Charlie Lewis - now middle-aged - reminices on his youth and in particular on that particular summer in 1997 when everything changed for him.

It was definitely a summer of firsts and this started with falling in love with the first time - with Fran Fisher. It lead to reading Shakespeare for the first time, a first kiss, a first adventure into acting, and many more.

Due to Charlie finishing high school that summer, it also meant a lot of changes. New friends, new life choices, new mistakes and new feelings.

And it all ends with Charlie being middle-aged and content, happy even.

David Nicholls has written an absolutely brilliant story which lets you be a part of Charlie's life. Every aspect of this story - whether it is his love story with Fran, his difficult relationship with his mother who left the family for a new one, or his struggle with his depressed father - is a whirlwind of emotions.

I enjoyed this story immensely and once it ended, I wished it didn't have to. I would give this story 4.5 stars. The only reason why it is not a full 5 star review from me is that while I was absolutely touched by Charlie and his story, I didn't experience the feeling of not being able to put the book down. I don't know whether this was of the bulky format or because there was something missing at this point so feel free to read this as either a 4.5 or 5 star review.

In any case, if you enjoy life storys, the sensation of a first love that is as all consuming as it is new (with Romeo and Juliet quotes in between), relationships with friends, family and said first love that don't always work out as one would want them to, then this is definitely the book for you.

I was so, so excited for this novel as I loved the first one so, so much. I love this one equally as much. It was just as wonderful, just as adventurous and just as funny as Noah Can't Even.
I am absolutely here for all of the old characters and the new characters. I am here for quiz-planning Noah because he is still as dorky as ever and I love him.
One would think I learned from book one not to read it on the train because of the laughing-out-loud that happened – nope, have not learned at all. Other commuters still probably think I'm crazy. But this book is seriously worth it. So many feelings, so much fun and so, so wonderful.

I do desperately hope that there will be a third and a fourth and a fifth, and... book because I do not think I will ever get enough of this gang. These two books (as well as the short story) are very close to my heart and I adore them so much. The only thing to say is: Thank you very much Simon James Green, for bringing these characters into the world and for bringing them into our hearts.

Isa is 17 and feels like her world is falling apart; her parents have just gotten divorced after she witnessed her dad cheating on her mom, her grandmother she was very closed to just died and she feels torn in many different directions. But not only the events in her life are worrying her, she is also trying to figure out where she fits in in the world. She is mixed-raced, with her father being Cuban and her mother being France and her growing up in America, she wonders if she is enough of anything and where she truly belongs.
To cope with those feelings, she throws herself into cooking, her favourite activity, and moves with her father and his new family to Lyon, France, to participate in a very exclusive cooking competition. The prize? An apprenticeship with star-chef and Michelin-star-awarded restaurant owner, Chef Grattard. While Isa tries to juggle her private life and the stress from the competition, she slowly learns to question what it means to be truly happy. Of course, it helps that she's suddenly confronted with a gorgeous guy from Spain and his dog, who start living in her family's house and who is all about happiness.

For anyone who loves food (TW (for my fellow veggies): lots of dairy, lots of meat), and has ever struggled with their own identity, I think this book is a must-read.
Isa is prickly and easily irritable at first because she is overwhelmed - and who cannot relate to that? She has only one goal in mind and that is to become a three-star-chef herself. It takes a lot of love from the people around her, to make her relax and to start asking herself what she really wants from life instead of what she's always forced to want. I think that is a very important message.

In this book, there is a lot going on. The themes of grief and death are explored (TW: death by Hepatitis and mentions of drug addiction from minor characters), as well as the question where she fits into the new family dynamics her father has established for himself (TW: infidelity). Luckily, Salty, Bitter, Sweet also explores a lot of positive themes, such as first love, friendship, trust and the realisation that people will care for you, help you and be there for you if you let them.

Salty, Bitter, Sweet is a book for everyone who has ever had to come up with a coping mechanism and especially for those, who have been taken over by it. It is for everyone who is looking for answers about themselves and feel like figuring out the answers is a heavy burden. This is a book for all the teens who have tried to fit in and didn't and leaves you with a sense of love, satisfaction and lots and lots of appetite.

Okay, hi, so, two star review.
So I know that a lot of you absolutely adore this book and I can totally see why. In theory, I should adore this book as well. I love that Stella is autistic, who DOESN'T love a good fake/pretend relationship trope? Not me, I ADORE them.
However, there were a couple things that bugged me in this book that might be important for some of the potential readers to know.

First off, I didn't love the sex scenes. Because as it turns out, I am not a reader of explicit fiction. In fact, I even got annoyed after a while and this is the first book where there was more than one sex scene in it aaand... yeah, so not my thing.
Then, and somehow this is part of the sex issue... actually I have a lot of issues with the sex - please bear with me I realise this is a very confusingly structured review but my mind is literally going in circles over this so, yeah.

The thing is... Stella does not like sex. The entire first part, she reads to me as asexual who tries to make herself have sex. She does plenty enjoy it with Michael later on, don't get me wrong, but for the first part I kept cringing because it was obvious she simply didn't like sex. The description of her just lying there while men grunted above her made me uncomfortable and I just wanted to shake her and tell her it's okay and that she never had to have sex in her life again if she didn't want to and that she still was completely fine just as she was (ace positivity, y'all!).

Continuing with the men who had sex with her even though she froze up: there are several non-consensual kisses in this book, as well as touches. Again, not my thing, makes me uncomfortable. Mainly because while some people might say "well, a kiss is just a kiss", I still see it as several characters forcing themselves on other characters in this book and I just do not want to see that happen IRL so I don't want to see it in a fictional world either.

Lastly, I get queasy around serious illnesses. I do. It's just a thing for me. So if anyone out there feels the same, I had a pretty rough time reading about Michael's mum who is incurably sick.

Coming to the good parts (because yes, there were some!) I did quite enjoy the characterisation of Stella living with her "disability" and being sick of that label, trying to navigate her life as normal as possible because she doesn't want to be defined by that. I also think Michael was a great character. I also think the two of them would have had a lot of chances to be great together outside of the bedroom tbh. I loved Michael's Vietnamese heritage and its representation in this book and I think the scenes with the whole family (including GRANDMA!) were my absolute favourites. The book also has a lovely message which is ultimately to be proud of who you are and to do the best that you can but not more and not less. That it's okay to ask for help and to accept it. And that you are lovable no matter what.

This book would've made it to my not finished list just because the negatives were such negatives for me. However, the positives made me stay on because I did want to know how it ended and I can say that it ended in a very satisfying way and that I am happy to now put it on my read shelf :)