This Is for Tonight by Jessica Patrick

Jessica Patrick’s new YA contemporary novel ‘This Is For Tonight’ is out today! Stop in to read an excerpt and enter the giveaway for your chance to win a print copy!

Title: This Is For Tonight
Author: Jessica Patrick
Published By: Swoon Reads
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Release Date: May 4, 2021

About The Book:

When Andi attends a music festival with one goal in mind – capture an interview with a famous band so she can pay for college – she gets more than she bargained for in this YA novel about family ties and finding your own way.

Andi Kennedy needs to make money for college, and fast. But her little YouTube crafting channel, while fun, isn’t exactly a money maker. So she’s heading to the world-famous Cabazon Valley Music and Arts Festival with a goal – film a video that will launch her channel into popularity and turn it into a legit money making venture, even if it means selling out her creative vision.

Instead, she finds obnoxious Jay Bankar, the annoyingly hot host of a popular prank channel who is the actual worst. Andi hates everything Jay stands for, which makes the undeniable connection she feels with him really freaking inconvenient. Soon she finds herself competing with Jay for an interview with the festival’s headlining band, which could be the key to turning her little channel directly into college tuition. But she’s starting to discover that there is more to Jay than his jerky on-screen persona, and she has to decide what’s more important – winning, or giving a second chance to a guy who couldn’t be more wrong for her.

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Excerpt:

I sip the cold brew and poke absently at apps on my phone as I plan out how to steer Mom away asking about all things video without being too obvious about it. One of my pokes opens up my camera roll, bringing the photo of me and the guy from last night to full size on my screen.

And that’s when my world comes crashing down around me.

The guy. I recognize him.

The guy from across the way is Jay Bankar.

I know Jay Bankar. And I absolutely hate him.

My stomach bottoms out, and I lower myself to the ground.

“Jay Bankar,” I mumble.

“What?” Jordan is starting the cooking on our camp stove, but he turns around to see what I’m doing. “Why are you flopped on the floor? Get up.”

“Jay Bankar,” I say, louder this time.

“Ew. What about him? Is he here?” Jordan has heard so many of my Jay Bankar rants he can practically recite them himself.

“Jay Bankar is the guy.”

“What guy?”

“The tent guy. The guy from last night.”

Before I have a chance to process any of this, a head pokes around the opening of our campsite.

“Does last night’s bacon offer still stand?”

And now, in the light of day, with a clear head, it’s so, so obvious. I’ve seen that face, the smooth, brown skin, the wide, white smile, the messy black hair so many times online, I’m shocked I didn’t recognize it immediately. And his voice. His voice practically triggers my vomit reflex when I hear it through my phone speaker. I can’t believe I had such a long conversation with him without barfing.

He was just so unexpected. I mean, aside from the fact that it was pretty dark, he was completely out of context, like seeing your math teacher at a house party or something. But even more than that, it was because he was actually nice. Jay Bankar is many things, but nice has never, ever been one of them. The guy is a walking, talking, flaming turd.

Oh my God, Jay Bankar is here and just asked me a question, and I am on the ground freaking out. Must get up. Must get rid of him. “Oh, sorry. We don’t have any more bacon.” My voice is icy cold, and I don’t even feel bad when I see his smile fall.

“Oh, he says. “That’s fine, I was just—”

“Thanks again for the tent and all, but . . .” I shrug. I don’t have a plan for finishing that sentence, but I want Jay Bankar off my campsite immediately. “My brother is back now, so you don’t have to check up on me or anything. You can go, actually.”

Jay Bankar’s face twists up in confusion. “Oh. I thought . . .” He looks from me, who has let my long hair fall across the side of my face like a curtain, blocking all access, to Jordan, who is aggressively avoiding eye contact by putting all his focus on the Egg Beaters he’s pouring into our little skillet. “I guess I was wrong. Have a good day. Maybe I’ll see you around.” He shoves his hands into the pockets of his shorts and turns toward his campsite.

“Probably not,” I say to his back.

“Damn, girl,” Jordan says. “Where did that come from? I’ve never heard you be so bitchy before in my life.”

He’s right. I’m not that bitchy ever. I even won “Most Likely to Help a Chicken Cross the Road” in eighth grade. But this is Jay Bankar. He tricked me into thinking he was a decent person, and now he wants to eat my bacon. Nope nope nope.

About The Author:

JESSICA PATRICK runs a high school library by day, writes YA romance by night, and pets as many dogs as possible in between. She lives in Southern California with her cute family and she has an MFA from Spalding University, an annual passport to Disneyland, and about 75 tabs open on her internet browser. She is the author of This is for Tonight.

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