Is there anything Marissa Meyer can do wrong? No matter what she writes I am always hooked. I was beyond thrilled when I found out she was releasing a contemporary novel and did everything I possibly could to get my hands on it.
She has a way of writing characters that is unlike anyone else. They are beyond relatable and feel like they could be someone you actually know. They are flawed and act rationally and make logical mistakes.
Sometimes the plot can get a tad predictable (at least in this one it was a bit), but I was still completely hooked the whole time. I have been in a rough reading slump since September and I am so grateful that Marissa once again swoops in and saves me from that disaster. What a wonderful way to end 2020!

Marisa Meyer is an instant buy for me. Loved the Lunar Chronicles. Her Renegades series was such fun. But Instant Karma, was not what I expected from her.

Prudence is burdened with being lab partners with lazy, always late, unbearable Quint Erickson. After Quint almost fails to show up for the final project presentation and she get a C due to their lack of teamwork and science, Prudence fights to get a do-over. She literally screams at her teacher for it. She plans to dedicate her entire summer to re-do the assignment whether or not Quint decides to work with her or not. Oh, and after hitting her head during karaoke night, Prudence can now enact instant karma on people who she thinks are terrible.

Only Prudence is the worst person in this entire book. Well, second worst.

Honestly, if Prudence wasn't a self-entitled, self-centered, uppity person the 75% of the novel I might have liked it more. While there is a redemption arc for her, there is too much of the novel with her unbearable narration and opinion that just makes her utterly dislikeable even when she does start to have redeeming qualities.

The pace is so slow, too much exposition, and all the characters did nothing for me. Even Quint, our obvious love interest, was just so un-interesting. As far as enemies-to-loves tropes go, Quint and Pru just weren't that great. There was just too much attitude and fighting between the two of them that it left a bad taste in my mouth and failed to go even even with the inevitable relationship came to fruition. The way the instant karma plot device was sprinkled into the book took me out of the story. I couldn't grasp the idea that this terrible girl gets to decide who deserves karmic punishment. It is never truly explained why she gets it to begin with and that just bothers me.

I think I only enjoyed the last 10% of the book and all scenes where the universe basically hits Prudence upside the head.

Honestly, Marissa Meyer should stick to her guns and stay away from contemporary.

Muy lindooo

This was a cute book, but it definitely didn't feel like Marissa Meyer to me. I am a huge fan of hers, but I think she is a much better fantasy author than a contemporary/romance author. While I enjoyed the book, some parts were a bit too political for my liking in a book like this, and I found Prudence to be absolutely insufferable the entire time.

So, I had issues with Pru just because I felt she was super rude to virtually everyone at the onset of this book. But the thing that made me really enjoy the book was how everyone grew and changed. Prudence is a 16 year old girl who's pretty mature in a lot of things - but not in everything. And she's surrounded by a lot of other people who are the same way. There is a lot of growth that happens in this book and it's a really great ride.
However, I didn't like how quickly Pru forgave Quint. I wished they had had more of a conversation about that.
Overall, a pretty average reader, not my favorite Meyer book, but not my least favorite book of all time.
*features kissing (pretty tame)*

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book because Prudence was extremely self-absorbed and unlikeable at the beginning, but when she started to change after hanging out more at the shelter and with Quint, I really started to enjoy Instant Karma. I with we would have seen more of her relationship with her family and how they impact her as a person because it felt like that was a subplot. Overall, an easy, fun read!