I didn't read the first book in the series, but that didn't really impact my understanding of this book.

That being said, it is a traditional YA drama, but I quickly read it all the way through. It did keep me interested

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

For Em Katsaros, she wants to go to college and study drama, but following her father losing his job, and the fact her mam has tenure at a local university, she's struggling to convince them to let her go to the college of her dreams. However, when she wins State for a speech writing competition, and is sent to the US Youth Change Council national round, she just might be in with a chance of gaining a scholarship, and proving she can get what she wants. But, the other candidate for New Jersey just happens to be her nemesis, Kris Lambert, and her week in Boston soon turns into a battle. But, for all the arrogance and annoyance Kris has at home, he's different in Boston - he's kind, and caring, and just might be flirting? Can Em get over the breakup from her long distance boyfriend, and focus on the competition, or will her warring feelings over Kris ruin it all?

When I read the first book in the series, Bookishly Ever After, way back in 2016, I absolutely loved it! I was approved for both the sequels, but because of events in real life, I never got around to reading them - until Covid hit, and I had a lot more free time on my hands. Book 2 follows Em and Kris, secondary characters in BEA, as they spend most of the book in Boston, at the competition. They were characters who you immediately liked, though there's only one pov (Em's). I will admit, I have next to no interest in speech writing, or competitions like this, but being a history graduate, I loved all the inclusion of historical aspects to the story. Both of the main characters had a really good chemistry with each other, and I enjoyed reading their story. They also had a lot of good friends, both at home and those they made in Boston, which helped to create the story as more than just two people getting over their differences and falling in love. One thing that really annoyed me, though, was Em's obsession or reaction over her 'relationship' with Wil. I can't really remember much about them from book 1, but when you're in New Jersey, and he's in Germany, and doesn't speak very good English, you're relationship's not going to go far. Especially as a teenager. I completely understood why he wasn't as into the relationship as she was, and even though she's the one who said that after the fight they were done for good, she still bombarded him with emails, messages, liking his photos, etc. Just accept it's over, and move on! However, once I got over that, I did enjoy the book, and will be starting Practically Ever After very soon.

This is a typical fun cutesy high school read. With lots of literary throws. Just an easy and feel good read.

I had wanted to give this a series another try after reading the first book, but unfortunately wasn't able to get into this sequel either. I think others will love the cuteness of the series, though! Just not for me.

This book is super cute! I adore the characters! Both are amazing. Em is smart and confident while Kris is very charming. There are so many trivia in this book and I didn’t expect to love this one! Plot development is ok. Character development is good. Setting is good. This is a quick and light read that I enjoyed this year!

While Bookishly Ever After was all about bookish Phoebe, Dramatically Ever After is all about the drama. And oh wow, is there drama. Em is a major drama queen, and since I've never been a fan of drama... Bookishly Ever After was more my speed. Em is cute and her enemies-to-lovers romance was cute. It was fluffy and predictable and sweet. Definitely something to recommend to someone looking for a fun escape!

Once upon a time, a read a book called Bookishly Ever After and it was really really cute. I really liked it. Gah! Then, I saw that it had a sequel called Dramatically Ever After. It was okay, though. A little bit cute but quite predictable. It might’ve contained a few setbacks for me during the entire story but it did get the ending it deserves.

Overall, three stars for Kris and Em!

What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

This is the second book in the Ever After series but since I got approved on NetGalley for this one last, I actually read this series out of order. However, all these books are pretty good at standing alone and I didn’t feel like I had to reread them in order to get the enjoyment out of them.

Em is the flirty, dramatic woman in the trio. She loves acting more than anything, she is a chatty extrovert and she doesn’t like Kris Lambert. Unfortunately, both of them were finalists in a speech competition and are the only two people from their school who are going on a trip to Boston. Em decides to take the chance to flirt with Kris and get him off his game for the competition and unsurprisingly, this does not go well for her.

I did enjoy this book. I love Isabel Bandeira’s writing style. The details of the characters and the surroundings just make her writing delightful for me, especially for contemporaries.

Em was a fun character and I love seeing how she dealt with making new friends, dealing with Kris behaving differently to what she had expected and stepping out of her comfort zone. I have previously really liked Em in the other two books so I was delighted to get a glimpse into her head. It was really interesting to see her being really confident in some things, like interacting with new people and acting, but also suffering a crisis of confidence when there is something she isn’t as good at, or doesn’t have as much experience being good at. When her mentor tore her speech apart, I was very sympathetic with her and I’m glad her friends were very much ‘stop being dramatic and actually listen to what is being said’. I do wish she had more of a character arc or more focus on the arc she had. Either reflecting on stepping out of her comfort zone, or her realising that maybe she didn’t need to make things ten times more dramatic than they had to be.

Kris came across as very sweet, though you could see how Em got the wrong end of the stick with him. I liked seeing their gradually building romance as they explored Boston (and I really liked seeing their interests being discussed, as well as their own relationship and how they approach disagreements). The resolution of the conflict (Em fake flirting with Kris to keep him off his competition) was resolved in an unexpected way and I liked seeing how they ended up together. I also enjoyed how Wil and Em were resolved, though I think it was a bit of a cop-out at times.

However, I did not like this book as much as the third in the series. It was a few minor reasons which added up in the end; I found Em was very similar at the end of the book that she was at the start of the book, I found the subplot with her parents was resolved at the end of the book without any attention paid to it, it felt like it was being resolved because they couldn’t leave it hanging, and I wish Em had learned more about listening to other people, rather than assuming the worst.

I enjoyed this but I definitely didn’t fly through it like I did the third book.

4 stars!

Bookishly Ever After is still my favorite of the trio. But I also liked this one in ways I didn't anticipate. At first I was bummed because I thought the book was going to be about theatre kids. But I loved the way it focused on debates and topics that aren't in a lot of YA books, and gave teens scholarship advice. I also love the hate to love romance, because that's my favorite kind!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy.

I did not connect with the writing style/plot and decided to put it down.

This series is so great i thought that the next book would be about the same characters which it is but one of those characters get to step up and rest play along. The title fits perfectly with the main character who is a drama geek. There was just the right amount of swooning going on and i was rooting for kris the whole way through. I was not sure i would love this series but it growing on me and i am excited to see what transpires in the final book.

How can I not love this book? It was a cute, light-hearted and a quick reading that from the beginning of my read has me hooked and can you believe me that I read this in just one sitting? I love this book so much and I could not put the book down, I mean my phone down. I have to bring it anywhere just so I could let myself immerse with the story.

I admire Em's confidence. How I wish I could be as confident as she is. As the title has said, Em's definitely dramatic in whatever situation she is in but I find it adorable not annoyed at all. Anyway, I love her character.

Yes yes, the romance in this book has me giddy all the way. I can help but smile when I read the book. It is honestly adorable, cute reading I ever read. It feels like my heart has been watered and blossom to a beautiful flower. I sound so ridiculous now but that's what I felt.

All in all, it is a cute contemporary and very entertaining to read.

I am so sorry that I never read and reviewed this. I have sadly lost interest, but thank you for the chance.

I was hesitant to start this book as when I requested I was not aware that it is in fact the second book in the series. I was afraid I would be completely lost and unable to really get into the story but honestly I was never lost and actually really enjoy the authors writing style. The story and the characters are quite endearing and I could not put it down- makes me wonder how I would feel about book 1!

The book felt overly cliched and I did not like it as much as the first book. There was a fresh look at theatre but it took me long time to finish the book.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Again another YA contemporary. It was alright, nothing to write home about.
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fun companion to Bookishly Ever After! I personally enjoyed the other book better, but I still liked this one. I hope that we get another book in this great series!

This a good book for teens looking for an enjoyable series. I am not in the target age group, so I did not enjoy this book as much as for those who it may be intended to read. It was well written, but the characters were what stopped me from reading. They seemed to dramatic and unrealistic. I get the book is supposed to be partially about everything being ideal and perfect, but that was what stopped from reading.