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A review by sarahainslee
It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill
3.0
I love the premise of this story. LOVE. Girl born in a pizzeria and doomed to spend the rest of her known life as the Hot n' Crusty baby? I'm in. It's straight of out a wholesome Buzzfeed article and the author really manages to capture the magic of it. You see our main character, Beck, struggle with her public persona, but also come to grow into it and accept it as part of her story.
That said, I feel as if this story would've benefited *without* the romance (I know, I know, I'm clutching my Hallmark-loving pearls too) and was written as more of a self-discovery journey with quirky characters and a potential a love interest to keep things interesting. Instead, we're given the complicated love triangle (GET IT? TRIANGLE? BECAUSE PIZZA? nvm) with dashing Mac and polar opposite Tristian. I never found myself swooning over either of them and actually thought Tristan to be more grating than endearing (GET IT? GRATING? I'll stop now.)
The 'us VS them' storyline between Beck and her two friend groups felt tiring after a few chapters, though most of the blame on that falls yet again on Tristian and how little his motives are fleshed out. The tension resolves by the third act following a pretty major event, but it would've been nice to see the two groups come to understand one another naturally as opposed to being forced into unity for Beck's sake.
Overall, this is a lighthearted and fluffy read (just how I like them) and definitely made me wanna go and grab a slice of pizza more than once. Beck is one of the more realistic and likable YA characters I've read in a while, and while I wish the story was more about her and focused less on her love life, this is a kind of cheesy love story after all.
That said, I feel as if this story would've benefited *without* the romance (I know, I know, I'm clutching my Hallmark-loving pearls too) and was written as more of a self-discovery journey with quirky characters and a potential a love interest to keep things interesting. Instead, we're given the complicated love triangle (GET IT? TRIANGLE? BECAUSE PIZZA? nvm) with dashing Mac and polar opposite Tristian. I never found myself swooning over either of them and actually thought Tristan to be more grating than endearing (GET IT? GRATING? I'll stop now.)
Spoiler
LOVE that Tristian asked Beck if she was comfortable kissing him when she was being cornered by Mac and needed a quick escape. HATED when he turned right around and told her "don't make me regret it" ...umm, okay.The 'us VS them' storyline between Beck and her two friend groups felt tiring after a few chapters, though most of the blame on that falls yet again on Tristian and how little his motives are fleshed out. The tension resolves by the third act following a pretty major event, but it would've been nice to see the two groups come to understand one another naturally as opposed to being forced into unity for Beck's sake.
Overall, this is a lighthearted and fluffy read (just how I like them) and definitely made me wanna go and grab a slice of pizza more than once. Beck is one of the more realistic and likable YA characters I've read in a while, and while I wish the story was more about her and focused less on her love life, this is a kind of cheesy love story after all.