Catchpenny: Wicked Lover

by Sarah Wathen

Have you ever wondered about that girl at the edge of the crowd? The one who has dark, bushy hair that hides her eyes while she's reading, but tight shirts that don't even try to hide the size of her breasts? You've heard the rumors, you know the rude nicknames, and you wonder what she really does when she's not in school. She never comes to parties and she lives in a neighborhood where nice girls never venture. Everyone tries to ignore her...but there is something about her that's impossible to ignore. Especially for the star quarterback, apparently. Because he just asked her to the Homecoming dance, after dumping the head cheerleader.
Catchpenny tells the story from the eyes of "that girl," and Wicked Lover is just the beginning of this coming of age serial novel. The small town minds of Shirley County have underestimated Meg Shannon for too long. She’s even more fun than she is trouble…but maybe she has finally met her match.

102 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2015

About the author

An artist turned author, Sarah Wathen is a storyteller by trade and a painter at heart. She was trained in Classical Painting at the University of Central Florida, then completed graduate studies in Fine Art at Parson’s School of Design in New York City. Her first step into the world of independent publishing was as an illustrator, and Sarah quickly realized she wanted to write her own books rather than illustrate other’s. That reinvention came as no surprise to family and friends, who remember her as a child always ready to turn a tale. Hours spent under the backyard stairs with her sister—dreaming up imaginary friends with outlandish names like Afisha and Pekins, and designing social networks called the Plant Club and the Tutu Group—were recorded and illustrated, too. Copies still exist under lock and key! Sarah currently resides in Florida and runs the indie label, LayerCake Productions.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catchpenny: Wicked Lover is a real, raw, coming of age story with a young woman that is already strong with who she is.

Meg, “from the wrong side of the tracks”, is asked to the homecoming dance by the recently broken up football star, Tristan. Tristan wants to explore his sexuality without the scorn of his past relationship and Meg is all too happy to oblige.

Meg faces ridicule from the “popular” crowd – mean girls but she doesn’t fall to their pressure.

While Tristan comes into himself and finds camaraderie with other kid that he would have never associated with.

My complaint would be the length, I wanted more and what they heck is on the cover, its eye catching but I have no freakin’ clue what it is.

Wathen wrote real people with real flaws that you could relate with.

I received this copy of Catchpenny: Wicked Lover from Sarah Wathen in exchange for a honest review.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being just a "bit" older than a high school girl (yes, go ahead and laugh) I don't always relate to YA stories. But Meg and I seem to have an awful lot in common. We both read alone at lunchtime, we don't carry cell phones. (No, the flip phone in my glove box for emergencies does not count). We both like to "thrift", listen to classical music...so I was instantly drawn into this story. Sarah's writing is really good, I love her sense of humor. And I'm certain I would never join her in a game of poker. The love story was just a tad "pat" for me...but I do not believe in love at first sight so I'm always a hard sell on the love angle. This is a funny, poignant story for women of all ages, some who have been "that girl" and others who have known, and maybe even snickered at her. Read it!

[SheReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The school quarterback is on a mission to lose his virginity so he invites the school slut to the dance - you could sum up the story like that and guess at the rest and you'd be right, but you'd also be wrong. This was much more than that. Meg, said slut, may deserve that title to an extent. She knows what Tristan, said quarterback, wants as soon as he asks her out. Everyone knows. He's recently broken up from a girl who refused to give it up for years. Meg is all too willing to solve his little problem.

But there's more too it than that. Meg doesn't have the mind of a slut, she kind of has the mind of a feminist. She wants sex, yes, but she desires more than anything to have the freedom to do what she wants without having labels slapped on her. Men have that freedom and she thinks its only fair that she should too. Meg is also desperate for someone to want her for more than just sex. She's desperate for Tristan to want more.

Tristan wants to be able to explore his natural urges without the scorn he endured during his last relationship. Can they make it? I guess we'll see in the next book.

I really enjoyed everything about this. It was a great coming of age tale. Meg is so tragically flawed that it's very endearing and Tristan is just adorable. We see a caricature of high school that is so like the real thing that it makes you laugh. The mean girls will always be mean. I find that I'm enjoying the serial novel style because each book is short and sweet. I read this in one sitting. I'm looking forward to reading the next one!

[Julia Damatto · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I just want to say that I'm feeling really honored for being able to read this short Part One of the Catchpenny serial novel, because Sarah Wathen is an amazing storyteller.
Regardless of that, I'm so mad with the Author!!!!
How you got me hooked into the story using so few words??!! Please, I just need to know, what happens next?
Also, I'd love to have more info about this love story, what are Tristan's true intentions? Is He hiding something? are his feelings real?
I hate you, Sarah Wathen!!
Highly Recommended to all kind of readers
P.S. This is a really short story, but worth it, look for this scene:



*I received a Free copy in exchange for an Honest Review*

[Kelly Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and realistic young adult book!

This was a great coming of age young adult book. The author did an excellent job getting the tone of the typical mean teenage girl. It made me feel like I was in high school all over again. I love that the main character, Meg, is a so called outcast but had enough confidence in herself to stay true to herself and not change. She certainly caught the attention of a certain football player. ;) This is a great inspirational book for girls, it teaches them that they don't need to be someone they are not just to fit in. Excellent job from this author, I can't wait to read more of her books!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
This is a pleasant YA novella. It is the tale of the girl known around school as the tramp and the school's star athlete respected by all. Her experience and his inexperience create the inevitable hookup. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see where this story goes but it is an enjoyable read to get there. And it leads to wanting to learn more of the story ... I will keep my eye out for the next in this series.

[Kristine (The Writer's Inkwell) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Posted originally on my blog:
The Writer's Inkwell

Wicked Lover is part one to Catchpenny and it helps to introduce you to Meg. In a way, Meg is a bit of a conundrum. She’s a strong, self-confident, highly intelligent young woman who is just trying to make it through her senior year of high school. Sadly, she suffers from a terrible reputation because she’s from the wrong side of the track and isn’t afraid of her sexuality. All of which serves to make high school fairly unbearable. As someone who was kind of “that girl” in high school, I felt I could really relate to Meg.

So when the most popular guy in school asks her to Homecoming, I couldn’t help but feel worried. Fortunately, it’s the start of what could possibly be a great thing for Meg. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be an easy journey for the two. A fact that becomes evident as they make their way to the big dance and are met with a lot of resistance and judgement from his friends and of course, the girls.

Sadly, part one is just the beginning. I wish there had been more to it, but I’m glad that there’s a lot more to come. Since this portion of Catchpenny is so short, there’s not much I can say without possibly spoiling it. I plan on reading the rest of the part of this book, but for now, this is a great start and I can’t wait to read more!

Reviewer's note: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry, you lost me at the poker game.
This is a short story in which the star quarterback dumps his virgin girlfriend of 4 years a few days before Homecoming and asks the school “slut” to be his date instead. I’m sorry, am I the only one who thinks that’s a douche move? Slut shaming is not ok but apparently virgin shaming is. Of course the prude is supposedly the evil popular girl although we never actually encounter her nor does our protagonist know her so it’s all an assumption that she’s evil. If my boyfriend of 4 years dumped me a few days before the dance, I think I’d be pissed and expect my friends to be pissed too. Considering our poor sex deprived quarterback dated her for 4 years, what does that say about him if she is a nasty person? But, it seems the quarterback may want more from our protagonist than just sex. Dreams do come true. Then, in the middle of the night, she leaves their bed to go to a poker game. WTF? So dumb. This is apparently the first part of a four part serial.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through a goodreads giveaway.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't do anything for me. I found the story to be very unrealistic and I didn't like Meg. I wanted to like her, but I thought that some of her decisions were very strange and didn't make a lot of sense.

The story was very short and I think it really lacked in character and story development. I felt like parts of the book were missing.

Although I didn't really like this book, I would be willing to give this author another chance.