Love Bomb by Jenny McLachlan

Summary from Goodreads:

Betty Plum has never been in love. She's never even kissed a boy. But when Toby starts school it's like Betty has been hit with a thousand of Cupid's arrows. A bomb has exploded—a love bomb.

More than ever Betty wishes her mom didn't die when Betty was a baby. She really needs her mom here to ask her advice. And just when she misses her most, that's when she finds hidden letters for just these moments. Letters about what your first kiss should feel like and what real love truly is. Although her mom isn't really there, Betty feels closer to her more than ever.

Jenny McLachlan's follow-up to Flirty Dancing will have you in both fits of laughter and tears.

Review:

Okay, so I’ve become a little obsessed with this series. After finishing the first book, I knew I’d get to the next one rather quickly. I have all three that are out so far. One more comes out in April (I just checked). I only read one book between the first in the series and this one (the second). And I might jump into book 3 later tonight…

There’s nothing totally unique about these books. Like the first one, this follows a familiar YA storyline. But, it happens to be one of my favorite storylines –realizing you’re in love with your best friend. I also love that Betty’s first love/crush is someone else and I found everything with boy number 1 (Toby) to be totally believable. He was pretty much a jerk and it took Betty a while to see it

I also absolutely adored the letters from her mother. Her mother died of cancer when she was really little, but she left behind letters for Betty’s father to give her on each of her birthdays. And well, she has her 15^th birthday in this book with the special present of her last letter. Her last letter though, did tell her about a few more secret letters to look for…I loved how Betty took these letters to heart and used them as guidance for her romantic life. I got a little teary eyed at some of these letters. It felt a bit like the book/movie: P.S. I Love You.

So mix in a little bit of sappiness and wisdom from some great mom letters with new and first love, and some friendship bickering, oh and a dad who starts dating someone seriously for the first time (since his wife died), and you get this book. Like I said before, nothing about this is totally unique. It has the feel of a rom com. But, that’s what I was expecting and wanting after book 1. I loved getting this character’s perspective. And I think I might have enjoyed it a tiny bit more that the first book. I give it a 9/10. Bring on book 3.