2.5 Stars

I enjoyed this more than By Your Side and Lucky In Love, but still had serious issues with several different aspects of this book, namely the romance. And when you don’t like the romantic plot in a YA contemporary romance, that’s a problem.

What I liked:

1. Readability. I found myself flying through this book. Part of that is because it’s very easy to consume. I would say that Kasie West’s prose is on the simplistic side, which is perfectly adequate for this kind of fluff.

2. Lacey and Elliot. I wanted more of these characters. They were great. Elliot deserved better than Abby.

3. Abby’s relationship with her father and grandfather. Most of the way through the book, I liked her interactions with these two. Her emails with her dad were fun and lighthearted, and I liked the sarcastic nature of her banter with her grandfather.

What I didn’t like:

1. THE ROMANCE. Rant incoming. Kasie West writes fluffy YA contemporary romances. I understand that she wants these books to have depth, which is probably why one of her romantic leads always has some sort of struggles with their home life. HOWEVER, that doesn’t change the fact that these books are marketed as romances. All you have to do to confirm that is look at the book covers/titles.

The romance in this book is seriously lacking. Most of the way through, I couldn’t care less about Cooper or her feelings for him. We are led to believe that he laughed off her declaration of love a year ago and went on as if it had never happened. I didn’t mark the page, but she actually says that. That he ‘laughed it off’. So when the actual interaction is relayed to the reader on page 302, we find out that she backed off on her own, telling him that she was just kidding, and it was only at that point that he laughed and let it go. It was just as much her fault as his.

Most of this book is just Abby mooning over Cooper, to the point of concocting an elaborate plan to kiss him at her art show even though he is dating another girl. There is never any hint that he actually feels any romantic feelings where she is concerned. Then she gets angry with him and cuts him off and he realizes he was in love with her the whole time. 🙄🙄🙄🙄
I hate that trope, by the way. The ‘I-never-realized-what-I-had-until-it-was-gone/best-friend-turned-lovers’ trope. Which is funny, because my husband and I were friends long before we ever started dating. But there were flirtations for quite awhile. This is not the case in this book. They go from friends to in love in a snap. There’s no real romantic foundation for their relationship, with the exception of her previously unrequited feelings. It was way too cheesy.

Honestly, I preferred Elliot as the romantic endgame. He was there for her at her art show when no one else showed up. He went to her house to try to bring her mom and grandfather when Cooper flaked out, without even being asked. He’s an artist, which is something they have in common. But I knew he wasn’t going to be her endgame because they had so few scenes together. Honestly, what was even the point of having Elliot in this book if he wasn’t going to be given anything to do? I really liked his character, but he was only there to prop up the protagonist and I feel like he deserves better.

Also, I am so tired of reading reviews for her books where the reviewer calls her books ‘swoony’ or ‘swoonworthy’. This book had one, just one, scene that even approaches anything steamy. It is about five pages before the book ends. Up to that point, there is zero romantic tension. Nothing. Her last two books (this and Lucky in Love) have been lukewarm at best. Nothing even close to creating a feeling like I might pass out from the heat. Just saying.

2. Lack of quirkiness/unique structure. This may seem like a strange thing to critique, and maybe I’m not wording it right, but stick with me. Kasie West’s books remind me of Morgan Matson’s books, without the depth. One thing I like about Matson’s books is that she includes things like hand-written lists, pictures, playlists, etc. to create a fun reading experience that actually works to create connections with the characters.
Abby is supposed to be an artist. Why couldn’t some of her art be included in the book, on the page? They are described, but seeing them would’ve given this book something a little different.
She also talks about her heart list. Why would the author show us a page with the list written out? And then notes as she checked things off. I don’t know. It just felt like this could’ve been played with a little more.

I have a lot of other thoughts about specifics in this book, but I just kind of want to move on at this point. I keep reading Kasie West books hoping to enjoy one as much as I enjoyed PS I Like You, but I continue to be disappointed. Although I did enjoy this more than I thought I would.