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booklovingmom_'s review
3.0
3/5 stars
I received Adeline’s Aria through BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
Adeline’s Aria is the story of a normal girl meeting her celebrity crush and falling in love with him. This premise is relatable to many teenage girls’ fantasies of meeting their boy band crushes and getting the chance at a relationship with them.
I really expected to love Adeline’s Aria because I was once that teenage girl obsessed with boy bands and fantasizing about this exact thing, but I’ve outgrown that faze and this story fell flat for me. I kept hoping for more out of this read, but never got it. Adeline’s Aria is a well written and thought out book, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters and was never fully pulled in. It was neither the best romance I’ve read or the worst, I am sure there are many readers out there who will love this book, but to me it was just okay.
I received Adeline’s Aria through BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
Adeline’s Aria is the story of a normal girl meeting her celebrity crush and falling in love with him. This premise is relatable to many teenage girls’ fantasies of meeting their boy band crushes and getting the chance at a relationship with them.
I really expected to love Adeline’s Aria because I was once that teenage girl obsessed with boy bands and fantasizing about this exact thing, but I’ve outgrown that faze and this story fell flat for me. I kept hoping for more out of this read, but never got it. Adeline’s Aria is a well written and thought out book, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters and was never fully pulled in. It was neither the best romance I’ve read or the worst, I am sure there are many readers out there who will love this book, but to me it was just okay.
bookdrgn's review against another edition
4.0
Adeline and Tabby are best of friends. I love how they refer to their friendship as ‘stardust’ because we are all made of it. They both have mental health issues and while Tabby’s are told through Adeline’s perspective, the representation of both young women’s struggles is genuine and authentic.
I love how they went out of their comfort zone to see bands they love; I liked the kindness Adeline showed to two pre-teen music festival-goers, paying forward the kindness that was shown to her and Tabby.
Jude was a good character, albeit a celebrity with a large head at times. I loved how he looked past Adeline’s physical features (though we only know her opinion of her looks, her actual appearance is not really described) to the kind girl inside. His brother Skylar was a great secondary character and his friends were not featured as much as I thought they would have been for the first book in a series about their band.
I enjoyed how socially conscious this book is. Adeline says stop and Jude stops, without a tantrum or complaining. Skylar’s struggle was very genuine, he seems asexual or aromantic and the way he is accepted by some and not by others is an accurate representation of how difficult navigating life can be for teenagers.
Adeline and Jude’s relationship frustrated me. I mean, it’s every teenager's fantasy that their celebrity crush will not only notice them but fall in love with them and I think this disbelief shadows Adeline’s enjoyment of their union like she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.
This is made infinitely more difficult by Jude’s contractual agreements of a romantic nature during the filming for a movie. The fact that his co-star is lapping it all up does not help.
Adeline and Jude’s father appear at odds. We don’t see any conversation or confrontation between the two to justify her disdain though. It’s entirely based on her witnessing his interactions with Jude and words from Skylar. Why he has so much control over his 22-year-old son’s life, to the detriment of Jude’s emotional health confuses me. But then the agreement Jude made with his co-star also seemed odd.
Tabby’s anger at Adeline for going with Jude, because Tabby’s relationship with her rock star fizzled, causing her mental health to flare up, also confused me. I understand the frustration and hurt, but the anger seemed like an overreaction.
Adeline’s parents were great. Her mom is cautious but supportive, but her dad goes from protective to supportive and I was glad he did. It would have soured the book if Adeline was constantly at odds with her parents.
Jude and Adeline’s dialogue tags and actions didn’t sync with the situations they were in. The black moment was written very well with Adeline reacting with maturity and honesty, it was refreshing.
When Adeline was called back to England the emotions felt authentic, even Jude’s father, as distant as he was. Their reunion was fast and sweet and I look forward to further instalments, getting to know Jude’s friends and bandmates better.
I love how they went out of their comfort zone to see bands they love; I liked the kindness Adeline showed to two pre-teen music festival-goers, paying forward the kindness that was shown to her and Tabby.
Jude was a good character, albeit a celebrity with a large head at times. I loved how he looked past Adeline’s physical features (though we only know her opinion of her looks, her actual appearance is not really described) to the kind girl inside. His brother Skylar was a great secondary character and his friends were not featured as much as I thought they would have been for the first book in a series about their band.
I enjoyed how socially conscious this book is. Adeline says stop and Jude stops, without a tantrum or complaining. Skylar’s struggle was very genuine, he seems asexual or aromantic and the way he is accepted by some and not by others is an accurate representation of how difficult navigating life can be for teenagers.
Adeline and Jude’s relationship frustrated me. I mean, it’s every teenager's fantasy that their celebrity crush will not only notice them but fall in love with them and I think this disbelief shadows Adeline’s enjoyment of their union like she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.
This is made infinitely more difficult by Jude’s contractual agreements of a romantic nature during the filming for a movie. The fact that his co-star is lapping it all up does not help.
Adeline and Jude’s father appear at odds. We don’t see any conversation or confrontation between the two to justify her disdain though. It’s entirely based on her witnessing his interactions with Jude and words from Skylar. Why he has so much control over his 22-year-old son’s life, to the detriment of Jude’s emotional health confuses me. But then the agreement Jude made with his co-star also seemed odd.
Tabby’s anger at Adeline for going with Jude, because Tabby’s relationship with her rock star fizzled, causing her mental health to flare up, also confused me. I understand the frustration and hurt, but the anger seemed like an overreaction.
Adeline’s parents were great. Her mom is cautious but supportive, but her dad goes from protective to supportive and I was glad he did. It would have soured the book if Adeline was constantly at odds with her parents.
Jude and Adeline’s dialogue tags and actions didn’t sync with the situations they were in. The black moment was written very well with Adeline reacting with maturity and honesty, it was refreshing.
When Adeline was called back to England the emotions felt authentic, even Jude’s father, as distant as he was. Their reunion was fast and sweet and I look forward to further instalments, getting to know Jude’s friends and bandmates better.
valovebooks's review against another edition
5.0
I really did love this book!!! I read it in a couple days! The love story was sweet! It had everything I hoped for if I ever pictured meeting my celeb crush!!! The intro how they met. Perfect! I recieved this book for free from the Author. An advanced Readers copy. It took me awhile to start it. Honestly the cover wasn't that awesome to me, but after reading it I actually love the cover because it gives me a visual of the characters! Every character in the book was described perfectly. Honestly It felt like a movie playing in my head. I dont want to give away spoilers but please read this book. It's the perfect celebrity crushing book!!
lauren716's review against another edition
5.0
My review along with a playlist can be found on my blog!
https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2020/01/13/adelines-aria-earc-review-with-playlist/
https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2020/01/13/adelines-aria-earc-review-with-playlist/
liralen's review against another edition
2.0
This was...not the most auspicious start to 2021...but I can't really regret it. (You know when there's a book that you're pretty sure will be a Bad Fit for you but you really want to read it anyway? No? Just me, then...)
If you told me this was fanfiction, I would believe you. It would be the sort of fanfiction where the super-hot movie hero falls for a non-canon 'normal' girl (but not badly enough done that the Protectors of the Plot Continuum would step in). We can go ahead and call the 'normal' girl Mary Sue, for the sake of simplicity. She has nothing in particular to recommend her, except she's probably really good at something artistic (*cough* like photography) and good (such as, oh, taking care of some overwhelmed girls at a concert) and has a minor character 'flaw' that is played off as cute (the classic: clumsiness) and, of course, everyone loves her.
In the canon version, hero-boy is together with heroine-girl, and they live happily ever after; in the fanfiction version, normal-girl enters the scene, and hero-boy is immediately smitten. In the canon version, heroine-girl is pretty great, but in the fanfiction girl, heroine-girl is an Evil Villain Who Is Evil, because...she also wants the hero. And thus she's evil.
Of course, the flaw in this analogy is that this isn't fanfiction. It's just...fiction. Fiction in which a rock star falls madly in love with a rabid fan for...no particular reason. That is—because after five minutes in her company he decides that she's hard to read and he can be 'real' around her. And then she basically puts her life on hold to hide in his hotel room while he continues to pretend to be engaged to heroine-girl. (Also. Meanwhile, Mary Sue gets jet lag...from flying from Alabama to New York. Umm. Okay, then.)
The thing is: poor heroine-girl gets a bad rap in this book. Oh, she's portrayed as an Evil Villain Who Is Evil, yes. Conniving and bitchy. But—she and hero-boy have a fake relationship that they've agreed to. Heroine girl doesn't get off scot-free here; hero-boy finds out that he's 'engaged' from the Internet, and heroine-girl probably has a hand in that, and that's a problem. (That's the point, by the way, at which hero-boy should have called off the fake relationship and fired his publicist.) But the fact remains that it exists, and hero-boy was, until he met Mary Sue, on board. Once he meets Mary Sue, he doesn't do anything about the fake relationship: he starts dating Mary Sue, doesn't issue any statements when the media catches wind, doesn't talk to heroine-girl about what they should do about this now-defunct fake relationship that affects them both Heroine-girl is left to be painted by the book as the bad guy when in fact she's the one sticking to their agreement—an agreement that will have an impact on public perception and probably on her career. Then, when it's convenient to him, hero-boy continues to make out with heroine-girl for the sake of the cameras, having agreed with Mary Sue that the fake relationship is to continue but not (crucially) having looked up what the agreement with heroine-girl actually entails or having discussed with Mary Sue what a continued fake relationship is going to look like.
(pause while I catch up on oxygen after that run-on sentence)
Siiiiigh.
I know this is their magical forever romance and all, but I don't see it having staying power. There's no substance underneath their promises and sweet nothings, and hero-boy 1) takes no responsibility for his actions and 2) gets petty and jealous every time Mary Sue suggests that she do something other than follow him around and hide in his hotel room. Also, 3) he's a douche canoe.
Favourite errors:
I gave him his tea, and he took a small sip, wearily tasting it before continuing to drink. (51)
His playful attitude exasperated my anger. (212)
If you told me this was fanfiction, I would believe you. It would be the sort of fanfiction where the super-hot movie hero falls for a non-canon 'normal' girl (but not badly enough done that the Protectors of the Plot Continuum would step in). We can go ahead and call the 'normal' girl Mary Sue, for the sake of simplicity. She has nothing in particular to recommend her, except she's probably really good at something artistic (*cough* like photography) and good (such as, oh, taking care of some overwhelmed girls at a concert) and has a minor character 'flaw' that is played off as cute (the classic: clumsiness) and, of course, everyone loves her.
In the canon version, hero-boy is together with heroine-girl, and they live happily ever after; in the fanfiction version, normal-girl enters the scene, and hero-boy is immediately smitten. In the canon version, heroine-girl is pretty great, but in the fanfiction girl, heroine-girl is an Evil Villain Who Is Evil, because...she also wants the hero. And thus she's evil.
Of course, the flaw in this analogy is that this isn't fanfiction. It's just...fiction. Fiction in which a rock star falls madly in love with a rabid fan for...no particular reason. That is—because after five minutes in her company he decides that she's hard to read and he can be 'real' around her. And then she basically puts her life on hold to hide in his hotel room while he continues to pretend to be engaged to heroine-girl. (Also. Meanwhile, Mary Sue gets jet lag...from flying from Alabama to New York. Umm. Okay, then.)
The thing is: poor heroine-girl gets a bad rap in this book. Oh, she's portrayed as an Evil Villain Who Is Evil, yes. Conniving and bitchy. But—she and hero-boy have a fake relationship that they've agreed to. Heroine girl doesn't get off scot-free here; hero-boy finds out that he's 'engaged' from the Internet, and heroine-girl probably has a hand in that, and that's a problem. (That's the point, by the way, at which hero-boy should have called off the fake relationship and fired his publicist.) But the fact remains that it exists, and hero-boy was, until he met Mary Sue, on board. Once he meets Mary Sue, he doesn't do anything about the fake relationship: he starts dating Mary Sue, doesn't issue any statements when the media catches wind, doesn't talk to heroine-girl about what they should do about this now-defunct fake relationship that affects them both Heroine-girl is left to be painted by the book as the bad guy when in fact she's the one sticking to their agreement—an agreement that will have an impact on public perception and probably on her career. Then, when it's convenient to him, hero-boy continues to make out with heroine-girl for the sake of the cameras, having agreed with Mary Sue that the fake relationship is to continue but not (crucially) having looked up what the agreement with heroine-girl actually entails or having discussed with Mary Sue what a continued fake relationship is going to look like.
(pause while I catch up on oxygen after that run-on sentence)
Siiiiigh.
I know this is their magical forever romance and all, but I don't see it having staying power. There's no substance underneath their promises and sweet nothings, and hero-boy 1) takes no responsibility for his actions and 2) gets petty and jealous every time Mary Sue suggests that she do something other than follow him around and hide in his hotel room. Also, 3) he's a douche canoe.
Favourite errors:
I gave him his tea, and he took a small sip, wearily tasting it before continuing to drink. (51)
His playful attitude exasperated my anger. (212)
my_introvert_bookishlife's review against another edition
5.0
Adeline’s Aria by Laynie Bynum
After seeing the cover and reading the the blurb I requested a copy of this book for review.
I have a huge soft spot for YA romance and this book ticked all the boxes and then some. I loved so much about Jude and Adeline story. The insta-love, tbe angst- OMGG THE ANGST had me putting bandaids around my heart. I loved the friendship Adeline and Tabby shared so much. Every girl deserves a ride of die like that. Mental health issues raised were so relatable and my heart wept, broke and cheered when there was a measure of resolve.
I loved the strength that Addie showed, her character development was admirable.
Great story telling. I enjoyed the the switch from being in Alabama to being in England, the author captured both sides of the world well.
5 STARS.
After seeing the cover and reading the the blurb I requested a copy of this book for review.
I have a huge soft spot for YA romance and this book ticked all the boxes and then some. I loved so much about Jude and Adeline story. The insta-love, tbe angst- OMGG THE ANGST had me putting bandaids around my heart. I loved the friendship Adeline and Tabby shared so much. Every girl deserves a ride of die like that. Mental health issues raised were so relatable and my heart wept, broke and cheered when there was a measure of resolve.
I loved the strength that Addie showed, her character development was admirable.
Great story telling. I enjoyed the the switch from being in Alabama to being in England, the author captured both sides of the world well.
5 STARS.
jessicareadsit's review against another edition
3.0
I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I like the quiet depth of Adeline and the raw honesty of sometimes just needing a moment to yourself, outside from your life, where you don't need to pretend. But her original behavior is very different from how she behaves throughout the novel until there was one point where I was not sure which Addy we would have seen. There was low self-esteem Addy,(I must admit I have never heard a character compare herself to “ a plain piece of white bread”), then it was super confident- wear new clothes and take on her enemies Addy then it was weepy Addy (was very confusing).
This theme continued even with her parents who were upset about her leaving but told her to go ahead, then upset with Jude but told him to give her time? It seemed the emotions swung based on how the story played out and not really on a consistent flow which was frustrating.
I was also really taken aback by how hot and heavy they got when they met. It was kinda weird to see Jude just open up like that and that he just threw caution to the wind and exposed his secrets to a young girl he just met who he knows nothing about and is judging her based on a look from across a stage ?? I think we dove in a bit too soon and some pretext was needed to set the stage for their interactions.
Things I did appreciate were her friendship with Tabby and their ability to accept each other as they were, regardless of flaws or quirks but truly knowing everything and being ok with it. There were also some dark issues that I did not believe were given proper context to flourish or be truly impactful but glad they were included in the story.
Overall the book has tons of potential but needed to ground its characters in a more realistic light.
I like the quiet depth of Adeline and the raw honesty of sometimes just needing a moment to yourself, outside from your life, where you don't need to pretend. But her original behavior is very different from how she behaves throughout the novel until there was one point where I was not sure which Addy we would have seen. There was low self-esteem Addy,(I must admit I have never heard a character compare herself to “ a plain piece of white bread”), then it was super confident- wear new clothes and take on her enemies Addy then it was weepy Addy (was very confusing).
This theme continued even with her parents who were upset about her leaving but told her to go ahead, then upset with Jude but told him to give her time? It seemed the emotions swung based on how the story played out and not really on a consistent flow which was frustrating.
I was also really taken aback by how hot and heavy they got when they met. It was kinda weird to see Jude just open up like that and that he just threw caution to the wind and exposed his secrets to a young girl he just met who he knows nothing about and is judging her based on a look from across a stage ?? I think we dove in a bit too soon and some pretext was needed to set the stage for their interactions.
Things I did appreciate were her friendship with Tabby and their ability to accept each other as they were, regardless of flaws or quirks but truly knowing everything and being ok with it. There were also some dark issues that I did not believe were given proper context to flourish or be truly impactful but glad they were included in the story.
Overall the book has tons of potential but needed to ground its characters in a more realistic light.
chrissywilson80's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this book was truly amazing. I don't read a lot of YA, but this has me excited to read more about this author. I felt with Addie on a personal level, I could relate with her and her feelings, I felt like I was right there with her feeling what she was feeling. The author is great with emotions and feelings with the characters. I look forward to reading more in this series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
epilieaspiechick's review against another edition
5.0
My full review can be found on the Epilie Aspie Chick blog!
Thank you to Fire and Ice YA for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Let me say this up front: if I do not get a sequel book, I will revolt! The author does a really spectacular job at not only writing a story around what seems to be every girl's not so secret fantasy, but she makes it feel realistic in a way that ties you in knots. Adeline is a typical teenage girl just finishing her senior year of high school: filled with dreams and in an intensely close relationship with her best friend. She has bullies, struggles, and a family that she depends on.
Thank you to Fire and Ice YA for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Let me say this up front: if I do not get a sequel book, I will revolt! The author does a really spectacular job at not only writing a story around what seems to be every girl's not so secret fantasy, but she makes it feel realistic in a way that ties you in knots. Adeline is a typical teenage girl just finishing her senior year of high school: filled with dreams and in an intensely close relationship with her best friend. She has bullies, struggles, and a family that she depends on.
phoenixrisen88's review against another edition
4.0
*I received an arc if this book for review purposes*
Overall I loved this story, and it left me wanting to read more set in this world. In the very beginning I had a hard time finding the story believable. (Then again is it ever really believable when a rock star falls for the girl next door? Lol. It is still one of my very favorite tropes.) However I quickly fell in love with the characters and lost myself in their story.
I had some formatting issues with the kindle edition that occasionally made reading difficult, but I believe that may have been due to the arc copy I was reading. There were a few editing errors, but not so many as to detract from the story, and that could also be attributed to reading a proof copy.
I am looking forward to reading more about these characters and their group of friends and family, as it looks like this is book one in a series.
Overall I loved this story, and it left me wanting to read more set in this world. In the very beginning I had a hard time finding the story believable. (Then again is it ever really believable when a rock star falls for the girl next door? Lol. It is still one of my very favorite tropes.) However I quickly fell in love with the characters and lost myself in their story.
I had some formatting issues with the kindle edition that occasionally made reading difficult, but I believe that may have been due to the arc copy I was reading. There were a few editing errors, but not so many as to detract from the story, and that could also be attributed to reading a proof copy.
I am looking forward to reading more about these characters and their group of friends and family, as it looks like this is book one in a series.