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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Ok, I'm sorry. I found the mmc in this book to be INSUFFERABLE. I do think part of the issue was the audiobook narrator for Cael sounded like he was in such deep pain all the time and his voice and narrative choices just grated on me. Maybe I just haven't been around enough Bostonian accents, but the voice actor's Boston accent just made him sound like he had a speech impediment. I know these critiques shouldn't be held against Cole's book, but I can't deny that it did affect my consumer experience of Savannah and Cael's story. I also hated that Cael repeatedly referred to Savannah as "my girl". It gave me the major ick.
Generally, I liked Savannah a lot. Unfortunately, liking her did not compensate enough to bump the rating up a whole star. I thought about it because of the topics and what Cole was trying to do with this story. I LOVED A Thousand Boy Kisses -- I loved Poppy and Rune. I was very excited for this continuation from Savannah's perspective, and I knew that she'd also find romance because this is marketed as a romance novel. But I just could not stand Cael. He was a jerk. I know he was hurting, but that's no excuse to treat your friends and family like dirt. When he apologized to his friend for being said jerk, and Stefan is like "you don't have anything to apologize for" I was like yeah he did...like you do you dude, but Cael was an asswipe. It took nearly half the book for me to even feel remotely positive towards Cael, but I mostly landed on neutral and able to empathize a bit with where he was coming from, but ultimately, I started disliking him and ended the book disliking him. I'm glad he and Savannah found each other and that he was able to heal, but yeah. Idk. I could not stand him for about 80% of the book.
When Rune makes a brief appearance in the novel, I was so happy. I LOVED him. Yes, he went through his own angsty stage when he's taken back to Norway, and he says some really hurtful things to his father, but I never felt like he was on Cael's level, no matter how angry he was. Cael was just too much; his tortured soul thing might just not be a trope that works for me personally. I had a really hard time sometimes not rolling my eyes when he would talk about his pain, which makes me feel like an asshole, but these are fictional characters and this is my review and I felt what I felt. I think Cole just made a creative decision with Cael's character that I didn't like, and that's ok. I know she's capable of writing characters I absolutely love, like Savannah, Poppy, and Rune.
I can't deny that Cole's writing style is beautiful. Some of her descriptions of pain, loss, grief, etc. were just so touching and poignant. I would 100% read more of her novels because I find her writing really engaging and lyrical. I like that Cole had Cael need more help beyond the therapeutic trip. It felt realistic. No doubt, the trip was the first step for him to start his healing journey, but while it seems like most of the attendees found closure, it opened a lot of wounds and heartache for Cael. While I couldn't identify with Poppy or Savannah on a personal level, I still really liked how they were written. In a way, though, I feel like Savannah wasn't quite distinct enough. Poppy was special. I feel like I got a very clear portrayal of a quirky, kind, loving teenager who is at her heart a dreamer. And Savannah's shtick was that she's highly intelligent, and kind of quiet. I feel like that can be really hard to show when the characters aren't in school. Like yeah, we know she got into Harvard, but the emphasis in this book was on emotions, not book smarts. She is loyal and very compassionate too, but I feel like we see that more than how other characters described her as the brainiac. So I guess I just felt like she was a somewhat inconsistent, and not very memorable character.
I know people have criticized ATBK for being really YA-feeling and angsty. And, while I think that was true, it didn't bother me at all. Whereas in this book, I had a very hard time overlooking the drama and complete sense of loss and anger Cael feels over losing his brother. I completely understand watching his brother commit suicide was traumatizing, but his coping mechanisms and attitude were just so hard for me to overlook or have compassion/empathy for. The relationship between Savannah and Cael also did feel very insta-lovey. The trip they go on was a few weeks and they say "I love you" very fast. It definitely feels like they trauma bond, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but idk. I just didn't like their relationship as much as Poppy and Rune's. Poppy and Rune's was so wholesome, and while we never see any shenanigans in this book either, idk, Savannah and Cael's relationship just didn't do it for me. It didn't feel wholesome and I think Cael's "bad boy" image and lack of gratitude were big contributing factors to why the tone of this book just fell flat for me. Cael spends like 80% of the book resentful and lashing out. And his growth and lightbulb moments felt SO CLICHE. Even when they're in the Philippines and he teaches that kid to hold a hockey stick and he makes the connection to his brother teaching him how to hold the stick it just really didn't have the emotional impact I think Cole intended for it to have. Similarly, when he gets back on the ice finally. It was treated as a huge monumental breakthrough when it was just boring and predictable to me. We knew that was going to happen. Like, yeah, I guess the book and their visiting so many countries (which, side note, like...going on a huge international trip where you visit like 6 countries to overcome grief felt waaaay extra in a way that also gave me a bit of the ick) was about learning to appreciate life after loss, but yeah. idk. I will say that even though the fact that these teenagers go on a 'round the world trip, it didn't feel like Cole appropriated any cultures in her representations of the different cultures. So kudos to her.
Savannah's story felt more unique even if she, as a character, didn't really. I appreciated the consistency from the last book of her needing to heal through reading Poppy's diary entries. I feel like that little connection to the mfc we love helped me connect to ATBP, even if minimally. I guess I wanted another ATBK and maybe I should've adjusted my expectations better? I understand why Cole deviated and I think Cael was probably very relatable for people who have dealt with lack of closure surrounding a loved one's death, but yeah. idk. Oh well.
Generally, I liked Savannah a lot. Unfortunately, liking her did not compensate enough to bump the rating up a whole star. I thought about it because of the topics and what Cole was trying to do with this story. I LOVED A Thousand Boy Kisses -- I loved Poppy and Rune. I was very excited for this continuation from Savannah's perspective, and I knew that she'd also find romance because this is marketed as a romance novel. But I just could not stand Cael. He was a jerk. I know he was hurting, but that's no excuse to treat your friends and family like dirt. When he apologized to his friend for being said jerk, and Stefan is like "you don't have anything to apologize for" I was like yeah he did...like you do you dude, but Cael was an asswipe. It took nearly half the book for me to even feel remotely positive towards Cael, but I mostly landed on neutral and able to empathize a bit with where he was coming from, but ultimately, I started disliking him and ended the book disliking him. I'm glad he and Savannah found each other and that he was able to heal, but yeah. Idk. I could not stand him for about 80% of the book.
When Rune makes a brief appearance in the novel, I was so happy. I LOVED him. Yes, he went through his own angsty stage when he's taken back to Norway, and he says some really hurtful things to his father, but I never felt like he was on Cael's level, no matter how angry he was. Cael was just too much; his tortured soul thing might just not be a trope that works for me personally. I had a really hard time sometimes not rolling my eyes when he would talk about his pain, which makes me feel like an asshole, but these are fictional characters and this is my review and I felt what I felt. I think Cole just made a creative decision with Cael's character that I didn't like, and that's ok. I know she's capable of writing characters I absolutely love, like Savannah, Poppy, and Rune.
I can't deny that Cole's writing style is beautiful. Some of her descriptions of pain, loss, grief, etc. were just so touching and poignant. I would 100% read more of her novels because I find her writing really engaging and lyrical. I like that Cole had Cael need more help beyond the therapeutic trip. It felt realistic. No doubt, the trip was the first step for him to start his healing journey, but while it seems like most of the attendees found closure, it opened a lot of wounds and heartache for Cael. While I couldn't identify with Poppy or Savannah on a personal level, I still really liked how they were written. In a way, though, I feel like Savannah wasn't quite distinct enough. Poppy was special. I feel like I got a very clear portrayal of a quirky, kind, loving teenager who is at her heart a dreamer. And Savannah's shtick was that she's highly intelligent, and kind of quiet. I feel like that can be really hard to show when the characters aren't in school. Like yeah, we know she got into Harvard, but the emphasis in this book was on emotions, not book smarts. She is loyal and very compassionate too, but I feel like we see that more than how other characters described her as the brainiac. So I guess I just felt like she was a somewhat inconsistent, and not very memorable character.
I know people have criticized ATBK for being really YA-feeling and angsty. And, while I think that was true, it didn't bother me at all. Whereas in this book, I had a very hard time overlooking the drama and complete sense of loss and anger Cael feels over losing his brother. I completely understand watching his brother commit suicide was traumatizing, but his coping mechanisms and attitude were just so hard for me to overlook or have compassion/empathy for. The relationship between Savannah and Cael also did feel very insta-lovey. The trip they go on was a few weeks and they say "I love you" very fast. It definitely feels like they trauma bond, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but idk. I just didn't like their relationship as much as Poppy and Rune's. Poppy and Rune's was so wholesome, and while we never see any shenanigans in this book either, idk, Savannah and Cael's relationship just didn't do it for me. It didn't feel wholesome and I think Cael's "bad boy" image and lack of gratitude were big contributing factors to why the tone of this book just fell flat for me. Cael spends like 80% of the book resentful and lashing out. And his growth and lightbulb moments felt SO CLICHE. Even when they're in the Philippines and he teaches that kid to hold a hockey stick and he makes the connection to his brother teaching him how to hold the stick it just really didn't have the emotional impact I think Cole intended for it to have. Similarly, when he gets back on the ice finally. It was treated as a huge monumental breakthrough when it was just boring and predictable to me. We knew that was going to happen. Like, yeah, I guess the book and their visiting so many countries (which, side note, like...going on a huge international trip where you visit like 6 countries to overcome grief felt waaaay extra in a way that also gave me a bit of the ick) was about learning to appreciate life after loss, but yeah. idk. I will say that even though the fact that these teenagers go on a 'round the world trip, it didn't feel like Cole appropriated any cultures in her representations of the different cultures. So kudos to her.
Savannah's story felt more unique even if she, as a character, didn't really. I appreciated the consistency from the last book of her needing to heal through reading Poppy's diary entries. I feel like that little connection to the mfc we love helped me connect to ATBP, even if minimally. I guess I wanted another ATBK and maybe I should've adjusted my expectations better? I understand why Cole deviated and I think Cael was probably very relatable for people who have dealt with lack of closure surrounding a loved one's death, but yeah. idk. Oh well.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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:
Yes
The first book was wonderful- heart gutting and warming all in one. This one took that to the next level. Plus it added the full circle closure. Great read but have tissues handy.