My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris
Series: My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #1
Published by Entangled Teen on September 18, 2012
Pages: 260
Format: Paperback
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On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

I’ve had My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century (MSSSC) sitting on my TBR since August 2013 when I was lucky enough to score an eARC of A Tale of Two Centuries (ATOTC), the sequel. I had heard that ATOTC was more of a companion and could be read on its own, so I read ATOTC and then planned on reading MSSSC soon after – Well, it’s not exactly “soon after,” but I DID finally read it and man, oh man – Rachel Harris has done it again! A gorgeous story, amazing characters and a swoon-worthy guy, all set within the breathtaking back-drop of sixteenth century Renaissance Italy.

I loved Cat almost from the beginning. At first, I even thought I liked her more than Alessandra (from ATOTC). In the end, I still like Alessandra more (sorry, Cat!) but Cat was an amazing character. She was strong-willed and defiant, the exact opposite of what a sixteenth century girl should be. But when she’s thrown into the past, she has no choice but to do what she can to fit in and not draw attention to herself. Along the way, she has some lessons to learn.

I loved, loved, loved seeing Alessandra in her own time-period, considering that in ATOTC, we *Spoiler alert* almost exclusively see her in the twenty-first century. She was the same kind-hearted, generous person, if even more modest and demure in MSSSC than she was in ATOTC (since she has yet to come out of her shell). She embraces Cat from the start and even believes and trusts her later on, when Cat confides her in.

Lorenzo!! We met at last, Lorenzo. I can see what everyone was swooning over now! And wow… Let me just say, wow! Rachel Harris sure knows how to write swoon-worthy hotties! Lorenzo, Lucas, Austin, Jason and Cane = all swoon-worthy! However…. Don’t hate me Lorenzo fangirls, but I think I like Lucas better! *Hides from the egg-throwers and mob with pitchforks* HEAR ME OUT! Because I read ATOTC first, I met Lucas first. I fell head over heels for him and I saw how things ended for him and Cat. So though I LOVED Lorenzo, I do like Lucas more and I like Lucas and Cat together more! I just do! *Nods firmly*

I knew who Lucia was almost immediately. I loved, loved Aunt Francesca – she was so kind and loving, something Cat definitely needed. I adored Cirpriano – he was the over-protective big brother where both Alessandra and Cat were concerned.

Now, I think I’ve mentioned this before. But I want to say that Rachel Harris renewed my faith in time-travel stories. Before I read ATOTC (and now MSSSC), I read a HORRIBLE book with time travel. It was pre-blogging, but if I were to rate it as a blogger now, it would probably have been 2 stars, if not lower. After that book, I swore off reading time-travel books because I was just too scared to. Well.. Clearly Rachel Harris fixed that problem! She does such an incredible job, I can’t help but love everything she writes. Her characters are amazing and lovable and her plots are intriguing. I also wasn’t a fan of romance until I started reading her books. So, yeah, that all says a lot!

Overall, once again, Rachel Harris wrote a gorgeous, fun, amazing tale of time travel, love and self-discovery. She is one of my favorite authors – one of my auto-read authors. I highly recommend her books. If you haven’t read them, definitely check them out ASAP! You won’t be disappointed, I promise!