The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding
Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads Stars: 3
Rating: Enjoyable
Buy the Book: Amazon UK

Things I know about Reece Malcolm:

1. She graduated from New York University.
2. She lives in or near Los Angeles.
3. Since her first novel was released, she’s been on the New York Times bestseller list every week.
4. She likes strong coffee and bourbon.
5. She’s my mother.

Devan knows very little about Reece Malcolm, until the day her father dies and she’s shipped off to live with the mother she’s never met. All she has is a list of notebook entries that doesn’t add up to much.

L.A. offers a whole new world to Devan—a performing arts school allows her to pursue her passion for show choir and musicals, a new circle of friends helps to draw her out of her shell, and an intriguing boy opens up possibilities for her first love.

But then the Reece Malcolm list gets a surprising new entry. Now that Devan is so close to having it all, can she handle the possibility of losing everything? - Goodreads

The Reece Malcolm List is your average story with your average main character and average (and at times bad) writing. It's everything you look for when you want a light read for the beach or a car journey. It's definitely not a bad book, but I don't think it has anything that sets it apart from the rest.

Like I sometimes do, I have split this review up into two sections so that I can get my thoughts out properly and make sure I have covered everything I wanted to.

Things I Liked

• The growth of Devan and Reece's relationship. 

I like how this relationship took its time to grow and change. The two start off not knowing each other at all, and by the end of the novel they are in a really good place. They struggle to communicate throughout most of the book and that is the main thing that prevents them from becoming closer. There are lots of secrets between the two of them, including why Reece never wanted to meet Devan before now. The only thing I would change about this is to have the relationship evolve more gradually next time. Everything sort of burst out at the end, and while that was great for the drama (but not so great for my heart), it made the climax feel very rushed.

• Brad.

Reece Malcolm's boyfriend. He was adorable! He is such a nice guy. So kind, and a great cook, so he's perfect. I wouldn't mind him as a boyfriend myself. Since I wasn't a fan of any of the other characters, it was nice to have Brad there for me to fall back on!

• The ending.

I got so emotional reading the ending! I openly cried, and I couldn't believe it because I just didn't care for either Reece or Devan. Nevertheless, I did love their relationship, and I loved feeling a slight connection with the two characters in the final few scenes.

Things I Didn't

• The excessive use of brackets.

I don't know if you know this, but I really bloody hate using brackets unless I feel they are totally necessary. I also hate reading books like this when they simply abuse them. Every other page was full of brackets, which were used when Devan wanted to add another comment which disrupted the whole flow of the narrative. I don't know why these comments, such as what Devan was wearing or whatever, weren't woven into the story as description. Argh.

• Devan hardly ever bringing up her father.

Devan's dad is dead, and so we should expect her to be grieving, right? Thankfully I haven't lost a parent, but I would imagine that three months is not enough time to completely get over your parent's death. I cannot remember a time that Devan thought of her father unless she was telling other characters about how he ignored her. It felt very off to me.

• The romance.

There's a love triangle, although I must admit that it's not too bad in comparison to some love triangles I have read about. I didn't really understand the connection that Devan felt towards her love interest, and I honestly wish that the whole thing had been left out. The two barely spoke to each other. It would have made more sense for Devan to fall for Brad (thank the gods that didn't happen!).

Overall, The Reece Malcolm List is just 'good'. There were multiple things that made me dislike the book, but the relationship between Reece and Devan - and Brad! - was just too good for me to say this book was boring. I was kept interested by that aspect, so I've given it a middle rating!