Cross My Heart by Katie Klein

True love can blossom in unexpected places. This is Jaden pretending not to notice. . . .

Jaden McEntyre and Parker Whalen are a wrong fit from the start. Jaden is driven and focused, Harvard Med School within reach. Parker has a past-a reputation-and the rumors about his mysterious habits abound. So there's no reason why, when they're assigned to work together on a project in English, they should discover they have anything in common, or even like each other, and they definitely shouldn't be falling in love. 

As they bond over Edith Wharton's tragic novella, Ethan Frome, the "bad boy" vibe Parker plays begins to dissipate. Soon, Jaden finds herself shedding her own "good girl" image: sneaking around to be with him, confiding in him, and ultimately falling hard for this leather-wearing, motorcycle-driving loner who plays into the rebel stereotype.

Still, Jaden can't shake the feeling that there's more to Parker than he's letting on. He's hiding something from her, and discovering the truth means reconciling the Parker she's grown to love with the person he really is. Because it's possible that his life inside the classroom-everything Jaden knows-is one, massive lie.

Just reading the book description makes me want to read this all over again. My friend Stacy told me about this book and since I wasn't reading anything and was in the mood for a love story, I thought I'd give it a go. So, I started it one night, thinking I'd get a bit of reading done before going to sleep, and ended up sleep-deprived. I couldn't put it down. I started and finished it in one sitting, then, when I woke up the next morning (or more accurately, later the same morning), all I wanted to do was continue the story. I was so bummed that I was done reading it.

I'll admit that there were a few "rolling my eyes" moments when I first started reading about Jaden. The words "over-achiever" and "prude" came to mind. But as the story progressed, I really started to love her. Mostly I loved who she was when she was with Parker. She was more mellow and laid back. Less save-the-world, and more....fun.

I immediately liked Parker. It had to be that "jerk appeal" that drew me in. I'm hopeless, I know. But I liked him even when he started to shed that persona and reveal the smart, caring, wonderful Parker. That doesn't mean he didn't still have his secrets though.

There were things in the story that I never would have guessed. I think this book had one of my very favorite twists in a book ever. It was completely unexpected. Twists are always bad in books. You can always count on that. If something highly unexpected happens in a book, you can pretty much bank on it being some horrible turn in the story. I was really torn when this particular "change of events" happened, surprisingly. It completely changed how I looked at the entire story. I think that's why I wanted to read it again so badly.

This book is only available (as far as I know) in e-book format. Even if you don't have an e-reader, it's really worth buying and reading from your computer. The great news with that is that it's only $3.99 on Amazon. I love inexpensive books! Yes, this story wasn't very original at first, but I thought it evolved into something that was completely unique. At least from anything I've previously read. Completely worth buying. Plus, who doesn't love a love story??

Happy Reading!