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eesh25's review against another edition
3.0
Louna's mom is a famous wedding planner and in the summer, Louna works with her. Seeing so many weddings and the way they seem to end, and the tragic events of her own love life, has turned Louna into a cynic. So when she meets the happy-go-lucky serial dater, Ambrose, she keeps him at arm's length. But Ambrose has different plans, especially since he's now her coworker.
Now before I get into all the whining I have planned about how boring the book was, I'd like to take the time to say that a) I love this cover, and b) I like Sarah Dessen. She uses a fairly simple prose and her stories always combine family, love and tragic events. They're, from what I know, both fun and heavy, some more than others. This was the less heavy variety so obviously, I expected more fun. And I was sort of obliged.
Every scene that Ambrose was in was very entertaining. He has a happy, quirky and honest personality. He's a bit naive but also kind and good. He takes things one day at a time, it seems, and doesn't let anything bring him down. His and William's scenes, who is Louna's godfather and her mom's coworker, were the only thing that kept me from falling asleep, because you know what wasn't entertaining? EVERYTHING ELSE.
Seriously, if it weren't for these two characters (and maybe Louna's mom), the book would be a total snore fest. I wouldn't even have gotten halfway.
For one, Louna is one of the most dull characters I've ever encountered. She's a cynic but in a sad and angry sort of way. Expecting any sort of humour from her would be a mistake. I mean, I get why she's that way considering what happened to her, but did she really have to be so boring? And her narrative didn't help because it was just as dull as she was. I was honest-to-God skipping multiple sentences at a time because of the unnecessary details, and the pointless inner monologues that later also included copious amounts of denial.
And that's not even counting the backstories.
I understand that we needed to know what happened with Louna's ex. But there were more chapters than necessary that were longer than they were necessary. There wasn't a need for a fifteen page chapter in which she only meets the guy in the end. It is possible to forgo the details of the wedding.
Don't get me wrong though, the wedding planning was fun. There were some really great scenes that came from the profession. It's just, backstories are bad enough as is, don't make them longer than they need to be. Get to the point, that's how backstories like this work. Just give us the important stuff, and the pages that are saved by that can be used to maybe explore Ambrose's character. Maybe an emotional arc for him? And while we're saving pages, leave the best friend's multiple siblings out of it. No one cares about them.
Overall, a tedious read that I was relieved to be done with, but one that's still well-written (though the narrative needed livening up) and has moments of humour and entertainment. I liked the wedding planner plot. Read it if you like (very) mellow reads.
hazydazywaffles's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Some parts of this book made me cringe a little but I liked reading it throughout my busy week. I didn't like the fact that Ethan and Louna had met only once. It made their love seem super juvenile but the school shooting twist was very sad. I will say, Ambrose's confession at the end had me kicking my feet and smiling. Then also the jumpscare Sarah gave all of us at the end made me want to scream till I found out he wasn't dead. Overall, I liked this book. Was it my favorite Sarah Dessen book ever? No. But, still enjoyed it, considering I'm such a sucker for her writing and ability to make characters so interesting. 4/5
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence
reader4evr's review against another edition
5.0
I haven’t read a Sarah Dessen book since the one before this came out. I loved this. The audio was really good although I almost had a freak out at the end thinking that Ambrose and the dog had died! I liked screamed no so loud in the car!
ashleylynnreads's review against another edition
5.0
By far my favorite of hers now trigger warning ⚠️ for shootings discussion YA approved
mehsi's review
Gotten 1/3 (page 120~) through the book, but I am going to put this one on hold. Maybe one day I will finish it, but for now this book and I are just not a match. I am really sad about it, I have been looking forward to a new Sarah Dessen book since 2015. :(
danireys's review against another edition
4.0
Tells the summer story of two romances, past and present all the while she works as a wedding planner with her mother and godfather dripping in love cynicism. The protagonist, Louna, is reeling with the loss of her epic romance she had the past summer which was cut short by a school shooting. Albeit very predictable that Louna would end up falling head over heals again, it still tugged on your heart strings as she comes close to realizing another loss (Side note— who was actually hit?!) but instead realizes how much she actually loves Ethan. Good quick read.
jadedmist27's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wishpearl's review against another edition
2.0
I used to love Sarah Dessen and I used to devour her books when I was younger. I’ve read most of her books but I hadn’t read this one yet, and so I figured I’d read it since it’s been a while since I’ve read any of her works.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I like her writing still, she is one of my cozy comfort authors— that hasn’t changed. I liked Ethan’s story even though I knew how it was going to end. I was devastated for Louna. I sometimes liked Ambrose, but most of the time he was annoying.
I thought that Louna portraying Ethan as this great love was a bit ridiculous. Like, You knew him all of 20 seconds. I don’t know, maybe I’m just older now and can’t relate to her idea of love. I also found her to be a bit dull and boring and her cynicism really grated on my nerves. As I stated before, Ambrose had his charming moments and I get that he was coded to be neurodivergent, but that was never addressed so he just came off like an annoying ass. Honestly I was more interested in her mom, in William, and Jilly.
Overall, I don’t think this is Sarah Dessen’s best work. It certainly wasn’t for me which was disappointing.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I like her writing still, she is one of my cozy comfort authors— that hasn’t changed. I liked Ethan’s story even though I knew how it was going to end. I was devastated for Louna. I sometimes liked Ambrose, but most of the time he was annoying.
I thought that Louna portraying Ethan as this great love was a bit ridiculous. Like, You knew him all of 20 seconds. I don’t know, maybe I’m just older now and can’t relate to her idea of love. I also found her to be a bit dull and boring and her cynicism really grated on my nerves. As I stated before, Ambrose had his charming moments and I get that he was coded to be neurodivergent, but that was never addressed so he just came off like an annoying ass. Honestly I was more interested in her mom, in William, and Jilly.
Overall, I don’t think this is Sarah Dessen’s best work. It certainly wasn’t for me which was disappointing.