**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: http://bookbriefs.net** 

Stupid Boy is the second book in the New Adult contemporary romance series, Stupid in Love. It is a companion book to Stupid Girl, and features totally new characters. Olivia and Brax, the couple from the main book showed up throughout the story and were connected to the two new characters in Stupid Boy, which was a nice addition. Stupid Girl made my favorites of 2014. I loved it so much! I really liked Stupid Boy a lot too, but it was hard to recreate the love that I felt for Olivia and Brax. So if I had to pick, I would say that I enjoyed this book less than the first book, but only by a little.

One part that was bugging me, was that I couldn't figure out where Harper connected from Stupid Girl. She wasn't Olivia's roommate from the first book, but she did seem to know Olivia and Brax, but I just couldn't place her. Maybe it was never explained, maybe they just know each other from being classmates or something. But if someone does know who she was in the first book, please let me know. Kane was an easy connection. He is Brax's foster brother. I loved the little backstory at the start of the book showing Brax and Kane's first meeting when they were younger. I thought it was really sweet.

Harper and Kane have both led tough lives, with different kinds of abuse. Stupid Boy felt darker and dealt with some tougher issues than Stupid Girl. It also felt like a shorter book. Which is super weird because they are each listed on goodreads as being 332 pages. What I loved the most about Harper and Kane was that they were each instantly able to see past the other's defenses. They recognized something haunted in the other person and they identified with it. But their connection never felt like insta-love. It was just that, a shared connection. It was actually very moving.

The Stupid in Love Series is an excellent addition to the new adult genre. The romances are rich and gratifying. These are feel good books and they are so well done. If you have not read this series yet, you need to. But start with Stupid Girl. Each of the books work as standalones and can be read independently, but Stupid Girl is so amazing. So trust me and read that one first. Stupid Boy is a high quality romance between two tortured individuals.

 This review was originally posted on Book Briefs