IT SOUNDED BETTER IN MY HEAD

 By: Nina Kenwood

Genre: Y/A Contemporary Fiction

Year: 2020

Rate: 2 stars. 🌟🌟

“When her parents announce their impending divorce, Natalie can’t understand why no one
is fighting, or at least mildly upset. Then Zach and Lucy, her two best friends, hook up, leaving her feeling slightly miffed and decidedly awkward. She’d always imagined she would end up with Zach one day―in the version of her life that played out like a TV show, with just the right amount of banter, pining, and meaningful looks. Now everything has changed, and nothing is quite making sense. Until an unexpected romance comes along and shakes things up even further.”

 

It took me a while to understand how I feel about this book, and the best way I have to explain it is like a bouncing castle, all fun and emotion at first but then the bouncing castle starts losing air and then the excitement is gone.

The beginning of the book is great, I got lots of expectations about this girl that overthinks everything and creates multiples scenarios in her head just to be prepared, who had acne’s problems in the past that let her scarred physically and mentally, also she has to endure the separation of her parents, the idea of being the third wheel around her best friends and the new feelings for this guy. So yes, I was super excited!

But then everything was going in another direction; the writing and the narrative are fantastic, however, even when is good for the reader to be in the MC’s head, it took five pages or more of thinking between on line of dialogue and other, so much that in some point I needed to ask, wait, what was the conversation about?

The parents were terrible, something common in a Y/A story but these parents never made the effort to improve the situation, so there was this loose end in the story.

I loved that the protagonist confronted her friends and her parents, but she honestly never grew up enough. She was insecure all the time and she never talked about it with anybody. Also, I liked that she asked questions, but sometimes it was more like an interrogation by an FBI agent than by a girl with needs for answers.

Finally, there are some topics that I wasn’t comfortable with how they were handled, too easily too ‘whatever’ and I don’t think life is like that.

I usually post reviews of books with high rates in my blog, but I decided to post this one too, because honestly the concept of the story is great it’s the execution that didn’t reach my expectation.

 

Note: Image was taken from www.goodreads.com

WHEN YOU COME BACK TO ME

Author: Emma Scott

Year: 2020

Genre: Contemporary Romance.

Rate: 4,5 stars.

“At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys...

Holden Parish survived his parents' horrific attempts to make him "the perfect son." After a year's stint in a Swiss sanitarium to recover, he has vowed to never let anything--or anyone--trap him again. Brilliant but broken, he seeks refuge behind alcohol, meaningless sex, and uses his wicked sense of humor to keep people away. He only has to ride out one year in the coastal town of Santa Cruz with his aunt and uncle before he inherits his billions and can make his escape. Disappear.
Falling in love is not in the plans.”

 ***Sighs***

***Sobs***

***Sniff***

What a wonderful story about love and acceptance!

When you come back to me is a complex book, dealing with multiples sensitive situations, like, conversation therapies, addictions, death, mental health, sexual identity conflict.

It’s a story heartfelt to read, the tension is mixed with the slow pace making the reader to stand over the edge on every single page.

Both main characters are well done portrayed, they have and well constructed Arc, and as they grow up the reader has the chance to experience their changes from their teen years to adulthood (and this is one of the reasons why I don’t think this book should be labeled as YA.) Both characters have to endure so much in different ways, both are broken and both need to go deep in order to be able to resurface.

I loved the narrative, the mixture of anguish, beauty, and the poetic element, delivers an excellent description of every scene.

My two only comments are related to the absence of the lost boys at the end when they suppose to be the best friends, also after 70% of the book the story turns a little repetitive, I mean I understand the need to give the characters an open room to turn into a better version of themselves but there wasn’t need for the long dragging.

Aside from those two facts, the story is well done written and we an excellent concept and message at the end.

100% recommended

Best phrases:

“Thank you for loving me when I didn’t.”

“You deserve to be loved put loud.”

“We don’t make sense- like pieces of a puzzle that come from different boxes. Yet, we fit.

Note: Image was taken from www.goodread.com

ANNOUNCING TROUBLE

Author: Amy Fellner Dominy

Year:  2019.

Genre: Y/A contemporary romance

Rate: 5 Stars.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

“That’s the trick. Forward movement. You can’t take a next step until you take the first one.”

 “I may know everything there is to know about baseball, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Or like him. Garrett Reeves: sidelined player and the embodiment of everything I’ve learned to hate about baseball. He’s gorgeous, he’s cocky, he’s laser-focused on getting back in the game, no matter the cost.

When he convinces me to call games alongside him, our chemistry heats up the booth. We’re good together, whether I want to admit it or not. I’m finding that I like baseball again, but even worse, I’m liking Garrett. A lot.

But when he has to decide between our future and a new shot at his dreams, I know baseball will win out every time.”

This is a perfect example that we can’t judge a book by the cover. I mean, there is nothing really wrong with this one, but I have to admit sometimes a pick a book because a cover is better and prettier than this. However, this time it was more like a feeling. And thanks to God I was right.

Let’s start with the basics’ things I like in a good story: In this one, there is a great narrative, no repetitions, the story flows well, and descriptions are excellent. So far so good, right? well, it gets better. The plot is amazing, I love the concept. It seems a story about romance and healing but it’s more, much more. The story is about the future, what can we call dreams and what is real? Can we have both? Are dreams fair to us?

The tension in the story is excellent, I love that there is not intrigue, not lies, not misunderstandings. Instead, the conflict belongs to characters, their personalities and their need to grow up. I particularly enjoy Josie, she is a unique character, witty, smart, sweet, and I love how she finds the path to discover herself. Honestly, she makes me believe in strong heroin again.

Also, I loved Josie and Garret’s interaction, I don’t know how many times I burst into laughter or tears. Reading their dialogues felt magical. But not just with them, all the characters are great, every single one is well done portrayed, even the ones that are just mentioned.

And finally, I’m so grateful to the author for finding a way to explain baseball and makes it interesting and funny and not overwhelming with at all.

 I was craving a book that makes me happy, which make me believe in good stories and that leaves a smile on my face even days after reading. Announcing Trouble did that.

“A game where a bunch of guys spends their lives trying to get home. I press closer to Garret and smile. It Makes sense now that I’ve found mine.”

 

Note: Picture is taken from goodreads.com