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A review by kjanie
A Crack in Everything by L.H. Cosway
3.0
2.5/5 stars
Honestly, I thought I would enjoy this book a whole lot more. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book but I've been hearing the best things about it for a while now, and I just wasn't feeling it. I feel like this book was just too quick for me to really connect to the story on an emotional level. I didn't feel really connected to any of the relationships, meaning that the emotional parts of the story were lost on me. I did enjoy the overall book though and I thought the characters were nice and quirky. I also really had fun reading the scenes with all of the friends together, having their banter, it just reminded me so much of high school. Really, there's nothing that I particularly disliked about this book, it's just everything seemed okay and I was hoping for more. I'm still going to read the next book in the series, and fingers-crossed I connect to that one more.
Evelyn is a humble girl with small dreams. Sure, she knows that she isn't wealthy and her neighbourhood isn't the greatest, but it's enough for her and her small family. Evelyn doesn't need the big world to make her happy, it's the small things that bring a smile to her face. Her friends. Her garden. Dylan. Evelyn's small world is broken apart when Dylan barges into her life. He is so unlike her, but they also seem complementary, they've barely met but they seem to know each other best of all. Dylan dreams big, he knows that he's going to be successful one day and break out of the small neighbourhood where he feels trapped. So Dylan and Evelyn stay together for the now, knowing that their futures don't exactly align, even if they want them to.
I'm really not sure what to say about this one. It wasn't like there was anything necessarily bad about the book, but I also wasn't excited about anything either. I've heard so many great things about this story, was I guess it was disappointing that I didn't feel much of anything while reading it. At times I empathised with the characters and was beginning to feel connected to their story, best I never really got there. I feel like this book has so much potential, and obviously others find it to be the emotional, passionate story that I was hoping it would be.
I also wasn't connecting to the age of the characters in contrast to the tone of the book. This was written like an adult romance book, with the maturity of the characters and the way sexuality was explored, but it had very high school elements as well. Mixing these two aspects together didn't really sit right with me, which was probably another reason why I didn't feel as connected to the story. I also feel like books set in a high school have to be very careful not to fall into a cliche or a stereotype. There are so many stereotyped character in high schools, especially in books, and I saw that coming to play in this book. In saying this, the story definitely wasn't overly cliche and the characters were pretty unique in their own right.
Even though I didn't really connect to this story, I still enjoyed it enough to keep reading and I am looking forward to reading the second book. Evelyn and Dylan, actually most of the characters, were interesting and unique. They were likeable people who all had small quirks and flaws that really brought them to life. I especially enjoyed when they were all together interacting, the camaraderie between this group was very enjoyable. I guess I also liked Dylan and Evelyn together. It definitely isn't my favourite romance, especially because it progresses way too quickly, but it was sweet and heartfelt. I'm hoping it is explored further and with more passion in the next book!
"I knew I’d never love anyone in my life like I loved Dylan O’Dea. He would always own my heart. Always."
Honestly, I thought I would enjoy this book a whole lot more. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book but I've been hearing the best things about it for a while now, and I just wasn't feeling it. I feel like this book was just too quick for me to really connect to the story on an emotional level. I didn't feel really connected to any of the relationships, meaning that the emotional parts of the story were lost on me. I did enjoy the overall book though and I thought the characters were nice and quirky. I also really had fun reading the scenes with all of the friends together, having their banter, it just reminded me so much of high school. Really, there's nothing that I particularly disliked about this book, it's just everything seemed okay and I was hoping for more. I'm still going to read the next book in the series, and fingers-crossed I connect to that one more.
Evelyn is a humble girl with small dreams. Sure, she knows that she isn't wealthy and her neighbourhood isn't the greatest, but it's enough for her and her small family. Evelyn doesn't need the big world to make her happy, it's the small things that bring a smile to her face. Her friends. Her garden. Dylan. Evelyn's small world is broken apart when Dylan barges into her life. He is so unlike her, but they also seem complementary, they've barely met but they seem to know each other best of all. Dylan dreams big, he knows that he's going to be successful one day and break out of the small neighbourhood where he feels trapped. So Dylan and Evelyn stay together for the now, knowing that their futures don't exactly align, even if they want them to.
“This isn’t the end for us. I promise. This is just the in-between. I’ll find you in the after.”
I'm really not sure what to say about this one. It wasn't like there was anything necessarily bad about the book, but I also wasn't excited about anything either. I've heard so many great things about this story, was I guess it was disappointing that I didn't feel much of anything while reading it. At times I empathised with the characters and was beginning to feel connected to their story, best I never really got there. I feel like this book has so much potential, and obviously others find it to be the emotional, passionate story that I was hoping it would be.
I also wasn't connecting to the age of the characters in contrast to the tone of the book. This was written like an adult romance book, with the maturity of the characters and the way sexuality was explored, but it had very high school elements as well. Mixing these two aspects together didn't really sit right with me, which was probably another reason why I didn't feel as connected to the story. I also feel like books set in a high school have to be very careful not to fall into a cliche or a stereotype. There are so many stereotyped character in high schools, especially in books, and I saw that coming to play in this book. In saying this, the story definitely wasn't overly cliche and the characters were pretty unique in their own right.
Even though I didn't really connect to this story, I still enjoyed it enough to keep reading and I am looking forward to reading the second book. Evelyn and Dylan, actually most of the characters, were interesting and unique. They were likeable people who all had small quirks and flaws that really brought them to life. I especially enjoyed when they were all together interacting, the camaraderie between this group was very enjoyable. I guess I also liked Dylan and Evelyn together. It definitely isn't my favourite romance, especially because it progresses way too quickly, but it was sweet and heartfelt. I'm hoping it is explored further and with more passion in the next book!