A review by stpe6480
Always You and Me by Dani Atkins

emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Overall: 2.75/5
Writing quality: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
World building: 4/5
Spice: 1/5

This book had I lot I really enjoyed.
  • The story was not afraid to explore grief
  • The characters were, for the most part, believable people making human choices
  • The emotions were nuanced and well-explored
  • There was tension and fade-to-black romance

Unfortunately, this was not enough to carry the book for me.

First, the pacing felt... weird. Some scenes would carry on far past what I was interested in reading, then quickly cut to another scene with a time jump. This made it both slow and fast paced, but with the payout of neither. And not only were there time jumps in between scenes (it would easily be days to months later with no explanation), but we were also jumping back and forth between childhood/college/adult events. It was like reading excerpts of the FMC's life collaged together instead of experiencing the story alongside her. Because of the pacing, it was difficult to sympathize with or cheer for some of the characters.

They also How I Met Your Mother-ed the narrative in a way that detracted from the value of the character growth for me. It was too tidy considering lack of communication and pacing. The very last chapter could have been impactful if we got the full picture but again, with the pacing, it didn't a strong enough foundation to work.

Overall I really enjoyed the characters, the themes, and story. But it felt detached and incohesive in a way that can't be overlooked.
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