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lucyhudsonn's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
vaiden's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
_sid_05's review against another edition
1.0
Wow that was horrible miss main character really needed to stop about fate because no one cares also the best friend or whatever was horrible the main dude was too safe to say I hated everyone how fun
loveleareads's review
4.0
I wasn't sure what I'd get out of Something Like Fate, this being me third novel by Susane Colasanti. The other two books: one I loved, one I was disappointed in, so it could have gone either way. What I ended up getting was a fun and sweet story that I enjoyed.
I usually hate these kind of stories. I just don't do the whole girl-in-love-with-her-best-friend's-boyfriend thing. For what ever reason I always end up getting mad at all of the characters. But, this one was done very well.
ONe reason I liked it was because Erin wasn't a total phsyco super-snot like a lot of best friends are in books. For whatever reason, best friends are usually snots who I can't stand. But Erin was a descent person. I sympathized with her, yet still liked the main character Lani.
I also liked Lani. Even though what she did wasn't totally right, she was still a sweatheart and wanted everyone to be happy. She was incredibly ignorant. But she was a good person.
This was an easy book to get into. The plot developed appropriatly. It's a sweet and clean read. There's no sex or cussing. It's clean, but not in a way that you're wondering if it's really young adult.
Something Like Fate may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it. It was cheesey, but just the right amount. It's not going to blow your mind, but it's enjoyable. It wasn't perfect, but there were no big, obvious flaws either. If it looks like something you might like, I'd say give it a try.
I usually hate these kind of stories. I just don't do the whole girl-in-love-with-her-best-friend's-boyfriend thing. For what ever reason I always end up getting mad at all of the characters. But, this one was done very well.
ONe reason I liked it was because Erin wasn't a total phsyco super-snot like a lot of best friends are in books. For whatever reason, best friends are usually snots who I can't stand. But Erin was a descent person. I sympathized with her, yet still liked the main character Lani.
I also liked Lani. Even though what she did wasn't totally right, she was still a sweatheart and wanted everyone to be happy. She was incredibly ignorant. But she was a good person.
This was an easy book to get into. The plot developed appropriatly. It's a sweet and clean read. There's no sex or cussing. It's clean, but not in a way that you're wondering if it's really young adult.
Something Like Fate may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it. It was cheesey, but just the right amount. It's not going to blow your mind, but it's enjoyable. It wasn't perfect, but there were no big, obvious flaws either. If it looks like something you might like, I'd say give it a try.
amandalily28's review
1.0
You can obviously tell what this book is about from the cover. I picked up this book because I saw that some people compared Colasanti's writing to Sarah Dessen. I pretty much got the opposite of what I expected.
What I didn't like:
Lani's Thoughts
The inner dialogue was written as following:
I was all like, "..."
I go, "..."
He's like, "..."
And I'm all, "..."
Yes, some teenagers do actually talk like this, but this got incredibly annoying throughout the book. Honestly, if what was actually in quotes was like that, fine. But what ever happened to I said, "...."?
Random Characters
After every few chapters, a new character is introduced randomly. The main character Lani just mentions a new character as if I'm supposed to automatically know who they are. This actually happens a lot throughout the book, not only in the first few chapters. And after these characters are just randomly introduced, you never see them again. At all.
Characters
I hated how stereotypical the character Blake was. He's a gay guy and he's a 'fashion diva' and he acts totally girly. That's really stereotypical..that's not how all gay guys act.
Lani's character was just plain stupid at times. In the end, Erin embarrasses Lani online and Lani just forgives her for it like it's nothing! Honestly, she didn't even THINK about it... that annoyed me to no end! ! Honestly, Lani... think a little!
Jason was a flat character. He had pretty much NO personality. Whatsoever. I couldn't connect with him at all, and I really don't get what exactly makes him and Lani "soul mates".
Soul mates? I think not.
All of the connections between Lani and Jason were two dimensional... they never really got the chance to 'connect' or whatever. One of the reasons they think it's fate that they should be together is that raspberries are both of their favorite fruits. Seriously. Other reasons include that they played together in a sandbox when they were little (They live in a small town. The entire junior class is like seventy people, so it's not unlikely that they would have known each other as kids.), they both have the same poster in their rooms... I think you get the point here.
Overall, it wasn't a very enjoyable book. The one thing I did like about it was the fate aspect of it. Lani and her "best" friend Erin are obsessed with fate, and I really liked that, because you don't really see that type of thing in many books. But, that's the only reason it got more than 1/5 stars.
So... I will be giving Susane Colasanti's books another chance... "Take me There" by her was on the Bargain Books on Amazon, so I added it to my order last week. (I haven't gotten the books in yet).. But if I don't like that, I'm not going to be reading any more of her books...
Revising this review about 10 months later, Take Me There is still sitting on my shelf... haven't read it yet, and I'm thinking that I might just to get a good laugh out of it. I don't know.
What I didn't like:
Lani's Thoughts
The inner dialogue was written as following:
I was all like, "..."
I go, "..."
He's like, "..."
And I'm all, "..."
Yes, some teenagers do actually talk like this, but this got incredibly annoying throughout the book. Honestly, if what was actually in quotes was like that, fine. But what ever happened to I said, "...."?
Random Characters
After every few chapters, a new character is introduced randomly. The main character Lani just mentions a new character as if I'm supposed to automatically know who they are. This actually happens a lot throughout the book, not only in the first few chapters. And after these characters are just randomly introduced, you never see them again. At all.
Characters
I hated how stereotypical the character Blake was. He's a gay guy and he's a 'fashion diva' and he acts totally girly. That's really stereotypical..that's not how all gay guys act.
Lani's character was just plain stupid at times. In the end, Erin
Jason was a flat character. He had pretty much NO personality. Whatsoever. I couldn't connect with him at all, and I really don't get what exactly makes him and Lani "soul mates".
Soul mates? I think not.
All of the connections between Lani and Jason were two dimensional... they never really got the chance to 'connect' or whatever. One of the reasons they think it's fate that they should be together is that raspberries are both of their favorite fruits. Seriously. Other reasons include that they played together in a sandbox when they were little (They live in a small town. The entire junior class is like seventy people, so it's not unlikely that they would have known each other as kids.), they both have the same poster in their rooms... I think you get the point here.
Overall, it wasn't a very enjoyable book. The one thing I did like about it was the fate aspect of it. Lani and her "best" friend Erin are obsessed with fate, and I really liked that, because you don't really see that type of thing in many books. But, that's the only reason it got more than 1/5 stars.
So... I will be giving Susane Colasanti's books another chance... "Take me There" by her was on the Bargain Books on Amazon, so I added it to my order last week. (I haven't gotten the books in yet).. But if I don't like that, I'm not going to be reading any more of her books...
Revising this review about 10 months later, Take Me There is still sitting on my shelf... haven't read it yet, and I'm thinking that I might just to get a good laugh out of it. I don't know.
onceuponabookcase's review
1.0
Best friends Lani and Erin couldn’t be more different. Lani’s reserved and thoughtful; Erin’s bubbly and outgoing. Lani likes to do her own thing; Erin prefers an entourage. There’s no possible way they could be interested in the same guy.
So when Erin starts dating Jason, Lani can’t believe she feels such a deep connection with him—and it may be mutual. The more Lani fights it, the more certain she feels that it’s her fate to be with Jason. But what do you do when the love of your life is the one person you can’t have? From Amazon US
When I received this book, I was so looking forward to reading it! Not only does the book sound incredible, but the cover is just beautiful, too. So, understandably, I picked it up to read fairly soon after receiving it, sure I was in for a brilliant read. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I was so very disappointed in this book, I actually feel quite sad about it; there was so much potential, and it all just fell pretty flat for me.
I’ll give some positives first. Lani and Erin are seriously interested in all things to do with fate. Lani will check her horoscope every Monday without fail. Each month, the girls look into a new method of finding out their fate; tarot, palmistry, numerology, dream analysis, the list goes on. When I was younger I was really interested in similar things, and to a smaller degree I still am. I never went to the extremes that these girls did – I never checked my horoscope religiously, or anything like that, but I did think it was all pretty neat, and so reading about it in this book was pretty interesting. Though, after the beginning, where it was explained how interested in all these things they were, it kind of dwindled off, yet Lani kept going on about things happening for a reason, and fate was behind all things, and it got a little tiresome.
That small part was pretty much the only thing about this book I liked. I wasn’t too keen on the characters. Lani felt a little boring to me; she’s a bit of an eco warrior, and although I do my bit for the environment in my own home, Lani’s whole life practically revolves around saving the world, and it’s just not something I’m interested in reading. Erin was ridiculous with her “We’re meant to be!” about her and Jason, and I thought she was a bit superficial. I didn’t feel there was much depth to Jason; other than that he likes mentoring younger kids and walking along no longer in use railway tracks, I couldn’t tell you a thing about him. The only characters that were fairly cool were Blake and Connor, but they weren’t in the book for a huge amount of time. There was practically no chemistry between Jason and Lani, or Jason and Erin.
Another thing I didn’t like about the book was the way it was written. So many times throughout the book I got annoyed during the dialogue. Lani is telling this story, and when she’s telling the reader what some said, more often than not, she will say “And Erin was like ‘Blah blah blah,’” or “Erin was all ‘Blah blah blah.’” It grated on my nerves. There’s also the fact that so much of this novel told, rather than shown. I can’t count how many times Lani would talk about how she, or her and Jason, or her and someone else, did something for an hour/a few hours/the rest of the day. I wasn’t counting as I was reading, but I can only remember actually seeing Lani and Jason kiss twice in the whole book. I just didn’t get to see much of what I wanted to see. Perhaps there would have been more chemistry between them if I actually got to see them do things for more than five minutes.
I was just so disappointed in this book, and it’s so frustrating. However, I am just one person; although I personally didn’t like it, you might find this a really good book. I would definitely check out some other reviews before writing it off completely. I may not have been a fan, but you could be.
From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog
So when Erin starts dating Jason, Lani can’t believe she feels such a deep connection with him—and it may be mutual. The more Lani fights it, the more certain she feels that it’s her fate to be with Jason. But what do you do when the love of your life is the one person you can’t have? From Amazon US
When I received this book, I was so looking forward to reading it! Not only does the book sound incredible, but the cover is just beautiful, too. So, understandably, I picked it up to read fairly soon after receiving it, sure I was in for a brilliant read. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I was so very disappointed in this book, I actually feel quite sad about it; there was so much potential, and it all just fell pretty flat for me.
I’ll give some positives first. Lani and Erin are seriously interested in all things to do with fate. Lani will check her horoscope every Monday without fail. Each month, the girls look into a new method of finding out their fate; tarot, palmistry, numerology, dream analysis, the list goes on. When I was younger I was really interested in similar things, and to a smaller degree I still am. I never went to the extremes that these girls did – I never checked my horoscope religiously, or anything like that, but I did think it was all pretty neat, and so reading about it in this book was pretty interesting. Though, after the beginning, where it was explained how interested in all these things they were, it kind of dwindled off, yet Lani kept going on about things happening for a reason, and fate was behind all things, and it got a little tiresome.
That small part was pretty much the only thing about this book I liked. I wasn’t too keen on the characters. Lani felt a little boring to me; she’s a bit of an eco warrior, and although I do my bit for the environment in my own home, Lani’s whole life practically revolves around saving the world, and it’s just not something I’m interested in reading. Erin was ridiculous with her “We’re meant to be!” about her and Jason, and I thought she was a bit superficial. I didn’t feel there was much depth to Jason; other than that he likes mentoring younger kids and walking along no longer in use railway tracks, I couldn’t tell you a thing about him. The only characters that were fairly cool were Blake and Connor, but they weren’t in the book for a huge amount of time. There was practically no chemistry between Jason and Lani, or Jason and Erin.
Another thing I didn’t like about the book was the way it was written. So many times throughout the book I got annoyed during the dialogue. Lani is telling this story, and when she’s telling the reader what some said, more often than not, she will say “And Erin was like ‘Blah blah blah,’” or “Erin was all ‘Blah blah blah.’” It grated on my nerves. There’s also the fact that so much of this novel told, rather than shown. I can’t count how many times Lani would talk about how she, or her and Jason, or her and someone else, did something for an hour/a few hours/the rest of the day. I wasn’t counting as I was reading, but I can only remember actually seeing Lani and Jason kiss twice in the whole book. I just didn’t get to see much of what I wanted to see. Perhaps there would have been more chemistry between them if I actually got to see them do things for more than five minutes.
I was just so disappointed in this book, and it’s so frustrating. However, I am just one person; although I personally didn’t like it, you might find this a really good book. I would definitely check out some other reviews before writing it off completely. I may not have been a fan, but you could be.
From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog
everydayreading's review
2.0
Bleck. I am so sick of books where the girl falls in love with the best friend's boyfriend and then when the best friend finds out and does horrible things to the girl and is a complete and utter jerk in every way and spreads evil rumors and spills all her secrets and puts up a website about what a terrible boyfriend stealing jerk she is AND won't even talk to her, the girl still swears to never see the boy again. If the best friend is being so evil, there's not really much point in preserving that friendship, now, is there? (Maybe this attitude is why I have no friends).
Also, the main girl is obsessssssssed with fate and horoscopes and stuff and is just convinced things happen because of fate and I wanted to shake her and scream "get a grip! Your life is what you make of it."
Ahem.
Also, the main girl is obsessssssssed with fate and horoscopes and stuff and is just convinced things happen because of fate and I wanted to shake her and scream "get a grip! Your life is what you make of it."
Ahem.
therainbowreader's review
1.0
Something Like Fate was my first read by Susane Colasanti, and I’m sorry to report, this book sucked.
Going in, I wasn’t sure what do expect. I LOVE books that deal with love triangles between best friends and their boyfriends (Something Borrowed, You and Me and Him, First There was Forever) But SLF was lacking…well everything.
Writing: A big issue I had with this novel was the writing style. It was so bland and simple, it made reading an instruction manual sound more interesting. There was hardly any description whatsoever within the text. Barely any beats between the dialogue so you never knew who was speaking. And when there was, it was always “I go” “I’m like” she’s like” “he’s all”, instead of the classic, he said or I said. Yeah, that’s authentic to how some teenagers tell stories, but it was annoying as hell to read about.
Characters: Lani herself was quite annoying. As someone who hates astrology, I was definitely rolling my eyes hard during this book. There was sooo many pages about horoscopes and what it means to be a Taurus/Leo/Libra. She couldn’t shut up about astrology. With her love for fate and the unknown, Lani definitely had the mindset of an eleven year old versus a high school student. I was pleased to learn that one of Lani’s best friends – Blake - was gay. Unfortunately, he just ended up being a stereotype. The typical story of a closeted gay who had his locker defaced and daddy issues. Nothing new to see here. I really admire books with LGBTQIA characters where they’re more than just the sidekick – this isn’t one of those novels. Also, the friendship between Lani and Erin felt genuine at first but as the book went on, I couldn’t tell why they were best friends.
Instalove: Yep, Something Like Fate could be renamed, Something Like Instalove. Because Lani and Jason got it bad. After they first met, Lani just keeps going on and on about their “amazing” connection even though they don’t really know each other. And she just swears they belong together. Their love is all told, not shown. Instead making me feel things about their relationship, the author just kept reiterating “They are in love! They have such a deep connection! They’re meant to be!”
Overall, this book lacked a lot of tension. I was waiting for the big blowup, the nervousness of sneaking around and getting caught, but the ending was extremely anticlimactic. Do yourself a favor and pick up First There Was Forever instead.
Going in, I wasn’t sure what do expect. I LOVE books that deal with love triangles between best friends and their boyfriends (Something Borrowed, You and Me and Him, First There was Forever) But SLF was lacking…well everything.
Writing: A big issue I had with this novel was the writing style. It was so bland and simple, it made reading an instruction manual sound more interesting. There was hardly any description whatsoever within the text. Barely any beats between the dialogue so you never knew who was speaking. And when there was, it was always “I go” “I’m like” she’s like” “he’s all”, instead of the classic, he said or I said. Yeah, that’s authentic to how some teenagers tell stories, but it was annoying as hell to read about.
Characters: Lani herself was quite annoying. As someone who hates astrology, I was definitely rolling my eyes hard during this book. There was sooo many pages about horoscopes and what it means to be a Taurus/Leo/Libra. She couldn’t shut up about astrology. With her love for fate and the unknown, Lani definitely had the mindset of an eleven year old versus a high school student. I was pleased to learn that one of Lani’s best friends – Blake - was gay. Unfortunately, he just ended up being a stereotype. The typical story of a closeted gay who had his locker defaced and daddy issues. Nothing new to see here. I really admire books with LGBTQIA characters where they’re more than just the sidekick – this isn’t one of those novels. Also, the friendship between Lani and Erin felt genuine at first but as the book went on, I couldn’t tell why they were best friends.
Instalove: Yep, Something Like Fate could be renamed, Something Like Instalove. Because Lani and Jason got it bad. After they first met, Lani just keeps going on and on about their “amazing” connection even though they don’t really know each other. And she just swears they belong together. Their love is all told, not shown. Instead making me feel things about their relationship, the author just kept reiterating “They are in love! They have such a deep connection! They’re meant to be!”
Overall, this book lacked a lot of tension. I was waiting for the big blowup, the nervousness of sneaking around and getting caught, but the ending was extremely anticlimactic. Do yourself a favor and pick up First There Was Forever instead.
jonireads's review
5.0
By far, the best Susane Colasanti book that I have read. I flew right through this book and loved every minute of it. Lani feels an overwhelming attraction to her best friend Erin's boyfriend, Jason. She doesn't know how to describe it, but it feels like they are meant for each other. When she finds out Jason feels the same she struggles between choosing love or friendship.
Usually I have love triangles in books, but this one is very well done. I could feel how right for each other Jason and Lani were and so I was rooting for them the whole time.
I loved the topic of fate and destiny that was mentioned throughout the book. Lani and Erin are really into the concept and have a chart assigning a different topic to study each month, such as Palmistry and Numerology. Lani mentioned fate a lot in the novel, how it seemed that Jason and her have always been meant to be with each other, how certain events led up to them finally finding each other. Her character was written with such passion that it was easy to jump on the bandwagon with her. I put the down the book wishing there was psychic in my city that I could visit, just to see what would be said.
Susane Colasanti has a unique and fresh writing style as well. She writes the way that teens talk. She begins dialogue with "I go" or "He's like" instead of "I said" and "He said". It makes her books more relatable and seem more down to earth, though I will admit that it took some getting used to.
Do I recommend this book? Yes. If you need a light, fluffy, romantic read then this a perfect book to lose yourself in.
Usually I have love triangles in books, but this one is very well done. I could feel how right for each other Jason and Lani were and so I was rooting for them the whole time.
I loved the topic of fate and destiny that was mentioned throughout the book. Lani and Erin are really into the concept and have a chart assigning a different topic to study each month, such as Palmistry and Numerology. Lani mentioned fate a lot in the novel, how it seemed that Jason and her have always been meant to be with each other, how certain events led up to them finally finding each other. Her character was written with such passion that it was easy to jump on the bandwagon with her. I put the down the book wishing there was psychic in my city that I could visit, just to see what would be said.
Susane Colasanti has a unique and fresh writing style as well. She writes the way that teens talk. She begins dialogue with "I go" or "He's like" instead of "I said" and "He said". It makes her books more relatable and seem more down to earth, though I will admit that it took some getting used to.
Do I recommend this book? Yes. If you need a light, fluffy, romantic read then this a perfect book to lose yourself in.
myntop's review
4.0
The first thing I would like to say about this book is that the cover is misleading. I don't really care for cheating in the books I read, and the image on the cover looks as if that's what you're getting into. However, I gave it a shot because I've loved other books by this author. I was pleased to find out that there is no cheating in this book.
What does happen is actually very common, I think, in teen relationships. You're still trying things out at this age and it's not unheard of to find someone you like more while you're already dating someone. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop people from being hurt.
Stemming from misunderstandings and hurt feelings, things get really dramatic and difficult for the main character in this book. She has to find out what's really important to her and communicate that with the people in her life. It ends up being a very sweet story, though, and I really enjoyed it.
What does happen is actually very common, I think, in teen relationships. You're still trying things out at this age and it's not unheard of to find someone you like more while you're already dating someone. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop people from being hurt.
Stemming from misunderstandings and hurt feelings, things get really dramatic and difficult for the main character in this book. She has to find out what's really important to her and communicate that with the people in her life. It ends up being a very sweet story, though, and I really enjoyed it.