The Way to Game the Walk of Shame

by Jenn P. Nguyen

Taylor Simmons is screwed. Things were hard enough when her single minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an ice queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad-boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip. Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Even to pretend they're in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it's better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.

• ISBN10: 1250084075
• ISBN13: 9781250084071
• Publish Date: 7 June 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Swoon Reads
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[whisperingchapters]

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.


My name is Genesis and my addiction is fake-relationship stories. Whew, I got that out of the way. In all seriousness, I'm a sucker for these type of romances. They can be so much fun and The Way to Game the Walk of Shame certainly didn't disappoint and lived up to my expectations. I remember telling my boyfriend I had gotten this book for review and his question was, "Are you sure that's a YA novel?" Indeed, it is and don't worry, it's not steamy or deviates from the Young Adult genre.

Let's dive into the story and the point of this review, shall we? Taylor has always been the quiet girl in high school that could be called a goody-two shoes. Her reputation takes a turn for the worst when rumors (that are true) spread that she spent the night with the player of the school, Evan. Taylor is so frustrated by this because she starts getting vocally bullied and this doesn't sit right with her at all. She comes up with the brilliant plan to be in a fake relationship with Evan and that way, people will stop calling her names since it's okay for a girlfriend to stay over at her boyfriend's house (in this generation, apparently).

Taylor and Evan are so cute! The romance in the story wasn't overdone and it was set at a slow yet fun pace. Everything about them was sweet, meaning no drama that sometimes comes with being a man-whore. I think many books nowadays give an excuse to why a guy sleeps around so much, but not here. Let the guy be a guy and that's it! No need to add something so dark to it. The author did a great job in portraying this, as well as adding a little bit of depth to Evan's character. I have to mention the secondary characters for sure. Carly, Taylor's best friend, and Aaron, Evan's best friend, were a fantastic addition to the primary character's lives and the story itself. If the story was funny before, it got even better with these characters. Also, this book has little quirks that add to the depth and personality of the story-line and characters.

My reading experience with this book was so much fun! I was grinning like the Cheshire cat from beginning to end. It was light, quirky, witty, funny, quick-read, and a great way to start off the Summer vacation. If that didn't give you the hint, then here it is: read this book during the summer so go buy it as soon as it comes out :D

I received an eARC from the publisher for free in exchange for my honest review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

[Sam@WLABB]

**Many thanks to Macmillan/Swoon Reads for the ARC furnished via NetGalley

You are the almost valedictorian of your class, endlessly studying in preparation for your future as a Columbia University educated lawyer, who is known as the "ice queen" at school, and you wake up next to the biggest player at school. Your reputation is sullied, so what would you do? If you were Taylor, you would draft a contract and convince said playboy to partake in an imaginary relationship with you.

I am a huge fan of the sweet and adorable romance, and Nguyen gave me just that. I smiled, grinned, and sighed (the good kind) quite often as I read The Way to Game the Walk of Shame. I adored watching the romance between Evan and Taylor unfold, as they realized that this imaginary relationship was turning into friendship, and maybe even something more.

Nguyen had all the ingredients for a cute rom-com with the typical combination of characters (player, good girl, quirky sidekick, nice guy, mean girl) but managed to give the characters a little more depth by unpacking some of their baggage, and making this baggage an integral part of the story (i.e. daddy issues). She did a great job of creating these very likable individual characters, but also making me fall in love with them as a pair. I love the concept of two people making each other the best versions of themselves, and that was what happened with Taylor and Evan. Also, contrary to the YA norm, the parents were present, and actually played a positive role in the story (hurray for parents!). Lots of fun, sweet, cute, and happy moments in this book, which left me a sappy grin on my face.

[Leah]

When I signed up for the blog tour for The Way To Game The Walk of Shame, I was dead excited because it sounded right up my alley. I love books with faux-romances, where the guy and the girl end up liking each other for real, and I like it EVEN MORE when the two are so completely opposite to one another. So I was super excited to get reading, and learn more about Evan and Taylor.

The Way To Game The Walk of Shame got off to a bit of a slow start, I felt. It took a while to really warm up, but once Evan and Taylor start fake-dating, things pick up the pace a little bit, especially as they just get on so well. Like, so well that you can hardly believe these two people have said barely any words to each other, ever. So well that you just can't fathom that this whole thing wouldn't have happened if Taylor hadn't woken up in Evan's bed the morning after a party, because they were clearly fated to be together. It's intriguing to me that two people who barely speak, and have to be co-erced into fake-dating can get along so well right away, with no awkwardness, but there was no awkwardness between Taylor and Evan.

This was an interesting read, probably not my favourite book ever, but a fairly decent YA novel. I liked that we got to see both Evan and Taylor's points of view, and I appreciated the fact that Taylor had a goal, and wanted to achieve it and I understood how using Evan helped that goal - I got irrationally annoyed when, a few days after the party, Taylor was dropped from sorting out an event from her teacher because she wasn't paying attention, as if the teacher was listening to gossip, it was all a bit out of hand. It just really irritated me, because are teachers REALLY like that? REALLY? But I liked how Taylor handled it, how she drove into the skid and did whatever was necessary to keep her reputation (NOT THAT SHE SHOULD HAVE TO, BUT YA KNOW).

The Way To Game The Walk of Shame was a good little read. I LOVE that we got to see what happened at the party, too. It was like Jenn READ MY MIND, because you always, always, always want to see the scene that was the catalyst for the whole book and it was beautiful. I loved Taylor and Evan and this was such a fun, cute read. And am I the only one who wants a spin-off with Aaron? He seemed SO SWEET.