sunfeathers's review
4.0
What I loved about this book is that it kept delivering the feels, whether it was adorable family moments, painful self-doubt moments, or heartwarming romantic moments. In some books, the emotional trajectory of the story either plateaus or follows the plot structure too closely. Here, I was always feeling something, whether I was laughing at something Emmett thought, worrying about Luke's financial situation with him, or tearing up, heart in my throat, because one of the boys did something brave or stupid that would hurt them. I think this is why we read romance novels: we are here for the feelings, to care about these characters, root for them, and watch them grow. This book certainly delivers on that front.
Other things I loved about this book:
- I LOVED Emmett's aunt. She deserves all the good things.
- The depiction of chronic illness and its impact on family was so realistic. Luke's mother has multiple sclerosis and that is an omnipresent thread in the background of Luke's story. It was shown, it wasn't forgotten, but it also wasn't heavy-handed with the portrayal. I thought it had the perfect amount of presence in this book.
- Emmett's love for country music made me want to listen to it too.
- Luke's fear of being himself and how that poisoned every other aspect of his life was just...I have no words. It really shows how much harm homophobia, being in the closet, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell lifestyle does to LGBT people. I felt Luke's fear, the burden and mental space trying to be "normal" was taking up.
- Vanessa is perfect. I will not accept any other opinions about her.
- Luke and Emmett did NOT solve each other's problems, they supported each other and made each other brave enough to solve their OWN problems.
- I saw the reveal coming from like the second chapter, but, as this is not meant to be a mystery book, the confirmation filled me with delight. I was sitting there, wide-eyed, hand over my mouth even though I KNEW what was going to happen.
There's way more I loved about this book, but I'm not here to write a whole essay.
Some things that could have been improved:
- Some side characters could've been fleshed out a bit more. I certainly would've liked to know more about Cassidy, Avery, Emmett's parents, and Luke's life outside of summertime. What is Luke's school like? Does he have other friends at all?
- I couldn't tell why Luke's aunt was even dating Grady. She's amazing, but he always felt like a, well, a fuckboy.
- The homophobic people Luke interacts with (the guys at the factory) had such implied depth and I would've liked a little more about them.
Things that really upset me:
- [a:Brian D. Kennedy|20814893|Brian D. Kennedy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1626299106p2/20814893.jpg] writes a book in which music is a central theme but, inexplicably, DOESN'T HAVE A PLAYLIST. Why would you do that to us, Brian? If [a:Silvia Moreno-Garcia|4088550|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1597118464p2/4088550.jpg] can have playlists for books that don't even mention music, you can have a damn playlist for a book that's basically ABOUT music. What an inexplicable and egregious oversight!
I rate books according to how well it meets (or exceeds, in this case) expectations given the summary, and this book gave me exactly what I wanted from it and then some.
Other things I loved about this book:
- I LOVED Emmett's aunt. She deserves all the good things.
- The depiction of chronic illness and its impact on family was so realistic. Luke's mother has multiple sclerosis and that is an omnipresent thread in the background of Luke's story. It was shown, it wasn't forgotten, but it also wasn't heavy-handed with the portrayal. I thought it had the perfect amount of presence in this book.
- Emmett's love for country music made me want to listen to it too.
- Luke's fear of being himself and how that poisoned every other aspect of his life was just...I have no words. It really shows how much harm homophobia, being in the closet, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell lifestyle does to LGBT people. I felt Luke's fear, the burden and mental space trying to be "normal" was taking up.
- Vanessa is perfect. I will not accept any other opinions about her.
- Luke and Emmett did NOT solve each other's problems, they supported each other and made each other brave enough to solve their OWN problems.
- I saw the reveal coming from like the second chapter, but, as this is not meant to be a mystery book, the confirmation filled me with delight. I was sitting there, wide-eyed, hand over my mouth even though I KNEW what was going to happen.
There's way more I loved about this book, but I'm not here to write a whole essay.
Some things that could have been improved:
- Some side characters could've been fleshed out a bit more. I certainly would've liked to know more about Cassidy, Avery, Emmett's parents, and Luke's life outside of summertime. What is Luke's school like? Does he have other friends at all?
- I couldn't tell why Luke's aunt was even dating Grady. She's amazing, but he always felt like a, well, a fuckboy.
- The homophobic people Luke interacts with (the guys at the factory) had such implied depth and I would've liked a little more about them.
Things that really upset me:
- [a:Brian D. Kennedy|20814893|Brian D. Kennedy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1626299106p2/20814893.jpg] writes a book in which music is a central theme but, inexplicably, DOESN'T HAVE A PLAYLIST. Why would you do that to us, Brian? If [a:Silvia Moreno-Garcia|4088550|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1597118464p2/4088550.jpg] can have playlists for books that don't even mention music, you can have a damn playlist for a book that's basically ABOUT music. What an inexplicable and egregious oversight!
I rate books according to how well it meets (or exceeds, in this case) expectations given the summary, and this book gave me exactly what I wanted from it and then some.
gracieemcneil's review
3.25
i don’t know how to read ya anymore- this book said “freakin” on the first page
carol_c26's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
3.75
sweet lil easy read!
sarahrichardsn's review
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
tendoheart's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
julsreadinglist's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
brittaniethekid's review against another edition
3.0
This was a quick, enjoyable read though I'm definitely not the intended audience. I needed something light after weeks of reading much darker, more adult stories and it was a nice break.
Even having not read the author's short bio at the end of this book, you can definitely tell it's written by someone not from Tennessee or even the South and someone not into the same eras of country music I grew up on. Now, I'm not Southern either (Arizona born and raised) but still coming from an extended family of what some might consider "hicks", and it just didn't have the feel of authenticity that someone from Minnesota living in New York would ever be able to bring.
The author is obviously a Dolly Parton fan as this is basically a Dolly and a Loretta Lynn-type fan fiction enveloped inside a teenage love story. But don't think this is all sugar.
While the character from Chicago is open and out, the boy from the holler is very much not and for understandable reasons. Even (especially?) in today's world, he's going to have a hard time being accepted as a homosexual man and it will more often than not come with some dangerous consequences. Even not being very invested in the story as I read, some parts were pretty heart-wrenching and I did cry for Luke even if his waffling and lying was frustrating. However, he still gets his HFN ending with Emmett and with the acceptance of his immediate family. Very rose-tinted glasses type ending for sure.
The two MCs are older high school/freshly HS graduate ages so don't expect anything explicit, though I guess a warning that they do have sex but it's completely off page. It's the type of sex scene where they're kissing and getting naked and then are waking up in the morning in the next paragraph. A little more emotional investment should have gone into it though, especially since it's Emmett's first time. If you're not going to make it A Big Deal, maybe just don't include it. At that point, all they did was make out but then suddenly there's intercourse and it just seemed sudden and unnecessary.
It's HFN because there's no mention of the fact that Emmett still has to go back to Illinois and school at the end of the summer. It seems hasn't graduated high school yet so he can't just move in with his aunt (who he lives with during the story). This is something that Luke brings up throughout the story but the ending is too much like what a feel-good sitcom would have when there are still questions to be answered. You can almost hear the ending theme queue up as you read the final chapter.
Besides those issues, I will give credit to the author for believable dialogue writing. At no point was I annoyed with either MC which happens too often these days in YA books. These children usually just come of as snotty and/or naive to the point where I have a hard time reading it but Kennedy didn't try to make them fit into a certain age box. Without the looming threat of the school year, these teens could even skew as older young adults.
Overall, this is definitely for younger readers and ones that are not from that part of the country. I think if you're actually from the Smoky Mountain region and especially from Pigeon Forge, you're going to be disappointed.
Now back to my regularly scheduled dark romance trash.
Even having not read the author's short bio at the end of this book, you can definitely tell it's written by someone not from Tennessee or even the South and someone not into the same eras of country music I grew up on. Now, I'm not Southern either (Arizona born and raised) but still coming from an extended family of what some might consider "hicks", and it just didn't have the feel of authenticity that someone from Minnesota living in New York would ever be able to bring.
The author is obviously a Dolly Parton fan as this is basically a Dolly and a Loretta Lynn-type fan fiction enveloped inside a teenage love story. But don't think this is all sugar.
While the character from Chicago is open and out, the boy from the holler is very much not and for understandable reasons. Even (especially?) in today's world, he's going to have a hard time being accepted as a homosexual man and it will more often than not come with some dangerous consequences. Even not being very invested in the story as I read, some parts were pretty heart-wrenching and I did cry for Luke even if his waffling and lying was frustrating. However, he still gets his HFN ending with Emmett and with the acceptance of his immediate family. Very rose-tinted glasses type ending for sure.
The two MCs are older high school/freshly HS graduate ages so don't expect anything explicit, though I guess a warning that they do have sex but it's completely off page. It's the type of sex scene where they're kissing and getting naked and then are waking up in the morning in the next paragraph. A little more emotional investment should have gone into it though, especially since it's Emmett's first time. If you're not going to make it A Big Deal, maybe just don't include it. At that point, all they did was make out but then suddenly there's intercourse and it just seemed sudden and unnecessary.
It's HFN because there's no mention of the fact that Emmett still has to go back to Illinois and school at the end of the summer. It seems hasn't graduated high school yet so he can't just move in with his aunt (who he lives with during the story). This is something that Luke brings up throughout the story but the ending is too much like what a feel-good sitcom would have when there are still questions to be answered. You can almost hear the ending theme queue up as you read the final chapter.
Besides those issues, I will give credit to the author for believable dialogue writing. At no point was I annoyed with either MC which happens too often these days in YA books. These children usually just come of as snotty and/or naive to the point where I have a hard time reading it but Kennedy didn't try to make them fit into a certain age box. Without the looming threat of the school year, these teens could even skew as older young adults.
Overall, this is definitely for younger readers and ones that are not from that part of the country. I think if you're actually from the Smoky Mountain region and especially from Pigeon Forge, you're going to be disappointed.
Now back to my regularly scheduled dark romance trash.