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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
(Yes it worked!)
I mean, I should’ve known better. This one is all on me folks. I mean, once you have a history with a writer – a negative one – you should know better than to just pick up another book that they write and hope that it’ll somehow magically change your opinion about the writer and the way that they write.
After giving both Forgotten and Revive by Cat Patrick a 0/5 star rating, I had no expectations from this author. I mean, she’d had more than one chance to impress me, and epically failed on all occasions. I mean, this was kind of ridiculous. And they both failed for the EXACT same reasons – and that same reason applies to a large portion of why I so disliked Just Like Fate.
It’s not that Patrick doesn’t have a great imagination when it comes to imaging up her premises. Revive? One of the best premises I’d ever had pitched to me by the computer screen when I read it on Goodreads. Same goes for Forgotten. However, despite the fact that these seemed more science fiction (the former) and magical realism (the latter), what they really turned out to be were mushy contemporary romances with absolutely no substance and boring, wooden writing and one dimensional characters.
Now, admittedly, the premise of this one doesn’t pretend to be anything except a contemporary romance with a twist, but that twist was what gave me hope that this would be interesting as well as the fact that Patrick wasn’t the only person who wrote this book! Another author could’ve been the saving grace of this book! And who knows, maybe if Patrick had written the whole book this would’ve gotten a 0 star rating instead of a 1 out of 5. Yet that still doesn’t cut it for me, and if anything, just deepened the disappointment.
So first we have our main character, Caroline.
The premise of this book should’ve told me I would hate her with a passion. Cause I did. I mean, maybe we just have different values in life and whatnot. It’s just, to me, if my grandmother were lying in a hospice and could die any day now, I wouldn’t even consider running off to some stupid high school party, no matter how high the chance was that I’d have “stories to tell until the end of the year.” Personally, I felt very little sympathy for her, and thought she was a selfish and spoiled brat, just like her sister Natalie thought she was for the majority of the book. And of course, anybody that doesn’t like Caroline all of a sudden is a jerk and needs to be villianized to death.
The two romantic leads were boring, flat, and I can’t even remember their names as I’m typing this, and I care about this book so little that I’m not sure if I can bring myself to look it up. The romance itself was cheesy, nauseating, and not at all enough to breathe any life into this book. I’m being very serious hear when I stress the fact that if you don’t enjoy the romance in this book, you’re basically screwed, because that is essentially what this book is about, plain and simple, no other way around it.
It was slow, annoying, and very difficult to make myself sit down and flip through pages and pages of this, just wondering when the heck it was going to end. And for me, the end to the romance was so obvious that it wasn’t even funny. What was the point of doing it even? And I’m not a fan of cheating either, so I was already rooting for this romance to come out just so that it didn’t look like the author(s) was advocating that it’s okay to cheat when your doing it for true wuv.
Please, save yourself some time and brain cells and don’t read this unless you just so happen to have loved everything that Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young have published. Maybe if you like their romances and their writing and characters this book will work better for you. And hopefully I’ve finally learned my lesson to stay away from Cat Patrick’s books, once and for all.
Not as good as Patricks other books, but I still really liked it. :) If you're a fan of her other books, I would definitely recommend reading it!
Wow!! This book was quite an unexpected surprise! I love the two perspectives through the book and the ending is just perfect. HIGHLY recommend this !!
3.5 stars
When her grandmother ends up in hospice after a strike, Caroline has two choices: stay at the hospital or go out with her friend Simone. The book tracks her life over the next few months depending on whether she stayed or went. This book was a pleasant surprise. Sweet, thoughtful, and with Caroline's swoon-worthy yet likably flawed boyfriend Chris, it manages to be touching with just enough moments of fluff to keep it from becoming too dark. An enjoyable and quick read that's surprisingly hard to put down.
When her grandmother ends up in hospice after a strike, Caroline has two choices: stay at the hospital or go out with her friend Simone. The book tracks her life over the next few months depending on whether she stayed or went. This book was a pleasant surprise. Sweet, thoughtful, and with Caroline's swoon-worthy yet likably flawed boyfriend Chris, it manages to be touching with just enough moments of fluff to keep it from becoming too dark. An enjoyable and quick read that's surprisingly hard to put down.
Originally posted on Oh, Read it in a Day Reviews
The story starts of with Caroline, normal teenaged girl getting the news that her grandmother is sick. She could die. This turns Caroline’s world upside-down. She loves her grandmother and losing her seems unfathomable. She’s forced to deal with the members of her family, that she sometimes doesn’t understand or want to be with. It’s a struggle to be surrounded by such grim circumstances.
So when she get’s an invite to go to a party, she struggles to decide what to do. Does she stay with her grandma and family? Does she go to the party for a few hours, live her life, and get away from the depressing atmosphere?
Just Like Fate explores both possibilities.
In alternating chapters, this book explores the benefits and consequences of staying or going. Caroline has to live her life with either choice and whatever comes with it.
This book was a wonderful read. I enjoyed exploring both perspectives. I loved even more that there’s never a right or wrong choice. There’s life. There are consequences for going, but there’s also consequences for staying. Each choice shapes Caroline into a different person with different ideas and different scars.
And some things don’t change based on her decision. Somethings just take longer to come to be. But there are some things that never happen. All because of one little choice.
Just Like Fate is a mind-bending read. It’s a book that makes you think, that makes you question what you would’ve done and whether or not it was the right choice.
And most of all, it’s a book about choices and consequences. One that hopefully makes you wonder about your own choices and whether they would lead. It definitely did that with me.
The story starts of with Caroline, normal teenaged girl getting the news that her grandmother is sick. She could die. This turns Caroline’s world upside-down. She loves her grandmother and losing her seems unfathomable. She’s forced to deal with the members of her family, that she sometimes doesn’t understand or want to be with. It’s a struggle to be surrounded by such grim circumstances.
So when she get’s an invite to go to a party, she struggles to decide what to do. Does she stay with her grandma and family? Does she go to the party for a few hours, live her life, and get away from the depressing atmosphere?
Just Like Fate explores both possibilities.
In alternating chapters, this book explores the benefits and consequences of staying or going. Caroline has to live her life with either choice and whatever comes with it.
This book was a wonderful read. I enjoyed exploring both perspectives. I loved even more that there’s never a right or wrong choice. There’s life. There are consequences for going, but there’s also consequences for staying. Each choice shapes Caroline into a different person with different ideas and different scars.
And some things don’t change based on her decision. Somethings just take longer to come to be. But there are some things that never happen. All because of one little choice.
Just Like Fate is a mind-bending read. It’s a book that makes you think, that makes you question what you would’ve done and whether or not it was the right choice.
And most of all, it’s a book about choices and consequences. One that hopefully makes you wonder about your own choices and whether they would lead. It definitely did that with me.
At first I didn’t like the way that as each chapter changed, the original choice that Caroline made would change back and forth. In the end though, I realize that to follow the story in any other format, would just detract from the final impact. I wouldn’t change the end for the world. It was awesome and I totally recommend this novel to everyone.
Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young is a book that I have waited way too long to read. It's also a book that's co-authored by writers who are among my favorites when it comes to young adult books. Oh my goodness, it is hard for me to put into words just how much I loved this collaboration and how much I want there to be more collaborations between Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young.
Read the rest of my review here
Read the rest of my review here
Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Playing Card Big Face
BFF Charm: Roger Murtaugh
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: Sliding Doors
Bonus Factors: Kickass Gram, Fate
Relationship Status: Thanks For The Memories
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Playing Card Big Face
BFF Charm: Roger Murtaugh
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: Sliding Doors
Bonus Factors: Kickass Gram, Fate
Relationship Status: Thanks For The Memories
Read the full book report here.
I have read a string of parallel life/alternate reality books lately and I think that I need more of them in my life. I’m completely enthralled by the possibility that one decision can change everything. Ever since watching Sliding Doors years ago I have been fascinated by this theory and Patrick and Young have just added another reason for me to love it. Them seamlessly wrote a story about choices and what can happen to life by doing something as simple as saying yes or no.
Just Like Fate is the story of Caroline, a simple girl that never really fit in with her family and is scared to face her problems. Since her parents’ divorce Caroline have been running from her problems and not dealing with them. She has always had her grandmother there to help her pick up the pieces. But when her Gram gets sick and Caroline is faced with her inevitable death she has a choice given to her. She can got to a party with her best friend and not deal with her current situation or she can stay and be at Gram’s beside. Each decision takes Caroline on two very different journeys that alter her life. But no matter what sometimes you can’t out run fate so matter which path you take to get there.
I really really loved this book. It was my 3rd parallel life book in the past couple of months which could have made it seem monotonous. But Patrick and Young managed to take a currently popular concept and make it their own. There was no bells, no whistles, no talk of science or paranormal powers. It was straight up “what would happen if I choose…”. It was a character driven story. It was Caroline’s story about her fear of facing things, of dealing with things.
And did I ever love Caroline. She was so totally relatable, in both “worlds”. I understood why she was afraid to face problems because the truth is we all are and we all deal with problems differently and not having her grandmother there for her terrified her so why would she want to deal with that. But I also got where her family was coming from in terms of calling her out on her crap because at some point she had to grow up and stop running. But what I really liked was Caroline’s relationship with her brother Teddy and her relationship with Chris. Oh how I love Chris. I barely knew him and I loved him. He really helped Caroline in a way that she didn’t even know she needed. In a way Chris helped her to stop running and to face her problems. He was sweet and charming and lovable and the completely opposite of Joel who I didn’t like at all. Compared to Chris Joel gave Caroline more problems instead of helping her fix them. He really got on my nerves, that’s for sure, but he was an important part to the story so I let it slide.
Basically I have always been a fan of Cat Patrick and now I’m a fan of Suzanne Young(review for The Program is coming soon!) These two authors crafted a very clever tale about fate and what it takes to get there and that no matter what path you take you should end up where you belong. The weaved an intricate story about growing up and standing still and figuring out who you are and what you want and how to stand up for yourself without running away and brushing things under the rug. Highly highly recommend this one. You wouldn’t be disappointed!
Just Like Fate is the story of Caroline, a simple girl that never really fit in with her family and is scared to face her problems. Since her parents’ divorce Caroline have been running from her problems and not dealing with them. She has always had her grandmother there to help her pick up the pieces. But when her Gram gets sick and Caroline is faced with her inevitable death she has a choice given to her. She can got to a party with her best friend and not deal with her current situation or she can stay and be at Gram’s beside. Each decision takes Caroline on two very different journeys that alter her life. But no matter what sometimes you can’t out run fate so matter which path you take to get there.
I really really loved this book. It was my 3rd parallel life book in the past couple of months which could have made it seem monotonous. But Patrick and Young managed to take a currently popular concept and make it their own. There was no bells, no whistles, no talk of science or paranormal powers. It was straight up “what would happen if I choose…”. It was a character driven story. It was Caroline’s story about her fear of facing things, of dealing with things.
And did I ever love Caroline. She was so totally relatable, in both “worlds”. I understood why she was afraid to face problems because the truth is we all are and we all deal with problems differently and not having her grandmother there for her terrified her so why would she want to deal with that. But I also got where her family was coming from in terms of calling her out on her crap because at some point she had to grow up and stop running. But what I really liked was Caroline’s relationship with her brother Teddy and her relationship with Chris. Oh how I love Chris. I barely knew him and I loved him. He really helped Caroline in a way that she didn’t even know she needed. In a way Chris helped her to stop running and to face her problems. He was sweet and charming and lovable and the completely opposite of Joel who I didn’t like at all. Compared to Chris Joel gave Caroline more problems instead of helping her fix them. He really got on my nerves, that’s for sure, but he was an important part to the story so I let it slide.
Basically I have always been a fan of Cat Patrick and now I’m a fan of Suzanne Young(review for The Program is coming soon!) These two authors crafted a very clever tale about fate and what it takes to get there and that no matter what path you take you should end up where you belong. The weaved an intricate story about growing up and standing still and figuring out who you are and what you want and how to stand up for yourself without running away and brushing things under the rug. Highly highly recommend this one. You wouldn’t be disappointed!
What an amazing book. It was so real. The characters were so believable and well written. The plot was so intriguing and left me wanting to read on. I loved the relationship between Caroline and Chris, it was one of the best written common relationships I've ever read. Chris was perfect but also so down to Earth and so easy to fall in love with.
This book also left me with a profound opinion on fate and the ending perfectly summed up the entire theme of the book.
Life is messy, life is full of mistakes, but sometimes those mistakes can lead to something bigger- like fate.
If you have read Young Adult (particularly Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver) this book with be perfect for you.
Reread this book almost exactly a year later and still love it!
This book also left me with a profound opinion on fate and the ending perfectly summed up the entire theme of the book.
Life is messy, life is full of mistakes, but sometimes those mistakes can lead to something bigger- like fate.
If you have read Young Adult (particularly Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver) this book with be perfect for you.
Reread this book almost exactly a year later and still love it!