You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
*4.5 out of 5 stars*
Emma Mills is such a fantastic writer. I've loved every single one of her books, and now I'm sad that I don't have another to read until later this year.
Emma Mills is such a fantastic writer. I've loved every single one of her books, and now I'm sad that I don't have another to read until later this year.
As a little beginning note, I am so glad that nearly all of the books I've picked up this year so far have been incredibly diverse. Talk about starting 2018 off right! This book made me so very happy because it's been such a long time since I've read a book that has such great representation of marginalized groups (in my opinion--correct me if I'm wrong) and really portrays a normal high school. It's not realistic for everyone to be white and straight. I look around my school and I see the exact opposite. And it's fantastic to see that written in a book.
Anyway, I loved this book. I had a few quibbles (hence the four star rating), but I did truly enjoy it. I don't read contemporaries that often and probably wouldn't have read this if not for Owlcrate, and for that, I am very grateful. This book has such a cute romance and amazing side characters. As well, it's got a little Shakespeare in it and who can complain about that? Okay, maybe a lot of people, but not me. I regretfully haven't read A Midsummer Night's Dream, but it's very high on my Shakespeare TBR list.
“Sometimes...around some people, I feel like I have to, like...try, you know?...But with you-- when I'm with you, I can just...exist. You know what I mean?”
I really liked Claudia. She's a really relatable character and I loved that we got to see so many different facets of her. She plays video games (yay same!), loves a boy band (not same, but cool!), is good at school, loves her friends, loves her family, and yet still has issues with her friends and family. Can I also applaud Emma Mills for having a really strong familial aspect here? There's so little positive families in YA and this was such a pleasant surprise! We see the ups and downs of family, but at the end of the day, they all love each other and care for each other. It was so fluffy and sweet.
“Sometimes it's hard to know if something's for real? It's hard to believe it, even if you want it to be real. Even if you want it so badly. Sometimes it seems...safer, you know. Not to risk it.”
I also loved her friends and this book is definitely more about friendship than romance, in my opinion. I really did love Iris, despite her being a complete jerk in the beginning. She underwent a lot of character development and I liked that Mills explored the other aspects of her character, like the boy band fan and the girl whose never really been liked by anyone but Paige. Also, her friendship with Claudia was A+. Can we have more female friendships in books?? They're so precious.
As well, Claudia's friendship with Zoe was super sweet and reminded me a tad of one of my friendships. I did think the "issue" between them was fairly cliché and I wasn't a huge fan of that. I personally, would have also been mad at Zoe and may not have been so keen on forgiveness. But I'm also petty and hold grudges. Anyway, I also loved Noah and Gideon's friendship. The line about Noah being his brother made me smile so much.
Anyway, I think my main issue was how quick Gideon and Claudia were to become interested in each other. In no real world would a boy take one look at a girl and become interested. Or maybe I am a huge cynic that doesn't believe in true love. It felt a lot like instalove though and boy, am I not a fan of that trope. I did like that it took a long time for them to get together (slow burn for the win!), but I think it had a messy start.
I also thought that the conflict felt more middle-grade to me, but the content wasn't fitting to the younger genre at all, so...Personally, it could have used a little more depth, but maybe that's my preference for a ton of angst. I think that's more a case of "it's not you, it's me".
But anyway, the rest of this book was totally me. It was cute and sweet and so wonderfully done. I highly recommend this book!
“It just feels like..." Her voice small. "Sometimes it just feels like I'm faking."
"Maybe everyone feels that way.”
-Book Hugger
Anyway, I loved this book. I had a few quibbles (hence the four star rating), but I did truly enjoy it. I don't read contemporaries that often and probably wouldn't have read this if not for Owlcrate, and for that, I am very grateful. This book has such a cute romance and amazing side characters. As well, it's got a little Shakespeare in it and who can complain about that? Okay, maybe a lot of people, but not me. I regretfully haven't read A Midsummer Night's Dream, but it's very high on my Shakespeare TBR list.
“Sometimes...around some people, I feel like I have to, like...try, you know?...But with you-- when I'm with you, I can just...exist. You know what I mean?”
I really liked Claudia. She's a really relatable character and I loved that we got to see so many different facets of her. She plays video games (yay same!), loves a boy band (not same, but cool!), is good at school, loves her friends, loves her family, and yet still has issues with her friends and family. Can I also applaud Emma Mills for having a really strong familial aspect here? There's so little positive families in YA and this was such a pleasant surprise! We see the ups and downs of family, but at the end of the day, they all love each other and care for each other. It was so fluffy and sweet.
“Sometimes it's hard to know if something's for real? It's hard to believe it, even if you want it to be real. Even if you want it so badly. Sometimes it seems...safer, you know. Not to risk it.”
I also loved her friends and this book is definitely more about friendship than romance, in my opinion. I really did love Iris, despite her being a complete jerk in the beginning. She underwent a lot of character development and I liked that Mills explored the other aspects of her character, like the boy band fan and the girl whose never really been liked by anyone but Paige. Also, her friendship with Claudia was A+. Can we have more female friendships in books?? They're so precious.
As well, Claudia's friendship with Zoe was super sweet and reminded me a tad of one of my friendships. I did think the "issue" between them was fairly cliché and I wasn't a huge fan of that. I personally, would have also been mad at Zoe and may not have been so keen on forgiveness. But I'm also petty and hold grudges. Anyway, I also loved Noah and Gideon's friendship. The line about Noah being his brother made me smile so much.
Anyway, I think my main issue was how quick Gideon and Claudia were to become interested in each other. In no real world would a boy take one look at a girl and become interested. Or maybe I am a huge cynic that doesn't believe in true love. It felt a lot like instalove though and boy, am I not a fan of that trope. I did like that it took a long time for them to get together (slow burn for the win!), but I think it had a messy start.
I also thought that the conflict felt more middle-grade to me, but the content wasn't fitting to the younger genre at all, so...Personally, it could have used a little more depth, but maybe that's my preference for a ton of angst. I think that's more a case of "it's not you, it's me".
But anyway, the rest of this book was totally me. It was cute and sweet and so wonderfully done. I highly recommend this book!
“It just feels like..." Her voice small. "Sometimes it just feels like I'm faking."
"Maybe everyone feels that way.”
-Book Hugger
3.5 - it was really sweet. It reminded me of all the best parts of falling in love but also made me glad that I’m already in a relationship because all the questioning and anxiety is too stressful.
When Claudia overhears Iris and Paige break up, Iris threatens to ruin her if any rumors spread. After being forced to work with Iris on a paper that turns into an awful monstrosity, their teacher requires them to make it up by auditioning and working for the school play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. A prickly start turns into genuine friendship as the play progresses and Claudia meets several new friends along the way.
Overall, this was a super cute book. It was so easy to get sucked into the story and the pages flew by for the most part! However, there were two things that bothered me. 1: the amount of times the word "just" was used when any character was speaking. It was incredibly overused and I was getting very frustrated with it. 2: Claudia and her overwhelming need to internalize everything even when said thing wasn't true. Part of this book focuses on relationships: both platonic and romantic. But Claudia freaked out about so many things that weren't even a big deal or about her!! So I really needed her to chill.
My favorite part of this was Iris and Claudia's friendship. I loved how snarky Iris was and yeah she was definitely mean at times, but I could totally relate to her. Sometimes sharp words are easier than letting people in. I loved how they bonded over TION, it was so cute.
I did love Gideon Prewitt as well. He was such a fun character and he almost always brightened up any scene he was in. While I didn't have any issues with him, Claudia was slowly driving me insane by twisting his words and clearly misinterpreting his signals. I really wanted to shake the girl at times. Anyway, they were still adorable and I do ship them.
This was a great love story to theatre and Shakespeare. While I think [b:If We Were Villains|30319086|If We Were Villains|M.L. Rio|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480717682l/30319086._SY75_.jpg|45743348] did it better, this was still such a good story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely laughed out loud several times. I'm glad I finally read this!
Overall, this was a super cute book. It was so easy to get sucked into the story and the pages flew by for the most part! However, there were two things that bothered me. 1: the amount of times the word "just" was used when any character was speaking. It was incredibly overused and I was getting very frustrated with it. 2: Claudia and her overwhelming need to internalize everything even when said thing wasn't true. Part of this book focuses on relationships: both platonic and romantic. But Claudia freaked out about so many things that weren't even a big deal or about her!! So I really needed her to chill.
My favorite part of this was Iris and Claudia's friendship. I loved how snarky Iris was and yeah she was definitely mean at times, but I could totally relate to her. Sometimes sharp words are easier than letting people in. I loved how they bonded over TION, it was so cute.
I did love Gideon Prewitt as well. He was such a fun character and he almost always brightened up any scene he was in. While I didn't have any issues with him, Claudia was slowly driving me insane by twisting his words and clearly misinterpreting his signals. I really wanted to shake the girl at times. Anyway, they were still adorable and I do ship them.
This was a great love story to theatre and Shakespeare. While I think [b:If We Were Villains|30319086|If We Were Villains|M.L. Rio|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480717682l/30319086._SY75_.jpg|45743348] did it better, this was still such a good story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely laughed out loud several times. I'm glad I finally read this!
I read a disturbing suspense/thriller novel right before this, so Foolish Hearts is exactly what I was looking for: a fun, sweet contemporary YA. While this wasn't the most meaningful or memorable contemporary YAs I've read recently, there's a lot I loved about this book.
I'm sure the humor won't be for everyone, but I loved Claudia's sense of humor. I laughed out loud multiple times. I enjoyed Gideon's goofiness as well. I also really loved all the friendships - Claudia and Zoe, Claudia and Iris, Noah and Gideon - and the siblings relationship. I feel like I frequently read about siblings who don't get along or don't speak, so it's nice to read about siblings that are close. I really loved the part about fandom and This Is Our Now. I confess that I was a One Direction fan, so I found that part very relatable.
Overall, the storyline and characters felt very realistic. There wasn't any ridiculous or prolongued drama, and no super mean girls or anything like that. It just felt like high school.
I've also read [b:This Adventure Ends|27779275|This Adventure Ends|Emma Mills|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455111092s/27779275.jpg|46885088] and enjoyed that one a lot, so I now consider Emma Mills a reliable go-to author for contemporary YA. :)
I'm sure the humor won't be for everyone, but I loved Claudia's sense of humor. I laughed out loud multiple times. I enjoyed Gideon's goofiness as well. I also really loved all the friendships - Claudia and Zoe, Claudia and Iris, Noah and Gideon - and the siblings relationship. I feel like I frequently read about siblings who don't get along or don't speak, so it's nice to read about siblings that are close. I really loved the part about fandom and This Is Our Now. I confess that I was a One Direction fan, so I found that part very relatable.
Overall, the storyline and characters felt very realistic. There wasn't any ridiculous or prolongued drama, and no super mean girls or anything like that. It just felt like high school.
I've also read [b:This Adventure Ends|27779275|This Adventure Ends|Emma Mills|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455111092s/27779275.jpg|46885088] and enjoyed that one a lot, so I now consider Emma Mills a reliable go-to author for contemporary YA. :)
Cute Contemporary.
Interesting side characters.
Delightful romance.
Interesting side characters.
Delightful romance.
Perfect YA contemporary! So fun and wholesome with well-written characters. I also loved the boy band/fandom rep that was done in a way that felt very accurate and compassionate.
Still one of my favorite books and I love Gideon just... so much...
This was such a fun read that made me feel giddy, get swishy feels (thank you Gideon), amusement and giddiness. Gideon was such a sweet cinnamon roll that cares for his friends so deeply and a cutie pie. I really loved the cast of characters, relatable dialogue, combined with the feeling of connection of strong friendships and found family and the feeling of showing someone you care about something you love in a fandom and the string connection that brings you closer to them.
7/20/2020 Book #1 completed for Reading Rush 2020
7/20/2020 Book #1 completed for Reading Rush 2020