Author: Anne Eliot

Synopsis:

After a car accident--an event he considers a prank gone bad--jaded pop star, Hunter Kennedy is forced to hide out with his aunt in small-town Colorado. He’s supposed to rest, heal his scars and attend high school in disguise until the press dies down. But he only wants to get back to work.

Worse, the girl who’s been assigned to make him over into a geek is a major geek herself. Vere Roth is a chattering pixie, a blushing tornado and a complete social disaster. He’s never met a girl who’s never-been-kissed, believes in romance and thinks Hunter’s a 'nice' guy.

Funny thing is…Hunter is nice around Vere because she’s his first real friend. He also can’t seem to stop sharing his secrets or keep her out of his heart. Knowing he’d never deserve a girl as sweet as Vere, he resigns himself to the friend zone, and helps his new bestie with her own makeover.

She tortures him daily for ridiculous guy advice on how to snag her life-long crush. A guy Hunter thinks is totally wrong for Vere, and sadly, one who has taken note of Vere’s stunning transformation.

When Vere asks her best friend for some kissing advice, Hunter can’t resist.
And that’s when things get out of control…

Review:

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy was such a cute read!  The story-line was adorable, while also being deep at times, and I loved Hunter right away.  While I had some hiccups here and there, I’m definitely going to pickup another book by this author.  There was a lot of promise for me, and I’m hoping that I’ll mesh a little bit better with the next story.  It’s about Hunter’s band mate.

This situation was his fault. He’d really messed up. Taken things between him and his mom way, too far.
And then he’d taken them further.
Done some really stupid, scary shit. Even scared himself.
He pulled his hands deep into his sleeve cuffs.

From that first chapter I spent with Hunter, my heart quickly connected to him.  He’d been in a locked down therapy/rehab facility for the last six weeks because of what he did.  While we were not initially given every piece to the puzzle, what I did know about his past made my heart hurt.  Yes Hunter was extremely famous, yes he had some twisted people in his life, and yes he had a skewed way of viewing others.  But underneath it all, I felt his pain and also his unease. After learning that he was being shipped to Colorado, to live his life out of the fame and spotlight, I got why he fought it.  Yet it was obvious how much he desperately needed change. And Colorado did just that.

Vere finally seemed to regain some control and held up her own hands in front of her, all while aiming a small, ball-of-death-glower onto everyone in the room. “No. Offense. Back. But I can take care of myself. I can certainly drag this spoiled, rock-and-roll-prince shopping for ugly clothes and drive him to the lake cabin without getting mauled or pregnant!”
Mrs. Roth gasped.
Hunter bit back another huge laugh.
Double entertainment.

Upon arriving in Colorado, Hunter met his Great Aunt’s neighbors, Vere and Charlie Roth.  They were going to be the ones to help him out with his unmaking, so no one would recognize him.  And right from the start, I was beyond entertained with how Hunter and Vere interacted. They were smile inducing.  But Vere and I did have some trouble connecting in the beginning.  When I got to the first chapter from her pov, I was shocked with how boy obsessed yet awkwardly shy she was.  It was painful for me to read some of the scenes. But after a few chapters, I couldn’t help but like this adorable girl.  I found myself hoping that Vere would be braver, and that’s where Hunter, who was now going by Dustin, came in. 

He laughed low and ran a finger along the top of her mouth. His touch sent shivers of sparkles down the back of her neck. “You have heart shaped lips in a heart shaped face. Has anyone ever told you? This one—this top lip alone—could drive a guy out of his mind?”

You see, Vere didn’t really know who Hunter was.  While her brother was obsessed, Vere easily treated him like a family friend and she would even give Hunter attitude from time to time.  Which seemed like a first for him lol. Over time, Vere helped Hunter see that the world didn’t just want him for something and Hunter helped Vere be comfortable around the opposite sex.  Their friendship was slow yet, when they made that connection, they bonded deeply. They confessed things to each other and were the best friends in every way possible.  Yet Hunter started to feel things for his bff. And what’s a guy to do?

One kiss. One kiss. One kiss.
If he agreed, he would be an absolute ass.
And an idiot. That much was obvious.
But he’d been an ass before, and an idiot ever since he let himself fall in love with this amazing girl.
Why stop the stupid-train now?

So yes, Unmaking Hunter Kennedy was a super cute, heartwarming story.  But like I said, I had a few hiccups.  The guy, Curtis, that Vere has had a crush on forever?  He was a complete and total douche bag. And it bothered me that Vere’s brother, Charlie, thought that Vere and Curtis would be a good thing.  But you see, I wasn’t the biggest fan of her brother either. Yes Charlie could be wonderfully protective of Vere, but he could also treat others so awfully.  But besides my personal preferences for characters, I felt that some of their conversations or internal monologues went on much longer than I liked. Which made me want to skim from time to time.  And when you couple that with some spelling errors, you can see why I had a few hiccups. But still, this book was beyond adorable and so much fun! So I’m definitely hoping that I end up loving Runaway Girl even more!