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A review by nerdypotsie
Never Say Never by Justine Manzano
3.0
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
CW//
I wanted so badly to love this book. A contemporary romance with Aphrodite getting in there and causing drama? That sounded like it was right up my alley. Unfortunately though, this book was just a mediocre book for me. It wasn’t awful but it wasn’t amazing either.
Let’s start off with the good parts about this book: the pacing was really quick and it made for a fast read. I’ve been super picky about book pacing recently, but this one pleased me with how it was bouncy and quirky despite not having too much heavy action. I also really liked Gabe and Adam. They were great characters and while I wasn’t a huge fan of every step of their romantic journey, I did enjoy how they seemed genuinely wholesome and wonderful.
That being said, this book was messy. It was cheesy and predictable, but the cheating made this book difficult to enjoy. It seemed like everyone was cheating on everyone. Sure, some of them didn’t act on it until they were done with their relationships, but it was a massive web of “this guy is dating this girl but he’s in love with someone else,” “this girl’s boyfriend clearly has feelings for someone else,” etc. I knew there would be some cheating in this book based off of the book’s synopsis, but there was just too much of it in this book and a lot of the stuff involving the cheating seemed like petty drama.
I started to connect with the book and enjoy it more around the climax of the story, but the ending dragged on and was so cheesy that I was rolling my eyes at every sentence.
There’s also some questionable age gaps in this book. Technically they weren’t explicitly illegal, but college students dating high school seniors… It gives me massive grooming vibes and I’m not here for it.
At the end of the day, it feels like this book just wasn’t for me. I didn’t completely hate it, but I know that other people would’ve enjoyed this one more than me and I hope this book finds an audience of people who love it more than I do.
CW//
Spoiler
cheating, pukingI wanted so badly to love this book. A contemporary romance with Aphrodite getting in there and causing drama? That sounded like it was right up my alley. Unfortunately though, this book was just a mediocre book for me. It wasn’t awful but it wasn’t amazing either.
Let’s start off with the good parts about this book: the pacing was really quick and it made for a fast read. I’ve been super picky about book pacing recently, but this one pleased me with how it was bouncy and quirky despite not having too much heavy action. I also really liked Gabe and Adam. They were great characters and while I wasn’t a huge fan of every step of their romantic journey, I did enjoy how they seemed genuinely wholesome and wonderful.
That being said, this book was messy. It was cheesy and predictable, but the cheating made this book difficult to enjoy. It seemed like everyone was cheating on everyone. Sure, some of them didn’t act on it until they were done with their relationships, but it was a massive web of “this guy is dating this girl but he’s in love with someone else,” “this girl’s boyfriend clearly has feelings for someone else,” etc. I knew there would be some cheating in this book based off of the book’s synopsis, but there was just too much of it in this book and a lot of the stuff involving the cheating seemed like petty drama.
I started to connect with the book and enjoy it more around the climax of the story, but the ending dragged on and was so cheesy that I was rolling my eyes at every sentence.
There’s also some questionable age gaps in this book. Technically they weren’t explicitly illegal, but college students dating high school seniors… It gives me massive grooming vibes and I’m not here for it.
At the end of the day, it feels like this book just wasn’t for me. I didn’t completely hate it, but I know that other people would’ve enjoyed this one more than me and I hope this book finds an audience of people who love it more than I do.