Variation: A Novel

Meh.

My first Rebecca Yarros book & it was....fine. The writing was good and I liked most of the characters well enough.

The pros: I liked Hudson, he was a good MMC. I liked Allie too even though she was mildly infuriating. Most of the side characters were cool.

The cons: the main “issue” could've been avoided if the two MCs would've just talked to each other like the adults that they are. I felt like this book needed flashbacks. I think I would've connected with these characters more if I could have known what made them fall in love with each other in the first place. The ending felt rushed & confusing. Why did Hudson go to Sitka instead of NY?? I thought he was moving to NY to make it easier to win her back. -Also, it completely glossed over Caroline being mad about......everything?? She was deceived by everyone she loved, she had a right to be mad for a few more chapters. -I figured out the mom thing pretty early on. I don't know why Alessandra still sought out her mother's approval. Idk why she didn't go no contact yearrrrrrrrrrrrs ago, but whatevs.

I will be trying out other Rebecca Yarros books. This one just didn't hit the spot for me.

This book is amazing!!! I deeply enjoyed it, the tension, the anger, the joy, the romance, even the nice family moments... ALL OF IT!

I have so many favorite moments of this book but I don't want to spoil anything. The story follows mainly Allie Rousseau, a world-class ballet dancer, and both sides of her: her past in Cape Cod and her present as part of the Royal family of dancers (her mother and her 3 sisters are well known in the ballet industry).

Yes, her mother is shitty, and the dynamics in her family are messy, but I think it is pretty real (families can be that dramatic i real life, too).

There's also the POV of her love interest / childhood best friend Hudson, who is a sea rescuer and THE book boyfriend we all want: he is hot, dreamy eyes, tall, very understanding, caring, great uncle, he puts Allie's needs over his every time, not pushy even when he clearly wants Allie with him (he even mentions standing purposely next to a wall where she wouldn't feel trapped and have access to the exit shall she wanted to leave), and apparently he also f*cks like a Greek god.

The whole cast around them is very enjoyable too, each with their own personalities that make the story so relatable (we all know someone as straightforward as Kenna, or as protective and anxious as Caroline, as motherly as Mrs. Ellis or as silly as Gavin).

My only two notes to say, but this is just my own opinion about the story itself, no critique in any way to the perfect writing Yarros delivered:

1. I think the whole side of finding Juniper's dad is hard to follow, like everyone was so stressed about the effects and it shows when Allie is explaining what happened, but it adds to the feeling of overwhelm as a reader, I just wanted to get it clear bc it was so confusing.
2. I didn't like Allie, to me she was very over the place, she wanted something then she changed her mind, and then she didn't know what else... she was too much and then too little. I understand the trauma she went through and the uncertainty of the events around the accident, the way her mother treated them and the pressure she was under... but she WAS very entitled, she felt with the right to judge everyone and to know everything, and if she didn't know the moment she wanted then that person was shut down of her life just like that... she took way too long to get to a conclusion she told Hudson at the end of the book that everyone was screaming at her (metaphorically) from the very beginning and that she even mentioned a few times throughout the book as well... I loved when Kenna told her to cut the BS and stay out of her own way (like fr, she was her own demise in her misery)

I know people that do that and it is very frustrating, but Hudson's love is real if he stayed notwithstanding.

So this is my review, it is a romance so there's no spoiler in saying it does have a happy ending, and also it doesn't need a complex plot nor a huge backstory, but it is still very emotional and connects with the reader in any level they are, so I loved it.