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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4⭐️
Jenn Bennett is the perfect ya contemporary author, she includes diversity not only in family background and race but how she makes female characters three dimensional without the stereotyping or trivialisation of hobbies, varying body positivity (scars etcetera), and discusses safe sex without sexualising minors or writing explicit sex scenes in teenagers’ books.
She’s how I got back into reading, and every single book she writes, to me, is like the feeling you get when you’ve begun to laugh again after so long.
Jenn Bennett is the perfect ya contemporary author, she includes diversity not only in family background and race but how she makes female characters three dimensional without the stereotyping or trivialisation of hobbies, varying body positivity (scars etcetera), and discusses safe sex without sexualising minors or writing explicit sex scenes in teenagers’ books.
She’s how I got back into reading, and every single book she writes, to me, is like the feeling you get when you’ve begun to laugh again after so long.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Wow! I did not expect this.
Jenn has done it again and has earned herself a spot as - in my opinion - a must read author.
As usual, this book was much like her others - featuring great representation, themes of safe sex, single parent families, conflict.
This book also featured themes of slut shaming, morals, revenge porn and abusive relationships which I think was all done extremely well.
There’s also a lot about communication in here (if you don’t like miscommunication this might not be for you - but I loved it) and in fact most of the character arcs blossomed when they tackled issues with relationships and communication.
It’s one of those books that makes you think, and you feel like you can actually take something away from it.
The setting of this book was so dreamy - the harbour vibes??? Amazing. Josie’s photography was really niche and reminded me of how unique Beatrix’s art was in Night Owls. Also Jack from Night Owls and Lucky are both totally mysterious to begin with and I am here for it. PS the ending definitely made me cry. And it’s the first book in years that’s actually genuinely made me laugh.
I guess I thought that because I had already enjoyed three of Jenn’s books so far, that eventually there would be one I didn’t click with. But this really couldn’t have been further from that. I adored this. Thank you, Jenn for making my little heart burst. I cannot wait for Always Jane in 2022.
Jenn has done it again and has earned herself a spot as - in my opinion - a must read author.
As usual, this book was much like her others - featuring great representation, themes of safe sex, single parent families, conflict.
This book also featured themes of slut shaming, morals, revenge porn and abusive relationships which I think was all done extremely well.
There’s also a lot about communication in here (if you don’t like miscommunication this might not be for you - but I loved it) and in fact most of the character arcs blossomed when they tackled issues with relationships and communication.
It’s one of those books that makes you think, and you feel like you can actually take something away from it.
The setting of this book was so dreamy - the harbour vibes??? Amazing. Josie’s photography was really niche and reminded me of how unique Beatrix’s art was in Night Owls. Also Jack from Night Owls and Lucky are both totally mysterious to begin with and I am here for it. PS the ending definitely made me cry. And it’s the first book in years that’s actually genuinely made me laugh.
I guess I thought that because I had already enjoyed three of Jenn’s books so far, that eventually there would be one I didn’t click with. But this really couldn’t have been further from that. I adored this. Thank you, Jenn for making my little heart burst. I cannot wait for Always Jane in 2022.
**EDIT 12/27/20**
You can find more of my reviews here at my blog: Take Me Away...
It’s gotten to the point now where I will read anything that Bennett has written. Her contemp romances give me everything I want in them. From the happy endings, to the admirable characters, to just everything. I love them all. There was only one thing stopping this from joining her others in my 5 star ranks.
Josie and her mother have moved from place to place and have finally settled in the place her mother grew up. Her mother’s there to run her family’s old bookstore and run as soon as her mother returns. Josie is on track to leave her mother and Beauty behind…. When all of a sudden her best friend Lucky comes back into her life. And he’s not the Lucky she used to know, he’s Lucky 2.0. As Josie is turning into a new person herself (by an unfortunate event) Lucky takes the blame. Was it because he’s trying to make sure he keeps up his appearances, or is it because of a different reason entirely?
I liked almost everything about this…. Except one thing. I’m not a huge fan of romance books where the entire plot can be fixed if the characters communicate. And this was one of those books. Literally the entire thing, from the events with her mom, to the ones with her cousin, to literally all her problems could have been solved by talking it out. Normally it makes me want to DNF or at least skim the book, but since this was YA I gave it a pass. Teens don’t always communicate with anyone, so I was ok with Josie not doing it, but it still bugged the shit out of me lol
Otherwise, I liked everything else about this book. The romance was very sweet and I loved watching the two of them come together. I’m not really an enemies to lover romance kind of person, so seeing this was more of an old friends to lovers one with the “bad boy,” I was so excited to read this. And Bennett didn’t disappoint. Even their “break-up and make-up” at the end was cute. I loved the way that one person apologized. And in true Bennett fashion, there is sex in this book, but not on the page. (I say this for my moms that always ask in the branches) It did show them using protection as well.
Another thing I liked about this was the setting. Being from a coastal town myself, I recognized some of the things, like the smell of salt in the air, and the love of seafood by the locals. So many things are true and I felt at home again. (It also helped that when I read some of the book I was at home for Thanksgiving to see my mom) It was super authentic and it made me feel like I had visited Beauty while I was reading it.
This book had an issue, but the amazingness of this book was not the least bit overshadowed by it. In fact, this is one of those rare times where can admit it was a good use of the flaw, but it was still not something I cared enough about. The “it’s not you, it’s me” adage if you will. Definitely wasn’t enough for me to say I cared for this any less than I did her others.
You can find more of my reviews here at my blog: Take Me Away...
It’s gotten to the point now where I will read anything that Bennett has written. Her contemp romances give me everything I want in them. From the happy endings, to the admirable characters, to just everything. I love them all. There was only one thing stopping this from joining her others in my 5 star ranks.
Josie and her mother have moved from place to place and have finally settled in the place her mother grew up. Her mother’s there to run her family’s old bookstore and run as soon as her mother returns. Josie is on track to leave her mother and Beauty behind…. When all of a sudden her best friend Lucky comes back into her life. And he’s not the Lucky she used to know, he’s Lucky 2.0. As Josie is turning into a new person herself (by an unfortunate event) Lucky takes the blame. Was it because he’s trying to make sure he keeps up his appearances, or is it because of a different reason entirely?
I liked almost everything about this…. Except one thing. I’m not a huge fan of romance books where the entire plot can be fixed if the characters communicate. And this was one of those books. Literally the entire thing, from the events with her mom, to the ones with her cousin, to literally all her problems could have been solved by talking it out. Normally it makes me want to DNF or at least skim the book, but since this was YA I gave it a pass. Teens don’t always communicate with anyone, so I was ok with Josie not doing it, but it still bugged the shit out of me lol
Otherwise, I liked everything else about this book. The romance was very sweet and I loved watching the two of them come together. I’m not really an enemies to lover romance kind of person, so seeing this was more of an old friends to lovers one with the “bad boy,” I was so excited to read this. And Bennett didn’t disappoint. Even their “break-up and make-up” at the end was cute. I loved the way that one person apologized. And in true Bennett fashion, there is sex in this book, but not on the page. (I say this for my moms that always ask in the branches) It did show them using protection as well.
Another thing I liked about this was the setting. Being from a coastal town myself, I recognized some of the things, like the smell of salt in the air, and the love of seafood by the locals. So many things are true and I felt at home again. (It also helped that when I read some of the book I was at home for Thanksgiving to see my mom) It was super authentic and it made me feel like I had visited Beauty while I was reading it.
This book had an issue, but the amazingness of this book was not the least bit overshadowed by it. In fact, this is one of those rare times where can admit it was a good use of the flaw, but it was still not something I cared enough about. The “it’s not you, it’s me” adage if you will. Definitely wasn’t enough for me to say I cared for this any less than I did her others.
emotional
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First reviewed here: https://belovedgraceful-carissasbookshelf.blogspot.com/2020/12/chasing-lucky-by-jenn-bennett-review.html
Title: Chasing Lucky
Author: Jenn Bennett
Series:
Chapters: 26
Pages:416
Genre: YA contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Publisher: Simon Pulse
I'm not going to lie Jenn Bennett's books have either been a hit or miss for me. There's no in-between. And I have to say that with Chasing Lucky it was a hit. I loved both the characters of Josie and Lucky and in a teen rom com or teen contemporary that does happen often. Chasing Lucky did give me of Gilmore Girls vibes . Though Josie has more spunk than Rory had. This was a quick read that also served as a slight escape read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Title: Chasing Lucky
Author: Jenn Bennett
Series:
Chapters: 26
Pages:416
Genre: YA contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Publisher: Simon Pulse
I'm not going to lie Jenn Bennett's books have either been a hit or miss for me. There's no in-between. And I have to say that with Chasing Lucky it was a hit. I loved both the characters of Josie and Lucky and in a teen rom com or teen contemporary that does happen often. Chasing Lucky did give me of Gilmore Girls vibes . Though Josie has more spunk than Rory had. This was a quick read that also served as a slight escape read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.