chidimmadesiree's reviews
663 reviews

This could have easily been a five stars but it was way too wordy at times. I had to read this book over the course of a few days to give my brain a break. I feel like I deserve a degree in botany, chemistry, and engineering after reading this book. I’ve been wanting this read this book since the movie came out in 2015 and in the year 2022 I finally did. I couldn’t be happier! Mark Watney you are just not a botanist dork you are MY botanist dork.

Devon and Reba fulfilled my love for opposites attract grumpy x sunshine dynamic that I have finally realized I love in romance books. Both of them learning from each other and realizing how they both balance each other out was just everything. Reba finally knowing her worth and coming to the conclusion that she deserves a happy and healthy relationship was so satisfying. Devon and Reba really were the perfect pairing. The bake off was such a cute side plot that I was actually invested in. I wish that this book didn’t follow the same formula as Sweethand with the main couple having casual sex then it becoming awkward because of forced proximity to them figuring out they want more. It would have been nice for the author to switch it up. This romance was just so cute and Devon wooing Reba was adorable.

This was just a standard Sarah Dessen book. If you have read Sarah Dessen you know what I mean she has a formula and she’s not afraid to stick exactly to it. This book felt a little lack luster to me just because it didn’t have a cute beachy romance that I could root for like her others did. It was short and sweet though so I can appreciate it for what it was.

THIS WAS WAY BETTER THAN I EXPECTED! I don’t know why I had this weird suspicion that I would hate this book but how wrong was I. Piper and Brendan were so special. Brendan fully loving Piper for who she was and making her realize how she was one of a kind. Then Piper figuring herself out after being told her whole life that she wasn’t capable of accomplishing anything of importance or being someone that people respected. Like wow this book at the core was a steamy romance but these characters were to die for. Piper and Brendan’s chemistry was just too hot to handle like I could feel how badly they wanted to rip each other’s clothes off with each scene. The miscommunication that catapulted their third act breakup pissed me off to no end. I know most romances have these but this one felt ridiculous the amount of things that had to go wrong for it to happen felt very unrealistic. We did get the awe worthy gesture with Brendan getting the love of his life back though so I guess it’s forgiven. This was the perfect book to read during the summer!

This book felt like a psychological character study with the subjects being Marianne and Connell. It felt sterile and lacked any warmth. I never felt connected to the book because these characters never felt personable to me. That didn’t stop my interest of the book though. It’s like I kept reading it hoping something would change with how Marianne and Connell were going through life. By the end I wished they made a decision to either stay in each other’s lives or don’t. But I feel the point of this book was that their situation was never going to change, it’s a cycle that they didn’t want to break. Both of these characters would find a way to reintegrate themselves in each other’s lives no matter how much time passed. It was almost a sad and depressive take on When Harry Met Sally stripped of any of the cute moments and with no happily ever after.

This book reminded why YA contemporary will always have a special place in my heart. It felt like I was reading a love letter to the genre. It had the tenderness, the vulnerability, the love story, the found family group of friends, and most importantly finding your place in the world. I loved everything about it. Seeing Lucy find her faith in God again which I rarely see in books and reading a whole book losing and regaining your faith was a main theme was so heartwarming. Lucy dealing with her mom having cancer again and coming to terms that her mom may never see her grow old was just wow. This book was so touching it showed me how YA can still teach me lessons and move me deeply. Now I feel like an idiot because I had this book for three years maybe it just wasn’t my time to read it until now. I’ll say that to make myself feel better.

BLACK ROMANCE WILL ALWAYS GET THEIR 10s FROM ME!

NORA AND CHARLIE ARE A MATCH MADE IN BOOK HEAVEN! Going into this book knowing that the relationship between Nora and her little sister Libby was a big focus made it so much more enjoyable because I wasn’t blindsided by it taking so much time away from the love story. I think a lot of people were disappointed that Nora and Charlie took a backseat to Nora and Libby. For me this wasn’t the problem because I thought the two sisters’ relationship dynamic was interesting and I wanted to see it to be explored and deconstructed. Nora and Charlie were the heart of this book though. I loved them together and the fact that they were so similar to each other and the parts where they were different complemented each other. They just made sense. Their banter from the very first email exchange was just excellence. The book tropes being such a huge part of the book was so cute to me. As a book lover how can you not appreciate this book.

This was a cute contemporary. I definitely would have enjoyed this book if I read it as a teenager. This book read so young and even only being 20 years old it really felt like I was NOT the target audience. And this is coming from someone who mostly reads and usually loves YA contemporaries. Claudia felt like a reader insert because she had no distinguishable personality. She felt like drawing left uncolored and unfinished. I thought Iris was so much more interesting as a character. The growing friendship between Iris and Claudia held my attention more than the love story between Claudia and Gideon. Gideon felt just a tad bit too quirky for me. Emma Mills tried to make him feel more real by the end of it but his character missed the mark for me. I did love how obsessing over a boy band was a plot point because I feel like authors shy away from this book in books even though it’s what most teenage girls do. I loved seeing Iris and Claudia bond over it. This book was cute but I wished I would have read when it came out.

Classic Sarah Dessen you either get it or you don’t!