she'd thought it would be. The hard part is protecting her heart. With every word, touch, and kiss, Viola's feelings become more real.

The problem: Viola knows she's falling for Dare—but he doesn't believe in love.

This book features two sets of soulmates, one happy pooch named Hermione, so many sizzling kisses and answers the question:

Can a dork and a jock fake their way to true love?

A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.

I can’t believe my ass completely didn’t notice that Sally and Becks from Adorkable, which I read and loved years ago, actually grew up and Wallflower was about their kid Viola until I read the acknowledgments. But I thoroughly enjoyed their appearance in O’Gorman’s latest novel set in the same world and reading Wallflower kind of makes me want to go back and reread Adorkable.

Wallflower was just as cute, featuring an adorable romance involving a fake relationship while plotting just a little revenge when Viola finds out her father intentionally had her drive Dare to school so they could be friends.

(I mean… I too would plot revenge against my own father if he thought it was a good idea to recruit someone to be my friend.)

What I Liked about Wallflower

• Viola’s relationship with her parents despite her revenge. Honestly, sometimes it’s actually nice to see little tension between parent/child.
• As much as I loved Sally and Becks’ relationship in Adorkable and the references to the book, O’Gorman strikes a perfect balance so it doesn’t overshadow Viola’s and Dare’s own growing relationship and so it doesn’t confuse any readers who haven’t read Adorkable yet.
• Fake dating – I am a sucker for this trope and that is all I will say about this. Plus added on top of the occasional snark and banter? Bye, friends. I’ll see you in a few hours.

What I Didn’t Like/Felt Iffy about Wallflower

• I never really liked how Dare called Viola flower throughout the book considering she didn’t seem okay with it if I recall? There’s a lot to unpack in regards to this, but I don’t think this review is the time to go into it, so I’ll just leave it as, partially, it stems from personal preference.
• The many pop culture references – I generally don’t mind it much, especially if it’s a reference to some of my favorite things, but I sometimes feel Wallflower had a bit too much.

Overall Thoughts

I honestly don’t have many thoughts about Wallflower. O’Gorman’s latest novel was the perfect escape for me that fell at the right time when I needed a feel-good, happily ever after cute romance. It’s a light and fluffy read that’s perfect if you’re looking for a quick young adult contemporary book to read, which is something I enjoy from all of O’Gorman’s novels I’ve read thus far.