A review by yvo_about_books
Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

3.0

Finished reading: July 9th 2020

“It seems that thinking 'things can't get worse' is an invitation for things to get much, much worse.”

Spoiler

I confess that I have been meaning to read this one for years, and even my TBR jar ended up thinking it was long overdue. I was in the mood for a cute contemporary, and really thought Broken Hearts, Fences And Other Things To Mend was going to be a perfect fit... But I guess things weren't ment to be. Things started out well as Katie Finn has a very readable and engaging writing style that makes it easy to fly through the pages. I initially really enjoyed this story, and was looking forward to see what would happen that summer in the Hamptoms... BUT. Things started to get really frustrating, as it was so clear what was really going on and I really just can't believe Gemma didn't realize what was happening right under her nose. Being able to see this 'twist' from a mile away as a reader was a huge disappointment, and I really didn't like how the story and characters developed after that. I had problems with the credibility of certain aspects of the plot and the supposed 'twists', and that open ending was kind of a letdown too. I know this is part of a trilogy and the story will continue in the sequels, but still I wasn't impressed when I saw the story was left hanging like that. And as I didn't enjoy the first book enough, I don't see myself reading the sequels and I guess I will never find out how things end between them. Oh well... Fans of the YA contemporary romance genre who don't mind a cliche or two and a predictable plot will probably have a better time with this story though.

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