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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
From the moment I saw that quirky, adorable cover, The Museum of Heartbreak most definitely had to be on my TBR. The cover actually fits this book perfectly, and, while flawed, The Museum of Heartbreak is certainly quirky and cute.
There’s a lot that The Museum of Heartbreak gets right. The friends to lovers ship is completely adorable, and I shipped it right from the start. Keats could take a hike, even when he was saying and doing mostly the right things. I’m a fan of romances where the heroine dates a guy who’s wrong and toxic and figures out what sort of romance she needs in her life. It feels so real and healthy. Plus, friends to lovers doesn’t always work for me, but this one had a sort of Jane by Design achey shippiness to it.
The friendships are also pretty well done. I’d have liked a bit more from the friendship love triangle (is this a thing?) of Penelope/Audrey/Charisse, but Leder gets across the ever-shifting, complicated nature of friendships. There’s a lot of friend fighting in The Museum of Heartbreak, and there’s a sense of how the good relationships will survive that and some just won’t. It’s all part of growing up. I also really liked Penelope’s arc of meeting new friends in Miles and Grace. Plus, Oscar totally low key stole the show.
However, I have some issues with the way this book is constructed. For some reason, the first two chapters are taken from the ending. This isn’t that odd for fiction, but the thing with it here is that they’re not labeled as a prologue, just as Present Day, which isn’t as clear. Also, they’re VERY WEIRD CHAPTERS. They threw me off for a long time. You are thrown into a deep end of dinosaurs with no explanation. Rather than hooking me and making me want to finish, those chapters at the start made me consider DNFing. That’s bad placement. Another strange element is that the last chapter’s narration is told directly to Ephraim, rather than being standard narrative first person. This was alarming and distracted me from the cuteness of the ship.
Aside from that, the plot lines followed incredibly predictable lines. The plot with Eph’s parents could not have been more obvious and was scarcely dealt with. The way everything with Keats turned out and the inevitable fight when Eph confessed his changed feelings all followed lines so predictable that I couldn’t help roll my eyes at it. The Museum of Heartbreak would have benefited from taking a step back from some of those things.
If you’re looking for some cute friends to lover ship action, The Museum of Heartbreak might be what you want. However, I’d recommend perhaps starting at the chapter that opens with a picture of Watchmen.
There’s a lot that The Museum of Heartbreak gets right. The friends to lovers ship is completely adorable, and I shipped it right from the start. Keats could take a hike, even when he was saying and doing mostly the right things. I’m a fan of romances where the heroine dates a guy who’s wrong and toxic and figures out what sort of romance she needs in her life. It feels so real and healthy. Plus, friends to lovers doesn’t always work for me, but this one had a sort of Jane by Design achey shippiness to it.
The friendships are also pretty well done. I’d have liked a bit more from the friendship love triangle (is this a thing?) of Penelope/Audrey/Charisse, but Leder gets across the ever-shifting, complicated nature of friendships. There’s a lot of friend fighting in The Museum of Heartbreak, and there’s a sense of how the good relationships will survive that and some just won’t. It’s all part of growing up. I also really liked Penelope’s arc of meeting new friends in Miles and Grace. Plus, Oscar totally low key stole the show.
However, I have some issues with the way this book is constructed. For some reason, the first two chapters are taken from the ending. This isn’t that odd for fiction, but the thing with it here is that they’re not labeled as a prologue, just as Present Day, which isn’t as clear. Also, they’re VERY WEIRD CHAPTERS. They threw me off for a long time. You are thrown into a deep end of dinosaurs with no explanation. Rather than hooking me and making me want to finish, those chapters at the start made me consider DNFing. That’s bad placement. Another strange element is that the last chapter’s narration is told directly to Ephraim, rather than being standard narrative first person. This was alarming and distracted me from the cuteness of the ship.
Aside from that, the plot lines followed incredibly predictable lines. The plot with Eph’s parents could not have been more obvious and was scarcely dealt with. The way everything with Keats turned out and the inevitable fight when Eph confessed his changed feelings all followed lines so predictable that I couldn’t help roll my eyes at it. The Museum of Heartbreak would have benefited from taking a step back from some of those things.
If you’re looking for some cute friends to lover ship action, The Museum of Heartbreak might be what you want. However, I’d recommend perhaps starting at the chapter that opens with a picture of Watchmen.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!! I will definitely be buying a copy of this! Review to come!
***
11/2 - Read this for a second time because I love it so much. It was definitely the right time for a reread :)
***
11/2 - Read this for a second time because I love it so much. It was definitely the right time for a reread :)
"I wished I could go back to the time before I ever knew things could be broken."
I don't know what it is about this book that made me really adore it, but here you go. At the very beginning, I wasn't sure if I want to finish it, because it seemed very much like just another teenage drama, but I grew to really like the characters and started enjoying the reading.
I think maybe because I'm a little weird and different from people around me and don't know any other "weird" people in real life, but I really grew attached to the characters in this book. I loved all their quirks and craziness. Sure, the main character Pen had her flaws and made some questionable decisions, but I could definitely sympathise with her and she seemed more realistic. I adored the secondary characters as well.
The only thing that irritated me was how stereotypical the "bad" character was. Sure, there are people like that but it felt a tad bit too cliche. There also wasn't much of a story to this book, but the thing that ultimately made me turn the pages were the characters, so I ended up being fine with this.
Overall, it was a lot of quirkiness and a lot of cuteness, and I had fun reading it.
Find me at Instagram, tumblr and pinterest.
I don't know what it is about this book that made me really adore it, but here you go. At the very beginning, I wasn't sure if I want to finish it, because it seemed very much like just another teenage drama, but I grew to really like the characters and started enjoying the reading.
I think maybe because I'm a little weird and different from people around me and don't know any other "weird" people in real life, but I really grew attached to the characters in this book. I loved all their quirks and craziness. Sure, the main character Pen had her flaws and made some questionable decisions, but I could definitely sympathise with her and she seemed more realistic. I adored the secondary characters as well.
The only thing that irritated me was how stereotypical the "bad" character was. Sure, there are people like that but it felt a tad bit too cliche. There also wasn't much of a story to this book, but the thing that ultimately made me turn the pages were the characters, so I ended up being fine with this.
Overall, it was a lot of quirkiness and a lot of cuteness, and I had fun reading it.
Find me at Instagram, tumblr and pinterest.
Actual Rating: 3.5
First of all, I would like to thank Ms. Meg for sending me a copy! ♥ I instantly fell in love with the cover. It's so adorable.
Penelope, Audrey and Ephraim are best friends forever. But things start to change now that they're in their junior high. Audrey starts to hang out with Cherrise (who is always mean to Pen) while Eph is dating almost every girl. Pen is not a fan of change but she doesn't have much choices but to accept it. On their first day at school, a handsome guy appears and Pen falls head over heels in love with him.
The characters are relatable and realistic but I had a hard time connecting with some of them. Plus, I didn't learn so much things about them.
Penelope is a loves to read and collect/keep little things which later on became the artifacts in her Museum of Heartbreak. I personally didn't like her that much. She is a hopeless romantic which is not bad but she often comes off like desperate (or trying hard) towards Keats (the perfect boy. Ugh!) which I found annoying. I'm not actually blaming her because it's her first time getting some attention from a guy. Keat is obviously a douche and it took awhile for her to see that. Both of her best friends, Ephraim and Audrey, warned her about him but of course, she didn't listen.
Ephraim, aka "tall, handsome hottie", is probably one of my favorite characters, aside from the members of Nevermore (school's literary magazine). He is so talented and I liked his sense of humor. He's a very loyal and supporting friend. I liked his friendship with Pen.
The writing style is fun and easy to read. I did like the concept of the story and the illustrations in the beginning of every chapter. I liked the dinosaurs (they are everywhere), New York (the greatest city in the world!), the Helvetica Cafe, the Dead Poet's Phone booth, and the Willo Project.
The romance was cute but it wasn't that sweep-me-off-my-feet kind of romance. The story is sweet but it ends abruptly and quite predictable. I appreciated that the author shows us that heartbreak isn't always associated with romance but also with friendship and family.
Sometimes you get hurt. And sometimes you're the one doing the hurt. p.265
Overall, The Museum of Heartbreak was an enjoyable read. I didn't love it but I can still recommend it if you're looking for a quick and fun read with great concept. And if you love dinosaurs. ♥
First of all, I would like to thank Ms. Meg for sending me a copy! ♥ I instantly fell in love with the cover. It's so adorable.
Penelope, Audrey and Ephraim are best friends forever. But things start to change now that they're in their junior high. Audrey starts to hang out with Cherrise (who is always mean to Pen) while Eph is dating almost every girl. Pen is not a fan of change but she doesn't have much choices but to accept it. On their first day at school, a handsome guy appears and Pen falls head over heels in love with him.
The characters are relatable and realistic but I had a hard time connecting with some of them. Plus, I didn't learn so much things about them.
Penelope is a loves to read and collect/keep little things which later on became the artifacts in her Museum of Heartbreak. I personally didn't like her that much. She is a hopeless romantic which is not bad but she often comes off like desperate (or trying hard) towards Keats (the perfect boy. Ugh!) which I found annoying. I'm not actually blaming her because it's her first time getting some attention from a guy. Keat is obviously a douche and it took awhile for her to see that. Both of her best friends, Ephraim and Audrey, warned her about him but of course, she didn't listen.
Ephraim, aka "tall, handsome hottie", is probably one of my favorite characters, aside from the members of Nevermore (school's literary magazine). He is so talented and I liked his sense of humor. He's a very loyal and supporting friend. I liked his friendship with Pen.
The writing style is fun and easy to read. I did like the concept of the story and the illustrations in the beginning of every chapter. I liked the dinosaurs (they are everywhere), New York (the greatest city in the world!), the Helvetica Cafe, the Dead Poet's Phone booth, and the Willo Project.
The romance was cute but it wasn't that sweep-me-off-my-feet kind of romance. The story is sweet but it ends abruptly and quite predictable. I appreciated that the author shows us that heartbreak isn't always associated with romance but also with friendship and family.
Sometimes you get hurt. And sometimes you're the one doing the hurt. p.265
Overall, The Museum of Heartbreak was an enjoyable read. I didn't love it but I can still recommend it if you're looking for a quick and fun read with great concept. And if you love dinosaurs. ♥
Boring boring boring. Everything was dumb and predictable, especially the characters.
While this book started out a bit slow and cliché, I must admit that slowly but surely, I ended up falling it love with it. The writing was cute and the setting admirable. I was always one who loved big cities. The main characters brought sadness to my heart, but the morose feelings were balanced out by the joy I felt from the minor characters. The new friends Penelope makes are the ones I connect with the most in this book. Honestly, I would've enjoyed this book even more if it was written to examine them, and their extraordinary lives. I myself often give sentimentality to everyday objects, so I suppose that's what really pulled me into this novel. In the end, though there were plot lines in this book I disliked, I can only paint this memory in a positive manner.
3.5 stars
Short and sweet, this was a charming read, though a few things did bother me about this book.
I thought the romance was sweet, and I adored the love interest, who was one of the sweetest boys I have ever read about. Reading about Penelope and him made the romantic in me soar, and it made me completely mushy at times. I found him to be a sweetheart and some of his kind gestures were truly thoughtful that it broke my heart towards the end.
Penelope herself was an endearing main character and narrator. She adores Anne of Green Gables, one of my childhood favorites, and is a idealistic romantic. I related to her social blunders and desire to stay with her friends forever, along with the fear of changing and growing out of things. And most of all, her earnest belief in the magic of true love and epic love stories like the movies won me over.
The Nevermore magazine group was a charm to read about and I really liked their introduction into this story. Grace and Miles were so warm and I really enjoyed seeing Penelope getting to know them.
While Penelope was a sweet girl and I connected with her wide-eyed demeanor, I admit that it made me sad to see her describe other girls, who may or may not be romantic rivals, in a negative manner. Slut-shaming or girl-shaming is really a trend that needs to disappear from YA, and I was disappointed that it appeared in this book.
Secondly, after reading the synopsis, I could clearly see how the plot of this book would flow, but I wish that the supporting characters had been a little more fleshed out and dimensional. For instance, Cherisse and Audrey were very stale in comparison to the other character in my opinion, and I could not muster much emotion besides maybe annoyance at times.
"I thought that maybe that was the point—that instead of happy endings, you get beginnings. Hundreds of little beginnings happening every moment, each of them layering into histories deep and tangled and new, histories you count on to remain, no matter what changes the world throws at you." - (~ARC p260)
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon Pulse for the review copy.
Short and sweet, this was a charming read, though a few things did bother me about this book.
I thought the romance was sweet, and I adored the love interest, who was one of the sweetest boys I have ever read about. Reading about Penelope and him made the romantic in me soar, and it made me completely mushy at times. I found him to be a sweetheart and some of his kind gestures were truly thoughtful that it broke my heart towards the end.
Penelope herself was an endearing main character and narrator. She adores Anne of Green Gables, one of my childhood favorites, and is a idealistic romantic. I related to her social blunders and desire to stay with her friends forever, along with the fear of changing and growing out of things. And most of all, her earnest belief in the magic of true love and epic love stories like the movies won me over.
The Nevermore magazine group was a charm to read about and I really liked their introduction into this story. Grace and Miles were so warm and I really enjoyed seeing Penelope getting to know them.
While Penelope was a sweet girl and I connected with her wide-eyed demeanor, I admit that it made me sad to see her describe other girls, who may or may not be romantic rivals, in a negative manner. Slut-shaming or girl-shaming is really a trend that needs to disappear from YA, and I was disappointed that it appeared in this book.
Secondly, after reading the synopsis, I could clearly see how the plot of this book would flow, but I wish that the supporting characters had been a little more fleshed out and dimensional. For instance, Cherisse and Audrey were very stale in comparison to the other character in my opinion, and I could not muster much emotion besides maybe annoyance at times.
"I thought that maybe that was the point—that instead of happy endings, you get beginnings. Hundreds of little beginnings happening every moment, each of them layering into histories deep and tangled and new, histories you count on to remain, no matter what changes the world throws at you." - (~ARC p260)
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon Pulse for the review copy.
Reminded me of a kinder gentler version of Why We Broke Up. There was this part about how Eph is so so tall and it goes on and on about I throughout the book. And then our MC wears boots that make her just as tall. But then the next sentence is like "Eph reached down..." What?! No he didn't! You just said you were taller in the boots! That is all.
When I first heard about this book I was so freaking excited. I loved the IDEA of this book and I just knew it would be one I loved. But unfortunately, this book I had been eagerly anticipating completely missed the mark with me.
Penelope's life has always been safe. She has the same friends, who do the same things, and talk about those things afterwards. Until one day a guy walks into her life. And he's nothing like she's ever known. She soon learns that can be a good thing or a bad thing. Soon things start to change faster than she thought.
The main reason I didn't like this book was the characters. In the very first few pages one of the characters makes a "fart" noise. Then throughout the book he's continuously described as saying stupid things like "Exsqueeze me" whenever someone says something that rhymes with fart. -__- I'm not sure if they author was trying to be funny, but it just didn't do it for me. It just got on my nerves. I'm one of those people that say it's crazy to say that YA characters are "young," but at the same time, these characters did. To be honest they seemed more like MG characters.
Another thing I didn't like about this one was the plot. I remember being able to figure out what was going to happen on page one. I would have liked it better if there was something I hadn't figured out was going to happen, but alas, I called it all. It just wasn't what I was expecting.
The only reason I didn't DNF this was because I was hoping to see some type of growth or change in Pen's character. But it didn't really happen with her. It happened with someone else. It wasn't prominent until the end of the story, but it was still a welcome change after everything that he'd been doing before.
To be honest, this was a little disappointing to me. I wanted to DNF it numerous times, but something told me to continue to give it a shot. I'm sure this will be great to others but it just wasn't for me.
Penelope's life has always been safe. She has the same friends, who do the same things, and talk about those things afterwards. Until one day a guy walks into her life. And he's nothing like she's ever known. She soon learns that can be a good thing or a bad thing. Soon things start to change faster than she thought.
The main reason I didn't like this book was the characters. In the very first few pages one of the characters makes a "fart" noise. Then throughout the book he's continuously described as saying stupid things like "Exsqueeze me" whenever someone says something that rhymes with fart. -__- I'm not sure if they author was trying to be funny, but it just didn't do it for me. It just got on my nerves. I'm one of those people that say it's crazy to say that YA characters are "young," but at the same time, these characters did. To be honest they seemed more like MG characters.
Another thing I didn't like about this one was the plot. I remember being able to figure out what was going to happen on page one. I would have liked it better if there was something I hadn't figured out was going to happen, but alas, I called it all. It just wasn't what I was expecting.
The only reason I didn't DNF this was because I was hoping to see some type of growth or change in Pen's character. But it didn't really happen with her. It happened with someone else. It wasn't prominent until the end of the story, but it was still a welcome change after everything that he'd been doing before.
To be honest, this was a little disappointing to me. I wanted to DNF it numerous times, but something told me to continue to give it a shot. I'm sure this will be great to others but it just wasn't for me.
Okay, so this was one of the cutest YA romances I've ever read. I loved the concept, and the way that it was executed was perfecto.
At times, Penelope proved pretty annoying, and I absolutely hated the boy she was with for most of it (he was a misogynistic dumpster fire), but I tore through this book so fast. I loved the way that it portrayed the kinds of heartbreak that we aren't normally exposed to in mainstream entertainment -- when your friends break your heart. Pen was both a heartbreaker and heartbroken in this novel, and I loved how realistic it all was.
I would recommend this book to fans of Jennifer E. Smith's work (and also those looking for a quick, light read -- it's only 279 pages)!
At times, Penelope proved pretty annoying, and I absolutely hated the boy she was with for most of it (he was a misogynistic dumpster fire), but I tore through this book so fast. I loved the way that it portrayed the kinds of heartbreak that we aren't normally exposed to in mainstream entertainment -- when your friends break your heart. Pen was both a heartbreaker and heartbroken in this novel, and I loved how realistic it all was.
I would recommend this book to fans of Jennifer E. Smith's work (and also those looking for a quick, light read -- it's only 279 pages)!