Review- Date with a Rockstar (Sarah Gagnon)

Synopsis

Monet isn't just another lust-struck teenager trying to win the heart of Rock God Jeremy Bane--she needs the prize money from his new reality show to cure her illness. Monet has Fluxem, a contagious disease that's spread through saliva. It's completely curable if you have enough money, which she and her single mother don't. Now that she's on the show, Monet has to work harder to keep her Fluxem hidden. She only has to keep the secret long enough to woo Jeremy Bane so he picks her as the winner. She doesn't even care about the love part; the prize alone will change her life. 

But the real Jeremy Bane is nothing like she imagined. Monet finds herself fighting against feelings that make her want to give in to her attraction and Jeremy's attempts for a kiss. The further she goes in the competition, the more impossible it becomes to resist him--and when the producers turn the tables and start digging up dirt on the contestants, Monet fears her secret will be revealed before she's ready and ruin everything. The only way to win Jeremy's heart is to tell him the truth, but confessing her disease could cost her the competition, the prize money, and him.             
  - Goodreads.com

My Review 

Best way to describe this book- The Bachelor for a post-apocalyptic world.

Monet our main female protagonist is searching to cure herself of the disease Fluxem. Unfortunately, the cure is outrageously priced and even with her mum working two jobs, it’s unlikely that they’ll save up enough before it eventually kills her. Therefore the only logical idea is to enter a competition to win the heart of the dreamy musician Jeremy Bane, with the $20,000 prize money as her goal. But of course with most teenage girls, emotions get in the way and her hidden secrets may just come out and cost her more than the prize money.

The Bachelor style set up is definitely something unique which I have yet to encounter in any other books I’ve read. It definitely makes for an interesting and girl-drama fueled read, much like the TV show.

The Dystopian setting was interesting, and it added somewhat to Monet’s story-line, with her disease etc. But the world building was lacking slightly. There were elements that were incorporated that fit the idea of a post-apocalyptic world. For example embedded chips in peoples wrists which acted as eftpos/credit cards. But besides these minor details there was a lack of any real explanation as to why the world had become the way it was.

The main characters were easy enough to like, but didn’t really break the mould of your typical YA leads. The supporting characters also tended to suffer from the same lack of uniqueness. Every cliché was represented in the other contestants, there were the rich upper-class girls who thought they were better than everyone else, the slightly more *ahem* forward girl, and the girls who suffered from insecurities. Although while the characters were not unique, the story did provide for a stimulating and drama fuelled read that kept me turning the pages to find out how it ends.

Overall, a different read with a unique twist on the dating show idea. 

My rating: 3/5