Reviews

This Time it's Real by Ann Liang

gabbywhiten's review against another edition

4.0

I received this as an ARC! Fake dating YA romance novel that gave what it needed to give!

stdl_teen_library's review against another edition

Fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before will enjoy this fake-dating romantic comedy. 

huateez's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sunwhoohoo's review against another edition

3.0

after reading 'if you could see the sun' i was anxiously waiting for Ann Liang's next book but it may have been this expectation that made me somewhat disapointed. it's not that 'this time it's real' is not a good read (i read the whole thing in one sitting) it's just that it didn't capture me as much as I was expecting it to. I love fake daiting and all the cute romance tropes in this story. both eliza and caz are so cute together and their struggles as they try to make this work felt so real to me especially eliza's worry about never feeling enough for love. i wish though that this book had more moments of them together. i felt like everything was pretty fast paced and i didn't realize how close the characters had gotten in such a, what feels like, short amount of time. i really loved the deleted scene and wish they had kept it cause those little moments were what I was looking for in the book. showing more of eliza's backstory of why she feels alone, although she never really told caz, and how that translate differently into her relationship with caz. all in all though a good read and i enjoyed it.

nm_reads's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 rounded up

danielita's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

onekat's review against another edition

3.0

Almost good, but I found the main character insufferable. Also a bit too young adult.

a_brnz's review against another edition

2.5

I know I am not primary audience but I like ya books so I feel my critique is valid. I feel like the premise was really fun and the chemistry was good but there wasn’t enough of them actually being good and the end felt rushed. It just didn’t feel fully fleshed out for some reason?

dondrasaur's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A

4.0

proxima09's review against another edition

3.0

It felt like there was nothing of substance in this book. I read If You Could See The Sun first, and perhaps it was the lack of fantasy/magical realism that made this book feel lackluster compared to that one. Not to say this was a bad book - it was cute!! But overall, it was just very, very tropey and predictable.