Shipped by Meredith Tate

The Quick Cut: two straight A students fighting for valedictorian of their class secretly share a love for the same TV show online. Drama ensues when they figure out who the other is. A Real Review: TV shows have this way of consistently pulling us into fantasy worlds and getting invested in the characters. Sometimes this means that we get connected to the characters as well and ship them together as a couple. Would an enemy with the same ship be enough to change your mind about them? This is the question actively on Stella's mind. Stella and Wesley are two straight A students who actively compete for the number one spot. Each one has their own reason for needing that valedictorian scholarship. What they don't know about each other is that they are both huge fans of the all too short show named Warship. When their shared Warship love leads to unknowingly connecting online at a fan site, emotions get complicated as their hate turns into something more. Will their shared passion be enough to put their angry feelings aside? I wanted to like this one. It has all the elements of a cute contemporary romance story: passionate characters on opposing sides, intriguing interests they share, and fun little moments that make you smile. So what's the issue? The romantic aspect of the story is dragged out far too long, doesn't begin until over two thirds through the book, and ends before it even really begins. For a book that is over 350 pages long, that's a LOT of patience to endure for a coupling. Stella is passionate and comes from a poor family. She wants to go to college and being valedictorian will make that easier to do. She's a little uptight, but that has to do with the tension she feels to succeed. It's a feeling many can relate to and makes her great as a character. Her nemesis Wesley is everything Stella is not: rich and well connected. His parents expect him to follow their path, which includes a valedictorian spot and an Ivy League college in his future. It's something that not many could probably relate to, but his struggles help to point out an important topic. Even for the rich and powerful, nothing is necessarily easy. The pressure to do well is intense and in many cases makes your choices harder. Being able to follow your own path is always a hard choice and it requires standing up for yourself. It's an ability that pays off the rest of your life. A cute story that takes too long to connect it's main characters. My rating: 3.5 out of 5