Four of a Kind was an entertaining and realistic story about youth, friendships, relationships, struggles and angst that brings a sort of nostaglia. I love how Kellie wrote such raw young adult characters that does match their ages, each of their arcs and how they navigate through life at this stage in, well, life. And I'm not being biased because she named a character after me in the prequel novella lol

I did not finish this story. What called out to me at first was the concept-- the idea of reading about cuadruplets. However, I did not find the characters engaging and I couldn't get into the story.

…it feels a little like it was during those days and weeks after we were born— like we’re all still part of one greater whole. The older we get, the more we all stretch into our own identities, but I still love the reminder that we started out together”. -Reagan from ‘Four Of A Kind’



Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘Monday Memos’ we have a new book review courtesy of Patchwork Press. Today we’re going to change things up a little bit by reviewing 2 books in 1 blog post. I was given the AMAZING opportunity to not only review the 1st book in a new series, but also the prequel novella. Because of how the books are written, it just makes more sense to give you all of my thoughts in 1 review so you can truly know if this series is for you. So 1st up we’re briefly discuss the novella entitled ‘Where We Were’, followed up by the 1st main book in the series called ‘Four Of A Kind’, both written by Kellie Sheridan. So now on to the review. Ready? Ok, let’s go!!!



In ‘Where We Were’ we meet our 4 central characters: 14 year old quadruplets Reagan, Reece, Reilly, & Rhiannon Donovan who are in the process of moving from their home in Richmond, Virginia to a small town in another state called Fairview. Throughout the book we get alternating chapters in which each girl narrates what’s going on in each of their lives in the final weeks before their move. This novella does a really great job of showing us each girl’s individual personality, as well as what their sister’s think of them through the use of a quote before each chapter begins. ‘Where We Were’ perfectly sets the stage for the beginning of ‘Four Of A Kind’, which is told from Reagan’s perspective & begins once the girls have moved to Fairview. We immediately see that the entire town has such a fascination with the girls’ birth, that they are minor celebrities in town. The story follows the girls (through Reagan’s eyes) as they deal with typical teenage drama such as friend & relationship issues, as well as trying to find their own identities in a town that watches their every move.



So now that you know the plot, let’s look at the book a little closer. First of all , Reagan is one of my new favorite protagonists. She is relatable, interesting, and most of all someone who you don’t mind spending the entire book with. She wasn’t a perfect character, but she was the kind of person that you can definitely see yourself befriending in real life. Now let’s move on to the love interest Kent, the son of a local reporter. Thank goodness for Kent! It is SOOOO hard to find a love interest in young adult literature that is loveable. They do exist, but they’re hard to find. I know that we are all tired of the bad-boy, the rebel with a heart of gold, the emotionally/physically abusive guy that our protagonist falls for because they’re “wounded inside”, basically the ‘you should never actually date this guy trope’. With Kent we don’t see any of this, instead we get a nice, friendly guy from beginning to end, he respects Reagan & honestly always seems to want what’s best for her. I thought that at some point he would turn on Reagan to help his mother write a scandalous story about her & her sisters but he never did. Needless to say there is definitely a great need for more characters like Kent in young adult literature. Next I really want to compliment the author on her awesome writing style. Although the story is told from Reagan’s point of view, you really feel like you get a sense of each sister’s personality. In both stories each sister is instantly identifiable, & none of them feel as if they get lost in the plot. We also get some diversity through the character of Reilly when we find out that she’s a lesbian. Although this is not thoroughly explored, it also doesn’t feel like a tacked on label in order to check the diversity box, but instead a real part of who the character is. Honestly there is so much that I can & do want to say about this book, but I would have you here all week. This is one of those truly great books that you instantly know will be one of your favs as soon as you finish it, & this definitely made this author an auto-buy author for me. With all that said I HAVE to give these books a 5 smiley face rating because I will DEFINITELY be re-reading them again this year, & look forward to reading the sequels that are already out, & any additional books in the series that are released in the future.

Have you ever watched an ABC Family or Hallmark movie? This book basically feels like that. It wasn't bad, but I also feel zero compulsion to finish it. Someone else may like it, but I just didn't feel anything for it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this e-ARC for review.

Unfortunately, I DNFed Four of a Kind at about 50%.

I wanted to enjoy this book. The premise excited me, and the idea of strong sisterhood made me ecstatic. But each page was difficult to get through, until I stopped trying all together.

The writing in this book didn't do it for me, or maybe it was just the main character. She sounded extremely immature for her age and even though I could relate to her self-consciousness, I didn't like anything else about her.

All her other sisters got on my nerves. They kept whining, as if they deserved some sort of payment for moving. It seemed unrealistic for the parents to let that sort of behavior go on.

I think what bothered me the most was that this book had no plot. Nothing was happening, even close to halfway done with the book. The family was just living day-to-day with zero excitement or enthusiasm.

I wanted to like Four of a Kind, but I just couldn't.

Patchwork Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Four of a Kind. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Reece, Reilly, Rhiannon, and Reagan Donovan are the Fairview 4, returned back to town after their mother receives a job offer that the family cannot refuse. On display once again for being a matched set, can the four sisters find their own way and make their own friends? When a reporter's son catches her eye, will Reagan be able to come out of her fantasy world and see all that life has to offer?

Four of a Kind is the coming of age stories for Reece, Reilly, Rhiannon, and Reagan, as they navigate unfamiliar territory and start to assert their independence. This is a typical YA romance and, although the characterization is good, there is really nothing that sets this book apart. I would give Four of a Kind an average rating, with a positive recommendation for those YA readers who fall into the teenage age range.

Great story and I was hooked from the start. I loved the book but preferred the prequel where each bit was told from a different point of view. Hope to hear more from the other quadruplets in the next books!

A set of quadruplets' stories? Well, it's a kudos to the author for making it amazing. Never in my life, I've read anything about twins, triplets, quadruplets or anything to it. This is my first and I'm quite amazed on it. Its like I get to know all of them in my life.

Back to the books, quadruplets - Reagan, Reece, Reily and Rhiannon has their own personality and attitude of themselves but still, one thing for sure, they love each other so much. Not complicated in reading this and I guess, that's that. Anyway, I do still enjoy reading it.

Sorry, this one just wasn't for me and I didn't finish it. Thanks so much for giving me the chance to try it!

To be honest, one of the main reasons I requested this book was because it said "Gilmore Girls meets Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" which completely sold me. Well, unfortunately that wasn't an accurate description at all. In fact, I started this book and couldn't even finish it. I felt like the story was all over the place and it just didn't hold my interest.

I received a free copy of this book through netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

After reading the prequel novella I was excited to dive into the first book in this series. There was a lot to enjoy and I easily breezed through this book, but I also had some issues with it. In the end I think I actually enjoyed the prequel novella more, which seems so weird to say. Four of a Kind follows Reagan, she and her three sisters just moved back to the town they were born in. It's going to be a difficult adjustment for them, new town, a new house, a new school, new friends etc. Reagan didn't mind the move as much and she seemed to enjoy being there. While the others struggled a bit more to adjust.

So after reading the prequel novella Reagan was pretty much my favorite of the four characters, but in the prequel we got all four point of views. Here we only get Reagan her point of view and she seemed somehow more normal and less quirky than in the prequel novella. She seemed to be a pretty normal teenager, not that there is anything wrong with it, but I kinda had hoped for something more. Overall I enjoyed Reagan her story and it was also kinda nice not to switch back and forth, but at the same I kinda missed having the other three point of views as well. I know I am contradicting myself. In the prequel novella the focus also was on the upcoming move, while here it's mostly on normal school life, which gave a very different tone to the story.

Reagan is the quiet one of the four, she likes to play games and read books and isn't all that social. But she actually does pretty well making a new life for herself and she even finds a boy she likes. This book mostly focuses on Reagan her daily life, going to school, making new friends, trying to fit in somewhere, worrying about things and along the way she develops a crush on a boy. But I wouldn't categorize this as a romance book, as it's mostly a sub plot. It's this cute and slightly awkward romance, but it only really progresses towards the end. And I never felt like I really got to know Kent or saw enough of them together to form a good opinion of them as a couple. And then the ending was kinda rushed, skipping weeks at a time and I just wish it would've slowed down to see more of their relationship. I wasn't too happy with how it ended, but I am curious to see the other sisters their story and this book does provide a good foundation for their stories next. I wonder who will narrate book 2?

The pace of this book was well done and it kept my attention. There is little drama, but a bit of teenage angst. I did think it was well written and Reagan come across as a typical teenager, I guess I was just a bit disappointed she didn't show more of her own unique personality. Like I mentioned before, the ending felt a bit rushed, not only when it related to Reagan, but also to some of their sisters. Some big changes are mentioned, but we didn't get to see anything about that. And it felt like there was more story there that we didn't get, but maybe we'll get that in later books? Now it just felt a bit rushed and like we were missing parts. This was a fun read and I did enjoy it, but it felt like there was something missing that could've made this book even more enjoyable for me.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the whole concept of the quadruplets. It just seemed like a fun set-up for a book and I did enjoy that part. Although at the same time this is also decidedly Reagan her story. I was glad I read the prequel novella as I had a pretty clear idea of everyone's personality thanks to that. I liked seeing glimpses of the sisters their personality in this book, although it was less clear than in the prequel novella as we only get Reagan her point of view, but I still felt the author did a good job giving us an idea of everyone's personality. The sisters don't always communicate much with each other so we only get pieces of the other sisters their stories. I had hoped to understand a bit more of what they were going through, but I guess I'll have to wait for their stories for that. I am looking forward to continuing this series.

To summarize: all in all this was a fun read. The quadruplets plot line made for an interesting touch, but mostly this is just a story about a teenage girl trying to fit in at her new school. There is very little drama, but a bit fo teenage angst. I wish we could've gotten more of the other sisters their stories, but I guess I'll have to wait for the later books for that. I really enjoyed this book and at the same time I had hoped for more? Reagan seemed pretty normal in this book and less quirky. But I did think the author got the teenage voice well done as she did sound like a teenager. And I liked how each of the sisters had their own personality. Overall I would recommend this book to those who like a good YA contemporary book with a little bit of awkward teenage romance and an original touch with the focus on quadruplets.

I was very excited to read this, having just recently read and enjoyed the prequel. Now the quads are in Fairview, and settling into their new lives.

The book is entirely narrated by Reagan, which made it easier to follow who was who, although the R-names are still a bit confusing. I can't remember which was Reece (occasionally spelled Reese too, just to confuse things even more) and Reilly, and then Reagan made a new friend called Rosie too... oh boy!

Reagan is a bit awkward and shy, more at home playing a WoW-type computer game with online friends than hanging out with people IRL. She made a good and interesting narrator as it seemed her character got to go through the most growth of the four - ie. actually making flesh and blood friends ;) (Her ex-bff Nadine does not count. Cow.)

It's mostly just your generic teen/new school/boy meets girl fare, but definitely a lot of fun to read. If all the other sisters each get a book I'd definitely read all of them! (Even Rhiannon's and she wa my least favourite.)

A lovely story with a very sweet main character. I enjoyed the way the story was written very much. Hope it continues with the stories of the other sisters.

I received a copy from the publisher/author on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Four of a Kind was the story of four identical quadruplets, specifically Reagan, the oldest of their number, and the trials that they face when they move back to the hometown that knows them better than they know it.

It's an intriguing premise. Obviously, there's a lot of drama to work with here. I especially loved reading about the siblings and their parents. I could feel the love and support that they felt for one another, and I definitely understood the teenage girls' frustrations at this pivotal moment in their lives.

However, I didn't feel like there was much of a plot. Rather, it felt like a series of vignettes about Reagan's sophomore year in high school, with very little tying it all together. There was nothing at stake. The few speed bumps hit on the way to the perfect year were resolved quickly, although the author continued to describe them, making this book a lot longer than it needed to be. I also couldn't tell the difference between the four girls' personalities most of the time. I was told that rather than shown it.

I'm rating this book a solid 3 out of 5 stars. While the book's premise was really intriguing to me, the book ultimately fell flat and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

First, I would like to talk about what I did enjoy about the book. I really liked the character of Reagan - I thought she was a great choice for a main character and I believe that her self-professed 'nerdiness' is a concept that a lot of people will enjoy (especially the part about wanting to reorganize her bookshelves!). I think that Kellie Sheridan did a wonderful job with creating distinct personas for each of the four girls and creating interactions that demonstrated typical sibling banter and bickering but also a bond that a lot of people may not understand.

My main issue with this book was the insta-love. It just wasn't realistic to me and to be honest, just made the book difficult to read. As soon as Reagan came out of the car and hadn't even seen Kent's face, she was acting as though she was already in love. While I can understand that most young girls do act this way, it just was to cheesy for me and ultimately made the book a difficult read. While the insta-love was an issue, it was something that I was willing to get over if I felt that the book truly 'accomplished' something but I just felt like I was desperately needing and wanting something that never came. I sincerely wish this series and Kellie Sheridan success but I hope that the next books improve upon what is severely lacking in this novel. Readers need some suspense or some lingering need to never put the book down and I just didn't feel it with this book.

While I am aware that my review may be a bit harsh, I aim to review books in an honest and genuine manner. I think that this novel is best suited towards readers in the 9-12 area rather than those interested in the young adult genre, as I don't think it has what it takes to keep them intrigued. Moreover, I think a younger audience would be more interested in gushy and cute love that instantly happens rather than an older audience.

I sincerely enjoyed the opportunity to read and review a book for you and I hope to have the opportunity to work with you again. I've left my links down below for where I have posted a review online - thank you so much!

I started this book fully prepared to dislike it. Between the cover and the description, it seemed like a lot of Bad Waiting to Happen.

However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Disclaimer: A received a copy for an honest review from NetGalley. Also, this review does contain spoilers.

Yes, there is a little bit that could do to be changed (the quads' R-names really need to be thought; I still can't 100% tell the difference between Reilly and Reece and really, who names a child Reilly?), including the moments when Reagan seems to slip into seeming, well, too much like a narrator. I think that's one of the biggest downsides of the book; occasionally, Reagan will think something that is so incredibly <i>not</i> something a teenager would think about themselves (such as "Curse my teenage hormones!" What teenager says that!?) that it takes you out of the moment entirely and you wonder if you're reading a book about a teenager or a book about a teenager that was clearly written by someone trying very hard to sound like a teenager. It's hard to describe and not entirely the worst thing in the world, but some editing and rewriting would definitely benefit the situation.

There were some errors throughout the book (as an ARC copy, it's understandable), including the frequent switching of our/are. But that can be forgiven.

The one thing I will say is that it felt like the book ended just a little too abruptly. It was quite a short book; I read it in a total of perhaps 4 hours. It felt like towards the middle a lot of random "drama" happened, such as Reece (???) dying her hair and Rhiannon disappearing. Regarding that second incident, I think Reagan's non-anger at Rhiannon was the most disappointing part of the book; talk about being untrue to teenagers! Rhiannon's foolish behavior lead to Reagan having to abandon her first ever date--what a dick move for her sister to pull. Any teenager, or adult, honestly, would be livid, but Reagan was just "too good" for that. There were a few moments like this where the reactions of characters seemed to be just too fake and unrealistic. No one, absolutely no one, reacts to teenagers breaking rules with, "Well maybe we need to readjust the rules." No, if my kid disappeared and turned off her phone, she'd be getting grounded at the very least. But not Rhiannon's parents!

Then, after Rhiannon came back and Reagan got to do a date re-do, the book ends. We get a brief scene where Reagan acts in a play, but that's it. It's a bit anticlimactic; there is no big action that creates tension or changes things. Things seem... the same as when the book started, plus a boyfriend. Maybe Rhiannon's disappearance is meant to be the climax, but it didn't feel like it; Reagan found her within 10 minutes of starting to look, so, you know.

All this being said, it wasn't an entirely unpleasant book to read; I would definitely recommend it as the start of a series to younger readers (I'd say it's definitely written at around 6th or 7th grade level).

an ok re release.