I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lola Carlyle's 12-Step Romance by Danielle Younge-Ullman
Published by Entangled Teen on May 5, 2015
Pages: 304
Source: the publisher
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Lola Carlyle is lonely, out of sorts, and in for a boring summer. So when her best friend, Sydney, calls to rave about her stay at a posh Malibu rehab and reveals that the love of Lola’s life, Wade Miller, is being admitted, she knows what she has to do.Never mind that her worst addiction is decaf cappuccino; Lola is going to rehab.

Lola arrives at Sunrise Rehab intent solely on finding Wade, saving him from himself, and—naturally—making him fall in love with her…only to discover she’s actually expected to be an addict. And get treatment. And talk about her issues with her parents, and with herself. Plus she has insane roommates, and an irritatingly attractive mentor, Adam, who’s determined to thwart her at every turn.

Oh, and Sydney? She’s gone.

Turns out, once her pride, her defenses, and her best friend are stripped away, Lola realizes she’s actually got a lot to overcome…if she can open her heart long enough to let it happen.

When I first learned about this book, I was intrigued by the premise. Though it wasn’t exactly what I expected and there were some moments that annoyed me, this book ended up being a really fun, cute and enlightening read. I really liked the characters, as well as the author’s writing style.

In the beginning, it was really hard to like Lola. She was very Stereotypical Hollywood: rich, a bit snobby/spoiled/entitled. I mean.. she wanted to go to rehab just so she could go on a “spa-like vacation.” And when things didn’t go her way, she got incredibly snippy, sneaky and rebellious. Plus, she was beyond obsessed with Wade Miller in the beginning.

The funniest part is, Lola doesn’t think she needs rehab, yet we as readers discover that she actually needs it desperately, just not for the reason that got her sent there in the first place. Lola din’t really start growing and showing character development until the second half of the book, but once she did, I really liked her.

Adam had his ups and downs. Sometimes, his attitude and the way he treated Lola were awful. But he had his reasons – He was her “mentor,” so he had to try to keep himself distant from her and be professional. But when he relaxed and they had their moments, they were epic and hilarious (their banter and back-and-forth arguments had me laughing out loud)! They weren’t without their issues (both together or individually), but I still shipped the heck out of them!

I really didn’t like Wade. He seemed so fake and full of himself. I had a feeling early on that he was just meant to be that “light bulb” moment for Lola, so she could see how far she had come and what a great guy Adam was in comparison, so I tried not to let it bug me too much. Plus, I shipped Lola and Adam so hard, in my mind, the book could only end with them together or I would have thrown it across the room (Well.. it’s my iPad.. so maybe I would have figuratively thrown it…)

I liked Talia and Jade for the most part. Talia was a bit annoying, with how star-struck she was and how she always seemed to be sucking up to Lola. One of the revelations about her was slightly startling but not incredibly shocking. I’m happy with her small amount of character growth, but I felt bad for her near the end. And Jade was brutal and honest, which could sometimes come off as mean and cruel. But I still liked her and I was heartbroken with where her story ended.

Though it wasn’t without its issues, this book was oddly enjoyable, as well as a fast read. The author is a great writer, the plot was intriguing and, though the characters are Stereotypical Hollywood, they were still likable enough and several of them had great character development, so that softened the dislike a bit. My biggest issue with the book (and it wasn’t even that big a deal) was that, at times, it felt like an over-dramatic soap opera and/or a cheesy romantic comedy. But if you can overlook that, it’s a fun, quick read. Though it deals with some tough topics, it does it in a light-hearted way, so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

I would definitely recommend this book and I’m definitely excited to see what the author does next.