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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Complicated
lighthearted
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story is straightforward, in that it’s exactly what you see on the tin: it’s a cheesy love story (with some semblance of a self-discovery narrative), but it also involves literal cheese, because pizza. It’s cute, it’s fun, and it makes use of its premise without delving in too deep.
I did like the overall narrative of Beck having to figure out how to be herself when she’s split between two very different groups of people, and having to reckon with the fact that she does need to work because of familial financial struggles, even though her parents are very supportive of her emotionally.
And the romance with Tristan is cute. It’s not epic or anything, but I think it’s nice to have a teen romance that is just normal and allowed to have all the awkwardness mixed with the good moments, as suits a YA contemporary.
I did feel that the story lacked real depth to the characters. I was able to finish the book quickly, but in spite of the issues it attempts to deal with, I just felt very detached from everyone and like it felt fairly superficial.
I enjoyed this book, but I do think this was a case where I’m outside the target demographic, and perhaps someone it was more suited for would appreciate it more.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
First of all, thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC! I appreciate being able to read books early before purchasing for my library!
I would rate this book a solid 3.5 stars. It's a cute romance with a main character who learns to love herself and BE herself without feeling like she needs to change for the people she's around. I appreciated the very relatable protagonist, who despite having very supportive and present parents, still had to get a food service job to afford her car. (I get a little tired of silver spoon babies in YA fiction at times. And I think the teens in my library can relate to this type of character more.)
My main fault with this book would probably be the fact that I felt like the characters weren't fleshed out as well as they could have been, relying more on stereotypes to characterize people.And throughout the whole book it seemed like the author was trying to do an us vs. them type thing with Beck's 2 friend groups, but at the end she could just be friends with all of them? Did that happen? I was confused about who she really wanted to be friends with...maybe she didn't know. Because it felt like she still didn't really know what she wanted. Other than that she liked Motown and obvs Tristan. Which the Motown thing was kind of left field... None of her friends had much personality, which was sad because there was a lot of potential there!
Overall, though, I'd recommend this book - especially to tweens and young teens looking for a clean romance with some fun pizza moments who are learning to love themselves, flaws and all.
I would rate this book a solid 3.5 stars. It's a cute romance with a main character who learns to love herself and BE herself without feeling like she needs to change for the people she's around. I appreciated the very relatable protagonist, who despite having very supportive and present parents, still had to get a food service job to afford her car. (I get a little tired of silver spoon babies in YA fiction at times. And I think the teens in my library can relate to this type of character more.)
My main fault with this book would probably be the fact that I felt like the characters weren't fleshed out as well as they could have been, relying more on stereotypes to characterize people.
Overall, though, I'd recommend this book - especially to tweens and young teens looking for a clean romance with some fun pizza moments who are learning to love themselves, flaws and all.