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ritzcracker60 's review for:
Sunkissed
by Kasie West
Huge thanks to TBR and Beyond Tours, as well as the author and publisher for giving me a eARC of Sunkissed in exchange for an honest review!
Find my blog post here: https://livinglovingandreading.wordpress.com/2021/05/07/blog-tour-sunkissed-by-kasie-west-review-favorite-quotes/
Sunkissed by Kasie West was a sweet, light-hearted YA summer romance about a girl finding her way.
I am way behind on the Kasie West train. I haven’t read any of her books though they’re on my TBR. And have been for a while. But Sunkissed is motivating me to read her other books. I loved this book.
I really liked Avery. She was timid yet strong and I loved that combination. I loved watching her start to live, and her journey of finding herself, and what she wanted to do, not just what others wanted her to do. It was, honestly, inspiring and I really enjoyed it. I also liked the imperfect relationship between her and her younger sister, Lauren. I found it really relatable, because me and my sister are total opposites, her being the obedient, quieter one, while I’m . . . not. Avery and Lauren had their differences and their fights, but ultimately they cared about each other, which was understandable and a lot of people can relate.
My first impression of Brooks wasn’t that great. I mean, I thought he warmed up to Avery a little too quickly, as I’d been expecting an enemies to lovers romance, but instead Avery and Brooks were somewhere in friends to lovers. And I wished Brooks was more broody. He wasn’t nearly up to his potential. But as the book went on, I grew to love him, and I found his backstory sad but yet I was happy that he was opening up to Avery and that they were growing closer.
The side characters were so well done. I think a lot of authors focus on other things, but the side characters are the ones who show you more about the protagonist(s), and how they interact with others. And I was obsessed with the side characters, and their dynamic was amazing. I loved Maricela, Kai, Ian, Levi and Lauren, and I wish there was more of them, but I savored the parts we had. Their dynamic was so perfect, and I loved that. You could see their friendships and relationships were meaningful, and the banter was the best. Because, obviously, banter is the superior trope. You know that’s the truth.
In terms of plot, the book didn’t really have much of it. A lot of time was spent just developing the relationships and friendships between Avery and the others, which, I obviously can’t fault, because I really enjoyed those scenes. But despite that, the book was still wildly entertaining, and I don’t think the lack of plot really hurt the book.
It’s a strange thing to talk about setting in a book that’s not fantasy or science fiction but still set in the real world. But still, I really loved the camp, it was such a warm and welcoming place to read about. I really loved the way it was explored, which again is a strange thing but something I loved nonetheless. The vibe of the camp was so perfect, and I loved getting summer camp nostalgia while in Quarantine.
How does a book be this light hearted and sweet while still being able to tug at your heartstrings? Hearing about Brooks’ life at home broke my heart and I wanted to jump through the page and give him a hug, which was also what I was telling Avery to do in my head. And, despite a lot of people liking the drama with Avery’s best friend, Shay, I just thought it was used as a plot device and I never really felt sympathetic for Avery, or sad about the whole thing. I feel like it was just too teen-drama-esque and that’s not always a bad thing but I didn’t really enjoy it in this book.
Despite the things I didn’t like about this book, it was so sweet and it was great for entertainment. I loved reading about Avery and her summer, and I recommend this book to anyone who wants a great summer read!
____________________________________
A sweet, light-hearted summer read.
Full review to come!
Find my blog post here: https://livinglovingandreading.wordpress.com/2021/05/07/blog-tour-sunkissed-by-kasie-west-review-favorite-quotes/
Sunkissed by Kasie West was a sweet, light-hearted YA summer romance about a girl finding her way.
I am way behind on the Kasie West train. I haven’t read any of her books though they’re on my TBR. And have been for a while. But Sunkissed is motivating me to read her other books. I loved this book.
I really liked Avery. She was timid yet strong and I loved that combination. I loved watching her start to live, and her journey of finding herself, and what she wanted to do, not just what others wanted her to do. It was, honestly, inspiring and I really enjoyed it. I also liked the imperfect relationship between her and her younger sister, Lauren. I found it really relatable, because me and my sister are total opposites, her being the obedient, quieter one, while I’m . . . not. Avery and Lauren had their differences and their fights, but ultimately they cared about each other, which was understandable and a lot of people can relate.
My first impression of Brooks wasn’t that great. I mean, I thought he warmed up to Avery a little too quickly, as I’d been expecting an enemies to lovers romance, but instead Avery and Brooks were somewhere in friends to lovers. And I wished Brooks was more broody. He wasn’t nearly up to his potential. But as the book went on, I grew to love him, and I found his backstory sad but yet I was happy that he was opening up to Avery and that they were growing closer.
The side characters were so well done. I think a lot of authors focus on other things, but the side characters are the ones who show you more about the protagonist(s), and how they interact with others. And I was obsessed with the side characters, and their dynamic was amazing. I loved Maricela, Kai, Ian, Levi and Lauren, and I wish there was more of them, but I savored the parts we had. Their dynamic was so perfect, and I loved that. You could see their friendships and relationships were meaningful, and the banter was the best. Because, obviously, banter is the superior trope. You know that’s the truth.
In terms of plot, the book didn’t really have much of it. A lot of time was spent just developing the relationships and friendships between Avery and the others, which, I obviously can’t fault, because I really enjoyed those scenes. But despite that, the book was still wildly entertaining, and I don’t think the lack of plot really hurt the book.
It’s a strange thing to talk about setting in a book that’s not fantasy or science fiction but still set in the real world. But still, I really loved the camp, it was such a warm and welcoming place to read about. I really loved the way it was explored, which again is a strange thing but something I loved nonetheless. The vibe of the camp was so perfect, and I loved getting summer camp nostalgia while in Quarantine.
How does a book be this light hearted and sweet while still being able to tug at your heartstrings? Hearing about Brooks’ life at home broke my heart and I wanted to jump through the page and give him a hug, which was also what I was telling Avery to do in my head. And, despite a lot of people liking the drama with Avery’s best friend, Shay, I just thought it was used as a plot device and I never really felt sympathetic for Avery, or sad about the whole thing. I feel like it was just too teen-drama-esque and that’s not always a bad thing but I didn’t really enjoy it in this book.
Despite the things I didn’t like about this book, it was so sweet and it was great for entertainment. I loved reading about Avery and her summer, and I recommend this book to anyone who wants a great summer read!
____________________________________
A sweet, light-hearted summer read.
Full review to come!