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The Bad Boy and the Tomboy #1
The Bad Boy and the Tomboy
Some love stories begin in all the wrong ways.
Always comfortable being one of the guys, Macy Anderson is laser focused on only three things: studies, soccer, and a scholarship. Romance is the last thing on Macy’s mind, until Cedric Cahill ― the one boy she’s ever crushed on ― asks her out on a date.
Handsome and charismatic, Cedric’s everything Macy has ever wanted in a boyfriend. There’s just one problem: Cedric’s cousin Sam. Brazen and unapologetic with a bad-boy reputation to match, Sam has an annoying way of constantly showing up in Macy’s life. Something crackles beneath their “just friends” relationship, and soon Macy’s thinking about him in all the ways she shouldn’t ― pushing things too far when she’s around him.
As the tension between them escalates, Macy needs to decide if it’s worth risking both a friendship and a relationship to find out where her heart’s loyalties truly lie. Especially when the truth behind Sam’s bad-boy demeanor changes everything between them forever.
Always comfortable being one of the guys, Macy Anderson is laser focused on only three things: studies, soccer, and a scholarship. Romance is the last thing on Macy’s mind, until Cedric Cahill ― the one boy she’s ever crushed on ― asks her out on a date.
Handsome and charismatic, Cedric’s everything Macy has ever wanted in a boyfriend. There’s just one problem: Cedric’s cousin Sam. Brazen and unapologetic with a bad-boy reputation to match, Sam has an annoying way of constantly showing up in Macy’s life. Something crackles beneath their “just friends” relationship, and soon Macy’s thinking about him in all the ways she shouldn’t ― pushing things too far when she’s around him.
As the tension between them escalates, Macy needs to decide if it’s worth risking both a friendship and a relationship to find out where her heart’s loyalties truly lie. Especially when the truth behind Sam’s bad-boy demeanor changes everything between them forever.
360 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2016
343 people are currently reading
7361 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Nwosu
4 books393 followersNicole Nwosu grew up in Toronto, Canada, and first started posting her stories on Wattpad in 2014. Her most popular story The Bad Boy and the Tomboy has accumulated over a hundred million reads on the platform and won a 2015 “Cover-to-Cover” Watty Award. When she’s not writing, Nicole spends her time catching up on binge-worthy TV shows while balancing her studies at Western University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 780 reviews
October 19, 2016
I read this book on wattpad before it was published. I loved it then and I love it now. I can't even say how much I love this book. It's one of the ones I could read over and over and never get tired of reading it. If only it was a movie now. After reading this, I really want to know where I can get a Sam Cahill. I could go on and on about my love for this book and Sam but I don't want to post any spoilers. Seriously, you should read this book!!! I highly recommend it and I normally don't recommend books. Don't let the title fool you into thinking it's cliche because it's not. Just give it a chance. You won't regret it.
September 11, 2020
The beginning of the book was very boring. I still decided to continue it because sometimes the story gets interesting slowly. However this wasn't the case here. It remained boring, the characters were underdeveloped.
The plot wasn't that interesting either. The romantic development was also boring. I mean it is a very cliche YA romance book, that's all.
Arc provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The plot wasn't that interesting either. The romantic development was also boring. I mean it is a very cliche YA romance book, that's all.
Arc provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
February 9, 2017
OH MY GOD THIS BOOK IS EFFING AMAZING!!!!
It has quickly became one of my ultimate favourite on wattpad and books in general. I have fallen love with the characters so easily that I can't but want to reread this book again. I finished this book just recently and I'm already having withdrawal symptoms - if that makes sense.
Every chapter gave me a new shock especially the twin sister one. I always thought that Beatrice was the leader out of them three not Alex. I didn't like Alexis (?) at all.
I also though that Justin was quite younger but he was 15 only!! I love the gang and I think that meeting the gang was one of the best bits in the book.
From the beginning of the book I shipped Sam and Macy and Jasmine and Andrew. I just love this book so freaking much especially the gang.
Oh don't get me started on Caleb. Goddamn I have never ever seen a character as funny as him. It's so unreal. I love all the Cahill brothers especially Ivan and Philip. I never thought that Macy would have a close relationship with Toby. But I was proven wrong. I loved Ivan's full name. It's so hilarious. I can't find any bad things about this book and I always find one thing to improve so that's saying alot. I loved every single one of the character names and their personality. I would definitely rate this book 5 out 5.
I have already read this book at least 3 time! That's how good it is!!
It has quickly became one of my ultimate favourite on wattpad and books in general. I have fallen love with the characters so easily that I can't but want to reread this book again. I finished this book just recently and I'm already having withdrawal symptoms - if that makes sense.
Every chapter gave me a new shock especially the twin sister one. I always thought that Beatrice was the leader out of them three not Alex. I didn't like Alexis (?) at all.
I also though that Justin was quite younger but he was 15 only!! I love the gang and I think that meeting the gang was one of the best bits in the book.
From the beginning of the book I shipped Sam and Macy and Jasmine and Andrew. I just love this book so freaking much especially the gang.
Oh don't get me started on Caleb. Goddamn I have never ever seen a character as funny as him. It's so unreal. I love all the Cahill brothers especially Ivan and Philip. I never thought that Macy would have a close relationship with Toby. But I was proven wrong. I loved Ivan's full name. It's so hilarious. I can't find any bad things about this book and I always find one thing to improve so that's saying alot. I loved every single one of the character names and their personality. I would definitely rate this book 5 out 5.
I have already read this book at least 3 time! That's how good it is!!
October 8, 2021
I would call it a wattpad classic
June 9, 2021
The Bad Boy and the Tomboy
⭐️⭐️
The typical Wattpad book; dead parent/s, not like other girls, doesn't want attention, etc. But hey, without all that the book wouldn't be as interesting. I love reading books on Wattpad, but this one didn't sit right with me.
Sam was my fave out of all the characters, curly hair and green eyes? check! 🚨MY TYPE ALERT🚨I don't care what anyone says, arson is hawttt (for legal reasons this is a joke👩🏼🦯). Good at math you say? Sam has checked all the boxes of the hot-list.
I expected more chemistry between Sam and Macy, but they were on the same level as Cedric, which was very disappointing.
The start was boring, and the whole book was slow. Not the slow-burn, that was done right, but the whole story was just overall so slow. It was predictable, some of the conversations where confusing, too many side characters too keep track of, etc.
The only thing I gathered was that after reading a lot of Wattpad books (including this one) I feel like the only thing they're eating are granola bars.
⭐️⭐️
The typical Wattpad book; dead parent/s, not like other girls, doesn't want attention, etc. But hey, without all that the book wouldn't be as interesting. I love reading books on Wattpad, but this one didn't sit right with me.
Sam was my fave out of all the characters, curly hair and green eyes? check! 🚨MY TYPE ALERT🚨I don't care what anyone says, arson is hawttt (for legal reasons this is a joke👩🏼🦯). Good at math you say? Sam has checked all the boxes of the hot-list.
I expected more chemistry between Sam and Macy, but they were on the same level as Cedric, which was very disappointing.
The start was boring, and the whole book was slow. Not the slow-burn, that was done right, but the whole story was just overall so slow. It was predictable, some of the conversations where confusing, too many side characters too keep track of, etc.
The only thing I gathered was that after reading a lot of Wattpad books (including this one) I feel like the only thing they're eating are granola bars.
July 16, 2020
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I know someone is going to say I should have expected to dislike this book because of the stigma surrounding Wattpad but yes, while Wattpad's website allowing anyone to publish has resulted in a lot of really awful books, books that make it to physical publishing should logically be at the same caliber as other books in their genre. I've read Wattpad published books I loved and Wattpad published books I hated.
The Bad Boy and The Tomboy falls closer into the latter catagory. It's not awful but it's also nowhere near good. Everything works fairly linearly and it had a very 'write as you go' feel and considering the 4 year difference between this being released and the story being written on Wattpad, I'd assumed a lot of time likely went into rewrites and edits to make it a more cohesive story but I have a feeling very little was changed. The only seed that's really planted early on is Sam's nickname for Macy and while it's super clear why he chose it the book doesn't tell you until about halfway through so I was expecting a big emotional payoff but it was more like Sam going "yeah this is why" and then the plot moving forward onto the next thing. It was an interesting concept with a lackluster follow through and the book is full of them.
This book also features cheating protagonists who never show any significant guilt for said cheating, and weird, virtue signaling style diversity.
Don't get me wrong. Writing a diverse cast is great but you can really tell here that the supporting cast is diverse just for the sake of being diverse. There's this one particular scene where we're being introduced to Macy's friend group and every time anyone says a word we get a "This is [name] they are [race breakdown] they have [2 distinguishing features, likely stereotypical of said racial breakdown] and they like to [activity]." We never get to know anything about a character before the narration goes "they're half this, half this, and they speak these languages! Look how diverse my friend group is!" which is made extra weird by Macy's black best friend being introduced by responding to Macy asking what Sam looks like with "he's white" and Macy saying something about how "that's everyone at school but you" so she can tell us how black Jasmine is but then a scene later none of Macy's other friends are white either? Do you get what I'm saying about follow through?
I know someone is going to say I should have expected to dislike this book because of the stigma surrounding Wattpad but yes, while Wattpad's website allowing anyone to publish has resulted in a lot of really awful books, books that make it to physical publishing should logically be at the same caliber as other books in their genre. I've read Wattpad published books I loved and Wattpad published books I hated.
The Bad Boy and The Tomboy falls closer into the latter catagory. It's not awful but it's also nowhere near good. Everything works fairly linearly and it had a very 'write as you go' feel and considering the 4 year difference between this being released and the story being written on Wattpad, I'd assumed a lot of time likely went into rewrites and edits to make it a more cohesive story but I have a feeling very little was changed. The only seed that's really planted early on is Sam's nickname for Macy and while it's super clear why he chose it the book doesn't tell you until about halfway through so I was expecting a big emotional payoff but it was more like Sam going "yeah this is why" and then the plot moving forward onto the next thing. It was an interesting concept with a lackluster follow through and the book is full of them.
This book also features cheating protagonists who never show any significant guilt for said cheating, and weird, virtue signaling style diversity.
Don't get me wrong. Writing a diverse cast is great but you can really tell here that the supporting cast is diverse just for the sake of being diverse. There's this one particular scene where we're being introduced to Macy's friend group and every time anyone says a word we get a "This is [name] they are [race breakdown] they have [2 distinguishing features, likely stereotypical of said racial breakdown] and they like to [activity]." We never get to know anything about a character before the narration goes "they're half this, half this, and they speak these languages! Look how diverse my friend group is!" which is made extra weird by Macy's black best friend being introduced by responding to Macy asking what Sam looks like with "he's white" and Macy saying something about how "that's everyone at school but you" so she can tell us how black Jasmine is but then a scene later none of Macy's other friends are white either? Do you get what I'm saying about follow through?
July 22, 2016
MY FAVORITE BOOK EVER. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THIS BOOK YOU ARE INSANE CAUSE ITS AMAZING AND I WISH I WAS IN THIS STORY CAUSE ITS THAY GOOD. ID LIVE IN THIS BOOK IF I COULD. GO READ THIS AND IF YOURE DEBATING WHETHER OR NOT TO READ IT JUST BE PREPARED TO BE SUCKED IN TO THIS BOOK LIKE NO OTHER. I COULDNT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. ITS AMAZING. BEST. BOOK. EVER.
January 27, 2022
3.75/5
Damn, ale się przy tym zajebiscie bawiłxm
Damn, ale się przy tym zajebiscie bawiłxm
September 23, 2020
This book was a pretty normal romance, it wasn't anything special. Pretty much every single trope that could be added, was, and while that's not a bad thing, it made this super predictable. I knew who Macy was going to end up with as soon as he was introduced, so this was mainly a waiting game.
The Bad Boy and the Tomboy follows Macy, a high school senior on the boys soccer team who is exploring romance for the first time. She bumps in the brown haired, green eyed, bad boy who complicates things endlessly.
Macy playing soccer was a big thing in the blurb, so I was really hoping that it would play a bigger part in the book. As someone who's involved in sports, I know the stress of pre-game, and I know the disappointment of loss. I wish we would've seen more of that, not just Macy and Sam playing together.
Like I said earlier, this was super tropey. First off, we have the enemies-to-lovers bad boy trope. Of course, Sam had a hidden soft side, and his reason for using people was tragic. Next, we had the choosing between brothers trope, or in this case, cousins. I really hated that. It always just seems to add unnecessary drama.
Macy was also a total "not like other girls" character. According to the blurb, she hates all other girls, except for her friend Jasmine. That already kind of threw me off. She also plays soccer on the boys team, (which I guess did make sense because there wasn't a girls team) and is mainly friends with guys. While this wasn't stated every other sentence like it is in other books, it was a bit irritating.
Despite all of my critiques, I was happy that this book didn't completely alienate Macy. She actually had a strong friend group, and while most of them were pretty one dimensional, it was a welcome change from other romances.
Part of the reason I found this to be just alright is that I'm normally not a romance reader. It needs to be pretty great to catch my attention and keep it, and this book just struggled a bit with that. I can definitely see why someone would love this, it just wasn't my type of book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review
The Bad Boy and the Tomboy follows Macy, a high school senior on the boys soccer team who is exploring romance for the first time. She bumps in the brown haired, green eyed, bad boy who complicates things endlessly.
Macy playing soccer was a big thing in the blurb, so I was really hoping that it would play a bigger part in the book. As someone who's involved in sports, I know the stress of pre-game, and I know the disappointment of loss. I wish we would've seen more of that, not just Macy and Sam playing together.
Like I said earlier, this was super tropey. First off, we have the enemies-to-lovers bad boy trope. Of course, Sam had a hidden soft side, and his reason for using people was tragic. Next, we had the choosing between brothers trope, or in this case, cousins. I really hated that. It always just seems to add unnecessary drama.
Macy was also a total "not like other girls" character. According to the blurb, she hates all other girls, except for her friend Jasmine. That already kind of threw me off. She also plays soccer on the boys team, (which I guess did make sense because there wasn't a girls team) and is mainly friends with guys. While this wasn't stated every other sentence like it is in other books, it was a bit irritating.
Despite all of my critiques, I was happy that this book didn't completely alienate Macy. She actually had a strong friend group, and while most of them were pretty one dimensional, it was a welcome change from other romances.
Part of the reason I found this to be just alright is that I'm normally not a romance reader. It needs to be pretty great to catch my attention and keep it, and this book just struggled a bit with that. I can definitely see why someone would love this, it just wasn't my type of book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review
April 10, 2021
"Why the sudden interest in the topic of love?"
I waited, watching him drink out of the water bottle and once it was empty, he turned his vivid green eyes towards me. "Because I'm in love with you, Macy Anderson."
Idc, this book is a Wattpad classic and Sam Cahill is a legend.
I waited, watching him drink out of the water bottle and once it was empty, he turned his vivid green eyes towards me. "Because I'm in love with you, Macy Anderson."
Idc, this book is a Wattpad classic and Sam Cahill is a legend.
February 8, 2017
I originally read this off on wattpad a year ago. Fantastic I loved it enough to read it again and I now own the book. I know the title sounds chiche but it is far from that. The way the story progresses is beautiful the detail is wow. Loved every second of it. If you're not on wattpad sign up and read the sequel. I know what your thinking sequels ruin the first book or suck. But this sequel is very promising.
January 10, 2018
***Spoiler Alert***
What really caught my attention from the very start was the name; a girl who likes sports is often viewed as a tomboy when they aren’t- I think everyone agrees on sports being for both genders. I knew from the beginning that Sam would change eventually after realizing that he had a thing for Macy and I acknowledged from scratch that the both of them were going to end up together.
What I loved the most about the book was that the affection between the main characters grew from jokes and sarcastic comments from both of them. I loved Macy, she’s authentic, smart and really likes to help others, I like that she doesn’t change and has strong morals; her friends swear quite frequently but she doesn’t because her mom told her that it wasn’t good, she always did what her mother implied and remembered everything she had told her. Sam was pretty cool as well, he got along with Macy’s friends and with all of his brothers, especially Phillip. He truly cares about Macy; I found it lovely that he didn’t want to disappoint Macy (one time when he was very down, he smoke although he knew Macy wouldn’t like it but then he regretted it and asked if she was disappointed at him), how cute is that? There’s also Cedric, Sam’s brother, who I ended up hating. He had liked Macy for some time, then they started dating, broke up, and then he confessed he was only using her because he was jealous of his brother, Sam could do everything Cedric could but a thousand times better.
Sam and Macy spend their spring break at her grandma’s town. That’s when she releases the secret she had been keeping for about two months from Sam. My favorite part is when they are driving to her grandma’s and Sam’s car comes stranded, therefor, they have to walk under the rain, she’s annoyed and yells Sam that she likes him, Sam knows he’s no good for her and tries to tell her to stop her feelings but he also likes her. Since they’re far from home and from Cedric, Macy’s boyfriend of the time, they decided to be dating for what was left of spring break and then get each other out of their systems forever which was pretty much impossible.
It’s a contemporary teen fiction story. I would have loved that Sam got his sister back but if that had happened, the whole story would have changed. The author knew how to describe each of the feelings that came along with his sister’s death and how much he was affected.
I highly recommend to read the book, especially to judgementals, it has become one of my favorites, each character has their own unique personality, they’re so different from each other but that just makes the story a million times better! I really liked that.
"No, don't go, I'm an idiot. Stay."
What really caught my attention from the very start was the name; a girl who likes sports is often viewed as a tomboy when they aren’t- I think everyone agrees on sports being for both genders. I knew from the beginning that Sam would change eventually after realizing that he had a thing for Macy and I acknowledged from scratch that the both of them were going to end up together.
What I loved the most about the book was that the affection between the main characters grew from jokes and sarcastic comments from both of them. I loved Macy, she’s authentic, smart and really likes to help others, I like that she doesn’t change and has strong morals; her friends swear quite frequently but she doesn’t because her mom told her that it wasn’t good, she always did what her mother implied and remembered everything she had told her. Sam was pretty cool as well, he got along with Macy’s friends and with all of his brothers, especially Phillip. He truly cares about Macy; I found it lovely that he didn’t want to disappoint Macy (one time when he was very down, he smoke although he knew Macy wouldn’t like it but then he regretted it and asked if she was disappointed at him), how cute is that? There’s also Cedric, Sam’s brother, who I ended up hating. He had liked Macy for some time, then they started dating, broke up, and then he confessed he was only using her because he was jealous of his brother, Sam could do everything Cedric could but a thousand times better.
Sam and Macy spend their spring break at her grandma’s town. That’s when she releases the secret she had been keeping for about two months from Sam. My favorite part is when they are driving to her grandma’s and Sam’s car comes stranded, therefor, they have to walk under the rain, she’s annoyed and yells Sam that she likes him, Sam knows he’s no good for her and tries to tell her to stop her feelings but he also likes her. Since they’re far from home and from Cedric, Macy’s boyfriend of the time, they decided to be dating for what was left of spring break and then get each other out of their systems forever which was pretty much impossible.
It’s a contemporary teen fiction story. I would have loved that Sam got his sister back but if that had happened, the whole story would have changed. The author knew how to describe each of the feelings that came along with his sister’s death and how much he was affected.
I highly recommend to read the book, especially to judgementals, it has become one of my favorites, each character has their own unique personality, they’re so different from each other but that just makes the story a million times better! I really liked that.
"No, don't go, I'm an idiot. Stay."
June 24, 2021
One of the worst books I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading. Horrible. I wish I could give it a 0/5 stars.
Plainly boring, has no plot, bad writing and I disliked every single character in this book. Not to mention that everyone seems to be ok with cheating? Like the main character literallyyyy cheated on her boyfriend with his cousin. Multiple times. She was even in a double relationship at some point. Bruh, eff off. Bye.
Rating: 0/5
Plainly boring, has no plot, bad writing and I disliked every single character in this book. Not to mention that everyone seems to be ok with cheating? Like the main character literallyyyy cheated on her boyfriend with his cousin. Multiple times. She was even in a double relationship at some point. Bruh, eff off. Bye.
Rating: 0/5
May 28, 2023
I read this book on wattpad years ago and I always come back to re-read it. It's one of my comforts book and I just love it sm and everytime I think about it i get so sad, especially for Sam. And everytime i re-read thoes last couple chapters, I literally shed sm tears like the backstory for Sam is so damn sad. The downside of this, is that Macy is so blind sometimes it hurts and she is a pick me girl at times but she does change over the span of the book and in the sequel. Skskksks and Caleb omg hes so cute, literally the whole entire family is. Honesty since I haven't read this book in awhile, my opinion about this probably would change so ill re-read it in a couple of months and see.
Edit: I actually have sm to say about this book, like sam and his backstory omg sksksksksmjwjagwuwkhsuwiwjuwiwiw.
Edit: (28/05/23) just re read the book it took me a whole week to finish 😭 I didn’t think it dragged on this much cause damn I was getting bored but I just love the tropes in the book. After reading over 100 books this book is starting to look boring and very cringey but it will always be a comfort book 🥹
Edit: I actually have sm to say about this book, like sam and his backstory omg sksksksksmjwjagwuwkhsuwiwjuwiwiw.
Edit: (28/05/23) just re read the book it took me a whole week to finish 😭 I didn’t think it dragged on this much cause damn I was getting bored but I just love the tropes in the book. After reading over 100 books this book is starting to look boring and very cringey but it will always be a comfort book 🥹
March 29, 2022
I absolutely despise it when I black out when reading and then three hours later am skipping over ACKNOWLEDGMENTS because the end came too soon and I want to cry.
.................
Obviously, I know what's going to happen. Who doesn't?
I am still going to devour it, though.
.................
Obviously, I know what's going to happen. Who doesn't?
I am still going to devour it, though.
November 14, 2020
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Trigger warning: Racism, Bullying, Violence, Homophobia
Well I certainly liked this more than I thought.
From first glance, I thought I'll be reading a very insta-lovey chick-lit kind of novel. I have no idea why I thought that way but I can only presume it was because of the cover and the title which did initially establish some stereotypes before I even started reading. I didn't go in thinking much of this book until I read a few reviews and decided to give this book a go. I must say, I wasn't disappointed.
The Bad Boy and the Tomboy follows soccer-lover and Boys Soccer Team Captain, Macy as she navigates first love and her conflicting feelings towards the "bad boy" Sam Cahill, a boy that spells nothing but trouble and causes mayhem wherever he goes. I'm not even going to lie here, from the start of the novel so many typical YA cliches already appeared and I was immediately afraid of the extremely clichéd road this was potentially heading into. I think I lost count at one point. The main character was predictable with her "I'm a tomboy and I'm really innocent, I don't think any guy would like me like that cos I'm one of the guys" thing going on and the backstory with her mom's death. There was also the whole thing with Sam who was cliched like anything with his bad boy attitude and his at times, bad temper. I was waiting for the moment someone would say the extremely cliched line: "That boy is nothing but trouble. Be careful" and it did happen. I knew from the start that Sam would appear to be shallow and mean but he'd end up having a deep and sad backstory. I was right with everything and so, in that sense I did find things to be very predictable.
That being said, as cliched as it was, I actually kinda liked it too?
To elaborate, I really liked Nicole Nwosu's writing style. I found that it was coherent and clear and the pacing of the story was done really well too. My only issue was that if you weren't careful, you could've missed out on some key details and so sometimes you needed to go back and read with a fine comb. I also liked how racism and homophobia was dealt with in this book and the clear message that you always should speak your mind no matter how much a person may belittle you. I wanted to pump my fist in the air with that one.
I also weirdly didn't mind the love triangle but I reckon it could've been executed a little bit better when feelings for the other party were developed more. I felt like one particular scene could've been dragged out a little more but instead, it felt slightly rushed with how feelings and emotions were explored. That being said, overall, I was generally happy with the characterisation of all the characters and I felt like they all had well-rounded backstories and character development.
All in all, a very good book with amazing characters and a story that I genuinely enjoyed. However, there were a few cliches and few scenes that felt rushed and hence tainted my review score.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.8 STARS
Trigger warning: Racism, Bullying, Violence, Homophobia
Well I certainly liked this more than I thought.
From first glance, I thought I'll be reading a very insta-lovey chick-lit kind of novel. I have no idea why I thought that way but I can only presume it was because of the cover and the title which did initially establish some stereotypes before I even started reading. I didn't go in thinking much of this book until I read a few reviews and decided to give this book a go. I must say, I wasn't disappointed.
The Bad Boy and the Tomboy follows soccer-lover and Boys Soccer Team Captain, Macy as she navigates first love and her conflicting feelings towards the "bad boy" Sam Cahill, a boy that spells nothing but trouble and causes mayhem wherever he goes. I'm not even going to lie here, from the start of the novel so many typical YA cliches already appeared and I was immediately afraid of the extremely clichéd road this was potentially heading into. I think I lost count at one point. The main character was predictable with her "I'm a tomboy and I'm really innocent, I don't think any guy would like me like that cos I'm one of the guys" thing going on and the backstory with her mom's death. There was also the whole thing with Sam who was cliched like anything with his bad boy attitude and his at times, bad temper. I was waiting for the moment someone would say the extremely cliched line: "That boy is nothing but trouble. Be careful" and it did happen. I knew from the start that Sam would appear to be shallow and mean but he'd end up having a deep and sad backstory. I was right with everything and so, in that sense I did find things to be very predictable.
That being said, as cliched as it was, I actually kinda liked it too?
To elaborate, I really liked Nicole Nwosu's writing style. I found that it was coherent and clear and the pacing of the story was done really well too. My only issue was that if you weren't careful, you could've missed out on some key details and so sometimes you needed to go back and read with a fine comb. I also liked how racism and homophobia was dealt with in this book and the clear message that you always should speak your mind no matter how much a person may belittle you. I wanted to pump my fist in the air with that one.
I also weirdly didn't mind the love triangle but I reckon it could've been executed a little bit better when feelings for the other party were developed more. I felt like one particular scene could've been dragged out a little more but instead, it felt slightly rushed with how feelings and emotions were explored. That being said, overall, I was generally happy with the characterisation of all the characters and I felt like they all had well-rounded backstories and character development.
All in all, a very good book with amazing characters and a story that I genuinely enjoyed. However, there were a few cliches and few scenes that felt rushed and hence tainted my review score.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.8 STARS
March 31, 2018
I didn’t give 5 because of cheating but overall I loved the book.
October 8, 2020
Gave up due to ridiculously bad writing. This is like a bad pass-around story where people sit around a table, write a line, and pass it to the next person.
November 18, 2021
zabawna, przyjemna, naprawdę jestem na tak~
początek był lekko chaotyczny, pojawiło się pare takich stereotypowych scenariuszy, ale bardzo szybko się to rozeszło 💛
początek był lekko chaotyczny, pojawiło się pare takich stereotypowych scenariuszy, ale bardzo szybko się to rozeszło 💛
December 30, 2023
you can take the girl out of her wattpad bad boy era, but you can’t take the wattpad bad boy era out of her goodreads.
December 11, 2017
“But you don"t get it. There are so many things I love about you. There's your tendency to hit me on my shoulder because you think I'm saying something stupid or annoying. When you argue with me instead of letting me have the last word. The way you love to play football and embrace it. Your love for your friends and family. Your ability to forgive is impeccable. I love how you like to read even if one of your favorite books is something my best friend had written. The way you are around me, acting like yourself without a care in the world. I could tell that when you were dating my brother, you hid yourself...I knew that and I know it wasn't you. I love how you must think that your violence can be categorized in the type of real aggression disorder but it's just you. I love how you can basically eat the whole world in front of me and how you can stand by me even when I make the biggest mistakes. I wish I could spend my entire life telling you I love you because there are so many more reasons.”
.......memories I guess
.......memories I guess
October 9, 2020
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Macy was a model student and a phenomenal athlete. She was captain of the boys' soccer team and determined to earn an athletic scholarship. She hadn't considered a romance until a past crush, Cedric, asked her out. Things seemed to be going well, until Macy realized she had more than friendly feelings for his cousin Sam.
What I liked:
• I liked Macy. She had goals, drive, and determination. She had to put up with a lot as a female playing on a boys team. She had earned the respect of her teammates, but her opponents weren't always necessarily respectful to her. She was also a loyal friend and a good sister.
• Sam might have made some questionable choices, but he really wasn't *that* bad. He suffered a great loss and maybe didn't deal with it in the best way, but he really did have a heart of gold.
• Sam and Macy both lost people who were very important to them. It was something they could bond over, and it was good to see them work through their pain together.
• Spring break at grandma's house was one of my favorite parts. Seeing Macy and her brother reconnect with their maternal grandmother was really lovely, and grandma was a rock star. I really loved her.
Other Stuff:
This was a messy love triangle, but Nwosu did some things, which I think were there to make me accept some of the characters' eyebrow raising choices. In the end, I was happy with the end result, but I probably would have been just as happy had there been no triangle.
Overall:
I always like seeing the girl-least-likely-to get the guy, and it was wonderful to see the broody boy reveal the source of his pain. I liked this pair together, and even if I didn't necessarily agree with all their choices, I was happy with how it all worked out.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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Macy was a model student and a phenomenal athlete. She was captain of the boys' soccer team and determined to earn an athletic scholarship. She hadn't considered a romance until a past crush, Cedric, asked her out. Things seemed to be going well, until Macy realized she had more than friendly feelings for his cousin Sam.
What I liked:
• I liked Macy. She had goals, drive, and determination. She had to put up with a lot as a female playing on a boys team. She had earned the respect of her teammates, but her opponents weren't always necessarily respectful to her. She was also a loyal friend and a good sister.
• Sam might have made some questionable choices, but he really wasn't *that* bad. He suffered a great loss and maybe didn't deal with it in the best way, but he really did have a heart of gold.
• Sam and Macy both lost people who were very important to them. It was something they could bond over, and it was good to see them work through their pain together.
• Spring break at grandma's house was one of my favorite parts. Seeing Macy and her brother reconnect with their maternal grandmother was really lovely, and grandma was a rock star. I really loved her.
Other Stuff:
This was a messy love triangle, but Nwosu did some things, which I think were there to make me accept some of the characters' eyebrow raising choices. In the end, I was happy with the end result, but I probably would have been just as happy had there been no triangle.
Overall:
I always like seeing the girl-least-likely-to get the guy, and it was wonderful to see the broody boy reveal the source of his pain. I liked this pair together, and even if I didn't necessarily agree with all their choices, I was happy with how it all worked out.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
November 6, 2020
Nice young love well written 1⭐️
Nice heroine athlete in a boys team 1⭐️
Cute subplot and side caractes 1⭐️
Boring really boring beginning I skimmed and skipped -1⭐️
Cheating with H brother -1⭐️
Overall nice
Nice heroine athlete in a boys team 1⭐️
Cute subplot and side caractes 1⭐️
Boring really boring beginning I skimmed and skipped -1⭐️
Cheating with H brother -1⭐️
Overall nice
December 15, 2020
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Some character development, cute moments, a bit cliché which is to be expected. It´s predictable, which I liked, not the genre I choose expecting a lot of plot twists. It is a great summer read, feel-good without being boring.
I didn´t really like the cheating and there was a lot of jumping in time, just to the next day/next week but it felt abrupt.
Some character development, cute moments, a bit cliché which is to be expected. It´s predictable, which I liked, not the genre I choose expecting a lot of plot twists. It is a great summer read, feel-good without being boring.
I didn´t really like the cheating and there was a lot of jumping in time, just to the next day/next week but it felt abrupt.
August 20, 2016
Yes, most people can predict that Sam and Macy end up together but I don't think anyone could imagine how much had to happen and how much Macy had to find out and discover to be with Sam.
Best part of the book? There isn't just one, but I will give you a list that doesn't have any spoilers:
Caleb Henderson
Sam Cahill
All the Cahill brothers in general, actually.
Macy's friends
Sam's secrets.
Please if you do have the time, READ IT!
I love/loved it and I'm not a person who likes the whole bad boy/good girl thing, or even stories that relate to it ,but I seriously loved this one. I wish there was a better word than loved cause it was so much more.
I recommend reading this and the sequels. If you love it as much as me then join Wattpad and support this and many other lovely writers!!!
August 18, 2023
I’m constantly rereading this book. (At least 2x a year) the characters are so lovable.
January 10, 2022
First book to give 1 stars DNF
June 19, 2023
I am literally BEGGING her to try being a girls girl for one day, her life would get so much better
YOU’RE NOT DIFFERENT BC YOU HATE THE MALL AND DON’T WEAR MAKEUP
YOU’RE NOT DIFFERENT BC YOU HATE THE MALL AND DON’T WEAR MAKEUP
July 12, 2024
will never get over all his brothers being turned into his cousins in the published version but whatever 5 stars always cause sam and macy are my people forever !!!!
December 27, 2020
Macy is the only girl on her school's soccer team. She's seen as one of the guys and hasn't dated anyone before. When she meets the transfer student Sam, they butt heads right away. She thinks he's arrogant, he thinks she needs to loosen up and have fun. They have chemistry right away, but then Sam's cousin Cedric, who Macy has been crushing on for years, starts showing an interest in her. Now Macy has to decide which guy is right for her, the good guy or the bad boy?
This story has it cute moments and I liked Macy and Sam's flirting, as well as watching them grow to trust each other. I thought this could have benefitted from more action or drama, something to break up the talking and pining. Macy and Sam both play soccer, but there are very little scenes of them actually playing games. The stakes also could have been higher, it was clear Macy would get with Sam and Cedric just kind of fell to the side. I needed drama, anger, or something to beef this plot up.
Macy's best friend Jasmine did have some deeper issues going on which helped. There was divorce and racism and I appreciated seeing Macy learn how to be a good friend and support Jasmine in her time of need. They had a cute friendship and that made me like this more.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This story has it cute moments and I liked Macy and Sam's flirting, as well as watching them grow to trust each other. I thought this could have benefitted from more action or drama, something to break up the talking and pining. Macy and Sam both play soccer, but there are very little scenes of them actually playing games. The stakes also could have been higher, it was clear Macy would get with Sam and Cedric just kind of fell to the side. I needed drama, anger, or something to beef this plot up.
Macy's best friend Jasmine did have some deeper issues going on which helped. There was divorce and racism and I appreciated seeing Macy learn how to be a good friend and support Jasmine in her time of need. They had a cute friendship and that made me like this more.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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