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A review by egbella
Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg
3.0
3.5 stars. I'm trying to explore out-of-my-comfort-zone genres a bit more lately, and this was a cute one to jump into. I have my gripes, but overall, it was a light, cozy, and somewhat predictable contemporary romance about two kids that have been best friends since middle school, and eventually realize they've wanted to be more for years.
If those are your kind of books, you'd probably enjoy this one. Most of the story was spent going back and forth in a "will they, won't they" kind of situation. They dated (and dumped) other people, went to various parts of the world for a break, confessed feelings, ignored confessions, and were in denial for a large part of the book. That said, you can eventually expect a happy ending.
I wasn't sure where the main theme of "everyone says a boy and a girl can't be best friends" was going, because I usually do agree with that. At least not without one or the other wanting to be more at some point. And that's exactly what happens in the story. I'm pretty sure the author was trying to highlight the irony, not actually prove that point, and in that case, she did a good job.
The characters were interesting and sympathetic, all of the main ones having some good backstory and personality traits. I appreciated the everyday mentions of a family member with a learning disability and that it wasn't portrayed as his entire personality. I also enjoyed the fact that it was set in my home state. Admittedly, it was pretty obvious the author doesn't actually live in Wisconsin, as there were quite a few references to Wisconsin things that felt forced and thrown in there for the sake of it, not for any real purpose. But mostly, it was neat to be able to relate to and picture a lot of the aspects she mentioned.
It was definitely rife with high school teen/tween dating drama, and as that's not my typical genre, I was frustrated a few times at the miscommunication going on. But I can see why the characters acted the way they did (they acted like realistic teenagers), and was glad when they eventually sorted things out.
I'd recommend this to readers that are a fan of contemporary romances involving high-school students, tight-knit family, drama, and the good old Midwest.
CW: a couple mild sexual innuendos, kisses (not-detailed), teen dating, drama, loss/grief, bullying, several instances of the R word during bullying about people with disabilities (presented as wrong).
If those are your kind of books, you'd probably enjoy this one. Most of the story was spent going back and forth in a "will they, won't they" kind of situation. They dated (and dumped) other people, went to various parts of the world for a break, confessed feelings, ignored confessions, and were in denial for a large part of the book. That said, you can eventually expect a happy ending.
I wasn't sure where the main theme of "everyone says a boy and a girl can't be best friends" was going, because I usually do agree with that. At least not without one or the other wanting to be more at some point. And that's exactly what happens in the story. I'm pretty sure the author was trying to highlight the irony, not actually prove that point, and in that case, she did a good job.
The characters were interesting and sympathetic, all of the main ones having some good backstory and personality traits. I appreciated the everyday mentions of a family member with a learning disability and that it wasn't portrayed as his entire personality. I also enjoyed the fact that it was set in my home state. Admittedly, it was pretty obvious the author doesn't actually live in Wisconsin, as there were quite a few references to Wisconsin things that felt forced and thrown in there for the sake of it, not for any real purpose. But mostly, it was neat to be able to relate to and picture a lot of the aspects she mentioned.
It was definitely rife with high school teen/tween dating drama, and as that's not my typical genre, I was frustrated a few times at the miscommunication going on. But I can see why the characters acted the way they did (they acted like realistic teenagers), and was glad when they eventually sorted things out.
I'd recommend this to readers that are a fan of contemporary romances involving high-school students, tight-knit family, drama, and the good old Midwest.
CW: a couple mild sexual innuendos, kisses (not-detailed), teen dating, drama, loss/grief, bullying, several instances of the R word during bullying about people with disabilities (presented as wrong).