Review: Abby and the Cute One by Erin Butler (Backstage Pass #5)

Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

"We could just be friends..." she said, as if she was grasping at a lifeline.

"But we're not."

"We could be."

Nathan locked his hands on his lap. He understood. He wanted to grab at excuses or reasons or alternatives, but he knew that in the end, it wouldn't work for one simple reason. "No, we can't, Abby. I could never be friends with you unless we were also something more."

Four members of boy band Seconds to Juliet have girlfriends, leaving the youngest, Nathan Strong, dubbed "The Cute One", as the only bachelor. The responsibility their manager places upon his shoulders is a heavy one--fans need to see him as the one S2J member they can still dream of dating or having all to themselves. Nathan may not like having to go on publicity dates, but he does what he's told because he wants what's best for the band, even if it requires him to do things that the's feeling less than enthusiastic about. It's not as if he's interested in anyone in particular anyway, even if he looks at his bandmates and can't help but wonder if he'll ever be able to be in any relationship with a girl who loves him for who he is.

Then he meets a girl by the pier and while she's more than aware of who he is, Abby Curtis treats him like he's a regular guy and listens to whatever he says because she's interested in getting to know him better. And then they share one kiss that could be the beginning of something promising, if only Nathan wasn't saddled with his manager's expectations. But when Abby is chosen as S2J's newest front act, pretending she doesn't mean anything to him becomes increasingly difficult. However, if he hopes to save both the band and Abby's career, Nathan doesn't feel he has any other choice but to stay away from the girl whose kisses make him want more. Will these two ever be able to have everything they want before it's too late?

I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that after over seven months since the Backstage Pass series was launched, we've now come to the end of Seconds to Juliet and the girls who have changed the lives of the five members with the release of Abby and the Cute One, the story of Nathan Strong and Abby Curtis penned by author Erin Butler. I've enjoyed all five books, and here I am again, feeling torn about another series coming to an end. The fact that the series, however, has ended on such a high note (pun intended and something that Nathan seems to be the most capable one in the group of doing), with a love story that's sweet and so swoon-worthy that I lost count of all the grins and giggles that escaped while I read it.

Nathan and Abby's romance got the cutest of introductions in the fourth book, with Nathan watching Abby's YouTube video of her singing S2J's biggest hit, "The One". That innocent but romantic first face-to-face meeting they had at the pier set up the rest of their love story to be one that would perfectly bring the series to a close. How difficult must it have been to try and pretend that you have no feelings whatsoever for someone that's constantly there! Nathan and Abby were both young but they knew what they wanted professionally and personally, and it seemed as if they couldn't have both, not with the constant interference coming from the band's meddlesome, evil dictator slash manager, Lester "LJ" Pearl. 

Speaking of LJ, after reading about how this man manipulated the members of Seconds to Juliet, I've been itching for him to go the way of the real individual who I suspect inspired the character. But LJ aside, all five members of S2J, plus Matt Fray, had other issues to overcome and the journey to getting to each of their happily-ever-afters has been one fun and fab ride. All five books tap into that part of every fangirl whose dreamed of their favorite boy band member noticing and falling for them. The Backstage Pass books, which get an overall average rating of five stars, proved that I am, at heart, forever a hopeless boy band fangirl. Abby and the Cute One is the perfect end to a wonderfully whimsical series. Five-plus stars. ♥

Release Date: 16 November 2015

Date Read: 16 November 2015

Learn more about Erin Butler.

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