YA Books: Beyond the Cover: Review of Watch Me by Lauren Barnholdt

6:29 PM | Posted by Alexis Ladig

Title: Watch Me
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Release Date: February 8th, 2011
Format: MP3 Audiobook
Source: Library
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Pages In This Edition: N/A
Rating: 3/5

On the Cover:

Beyond the Cover:

Summary from Goodreads:

"Ally has everything under control. She’s about to move into a house full of strangers and have her life broadcast to the world, but as long as she still has her long-distance boyfriend, Corey, nothing can go wrong. Nothing, that is, until Ally starts spending time with her housemate Drew, the hot and sensitive guy who always seems to be around when she needs someone the most.

As suspicions and lies start pulling Ally and Corey apart, she’s not sure if she can trust anyone, not even herself. Ally is about to learn the hard way that life is what happens when everyone is looking, and it doesn’t always capture her good side…."

Review:

I hadn't listened to an audiobook in a long time and thought this one would be a good one to start with. (I usually love audiobooks that are chick lit or romance.) I got it from the library so I figured no harm no foul.

This book was just what I expected it to be. Cute, light, maybe with a couple of good plot twists. The girls are cute and the boys are cute and everyone is cute. But hey, every once and awhile you just need a book like that. The reality t.v. twist was kind of cool. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have a camera following my every move. Ugh. That would be terrible. That aspect could have been a bit more developed though. But it wasn't as if the book couldn't be enjoyed because of that.

The characters were not developed all that deeply. Especially the characters of James and Simone; even though they weren't super main characters it would have been nice to see a bit more of what they were like. My favorite character was defiantly Drew. I loved his back story and the way he seemed to view life. I also LOVED the chemistry with him and Ally.

In terms of plot, it was predictable. Comedy romance to a "T." I think I would have liked it less if I had just read the book and not listened to it. Since I learn best through sound, I can more easily pictures scenes when they're read to me. I could so picture this as a movie. I actually think it would be a great movie, or even a t.v. series.

Finally, I can't do an audiobook review without talking about the narrator. I don't have the name of the narrator to Watch Me handy. All I can say was her voice was just a little annoying. Nothing too bad though, and I've heard way worse. After about a couple of chapters, you get used to it and it no longer took away from the story.

Overall, listen/read Watch Me if you like romance/Chick Lit and are in for a predictably cute story about a girl who just happens to find herself on reality t.v..

--Alexis

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