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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 2
Book 6/30
Reading this right after Perfect on Paper was probably a mistake, because I couldn't help comparing the two of them, to this book's detriment. But I don't think this would have been a full four star book for me, anyway. Parts of it I really liked, even loved, but then too much would happen all at once, and things got messy, and then were wrapped up very neatly. It just wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. But I did like it!
What drew me to this one was the premise: Abby takes a DNA test with her friends to win a bet on who has more Irish DNA, and ends up finding out she has a secret full-blooded sister named Savannah, who is an Instagram influencer, a pretty big one. Neither girl tells their parents about meeting up, and in what I'm 100% positive is a reference to The Parent Trap, end up deciding to go to camp together to a) Figure out what happened eighteen years before, and b) Get to know one another.
That central getting to know you storyline and their sisterly bonding (or non-bonding as the case may be) is the strongest part of the book by far. The weakest part, I though, was Abby's relationship with her best friend, Leo, who she is in love with, and with whom she bad a BEI (Big Embarrassing Incident) last Thanksgiving that they still haven't recovered from. I just felt like we never really knew who Leo was as a character, and that because he was taking such a backseat to her sister Savvy (rightfully!) in the narrative, their whole thing just felt very unimportant to me. I kind of wish that whole plot line was not there, and the rest of the book beefed up instead. Would have helped with the ending as well, I think, would have made it not feel so easy and unearned.
All in all, not mad I read this, but will be bringing it in for trade credit to my local used bookstore instead of keeping it.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
Book 6/30
Reading this right after Perfect on Paper was probably a mistake, because I couldn't help comparing the two of them, to this book's detriment. But I don't think this would have been a full four star book for me, anyway. Parts of it I really liked, even loved, but then too much would happen all at once, and things got messy, and then were wrapped up very neatly. It just wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. But I did like it!
What drew me to this one was the premise: Abby takes a DNA test with her friends to win a bet on who has more Irish DNA, and ends up finding out she has a secret full-blooded sister named Savannah, who is an Instagram influencer, a pretty big one. Neither girl tells their parents about meeting up, and in what I'm 100% positive is a reference to The Parent Trap, end up deciding to go to camp together to a) Figure out what happened eighteen years before, and b) Get to know one another.
That central getting to know you storyline and their sisterly bonding (or non-bonding as the case may be) is the strongest part of the book by far. The weakest part, I though, was Abby's relationship with her best friend, Leo, who she is in love with, and with whom she bad a BEI (Big Embarrassing Incident) last Thanksgiving that they still haven't recovered from. I just felt like we never really knew who Leo was as a character, and that because he was taking such a backseat to her sister Savvy (rightfully!) in the narrative, their whole thing just felt very unimportant to me. I kind of wish that whole plot line was not there, and the rest of the book beefed up instead. Would have helped with the ending as well, I think, would have made it not feel so easy and unearned.
All in all, not mad I read this, but will be bringing it in for trade credit to my local used bookstore instead of keeping it.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
emotional
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This was very sweet. It was mostly about the sisters finding each other and getting to know each other along with what happened to separate them. I wish there had been a bit more of a "summer camp" vibe but i still really enjoyed the writing and the way the story was told.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
“Brave. It’s a word I’m still getting used to, after a lifetime of ducking from my problems. But maybe I’m growing into it in my own way.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
The very anticipated sophomore novel from Emma Lord is here! I read Tweet Cute as an ARC and was extremely happy to do the same for this one. Though I am really stunned by this author’s ability to tell a wholly unique story with such signature writing.
You Have a Match is the story of Abby, who loves photography despite being terrified of showing anyone her pictures and is doing way worse in school than she should be. On a whim, with encouragement from her friend, Leo, she takes a DNA test and discovers a full-blooded, surprisingly-close-in-age surprise sister Savannah. The two hatch a scheme to go away to camp together and bond, which back-fires as the summer slowly descends into what can be called chaos.
This was an auto-buy author read for me. I got an email offering the new Emma Lord book and I honestly did not read the synopsis. I just dived in. This back-fired a bit as I was pretty bored for maybe the first quarter of the book. I couldn’t get invested into these characters and I wasn’t very interested in the story. It picks up rapidly once they get to camp though.
The camping hijinks ensue and remind me of why I love camp stories so much. This book is shameless, wacky Parent-Trap trope with so much heart to offer. At some point, I really loved Savvy and Abby’s relationship. The banter and drama of it all. I really loved the group of friends they have that push the story along and make it truly memorable. The book is incredibly funny when it wanted to and tugs at your heart when it needs to.
The romance sublots were also adorable. I really liked Savvy’s whole mess that she has going on. I think the book was doing a love triangle with Abby that I was never really sold on. Maybe it’s really just to make more obstacles for the real romance, but I did feel like this book fell victim to the whole “if they just talked, the whole thing is solved in two minutes” and of course, that’s essentially what happened. But regardless, it was very cute. I didn’t get as frustrated as I normally do.
I did however, get frustrated with the way the characters were set-up. Some books have this habit of setting up all their characters with One Cool Thing that they do bafflingly well, as half their personality and kind of set everyone up to be Super Successful in life, by Living Their Dream. I probably didn’t explain that well, but in this book it shows in Abby being a Super Talented Photographer, Leo being a Super Talented Chef, and Savvy being a Super Talented Instagram Influencer. Maybe I’m bitter at not having a cute, passionate, yet luckily marketable talent, but it always just seems unrealistic to me. I know it’s just set-up for the story, but it tends to come off as TOO set-up.
Aside from that very small portion of the book, I was really blown away by the relationship between all the parents, it was sweet and adorable and I just really enjoyed the Parent Trap portions of this book. I thought the parts where Abby had to work through her insecurities were the best.
TL;DR: Easily one of the cutest, most enjoyable books I’m likely going to read this year. I can’t recommend this one enough for its humor, heart, and fabulous dessert ideas.
E-galley provided by Wednesday books in exchange for an honest review. All quotations and opinions are based off an uncorrected proof.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
The very anticipated sophomore novel from Emma Lord is here! I read Tweet Cute as an ARC and was extremely happy to do the same for this one. Though I am really stunned by this author’s ability to tell a wholly unique story with such signature writing.
You Have a Match is the story of Abby, who loves photography despite being terrified of showing anyone her pictures and is doing way worse in school than she should be. On a whim, with encouragement from her friend, Leo, she takes a DNA test and discovers a full-blooded, surprisingly-close-in-age surprise sister Savannah. The two hatch a scheme to go away to camp together and bond, which back-fires as the summer slowly descends into what can be called chaos.
This was an auto-buy author read for me. I got an email offering the new Emma Lord book and I honestly did not read the synopsis. I just dived in. This back-fired a bit as I was pretty bored for maybe the first quarter of the book. I couldn’t get invested into these characters and I wasn’t very interested in the story. It picks up rapidly once they get to camp though.
The camping hijinks ensue and remind me of why I love camp stories so much. This book is shameless, wacky Parent-Trap trope with so much heart to offer. At some point, I really loved Savvy and Abby’s relationship. The banter and drama of it all. I really loved the group of friends they have that push the story along and make it truly memorable. The book is incredibly funny when it wanted to and tugs at your heart when it needs to.
The romance sublots were also adorable. I really liked Savvy’s whole mess that she has going on. I think the book was doing a love triangle with Abby that I was never really sold on. Maybe it’s really just to make more obstacles for the real romance, but I did feel like this book fell victim to the whole “if they just talked, the whole thing is solved in two minutes” and of course, that’s essentially what happened. But regardless, it was very cute. I didn’t get as frustrated as I normally do.
I did however, get frustrated with the way the characters were set-up. Some books have this habit of setting up all their characters with One Cool Thing that they do bafflingly well, as half their personality and kind of set everyone up to be Super Successful in life, by Living Their Dream. I probably didn’t explain that well, but in this book it shows in Abby being a Super Talented Photographer, Leo being a Super Talented Chef, and Savvy being a Super Talented Instagram Influencer. Maybe I’m bitter at not having a cute, passionate, yet luckily marketable talent, but it always just seems unrealistic to me. I know it’s just set-up for the story, but it tends to come off as TOO set-up.
Aside from that very small portion of the book, I was really blown away by the relationship between all the parents, it was sweet and adorable and I just really enjoyed the Parent Trap portions of this book. I thought the parts where Abby had to work through her insecurities were the best.
TL;DR: Easily one of the cutest, most enjoyable books I’m likely going to read this year. I can’t recommend this one enough for its humor, heart, and fabulous dessert ideas.
E-galley provided by Wednesday books in exchange for an honest review. All quotations and opinions are based off an uncorrected proof.