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aashna 's review for:
Well, That Was Unexpected
by Jesse Q. Sutanto
thank you to netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
release day edit!
2.5 stars rounded up. this was a pretty fun young adult romance and i liked the individual characters! both leads' chapters were interesting to read about which i find rare in romances, and their perspectives were varied enough that i didn't feel like i was reading the same person's thoughts but similar enough that it made sense for them to be in a relationship together. however, i felt that their romance was very rushed. especially seeing as to how awkward the relationship felt in the opening chapters, it was really hard to believe that the two got together so fast and were on solid footing by the end of the book. i've read sutanto's adult dial a for aunties duology, and was interested in seeing how she adapted her writing style to suit ya but her themes and development seemed largely similar to her adult books. there's also a very very specific complaint i had with a big reveal used for shock which i'll specifically talk about on release day that prevented me from rating this higher.
release day edit!
Spoiler
wasn't a fan about how a characters' queerness was added in for what seemed like shock value... this happened in dial a for aunties and i was a little more forgiving because it was my first book by the author and also because i felt it made more sense in the plot. however, i really don't think there was any need for sharlot's mom to be queer because it didn't move the plot forward considerably. also i just find it strange that there were pretty much no queer characters in both this book and dial a for aunties unless they were being used as a plot device for shock value.2.5 stars rounded up. this was a pretty fun young adult romance and i liked the individual characters! both leads' chapters were interesting to read about which i find rare in romances, and their perspectives were varied enough that i didn't feel like i was reading the same person's thoughts but similar enough that it made sense for them to be in a relationship together. however, i felt that their romance was very rushed. especially seeing as to how awkward the relationship felt in the opening chapters, it was really hard to believe that the two got together so fast and were on solid footing by the end of the book. i've read sutanto's adult dial a for aunties duology, and was interested in seeing how she adapted her writing style to suit ya but her themes and development seemed largely similar to her adult books. there's also a very very specific complaint i had with a big reveal used for shock which i'll specifically talk about on release day that prevented me from rating this higher.