Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Love Like the Movies, by Victoria Van Tiem, ends 4/21

It's been seven years.

He's like Connor Mead ... and I'm like Jennifer Garner's character, Jenny Perotti. What was his line? I quickly Google Ghosts of Girlfriends Past to find it. Here, yes ... The power in all relationships lies with whoever cares less. It's true. If I'm still muddled up in old feelings, Shane still holds this power over me.

He always did. And not just over me. Over all the girls. It wasn't that I didn't care that every female in college thought they had this special connection with him. I just got used to it. Although at Fossie's, the flirty Mary didn't seem to get his normal attention. His attention was solely on me.

Either way, I need a ghost buster.

This book was very cute, but you need to be a rom-com movie lover in order to appreciate it. The author has her main character, Kensington (Kenzi, for short), obsessed with them, and she throws out references from all of these films willy-nilly throughout the novel.

Official synopsis:
In this irresistible romantic romp, movie fanatic Kensington Shaw is thrown into love—Hollywood-style—when her gorgeous ex presents a series of big screen challenges to win back her heart.

What girl wouldn’t want to experience the Pretty Woman shopping scene? It’s number two on the list. Or, try the lift from Dirty Dancing? It’s number five. One list, ten romantic movie moments, and a handful of shenanigans later, Kenzi has to wonder . . . should she marry the man her family loves, or risk everything for a love like the movies?
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Kensington's problem is that she's engaged to Bradley, but her ex-boyfriend, Shane, is back in town. Kensington also always feels like she's "competing" with her sister-in-law, who just announced she's pregnant (overshadowing Kensington's engagement news), and has that to contend with, too.

This book was fairly predictable but had a lot of "rom-com" moments in it, with Shane interacting with Kenzi, and I got a kick out of all of the movie references. I tend to scrounge for my favorite DVDs in the $5 bins at Walmart or Best Buy, and I own or at least have seen most of the films that the author refers to, so I knew exactly what movies she was talking about.

I'd recommend this novel for "chick lit" fans or fans of chick/rom-com films. It would also be good for a fast beach or vacation read.

3.5 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I received an e-copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

One Books I Think You Should Read winner will win an e-copy of this novel! Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Contest ends Monday, April 21st at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be contacted on April 22nd and have 24 hours to respond, or else an alternate winner will be chosen. Since this is an e-book, this contest is open to all residents, even international.

Good luck!

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