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hjhill_55's review against another edition
More of a sampling of this audio book. Not feeling it.
lauren_soderberg's review against another edition
5.0
There are novels that come along that defy their genres. That tap into a feeling so primal and deep that you can’t help but become completely immersed. To me, Erin Hahn’s More Than Maybe is one of those novels.
Luke Greenly loves music, but doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. The son of a famous punk rocker, Luke has all his father’s talent, with none of his desire for fame. He prefers to create music in secret, with no intention of ever performing for others. He also has a secret crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell, whose witty reviews and expansive musical knowledge speak to his soul. Vada has big plans for her future, and she’s on course to achieve them all. She also has a secret crush on the charmingly shy Luke. When Vada and Luke decide to team up on a school project, they realize that there might be a whole lot more depth to their feelings than either of them anticipated.
Above all, this is a story about soulmates in all their forms. And I mean “soulmate” in a way that defies a romantic description; rather, it’s finding the people whom your soul connects with, be it romantically, fraternally, or platonically. The dynamics between Vada/Luke, Cullen/Zack, Vada/Meg, Zack/Luke, and Luke/Cullen are just a few examples of how this idea permeates throughout the story. Every relationship in this book is fully actualized and feels wholly authentic. It’s also about how music (or whatever muse you follow) can also be a soulmate of sorts. Vada and Luke connect on almost a cellular level, and as their story unfolds, you feel present every step of the way. Hahn creates supporting characters whose lives also feel essential to the story, which is a testament to Hahn’s adept storytelling and world-building abilities.
More Than Maybe is beautiful, layered, and brilliantly plotted. It’s a novel that I plan on revisiting often, and should be on everyone’s TBR list for 2020.
**Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest (and, in this case, enthusiastic) review.**
Luke Greenly loves music, but doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. The son of a famous punk rocker, Luke has all his father’s talent, with none of his desire for fame. He prefers to create music in secret, with no intention of ever performing for others. He also has a secret crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell, whose witty reviews and expansive musical knowledge speak to his soul. Vada has big plans for her future, and she’s on course to achieve them all. She also has a secret crush on the charmingly shy Luke. When Vada and Luke decide to team up on a school project, they realize that there might be a whole lot more depth to their feelings than either of them anticipated.
Above all, this is a story about soulmates in all their forms. And I mean “soulmate” in a way that defies a romantic description; rather, it’s finding the people whom your soul connects with, be it romantically, fraternally, or platonically. The dynamics between Vada/Luke, Cullen/Zack, Vada/Meg, Zack/Luke, and Luke/Cullen are just a few examples of how this idea permeates throughout the story. Every relationship in this book is fully actualized and feels wholly authentic. It’s also about how music (or whatever muse you follow) can also be a soulmate of sorts. Vada and Luke connect on almost a cellular level, and as their story unfolds, you feel present every step of the way. Hahn creates supporting characters whose lives also feel essential to the story, which is a testament to Hahn’s adept storytelling and world-building abilities.
More Than Maybe is beautiful, layered, and brilliantly plotted. It’s a novel that I plan on revisiting often, and should be on everyone’s TBR list for 2020.
**Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest (and, in this case, enthusiastic) review.**
morganboyd's review against another edition
3.0
As my fantasy slump continues, I picked up Erin Hahn's latest novel because I adored You'd Be Mine. This was everything I was expecting- nothing more, nothing less. The romance was slow-burn and super cute. I loved all of the music references, but I just wish the characters had been a little more developed. I wanted more of the side characters, especially Vada's best friend. Overall, this is a perfect read for any YA reader, and I do recommend it.
whitneymouse's review against another edition
5.0
**Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair review. This in no way affected my review of the book**
"We want to be moved and changed and knocked over and pieced back together. We want to swoon and taste and cry and scream to the sky, Yes, this."
I experienced all of those emotions and more while reading Erin Hahn's More Than Maybe. And I indeed will be screaming to the sky "Yes, this!" I can say with no hyperbole that this very well may be my favorite book of the year. It will be incredibly hard to top it. I loved it wholeheartedly.
More Than Maybe is about Vada Carsewell, a music blogger who works at a local dive bar, and Luke Greenly, a boy who has a podcast with his twin. The two have mutual crushes on each other without the other knowing and are connected by their shared love of music. When the two start to work together on a school project, the feelings intensify and might lead to them becoming "more than a maybe".
First off, I just have to say that the music recommendations from this book were out of this world (I will forgive the Taylor Swift mention because the others very much outweigh her). The fact that The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" was mentioned more than once had me swooning in my chair, as it is one of my favorites and helped me connect with the characters impeccable taste even more. The songs I didn't know I looked up and there wasn't one among the bunch I didn't enjoy. I love books where at least one character is deeply into music, but this felt like it was on another level of good taste. Bravo on the playlist.
I also really enjoyed Vada and Luke as separate characters and as a couple. Vada is shown to be intelligent, competent and strong willed, but also has vulnerability to her. It's nice to see a female lead who can be tough and soft at the same time. I have no doubt Vada could hold her own in any given situation, but she doesn't have to come off as too tough for feelings. I love that rawness about her. Her home situation also closely mirrored mine as a teenager (single mother with an out of the picture, but still kind of around and emotionally negligent/abusive father). So on that personal note, I related to Vada and her relationship with her mother. That felt very real to me. Luke describes himself as a "high-functioning introvert in a houseful of raging extroverts" at one point and that also spoke to my soul. He's very private, but also very funny, caring, and willing to put himself out there for those he loves. The two together had a slow burn romance, which I love. It didn't feel rushed or forced, but natural. More romances like this, please!
The minor characters were also interesting. I liked Luke's twin brother, Cullen, and Vada's best friend, Meg, a lot. They were fun and didn't feel like filler characters like some background characters can. The way family was portrayed in this felt accurate to the way you feel misunderstood as a teen trying to branch out into newfound adulthood without feeling disrespectful to the parents, which I don't often find in YA books. I never felt like the protagonists were unfair in their handling of themselves with their parents. I liked that Hahn never felt like she had to portray the parents as uncaring or inept so that the teen protagonists had something to react to. It was very well done.
Overall, this book was just masterful. It is both humorous and heartbreaking. It will bring you to high highs and leave you sobbing in a puddle on the floor. To borrow Vada's review technique, if this book were a song, it would be an eye-closer the whole way through. You should sprint --not run-- to your local book store to pick up this one. I loved each and every minute of it and know that Luke and Vada will be with me for a long time to come. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
"We want to be moved and changed and knocked over and pieced back together. We want to swoon and taste and cry and scream to the sky, Yes, this."
I experienced all of those emotions and more while reading Erin Hahn's More Than Maybe. And I indeed will be screaming to the sky "Yes, this!" I can say with no hyperbole that this very well may be my favorite book of the year. It will be incredibly hard to top it. I loved it wholeheartedly.
More Than Maybe is about Vada Carsewell, a music blogger who works at a local dive bar, and Luke Greenly, a boy who has a podcast with his twin. The two have mutual crushes on each other without the other knowing and are connected by their shared love of music. When the two start to work together on a school project, the feelings intensify and might lead to them becoming "more than a maybe".
First off, I just have to say that the music recommendations from this book were out of this world (I will forgive the Taylor Swift mention because the others very much outweigh her). The fact that The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" was mentioned more than once had me swooning in my chair, as it is one of my favorites and helped me connect with the characters impeccable taste even more. The songs I didn't know I looked up and there wasn't one among the bunch I didn't enjoy. I love books where at least one character is deeply into music, but this felt like it was on another level of good taste. Bravo on the playlist.
I also really enjoyed Vada and Luke as separate characters and as a couple. Vada is shown to be intelligent, competent and strong willed, but also has vulnerability to her. It's nice to see a female lead who can be tough and soft at the same time. I have no doubt Vada could hold her own in any given situation, but she doesn't have to come off as too tough for feelings. I love that rawness about her. Her home situation also closely mirrored mine as a teenager (single mother with an out of the picture, but still kind of around and emotionally negligent/abusive father). So on that personal note, I related to Vada and her relationship with her mother. That felt very real to me. Luke describes himself as a "high-functioning introvert in a houseful of raging extroverts" at one point and that also spoke to my soul. He's very private, but also very funny, caring, and willing to put himself out there for those he loves. The two together had a slow burn romance, which I love. It didn't feel rushed or forced, but natural. More romances like this, please!
The minor characters were also interesting. I liked Luke's twin brother, Cullen, and Vada's best friend, Meg, a lot. They were fun and didn't feel like filler characters like some background characters can. The way family was portrayed in this felt accurate to the way you feel misunderstood as a teen trying to branch out into newfound adulthood without feeling disrespectful to the parents, which I don't often find in YA books. I never felt like the protagonists were unfair in their handling of themselves with their parents. I liked that Hahn never felt like she had to portray the parents as uncaring or inept so that the teen protagonists had something to react to. It was very well done.
Overall, this book was just masterful. It is both humorous and heartbreaking. It will bring you to high highs and leave you sobbing in a puddle on the floor. To borrow Vada's review technique, if this book were a song, it would be an eye-closer the whole way through. You should sprint --not run-- to your local book store to pick up this one. I loved each and every minute of it and know that Luke and Vada will be with me for a long time to come. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
ris_stitches's review against another edition
4.0
This was so good! I so love a well-written teenager or two!
nvsa's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
thatlizhunter's review against another edition
5.0
so this was absolutely the boost of serotonin i needed in my life!!!! Luke and Vada were both such dynamic characters and the way they secretly crushed on each stole my heart.
Also, Luke's brother Cullen and his boyfriend, also the BEST. I love how their relationship was so rich and just stole my heart. Ahhhhh, I'm a sucker for siblings and friendships.
Some content warnings - there is quite a bit of alcohol on page. The teenagers don't drink but they do work in a bar and mix drinks while adults consume alcohol.
Also, Luke's brother Cullen and his boyfriend, also the BEST. I love how their relationship was so rich and just stole my heart. Ahhhhh, I'm a sucker for siblings and friendships.
Some content warnings - there is quite a bit of alcohol on page. The teenagers don't drink but they do work in a bar and mix drinks while adults consume alcohol.