Tall, Dark and Distant

Review Time! Now that I've finally managed to climb out of exam preparation hole, I can catch up on all these reviews I have to write! Tall, Dark and Distant by Julie Fison is one of the books from Hardie Grant Egmont's new YA-romance cross over series called Smitten! I'm a huge fan of YA and romance so of course I'm very excited to read them all! Today I have the review of the first book, well the first book that I read because they're all standalones! You can purchase Tall, Dark and Distant from Fishpond | The Nile | Booktopia | Bookworld. Thanks to Hardie Grant Egmont for the review copy!

(Goodreads) When Georgia meets Nik on her summer holiday, she’s sure he’s too good to be true. He’s gorgeous, with god-like abs and an adorable English accent. Then she discovers that he’s actually a member of an obscenely wealthy Russian family – and he wants to get to know her better.

Nik catapults Georgia into a world of private yachts, fast cars and expensive jewellery. Having a billionaire for a boyfriend certainly comes with benefits ... but it also comes with a price. How long will it take before life in the fast lane spins out of control?

The Short Story? - A little on the cheesy side, Tall, Dark and Distant is everything you would expect a YA-romance to be! Fluffy, funny and very cute, it's definitely a feel good novel that I would pick up if I was in a slump or when I hit the beach! I have to say that some of the things were overly cheesy, being a girl who isn't entirely in love with the idea of love, it was a little cringe-worthy. However as the novel progressed I really got emotionally invested in Georgia and Nik's love story! The characterisation really fit well with the story and the writing was easy to read! If you're looking for a summer read, feel good read, cheesy love story - this is your book!

The Long Story? - I want to start off by saying that Tall, Dark and Distant is written by an australian author and it takes place in Australia - this makes me incredibly happy because I love where I live and I feel like more novels should be set in Australia! So if you're into finding out more about Australia, pick this one up! Plot wise, there wasn't anything that really ruined the book but just a word of warning, prepare for cliches and really sappy romance scenes. I'm not the biggest romantic so I kind of had to get used to them! Another point, this is a big case of insta-love. I'm always a little skeptical about these insta-love stories especially in contemporary fiction since this is meant to be, you know, SORTA realistic. However I'm not going to read too much into all the cliches and sappy moments because that's what YA-romances are about. Drama, tension, love and relationships - Tall, Dark and Distant was all those things and so much more!

I thought the characterisation was alright, I had a couple of problems with Georgia. Firstly, I don't know how realistic Georgia was as a character. I mean, I understand if you're awkward around guys but come on, you went through high school, watched movies and heard from friends - one can not be THIS clueless! Another point, this poor girl constantly performs acts of embarrassment, I don't know why authors do this to their characters but *I* always feel SO bad for the characters! Characters need pride as well! Other than that, I really did enjoy Georgia as a character, she was sweet, very down to earth and smart. I liked Nik as a character, he is totally out of this world because we all know that nice, hot and rich guys only exist in YA fiction but he was perfect! I loved Georgia and Nik together and the rest of the characters were all fantastic as well so although the characterisation wasn't the best, it was't bad either!

Would I recommend Tall, Dark and Distant? Yes and No. It entirely depends whether you're into this kind of book! If you sappy love stories that are completely cliched but very, very fun to read then you should definitely pick this one up! If you don't? Then, well this probably won't be your cup of tea!  Tall, Dark and Distant is the PERFECT summer read for all the US readers out there! Light, breezy and very fun, Tall, Dark and Distant is for all you hopeless romantics out there!

What's it Worth? - Squeeze into the Budget/ Hand Over the Paycheck

Badass Bookie xx