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hazelstaybookish's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating: 3.5-4
Such an adorably sweet read. A quick one at that, and with a cool setting too.
Such an adorably sweet read. A quick one at that, and with a cool setting too.
anabelsbrother's review against another edition
3.0
E-ARC is provided thanks to the publisher via Netgalley.
NBD, just took two years to finish this book. It's not really this book's fault tbh; I've been out of sync with YA for a long time it kind of affects my reading.
Objectively speaking, The Trouble with Destiny is 4 star material:
I love Liza and her ambition, and I love her passion about the band. She was a bit controlling at first, but I love how her character developed and grew. Her heart is in the right place. Shoutout to Sofia for the words of wisdom.
I also love the whole dynamic in the band. It made me miss my time in high school; I was in the drama club and we were close knitted as well.
Now the reason I rated this a 3 is because I'm simply disconnected with the YA genre as a whole, so this is just an okay read for me. I would have enjoyed this more 3-4 years ago.
NBD, just took two years to finish this book. It's not really this book's fault tbh; I've been out of sync with YA for a long time it kind of affects my reading.
Objectively speaking, The Trouble with Destiny is 4 star material:
I love Liza and her ambition, and I love her passion about the band. She was a bit controlling at first, but I love how her character developed and grew. Her heart is in the right place. Shoutout to Sofia for the words of wisdom.
I also love the whole dynamic in the band. It made me miss my time in high school; I was in the drama club and we were close knitted as well.
Now the reason I rated this a 3 is because I'm simply disconnected with the YA genre as a whole, so this is just an okay read for me. I would have enjoyed this more 3-4 years ago.
zoesnicholson's review against another edition
2.0
The concept of The Trouble with Destiny was intriguing, but unfortunately the execution didn't quite live up to the brilliance of the premise.
When drum major Liza Sanders learns her school is going to reduce funding for her beloved marching band, she knows she has to act fast. Her solution? The luxury cruise ship Destiny: which is hosting a talent show with a $25,000 prize.
Plotwise, there is an extreme amount of disbelief you have to suspend to truly enjoy the book. On the cruise, the teenagers are allowed to go wherever they want without adult supervision, provided they turn up to any scheduled practices. This just felt extremely unrealistic and unlikely (I mean, what school would allow their students to roam free like that?)
The main problem with the book is Liza herself. She is selfish, conceited, and doesn't care about anyone but herself, and that makes her narrative really hard to enjoy. There's a scene where Liza's bandmate drops her music during practice, and Liza immediately snaps at her, saying:
"Dammit, Nicole, get it together! Do you have any idea how much your neuroses are screwing us up?" The whole room goes silent. No one can believe I've snapped at Nicole, who is one of the most talented and reliable musicians in the band.It's instances like these where Liza constantly lashes out and says mean things for no reason that make her a difficult protagonist to root for.
To finish it all off, there's also a poorly developed and extremely predictable love triangle. The love triangle dominates over the plot to the point that Liza forgets all about the competition and all she can think about are the two boys.
In the end, this just didn't click with me. I was looking forward to the talent show and cruise aspects of the story, but those were shadowed by an abundance of annoying and unnecessary teen drama.
taylorstakeoff's review against another edition
4.0
Full review posted on my review blog tayloreliza6.tumblr.com
zany07's review against another edition
4.0
The Trouble With Destiny is my first book by Lauren Morrill. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but instantly I was hooked. Even though I found this novel a little cheesy and predictable, I loved every moment of it.
The book starts out with Liza arriving aboard the Destiny, a cruise ship, with her band mates. The Destiny is holding a Spring Break talent show with a prize of $25,000. Liza and the band need to win this prize as their band is facing budget cuts that will end with the band not making it another school year. Only, the band doesn't know it faces extinction.
While boarding the ship Liza runs into her old camp crush Lenny who has gotten very good looking. However, things do not get off to a smooth start as it seems that Russ, the football quarterback, is trying to ruin their chances at winning.
This book was a perfect blend of romance and comedy. I felt all the right emotions during this book and it had me laughing out loud. This was my first Lauren Morrill book, but it is most definitely not going to be my last! I enjoyed the way she described things and the subtle references to other books and movies she easily slid into the novel. I never felt that she tried too hard to get her audience to laugh and I never felt that she forced anything into this novel.
I found that Liza reacted to situations the exact way any normal teenager would and it was very believable. At no point in this book did I find anything that happened implausible. Though it involved a love triangle and I knew how it would end, I still very much enjoyed the ride.
The book starts out with Liza arriving aboard the Destiny, a cruise ship, with her band mates. The Destiny is holding a Spring Break talent show with a prize of $25,000. Liza and the band need to win this prize as their band is facing budget cuts that will end with the band not making it another school year. Only, the band doesn't know it faces extinction.
While boarding the ship Liza runs into her old camp crush Lenny who has gotten very good looking. However, things do not get off to a smooth start as it seems that Russ, the football quarterback, is trying to ruin their chances at winning.
This book was a perfect blend of romance and comedy. I felt all the right emotions during this book and it had me laughing out loud. This was my first Lauren Morrill book, but it is most definitely not going to be my last! I enjoyed the way she described things and the subtle references to other books and movies she easily slid into the novel. I never felt that she tried too hard to get her audience to laugh and I never felt that she forced anything into this novel.
I found that Liza reacted to situations the exact way any normal teenager would and it was very believable. At no point in this book did I find anything that happened implausible. Though it involved a love triangle and I knew how it would end, I still very much enjoyed the ride.
twirlingpages's review against another edition
1.0
3.5/5
this book started off slow, but ended up being a really fun read! i was a little annoyed by how dramatic and childish some of the actions seemed, but i grew to like it. in some ways, it reminded me of a disney channel episode. the narrator was annoying at times, but others she was... bearable.
// FULL REVIEW TO COME //
this book started off slow, but ended up being a really fun read! i was a little annoyed by how dramatic and childish some of the actions seemed, but i grew to like it. in some ways, it reminded me of a disney channel episode. the narrator was annoying at times, but others she was... bearable.
// FULL REVIEW TO COME //
take_me_awayyy's review against another edition
4.0
You can find more of my reviews here at my blog: Take Me Away...
Since I've never read a book by Morrill I wasn't sure what to expect in this one. What I certainly DIDN'T expect was a quick, cute, and super fun book set on a wacky cruise adventure. But that's exactly what I got!
Liza is your average band drum major. She's super organized, doesn't play (no pun intended), and always worried about her band. That intensifies when she finds out they need money. And a lot of it. She enters them in a competition that can save the band.... If only they can pull off a win.
Normally in comtemps I say the best part of the book is the romance. In this one, it's a bit different... With this one, the best part is definitely the comedy. Liza is super accident prone and I hate to say it, but her failures hooked me to this book. I laughed out loud, my hands started sweating from second hand embarrassment, and I could feel my face blushing multiple times throughout this read. So many times that I had to put the book down for a little and take a break. If all of Morrill's book are like this, you can definitely sign me up for the rest of them.
As for the romance, it was a bit predictable, but still very entertaining. I called it from early on, but there's only a few tells in who she ends up with. I feel that Morrill executes the romance is a super cute way, but the way it ended was definitely cheesy. There was no reason for her to "change" so to speak. It seemed she just did it because it seemed to be the "right thing to do." But overall, it was cute and I found my self rooting for the right guy most of the way through.
Another thing I liked about this book was how it was so believable. I myself went on a cruise from November 30th-December 6th and it was almost exactly like this. I was also in the band before so that made it even MORE believable. I was only a flute player, but our band director and my drum major were very much like Liza and it took me back to my younger days.
Granted I'm super glad I read this AFTER I came back from my cruise, I would definitely read this one all over again sometime. It was a quick, quirky read that was just what I needed after the semester and finals were over!
Since I've never read a book by Morrill I wasn't sure what to expect in this one. What I certainly DIDN'T expect was a quick, cute, and super fun book set on a wacky cruise adventure. But that's exactly what I got!
Liza is your average band drum major. She's super organized, doesn't play (no pun intended), and always worried about her band. That intensifies when she finds out they need money. And a lot of it. She enters them in a competition that can save the band.... If only they can pull off a win.
Normally in comtemps I say the best part of the book is the romance. In this one, it's a bit different... With this one, the best part is definitely the comedy. Liza is super accident prone and I hate to say it, but her failures hooked me to this book. I laughed out loud, my hands started sweating from second hand embarrassment, and I could feel my face blushing multiple times throughout this read. So many times that I had to put the book down for a little and take a break. If all of Morrill's book are like this, you can definitely sign me up for the rest of them.
As for the romance, it was a bit predictable, but still very entertaining. I called it from early on, but there's only a few tells in who she ends up with. I feel that Morrill executes the romance is a super cute way, but the way it ended was definitely cheesy. There was no reason for her to "change" so to speak. It seemed she just did it because it seemed to be the "right thing to do." But overall, it was cute and I found my self rooting for the right guy most of the way through.
Another thing I liked about this book was how it was so believable. I myself went on a cruise from November 30th-December 6th and it was almost exactly like this. I was also in the band before so that made it even MORE believable. I was only a flute player, but our band director and my drum major were very much like Liza and it took me back to my younger days.
Granted I'm super glad I read this AFTER I came back from my cruise, I would definitely read this one all over again sometime. It was a quick, quirky read that was just what I needed after the semester and finals were over!
letsgababoutbooks's review against another edition
4.0
In THE TROUBLE WITH DESTINY, Liza signs up her band for a performing arts competition aboard a cruise ship, Destiny, in hopes that they can win the $25,000 prize money to replace the funds that have been lost to budget cuts.
What happens next is a week full of band and choir rivalry, old crushes, ex-best friends, and just about everything that could go wrong for this drum major, Liza. Despite her best efforts to micro manage via to-do lists and clipboards this cruise is far from perfect. And yet, it might just end up okay anyways.
I definitely connected with the main character, especially as she tried to plan and organize away all her troubles. High school me could have used a book like this to remind me that sometimes you can’t fix everything, but that doesn’t mean everything is going to go wrong.
Not only did I love Liza, I immediately loved the friendship with/character of her best friend Huck. He reminded me of some of my closest friends from high school, and I felt that she captured the goofy, supportive, nerdy best friend wonderfully.
Morrill does a great job at writing witty dialogue, chock full of pop-culture references (Rocky Horror, anyone?) as well as great emotional insight. I found myself giggling at times, but there were also moments that I really felt for the struggles that the main characters were experiencing.
I do have to say that the plot was slightly predictable, but it did not detract from my enjoyment from this book.
This book was a wonderful summer read that I would recommend to anyone who loves a relatable contemporary YA novel. It’s a quick and easy read that any former high school geek (of any kind) is sure to relate to!
What happens next is a week full of band and choir rivalry, old crushes, ex-best friends, and just about everything that could go wrong for this drum major, Liza. Despite her best efforts to micro manage via to-do lists and clipboards this cruise is far from perfect. And yet, it might just end up okay anyways.
I definitely connected with the main character, especially as she tried to plan and organize away all her troubles. High school me could have used a book like this to remind me that sometimes you can’t fix everything, but that doesn’t mean everything is going to go wrong.
Not only did I love Liza, I immediately loved the friendship with/character of her best friend Huck. He reminded me of some of my closest friends from high school, and I felt that she captured the goofy, supportive, nerdy best friend wonderfully.
Morrill does a great job at writing witty dialogue, chock full of pop-culture references (Rocky Horror, anyone?) as well as great emotional insight. I found myself giggling at times, but there were also moments that I really felt for the struggles that the main characters were experiencing.
I do have to say that the plot was slightly predictable, but it did not detract from my enjoyment from this book.
This book was a wonderful summer read that I would recommend to anyone who loves a relatable contemporary YA novel. It’s a quick and easy read that any former high school geek (of any kind) is sure to relate to!
aprilbooksandwine's review against another edition
4.0
Frankly, if you want a book to amuse you — The Trouble With Destiny might do the trick. Read my review