BOOK NEWS (PLUS GIVEAWAY!): Bloomsbury's new teen series, 'If Only...'

Bloomsbury YA authors Mandy Hubbard and Kristin Rae are the first to be published in a new series of teen romances, titled 'If Only'. New titles Fool Me Twice and Wish You Were Italian will be followed by Not In The Script, which is due for release later this year.

The If Only line will add three new titles each year, and will also include one-off novels as well as series. US publishing director Cindy Loh told Publishers Weekly: “When we first started talking about repositioning our young adult contemporary romances several years ago, I immediately harkened back to those really great series of the 1980s, like Sweet Dreams, First Kiss, and Wildfire. I remember devouring those novels, and I think that today’s teens who love romances do the same – and they want to read more and more of them. But in a market where YA is driven by massive megabrands along the lines of Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Divergent, it’s hard for a stand-alone contemporary romance to make noise and get attention.”

The books will be aspirational and suitable for readers as young as 12.

Fool Me Twice by Mandy Hubbard
Last summer, Mackenzie and Landon were the perfect couple. And then he dumped her and broke her heart. Fast-forward a year and they’re back at their summer jobs at Serenity Ranch and Spa with Mack and her best friend Bailey, spending their time fantasising about making voodoo dolls and playing childish pranks on Landon.

Luckily for Mack, the perfect opportunity presents itself. Landon takes a nasty fall and suddenly he’s stuck in the past – literally. His most recent memory is of last summer, when they were together, so now he’s calling Mack pet names and hanging all over her. 

The plan is simple: keep Landon at arm’s length, manipulate him so he’s the one falling in love, and then, BAM, dump him in the most epic revenge plot in the history of everdom. There’s only one teensy problem: Mack can’t fall for Landon a second time.

Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae
The summer before senior year of high school. It’s supposed to be one of the biggest summers of her life, but Pippa is headed to an art program she has no interest in. The one saving grace is it’s in Italy. And when the opportunity strikes, she decides to ditch the program and travel Italy accomplishing her own list of goals. Things like swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, eating a whole pizza in one sitting…and falling in love with an Italian boy!

As she explores the famous cities of Rome and Pompeii, Pippa finds herself falling for two boys: a local guy she knows is nothing but trouble and a cute American archaeology student who keeps disappearing and reappearing at the strangest moments. Will Pippa find her true love before her parents find out the truth about her summer program?

GIVEAWAY: Win one of two If Only novels!

We have a copy of Fool Me Twice and Wish You Were Italian to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, simply send us an email with 'If Only' as the subject header. The winner will be chosen at random and notified. (Giveaway is open to UK residents only).
Good luck!

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