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aidaj's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.25
agrandromance's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.25
lisaluvsliterature's review
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? Yes
4.5
The first thing I loved about this was how it overlapped time wise with the first book in the series, Passing Notes. While I had a little bit of a bumpy/slow start with this one, once I really got to see the characters and some of their real thoughts and feelings, I was hooked and wanted to see how these two could make the opposites attract trope work out for their HEA.
It started with me needing to know more about Leo. I mean why did he leave his band? Why did he come back to this town that he couldn’t wait to leave? Why was he so nervous or scared to pick up the drumsticks and play again? His reluctance to be around other people made sense and as the story went on it filled in a lot of the spaces for me in what had happened to him.
And then there was Mari. She was such a great person, with such a big heart for her students and her friends, but I totally got how she felt that everyone left her. While for the most part I don’t have those same family issues, I definitely get the feelings about friends who move on after a while. I have also felt the same way wondering why I was so easy to leave. There were sometimes in this story that I kind of felt like my life was being used for her story, lol.
I’m still angry every time they share about the jerk of a principal or the lousy librarian they have at the school. Ugh. I think I need to write a story for this series about a new librarian that is what these students deserve, and give her the HEA I’ll probably never get, but I deserve too!
In the end though, the third act break up was fitting for how these two characters felt about themselves, and the big drama that came between them also was exactly fitting for the whole story. While I didn’t see it coming, when it was there, I knew it was the perfect plot point and really I love how the author did that! Not to mention the final bit where the grand gesture happened, and yeah, just adored this one!
I can’t wait to hopefully read more in this series from these authors in future SmartyPants releases, and yay for this wonderful new world in my favorite fictional town of Green Valley!
It started with me needing to know more about Leo. I mean why did he leave his band? Why did he come back to this town that he couldn’t wait to leave? Why was he so nervous or scared to pick up the drumsticks and play again? His reluctance to be around other people made sense and as the story went on it filled in a lot of the spaces for me in what had happened to him.
And then there was Mari. She was such a great person, with such a big heart for her students and her friends, but I totally got how she felt that everyone left her. While for the most part I don’t have those same family issues, I definitely get the feelings about friends who move on after a while. I have also felt the same way wondering why I was so easy to leave. There were sometimes in this story that I kind of felt like my life was being used for her story, lol.
I’m still angry every time they share about the jerk of a principal or the lousy librarian they have at the school. Ugh. I think I need to write a story for this series about a new librarian that is what these students deserve, and give her the HEA I’ll probably never get, but I deserve too!
In the end though, the third act break up was fitting for how these two characters felt about themselves, and the big drama that came between them also was exactly fitting for the whole story. While I didn’t see it coming, when it was there, I knew it was the perfect plot point and really I love how the author did that! Not to mention the final bit where the grand gesture happened, and yeah, just adored this one!
I can’t wait to hopefully read more in this series from these authors in future SmartyPants releases, and yay for this wonderful new world in my favorite fictional town of Green Valley!
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