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midsummernightsread's review against another edition
3.0
My Review(s):
I am not a huge fan of anthologies, most of the time I find the stories long and there is always going to be ones that I don't enjoy. So unless I know a lot of the contributors, I don't usually pick it up. This was the book of the month for TheBookBoundSociety and I thought I would give it a shot. Overall, it was a cute read. I enjoyed a number of the stories, but was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a m/m meet cute (as was shown on the cover). The stories weren't too long, though I felt some of them could have been longer in all honesty.
Since this is an anthology I am going to review the stories individually as I read them and let you know about my favourites and least favourites. Beware of spoilers, I'm not sure I'll be able to review such short stories without giving somethings away.
Story One: Siege Etiquette by Katie Contugo (Hailey + Wolf)
Rating: 1/5 stars
I'm not a fan of the second person tense used in this one, it's hard to be the 'you' of the story when you're nothing like this main character. I just didn't like this relationship starting between them and the fact that there's cheating involved. It didn't feel like a cute meeting to me, Hailey wasn't exactly the nicest to Wolf, and the whole prospect of it being forgotten by the time she sees him again, well it's a bit odd.
Story Two: Print Shop by Nina Lacour (Evie + Lauren)
Rating: 2.75/5 stars
Okay this story was going really well until the end and WE DONT GET TO SEE THEM MEET. Why are these stories so short for? I want more and I want to see how this actually went. And I'm just confused by the end, what happened between them and why is Evie explaining to her how they met? I did like where this was going but I wanted more :'(
Story Three: Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi (Cherish + Mamadou)
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
I guess I really misunderstood the point of this anthology. I thought there would be more /meeting/. This one, again, was really short. A lot shorter than Print Shop, and I'm not really sure it felt like there was any sort of connection between the two of them. Most of the story was Cherish trying to figure out what she's going to do after high school, mixed in with friend drama. The meet cute what just kinds thrown in at the end-maybe if he'd taken her to the prom there would've been more there.
Story Four: Click by Katherine McGee (Alexa + Raden)
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
I really liked this one, I am a big Black Mirror fan and this short story gave me that vibes. It was like a combination of Hang the DJ and Be Right Back. This was more what I was expecting from these stories, it was a good length and it was a cute meet. Raden was a cutie and I definitely wouldn't mind messing up my click date to end up with him. It was a cute story, but the BM reminders are what I enjoyed most about it.
Story Five: The Intern by Sara Shepard (Clara + Phineas)
Rating: 3/5 stars
This was a sweet story, I like that we got some background into both of the characters in such a short time. I enjoyed how without realizing it they were helping each other. It was a bit cliche I felt but cute nonetheless
Story Six: Somewhere That's Green by Meredith Russo (Nia + Lexie)
Rating: 4/5 stars
Ahh I loved this story so much. It was a great, powerful story, not just about them meeting but about them staying true to who they are. Both of them are depicted as very brave, young women and it was a really excellently written story. I finished this one and I'd definitely be curious to see how the rest of the story plays out.
Story Seven: The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton (Viola + Sebastian)
Rating: 5/5 stars
The first story to get me so close to tears. I loved this story and the magic elements wrapped up inside of it. I love the soulmate plots and this one was no exception. I just want them to be happy together, is that too much to ask? I've never read anything by this author before, but this just increased my excitement for The Belles when it comes out this year.
Story Eight: Oomph by Emery Lord (Jo + Cassidy)
Rating: 4/5 stars
This story was very well cute and quirky. The airport is a cliche place to meet but this story makes it not feel that way. I loved their playfulness and the cute Marvel references. It wasn't what I expected from such an odd title to be honest. I was expecting two people to run into each other, but I like the idea of finding your 'oomph'. This was a meet cute in my eyes
Story Nine: The Dictionary of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Moss + Tyler)
Rating: 3/5 stars
This was a cute story but I could tell that as soon as Quiet Hot Guy was introduced he was H. Smith. Moss was a kinda boring main character who likes Christmas a lot and addresses the fact that she is cliché? I thought Tyler was great though, he was a quirky and fun guy. It was a meet cute, more so than some of the others as they hadn't actually met face to face yet. I liked it for sure, not one of my favourites though.
Story Ten: The Unlikelyhood of Falling In Love by Jocelyn Davies (Sam + Dev)
Rating: 2/5 stars
This one was a bit strange for me? I thought it was weird she was kinda stalking him for her statistics project. And I thought it was weird the teacher would go along with that, even if she was his favourite. But anyways, I don't math so I can't judge too much on that part. I can say they were both very committed to seeing each other on the subway, though I'm not sure it was love at first sight... Sam liking bagels reminded me of a certain friend (*coughs* she knows who she is..)
Story Eleven: 259 Miles by Kass Morgan (Philip + Evie)
Rating: 3/5 stars
So this is the first short story from the male's POV and I was expecting a m/m short story-so I'm a bit disappointed by that. I love that these aren't all your standard contemporary short stories, the science fiction esque addition to this one was really nice! I enjoyed it a lot. I feel bad for Philip though, he didn't get his space dreams . I liked the dynamic between the pair and how she motivated him to make a video of his own. (Bonus points for having a character named Tessa).
Story Twelve: Something Real by Julie Murphy (June + Martha)Rating: 3/5 stars
This was not what I was expecting in the best way. Ack the dating show aspect was a bit weird for me, I think it's super corny and I'm so glad that wasn't the way this meet cute went. It felt like a bit of a poke at shows like those and I found that very amusing. The characters were definitely real and I was glad neither of them went crazy on the other to win this date. Dylan was definitely not worth fighting over.
Story Thirteen: Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick (Emma + Sean)Rating: 2/5 stars
I am definitely not a fan of second person tense in novels that aren't 'choose your own adventure' esque. This story was weird, and kinda creepy. If I was Emma I would've ran when the son of the man who took my family's fortune brought me to my own house that they now live in? It just seems all to weird to me.. but that's just my opinion on the matter. He seemed to have good intentions, but yeah, I just couldn't get past that.
Story Fourteen: The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon (Thomas + Gabby)
Rating: 5/5 Stars
This story was absolutely amazing, thank you Nicola Yoon for ending this anthology with this story. It reminded me of Adam Silvera's More Happy than Not in a way and the cuteness between was my favourite. It had a dystopian vibe to it that I enjoyed, and the what if's of If science could truly tell us the statistics behind love and relationships. I'm glad that Thomas decided not to give up ten months of his life and choose to live on with the new possibilities
I am not a huge fan of anthologies, most of the time I find the stories long and there is always going to be ones that I don't enjoy. So unless I know a lot of the contributors, I don't usually pick it up. This was the book of the month for TheBookBoundSociety and I thought I would give it a shot. Overall, it was a cute read. I enjoyed a number of the stories, but was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a m/m meet cute (as was shown on the cover). The stories weren't too long, though I felt some of them could have been longer in all honesty.
Since this is an anthology I am going to review the stories individually as I read them and let you know about my favourites and least favourites. Beware of spoilers, I'm not sure I'll be able to review such short stories without giving somethings away.
Story One: Siege Etiquette by Katie Contugo (Hailey + Wolf)
Rating: 1/5 stars
I'm not a fan of the second person tense used in this one, it's hard to be the 'you' of the story when you're nothing like this main character. I just didn't like this relationship starting between them and the fact that there's cheating involved. It didn't feel like a cute meeting to me, Hailey wasn't exactly the nicest to Wolf, and the whole prospect of it being forgotten by the time she sees him again, well it's a bit odd.
Story Two: Print Shop by Nina Lacour (Evie + Lauren)
Rating: 2.75/5 stars
Okay this story was going really well until the end and WE DONT GET TO SEE THEM MEET. Why are these stories so short for? I want more and I want to see how this actually went. And I'm just confused by the end, what happened between them and why is Evie explaining to her how they met? I did like where this was going but I wanted more :'(
Story Three: Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi (Cherish + Mamadou)
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
I guess I really misunderstood the point of this anthology. I thought there would be more /meeting/. This one, again, was really short. A lot shorter than Print Shop, and I'm not really sure it felt like there was any sort of connection between the two of them. Most of the story was Cherish trying to figure out what she's going to do after high school, mixed in with friend drama. The meet cute what just kinds thrown in at the end-maybe if he'd taken her to the prom there would've been more there.
Story Four: Click by Katherine McGee (Alexa + Raden)
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
I really liked this one, I am a big Black Mirror fan and this short story gave me that vibes. It was like a combination of Hang the DJ and Be Right Back. This was more what I was expecting from these stories, it was a good length and it was a cute meet. Raden was a cutie and I definitely wouldn't mind messing up my click date to end up with him. It was a cute story, but the BM reminders are what I enjoyed most about it.
Story Five: The Intern by Sara Shepard (Clara + Phineas)
Rating: 3/5 stars
This was a sweet story, I like that we got some background into both of the characters in such a short time. I enjoyed how without realizing it they were helping each other. It was a bit cliche I felt but cute nonetheless
Story Six: Somewhere That's Green by Meredith Russo (Nia + Lexie)
Rating: 4/5 stars
Ahh I loved this story so much. It was a great, powerful story, not just about them meeting but about them staying true to who they are. Both of them are depicted as very brave, young women and it was a really excellently written story. I finished this one and I'd definitely be curious to see how the rest of the story plays out.
Story Seven: The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton (Viola + Sebastian)
Rating: 5/5 stars
The first story to get me so close to tears. I loved this story and the magic elements wrapped up inside of it. I love the soulmate plots and this one was no exception. I just want them to be happy together, is that too much to ask? I've never read anything by this author before, but this just increased my excitement for The Belles when it comes out this year.
Story Eight: Oomph by Emery Lord (Jo + Cassidy)
Rating: 4/5 stars
This story was very well cute and quirky. The airport is a cliche place to meet but this story makes it not feel that way. I loved their playfulness and the cute Marvel references. It wasn't what I expected from such an odd title to be honest. I was expecting two people to run into each other, but I like the idea of finding your 'oomph'. This was a meet cute in my eyes
Story Nine: The Dictionary of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Moss + Tyler)
Rating: 3/5 stars
This was a cute story but I could tell that as soon as Quiet Hot Guy was introduced he was H. Smith. Moss was a kinda boring main character who likes Christmas a lot and addresses the fact that she is cliché? I thought Tyler was great though, he was a quirky and fun guy. It was a meet cute, more so than some of the others as they hadn't actually met face to face yet. I liked it for sure, not one of my favourites though.
Story Ten: The Unlikelyhood of Falling In Love by Jocelyn Davies (Sam + Dev)
Rating: 2/5 stars
This one was a bit strange for me? I thought it was weird she was kinda stalking him for her statistics project. And I thought it was weird the teacher would go along with that, even if she was his favourite. But anyways, I don't math so I can't judge too much on that part. I can say they were both very committed to seeing each other on the subway, though I'm not sure it was love at first sight... Sam liking bagels reminded me of a certain friend (*coughs* she knows who she is..)
Story Eleven: 259 Miles by Kass Morgan (Philip + Evie)
Rating: 3/5 stars
So this is the first short story from the male's POV and I was expecting a m/m short story-so I'm a bit disappointed by that. I love that these aren't all your standard contemporary short stories, the science fiction esque addition to this one was really nice! I enjoyed it a lot. I feel bad for Philip though, he didn't get his space dreams . I liked the dynamic between the pair and how she motivated him to make a video of his own. (Bonus points for having a character named Tessa).
Story Twelve: Something Real by Julie Murphy (June + Martha)Rating: 3/5 stars
This was not what I was expecting in the best way. Ack the dating show aspect was a bit weird for me, I think it's super corny and I'm so glad that wasn't the way this meet cute went. It felt like a bit of a poke at shows like those and I found that very amusing. The characters were definitely real and I was glad neither of them went crazy on the other to win this date. Dylan was definitely not worth fighting over.
Story Thirteen: Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick (Emma + Sean)Rating: 2/5 stars
I am definitely not a fan of second person tense in novels that aren't 'choose your own adventure' esque. This story was weird, and kinda creepy. If I was Emma I would've ran when the son of the man who took my family's fortune brought me to my own house that they now live in? It just seems all to weird to me.. but that's just my opinion on the matter. He seemed to have good intentions, but yeah, I just couldn't get past that.
Story Fourteen: The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon (Thomas + Gabby)
Rating: 5/5 Stars
This story was absolutely amazing, thank you Nicola Yoon for ending this anthology with this story. It reminded me of Adam Silvera's More Happy than Not in a way and the cuteness between was my favourite. It had a dystopian vibe to it that I enjoyed, and the what if's of If science could truly tell us the statistics behind love and relationships. I'm glad that Thomas decided not to give up ten months of his life and choose to live on with the new possibilities
kathydubs10's review against another edition
3.0
Props to whoever had the idea to make this anthology of short stories from some of the best YA authors out there about meet cutes. The mute cute is that quintessential factor we commonly see in most YA novels (or love stories in general). I thought this collection was very well done and that each of the authors took up the same amount of space. By this I mean that no one author outshone the others by having a longer short story. The reason why I gave this book a three was that some of the stories were definitely more memorable for me than others, and some just left me with "meh" feelings. I don't know, maybe I'm just immune to meet cutes at this point (I hope not!). I will say that for the ones I liked, I liked them A LOT. Often I'd finish the short story and wish there were a whole book following the rest! Given it all, I felt this book was a smidge too hyped for what it is. It's still wonderful and makes you feel warm and fuzzy, but I was missing something from it that I wish I had gotten.
amyhungerford's review against another edition
2.0
Star Rating : 2.5 Stars
Meh...
I don't know why I keep trying these YA compilation novels. I'm always disappointed.
At least I didn't buy this one this time.
Meh...
I don't know why I keep trying these YA compilation novels. I'm always disappointed.
At least I didn't buy this one this time.
tiffy137's review against another edition
4.0
SIEGE ETIQUETTE Katie Cotugno - 2.5/5 stars
This short story is about a popular girl named Hailey who finds herself locked inside of a bathroom at a party with her boyfriends friend. I liked this story however I didn't really understand the ending. Like there was no outcome really. And how did she end up in the bathroom at the first place,tbh I didn't really understand much of the plot.
PRINT SHOP Nina LaCour - 3/5
This is about a girl called evie who gets a job at this old print shop as one of the workers is going on maternaty leave. This was was definitely better a better story and it did surprise me with the ending. anicely written lgbt story.
HOURGLASS Ibi Zoboi -2.5 /5
This is about a black highschool senior girl called cherish who is 6'5 tall and cannot find aprom dress to fit her size. I liked this one but there wasn't really any romance, which I didn't like.
CLICK Katharine McGee - 4.5/5
This is about two characters Alexa and Raden who are on a date from a new dating app called click when she realises shes left her phone in the taxi. This is my favourite so far! I really enjoyed it and thought I was cute. I wish my online dating would be successful like hers. I also felt the pain about losing her phone as I've lost my phone before and it causes you to panick.
THE INTERN Sara Shepard -4.5/5
This is a story about a teenage girl called clara who is intern at her dads record company. She gets asked to show a client 'Phineas' around town. This one was super cute too. I like the characters and how there was music involved. I really wish we could read more and find out what happens after some of theses meetings. I loved Phineas he was an absoult gentleman.
SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN Meredith Russo - 3/5
This is a story about a transgender female called Nia and a girl called Lexie who because of her parents is against nia and her approvale of using the girls washroom which cause the two girls to dislike each other, but then it is announced that they have to be in a play together. I liked this one, not as much as the last two but I felt this one allowed me to understand transgender a bit more which helps in my personal life as one of my best friends is transgender.
THE WAY WE LOVE HERE Dhonielle Clayton- 2/5
This has more of a fantasy element to it. it is about these two Characters viola and sebastian who are from the same island where you have coils permantley around your ring finger and if someone has the same amount of coils as you then there is a chance they could be your soulmate. Meh, I didn't like this one as much as the last ones. I felt that it jumped around a lot.
OOMPH Emery Lord - 3.5/5
This is another lgbt story which features a firl called cass who is flying to newyour for the first time of her own. when she meets another girl called johanna in the airport who is from new york. This one was ok. Kinda cute but nothing special really. The beginning was a little confusing.
THE DICTIONARY OF YOU AND ME Jennifer L. Armentrout -4.5/5
This story is about a girl called Moss who works part time at her local library where she has set itas her goal to retrieve an overdue dictionary back from a library user. this causes her to had daily phonecalls with the user and begins to bond with him. when she finds out who he is.she is shocked. Ok this one was kinda cute. Set in a library perfect! I love how it was based around a book. And the ending was adorable.
THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE Jocelyn Davies - 4/5
This is about agirl called Sam who is the only girl in her Ap stats class in school and when she sees a guy on the opposite subway train to her in the mornigs of school she decideds to base her project on him. This one was cute as well. The ending was super cute. I liked how they both wanted to keep seeing each other
259 MILLION MILES Kass Morgan 4/5
This was about a girl called Phillip and a girl called blythe who has both appled to go on a trip to Mars.to pass the test they must spend 24hours in a small room together. I enjoyed this story but it wasn't one of my favourites as I felt really sorry for Phillip at the end. it was so sad. It was unfair of them not to be honest with Phillip at the end.
SOMETHING REAL Julie Murphy- 3/5
This one is about two girls who are in a reality tv show where they get to compete against each other to win a date with the famous singer Dylan. June is the main character who is the leader of dylans fan group and Martha is still grieving her sisters death. Meh this one was ok. Im not a fan of getting a date on a tv show. i like the ending though.
SAY EVERYTHING Huntley Fitzpatrick 3.5/5
This is about a girl called emma who works at a cafe/diner where she meets a boy called Sean when she serves him an iced tea. This one was good.abit creepy when they pulled up to an abandoned house and he seemes stalkerish at first but i thought it was cute at the end.
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD LOVE Nicola Yoon - 3.5/5
This is abouta boy names Thomas who goes to see aHeartworker to see what the cause of his break up was with his ex samantha. This one was cute but weird. Like ive never heard of a full on like hospital for broken up relationships. I liked the ending.
This short story is about a popular girl named Hailey who finds herself locked inside of a bathroom at a party with her boyfriends friend. I liked this story however I didn't really understand the ending. Like there was no outcome really. And how did she end up in the bathroom at the first place,tbh I didn't really understand much of the plot.
PRINT SHOP Nina LaCour - 3/5
This is about a girl called evie who gets a job at this old print shop as one of the workers is going on maternaty leave. This was was definitely better a better story and it did surprise me with the ending. anicely written lgbt story.
HOURGLASS Ibi Zoboi -2.5 /5
This is about a black highschool senior girl called cherish who is 6'5 tall and cannot find aprom dress to fit her size. I liked this one but there wasn't really any romance, which I didn't like.
CLICK Katharine McGee - 4.5/5
This is about two characters Alexa and Raden who are on a date from a new dating app called click when she realises shes left her phone in the taxi. This is my favourite so far! I really enjoyed it and thought I was cute. I wish my online dating would be successful like hers. I also felt the pain about losing her phone as I've lost my phone before and it causes you to panick.
THE INTERN Sara Shepard -4.5/5
This is a story about a teenage girl called clara who is intern at her dads record company. She gets asked to show a client 'Phineas' around town. This one was super cute too. I like the characters and how there was music involved. I really wish we could read more and find out what happens after some of theses meetings. I loved Phineas he was an absoult gentleman.
SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN Meredith Russo - 3/5
This is a story about a transgender female called Nia and a girl called Lexie who because of her parents is against nia and her approvale of using the girls washroom which cause the two girls to dislike each other, but then it is announced that they have to be in a play together. I liked this one, not as much as the last two but I felt this one allowed me to understand transgender a bit more which helps in my personal life as one of my best friends is transgender.
THE WAY WE LOVE HERE Dhonielle Clayton- 2/5
This has more of a fantasy element to it. it is about these two Characters viola and sebastian who are from the same island where you have coils permantley around your ring finger and if someone has the same amount of coils as you then there is a chance they could be your soulmate. Meh, I didn't like this one as much as the last ones. I felt that it jumped around a lot.
OOMPH Emery Lord - 3.5/5
This is another lgbt story which features a firl called cass who is flying to newyour for the first time of her own. when she meets another girl called johanna in the airport who is from new york. This one was ok. Kinda cute but nothing special really. The beginning was a little confusing.
THE DICTIONARY OF YOU AND ME Jennifer L. Armentrout -4.5/5
This story is about a girl called Moss who works part time at her local library where she has set itas her goal to retrieve an overdue dictionary back from a library user. this causes her to had daily phonecalls with the user and begins to bond with him. when she finds out who he is.she is shocked. Ok this one was kinda cute. Set in a library perfect! I love how it was based around a book. And the ending was adorable.
THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE Jocelyn Davies - 4/5
This is about agirl called Sam who is the only girl in her Ap stats class in school and when she sees a guy on the opposite subway train to her in the mornigs of school she decideds to base her project on him. This one was cute as well. The ending was super cute. I liked how they both wanted to keep seeing each other
259 MILLION MILES Kass Morgan 4/5
This was about a girl called Phillip and a girl called blythe who has both appled to go on a trip to Mars.to pass the test they must spend 24hours in a small room together. I enjoyed this story but it wasn't one of my favourites as I felt really sorry for Phillip at the end. it was so sad. It was unfair of them not to be honest with Phillip at the end.
SOMETHING REAL Julie Murphy- 3/5
This one is about two girls who are in a reality tv show where they get to compete against each other to win a date with the famous singer Dylan. June is the main character who is the leader of dylans fan group and Martha is still grieving her sisters death. Meh this one was ok. Im not a fan of getting a date on a tv show. i like the ending though.
SAY EVERYTHING Huntley Fitzpatrick 3.5/5
This is about a girl called emma who works at a cafe/diner where she meets a boy called Sean when she serves him an iced tea. This one was good.abit creepy when they pulled up to an abandoned house and he seemes stalkerish at first but i thought it was cute at the end.
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD LOVE Nicola Yoon - 3.5/5
This is abouta boy names Thomas who goes to see aHeartworker to see what the cause of his break up was with his ex samantha. This one was cute but weird. Like ive never heard of a full on like hospital for broken up relationships. I liked the ending.
sarahensor123's review against another edition
3.0
-THANKS TO NETGALLEY, EXCHANGE FOR HONEST REVIEW-
As the title says, the stories were cute contemporaries. Of course I liked a few more than others since there is different authors. My favorite story was by Katharine McGee! Overall I enjoyed reading it and would recommend.
As the title says, the stories were cute contemporaries. Of course I liked a few more than others since there is different authors. My favorite story was by Katharine McGee! Overall I enjoyed reading it and would recommend.
nicolexj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
4.0
toriarocks95's review against another edition
2.0
Most of these authors are clearly not short story writers and, were this my first time reading something by them, I would probably not read any of the rest of their work. So don't read this book unless you'd like to be highly disappointed by some of your fave YA writers.
camillarumle's review against another edition
funny
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
didge's review
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ashezbookz's review against another edition
3.0
This book was all over the place for me, some stories were awesome, super awesome, and some stories were just like, what the heck is this? this is stupid. So that sums up the whole book I think perhaps Click and the train one (I forget what it's called) were my favourite, and perhaps the ring one too .. the rest I could have done without.