Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Tuesday Reviews: The Revenge Artist by Philip Siegel


Title: The Revenge Artist (The Break-Up Artist #2)
Author: Philip Siegel
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: November 18, 2015
Format Read: Paperback
Rating: Three Stars

Description from Goodreads: The say money can't buy you love. Becca Williamson begs to differ.

Once upon a time, Becca was the Break-Up Artist, tearing apart unhealthy relationships at her school for just $100 dollars via PayPal. But after a job went really wrong, she went legit for love and now brings couples together. Crushing on that supercute guy in Chemistry but too shy to say hi? Becca has the right formula. Pining for that artsy girl who vowed never to date a jock? Becca will ensure love conquers all. She's even engineered a relationship of her own: the funny, sweet, and unbelievably cute Fred Teplitzky, the one guy who knows exactly what to say to make our unflappable heroine... well, flappable.

But before she can pick out a graduation robe and enjoy her last months at Ashland High, Becca has to deal with a new Break-Up Artist on the block. And this master manipulator is dead set on one thing: revenge. Someone is going around destroying all of the couples she's worked so hard to unite. Now Becca has to outwit and outscheme her new foe in a dirty cat-and-mouse chase filled with hacked emails, video surveillance, reputation ruining, and a few candy hearts. Especially when she realizes that the Revenge Artist's number one target is her and Fred.

Looks like there are no such things as clean breaks.

In 2014, I read THE BREAK-UP ARTIST and fell in love with it. I could not wait for the sequel, something that both the readers and the author were extremely excited about. But then, due to troubles, book number two became something that wasn't going to happen. This was devastating, until Philip Siegel stepped in and announced that he was going to self publish THE REVENGE ARTIST. Even though it was a long and trying road, book two appeared online last November, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy.

For me, sequels are never as good as the original story. I always enjoy book one more than two, and while REVENGE ARTIST was still a great read, it, too, fell into my "Not as good as the first" category. I loved getting thrown back into the world of Becca and her high-school life, seeing her progress from breaking couples up to getting them back together and containing her character development from book one. Certain character additions made for a fresh touch on the story, and while I did predict the outcome of who the Revenge Artist really was, I didn't guess how most things would end up happening, so it was still an enjoyable journey.

Another thing that made the reading experience interesting was that Becca went through so many NORMAL high school experiences that were so easy to relate to. At times, you knew exactly how she was feeling, because these same things had happened to you. And that was a major comfort in this story, since some of the things that I related to the most were things that aren't often brought up in mainstream books and movies. The complications with friendship and keeping balance in your life being two main ones.

I give THE REVENGE ARTIST a three star rating. It was an enjoyable read, but like I said earlier, I did love book one a bit more. If you read and liked the first one, don't hesitate to read this one! I recommend this one to fans of realistic YA contemporary, and hope that you'll pick it up.

Happily,
Stephanie

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