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pippity's review against another edition
3.0
Quite sweet, VERY British contemporary. Not one of my favourites but had some golden characters that I gobbled up happily. It wrapped up all a leeeeettle too quickly and conveniently for me but none-the-less a lovely, quick read. And I do love reading about a good flatshare.
adelesbookshelf's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
taegibee's review against another edition
3.0
So, I liked that this was dealing with 18+ characters because I can't really connect with 16/17 year olds as much anymore because we have different anxieties. And anxiety is the thing I feel was missing from this book. Where were the down to earth conversations about money and 'what the heck am I going to do with my life??' ?
I think it's trivialising to portray the 18-21 lifestyle as getting drunk, partying and having sex. More often than not, the conversations I have with my friends are about the future (mostly reassuring each other that we have futures!) in terms of living situation, job security, five step plans (on a good day). Being in your early 20s is a stressful time because you're setting up your career, and it's when a lot of mistakes are made. Friendships and relationships (and having fun) are of course important, but I feel like 'Counting Stars' was lacking some of the depth I was expecting.
No one really had a breakdown over what they were doing, and my friends and I are using the crying emoji unironically at least once a month! So in the end, it was as difficult to connect to as reading about a high school student.
I think it's trivialising to portray the 18-21 lifestyle as getting drunk, partying and having sex. More often than not, the conversations I have with my friends are about the future (mostly reassuring each other that we have futures!) in terms of living situation, job security, five step plans (on a good day). Being in your early 20s is a stressful time because you're setting up your career, and it's when a lot of mistakes are made. Friendships and relationships (and having fun) are of course important, but I feel like 'Counting Stars' was lacking some of the depth I was expecting.
No one really had a breakdown over what they were doing, and my friends and I are using the crying emoji unironically at least once a month! So in the end, it was as difficult to connect to as reading about a high school student.
tigerlilliereads's review against another edition
4.0
A solid 4.5 stars. I read this super quick and loved every minute of it! I probably would have read in one sitting if I hadn't had work or been so tired! It's great to have a book set around this age range and that is portrayed successfully. I feel this age is often skipped over or if it is done it's not done as truthfully. I love the setting and the characters and think that it was a really enjoyable read!
emilyjmead's review against another edition
3.0
I’m really happy that New Adult is a genre that’s slowly expanding.
And also a genre that isn’t just “YA with sex.” Because, you know, next year I’ll be at university and doing all the adulting things, and I think it’s great that I’ll have at least SOME books with protagonists going through the same thing.
Although let me just say that I’m SO glad I’m not in Anna’s shoes.
But it was nice to have a character whose plans didn’t involve university or college or whatever. And it was nice for a perspective where everything that could possibly go wrong DID go wrong, and yet things were okay in the end. Doing my final high school exams at the moment, I’m seeing SO SO many people freaking out about what their marks are going to be, whether they can get into their course to get a degree to get a good job etc etc.
This book shows you that there are other avenues out there, you know? I mean, after high school I could be a full-time professional wrestler, you never know.
My favourite part of COUNTING STARS was definitely the whole “living-with-flatmates” thing.
Eventually I’d like to move out with my own friends, and I was kind of looking for reassurance, with this book, that we wouldn’t end up wanting to kill each other.
BUT THEY WERE ALL SO LOVELY TO EACH OTHER AND SUPPORTIVE AND JUST GREAT. There’s this scene right at the beginning of the book where they’re all drinking together, and it gets hilarious and crazy pretty fast.
It went downhill a bit after that but still, it started well.
I think my MAIN quibble was with the omniscient narration. You know, EVERYONE gets to talk (even if they’re not very interesting).
I would have preferred just Anna’s narration, honestly. Instead you’re trying to keep track of everyone’s issues/job/personality/boyfriend/girlfriend and it’s just SO MUCH. My small brain can only handle so much, you know.
BUT I did like how all these different, chaotic views of adulthood were explored. Adulting is crazy, seriously. 0/10 would not recommend.
Overall, it’s a nice coming-of-adult novel (it’s a thing) with lots of unique characters and personal dramas.
I wasn’t crazy about it, but looking back it was a good read – totally recommend for anyone going out into the Big Wide World of Adulting.
And also a genre that isn’t just “YA with sex.” Because, you know, next year I’ll be at university and doing all the adulting things, and I think it’s great that I’ll have at least SOME books with protagonists going through the same thing.
Although let me just say that I’m SO glad I’m not in Anna’s shoes.
But it was nice to have a character whose plans didn’t involve university or college or whatever. And it was nice for a perspective where everything that could possibly go wrong DID go wrong, and yet things were okay in the end. Doing my final high school exams at the moment, I’m seeing SO SO many people freaking out about what their marks are going to be, whether they can get into their course to get a degree to get a good job etc etc.
This book shows you that there are other avenues out there, you know? I mean, after high school I could be a full-time professional wrestler, you never know.
My favourite part of COUNTING STARS was definitely the whole “living-with-flatmates” thing.
Eventually I’d like to move out with my own friends, and I was kind of looking for reassurance, with this book, that we wouldn’t end up wanting to kill each other.
BUT THEY WERE ALL SO LOVELY TO EACH OTHER AND SUPPORTIVE AND JUST GREAT. There’s this scene right at the beginning of the book where they’re all drinking together, and it gets hilarious and crazy pretty fast.
It went downhill a bit after that but still, it started well.
I think my MAIN quibble was with the omniscient narration. You know, EVERYONE gets to talk (even if they’re not very interesting).
I would have preferred just Anna’s narration, honestly. Instead you’re trying to keep track of everyone’s issues/job/personality/boyfriend/girlfriend and it’s just SO MUCH. My small brain can only handle so much, you know.
BUT I did like how all these different, chaotic views of adulthood were explored. Adulting is crazy, seriously. 0/10 would not recommend.
Overall, it’s a nice coming-of-adult novel (it’s a thing) with lots of unique characters and personal dramas.
I wasn’t crazy about it, but looking back it was a good read – totally recommend for anyone going out into the Big Wide World of Adulting.
marth3's review
4.0
I picked this book up because is set in my favorite city, Liverpool. I know, it's sad that the only reason for me picking this up is the setting.
What I didn't expect was to fall in love with almost all the characters. This was such a warm book. It didn't focus on sex, but on growing up, getting to know who you are, to experience love and heartbreak.
All I have to say is that I need more books about this friend group because I felt like the sixth roommate and I am pretty sure one of the rooms soon will be available to rent ;) So I hope that we get to know more about these characters and more about growing up. I licked the fact that this book reminded me of watch an episodes of friends. Even though each chapter changes main lead. You still have no problem following the story line. I also liked the GLBT aspect of this story.
So please, please, please write a second and/or a third book because I need to read more about my friends and my babies Alfie and Sean.
What I didn't expect was to fall in love with almost all the characters. This was such a warm book. It didn't focus on sex, but on growing up, getting to know who you are, to experience love and heartbreak.
All I have to say is that I need more books about this friend group because I felt like the sixth roommate and I am pretty sure one of the rooms soon will be available to rent ;) So I hope that we get to know more about these characters and more about growing up. I licked the fact that this book reminded me of watch an episodes of friends. Even though each chapter changes main lead. You still have no problem following the story line. I also liked the GLBT aspect of this story.
So please, please, please write a second and/or a third book because I need to read more about my friends and my babies Alfie and Sean.
laural27's review
4.0
I was gutted to have not picked up a copy of this at YALC last month and was so annoyed with myself! It isn’t out until September but they had early paperbacks for sale but in the huge rush of YALC I missed out on buying a copy. However I was so lucky to get a copy via NetGalley and dived straight in!
I have a lot I want to say about this novel so this could be a long one!
Counting Stars centres around Anna who moves to Liverpool to start working in a theatre whilst all of her peers are off to university. Anna doesn’t care that she’s not doing the whole ‘uni thing’, after all she’s got a guaranteed job at the place she did her work experience so knows that she’s going to love it. She moves into a house share in Liverpool and meets the eclectic cast of characters that make up the house. There’s Alfie, a hard working, over worked barista and student. Then Nina, who works in a hotel but should be at college. Then there’s Sean and Molly. Both who are students and are focused on their love lives.
As the plot progresses we see a whole host of obstacles stand up in front of Anna and the exciting adult dream of moving away from home doesn’t quite work out how she planned. But with her new friends, Anna finds that sometimes the best things in life are the things you don’t plan!
Ok, so I loved this book but equally had a lot of problems with it.
My biggest issue is that SO MUCH happens in this plot. There are sooooo many side plots with all of the different characters and whilst that means there’s never a dull moment, it felt that everything happened too quickly, nothing was explored in enough detail and everything was resolved too quickly. This cast of characters would lend themselves perfectly to a series of books and it would have been so nice to have one book per character rather than trying to fit all of their stories into this one. Perhaps Counting Stars could have been made longer? It just felt that really important and serious issues that Stainton brings up aren’t dealt with in enough detail before we jump onto the next problem. Perhaps this was the idea to keep the plot moving and mainly positive but I just think a trick was missed! There could have been a whole series of books around these characters. Also, one other niggle, the title was a little ambiguous. I’m not entirely sure that it suited the content of the book but that’s just a small thing!
There was so much I loved about this book though.
I loved the realistic portrayal of life away from home. It’s not a walk in the park and even though Anna seems to glide through it, it doesn’t make it seem easy. Anna’s flatmates all represent something different, there’s the token gay friend, the hot guy, the girl who’s a little shy and then the girl who’s got it all. They all are plagued with their own demons and as the saying so often goes, just because they look ok and happy on the outside, it doesn’t mean they’ve not got a lot going on in their lives that is hard. And I liked that Stainton made sure each character had something that was a challenge for them but like mentioned above, it would have been nice to have those explored even more.
The pace of this novel was perfect and I kept saying ‘just one more chapter’ but ended up finding myself still reading ten chapters later! It was really hard to put down as I became so invested in all of the characters and their different stories that I read this book in just two sittings!
Stainton has a really lovely writing style that makes her novels so easy to read – there are no jarring moments or sentences that you have to re-read to pick up the meaning and I love a book that has such a natural flow. Although, saying that, there were a few shocks in the plot that really did make me stop and re-read about a million times to make sure I wasn’t going mad and what was happening was actually happening!!
Counting Stars is a really great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However I would have loved to see this book divided into five or six separate books each one exploring a different character and a different issue.
I have a lot I want to say about this novel so this could be a long one!
Counting Stars centres around Anna who moves to Liverpool to start working in a theatre whilst all of her peers are off to university. Anna doesn’t care that she’s not doing the whole ‘uni thing’, after all she’s got a guaranteed job at the place she did her work experience so knows that she’s going to love it. She moves into a house share in Liverpool and meets the eclectic cast of characters that make up the house. There’s Alfie, a hard working, over worked barista and student. Then Nina, who works in a hotel but should be at college. Then there’s Sean and Molly. Both who are students and are focused on their love lives.
As the plot progresses we see a whole host of obstacles stand up in front of Anna and the exciting adult dream of moving away from home doesn’t quite work out how she planned. But with her new friends, Anna finds that sometimes the best things in life are the things you don’t plan!
Ok, so I loved this book but equally had a lot of problems with it.
My biggest issue is that SO MUCH happens in this plot. There are sooooo many side plots with all of the different characters and whilst that means there’s never a dull moment, it felt that everything happened too quickly, nothing was explored in enough detail and everything was resolved too quickly. This cast of characters would lend themselves perfectly to a series of books and it would have been so nice to have one book per character rather than trying to fit all of their stories into this one. Perhaps Counting Stars could have been made longer? It just felt that really important and serious issues that Stainton brings up aren’t dealt with in enough detail before we jump onto the next problem. Perhaps this was the idea to keep the plot moving and mainly positive but I just think a trick was missed! There could have been a whole series of books around these characters. Also, one other niggle, the title was a little ambiguous. I’m not entirely sure that it suited the content of the book but that’s just a small thing!
There was so much I loved about this book though.
I loved the realistic portrayal of life away from home. It’s not a walk in the park and even though Anna seems to glide through it, it doesn’t make it seem easy. Anna’s flatmates all represent something different, there’s the token gay friend, the hot guy, the girl who’s a little shy and then the girl who’s got it all. They all are plagued with their own demons and as the saying so often goes, just because they look ok and happy on the outside, it doesn’t mean they’ve not got a lot going on in their lives that is hard. And I liked that Stainton made sure each character had something that was a challenge for them but like mentioned above, it would have been nice to have those explored even more.
The pace of this novel was perfect and I kept saying ‘just one more chapter’ but ended up finding myself still reading ten chapters later! It was really hard to put down as I became so invested in all of the characters and their different stories that I read this book in just two sittings!
Stainton has a really lovely writing style that makes her novels so easy to read – there are no jarring moments or sentences that you have to re-read to pick up the meaning and I love a book that has such a natural flow. Although, saying that, there were a few shocks in the plot that really did make me stop and re-read about a million times to make sure I wasn’t going mad and what was happening was actually happening!!
Counting Stars is a really great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However I would have loved to see this book divided into five or six separate books each one exploring a different character and a different issue.
bianca89279's review
4.0
3.5 - 4 stars
Finally, a new adult novel that wasn't terrible! This was a realistic, cute without being overly sacharine-y and, most importantly, without the over-the-top dramas that are so prevalent in the NA genre. Or was this a Young Adult novel? I still get mixed up about these two subgenres. But anyway, that's not terribly important.
This is a coming of age novel, where 18-year-old Anna is terribly excited about leaving her parents' home and moving to the big city to start a new job. Her roommates are all very interesting and very nice people.
Anna's excitement is not long lived as she has to overcome a big disappointment. Alongside her, Alfie, Molly, Nina and Sean, her roommates, are all having their own struggles and issues to deal with.
I won't say too much more about the plot as I don't want to give away spoilers.
Counting Stars was a quick, enjoyable, competently written novel.
I've received this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Cover: 4.5 stars
Finally, a new adult novel that wasn't terrible! This was a realistic, cute without being overly sacharine-y and, most importantly, without the over-the-top dramas that are so prevalent in the NA genre. Or was this a Young Adult novel? I still get mixed up about these two subgenres. But anyway, that's not terribly important.
This is a coming of age novel, where 18-year-old Anna is terribly excited about leaving her parents' home and moving to the big city to start a new job. Her roommates are all very interesting and very nice people.
Anna's excitement is not long lived as she has to overcome a big disappointment. Alongside her, Alfie, Molly, Nina and Sean, her roommates, are all having their own struggles and issues to deal with.
I won't say too much more about the plot as I don't want to give away spoilers.
Counting Stars was a quick, enjoyable, competently written novel.
I've received this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Cover: 4.5 stars
laurenjamesauthor's review
5.0
I read this in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. I've been itching for a good 'first year of uni' book in forever and this really hit the spot. It's full of inter-housemate romances and scandalous plot developments and it's just deliciously perfect.
I fell in love with all of the characters and I would like to marry Alfie, please and thank you.
If you're a fan of Fresh Meat or Being Human then I highly recommend you check this out.
I fell in love with all of the characters and I would like to marry Alfie, please and thank you.
If you're a fan of Fresh Meat or Being Human then I highly recommend you check this out.