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A review by redsilva95
Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins
4.0
(Re-read, 2019)
So I guess I was in quite a mood back in 2017, because I really enjoyed this, even more than MTLVGTM. The stories were more diverse, and each has a unique factor to it.
Here are my individual ratings:
"Head, Scales, Tongue Tail" by Leigh Bardugo - 4.5 ☆
"The End of Love" by Nina Lacour - 4 ☆
"Last Stand at the Cinegore" by Libba Bray - 3 ☆
"Sick Pleasure" by Francesca Lia Block - 4 ☆
"In Ninety Minutes, Turn North" by Stephanie Perkins - 3 ☆
"Souvenirs" by Tim Federle - 5 ☆
"Inertia" by Veronica Roth - 5 ☆
"Love is the Last Resort" by Jon Skovron - 5 ☆
"Good Luck and Farewell" by Brandy Colbert - 2.5 ☆
"Brand New Attraction" by Cassandra Clare - 2 ☆
"A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong" by Jennifer E. Smith - 5 ☆
"The Map of Tiny Perfect Things" by Lev Grossman - 5 ☆
(First time reading, 2016)
Ok, overall this was good. All the stories were nicely written, whether it was in building atmosphere or introducing characters. Here's what I thought of them:
1) Heads, Scales, Tongue, Tail by Leigh Bardugo - * * * (3 stars)
My favorite couple of the book! I genuinely liked these characters, and was invested in the story, which was a sweet contemporary romance mixed with fantasy elements. The beginning was a bit confuse, though.
2) The End of Love by Nina Lacour - * * (2 stars)
The writing for this one was good, but I felt the romance was rushed. It was a fluffy, sweet and fast-paced read.
3) Last Stand at the Sinagore by Libba Bray - * * * (3 stars)
One of my favorites. It was a odd and quite bizarre story about a horror movie coming to life, and it got me hooked pretty early on.
4) Sick Pleasure by Francesca Lia Block - * * (2 stars)
Altough this one was somewhat beautifully written - and held an important message - I got bored, and the fact that the characters were named i.e A or J didn't leave a memorable impression in my opinion. The ending had a twist that I honestly didn't see it coming.
5) In Ninety Minutes, Turn North by Stephanie Perkins - * (1 star)
Do you remember that rom-com you actually enjoyed it, you miss those funny characters but if that movie had a sequel you wouldn't enjoy it? Well, this was my impression of this sequel to the short story Perkins wrote in "My True Love Gave to Me". It felt too predictable and unnecessary.
6) Souvenirs by Tim Federle - * * * (3 stars)
The writing in this one blew me away. I could really feel the emotions the main character goes through. And it was a nice twist on the book's overall set of romances.
7) Inertia by Veronica Roth - * * * * (4 stars)
This one really suprised me. Specially because her last books, Allegiant and Four, were dissapointing for me. This romance has a nice setting and delivered a very touching and emotional read as the characters watched their favorite memories passing by.
8) Love is the Last Resort by Jon Skovron - * (1 star)
I couldn't really care much about this one. The only character I truly enjoyed was the one who didn't say a word. The narrator twist at the end was fun, even though I had predicted in the beginning.
9) Good Luck and Farewell by Brandy Colbert - * * (2 stars)
This one focused more on a different kind of love, as a girl deals with grief over losing her mother, and now is having a hard time in seeing her aunt moving to another place. The romance element was sweet, but I couldn't quite connect to the characters.
10) Brand New Attraction by Cassandra Clare - * (1 star)
My least favorite short story of the anthology, and the most dissapointing read, specially because I'm a fan of Clare's Shadowhunters' World and even writing (i.e. Zombies v Unicorns). The atmosphere was nicely build, but the chracters didn't leave a lasting impression on me.
11) A Thousand Ways This Could Go Wrong by Jennifer E. Smith - * * (2 stars)
This one was a sweet contemporary romance between a hard-working girl and a good-looking dude with a secret. It was fluffy and cute.
12) The Map of Tiny Perfect Things by Lev Grossman - * * * * (4 stars)
What a surprise! This one was fast-paced, had amazing characters and a Groundhog Day-esque setting with an emotional and very surprising twist at the end.
Overall, it was well written. Even the ones I didn't enjoy it, I still liked something about it, like the carnival elements in Cassandra Clare, the narrator in Skovron's story, and the way Perkins describes things. All 12 got my attention, and though at times I wanted to skim-read some of them, I actually finished them all. My expectations - which were pretty high, because I really enjoyed MTLGTM - were, as expected, the main issue. It's a quick, sweet read.
So I guess I was in quite a mood back in 2017, because I really enjoyed this, even more than MTLVGTM. The stories were more diverse, and each has a unique factor to it.
Here are my individual ratings:
"Head, Scales, Tongue Tail" by Leigh Bardugo - 4.5 ☆
"The End of Love" by Nina Lacour - 4 ☆
"Last Stand at the Cinegore" by Libba Bray - 3 ☆
"Sick Pleasure" by Francesca Lia Block - 4 ☆
"In Ninety Minutes, Turn North" by Stephanie Perkins - 3 ☆
"Souvenirs" by Tim Federle - 5 ☆
"Inertia" by Veronica Roth - 5 ☆
"Love is the Last Resort" by Jon Skovron - 5 ☆
"Good Luck and Farewell" by Brandy Colbert - 2.5 ☆
"Brand New Attraction" by Cassandra Clare - 2 ☆
"A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong" by Jennifer E. Smith - 5 ☆
"The Map of Tiny Perfect Things" by Lev Grossman - 5 ☆
(First time reading, 2016)
Ok, overall this was good. All the stories were nicely written, whether it was in building atmosphere or introducing characters. Here's what I thought of them:
1) Heads, Scales, Tongue, Tail by Leigh Bardugo - * * * (3 stars)
My favorite couple of the book! I genuinely liked these characters, and was invested in the story, which was a sweet contemporary romance mixed with fantasy elements. The beginning was a bit confuse, though.
2) The End of Love by Nina Lacour - * * (2 stars)
The writing for this one was good, but I felt the romance was rushed. It was a fluffy, sweet and fast-paced read.
3) Last Stand at the Sinagore by Libba Bray - * * * (3 stars)
One of my favorites. It was a odd and quite bizarre story about a horror movie coming to life, and it got me hooked pretty early on.
4) Sick Pleasure by Francesca Lia Block - * * (2 stars)
Altough this one was somewhat beautifully written - and held an important message - I got bored, and the fact that the characters were named i.e A or J didn't leave a memorable impression in my opinion. The ending had a twist that I honestly didn't see it coming.
5) In Ninety Minutes, Turn North by Stephanie Perkins - * (1 star)
Do you remember that rom-com you actually enjoyed it, you miss those funny characters but if that movie had a sequel you wouldn't enjoy it? Well, this was my impression of this sequel to the short story Perkins wrote in "My True Love Gave to Me". It felt too predictable and unnecessary.
6) Souvenirs by Tim Federle - * * * (3 stars)
The writing in this one blew me away. I could really feel the emotions the main character goes through. And it was a nice twist on the book's overall set of romances.
7) Inertia by Veronica Roth - * * * * (4 stars)
This one really suprised me. Specially because her last books, Allegiant and Four, were dissapointing for me. This romance has a nice setting and delivered a very touching and emotional read as the characters watched their favorite memories passing by.
8) Love is the Last Resort by Jon Skovron - * (1 star)
I couldn't really care much about this one. The only character I truly enjoyed was the one who didn't say a word. The narrator twist at the end was fun, even though I had predicted in the beginning.
9) Good Luck and Farewell by Brandy Colbert - * * (2 stars)
This one focused more on a different kind of love, as a girl deals with grief over losing her mother, and now is having a hard time in seeing her aunt moving to another place. The romance element was sweet, but I couldn't quite connect to the characters.
10) Brand New Attraction by Cassandra Clare - * (1 star)
My least favorite short story of the anthology, and the most dissapointing read, specially because I'm a fan of Clare's Shadowhunters' World and even writing (i.e. Zombies v Unicorns). The atmosphere was nicely build, but the chracters didn't leave a lasting impression on me.
11) A Thousand Ways This Could Go Wrong by Jennifer E. Smith - * * (2 stars)
This one was a sweet contemporary romance between a hard-working girl and a good-looking dude with a secret. It was fluffy and cute.
12) The Map of Tiny Perfect Things by Lev Grossman - * * * * (4 stars)
What a surprise! This one was fast-paced, had amazing characters and a Groundhog Day-esque setting with an emotional and very surprising twist at the end.
Overall, it was well written. Even the ones I didn't enjoy it, I still liked something about it, like the carnival elements in Cassandra Clare, the narrator in Skovron's story, and the way Perkins describes things. All 12 got my attention, and though at times I wanted to skim-read some of them, I actually finished them all. My expectations - which were pretty high, because I really enjoyed MTLGTM - were, as expected, the main issue. It's a quick, sweet read.