Another good read in the Ivy Years series!I wasn’t sure at first about how good a short story set in this series would be; especially because it centred around two main characters we had only briefly encountered in the previous books. Fortunately, my worries were misplaced. This was an excellent, sweet, and funny story about a shy guy and an insecure girl learning what they’re really worth and not settling for people treating them poorly. Most of the story is just about the one date they go on but it was enough that I ended up loving both Andy and Katie’s characters and the easy banter between them. Andy’s slightly nerdy manner and nervousness around Katie was endearing and I liked the way he was willing to stand up for her without a second thought – despite the fact he was kind of expecting to get beat up on by the bigger guys. The way Katie also swallowed her pride and embarrassment to tell Debbie what happened and stop it from happening to her as well was also admirable. The only thing that I found a bit weird about this novella was the way the epilogue was written from Dash’s perspective. I wanted to hate the guy for what he did to Katie but that last chapter just left me feeling sorry for him – maybe he isn’t a complete jerk and there is still hope for him to redeem himself yet. Aside from that I thoroughly enjoyed this short read.In short: if you’ve read the other Ivy Years books and are looking for a sweet, short and funny read about two excellent side characters in the series – pick up this book. I had not read any of the books in this series, but this was a freebie and the blurb sounded interesting. I enjoyed it, and I wasn't lost not having read the other books.Katie was not the stuck-up sorority girl I expected. She was funny, sweet and pretty vulnerable from and incident with her ex-boyfriend Dash. She has to attend a party with an athlete date, so she asks Andy.Loved Andy! He made me LOL several times. A little dorky and awkward, but a genuinely nice guy. Plus he has a great smile and he's tall, which is always a plus to me.Things move pretty quickly, but it's a short story. The epilogue is from Dash's POV, and that was unexpected (in a good way).
