The Running Bibliophile

Cover Girl (Sweet Dreams, #9) by Yvonne Greene is the ninth installment in the popular Sweet Dreams teen romance book series, published by Bantam Books. This installment follows high school junior Renee as she embarks on a new adventure in the world of high fashion modeling in New York City. Signed by a modeling agency, Renee begins booking modeling jobs almost immediately. But there’s a catch ... she keeps her burgeoning modeling career a secret from her boyfriend, Greg, who has strong opinions about girls who wear makeup and read fashion magazines, just like his sister. The central question of the story is whether Greg will be supportive once he discovers Renee’s secret life or if it will end their relationship. While the premise of Cover Girl is intriguing, there were a few elements that made it difficult for me to fully enjoy the book. First, Greg’s behavior felt overly controlling, even for a teenage character. He criticizes Renee’s appearance when she wears makeup and insi...

Growing up, I remember being fascinated by a teen romance book series called Sweet Dreams , published by Bantam Books. Each book in the series was mostly a standalone story featuring different characters and was written by a variety of authors. Like many long-running teen series, the books were hit-or-miss when it came to character development and plot, especially in the earlier installments. Some stories felt predictable, while others were surprisingly engaging, but the series as a whole left a lasting impression on teenage readers. As a kid, finding these books was its own little adventure. They weren’t readily available at my local bookstores, and it seemed like the only place I could reliably get my hands on them was at school book fairs, a source of constant frustration for a young reader craving her next romance. While the internet existed, online shopping hadn’t yet become widespread, so hunting down books online wasn’t really an option at the time. As an adult, curiosity got ...