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kjanie's review against another edition
3.0
2.5/5 stars
Honestly, I thought I would enjoy this book a whole lot more. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book but I've been hearing the best things about it for a while now, and I just wasn't feeling it. I feel like this book was just too quick for me to really connect to the story on an emotional level. I didn't feel really connected to any of the relationships, meaning that the emotional parts of the story were lost on me. I did enjoy the overall book though and I thought the characters were nice and quirky. I also really had fun reading the scenes with all of the friends together, having their banter, it just reminded me so much of high school. Really, there's nothing that I particularly disliked about this book, it's just everything seemed okay and I was hoping for more. I'm still going to read the next book in the series, and fingers-crossed I connect to that one more.
Evelyn is a humble girl with small dreams. Sure, she knows that she isn't wealthy and her neighbourhood isn't the greatest, but it's enough for her and her small family. Evelyn doesn't need the big world to make her happy, it's the small things that bring a smile to her face. Her friends. Her garden. Dylan. Evelyn's small world is broken apart when Dylan barges into her life. He is so unlike her, but they also seem complementary, they've barely met but they seem to know each other best of all. Dylan dreams big, he knows that he's going to be successful one day and break out of the small neighbourhood where he feels trapped. So Dylan and Evelyn stay together for the now, knowing that their futures don't exactly align, even if they want them to.
I'm really not sure what to say about this one. It wasn't like there was anything necessarily bad about the book, but I also wasn't excited about anything either. I've heard so many great things about this story, was I guess it was disappointing that I didn't feel much of anything while reading it. At times I empathised with the characters and was beginning to feel connected to their story, best I never really got there. I feel like this book has so much potential, and obviously others find it to be the emotional, passionate story that I was hoping it would be.
I also wasn't connecting to the age of the characters in contrast to the tone of the book. This was written like an adult romance book, with the maturity of the characters and the way sexuality was explored, but it had very high school elements as well. Mixing these two aspects together didn't really sit right with me, which was probably another reason why I didn't feel as connected to the story. I also feel like books set in a high school have to be very careful not to fall into a cliche or a stereotype. There are so many stereotyped character in high schools, especially in books, and I saw that coming to play in this book. In saying this, the story definitely wasn't overly cliche and the characters were pretty unique in their own right.
Even though I didn't really connect to this story, I still enjoyed it enough to keep reading and I am looking forward to reading the second book. Evelyn and Dylan, actually most of the characters, were interesting and unique. They were likeable people who all had small quirks and flaws that really brought them to life. I especially enjoyed when they were all together interacting, the camaraderie between this group was very enjoyable. I guess I also liked Dylan and Evelyn together. It definitely isn't my favourite romance, especially because it progresses way too quickly, but it was sweet and heartfelt. I'm hoping it is explored further and with more passion in the next book!
"I knew I’d never love anyone in my life like I loved Dylan O’Dea. He would always own my heart. Always."
Honestly, I thought I would enjoy this book a whole lot more. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book but I've been hearing the best things about it for a while now, and I just wasn't feeling it. I feel like this book was just too quick for me to really connect to the story on an emotional level. I didn't feel really connected to any of the relationships, meaning that the emotional parts of the story were lost on me. I did enjoy the overall book though and I thought the characters were nice and quirky. I also really had fun reading the scenes with all of the friends together, having their banter, it just reminded me so much of high school. Really, there's nothing that I particularly disliked about this book, it's just everything seemed okay and I was hoping for more. I'm still going to read the next book in the series, and fingers-crossed I connect to that one more.
Evelyn is a humble girl with small dreams. Sure, she knows that she isn't wealthy and her neighbourhood isn't the greatest, but it's enough for her and her small family. Evelyn doesn't need the big world to make her happy, it's the small things that bring a smile to her face. Her friends. Her garden. Dylan. Evelyn's small world is broken apart when Dylan barges into her life. He is so unlike her, but they also seem complementary, they've barely met but they seem to know each other best of all. Dylan dreams big, he knows that he's going to be successful one day and break out of the small neighbourhood where he feels trapped. So Dylan and Evelyn stay together for the now, knowing that their futures don't exactly align, even if they want them to.
“This isn’t the end for us. I promise. This is just the in-between. I’ll find you in the after.”
I'm really not sure what to say about this one. It wasn't like there was anything necessarily bad about the book, but I also wasn't excited about anything either. I've heard so many great things about this story, was I guess it was disappointing that I didn't feel much of anything while reading it. At times I empathised with the characters and was beginning to feel connected to their story, best I never really got there. I feel like this book has so much potential, and obviously others find it to be the emotional, passionate story that I was hoping it would be.
I also wasn't connecting to the age of the characters in contrast to the tone of the book. This was written like an adult romance book, with the maturity of the characters and the way sexuality was explored, but it had very high school elements as well. Mixing these two aspects together didn't really sit right with me, which was probably another reason why I didn't feel as connected to the story. I also feel like books set in a high school have to be very careful not to fall into a cliche or a stereotype. There are so many stereotyped character in high schools, especially in books, and I saw that coming to play in this book. In saying this, the story definitely wasn't overly cliche and the characters were pretty unique in their own right.
Even though I didn't really connect to this story, I still enjoyed it enough to keep reading and I am looking forward to reading the second book. Evelyn and Dylan, actually most of the characters, were interesting and unique. They were likeable people who all had small quirks and flaws that really brought them to life. I especially enjoyed when they were all together interacting, the camaraderie between this group was very enjoyable. I guess I also liked Dylan and Evelyn together. It definitely isn't my favourite romance, especially because it progresses way too quickly, but it was sweet and heartfelt. I'm hoping it is explored further and with more passion in the next book!
nononanette's review
3.0
I really liked it. Her characters were all interesting and well developed. Since gang violence played such a pivotal role the book could have been much richer had Cosway been able to make it more vivid, less a plot device. I know it's just a romance so perhaps I'm expecting too much.
tayslibrarybooks's review
2.0
A Crack in Everything (Cracks Duet, #1)
2.5 stars
'Because I can only see my dreams clearly when I look through you first
I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this book. The synopsis is very vague and I wasn't sure if that vague-ness would carry over into the actual prose. Unfortunately, A Crack in Everything seemed to suffer from an identity crisis.
Set in a low-income housing block in Dublin, Ireland, the novel follows Evelyn - known as Ev - through her final year of college. While it is categorized as a romance novel, it can also be read as a coming of age story.
I had two main problems with A Crack in Everything: first, that Cosway tells so much throughout the story. Instead of showing us scenes where Evelyn falls in love with Dylan, it is told to the reader through paragraphs of exposition. There are moments of good prose, but those are overshadowed by the clunky way that the story unfolds.
The second problem
2.5 stars
'Because I can only see my dreams clearly when I look through you first
I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this book. The synopsis is very vague and I wasn't sure if that vague-ness would carry over into the actual prose. Unfortunately, A Crack in Everything seemed to suffer from an identity crisis.
Set in a low-income housing block in Dublin, Ireland, the novel follows Evelyn - known as Ev - through her final year of college. While it is categorized as a romance novel, it can also be read as a coming of age story.
I had two main problems with A Crack in Everything: first, that Cosway tells so much throughout the story. Instead of showing us scenes where Evelyn falls in love with Dylan, it is told to the reader through paragraphs of exposition. There are moments of good prose, but those are overshadowed by the clunky way that the story unfolds.
The second problem
Spoiler
was Cosway's implementation of the 'kill the gays' trope. With the death of Evelyn's best friend Sam, it only served to create growth for Ev and tension for her and Dylan's relationship rather than actually to center around Sam.corymouse's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Homophobia
justmiaslife's review against another edition
3.0
Wie bereits schon erwähnt war die Geschichte ganz nett für zwischendurch, aber leider ist sie trotz meiner großen Vorfreude nicht ganz an meine Erwartungen rangekommen. Ich bin trotzdem sehr gespannt auf Teil 2 und hoffe, dass die Geschichte als abgeschlossene Reihe im Nachhinein dann nochmal besser funktioniert.
Allerdings kann ich es überhaupt nicht verstehen, wieso das Buch in zwei Teile aufgeteilt wird. Ja, das ist auch im Original so und ich weiß es gibt einen Zeitsprung, allerdings fühlen sich knapp 280 Seiten einfach zu wenig für ein Buch an. Es ist quasi nichts passiert und ich hätte mir einfach MEHR gewünscht. Mehr Tiefe. Mehr Handlung. Mehr Gefühle.
Glaube wenn beide Teile in einem herausgekommen wären, hätte ich mir ein besseres Bild über die Handlung bilden können. Aber das ist natürlich auch meckern auf sehr hohem Niveau. Alles in allem ist die Geschichte trotzdem lesenswert, meiner Meinung nach aber kein Muss.
Allerdings kann ich es überhaupt nicht verstehen, wieso das Buch in zwei Teile aufgeteilt wird. Ja, das ist auch im Original so und ich weiß es gibt einen Zeitsprung, allerdings fühlen sich knapp 280 Seiten einfach zu wenig für ein Buch an. Es ist quasi nichts passiert und ich hätte mir einfach MEHR gewünscht. Mehr Tiefe. Mehr Handlung. Mehr Gefühle.
Glaube wenn beide Teile in einem herausgekommen wären, hätte ich mir ein besseres Bild über die Handlung bilden können. Aber das ist natürlich auch meckern auf sehr hohem Niveau. Alles in allem ist die Geschichte trotzdem lesenswert, meiner Meinung nach aber kein Muss.
alleskelle's review against another edition
3.0
I started "A Crack In Everything" feeling exceptionally hopeful. I hadn't read much lately and I figured fate was throwing me a hand because finally, finally I could take a breather and read something for me.
So I started this duet I had requested an Arc for, feeling every bit curious and intrigued. The covers have this enigmatic feel to them, coupled to a blurb promising second chance at love, I decided fate was really sending me a message and so I started to read with eager hopefulness and anticipation.
And man, LH Cosway really is Queen of endearing quirky characters. Flawed and down to earth. I think my love for her books comes from how mundane —but not without sparks— her heroines and heroes are. They're you, me, but with this little something that makes them unique and interesting. Sparse excentricity. Just the right amount of crazy and unconventional to make them special.
She writes beautiful love stories deeply grounded in your or mine everyday, adding a dash of madness to it transforming something mundane into a modern fairy tale. She tells her stories from a unique angle and her writing is refreshing. So yeah, you could say I was feeling every bit hopeful and eager to dive into this new story.
As such I just adored the beginning, I quickly developed feelings for Evelyn and Dylan. The gentle and sweet bonding between them was just lovely. Knowing at some point they would grow apart made me appreciate all the more their undeniable bond, their shared appreciation for flowers, and their growing chemistry. Together they were really effin' cute.
What started to make me feel... detached was the reason invoked for their pending break up. It didn't make sense to me that the heroine would be so insistent upon setting both her future with Dylan to fail over something that felt like nonsense—to me. I know, I know... It's fiction, the story needed it... But that's my point, their separation felt so... contrived it ruined my enjoyment of the book right then and in the long run. So I started to focus on their little group of friends. Secondary characters became my primary focus, I was already imagining sequels focused on their stories... lol
To my dismay, the one character I was loving even more than Evelyn and Dylan would not make it to the end of the story. I felt ripped of my sole source of enjoyment before I could even finish part one of this duet. Damn it, why? Probably because Evelyn and Dylan imminent separation felt like such a non eventful occurence, the story required something to cry over about? It sure felt like this to me.
I started book 2 with my eagerness hiding in a corner and just a feeling... I'm not quite sure. In the second part we're starting with a 10 years fast forward or so, Evelyn and Dylan conveniently find themselves in the same place again, New York this time.
Eveything in this part felt even more forced somehow. Evelyn even after all these years acts the opposite to what her heart tells her, Dylan is still as confident and steady as ever and never stopped loving Ev.
Okay. Without surprise we know where this is going, how everything is going to play out and even the hommage given to their long lost friend isn't enough to put my heart back in the game.
I'm just reading a monotonous insta love story that lacks feelings and chemistry.
You could say this one missed the mark for me, I enjoyed many things early in the book, but quickly grew disconnected from both main characters. Many of my friends felt the exact opposite as I did and loved The Cracks Duet. If you enjoyed this author in the past, you'll find here what you love about her writing, so don't let my picky and moody self deter you. Check out other reviews!
I received an advance copy of this book.
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
So I started this duet I had requested an Arc for, feeling every bit curious and intrigued. The covers have this enigmatic feel to them, coupled to a blurb promising second chance at love, I decided fate was really sending me a message and so I started to read with eager hopefulness and anticipation.
And man, LH Cosway really is Queen of endearing quirky characters. Flawed and down to earth. I think my love for her books comes from how mundane —but not without sparks— her heroines and heroes are. They're you, me, but with this little something that makes them unique and interesting. Sparse excentricity. Just the right amount of crazy and unconventional to make them special.
She writes beautiful love stories deeply grounded in your or mine everyday, adding a dash of madness to it transforming something mundane into a modern fairy tale. She tells her stories from a unique angle and her writing is refreshing. So yeah, you could say I was feeling every bit hopeful and eager to dive into this new story.
As such I just adored the beginning, I quickly developed feelings for Evelyn and Dylan. The gentle and sweet bonding between them was just lovely. Knowing at some point they would grow apart made me appreciate all the more their undeniable bond, their shared appreciation for flowers, and their growing chemistry. Together they were really effin' cute.
What started to make me feel... detached was the reason invoked for their pending break up. It didn't make sense to me that the heroine would be so insistent upon setting both her future with Dylan to fail over something that felt like nonsense—to me. I know, I know... It's fiction, the story needed it... But that's my point, their separation felt so... contrived it ruined my enjoyment of the book right then and in the long run. So I started to focus on their little group of friends. Secondary characters became my primary focus, I was already imagining sequels focused on their stories... lol
To my dismay, the one character I was loving even more than Evelyn and Dylan would not make it to the end of the story. I felt ripped of my sole source of enjoyment before I could even finish part one of this duet. Damn it, why? Probably because Evelyn and Dylan imminent separation felt like such a non eventful occurence, the story required something to cry over about? It sure felt like this to me.
I started book 2 with my eagerness hiding in a corner and just a feeling... I'm not quite sure. In the second part we're starting with a 10 years fast forward or so, Evelyn and Dylan conveniently find themselves in the same place again, New York this time.
Eveything in this part felt even more forced somehow. Evelyn even after all these years acts the opposite to what her heart tells her, Dylan is still as confident and steady as ever and never stopped loving Ev.
Okay. Without surprise we know where this is going, how everything is going to play out and even the hommage given to their long lost friend isn't enough to put my heart back in the game.
I'm just reading a monotonous insta love story that lacks feelings and chemistry.
You could say this one missed the mark for me, I enjoyed many things early in the book, but quickly grew disconnected from both main characters. Many of my friends felt the exact opposite as I did and loved The Cracks Duet. If you enjoyed this author in the past, you'll find here what you love about her writing, so don't let my picky and moody self deter you. Check out other reviews!
I received an advance copy of this book.
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
buecherperlen's review against another edition
3.0
Sehr berührend und ein besonderer, romantischer Schreibstil und doch gibt es Schwachpunkte
Besonders der Schreibstil der Autorin fällt bei diesem Werk auf. Er ist nicht nur unglaublich flüssig, angenehm zu folgen, sondern auch sehr romantisch und beinahe poetisch. Man bemerkt, den Witz und die Klugheit der Autorin durch die Seiten hinweg und das hat vor allem bei mir den Lesespaß ausgemacht.
Die Protagonisten sind deshalb beinahe genauso besonders. Evelyn ist in ihre Pflanzen und ihren besten schwulen Freund Sam vernarrt. Sie ist ein unheimlich positiver und glücklicher Mensch, der sich nicht unterkriegen lässt von der Welt um sie herum oder den Situationen, die ihr aufgehalst werden.
Dylan hingegen ist das genaue Gegenteil. Seinen Pessimismus trägt er auf der Zunge und er sieht die Welt etwas zu negativ. Dabei ist er immer unglaublich ehrlich und nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund um seine klugen und doch erschreckend wahren Gedanken zurückzuhalten.
Dafür strahlen seine Träume umso heller und er setzt alles daran, diese in die Tat umzusetzen.
Die beiden scheinen sich auf den ersten Blick also zu ergänzen. Ich mochte besonders den Aspekt, wie die beiden sich langsam annähern und man dabei nicht das Gefühl hat, dass es in die Länge gestreckt wurde oder unnötiges Drama hinzugefügt wurde. Es erschien mir sehr natürlich und damit real. Die Dialoge der beiden haben mich oftmals verliebt schmunzeln lassen, da sie wirklich süße, beinahe schon schmalzige Worte füreinander finden.
Auch hat jeder von ihnen etwas besonderes an sich, was ich wirklich gut fand, da es den Charakteren noch mehr tiefe verleiht.
Letztendlich ist der beschriebene „tragische Unfall“ für mich allerdings etwas missformuliert. Denn die hier beschriebene Gewalt ist alles andere als ein Unfall! Es ist schrecklich, menschenverachtend und doch realistisch. Trotzdem komme ich nicht darüber hinweg, dass es hier als „Unfall“ gespoilert wurde. Denn tragisch ist das Geschehen, ja. Doch da mit Vorsatz gehandelt wurde, ist es kein Unfall.
Fazit: Letztendlich ist dieses Buch wirklich schön!
Durch die Kürze ist eigentlich schnell klar, dass nicht viel an Handlung vorhanden ist, der Fokus daher auf den Charakteren liegt.
Somit gibt es hier viele Höhen doch auch einige Schwachpunkte!
Besonders der Schreibstil der Autorin fällt bei diesem Werk auf. Er ist nicht nur unglaublich flüssig, angenehm zu folgen, sondern auch sehr romantisch und beinahe poetisch. Man bemerkt, den Witz und die Klugheit der Autorin durch die Seiten hinweg und das hat vor allem bei mir den Lesespaß ausgemacht.
Die Protagonisten sind deshalb beinahe genauso besonders. Evelyn ist in ihre Pflanzen und ihren besten schwulen Freund Sam vernarrt. Sie ist ein unheimlich positiver und glücklicher Mensch, der sich nicht unterkriegen lässt von der Welt um sie herum oder den Situationen, die ihr aufgehalst werden.
Dylan hingegen ist das genaue Gegenteil. Seinen Pessimismus trägt er auf der Zunge und er sieht die Welt etwas zu negativ. Dabei ist er immer unglaublich ehrlich und nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund um seine klugen und doch erschreckend wahren Gedanken zurückzuhalten.
Dafür strahlen seine Träume umso heller und er setzt alles daran, diese in die Tat umzusetzen.
Die beiden scheinen sich auf den ersten Blick also zu ergänzen. Ich mochte besonders den Aspekt, wie die beiden sich langsam annähern und man dabei nicht das Gefühl hat, dass es in die Länge gestreckt wurde oder unnötiges Drama hinzugefügt wurde. Es erschien mir sehr natürlich und damit real. Die Dialoge der beiden haben mich oftmals verliebt schmunzeln lassen, da sie wirklich süße, beinahe schon schmalzige Worte füreinander finden.
Auch hat jeder von ihnen etwas besonderes an sich, was ich wirklich gut fand, da es den Charakteren noch mehr tiefe verleiht.
Letztendlich ist der beschriebene „tragische Unfall“ für mich allerdings etwas missformuliert. Denn die hier beschriebene Gewalt ist alles andere als ein Unfall! Es ist schrecklich, menschenverachtend und doch realistisch. Trotzdem komme ich nicht darüber hinweg, dass es hier als „Unfall“ gespoilert wurde. Denn tragisch ist das Geschehen, ja. Doch da mit Vorsatz gehandelt wurde, ist es kein Unfall.
Fazit: Letztendlich ist dieses Buch wirklich schön!
Durch die Kürze ist eigentlich schnell klar, dass nicht viel an Handlung vorhanden ist, der Fokus daher auf den Charakteren liegt.
Somit gibt es hier viele Höhen doch auch einige Schwachpunkte!
hawful's review
3.0
I've been a fan of Cosway since Tegan days!
This...? I wanted to like it a lot more than I did.
There was no real flow, just a collection of scenes. And with the fact that this is a two-parter, I wanted more conflict.
The abrupt death of Sam seemed forced. That's where Cosway really lost me.
The rating were be lower if I didn't like the little character quirks of Dylan.
This...? I wanted to like it a lot more than I did.
There was no real flow, just a collection of scenes. And with the fact that this is a two-parter, I wanted more conflict.
The abrupt death of Sam seemed forced. That's where Cosway really lost me.
The rating were be lower if I didn't like the little character quirks of Dylan.