Busted

by Gina Ciocca

When Kendall asks Marisa, the queen of sniffing out cheaters, to spy on her boyfriend TJ, Marisa soon discovers the girl TJ is falling for is Marisa herself, and the feeling is quickly becoming mutual.

When Marisa accidentally caught her best friend's boyfriend making out with another girl, her reputation for sniffing out cheaters spread all over school. Now Marisa finds herself the reluctant queen of busting two-timing boys. When ex-frenemy Kendall asks her to spy on her boyfriend TJ, she discovers the girl TJ might be falling for is Marisa herself. And worse yet? The feelings are quickly becoming mutual. When Marisa discovers secrets about Kendall and TJ, they may hold the answers to an academic cheating scandal.

• ISBN10: 1492654299
• ISBN13: 9781492654292
• Publish Date: 2 January 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 29 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Sourcebooks, Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[liz089]

So this was a weird story... haha. I did like it most of the time, though I did find a lot of things that happened a bit.. over the top, unrealistic. You know, this is not about dragons or mystical lands.. so it should stay a bit in the realm of possible. And even though I like over the top, dramatic stuff in these kind of novels, I also search for realistic, since it does happen here and now. It went too far for my taste.
But I did have fun reading it, and yes even though it was quite obvious what was going to happen, it did have a plot twist here and there.. Overall not too bad.. but also not that special either.. 3 stars.

[readingwithwrin]

Thank you to Sourcebooks for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

"Apparently I'd become a spy service and a chauffeur service, all wrapped up in one big, loser package."

See reviews first on my blog

Marisa starts a whole new free career when she finds her best friend's boyfriend with a different girl. From there, things start escalating fast once an old friend/enemy comes back into Marisa's life and talks her into doing the same for her as well. This brings out a lot of old feelings for Marisa and with already struggling to get over her ex who never gave her a real reason for breaking up, she is curious about a lot of things.

Marisa's brother Nick was such a good sibling and even though he was annoying at times I really liked their friendships.

Mindy and Charlie are her best friends and they were both involved a lot even with going to different schools! Finally, a YA book that has normal and healthy friendships!



"You don't get it, Jordan. You never will... You don't worry that the grass is greener in every goddamn yard but your own. You put her first once in a while instead of always thinking about yourself all. The Fucking Time."

Jordan to me was the typical ex-boyfriend that gave mixed signals and just left without a reason. Honestly, I just found him annoying most of the time.

I loved Marisa's friendship with TJ and even though I wasn't really liking how it started, I liked how they really got along and it just felt right for a change. (yes some shady stuff happens at times, but that's real life when your spying.)



"He didn't get me into this mess. I did. I did this all by my own stupid self."


Overall I really liked this book. Not only was it a fun/quick read, but it also really felt like a real high school book for a change. I also really liked a majority of the characters for a change as well, even the shady ones that I know we technically weren't supposed to like. Marisa's spy service was really interesting to me and how it wasn't some huge thing but instead was kept simple by her. I also really liked how crafty she was. That's not something I remember reading in a ya book before, and I liked how it wasn't some big deal either, it was something she enjoyed doing and her friends/family liked it as well.

I am so glad I went outside of my comfort zone with this contemporary read. I can't wait to see what Ciocca writes next!

(can we just talk about Kendall though, girls got some serious problems when it comes to competitiveness. Just wow...)

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Busted was an entertaining read, filled with plenty of drama, humor, and plot twists.

•Pro: This story was a lot of fun. The overall feeling of the book was on the lighter side, and it was quite humorous.

•Pro: I had heard a lot of people referencing Veronica Mars when discussing this book, and I have to say, I saw shades of my favorite teen PI as well. There were some interesting and amusing situations Marisa got herself into, and she had that signature VMars wit as well.

•Pro: TJ was pretty fabulous. The more I got to know him, the more I loved him.

•Pro: Marisa's was awesome and I loved her narration. I also thought she had some really special character traits, and I couldn't get enough of her.

•Con: Kendall was the worst. I abhorred her, but I guess that was the intention.

•Pro: The romance had some really swoony moments, and I was shipping TJ and Marisa even before they were a thing. They had good chemistry, and their interactions were a delight to observe.

•Con: There was this secondary plot, which wasn't bad, it held my interest, but I thought it took away from the original focus of the story.

•Pro: Marisa's squad was great. I really enjoyed when they were all together working on the "case".

•Pro: Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, another twist was thrown in. There were quite a few surprises, which kept me on my toes.

•Pro: Siblings!!! Marisa and Nick were great together. Their banter was hilarious, and I could definitely feel the love between those two as well.

Overall: A fun and fast-paced story with lots of twists and turns, that is bound to hold your interest.


*I would like to thank the publisher for the review copy of this book.

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[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Find this review and others like it at The Literary Phoenix.

NEED A PRIVATE EYE? CALL MARISA PALMERA.

Marissa didn’t ask to be the town’s resident PI, but after she catches her best friend’s boyfriend cheating on her, the title falls comfortably on her shoulders. Presented with a case to spy on a childhood friend’s boyfriend, Marisa quickly learns that not everything is what it appears to me, and sometimes, she can’t even trust her own instincts. She must choose where to lay her loyalties – with an old friend? Or with the boy she thinks is betraying her?

Busted is a quick read, filled with it’s fair share of interesting characters, new love and love lost, and of course… betrayal.

I FLEW THROUGH THIS BOOK.

I don’t read much contemporary, and silly love stories make me roll my eyes, but the distrust and intrigue in this book reminds me of my childhood. Unfortunately. If you like hysterical girls and shady boys and bitter exes, this is a good book for you.

And despite all the drama (and BOY was there drama) I read this in two days. I liked Marisa, even though she was naive, because it was clear that she had a good heart. And you want to root for her, because you quickly realize that most other people in the story are terrible. As for who is on her side, and who is a liar? I’ll let you figure that out yourself.

OTHER SMALL, GOOD THINGS?

Marisa has two loving, doting parents and a brother who is also her friend. Yay, healthy family dynamics!

Even though she is smart, Marisa is limited by her family’s means. I don’t see this frequently in any literature but it’s a very real and very comment state of being.

I love how crafty everyone is? As in… creatively inclined, not excellent plotters (although that also).

THIS STORY IS INTERESTING, BUT NOT UNIQUE.

The summary itself flaunts its similarities to Veronica Mars. The plot of “someone’s boyfriend might be cheating, oh no!” is definitely nothing new. But it was still a fun story to read and I appreciate some of the descriptions used by Ciocco to describe the weather, scenery, and relationships she writes about. Although this story takes place in late autumn, it’s a light, easy read.

I think this one would be a perfect quick read with a cup of hot chocolate as the wind gets crisp and the last leaves fall. I’d recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. In no way does this affect my review.