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mswarning's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I strongly relate to Penny.
numberonefan's review against another edition
4.5
Loved this a lot! Once again she devastated me emotionally! Also the penny and Celeste relationship was TOO real as were all of the girls reflections on relating to your mom. Just took me a long time to get through at the end because of my personal situation of also being driven to insanity by having feelings for someone so I had to take a break!
bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. In the beginning, the author's style grabbed me, and I really liked both Sam and Penny. Many sentences and passages were laugh-out-loud funny, or made me make those really attractive snorting noises.
But then toward the last 1/3 or so of the book, things started to kind of fall apart. I couldn't abide by the way Penny treated her mother, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand what her real beef with Celeste was, even after she explained it to Sam. To me, Penny just came across as entitled and spoiled, and like someone insisting her mother should be someone other than she was.
I won't spoil anything, but I was dismayed by the number of cliches this book started rolling out in the end, and it just felt lazy to me. I thought the characters were interesting and nuanced enough on their own, but then the author started throwing ever possible kind of trauma at them, which to me felt like she had run out of ideas. There were also some dialog passages that weren't up to par with those earlier in the book, and some areas where I felt things worked out too neatly simply because the story demanded they work out.
I think this author has a lot of potential, though. Her style is fun and she writes in a relatable way, so I'd be interested in reading more by her. I hope, though, that her writing will mature with time.
But then toward the last 1/3 or so of the book, things started to kind of fall apart. I couldn't abide by the way Penny treated her mother, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand what her real beef with Celeste was, even after she explained it to Sam. To me, Penny just came across as entitled and spoiled, and like someone insisting her mother should be someone other than she was.
I won't spoil anything, but I was dismayed by the number of cliches this book started rolling out in the end, and it just felt lazy to me. I thought the characters were interesting and nuanced enough on their own, but then the author started throwing ever possible kind of trauma at them, which to me felt like she had run out of ideas. There were also some dialog passages that weren't up to par with those earlier in the book, and some areas where I felt things worked out too neatly simply because the story demanded they work out.
I think this author has a lot of potential, though. Her style is fun and she writes in a relatable way, so I'd be interested in reading more by her. I hope, though, that her writing will mature with time.
achillesheeled's review against another edition
2.0
“How come nobody tells you?”
“Nobody tells you shit ever,” he said. “The trick is having a buddy.”
“An emergency contact.”
“Exactly,” he said. “That’s the pact.”
i wanted so, so badly to dnf this but i didnt and im pretty sure i should have. 2 stars, not 1, because there were a few parts i went “huh. if the whole book was like this itd be a lot better”. (also that cover... wow)
this book was just SO disappointing to me. i wanted a cheesy feel-good romcom but i just could not care about any of the characters. penny had “not like other girls” syndrome, sam is way too old for her (and he literally admits this?? theres a part in his narration where he says that he should wait until shes “old enough to qualify as a human”, i.e., 25 when hes 30... she is 18...), mallory makes a racist comment that never gets resolved, and jude... well, actually. jude wasnt too bad. id rather have her be the protagonist honestly.
the writing is only good sometimes. it really could benefit from less telling and more showing, and maybe cutting out almost all pop culture references or acronyms (seriously, who calls their own mother a milf?? do you know what that stands for??)
the romance is. well. bad. underdeveloped. did not feel like sam and penny were a good match at all. ending was... meh.
TW for a recount of rape.
“Nobody tells you shit ever,” he said. “The trick is having a buddy.”
“An emergency contact.”
“Exactly,” he said. “That’s the pact.”
i wanted so, so badly to dnf this but i didnt and im pretty sure i should have. 2 stars, not 1, because there were a few parts i went “huh. if the whole book was like this itd be a lot better”. (also that cover... wow)
this book was just SO disappointing to me. i wanted a cheesy feel-good romcom but i just could not care about any of the characters. penny had “not like other girls” syndrome, sam is way too old for her (and he literally admits this?? theres a part in his narration where he says that he should wait until shes “old enough to qualify as a human”, i.e., 25 when hes 30... she is 18...), mallory makes a racist comment that never gets resolved, and jude... well, actually. jude wasnt too bad. id rather have her be the protagonist honestly.
the writing is only good sometimes. it really could benefit from less telling and more showing, and maybe cutting out almost all pop culture references or acronyms (seriously, who calls their own mother a milf?? do you know what that stands for??)
the romance is. well. bad. underdeveloped. did not feel like sam and penny were a good match at all. ending was... meh.
TW for a recount of rape.
Spoiler
that in itself bothered me because it seemed only used to make sam seem better and give penny a reason for being scared of intimacy. idk.cait_readsxox's review against another edition
3.0
I did like this book but there are some problematic things in it that I did not enjoy. I would read it again.
nikkib's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
gray_1's review against another edition
2.0
it had potential. they saw each other like three times during the whole book and i wanted to die.
ec_newman's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved the broken characters. And the story, but the for some reason I couldn’t get into the story that Penny was writing? I just felt kinda bothered by it when I just wanted to spend more time with the characters.
lilliandm's review against another edition
3.0
It was alright and I mostly just got annoyed with the characters