Kendall

I wanted to like this book SO much, but it just missed the mark. This book had some really good elements. For instance, I really liked the dialogue. It was quirky and a little off, but I mean that in the best way. I found myself chuckling a lot especially during the scenes where the entire “team” got together. I also liked the characters (for the most part). They were all unique with full backstories and contrasting qualities. The one character that I found lacking was Jack. His whole vibe was “mysterious and suave”. While this is all great and dandy, the mystery never lifted. There was never a point where I really got to know more about him. I couldn’t get invested in his character and subsequent wellbeing when he would disappear and pop in with no explanation. Because of this, I didn’t really root for the “romance” between him and Simi. It seemed very superficial. At times, she seems to flip how she feels for Jack in a single moment, but it never made sense. If you are mad at someone, them flirting with you is not going to solve anything. She also didn’t ever learn anything about him, so I am not sure why she was so insistent that she wanted to be with him. Speaking of things that I am unsure about, there were a lot of logistical plot holes when it came to the “team” and the heist itself. It felt like it was all thrown together and just magically worked. I was expecting some sort of “Ocean’s 8” movie and instead I got a version that would be a Wish-app equivalent of a heist story.

I wanted to love this, but it was just too poorly written that I couldn’t get behind it. I also think there is a sequel, but I most likely won’t read it as I doubt I’ll remember half of what happened in this book and I certainly will not be re-reading this to refresh my memory.

This book is easily a new favorite of mine. I will say, the first couple of chapters start slow, but if you hang on, it soon becomes a magical adventure about family, love, grief, secrets, failure, and passion (the career kind). It has a little bit of everything. It all starts with a great premise: Going through the belongings of her grandmother who recently passed, Noelle finds photos of her grandmother with a guy who was clearly not her grandfather. Intrigued but unsure of where to start, she calls on social media to help her out and, lo and behold, the grandson of the mystery man contacts her! Excited to learn more about her grandmother, she rushes to meet them both…only to find out that the grandson is her nemesis from high school who is now uber successful while she moved back with her parents. What ensues from there is essentially “Letters from Juliet” but WAY better.

While it may start out as the perfect romance book of enemies to lovers (which more on that later ;P), this book goes in deep on the hard topics. It covers grief and how to deal with a loved one even after everyone else seems to have moved on. It deals with feeling like a failure when you used to be on top of the world. It deals with finding your passion in life and learning to be be brave enough to follow it. It deals with the importance of relationships to help you through the hard times as well as the good. This book was so touching, and I don’t think I’ll be able to forget it anytime soon.

While it is hard to pick the best part, I truly believe that the characters are the star of the show. Noelle is so relatable as the main character. She’s open but feisty. Paul is also such a sweetheart that you instantly love. I mean who doesn’t like the old man who was willing to go on a 2-week hiking trip just to bring Noelle some closure?? And then you have Theo, who knows just how to push Noelle’s buttons while also being endlessly charming. Its the perfect mix of characters.

The romance was also really well done. It wasn’t overshadowed by the story of Noelle learning more about her grandmother. Noelle and Theo had such good banter and chemistry that I was instantly rooting for them. They also were really mature in how they handled things. I won’t give any spoilers, but I never felt like I wanted to shove my head through a wall which is a huge plus.

I could talk about this book for ages, but it would all boil down to the same thing: This book is awesome. GO READ IT!! Seriously. You won’t regret it.

Yet another (non-cheating!) second chance book that hooked me. I liked how the book flipped back and forth between the present and the past. It allowed me as the reader to fall in love with Will for the first time at the same time that Fern does for the second time. So much of the plot was about plans made and whether you should stick to them or be allowed to change. Being able to see the past and all of Fern’s wants and wishes for the future made the present more easily understandable. I really liked Fern and Will’s story and their chemistry. It was cute, and I feel like they deserve a sequel of just being happy. I will say that one thing that I did not like (and why my rating isn’t higher) is how wishy-washy Will was. He was so secretive for literally NO REASON. He hid his sister and niece like some sort of secret mistress. He was also really reactive if anyone mentioned them for again…no reason. I’m not sure if red flag is the right word…but it was definitely an ick at minimum. Outside of that though, I don’t have any complaints which is pretty good all things considered. I’d recommend it for sure, especially as a beach/ summer read.

Yet another (non-cheating!) second chance book that hooked me. I liked how the book flipped back and forth between the present and the past. It allowed me as the reader to fall in love with Will for the first time at the same time that Fern does for the second time. So much of the plot was about plans made and whether you should stick to them or be allowed to change. Being able to see the past and all of Fern’s wants and wishes for the future made the present more easily understandable. I really liked Fern and Will’s story and their chemistry. It was cute, and I feel like they deserve a sequel of just being happy. I will say that one thing that I did not like (and why my rating isn’t higher) is how wishy-washy Will was. He was so secretive for literally NO REASON. He hid his sister and niece like some sort of secret mistress. He was also really reactive if anyone mentioned them for again…no reason. I’m not sure if red flag is the right word…but it was definitely an ick at minimum. Outside of that though, I don’t have any complaints which is pretty good all things considered. I’d recommend it for sure, especially as a beach/ summer read.