Reviews

Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant

avisparks's review

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

julialowebe's review

Just wrong time, couldn’t concentrate

melanie_books's review against another edition

3.0

Tessa needs to write like a fish needs water. Her specialty is writing stories with main characters who look like her. She shares them with her best friend Caroline, and no one else. When she and her family move to a new town, Tessa has the opportunity to attend a prestigious art school, alongside with her new [slightly dorky] neighbor Sam. Unfortunately, the thought of others reading - and not liking - her work gives her serious writer's block. She and Caroline come up with a plan to fix things: Tessa must find her own Happily Ever After to find inspiration. They set their sights on Nico, the dreamy rich kid in Tessa's writing conservatory. Will Tessa find love, or, more importantly, write again?

This story was cute - fluffy on the surface but filled with a lot of heart. Tessa struggles with her identity and happiness along with her writer's block and through the help of her mom & friends finds the help she needs. She is fiercely protective of her brother Miles, who has disabilities, and loyal to her friends. Sam is a big cupcake (though maybe over sensitive at times). The characters deal with pretty typical teen emotions & reactions but also some more serious ones, giving the story layers. I think the ending was a bit rushed, but happy nonetheless. The story had a little more language than was strictly necessary, but was entertaining overall!

themargherita_s's review against another edition

Harry Potter is mentioned like 3 minutes in, because our main character writes HP fanfictions, with her in stories with Harry and her friend in stories with Ron because those are their respective favorite characters.

Innocuous sounding as this is, it's still a problem to me (and as a trans person, it was triggering too).

I will be reading other books by this author because I had them on my tbr for the longest time (and maybe I'll pick this one up again too), but for the time being those couple of sentences were enough to not make me want to keep reading this today.

(March 10th 2024)

erinburr's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.25

jesstbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.5

yolibear's review against another edition

3.0

The main character was giving me selfish vibes. I ultimately like the book but... Just missed being relatable.

room334's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-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

3.5

damusicalpoet's review

challenging emotional hopeful 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

3.5

imma_koi's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

3.25

I need a Sam in my life✨
I liked this.