full tilt ahead
Lia Baker is playing for her life. She has six days and one opportunity to create the future she wants. If it doesn’t work out, she’ll just have to go back home and work at her parents’ furniture store. But she has one week to win Fableland’s Superfan Scavenger Hunt and win $50,000, which will give her the chance to change that future and do what she really wants to.
Unlike most of Fableland’s other superfans, Lia has never been to the park. She grew up on Fable Industry’s movies, watching them over and over through the years and finding a lot of comfort in them as her mother’s anxiety got worse. She has scoured the online forums about the stories behind the films and the rides as well as the myths and secrets the theme park hides.
But this week is also a chance for her to spend time with her two best friends Tess and Issy before they head to college. Lia feels a little left out of their plans, as she is set to stay at home. Her mother’s anxiety doesn’t let her travel too far. This trip, where Lia won one of the coveted spots in the scavenger hunt, is an anomaly. But it won’t be easy to win. She’s competing as one of 100 people. There are 3 clues given each day, and she will have to complete them by scanning a QR code into the phone app they created for this event. Each day, the number of people left in the competition will go down, until there is just one winner. Lia plans to be that winner. And then she meets Mason.
Mason is also a contestant, and Lia is struck dumb after she trips over his chair. And when she bumps into him again the morning of the first day of the competition, she is torn. He suggests they pair up to tackle the clues together, but Lia is reluctant. She has to win. But she agrees that two heads could probably figure out the clues faster, and any advantage at first would help. So Lia and Mason team up. But as she gets to know Mason, things get more complicated, because she develops feelings for him. And he feels the same for her.
As the days slip by, Lia is pulled in many different directions. She has to solve the clues and scan the QR codes to stay in the game. Tess and Issy want to experience the park with her. She wants to spend time with Mason. And her parents are calling and texting, making sure that she checks in often and is doing okay. As the contestants get dropped from the scavenger hunt and the pressure builds, Lia has to choose what is it she really wants, even if that means someone else gets hurt.
Love at First Tilt is a sweet romance between a plus-size teenage girl and a long-legged teenage boy. There is friendship drama, parent drama, future fears, and good kissing. And that’s before you add in the fun of Fableland and the movies associated with it. I loved the superfan scavenger hunt as the base of the story. There are a couple of scenes where Lia’s size was a challenge, which made me want to go full-on Karen, for her and for the plus-sized teenager I was once. But I was so impressed with Lia’s grace under pressure and her determination to chase her own happiness. This book just made me happy. What more can I say?
Egalleys for Love at Full Tilt were provided by Delacorte Romance through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.
