Reviews - When I Think of You

941 reviews for:

When I Think of You

Myah Ariel

3.9 AVERAGE

livthebooklover's review

5.0

Beautifully written.

I love a book that causes me to be looked at crazily, either because I am laughing too hard or crying all in the same chapter.

10/10 Highly Recommend.

beingbreezie's review

2.0

This delivered in all the moments, but I had a different vision for how the moments would play out, which left me unsatisfied.

purple_prose's review

4.75

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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: Complicated

This book was a whole movie going experience in the best ways. Myah Ariel sets up the narrative structure so that we’re experiencing the present, the past, and the film Kaliya and Danny and trying to make. We see how their reunion goes, how their initial attempt at a relationship fell apart, the events with Danny’s parents that make their way into the movie, and so much more. I really enjoyed this story. Kaliya’s struggles in an industry that prioritizes connections and appearances over work ethic felt frustratingly real and added so much to the love story. Initially, Danny is with another person, and I wasn’t sure how that was going to go; however, the girlfriend is not a good person and we see the consequences of her machinations. When Kaliya and Danny are together though it’s like kismet. They’re wonderful together. They challenge each other’s artistry and are supportive of one another in meaningful ways.

I’m struck by the ease with which Ariel seems to have woven essentially three narratives into one beautiful novel about love and its durability when it’s the right person. We see Kaliya and Danny in the past, Danny’s parents and their struggles, and Kaliya and Danny now, but simultaneously. Obviously I’m not as gifted with words as Ariel, but it was such a lovely experience reading this. I’ll be looking for more novels by Myah Ariel, and I highly recommend this one.

fumnanya's review

4.5

emotional reflective 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: Complicated

phiiline's review

4.0

lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

marq123's review

DID NOT FINISH: 20%

The characters are young and this is not my cuppa tea. I wasn’t engaged and didn’t really care.

pammie823's review

3.0

emotional 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

This book had the makings of all the things I love but it was missing one critical element to make a second chance romance work for me: dual POV. This book was BEGGING to be told in dual POV.

Kaliya Wilson has been trudging along as a receptionist for a production company in LA when all she wants is to get into producing. But because of misogyny, racism and the constant litany of people telling her she needs to "pay her dues," Kaliya is still answering phones and making photocopies. That is until her college love, Danny Prescott re-enters her life after seven years. Danny is the son of a famous Hollywood director and has taken off in the industry. He wants Kaliya to work on his newest project but Kaliya doesn't trust that she'll be able to keep herself together when she still doesn't know what went wrong in their relationship in college.

I really like Myah Ariel's voice as a writer. She has a compelling way of creating characters and relationships. It was also super clear that she knows the movie industry. I could tell from page one that Myah Ariel has intricate knowledge of how production companies work and how Black women specifically struggle to have their voices heard. My favorite part of this book was Kaliya's interaction with Danny's mom. Their connection was immediate and you could tell that these two women have history despite never having met.

The thing that did not work for me about this book was that is was single POV. Second chance romances really need to be in dual POV to hit for me. Especially if we have a complicated hero (these MF books are pretty much always heroine-only) I need to be in his head. Danny is a rich character who was clearly overwhelmed as a young man by his feelings for Kaliya. I wanted to be in his head, to know what he was thinking.

While I didn't love this book because of the POV issue, I will definitely take a look at Myah Ariel's next book because of the quality of her writing.