Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it. DNF @ 8%.

While this book was okay, I don't think I can recommend it. It wasn't a fluffy or happy read, which you are warned to, but I just couldn't enjoy. The writing was decent, and this could be someone else's cup of tea, but it just wasn't for me.

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but I just couldn’t. It was awful, and because it was fairly short and easy to read, I did manage to get through it all. I nearly gave up half way through, but I think it got a bit better in the second half so I’m glad I pushed through a finished it.
The premise was decent, it was similar to a lot of classic contemporary that I would enjoy, however there was just something about the way the plot went and the writing that I couldn’t get into. It was described as being not very happy and light, however it was a bit darker than I expected in some aspects, with the hints of homophobia and shaming that were addressed or challenged.
I liked the idea of it being set in the 1980’s and there are a few references to landlines and payphones, however I didn’t find the time to be clear from the start so I often forgot throughout reading it of the setting.
I didn’t find any of the characters to be likable, which can be ok if it’s done well or relevant to the story. I think in this story though, Deacon (and probably Hannah too) were meant to be liked or at least redeemable, however for me I just couldn’t like them. I also think that the supporting characters were very underdeveloped. There were quite a few secondary characters mentioned, Hannah’s parents and sister, Deacon’s parents, Gillian, Taylor, Jade, Toby etc., but I don’t think any of them were well written. They were very much surface characters, and not well developed enough to make you invested in the story or the plot twist relating to Toby.
In terms of the relationship between Deacon and Hannah, it was very much an instalove story. Deacon had never noticed or cared about Hannah, and vice versa except for her mentioning how hot he was multiple times. However, Deacon sold her drugs, watched her be ill afterwards and suddenly was in love with her. I found their relationship (and really the whole plot) to be really unrealistic.
I also didn’t enjoy the writing of the novel. I think it was very basic writing, and the language was very cringey in parts. I thought Deacon’s chapters especially and his dialogue felt very force and unnatural. The multiple perspectives also didn’t work well often. It seemed like it would work best just from Hannah’s POV, and the others seemed placed randomly and flitted between them in a strange way. It was also sometimes unclear who’s POV it was.
I read it fairly quickly, and sometimes enjoy a light read to distract myself, however I wouldn’t recommend it as I didn’t enjoy it overall.

A tad on the dull side. I thought it had so much potential but it lacked in so many ways and I was mostly bored while reading. I didn’t like or really connect to any of the characters. I will say that I did enjoy some of the pop culture references (80s baby right here!).

This book was intense. It was also a solid reminder that you never know someone’s battle simply by looking at their outward appearance.

I enjoyed the idea / plan of the book, the twist at the end personal I already figured it out when it happened. I got confused at some parts I didn't know who was who as it kept changing from different peoples perspective and it sort of put me off reading it but I carried on till the end. Characters where amazing, you got the feel for Hannah's and it made you feel the emotions she went through however it was just the character jumping that annoyed me, some parts where first person some were in third and others where all over the place. A good plan / idea but not well structured.

Hannah has a strained relationship with neglectful and abusive parents and finds herself sucked into a relationship with a drug dealer. The author shows some promise and there are parts of the book that are raw and powerful. However there is a lot of explaining about the characters that feels unpolished and the structure of the book is erratic. I am happy to recommend dark books to young people if that is what they're looking for but this one doesn't quite meet the standard that I would recommend. However, I will keep an eye out for Cumiskey's future books because there is talent there, it just needs to be honed.

I like you like this revolves around one of the most common themes we come across- abuse and drugs. Hannah is constantly criticized by her parents. They make it a point to make her life as miserable as possible. Her father calls her names such as ‘whore’, ‘harlot’ etc and her mother never takes stand for her. Hanna constantly looks for attention and tries to be friends with the popular gang of girls in school. But they don’t care about her either. Among all this chaos, Hannah meets Deacon, the most popular guy- handsome yet shady. Deacon and Hannah come close over the next few days. But Deacon’s life as a drug dealer is causing trouble in paradise. Also, Hannah is struggling to take a stand for herself. Will Deacon save Hannah or will he bail out at the first instance he gets?

A fast-paced book, what stands out is the writing style and the time the author has taken to write every tiny emotional turmoil Hannah goes through. The plot get’s intense sometimes with issues such as bullying, self-harm, drugs and physical and mental abuses. These are a constant part of the plot. This is your average been-there-read-that plot. But the style of writing does stand out.

It’s a captivating and heart-breaking story of a girl who goes through crap just because she doesn’t fit into social norms of the society (that’s what the world thinks anyway).

I wanted to like this one and I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy read and while the authors writing style was easy and very worth the time I just found this to be too heavy. Maybe it had to do with events going on in my life but at points I couldn’t understand the focus on Hannah and Deacon’s relationship when most of the novel seemed to want to be about how Hannah has to go on her own journey and grow as a character. While a good debut I had issues with some of the content and probably won’t read the sequel even if there is one.

I really liked some of this book, but it just felt so scattered, more so the longer the story went on. There were shifts in POV that seemed unnecessary and things that happened which felt out of place and unexplained. Near the end, I just wanted it to be over already because it felt so weird and cobbled together. All this said, Deacon and Hannah are still with me; they got under my skin. I'm really unsure about how to rate this book.

From the very first pages in this book you knew that this one was gonna be messed up and the next couple of chapters just solidified that. But then, it got better, it had so much potential to be one of those books where meeting that one person leads the heroine to work on whatever is wrong and all that jazz.
However and unfortunately, it wasn't one of those books. As the story progressed and you learned more about the heroine and the hero, things just kept getting more messed up, not just with learning their pasts and the history behind their current family situation but also all this bullshit and drama with secondary characters. Their lives were such a mess but still I adored their weird love story that was brewing. I fell in love with a part of Deacon, the sweet guy he was, most of the time, while he was with Hannah. But Deacon was much more complex than that, there were parts of his life that I did not fully get and I seriously don't think they were explained well enough. A lot of background on parts of the story was just not explained or explained well enough, and that ruined the story a little. I need to fully understand what's going on or what happened before and I just did not get that. And what's worst is I was really enjoyed the book despite all the mess that were these kids, I really was.

But then things got so complicated and messy in the plot, it was disappointing. There were parts were there were flashbacks, and then things that were happening in the present and at a certain point, I didn't know if what I was reading was past or present anymore. Maybe that has to do with how the ecopy was edited, because it was a bit messy in itself too. So, if you read this book, I suggest you purchase a physical copy, I feel like it would more clear on what is past and what is present, because they usually state the dates on the beginning of the chapters, and that's where the ecopy failed, because the chapter part was all malformed.

Even the climax in the story was confusing, and that part of the book pissed me off so much, I was about done. I'm glad the book was ending because if it weren't the case I might have not finished it. I was that mad. Like seriously, that was not the direction I was expecting things to go at all.. and then BAM, that was just a freaking trick. And DAMN IT, that needed to have been explained in great detail okay, you don't just do something like that in a book without explaining it. That seriously sucked!
If this book is supposed to be a standalone, and there's no second part where shit is explained, then I seriously don't even know what to think! I just feel like the story was left very incomplete, and that not only Hannah but myself and every one who reads this book deserved better. I'm so pissed, this story had so much potential, so much and it just did not live up to it, at all. It deserved better. It really did.

Due to the sensitive subject matters in this book, I recommend it to Highschool age and older, those with the emotional maturity to deal with tough subjects!



I Like You Like This

A Novel

by Heather Cumiskey

She Writes Press

Teens & YA

Pub Date 07 Nov 2017

I am reviewing a copy of I Like You Like This through She Writes Press and Netgalley:

It’s 1984 Connecticut and sixteen year old Hannah Zandana feels cursed. Her hair is wild and controllable, her complexion is bad, and she constantly picks at her face. Her parents do not help, they are constantly belittling her, and shaming her.

In an attempt to impress the popular girls and perhaps change her life Hannah takes LSD. She does not impress the girls but gets the attention of Deacon, a mysterious young boy who happens to be the schools drug dealer. Hannah soon founds her life taking a turn into Deacon’s dangerous world of drugs, druggies and dealers. Soon though her relationship with her family comes farther apart and she finds herself having to re-examine what she believes about herself and her family.

Will Hannah be able to save her family, and herself, find out in I Like You Like This.

I give this book five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

I quite enjoyed this book - there were a bit of issues with transitioning into different mindsets - I prefer when each person is either labelled or there is a space to show there is another person talking, so I had a bit of a problem following along in a few parts, but since most of the book is Hannah it was not a huge issue.

I read an arc of this book, I saw the description and it immediately spoke to me - being a self conscious acne riddled (adult mind you) I was like, hey first hook line and sinker. Hannah's family life is pretty awful for her, she tries to escape I think using Deacon, their time together was actually quite amazing to read. You get those fluffy romances most YA books have and this was different. I thought it was great.

Onto the ending - if I don't get a book 2, or a novella, or SOMETHING I'm going to be very upset, you can't do that to me! You just cant! I'd totally read this book again, and I would recommend it (to certain members of my family/friends, as I know some people wouldn't be interested in the content there's a lot of drug talk, etc.)

I did not like I LIKE YOU LIKE THIS.

Cumiskey's debut sorta warns the reader this isn't going to be a fluffy happy read but nonetheless I was not prepared for how painful, awful, and unlikeable the characters, circumstances, and plot would be. The book opens up with one of the countless verbally abusive and neglectful moments the protagonist suffers at the hands of her parents. For really no reason that I felt actually explained their behaviour. Shortly thereafter we're introduced to a group of typically vicious mean girls. There's also a drug dealing love interest who comes out of nowhere and is hot and cold, forceful, and obsessed with Hannah -- a girl with big hair, bad skin, and who hates herself -- for no apparent reason. And then, after pushing through abrupt, confusing, and poorly transitioned scenes and moments, we're left with an ending that not only left me cold but also seriously confused. There's also the fact that the author made a point to set this in the eighties, with a few references to that decade, but for no reason that seems relevant. But that's also how I kind of felt about this whole read. I just didn't get the point.

I cannot recommend this story and I will not read the sequel (if there is one).

I Like You Like This by Heather Cumiskey

Well, I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s fast paced, powerful and packed with emotion.
Starting at the beginning, I was glad that there wasn’t any wishy washy first few chapters. We jump right in to the story on the first page which is definitely a welcome change from a lot of other books. The writing was good and it flowed all the way through, I never felt the need to stop reading and pick up at a later point. It took me maybe two or three days to finish the whole book.
The book is set in 1984 and even though I feel like all of the details are probably accurate to that time, there’s something about books set around this time that I just don’t engage as much with. I think this is just my personal taste so don’t let it put you off! This is possibly because it’s hard to relate to a young adult text that is set so long ago.
The plot itself is original and it’s something new that I haven’t read before. There is a lot of strong language and mature themes, so it really isn’t for younger readers but I think that it is definitely a powerful read for older readers.
The main character is Hannah, who struggles with an array of emotional issues throughout the book. For the most part, I liked her character as she was complex and a fairly realistic representation of a teenage girl. The thing that I didn’t like about Hannah was that she was in constant need of approval from the group of girls, but I feel like this is a realistic flaw so it’s just something that I had to quietly be annoyed about. It wasn’t bad writing, it just wasn’t a perfect character which I could not be more happy about (thumbs down to perfect teenage characters)!
I liked how we got to see inside the head of more than one character because I did think that it was especially helpful in this case to get that extra information when Hannah was a rather unreliable narrator.
I did grow to like Deacon, especially when he was being romantic and sweet and it was unfortunate that I felt we lost some of his character towards the end. I think that the end happened quite fast so looking at it now, it feels a little rushed but I don’t think that it actually was and if it was any slower, it would’ve been too dragged out.
The romance between Deacon and Hannah is something that I really enjoyed, and I won’t give too much away but I will say that there are some explicit details, and that there will be points when you are holding your breath in anticipation.
When I was reading the book, I didn’t think as much of it as I did after I finished it because I think that after the whole thing sunk in, it left a deeper meaning.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and She Writes Press for providing the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 STARS

If you enjoyed this book, I would highly recommend ‘Eleanor and Park’ by Rainbow Rowell.

I Like You Like This by Heather Cumiskey

Oh my goodness!!! I absolutely couldn’t put this book down! I can’t wait till the next book comes out! I’m still thrown about Hannah’s flashbacks when she used there is so many questions left there! I loved hers and Deacon relationship I can’t wait to see how he finds his way back to her!!! 5 Stars!!!

Release Date: November 7, 2017
Thanks to She Writes Press for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Note: This review contains spoilers.

Heather Cumiskey’s debut novel I Like You Like This is an honest tale of finding a way out of the dark not by following the light at the end of the tunnel but by being the light itself.

It’s 1984. Hannah Zandana grew up scorned and ridiculed by her parents and schoolmates for her physical appearance. She had big, wild hair and acne on her face that made people twitch their nose in disgust. Hannah longed to have friends, to be appreciated. She wanted so bad to belong that she covered her face in makeup and bought the nicest clothes. She even hung out with fake friends. Hannah was too hard on herself, which caused her to suffer anxiety.

Deacon Giroux was rich and handsome. He had everything but lacked the most important thing in his life: the love and warmth that his parents should have cocooned him. Alone, like Hannah, he had his own way of coping up with what he didn’t have by selling drugs. With this he felt powerful. It consumed him as he fed on it.

During one of her missions to fit in, Hannah decided to buy drugs from Deacon to impress her so-called friends. From then on, everything changed for the two of them. The good blurred with the bad as night kissed day at twilight.

The characters and their situations were very relatable to me. I believe that at some point in our younger years, we’ve all been through Hannah and Deacon’s struggles in trying to find our own place. We were puzzle pieces turning left and right, wondering where we belonged best.

I know for a fact that a number of youths have struggled with parental issues. We’ve all been drowned by neglect and strangled by our efforts of trying to get their attention. To be honest, this book opened up some of the seams that I’m still trying to mend in myself and it was a bit difficult for me to read through Hannah’s experiences. I’ve been there and it was as if I was looking at myself.

I believe this book is more suitable to mature YA readers due to its sexual content. The scenes weren’t explicitly detailed, but it would still be best to read this cautiously and at your own risk.

Related to that, I would like to discuss a particular scene wherein Deacon forced himself on Hannah and she was afraid of him, but then his parents arrived and interrupted the act. I think a lot of people would be repulsed by that; I was too. But after thinking about that scene and analyzing it, what I think the author wanted to show was Deacon’s desperation, his craving of feeling her and this overwhelming urge in him that shouted she understood him and accepted him. I think it was him opening up to Hannah in his own, but undeniably frightening, way. That scene was actually pretty messed up and says a lot about consent. I’m not sure what could’ve happened if his parents didn’t arrive. Would Hannah have had said no or would she have let him get his way with her?

The ending was something I was half-expecting but I am very excited if there would ever be a sequel, since there are no announcements about one yet.

This is a very promising debut and I would surely read the author’s future books. Highly recommended!

This book touted itself as being for fans of <i>Thirteen Reasons Why</i>, so I went in immediately with preconceived notions (of my own doing) as to what this book would be about content wise. It really wasn't much like Jay Asher's book at all, which is ultimately a good thing. It had it's own ups and downs, it's times to shine, and it's pitfalls.

My main complaint is that our main character, Hannah, rarely gets her time to really shine and overcome her myriad issues. I understood that her relationship with Deacon was making her change and evolve, but we only really see this once or twice and it's only when she asserts herself against the mean girls. I also felt a little let down in the way her family situation evolved and how we got the answers about why they were the way they were. The same goes for Deacon's backstory: it came sort of strangely late in the game.

That said, I really enjoyed Cumiskey's writing style. It flowed nicely, and there is so much promise to be found there. She also has interesting ideas and ways to move the plot forward so it doesn't lag. I just wish some things had been given more attention or had been done in a different way. I think this author is very much worth trying though, and I look forward to her future work!

Hannah's home life stinks. Her school life also stinks. She thinks maybe a talk with the local dealer and then a party with a small group of girls she badly wants to be friends with will help. Deacon, a senior and the local dealer, has problems as well. Deacon's home life stinks too. When these 2 lives intertwine, secrets get revealed. People get hurt. This book invokes so many feelings, sadness, anger, it's an emotional roller coaster. Well written. Well worth 5 stars. Well worth reading.

I loved the main character Heather and her relationship with her family rang true. However the love story didn't really keep my interest and the 80s setting wasn't really fleshed out, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was the 80s when things didn't otherwise make sense. I hope Heather will get a more involving story in the sequel because she has potential.