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kelli_belli's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I think mostly because I am guilty of eavesdropping on conversations going on around me. I do it all the time and now I want to do it all the more! I enjoyed the characters, even if Lu did get on my nerves here and there. I could still relate to her and what she was going through. I remember having my heart broken and just wanting to talk to the person who did it in the hopes that maybe, just maybe they would realize they made a mistake. I love Pete and Cal too! It was definitely a enjoyable read.
kviv's review against another edition
2.0
As a married woman in my 20's, I was not the intended audience for this book. That being said, the characters were juvenile and unconvincing. It was clearly written by an adult trying to emulate edgy teen culture and dialogue. The plot was boring, repetitive, and slow paced. I didn't connect with Lu, the main character, and found myself annoyed by her throughout the book.
quillandpeonies's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
ghostyard's review against another edition
2.0
i don’t know if it’s the fact that i so adamantly loved the last book i read and want to read it again RIGHT NOW, or that this book is actually not great at all, but i did. not. enjoy. brief chronicle of another STUPID heartbreak, that’s for certain. Lu charles might have been like able if she didn’t spend the whole entire novel procrastinating and blaming other people for it. Lu has just been through a breakup. She didn’t see it coming, so now she blames her ex, Leo, for giving her writers block. She hasn’t written anything for three weeks (and doesn’t for the remainder of the summer until it’s too late), and now her boss at her writing gig is telling her she has to turn in something or be replaced. which means she would lose her college scholarship. So, instead of writing about her own problems, which her best friend, Pete, repeatedly tells her to do, she eavesdrops on a couple in a similar situation as hers and promptly becomes unhealthily obsessed with them. She believes that they hold the answer to her what went wrong in her relationship and a cure to her writers block. She tells her boss that she found something to write about, the couple, and then proceeds to spend the whole entire summer obsessing over and hanging out with them, ditching her best friend who is going to college five hours away (which, really, isn’t that far... grow up), and NOT WRITING HER ARTICLE. This girl pissed me off at every page. Her boss continues to give her chances to write the damn thing and when she can’t, she blames her ex for contacting her and her best friend for telling her the truth about how shitty she’s been the entire summer. I cannot stand this girl. At every page, she’s either talking about how great Cal and Iris’ love is, complaining about how her life is gonna end if she doesn’t write this article and loses her job and therefore her scholarship. Then she has the nerve to ‘fall in love’ with Cal and not realize it, despite Pete having told her multiple times that she had a crush on him. The only good thing to come out of this book was when Lu and Cal help a gay businessman on wall street ask out the bartender he has a crush on. and i stress only. Lu is constantly lying, to Iris and Cal, to Pete, to her mother, to Herself. it’s so exhausting. I don’t know, I am just thoroughly unimpressed and a little pissed at this book. Periodt. And that’s on eavesdropping.
mfortunak's review against another edition
2.0
I was really excited about this book! I’d loved the author from another book, (speaking of which go check out his other book, Let’s Get Lost), and I had expected this to be just as good. Needless to say from my 2 star rating, it didn’t live up to my expectations.
If I had to summarize this book in two sentences they would be something like: A girl becomes obsessed with a couple after her own heartbreak, as she hopes to use them to get rid of her “writers block”. In doing so, she basically forgets about everything around her, spends all of her time with said couple. (Like I said, obsessed.)
I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone, mostly because I thought a majority of the book was the main character hanging out with Iris and Cal (the couple), panicking about the newspaper column she needs to write, and pushing aside everything else in her life, including her best friend and mother. She frustrated me immensely, because she seemed very self-centered, and didn’t understand why everyone else was annoyed with her behavior.
TL;DR: Don’t read unless you want to be frustrated with the main character at the end.
If I had to summarize this book in two sentences they would be something like: A girl becomes obsessed with a couple after her own heartbreak, as she hopes to use them to get rid of her “writers block”. In doing so, she basically forgets about everything around her, spends all of her time with said couple. (Like I said, obsessed.)
I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone, mostly because I thought a majority of the book was the main character hanging out with Iris and Cal (the couple), panicking about the newspaper column she needs to write, and pushing aside everything else in her life, including her best friend and mother. She frustrated me immensely, because she seemed very self-centered, and didn’t understand why everyone else was annoyed with her behavior.
TL;DR: Don’t read unless you want to be frustrated with the main character at the end.
knoonan's review against another edition
3.0
It was all right. A coming of age story. What is love? Hetero, white characters.
sempiternal_books's review against another edition
2.0
*I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
This book was pretty underwhelming. It follows Lu, who was just recently dumped. Her relationship fell prey to the post-high-school, pre-college "we can't survive long distance" cliche. Due to the breakup, Lu has a bad case of writer's block. She is a columnist for an online magazine which focuses on love. In hopes of finding inspiration to write Lu sits on a park bench and eavesdrops on people's conversations. She end's up hearing a couple and what seems to be them breaking up, for the same reasons behind her own breakup. One thing leads to another and Lu becomes friends with the couple and learns that they decided to postpone their breakup until the end of summer when they go off to different schools. Lu is convinced that writing about this couple is the key to overcoming her writer's block. She becomes obsessed with them and their relationship. She thinks if she can figure out what they're doing right, she can learn where her relationship went wrong.
I may have enjoyed this book more if Lu was likable at all. She was irresponsible, obsessive and allergic to common sense. The whole book takes place the summer before college and it is basically just Lu procrastinating writing her collum which if she doesn't get done by her deadline would mean losing her scholarship to NYU. (Which apparently isn't enough motivation to write.) Lu just keeps avoiding dealing with her breakup, which is probably the main reason she refuses to write. She is basically throwing her future away because of some couple she is obsessed with. (Hello lifetime movie alert.)
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this book. It attempted to have deep insights about love but really there's nothing to gain from reading this.
Available April 2019
This book was pretty underwhelming. It follows Lu, who was just recently dumped. Her relationship fell prey to the post-high-school, pre-college "we can't survive long distance" cliche. Due to the breakup, Lu has a bad case of writer's block. She is a columnist for an online magazine which focuses on love. In hopes of finding inspiration to write Lu sits on a park bench and eavesdrops on people's conversations. She end's up hearing a couple and what seems to be them breaking up, for the same reasons behind her own breakup. One thing leads to another and Lu becomes friends with the couple and learns that they decided to postpone their breakup until the end of summer when they go off to different schools. Lu is convinced that writing about this couple is the key to overcoming her writer's block. She becomes obsessed with them and their relationship. She thinks if she can figure out what they're doing right, she can learn where her relationship went wrong.
I may have enjoyed this book more if Lu was likable at all. She was irresponsible, obsessive and allergic to common sense. The whole book takes place the summer before college and it is basically just Lu procrastinating writing her collum which if she doesn't get done by her deadline would mean losing her scholarship to NYU. (Which apparently isn't enough motivation to write.) Lu just keeps avoiding dealing with her breakup, which is probably the main reason she refuses to write. She is basically throwing her future away because of some couple she is obsessed with. (Hello lifetime movie alert.)
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this book. It attempted to have deep insights about love but really there's nothing to gain from reading this.
Available April 2019
rebekahlee's review against another edition
3.0
It was really just okay. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. They all just seemed a bit off to me. And the plot was just awkward. I didn’t feel any growth or progress. Things just seemed to get worse as the book progressed, ending with nothing really. The beginning captured me, but by the end I was waiting for something better to happen.
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
3.0
Read my full review at between-the-shelves.com!
Thanks to Harlequin TEEN and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! I haven’t read any of Adi Alsaid’s books before, but this one was an enjoyable ride. This is the perfect spring release, and will definitely get you in the mood for summer.
I loved the premise of this book at the beginning. Lu is a journalist, desperate to find her next muse. She’s also worried about keeping her future in check, something I think a lot of seniors will relate to. The idea that Lu listens to conversations around her, especially in New York City, in order to get ideas for her articles makes the book overall a fun read. Sure, she’s struggling with heartbreak, but she gets to have a lot of fun adventures too.
Though I loved the premise, the plot lagged a bit in the middle for me. Lu kind of gets lost in following this couple around, becoming their friend, and consequently, the plot feels like it gets a little bit lost as well. By the end, I think it finds itself, but the middle of the book just slows down a bit for me.
Filled with adventure, this will make the perfect summer read.
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I loved the concept of this, but the pacing felt off about halfway through. More to come in a review on Wednesday!
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Thanks to Harlequin TEEN and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! I haven’t read any of Adi Alsaid’s books before, but this one was an enjoyable ride. This is the perfect spring release, and will definitely get you in the mood for summer.
I loved the premise of this book at the beginning. Lu is a journalist, desperate to find her next muse. She’s also worried about keeping her future in check, something I think a lot of seniors will relate to. The idea that Lu listens to conversations around her, especially in New York City, in order to get ideas for her articles makes the book overall a fun read. Sure, she’s struggling with heartbreak, but she gets to have a lot of fun adventures too.
Though I loved the premise, the plot lagged a bit in the middle for me. Lu kind of gets lost in following this couple around, becoming their friend, and consequently, the plot feels like it gets a little bit lost as well. By the end, I think it finds itself, but the middle of the book just slows down a bit for me.
Filled with adventure, this will make the perfect summer read.
----
I loved the concept of this, but the pacing felt off about halfway through. More to come in a review on Wednesday!
----
Follow me!
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
literarymarvel's review against another edition
4.0
Not my favorite - the topic isn’t really my thing but I can definitely see how this would appeal to teenagers going through the same type of relationship situation. I know I did in high school.
I also found the main character, Lu, incredibly annoying. So that didn’t help.
I also found the main character, Lu, incredibly annoying. So that didn’t help.