Making Bad Choices by Rita Stradling

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he blurb of this book caught my interest since it was a taboo kind of romance. It was described as a love-hate relationship which is kind of true and kind of not. That being said, this book was a sweet college romance with essential dosage of family drama that adds complications to the story. I Liked the whole set up. Cassie moves to a small town from LA to live with her dad after losing her mom to cancer. She has to share the house with her stepbrother Cutler and her stepmother Jen. Cutler also happens to be the guy she really liked when she was young and she started to dislike ( I think hate would be too strong a word to describe her feelings) after a particular incident and since then even he would have become distant. But when she meets him again, she sees just how much he has changed and it's a good change since she can't stop herself for falling for him despite knowing how taboo their relation is for the society to accept. There are lot of characters in this story and all of them are typical college students. Okay, they all have different personalities and a typical college crowd. This adds a lot of humor and creates a joyful, fun atmosphere in the story turning it into more of a college romance which I really didn't mind. It had been a long time since I had read a college romance and that part of this book was really fun. It kind of took me back to my college days. Juggling between classes, college newsletter, attending matches, partying with friends, playing truth or dare, etc.. It had all these elements which takes up most part of the book and in my eyes they are the best part. The three important characters are- Cutler, Cassie and Taylor. Taylor is Cutler's half brother and calls himself Cassie's cousin. I loved Cutler and Taylor equally. Cutler's 'I don't give a shit attitude' and his stubbornness makes him one of the most unique characters I have across. Taylor is lot of fun, easy going, warm, friendly and very supportive. I loved reading the parts where he is with Cassie, helping her out all the time. Cassie is sweet and nice. There is nothing as such about her which stands out but overall I liked her character growth throughout the book. Coming to the love story, this is where the book kind of left me disappointed. I didn't see the love between Cutler and Cassie. They did look good together but somehow for me that spark was missing. There are a lot of making out scenes which were written well but somehow I feel the chemistry could have been improved. And though Taylor and Cassie were more like brother and sister, I loved the friendly chemistry they shared. I have to mention Jake and Spencer. They are amazing as Cutler's friends. There were quite a few surprises towards the end but I feel it ended rather soon and in a very clean and easy way. Not that it's bad but little more drama could have been better. I will definitely read more books by the author:)