Sometimes, I book interviews with authors without having read any of their books yet. K.L. Walther was one of those authors that I booked first, then went on a reading binge, ahead of her release of We’re A Bad Idea, Right?, so scroll down to check out our chat.
We’re A Bad Idea, Right? [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM] follows Audrey as she’s making some major life decisions. She’s a glass blower and just got into an elite program, but her parents aren’t on board. When her parents leave the country on an anniversary trip, she and her friends cook up the idea to list part of the house on AirBNB to raise the money for her to pay for the program. And while she’s walking on the wild side, her friend Henry convinces her to be his fake girlfriend to make his ex jealous.
This is a gender-bent retelling of the Tom Cruise movie, Risky Business, which admittedly, I haven’t seen, so I didn’t catch the references at all. I didn’t know this little tidbit until chatting with K.L. about the book. Oops. What I did catch are several Taylor Swift references. From hair bleaching to song references and beyond, there are plenty of nods that Swifties will catch.
I found the initial premise to be a bit wild. What parent would leave their teenager alone while they leave the country for months? Granted, there is a family member that’s supposed to check in, but they don’t do much of that either. It’s a bit preposterous to me, but does make for a fun premise that wouldn’t work if the parents were around.
It’s a fun, cute romance where fake dating does what it does best. The existing friendship aspect of it does give the relationship a little more solid of a foundation than we get from strangers fake dating, so it adds an element of childhood friends to lovers into the mix.
Overall, this is a cute and fun read, perfect for the beach this summer.
Literary Hypewoman 
Leave a comment