I totally respect what this book is trying to do. And what, I imagine, it will successfully do for many readers. It just didn't quite work for me.
This is such a great representation of the mixed emotions young people (I was young once!) feel going into the next stage (ie, post-high school) of their lives. The momentum that pushes them forward to escape their current situation (overbearing family, no room to be yourself, too much responsibility at too young an age, etc) and the reluctance to go too far afield (family obligations, health, anxiety, worry, etc). These characters were perfect representations of those, often conflicting though sometimes singular, feelings. I felt it.
Where this book failed for me, I think, was I didn't quite love the characters. I didn't love what followed their initial meeting and connection, and how that all came about, and I was hard pressed to believe how quickly they just "got" each other. Thankfully this relationship wasn't smooth sailing, I appreciated the arguments, the speed bumps, but overall it did kind of stretch my belief. Maybe if I had liked them more, I would've bought it? I don't know. Part of me had hoped this had gone a different way, been a story that connected these characters but didn't quite overlap.. she says, vaguely.
There are definitely emotional elements to this story, with some suffocating but reassuring (for the character) familial roles (honestly, the first few chapters dealing with Juniper's family made me want to break out in hives, but that's just me) and some heartbreaking health issues when it comes to a parent. Again, like before, I could feel it. But..
But overall, no matter how great the writing, how stunning some of the turns of phrase, this was a story very character-focused, and I just couldn't love them. The characters. Also, a certain cameo from IF I'M BEING HONEST made me so mad initially.. but that was redeemed. Had it not? I would've been devastated.
So this was a mixed bag, but also a strong read. These authors are definitely talented, and not writing the same story in each release (thank goodness for that), but this was also not what I got from IF I'M BEING HONEST and maybe, in part, that's also contributing to some disappointment. Even though I said different things are great. And they are. If you've enjoyed this duo before, I think you'll like this, too. Maybe not as much, maybe more. Who is to say. What I can say, though, is even though I didn't love it, I'll continue to read whatever they put out.
Time of Our Lives
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