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comfortably_plump's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I won an ARC of this novel here on Goodreads. It was a nice, light read. As the start of a series, I think it set things up very well for the other books in this trilogy.
I have a few complaints, however. My main complaint is that the story was far too predictable, in my opinion. I knew what was going on from the beginning, so the big "reveal" in the end was disappointing for me. I also found the main character, Gemma to be quite clueless, which got annoying in certain situations. Lastly, the writing doesn't seem to flow that well sometimes, especially in the beginning of the story, but I'm gonna chalk that up to this not being the final copy of the book.
I genuinely had a lot of fun with this book. It's ideal for reading on the beach during the summer. The plot was a cute teen story that I think would actually make a pretty enjoyable chick flick or TV show one day. Some parts of the novel were funny as well. All in all, an entertaining read, and I am definitely looking forward to what happens next.
I won an ARC of this novel here on Goodreads. It was a nice, light read. As the start of a series, I think it set things up very well for the other books in this trilogy.
I have a few complaints, however. My main complaint is that the story was far too predictable, in my opinion. I knew what was going on from the beginning, so the big "reveal" in the end was disappointing for me. I also found the main character, Gemma to be quite clueless, which got annoying in certain situations. Lastly, the writing doesn't seem to flow that well sometimes, especially in the beginning of the story, but I'm gonna chalk that up to this not being the final copy of the book.
I genuinely had a lot of fun with this book. It's ideal for reading on the beach during the summer. The plot was a cute teen story that I think would actually make a pretty enjoyable chick flick or TV show one day. Some parts of the novel were funny as well. All in all, an entertaining read, and I am definitely looking forward to what happens next.
keahreads's review against another edition
4.0
I knew what going to happen in the end and I loved every second of it!
epoh's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars!
I swear I felt like I was watching an episode of Revenge & Gossip Girl! LOL it was fun, juicy, and perfect for summer!
I swear I felt like I was watching an episode of Revenge & Gossip Girl! LOL it was fun, juicy, and perfect for summer!
paperiot's review against another edition
2.0
Rating: 2.5 stars
Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend is essentially a book about trying to make up for past mistakes, which is something I’m always up for. It is also set in a beach town, and it has the most adorable romance. I had a lot of fun reading this book, because it is just a lot of fun. Still, there was also a (big) part that annoyed me and made my skin crawl – but more about that later. Of course, I had high expectations because as you may or may not know, Katie Finn is also Morgan Matson (who I prefer to refer to as MORGAN MATSON), master of writing beautiful books that me cry. I do understand why she used a pen name for this one, though, because Broken Hearts is a very different story. Most importantly, it felt a lot younger than her other books. While still enjoyable, this also caused me to be a bit more distanced from this book, and will probably keep it from being very memorable to me in the future.
Read the full review at Paper Riot.
Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend is essentially a book about trying to make up for past mistakes, which is something I’m always up for. It is also set in a beach town, and it has the most adorable romance. I had a lot of fun reading this book, because it is just a lot of fun. Still, there was also a (big) part that annoyed me and made my skin crawl – but more about that later. Of course, I had high expectations because as you may or may not know, Katie Finn is also Morgan Matson (who I prefer to refer to as MORGAN MATSON), master of writing beautiful books that me cry. I do understand why she used a pen name for this one, though, because Broken Hearts is a very different story. Most importantly, it felt a lot younger than her other books. While still enjoyable, this also caused me to be a bit more distanced from this book, and will probably keep it from being very memorable to me in the future.
Read the full review at Paper Riot.
maryanne19's review against another edition
3.0
This book is sort of like an episode of Three's Company, set in the Hamptons, with teenagers. Lots of mistaken identity, secrecy, slapstick humor. It's a fun summer read, nothing thought provoking or lingering. It's YA that's meant for teenagers. It kept me entertained on a long car ride, and that's a good thing. :)
randomheart's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this so much more than I did, but for me, it just kind of fell flat. I wasn't particularly taken by any of the characters or the relationships in this novel. And it was hard to feel sympathetic for Gemma because she was essentially fooling Hallie (and Josh) all over again, and didn't seem to think there was much wrong with it?? I just feel like she was a really frustrating character because there were SO MANY things she could have cleared up if only she had said something, but she never ended up doing that. Not to mention how coincidental some things were, which honestly just felt like a massive cop out. I called a lot of the twists that were going to happen in the beginning since the foreshadowing wasn't exactly subtle. The only thing that did actually surprise me was Teddy being Hallie's boyfriend, so props to that twist. I think one of the good things this novel did was setting up the next book though. I had no idea there was going to be a sequel as I was reading, but then when I was nearing the end I kept thinking about how there was no way everything was going to be resolved by the end...and now I'm actually intrigued to read the next book, despite not being the hugest fan of this one. Especially with the introduction of Ford because he was one of the minor characters I actually liked (and honestly, found a lot more interesting than Josh...), so yeah, I really do think I'll check out the next book now. Either way, this was a fun book to pass the time. A bit silly and frustrating at times, but entertaining nonetheless.
2.5/5
2.5/5
cmw119's review against another edition
4.0
I saw most of this coming but there was one big plot point that I didn’t catch, and one that I did that wasn’t mentioned or picked up in the end. Maybe in the sequel? Overall, I actually couldn’t stand Gemma or Hallie because of their outright nasty mean girl personalities, BUT Hallie does embody the kind of revenge I wish I would have the guts to execute on girls I knew when I was eleven.
jeneure's review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute read but I couldn't get over how frustrating and naive Gemma was. Most of the twists were obvious but one got me! Overall this is definitely on the younger side of YA and don't go into this book expecting it to be on Morgan Matson's level. I will continue on in the series because I am intrigued and I'm glad I read this book. This would make a good beach read!
itsme_lori's review against another edition
2.0
I’m not even sure what to say about this book. I was really hoping for a light, fun, summer read but I ended up with an annoying (and kind of stupid) main character, mean girl antics, and lots of drama. I feel like there is an audience for this book out there but I just wasn’t it.
My main problem with this book was just how tired I got of reading it. It was one ridiculous event after another. And I had to keep listening to Gemma talk about what she had done when she was eleven and how she wanted to fix it even though she never just told the truth and said she was sorry. Anyone knows that adding more lies onto something you’ve already done wrong just makes things worse, even if you think the new lies are to make someone feel better, they won’t. Just own up to it and move on. It was also annoying how Gemma made all of these other people out to be perfect when they clearly weren’t and kept beating herself up for something she did when she was eleven. I’m pretty sure we’re all a little stupid and self-centered when we’re eleven. And while what she did wasn’t small and was really mean, she needs to stop feeling like she deserves every bad thing that happens and apologize and move on.
I was very close to not finishing this book because aside from the MC, ridiculous situations and lies just kept building up and building up. I was hoping that the end would at least make up for it, but unfortunately it didn’t. I know this is a book we aren’t suppose to take too seriously, but I just couldn’t get on board with it’s silliness. It didn’t feel realistic enough nor could I relate to how the main character dealt with the situations she found herself in. I certainly don’t like confrontation and admitting I’m wrong, but even I couldn’t help wanting to shake the main character to make her open her eyes to what was going on and have her tell the truth and move on.
Honestly, I’m not even really sure what else to say about this book. I did like Josh and the people who worked with Gemma’s dad. But I didn’t really like anyone else. Hallie and Teddy and even Gemma’s parents who weren’t ever really there for her included. But the writing was technically good and the book was a really fast read. I just kept hoping it would stop being predictable but it didn’t.
In the end, it turns out I’m not the audience this book is looking for. I don’t think the antics and naive main character will translate well for adults who read young adult fiction. It felt very juvenile to me. I think younger teens and tweens might find it funny and would probably enjoy the revenge and lying aspects, as well as the romance, more than I did and be more willing to forgive the actions of the characters. It felt like it would make a perfect tween movie. If that’s something that would interest you, you should check out this book. If it makes you roll your eyes a little, I’d definitely skip this one.
My main problem with this book was just how tired I got of reading it. It was one ridiculous event after another. And I had to keep listening to Gemma talk about what she had done when she was eleven and how she wanted to fix it even though she never just told the truth and said she was sorry. Anyone knows that adding more lies onto something you’ve already done wrong just makes things worse, even if you think the new lies are to make someone feel better, they won’t. Just own up to it and move on. It was also annoying how Gemma made all of these other people out to be perfect when they clearly weren’t and kept beating herself up for something she did when she was eleven. I’m pretty sure we’re all a little stupid and self-centered when we’re eleven. And while what she did wasn’t small and was really mean, she needs to stop feeling like she deserves every bad thing that happens and apologize and move on.
I was very close to not finishing this book because aside from the MC, ridiculous situations and lies just kept building up and building up. I was hoping that the end would at least make up for it, but unfortunately it didn’t. I know this is a book we aren’t suppose to take too seriously, but I just couldn’t get on board with it’s silliness. It didn’t feel realistic enough nor could I relate to how the main character dealt with the situations she found herself in. I certainly don’t like confrontation and admitting I’m wrong, but even I couldn’t help wanting to shake the main character to make her open her eyes to what was going on and have her tell the truth and move on.
Honestly, I’m not even really sure what else to say about this book. I did like Josh and the people who worked with Gemma’s dad. But I didn’t really like anyone else. Hallie and Teddy and even Gemma’s parents who weren’t ever really there for her included. But the writing was technically good and the book was a really fast read. I just kept hoping it would stop being predictable but it didn’t.
In the end, it turns out I’m not the audience this book is looking for. I don’t think the antics and naive main character will translate well for adults who read young adult fiction. It felt very juvenile to me. I think younger teens and tweens might find it funny and would probably enjoy the revenge and lying aspects, as well as the romance, more than I did and be more willing to forgive the actions of the characters. It felt like it would make a perfect tween movie. If that’s something that would interest you, you should check out this book. If it makes you roll your eyes a little, I’d definitely skip this one.
ketie's review against another edition
4.0
(3.5 stars)
This wasn’t particularly a great book or even really good but it’s that petty drama and silly contemporary that you just read and don’t think about much. It’s enjoyable enough the second time and when you need something light and easy. Alsooo easy for when you wanna break a nasty reading slump!
This wasn’t particularly a great book or even really good but it’s that petty drama and silly contemporary that you just read and don’t think about much. It’s enjoyable enough the second time and when you need something light and easy. Alsooo easy for when you wanna break a nasty reading slump!