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magi20's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
blurrypetals's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately, it seems What If It's Us should have remained a standalone experience. It had a bittersweet yet hopeful ending, one I've felt was incredibly fitting in the years since I read it.
It's been 3 years since Adam and Becky wrote together and you would think that would have given them the time to grow together as writers, to inject a little growth and maturity into their characters, but the biggest disappointment here is that Ben and Arthur are somehow even more immature and even less reasonable and emotionally intelligent than they were when they were in high school.
Also, it's kind of annoying and frustrating to spend so much of this book knowing Ben and Arthur will likely get back together and proceeding to watch them both play dumb head games with Mikey, Artur's rightfully insecure boyfriend, and Mario, Ben's free spirited not-boyfriend before they pull their heads out of their asses and spend the last 15 minutes acting out the love story this was meant to be.
Honestly, at the end of the day, my biggest problems were all the filler with the boys we all knew they were going to break up with, the slow pacing and repetitive nature of the book, and how unnecessary the book felt in general.
It didn't really bother me so much the first time I read the first book, but in rereading it and then reading this, Ben's book sounds so dumb and, now that I've read Silvera's super dumb and bad fantasy novel that he's been working on since high school or university, Infinity Son, I couldn't help but cringe whenever Ben talked about getting it published. I'm glad it didn't actually take off in the epilogue, but it remains a worryingly big part of Ben's arc and it's unfortunate nobody in his life was kind enough to tell him how trash his manuscript was.
There are definitely worse sequels out there, but most first books aren't as uniquely charming and bittersweet as the original book was. This wasn't a waste of time, though, as it did provide closure. That said, it really made me wish Adam Silvera was not still dinking around with his lame fantasy series, so hopefully he can return to breaking my entire heart soon enough.
It's been 3 years since Adam and Becky wrote together and you would think that would have given them the time to grow together as writers, to inject a little growth and maturity into their characters, but the biggest disappointment here is that Ben and Arthur are somehow even more immature and even less reasonable and emotionally intelligent than they were when they were in high school.
Also, it's kind of annoying and frustrating to spend so much of this book knowing Ben and Arthur will likely get back together and proceeding to watch them both play dumb head games with Mikey, Artur's rightfully insecure boyfriend, and Mario, Ben's free spirited not-boyfriend before they pull their heads out of their asses and spend the last 15 minutes acting out the love story this was meant to be.
Honestly, at the end of the day, my biggest problems were all the filler with the boys we all knew they were going to break up with, the slow pacing and repetitive nature of the book, and how unnecessary the book felt in general.
It didn't really bother me so much the first time I read the first book, but in rereading it and then reading this, Ben's book sounds so dumb and, now that I've read Silvera's super dumb and bad fantasy novel that he's been working on since high school or university, Infinity Son, I couldn't help but cringe whenever Ben talked about getting it published. I'm glad it didn't actually take off in the epilogue, but it remains a worryingly big part of Ben's arc and it's unfortunate nobody in his life was kind enough to tell him how trash his manuscript was.
There are definitely worse sequels out there, but most first books aren't as uniquely charming and bittersweet as the original book was. This wasn't a waste of time, though, as it did provide closure. That said, it really made me wish Adam Silvera was not still dinking around with his lame fantasy series, so hopefully he can return to breaking my entire heart soon enough.
saffron42's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
gsaliare's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
makenzimae's review against another edition
5.0
That was, hands down, the sweetest ending I've ever read of a book. Amazingly sweet and I can't believe it took me this long to read it
knitnetic's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book for, essentially, the opposite reasons I loved the first. That was full of ambiguity and nuance, and this tied the story up with the nice, neat bow that was missing from the first. Yet, it was done in a way that felt authentic to the characters and their experiences.
zach_off's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very cobflicted with this sequel because I love the characters and it was such a fun quick read. And I did end up loving the ending. But I just don't feel like they really grew as characters. Ben should've gone to LA. And Arthur should've figured his shit out for himself. But despite not loving some plot devices, I still really loved the end and even shed a lil tear.
snbarnett's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
lyndsea22's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75