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A review by maggiemaggio
Boomerang by Noelle August
3.0
3.5 stars
A new adult book co-written by Veronica Rossi? Seriously what could be better? After reading it I think there are better things, but I also think this is only of the most technically sound NA books I've read and I believe we have Ms. Rossi to thank for that. Is it bad if I start with the bad? Which is ironic because I loved the start of this book, like five-star loved, but as the book went on I just kept losing steam with it and while I came away liking it, I didn't come away terribly impressed.
Basically Mia and Ethan have a one-night stand, wake up at Ethan's place the next morning not really remembering what happened, and then end up both going to the first day of the same internship where they're competing against each other for a job at the end of the summer. Ethan is a former soccer star at UCLA but after an ACL injury his career was sidelined and he's trying to figure out what he wants to do next. He's broke and in desperate need of the job at Boomerang to pay off his student loans and go to law school. Mia is going to be a college senior who dreams of being a filmmaker. Boomerang, the company they're both interning for, is an online dating site, but the parent company is a media company and Mia believes a job with Boomerang would be a good starting off point for her future film career. Mia and Ethan really like each other, but Boomerang has a strict no-dating-coworkers policy and, since they're both hoping it get a job at the end of the internship, they decide to play by the rules.
Here's the first part of the book that really confused me. Mia still has to finish her senior year of college...so why does she want a job in the fall? Will she work full-time and go to school full-time? Drop out of school? Graduate early? It was never addressed and I found it really odd. (Although maybe that's because I read an ARC and it will be fixed in the final book.)
There were also two subplots that I just didn't understand or care about. The first was Mia and Ethan trying to figure out what happened the night they hooked up. I didn't even realize it mattered to either of them that much right away, but as the book goes on it constantly got referred to and when the memories come back to them it's a pivotal moment in the book. Maybe it's just me, but I don't get that. So you got drunk and hooked up with someone and your memory is kind of fuzzy, happens to the best of us, right? In the end both of you turn out to be cool, normal, disease-free people so really, what's the big deal about figuring out all the details?
Second, is how Mia and Ethan's previous relationships are handled. Both of them had somewhat traumatic relationships before they met each other, but again, I didn't realize what a big deal they would be to the story. Ethan's made more sense because he broke up with Alison more recently and it eventually plays a larger part in the story. But there were moments, like when Ethan ends up in a Chinese restaurant and all the sudden the smell reminds him of the night he and Alison broke up, that kind of came out of no where and I kept feeling like I missed something earlier in the story. Mia's previously relationship was even more baffling. It was kind of mentioned a few times, just as a normal thing, but then all the sudden Ethan was asking Mia's mom about it and it was this big thing. Basically the way the way some of the background of the story is presented just didn't make sense.
The background thing is strange though because much of Mia and Ethan's background was handled so well. I came away feeling like I really knew Ethan and Mia as people. Ethan basically grew up in his parents' bowling alley in Colorado, it was where he learned to play soccer, and his love of soccer, family, and the kids he coached in a local league, really shined through. I felt the same way about Mia. Her family, her mother is a famous artist, was eccentric, but interesting and fun. I didn't love Mia's roommates, they both have big personalities and I didn't think we saw or knew enough about either of them for them to figure so prominently in a few scenes, but that was the only minor blip in Mia's background.
The truth is that if you write a new adult book that's well written and not riddled with ridiculously dramatic plot points I probably will like it. And that's the case here. When it comes down to it Mia and Ethan are great because they're real characters. They're not perfect characters, Ethan tends to say things without thinking and Mia needs to assert herself more, but they're still real. Ethan is dealing with being able to support himself after college, something a lot of people struggle with, and Mia is trying to find her own way in life outside of her famous mother's shadow. Both of them were real people with real, realistic problems, not the caricatures I so often come across in NA and that was refreshing to see.
Bottom Line: I didn't love Boomerang as much as I wanted to, but I still enjoyed it. I wish some of the story had been refined a little and focused a little more sharply, but I still enjoyed Mia and Ethan as characters and the writing is extremely sound. If you're looking for a fun new adult read for this summer definitely consider giving Boomerang a shot.
I received a copy of this ARC from a Goodreads contest, thank you!
This review first appeared on my blog.
A new adult book co-written by Veronica Rossi? Seriously what could be better? After reading it I think there are better things, but I also think this is only of the most technically sound NA books I've read and I believe we have Ms. Rossi to thank for that. Is it bad if I start with the bad? Which is ironic because I loved the start of this book, like five-star loved, but as the book went on I just kept losing steam with it and while I came away liking it, I didn't come away terribly impressed.
Basically Mia and Ethan have a one-night stand, wake up at Ethan's place the next morning not really remembering what happened, and then end up both going to the first day of the same internship where they're competing against each other for a job at the end of the summer. Ethan is a former soccer star at UCLA but after an ACL injury his career was sidelined and he's trying to figure out what he wants to do next. He's broke and in desperate need of the job at Boomerang to pay off his student loans and go to law school. Mia is going to be a college senior who dreams of being a filmmaker. Boomerang, the company they're both interning for, is an online dating site, but the parent company is a media company and Mia believes a job with Boomerang would be a good starting off point for her future film career. Mia and Ethan really like each other, but Boomerang has a strict no-dating-coworkers policy and, since they're both hoping it get a job at the end of the internship, they decide to play by the rules.
Here's the first part of the book that really confused me. Mia still has to finish her senior year of college...so why does she want a job in the fall? Will she work full-time and go to school full-time? Drop out of school? Graduate early? It was never addressed and I found it really odd. (Although maybe that's because I read an ARC and it will be fixed in the final book.)
There were also two subplots that I just didn't understand or care about. The first was Mia and Ethan trying to figure out what happened the night they hooked up. I didn't even realize it mattered to either of them that much right away, but as the book goes on it constantly got referred to and when the memories come back to them it's a pivotal moment in the book. Maybe it's just me, but I don't get that. So you got drunk and hooked up with someone and your memory is kind of fuzzy, happens to the best of us, right? In the end both of you turn out to be cool, normal, disease-free people so really, what's the big deal about figuring out all the details?
Second, is how Mia and Ethan's previous relationships are handled. Both of them had somewhat traumatic relationships before they met each other, but again, I didn't realize what a big deal they would be to the story. Ethan's made more sense because he broke up with Alison more recently and it eventually plays a larger part in the story. But there were moments, like when Ethan ends up in a Chinese restaurant and all the sudden the smell reminds him of the night he and Alison broke up, that kind of came out of no where and I kept feeling like I missed something earlier in the story. Mia's previously relationship was even more baffling. It was kind of mentioned a few times, just as a normal thing, but then all the sudden Ethan was asking Mia's mom about it and it was this big thing. Basically the way the way some of the background of the story is presented just didn't make sense.
The background thing is strange though because much of Mia and Ethan's background was handled so well. I came away feeling like I really knew Ethan and Mia as people. Ethan basically grew up in his parents' bowling alley in Colorado, it was where he learned to play soccer, and his love of soccer, family, and the kids he coached in a local league, really shined through. I felt the same way about Mia. Her family, her mother is a famous artist, was eccentric, but interesting and fun. I didn't love Mia's roommates, they both have big personalities and I didn't think we saw or knew enough about either of them for them to figure so prominently in a few scenes, but that was the only minor blip in Mia's background.
The truth is that if you write a new adult book that's well written and not riddled with ridiculously dramatic plot points I probably will like it. And that's the case here. When it comes down to it Mia and Ethan are great because they're real characters. They're not perfect characters, Ethan tends to say things without thinking and Mia needs to assert herself more, but they're still real. Ethan is dealing with being able to support himself after college, something a lot of people struggle with, and Mia is trying to find her own way in life outside of her famous mother's shadow. Both of them were real people with real, realistic problems, not the caricatures I so often come across in NA and that was refreshing to see.
Bottom Line: I didn't love Boomerang as much as I wanted to, but I still enjoyed it. I wish some of the story had been refined a little and focused a little more sharply, but I still enjoyed Mia and Ethan as characters and the writing is extremely sound. If you're looking for a fun new adult read for this summer definitely consider giving Boomerang a shot.
I received a copy of this ARC from a Goodreads contest, thank you!
This review first appeared on my blog.