Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by lydalbano
I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo
5.0
for me this was a strong 4.5, but I'm rounding up because overall I loved it.
snags (which I'm only mentioning in case others have the same hang-ups, so that they'll know they should keep reading!!):
for a little while I didn't love Desi's voice; I'm a big over-achiever, all-As, did-I-mention-over-achiever type person, but there were moments when I was like, "okay, but you're a human so STOP." that's preference though, so I don't mean that it was badly written, just a bit annoying. sometimes I just thought the voice was overdone, especially considering that it was in past tense; I think quirky narrative sometimes works better in present tense.
basically I many pages in before I knew if I cared what happened or if Desi got the guy.
the thing, though, is that by the time I did, I was smitten with the whole thing. I did love her flairures (ummm my entire life summed up in a word, except mine extends to non-romantic interactions too), I identified with her need for control and her reluctance to believe someone would like her for her. sometimes her reactions were just golden. I loved Wes and Fiona, the little snippets of relationships like Violet and Cassidy that made it feel fleshed out. I loved her and her dad. I soooo loved Luca; I could picture him perfectly from the start and was smitten; flawed but adorkable in all the best ways. beanies + art = I'm sold.
now, plot/premise: ummmmmm so fantastic. I adore the idea so much. it's everything I want in a book AND a movie, which is I guess the point. absolutely golden. (also it was super fun having actually watched some k-drama movies and having just the tiniest glimpse into what she's talking about. now I want to go watch more!)
all in all I loved it; a light, happy, imperfectly perfect read that's original and all you want in a summer book.
snags (which I'm only mentioning in case others have the same hang-ups, so that they'll know they should keep reading!!):
for a little while I didn't love Desi's voice; I'm a big over-achiever, all-As, did-I-mention-over-achiever type person, but there were moments when I was like, "okay, but you're a human so STOP." that's preference though, so I don't mean that it was badly written, just a bit annoying. sometimes I just thought the voice was overdone, especially considering that it was in past tense; I think quirky narrative sometimes works better in present tense.
basically I many pages in before I knew if I cared what happened or if Desi got the guy.
the thing, though, is that by the time I did, I was smitten with the whole thing. I did love her flairures (ummm my entire life summed up in a word, except mine extends to non-romantic interactions too), I identified with her need for control and her reluctance to believe someone would like her for her. sometimes her reactions were just golden. I loved Wes and Fiona, the little snippets of relationships like Violet and Cassidy that made it feel fleshed out. I loved her and her dad. I soooo loved Luca; I could picture him perfectly from the start and was smitten; flawed but adorkable in all the best ways. beanies + art = I'm sold.
now, plot/premise: ummmmmm so fantastic. I adore the idea so much. it's everything I want in a book AND a movie, which is I guess the point. absolutely golden. (also it was super fun having actually watched some k-drama movies and having just the tiniest glimpse into what she's talking about. now I want to go watch more!)
all in all I loved it; a light, happy, imperfectly perfect read that's original and all you want in a summer book.