Tag: book blog

Review: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review9 Comments

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Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.
Their only communication with each other is via email – and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.
But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?
Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone…

Okay so this book is crazy. Craaaazy. Crazy good, but mostly just heckin’ crazy. I saw this book on a shelf of signed books at YALC back in July, and I knew it wasn’t out yet. I knew it was an ARC, and considering how much I adored The Next Together, I just had to pick it up.

And Lauren James has not let me down. This book was so different to how I expected, so different to her other writing and the synopsis. This book shocked me constantly, in all ways but none bad.

There are so many things I adored about this book. Let’s just start by saying I finished this book in a day. A day! It’s been so long since I’ve ever finished a book in a day, it so rarely happens that I can’t remember it happening since I’ve been blogging!

“On my very worst days, I think of nothing but how vulnerable I am out here.”

Romy makes for an awesome main character. She’s a strong young woman who I admire greatly, and I felt a really strong connection to her. It’s great to feel so close to a character in just under 300 pages. I also love how she was a woman! We don’t often see women able to survive so much on her own. She is such a great role model for young readers today. I love how she wrote fanfiction about her favourite TV show, it made her seem so real and relatable for someone in space!

I also think her relationship with Molly (her counsellor) was very well written and more needs to be in YA.

The setting was awesome and very well described. Spaceships are not often used in YA, especially for a romance story! It gave the story a unique aspect that reminded me of Illuminae.

“I’m balanced on the edge of oblivion with only a fragile skin of metal separating me from the void of space.”

There were so many other awesome things about this book. The plot was so fast paced and definitely a one-sitting read! I love the complicated mystery/thriller aspect, and it made for such an intense story that I literally couldn’t stop reading.

Aside from the counsellor, other parts of the story were also very important. Some of the other situations caused Romy a lot of anxiety and even panic attacks, and they were written so well!

So overall, this book was amazing in many different ways. It’s definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year, and possibly my favourite sci-fi ever (even over Illuminae!).

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Songs About Us by Chris Russell

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review6 Comments

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Two months on from the explosive finale to book one, Charlie’s life is almost back to normal again: rebuilding her relationship with her father, hanging out with best mate Melissa, and worrying about GCSEs. All the while, Gabe’s revelations about her mother are never far from her mind. And neither is Gabe.
It’s not long before Charlie is pulled back into the world of Fire&Lights – but the band seem different this time. But then again, so is she…
Meanwhile, tensions between Gabe and Olly continue to run high, leading to more turmoil between the band members and press than ever before. But when Gabriel and Charlie stumble upon yet another startling truth that links them together – everything they have stands to implode in front of them.

I’m back in the world of Fire&Lights, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s been a few weeks since I finished Songs About A Girl, but it felt like I’d had no break at all. These books have such an easy and comforting flow to them, I picked it straight back up right away.

I shall continue on here from my review of Songs About a Girl with my pure and incredible amount of admiration for Chris. Again, this book is amazing, and the writing is a massive part of that. These books wouldn’t be what they are without the writing. They wouldn’t even be half as good.

“You shouldn’t put so much pressure on yourself…“

Without spoiling too much of the goings-on in Charlie’s story, I want to say that this book has amazing representation. There are many struggles from different characters, including relationship, friendship and family issues. So many things occur and are handeled in such a good way, and it really gives a whole host of different readers something to relate to.

Before I go into the poetic speech I feel is going to come, let’s break this book down simply. As I mentioned, the writing is incredible. The plot is very fast-paced and there is constantly something going on. There is an awesome moment with LGBTQIA+ representation that was both unexpected and excellent. The way it didn’t change how Charlie saw this character felt so damn important, it might be some of the best passing representation I have seen in YA so far.

“You are who you are. Maybe that’ll change, maybe it won’t.“

As mentioned in my review for the first book, we continue to have a broad range of characters. Some good, some bad, all of them are well developed and add a lot to the story.

Now for my speech, I guess! I don’t even know how to describe this, but Chris has done something incredible. He took something I saw as shallow, materialistic and full of screaming teenage girls (band life), and gave it real depth and emotion. He gave me a world I adore and surprised me with how much I fell for it.

“As long as you’re happy, none of it matters.”

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.
Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life – first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse – seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed… forever?

I know you might be wondering why it has taken me almost a year to finish this book. Yes, you read that right. I started this one in October 2016, after reading the first 3 books in the series. But after precisely 532 pages, I just stopped reading. It wasn’t that I lost interest…but other things took over and I never finished. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it took until this week to finally pick this book up again.

Surprisingly, I actually found it pretty easy to get back into the story, and after reading a short summary to catch up, I was enjoying it once more!

“You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers – the monsters, the enemies.”

It’s been a while, but I loved the start of this novel. Unlike the other books in the series, Breaking Dawn is broken into 3 parts. Part 1 is from Bella’s point of view, then we switch to Jacob, then back to Bella.

Starting with part 1, I adored this part. Seriously, the romance is just spot on, sexy, funny and just lovely. It’s everything I could hope for in a romance. Without giving away too much, I love the way Bella reacts to the..ahem, new addition. It adds a new layer to the story that is just beautiful.

Part 2, however, I wasn’t as much of a fan of. As much as I like Jacob, I find focusing the story on him completely can sometimes be a little annoying. It added an extra something to the story, and I like seeing the family development from his side, but I definitely preferred Bella’s viewpoint.

“When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one?”

Part 3 is the one I’ve just rejoined – and I have to say really liked. We join Bella in a completely different time of her life, a scary, fast paced and interesting time. I loved speeding through those final pages.

Let’s talk about the length of this book before we wrap up. I would say one of the reasons – maybe the only reason – I didn’t finish reading this for so long, is the length. But should it be shorter? Actually, no. Especially reading the last 200 or so pages, I realised how much we needed so much writing to explain the complex world of Twilight.

“If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?”

Overall, I really liked this book and it reminded me of my love for the entire series. It’s an interesting and complex paranormal romance with many elements and layers. It also has a happy ending – and I loved that. My love for Twilight is back, and I’m happy about it.

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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Fifteen-year-old Frankie Landau-Banks has grown up a lot over the summer. She’s no longer daddy’s little girl – and almost immediately after starting the new semester at her highly prestigious school, she bags goofy-but-gorgeous Matthew Livingston as her boyfriend. They get along great but then Frankie discovers that Matthew is a member of a boys-only secret society that specialise in ‘hilarious’ pranks. Which hardly seems fair… especially when Frankie knows she’s smarter than any of its members. And to prove this, she’s going to teach them a lesson.

I unfortunately didn’t really enjoy this one as much as I’d have liked. As mentioned in my previous review, E. Lockhart has a very unique style, and it shone through once again in this novel.

Unfortunately, the first word that comes to mind when I think of this novel is slow. I just feel like for a book of over 300 pages, not much happens in this book at all. Frankie spends a while at school. She gets a boyfriend. She uncovers secrets, and she pulls some clever pranks. She ends up pretty much back where she started.

“It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can’t see who you are. It is better to lead than to follow”

Her relationship with Matthew bothered me a lot. She talks about loving him – but never actually explained why she loves him. In fact, she seemed angry at him for most of the book, and there doesn’t actually seem to be that much of a relationship between the two.

So what did I actually enjoy about this book? A lot of what I liked about it was the cleverness of E. Lockhart. The whole complicated plot and pranks and basset club were just so imaginative and clever. I really admire her for creating something refreshing and different from so many other YA novels. This is just so…unique, which lives up to my expectations of E. Lockhart.

“It is better to speak up than stay silent. It is better to open doors than to shut them on people.”

The plot development reminded me a lot of Fly On the Wall, also by E. Lockhart. It seemed we spent a lot of time reading this slow story for not much of a reward at the end. I felt so different about Fly On the Wall, simply just because I think we got a reward for finishing the story.

Let’s talk about this book being a feminist novel. Sure, I understand this. But I don’t actually think Frankie portrays a great role model. She’s a very jealous person who manipulates people to get what she wants. I felt her ‘love’ for Matthew was a complete lie and for once, I wish there was more focus on the romance and development of it.

“She will not be simple and sweet. She will not be what people tell her to be. That Bunny Rabbit is dead.”

Overall, I have really mixed opinions of this book. It left me confused and I definitely feel like maybe I didn’t understand the full message it was trying to portray. But what I do understand and can analyze, I unfortunately cannot bring myself to love.

★★★ (2.5 stars)

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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At the Manhattan School of Art and Music, where everyone is unique and everyone is ‘different’, Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. It doesn’t help that she’s known as the girl who sits alone at lunch, drawing pictures of her favourite superhero, just so she won’t have to talk to anyone. Her best (and only real) friend is there for her, but that’s only if she’s not busy – she’s always busy!
It’s no surprise that Gretchen isn’t exactly successful in the boy department. Her ex-boyfriend is a cold-fish-sometimes-flirty ex who she can’t stop bumping into. Plus, she has a massive crush on a boy named, Titus but is too scared to make the first move. One minute he seems like a sensitive guy, the next, he’s a completely different person when he’s with his friends. She can’t seem to figure boys out!
Gretchen has one wish: to be a fly on the wall in the boy’s locker room. What are boys really like? What do they talk about?
This is the story of how one girl’s wish came true.

So, this book is weird. And I mean, it’s really weird. Like, this is literally a story of someone who turns into a fly – and I don’t mean that as a metaphor.

Although I actually really admire E. Lockhart for writing such an interesting story with the girl turning into a fly for almost half of the book. That’s a pretty crazy thing to accomplish.

“People think of hearts when they think of love, but a heart is a bloody organ in the body.”

I wasn’t sure about this book at first, simply because it really took a while to get my head around it. And it did take a while to really get into the story. I spent a good 70 pages learning about Gretchen, her family, friends, school and general life. It also took that long to get used to E. Lockhart’s unique writing style again.

The characters are all pretty interesting and gave good depth to the story. The book is incredibly short (just under 200 pages), and it flew by…but it was also enough for the plot.

“It doesn’t have any emotions.”

Like I mentioned above, E. Lockhart has a very unique style of writing…but I love her for it. This book breaks YA rules, includes some great humorous moments and is incredibly honest. However, I did have a few *tiny* issues. One, Gretchen can come across as kind of…childish? Her collections, obsessions and sometimes just manner and way she talks is just a little strange and doesn’t always read like I expected.

Two, a lot of this book is just about dicks. Like seriously, I’d say about a quarter of this book is just describing boys bodies…and I kind of get why, but it also seemed like quite a large portion of the book.

“It’s like a metaphor for love that has nothing to do with what love actually is.”

Overall? Another great read from E. Lockhart, and it did leave me impressed. It really pushes the boundaries of realism, fantasy and YA, and I love that.

★★★★

-Beth

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Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high-school stage.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson marks my last book in John Green’s collection – whoop whoop!

I have to say I did like this book – but I didn’t love it. It didn’t overwhelm me or amaze me. It just felt a bit…flat.

Let’s start by talking about the whole name thing. Ugh, this just gets to me. It’s so unrealistic – and it gave a nod to the whole 19 Katherine’s from An Abundance of Katherines, which annoyed me even more. It’s also confusing, and honestly didn’t add much to the story in my opinion. I mean Will and Will hardly even communicated with each other!

“Maybe there’s something you’re afraid to say, or someone you’re afraid to love, or somewhere you’re afraid to go.”

I have to also say the teenagers in this novel are kind of…assholes. Not all the time, but all of them kind of screw up and come across really badly. One of these guys is Tiny, who is basically the centre of this novel for reasons I don’t really see? In my honest opinion, he can come across pretty big headed even though he’s trying to do all of these great things.

“It’s gonna hurt.”

So what did I like about this book? Well, the ending was great! It didn’t give perfect closure, but it did give a good message for the reader to leave with. The ending was pretty heartwarming. I also guess I liked some of the characters and some of the quotes/situations/narrative, and I found some of it incredibly lovely and sweet. I love that they included LGBTQIA+ characters and coming out. I love that it tackled homophobia in a way some teens do have to cope with.

Another important part of this story is definitely depression. One of the Will Grayson’s suffers with depression and I like the way that’s included in his story but not completely focused upon. I can’t really say whether his thoughts are accurate or not – but depression comes in all shapes, sizes and feelings. I just hope some readers can relate to him. Even though I can’t say I related to his depression, I am impressed that the authors included it.

“It’s gonna hurt because it matters.”

Oh and back to complaining. One of the Will Grayson’s (I honestly can’t be arsed at this point to remember or explain which) wrote in all lowercase letters. and i mean. like this. like the author (i think david levithan) couldn’t lift his fingers to the damn shift key. and this really, really got on my nerves.

Wow, writing about this book is getting me even more annoyed about it. So what else? We’ve already discussed the unlikeliness of names – what about the unlikeliness of them meeting randomly in – of all places – a porn shop? I mean, Will Grayson is not even a common name. Come on.

Overall, it’s slow. It’s flat, but I guess it filled a gap. I’m glad I didn’t DNF this book, and I did speed through it pretty quickly. I guess I liked it, in an okay kind of way, but I certainly didn’t feel anything more than that.

★★

-Beth

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Review: The Next Together by Lauren James

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review6 Comments

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How many times can you lose the person you love?
Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated.
Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace?
Maybe the next together will be different…

This book surprised me for one specific reason. At least part of it is historical – and I don’t read historical. Nothing against the genre, it’s just something that has never really appealed to me.

I’m also not the biggest sci-fi reader, which means this book shocked me in another way. It shocked me completely.

“I love you.”

I was lucky enough to meet Lauren at a joint book signing earlier this year – and I have to say, she is possibly the loveliest author I have ever met. I don’t know if I mentioned I hadn’t read her book yet, but she didn’t mind. In fact, she treated me so nicely. When she noticed I had an Arrested Development phone case, she covered the title page of my copy of The Next Together with doodles and quotes from the series. And from that moment on, I knew I had to read this book.

“In every life, I love you.”

And I have to say, that decision is not one I regret. This book takes something so different, a really strange and unique concept, and somehow pulls it off. She takes a concept that seems like it will undoubtedly be cheesy, and manages to make us fall completely in love instead.

One of the amazing things about this book is how the plot flows while the characters are jumping between stories, between centuries. I could understand everything – I could love each couple and see both the differences and similarities between them all.

“I love you so much.” 

I loved this book so much, I honestly find it hard to pinpoint things about it. It’s not just great plot, great characters and immaculate storytelling. It’s all of these things – with romance and mystery and so many other things – wrapped up together in a beautiful, incredible way.

Also, can I just say…Lauren James was only 18 when this novel was published?! Like, that’s less than a year older than me? Just…WOW.

Not a hard one, this book is definitely one of my favourites. It offers a really fresh and refreshing look at YA.

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Wing Jones by Katherine Webber

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review13 Comments

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Jandy Nelson meets Friday Night Lights: a sweeping story about love and family from an exceptional new voice in YA. With a grandmother from China and another from Ghana, fifteen-year-old Wing Jones is often caught between worlds. But when tragedy strikes, Wing discovers a talent for running she never knew she had. Wing’s speed could bring her family everything it needs. It could also stop Wing getting the one thing she wants.

Wow. What an incredible debut! I would never have guessed this book was a debut – the writing is simply beautiful.

This book is like no other. The writing was beautiful in a simple kind of way, and it helped the pages turn so quickly.

I honestly didn’t know how I’d find this book – the synopsis is quite brief and it left me pretty clueless about the book apart from the racial diversity. It really was a pleasant surprise!

“I feel like it might take over, like I might drown in my wanting.”

The characters had real depth to them. The culture flowed and shone throughout the novel, giving the story a kind of magic I don’t often see in YA. The contemporary style didn’t feel like contemporary – it felt like more. Contemporary is simple…this book was more.

Talking about the characters, Wing made for an amazing MC. She was relatable, honest and well, real. She made mistakes, she didn’t know what she wanted and she didn’t try to cover up her feelings to make herself more likable. I also found her incredibly inspirational, brave and heroic. She is my new bookish hero!

But it wasn’t just Wing that I adored. I loved the dynamic in her family and friends. I love how much they were included in the novel. Sometimes, you can read a romance novel without even meeting side-characters. In fact, it’s rare to have real depth to everyone in a story. This book beat all of those sterotypes.

“Like I’ll be nothing but want.”

The plot flowed magically for a book set over a period of months. I lost myself in the time and I couldn’t have told you how long the book lasted. We obviously skipped days and maybe even weeks at times but just like with Windfall, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.

Let’s also mention that magical realism! I won’t talk about it too much, but this book features some great little side animals that I thought would find weird and childish but I honestly didn’t. It was lovely.

“Like I won’t be able to think about anything or do anything but just want him.”

Let’s talk a little about the diversity in this book. This book includes people of so many different nationalities and backgrounds – and I loved that about it! But it doesn’t just stop at race, this book also featured an lesbian side-character who I think was represented really well.

Along with diversity, this book also tackled some really important topics – love, friendship, grief, growing up, family, and bullying.

Okay, so I’m sure you’ve gathered there are a LOT of things I loved about this book. I could literally go on and on. So I’ll wrap up with one last thing – go and read this. Please.

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review2 Comments

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Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes.
At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.
As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined . . . and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect.

Considering the length of this book (over 400 pages!), I’m surprised how it sped by for me. I read it in around a day, and read around half of it during a 3 hour flight.

I loved a lot of things about this book, but I also had a few annoyances. As contemporaries are, it was pretty middle of the road, I guess. It wasn’t over-the-top with incredible writing and pieces. But it wasn’t underwhelming, either.

Let’s start by saying I felt mixed about the characters. I liked Alice, and I loved Leo and Max. It was great to have LGBT side-characters that didn’t feel there just to make the book politically correct. But Teddy. Ugh, Teddy. I kind of had a love-hate relationship with Alice’s love interest. For one, he turns into a bit of a douche. Yes, he’s only 18 and he’s obviously over-excited about winning so much money. But the way he spends it and strings Alice along quite a bit just got on my nerves.

“We have all sorts of words that could describe us.”

Unfortunately, Alice also annoyed me a little bit in some parts. Yes, both her and Teddy had been through a lot and she obviously was battling with demons of her own. But I felt like she also strung a certain character along because she couldn’t face that Teddy didn’t want her.

However, I loved the concept of this book. YA can be pretty restricted now with ideas and plot lines, so the lottery idea felt fresh and interesting. I also liked the pacing. Rather than go through everything in too much detail day-by-day, the book jumped whole weeks, and it worked. I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything and it made the book pass pretty quickly.

“But we get to choose which ones are most important.” 

I also like the topics discussed in this book. It made the book real and relatable, even if it was a little hard-hitting at times.

I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this one. I really did, and I’d recommend it to romance/contemporary readers! I’ll definitely be reading more of Smith’s work – this one just felt a little lacking and gets a mixed review from me.

★★★

-Beth

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Review: Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments

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Sophia has seven days left in Tokyo before she moves back to the States. Seven days to say good-bye to the electric city, her wild best friend, and the boy she’s harbored a semi-secret crush on for years. Seven perfect days…until Jamie Foster-Collins moves back to Japan and ruins everything.
Jamie and Sophia have a history of heartbreak, and the last thing Sophia wants is for him to steal her leaving thunder with his stupid arriving thunder. Yet as the week counts down, the relationships she thought were stable begin to explode around her. And Jamie is the one who helps her pick up the pieces. Sophia is forced to admit she may have misjudged Jamie, but can their seven short days of Tokyo adventures end in anything but good-bye?

Note: Hi readers! I’m back home in the UK now after my week in Madeira. I’ll be blogging about my trip tomorrow but for now I have a bit of a delayed review for you!

I knew I would like this book simply because it’s so cute and fluffy. My lovely friend Sophie recommended it to me and knew I’d love it – and she was right!

I will admit I had a few gripes about this book, but overall it was utterly gorgeous.

“It might not be distance or time that takes you away from people.”

Let’s talk about a few of the things I loved about this novel. There are so many, I think I’m going to have to list them!

♥ I absolutely loved the romance in this novel. It felt slightly like a guilty pleasure, but I found myself utterly wrapped up in it all. I couldn’t help but really fall for these two.

♥ I found the plot really unpredictable and I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen until the very end of the book. I think this was helped a lot by the time frame, which was unique as it was set over seven days (I know, I know, this is kind of hinted by the title). Each chapter also showed a countdown to when Sophia was leaving Tokyo (in 7 days and less as the book went on), which added to the plot development!

♥ Which brings me to the setting! Not many YA books are set outside of the UK or USA, so it was really refreshing to have a novel set in Tokyo. I did have an issue with this too though, which I’ll discuss later on.

♥ The last thing that stood out to me was the side characters. Sophia’s friends/family all offered something different to her story, and helped shape the novel a lot!

“Maybe you decide when you let them go.”

As I mentioned above, I also had a few dislikes. One of these is unfortunately to do with the setting – which although I loved, I felt like it could have been used to a better advantage. This is kind of hard to describe, but I just didn’t feel like I was in Tokyo. I love the little touches of the Karaoke and different foods, but I wish the setting had been more inclusive (if that’s the right word!).

I also felt like the ending was a little rushed and had a few loose ends. It was nothing big, but I did notice it a little.

“But I can’t let go yet.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a cute contemporary but unfortunately felt lacking in a few parts! However, I’d still definitely recommend it for YA romance/contemporary readers.

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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