Smart Girl - Rachel Hollis (The Girls #3)

I have to admit, I may be a biased reader when it comes to Rachel Hollis' books. You see, I read and loved Party Girl, then I had the opportunity to meet Rachel and she is so very cool and as funny in real life as she is in the writing in the pages of her books. Plus, have you seen her website or her Facebook? She's real, she's honest, and I'm a big fan of lifestyle websites that have food recipes, party ideas, and more. So, of course, I'm just a Rachel fan. It doesn't mean I'm not honest with my book reviews, I just kind of know I am going to love them no matter what. Rachel has a unique style of writing, I think it's due to her 15 years of living in LA and real life experience as an event planner. The girls in her series are relatable, their story lines are real, and the lessons in all three books are pretty poignant in today's world. I've found myself thinking of all three of them, Landon, Max, and Miko, as friends, so I am both happy and sad to see the end of this great series. Rachel Hollis outdid herself with Smart Girl, I'm more than in love with this book, and I absolutely suggest it to all my reader friends. You won't be disappointed.
My Party Girl review My Sweet Girl review

Rating: 5 stars
Published: TODAY! January 26, 2016
Many thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Amazon Goodreads

Miko views the world behind the pages of her books and her designs. She's quirky, she's smart, and she's best friends to Landon and Max. She the third and final member of the girls. With her two best friends in love and her business taking off, Miko has finally decided it is time to put her master plan into action. She's a hopeless romantic through and through, so taking the best ideas out of the pages of books is sure to win her the love of Liam Ashton, right? Except, Miko can't get the book ideas to work in real life, Liam enjoys his life as a womanizer, and her heart is seriously on the line. With her best friends by her side, Miko is ready to find true love, even if it means being every character from every great romance to make it happen.

"Maybe trying to live out your own love story means that you have less time to read about other people's."

This is my favorite book in the entire series, hands down. I didn't expect to love Miko's story as much as I did, nor did I realize how important it was for me to get it. Miko is every bookish best friend ever; she's totally awkward, really smart, and that big first love has her acting exactly as any one of us have at some point in time. I admit it, I cried reading this, but I also laughed a lot. Seriously, if you need a laugh this one is for you. It got to the point where my boyfriend was laughing at me for laughing so hard. Rachel Hollis is hilarious, she already knows that though. This book is more than just the final chapter to an incredible series, or a lot of laughter and tears, it's got a soul that I didn't expect. Miko is 26, but when it comes to relationships she's incredibly young. Her growth in this book is tremendous, her self hate and self love will make you overflow with feelings, and her weirdness will make you absolutely want to know her in real life. Plus, this story is one that will ring true for many, because that first big love makes you lose yourself and knowing who you are is so much more important than getting the guy you've crushed on forever.

"He crashes into me like a storm, only the force doesn't push me away; it seals us together. Like we were magnets at counterpoint and someone finally flipped one of us around in the right direction."

Besides Miko though, I love what we get out of the other characters. We already know her best friends, Landon and Max, and their stories, but we see a side of them we didn't get to see in the past. This time, they have a friend that they know better than anyone else and she's on a self-destructive path. I love how funny Miko's antics were, but I also love that her best friends, as well as new friends, were pushing for her success in life more than her success in love. Plus, there's Liam, the guy that you've wanted to know about since you started this series, admit it. He's hard to like at times, but so easy to love. It's really nice to see him find himself too, as well as see he wasn't all perfect all the time. I really did enjoy their relationship, even if it wasn't an ideal one. It felt real, plus the feelings you get from Miko, and the understanding into her brain, are so important to the overall book and the lesson she has to learn. Plus, it opened up the doors to the most amazing literary romantic gesture ever. The details Rachel gave this book were so good, I really enjoyed reading about the designing that Miko was doing, as well as about her family and her relationship with her brother. Everything in this book brought so much more dimension to Miko, and like I said, this book is absolutely my favorite now.

"He leans in closer to look me right in the eye. 'And you are throwing all the best parts of yourself for a guy who won't even acknowledge you in public.'"

If you haven't read any of The Girls books, I suggest you start at the beginning. What may seem like chick-lit cliches are so much more than that, especially with Rachel's humorous writing, quirky characters, and unique story line. Plus, if you didn't know, the first book is based on Rachel's real life career of starting an event company at 21 and she does all the research that goes into these books to make them come to life. Everything about this book is quotable and the life lessons will ring true for anyone, of any age. It's cute, it's sweet, contains life long friends, and a story line that will leave you wanting for so much more. It's the perfect ending to a series that I have come to love and I am seriously hoping Rachel continues to write more books, because she has a real talent for it.