Again, but Better by Christine Riccio reads like a fanfiction. Ridiculous names, no character motivations, the main character reads as if they're a freshmen in highschool not in college.

What if you could go back and relive your life? What would you change? Shane and Pilot get to find out in this new YA book.

Prior to reading, I had no idea that the author was a YouTuber. I am not familiar with her work but from other reviews, I gleaned that this novel was heavily inspired by her own life (without the time travel part, I’m guessing!).

Overall I enjoyed this book and looked forward to reading it. There were some things that irked me (which I’ll address below) but it was a fun and easy read, dealing with themes like leaving home, following dreams, and finding love.

Things I liked:
- references to early 2000s music (though some of the lyrics were wrong, hope they’ll be corrected!)
- Shane’s focus on herself and her own goals in the second go-around
- the chemistry between Shane and Pilot

Things I didn’t like:
- the sudden and random way that time-travel was introduced
- the lack of development in the secondary characters, particularly Babe, and Shane’s parents
- making Amy into a villain
- unrealistic depiction of students being able to afford to eat out and travel all the time
- lack of development of Shane’s backstory

***I received an Arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***
Dnf at 32%

2 stars

Welp, that was disappointing. Again, But Better is popular booktuber Christine Riccio, AKA PolandbannansBOOKS on YouTube this is her highly anticipated debut novel.

Summary from Goodreads

Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal -- but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that?

Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change -- there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure!

Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart.

Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic - the possibilities are endless.

Things I Liked:
There honestly wasn't anything that I really liked or enjoyed, specifically about Again, but better.
I liked how the characters had really unique names.
Some of the dialogue was funny and quirky

Things I didn't Like:
Dialogue was super cheesy and basic.
I felt like there was a lot of filler stuff, like really long descriptions or just parts that really weren't necessary. Like the journal entries or the postcards.
In the 32% of the book that I read, which I know isn't a lot, but it was enough for me to see where the book was going. It was really boring and nothing was really happening.
I feel like other than this story being set in London there wasn't anything special or really original about his book that set it apart from other YA contemporary romance out there, to me this was just a very typical ya romance.

Overall
I felt that this book was really over hyped and boring. I was personally really, really excited to read Again, but, Better as I watch a lot of Christine's videos and have been following her writing journey for quite sometime. However, Again, but Better just really wasn't for me. But I can definitely see other people reading this and loving it. Once again HUGE thanks to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Again, but Better comes out May 7!!

I went into this book not knowing anything about the author. I found the cover and description intriguing but was unable to finish the book. It's just... not good. I'd rather not get into my reasons for not liking it because I don't want this to turn into a bash-fest on this first-time author.

My initial struggles with this book were with the writing. This writing put you right in the moment, from the dialogue, to the music playing and the emotions felt in a very dry way. I think it was also hard as Shane (MC) was really struggling to find herself and it was uncomfortable to read.

BUT THEN. Plot twist ! Let's just say now I understand why it was written the way it was written. It still felt frustrating for almost half the book though.

Christine must be a very nostalgic person, because this idea of re-playing things in your head to make it better is very heartfelt. You know she speaks from experience has she pinpoints with exactitude all the feels. It's something I used to do a lot (dwell on the past) so this was kind of a dream story.

I've got one major issue with the book though : the romance ! & Most of the book surrounds it. The characters had a great complicity, but it doesn't change the fact that this guy can be such a jerk/coward. If you're really meant together maybe it shouldn't be THAT HARD.

Also, if I were to change one thing, I'd give more attention to Shane friendship with Babe at the beginning. We're told they're friends, not shown, which makes it a bit hard to believe, until very father on the story when they finally get a bit more quality time together.

To conclude, this isn't my type of book at all but I really wanted to read Christine debut and I'm glad I did. I had a lot of fun (and shoutout to that LOST love).

So the premise of this book - essentially a re-do of an important part of the main character's life once she's a little older and wiser - is something that really appealed to me. I think about the same thing all the time, and reckon a lot of other people could relate. However, the delivery is a bit shaky.

There is so much in this book the appeals to me, personally; the teen aspect, the travel aspect, even the time travel. However, there are so many clichés -- clumsy heroine who wants to become a writer, attractive musician love-interest, overbearing one-dimensional parents, stylish best friend. The characters don't seem to go any deeper than that.

DNF at 10%. I intended to at least get 25% in before DNF’ing, but why force myself when I knew I wouldn’t finish no matter what? This was absolutely painful to read. I love Christine’s book talk videos, and I was hopeful to enjoy her actual book, but it reads like an inexperienced and immature ten year old wrote it. The dialogue is some of the worst I’ve ever read, and from what other reviewers are saying, it doesn’t get any better in the remaining 90%. The cover is pretty, and I’m sure it’ll be an instant bestseller, but this one is not good, guys. It’s straight up bad! But if you end up liking it, I’m glad someone does! 1/5 stars.

Unfortunately, I won't be finishing this book. The premise had so much promise, and I was really excited to read it (I don't follow Riccio's YouTube channel; I just stumbled across the book here on NetGalley). But the main character is just too much for me. So many exclamation marks, so much excitement about every little thing, even the incredibly overdone "I'm so clumsy" heroine thing... I could feel myself getting anxious as I read. Yet the other characters find this charming instead of too over-the-top. It strained belief that a character who allegedly has such a hard time making friends back home would move to London and immediately be the centre of a tight-knit group of friends.

Also, although this is set in 2011, there are some clear anachronisms that took me right out of the story. (Was Netflix a streaming service in 2011, or still sending out DVDs by mail? Plus mention of other things like Spotify, anachronistic slang terms, etc.)

This book was such a delight to read. I know that people are hesitant to read books by booktubers, and while I haven't read any of the others, I can say that this book actually seems thought out. This book had a plan, had a good editor, and has good writing as well as great characters. I'd like to add on, that while I have watched her Channel, I am not an avid viewer, all thoughts an opinions are based solely on the content of the book.

There isn't much I can relate to when it comes to Shane, but I can relate to her social awkwardness. More than once early on I got some second-hand embarrassment from how awkward she was, so I get it. But didn't really matter that was all I could relate to. I could still sympathize with her and how her family treated her.

This was a really cute book, but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. There were some actual things that weren't just angst, there was some mild romance-y drama between Shane and Pilot (the romantic interest), but it never got that dramatic.

I like how when she finally comes into her own, she tries to fix more than her romantic life, she makes changes with her family and finally tells them how she feels instead of letting herself be unhappy for their happiness. It was, and is, an important lesson to learn.

I can't wait for the rest of the world to read this book.

A delightful story I love Shane she is so amazingly awkward she reminds me so much of myself this is one of my new favorites

I really enjoyed the book. I read it a couple months back and forgot to post my review so this isn’t very detailed but I really enjoyed the book.

I just want to give a huge thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and St. Martin's Press for providing me an advanced copy of Again, but Better in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I have been following the author, Christine Riccio's, writing journey via her YouTube channel, so this book has been on my radar for quite some time now. I'm so happy to be writing this review!

I finished Again, but Better in about two days. I knew going in that I held some biases. (I've been a subscriber to the author's YouTube channel for awhile, so I went into it wanting to love it.) After flying through it, I tried to take a few days to gather my thoughts. So, without further ado...

Again, but Better is a coming-of-age young adult contemporary. We follow our main character, Shane, as she embarks on her "second chance." She is disappointed in her college experience (no friends, no experiences, no boys) and she's tired of being the person her parents want her to be, instead of who she really is. So, she wants to go abroad and do it (college) again, but better.

spoiler free: First, I want to talk about some of the things I loved about Again, but Better. I thought the cover art and the title of the book were absolutely perfect. After reading the book, I have an even better appreciation for how well they tie into the story.

I loved that this story had an original "twist" that set it apart from other contemporaries. At first, I thought Again, but Better was going to be very, very similar to Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss. While the two books certainly share similarities and exist within the same genre, Again, but Better stands apart. It had a "magical" element that really brought the book a uniqueness in its second half.

I also loved the overall message and theme of the book - doing it "again, but better." I don't want to go into more detail without spoiling it. (See spoilers below if you want to hear my full thoughts).

The reason why I didn't full out love this one is because I had some issues with the characterization. Again, perhaps my bias is showing because I have been following Christine Riccio for quite some time, but I had a difficult time separating the author from the main character. There were a lot of similarities between the two. Some I could overlook, but others were so glaringly obvious (Shane's blog name etc.) that I found it did pull me out of the story a little. I hardly ever read something and find I am reading the author instead of the main character/narrator. Here, it was a bit more blurry. But, perhaps people who don't follow the author as closely may not have this problem.

Also, some of the characters didn't feel as "full" to me. There were several secondary characters, but they felt out of place in the story. I just didn't feel very connected to them. I was easily the most invested in Shane and then Pilot. But, even Pilot I felt I didn't know on a deep emotional level. I felt like I had only really gotten to see the surface of his character. For me to go full on swoon for a couple, I have to be able to see them connect on a deeper level and that was missing a bit here for me.

Overall, I give Again, but Better a 4/5. I really did like this one, but there were some minor issues for me that held me back from full on loving it. Overall, though, it was a great coming-of-age story. It's set abroad, which is exciting in and of itself. The twist here truly made the book for me.

Again, but Better is Christine Riccio's debut novel. It's a young adult contemporary, and it releases on May 9, 2019. It's available for pre-order now.

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spoiler's ahead: So my favorite part of Again, but Better was the overall theme. At first, I thought the title tied in to Shane "doing it (college) again, but better" as she set off to study abroad. However, once I got to the twist I thought ohhh so now she's actually doing it (her study abroad experience) again, but better. While the second time around Shane made some changes and things ended up better, she lost sight of herself and some of her personal goals. I loved how she was unable to give up at this point and the "magic" was gone. For me, this is where I related to the book the most. Instead of magic-ing herself back/forward in time and giving up - Shane was forced to try and "do it again, but better" in the present, without any magic. She ended up changing her perspective, attitude, and work ethic. She ended up with better and stronger friendships, a strong job outlook, and eventually - love. So, I loved the three "doing it again" instances. I loved the message that it's never too late to try and "do it again, but better." You may not have magic, but you don't need it. You just need to be brave enough to make a change.

Again, I just wish that Shane felt a little more separate from the author. Shane's book references, favorite bands/songs, career goals, blog name - it all felt like it was the author. (And it, in fact, kind is the author.) It wasn't a huge issue for me, I just wish that Shane felt like she could stand apart from the author. The blog name was really when I just had to side-eye a bit. We already know Christine is the author! Perhaps if the blog name was the only nod, it would have been a nice reference. But packed in among all of other other similarities - it just felt too much.

I also wish that I had seen a bit more of Pilot. I felt like I knew him on the surface (his general likes and dislikes, his career goals), but I didn't know him emotionally. His parents divorce was briefly mentioned in the second half, but I felt like I didn't really get a deep emotional connection from that conversation. Also, Babe, Atticus, and Sahra - I just needed more from them. I know the book only has so much space, but they felt so two-dimensional. I honestly think that Sahra's character could have been eliminated entirely and the story wouldn't have changed very much.

Overall, though I really did like Again, but Better. I'm recommending it to y'all that love and enjoy coming-of-age stories and YA contemporaries. It's a fun read and the twist really made the story for me.

Let me know what y'all think of this one when you read it!

Blog link to full review: https://whimsicalandwitty.com/2019/02/25/againbutbetter/. This review will also be posted on my socials, amazon, goodreads etc. closer to publication.

Something of a disappointing mix of Love and Gelato and The Future of Us. I had so many minor quibbles that they turned into a bit of a negative view of the book as a whole.
- That Shane, who apparently made absolutely no friends in two years of college, is able to overcome her anxiety and make a great group of friends and attract a cute boy within days,
- Many of the names seemed off for the characters, both their hipster sensibility for people meant to be born in the early nineties, and the ways that they went against the backgrounds describes. An apparently Jewish boy named Pilot? A girl named Shane from an Italian Catholic family the traditionalism of which is a plot point? Especially notable in light of the brief explanation of Babe's name/nickname.
- It's something of a cliche for a female main character to identify herself as super awkward while obviously exaggerating and in fact being charming though she can't see it. Shane somewhat falls into this category, but the things that the other characters seem to find delightful - clumsily knocking over sauce jars in the supermarket, exclaiming over everything - just struck me as over the top.
- That nearly all of the things Shane is interested in - Harry Potter, Lost, The Da Vinci Code - are among the most popular media in the world, but it's treated like she's the first one ever to discover or like them. Pilot's incredibly dramatic reaction to the idea that she likes The Beatles had me staring at the page wondering if he was making fun of her.
- IT'S 2011 REMEMBER IT'S 2011!!!!! The poor integration of reminders of the slight back in time element (Angry Birds, "a program called Spotify") really stuck out.
- What I considered the most interesting piece of the narrative, Shane's father's clear anger issues, were barely touched on, and were wrapped up in the epilogue with a patness that belied his explosions in the restaurant in both timelines and the seemingly devastating conflict they brought for Shane.
- The cheesiness level was up to a thousand toward the end with the mini Taylor Swift serenade and the "we've both become incredibly successful in our chosen fields" walk down memory proposal, but it didn't feel earned. Even Shane and Pilot, the characters who got the most attention within the book, didn't feel real, and I didn't connect with their romance particularly. (Amy comes off as particularly paper thin and vilified, but even Atticus seems to barely exist on the page.)
- No explanation for the mechanism of the time travel premise. There's some random fairy godmother type, a magic locket, and apparently these are the two that deserve this treatment.
- The pacing felt incredibly off, somehow both achingly slow and bogged down with all the details of the various trips, games, and interactions (remember the guy who Shane felt forced to give her number to that ended up going absolutely nowhere?) and incredibly rushed, with great chunks of time being montaged through. And I am really not sure that the time travel concept was fully taken advantage of: what was the point of being led through what was sometimes a day by day recap of the semester when upon returning to the same period, only sporadic incidents were revisited or had any changes made to them at all?

Honestly, I think you can give this one a miss. Look to Anna and the French Kiss for a better American girl abroad story, and to Fangirl for a more realistic and thorough look at a nerdy, anxious girl going to college - and both of them with better slow burn romances and resolutions of the "but he has a girlfriend" issue.

I received an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

This is such a sweet story of second chances. Shane decides to travel aboard for a semester of school to entertain her interest in creative writing. She meets some wonderful people, and gets to take a break from the premed track that her parents have forced upon her. I found myself rooting for her and was excited to see where this all would lead.

Oh man. Wow. I have watched Christine on YouTube for years, and I really expected to like this book. I was SO excited that I got approved for an ARC. I am genuinely surprised this book is the way it is. And I’m honestly still debating bumping it down to one star.

I don’t want to totally dump all over the book, because it wasn’t a complete train wreck or anything. It did make me feel things, the premise was somewhat imaginative, and I think there is potential there. I just don’t think this would have been published if it was submitted by someone who didn’t already have a brand and huge online following. I hate to say that, because it sounds so snotty and cliche. But in this case, it’s just the truth. This reads like something you’d see on Wattpad or a self published ebook with a clipart cover on Amazon. Actually, I’ve read better on Wattpad to be honest…

This was genuinely difficult for me to read and enjoy because it was so painfully, glaringly autobiographical. I felt so uncomfortable the whole time because it felt like reading someone’s diary. Maybe none of this stuff actually happened in Christine’s life (I mean, some of it definitely did-study abroad, etc.) but Shane was so obviously Christine it was jarring. The hair, the clothes, the computer, the book recs, the mannerisms, the pushing YouTube as a self promotion platform. Even the pasta/sauce thing….it was just…a lot.

On top of my weird squirmy feelings of basically reading about the author as the main character, Shane was dealing with some social anxiety or just general anxiety issues that made her head a chaotic, unnerving place to be. When I said this book made me feel things I meant that nervous jittery energy was just pouring off every page, a whole novel full of second hand embarrassment. I was so stressed and uncomfortable while reading it I really wanted to stop. But I also just wanted to finish it and be done. I was interesting enough to want to find out how everything turned out, but just barely. I was tempted to give up many times, especially toward the end after they started over. I was super not interested in watching them relive their internship again.

I had a hard time relating to or connecting with any of the characters. This was a lot like listening to a friend’s stories about studying abroad…or reading their diary. I get who everyone was, but I don’t actually see or care about them as characters. They’re just passing players in a story who I will never know or care about. Pilot included. Although since we got to know him very slightly better, I did have some additional thoughts on him. Mainly that he’s an incredible jerk and WAY not worth all this angst. He didn’t redeem himself in my eyes at all. Both Shane and Pilot seemed incredibly immature and self absorbed. And what 24 year old, 26 year old? I forget how old they were when they went back, doesn’t know how to balance an incredibly easy internship and a relationship? Not only doesn’t know how to do it, but literally thinks it can’t be done until someone tells her they are actually able to hold down a job and be married at the same time. Just…what…? I understand there is a time of distraction at the beginning of relationships where you may forget things or re-prioritze, but people can usually find their footing. It was so ridiculous that she hunted him down in New York, ended up going back in time to be with him, and then had one bad day and decided that was it. Done. And whenever Shane was done with Pilot he completely fell off her radar like a baby who knocks a block off a table and thinks the block no longer exists because the baby can’t see it. But if she randomly shows back up in Pilot’s life he’s supposed to drop everything and reveal he’s been secretly pining for her all along? Just so, so weirdly immature and selfish. Especially for people in their 20s. Shane, especially, manipulated everyone and every circumstance based on how she was feeling at the moment. And scarily didn’t seem to realize she was even doing it. When Pilot wanted to go back to 2017, she convinced him to stay but when she was ready to go back she literally didn’t even talk to him about it at all. So yeah, Pilot and his cheating and leading people on was also horrible and I didn’t like him at all, but maybe they deserved each other after all. Also, how do you ever trust someone who will be with you while they’re with someone else? So he dumps his girlfriend for you, great. What happens when you’re the girlfriend and he meets someone else?

ANYWAY, writing wise, this ARC wasn’t cleaned up quite as much as I’m used to, so I don’t know how much they’ll fix in editing. But most of the transitions were very abrupt and jarring. To the point where I’d have to take a minute to figure out where we were and what we were talking about now because last paragraph was Shane and Pilot alone in their hotel room and now we’re in downtown Paris with completely different people. Or something similar. The names were trying way too hard to be unique and they were cringey. Like embarrassing to say even in my head, cringey. Pilot?? BABE??? And I don’t know if Primaveri is a real last name, but I kept wanting to say Primavera. I did really crave Italian food after reading this book. The writing overall just seemed very amateur and unpolished, and not very well thought out. The magical element was not well integrated into the story or well explained so it felt very jarring and even more unrealistic than it actually was. And, although this seems nitpicky, I had a really big problem with being the top her class in medical school being like Shane’s “safety”, her fall back. The thing she did just because her parents wanted her to and it was no big deal. You very successfully complete 6 years of med school and get engaged somehow without having ANY feelings about it at all? How? How could you make it through that much work without having any passion or interest or drive for it whatsoever? It just seemed completely ridiculous to me.

So…two stars. I’m giving it more than one star because it did make me feel things. Although those feelings were anxious and annoyed, I was still moved in some way. And I did read it pretty quickly and want to finish it. Even if it was because I just couldn’t look away. I didn’t want to tear this book down. I’ve been watching writing updates on it for like the last year and anticipating it. But I also don’t want to lie and say it’s great when it’s not.

This book was so gosh darn cute! I was grinning like a complete idiot the entire time I was reading!
If you don't know Christine, she does book-related videos on YouTube. In fact, she's the biggest 'booktuber' there is. Her videos are fun and creative and I love her book reviews. I've been watching her videos for years now, to the point that I've observed some of her quirks and habits and know the references she constantly uses. Any avid watcher of her videos would certainly notice her love of Lost, and Harry Potter, and Dan Brown books. They would know the weird story as to why her channel name is PolandBananas20 (Shane's channel is FrenchWatermelon19). They would feel, at least for the first part of the book, that the main character Shane, is no character at all, instead, she's a fictionalized version of the author.

While reading the book I was constantly taken out of the story by just how 'Christine' Shane was. They share the same mannerisms and passions and habits. It was strange. That said, the more we get into the story, the more that Shane separates from Christine and becomes her own person and I really enjoyed seeing that character come into herself.

The book is told in two parts, the firsts taking place in 2011, the second taking place in 2017. The 2011 part was trying way too hard to prove it was 2011. From referencing all the popular books of 2011, to Angry Birds, to naming all the songs that were playing back then, it was a lot! Still, I can't even deny I kinda liked it though.

The 2017 part, which is also technically the 2011 part, was probably my favorite. The character growth between the two time periods was wonderful!

Another issue I had was with the light cheating that was going on in the novel. Shane's love interest, Pilot, is dating someone else when they meet and yet, a romance begins between them anyway. I wasn't really ok with that because Amy, Pilot's girlfriend, really didn't deserve that. Also, the names! The love interest's name is actually Pilot.

“Pilot?”

“Like the first episode of a TV show.”

The others in the book have names like Babe and Atticus. I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little when they first introduced themselves. But, what's a good contemporary romance without some ridiculous names, I guess.

Since I already talked about the negative, let me end on a good note and tell you the things I loved!

The writing in this book is surprisingly good. Everything had an easy, almost effortless flow to it that I really enjoyed. I genuinely enjoyed myself while reading and even found myself laughing out loud at the banter between Pilot and Shane. They were funny and cute and their banter was absolutely golden!

Shane herself was also a fun character. I really liked her quirkiness and positivity and general goodness! Pilot was also super cute and I know I should probably feel guilty but I totally shipped them! Seriously though, the romance was pretty gosh darn adorable. Their conversations and random references to books and songs had me grinning like an idiot.

Still, what I most liked about the book is that while it reads like a romance, it's more about Shane as an individual than it is about her relationship with Pilot. It's about Shane becoming her own person and living her own life. It's about finding the courage to be yourself and experience life the way you want and I loved that.

Aside from all that, I also enjoyed the descriptions of London and all the random little things like the fact that unlike American past which is boxed, British pasta comes in bags! I also really enjoyed all the way Christine described the setting and the general atmosphere of the book.

In the end, do I recommend this book?

Heck yeah!

My hopes for this book were both really high because I love Christine, and really low because the last time a 'booktuber' wrote a book everyone hated it (Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsey Cummings). Thankfully, this book was much more on the positive side of things. I think that it was a great debut and I look forward to Christine's future works.


(I'll post this review on Goodreads, my blog, retail sites closer to the release date!)

This was pretty great. I had my own issues with the romance, mostly stemming from my personal relationship with romance and that brought this book down because a large amount of the plot stemmed from the romance. Other than that though, I enjoyed this and am excited to see more from Christine.

I thought this was a solid debut novel!

I'll admit, I was a little hesitant going into this, not because this was written by a booktuber (I was really excited about that!) but because these types of contemporaries normally aren't my thing. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this!
I thought it was super obvious that this book was very autobiographical for the author, and I thought that had up and down sides. For one, I thought Shane's social anxiety was handled really well, as well as her relationship with her family. Her parents were awful and abusive, but to see how Shane handled those situations felt realistic.
Shane's blog being called "FrenchWatermelon19" was a little too cheesy for me, as well as her and Pilot's conversation when they genuinely thought they were the only people out there who had heard of the Beatles. But overall, this was a really cute and heartwarming contemporary story!

It's 2011 and 20-year Shane Primaveri feels like she hasn't made the most of her college-life in New York City. Although pressure from her parents has put her on the pre-med track, she really wants to pursue writing, so she takes advantage of a study-abroad opportunity and starts fresh in London. At first, it seems like all is going according to plan: she makes new friends and finds a love interest among other various other rites of passage she sought out to accomplish. If this sounds like other coming-of-age, travel-abroad stories, think again! Shane's time in London takes a turn for the worse and we flash forward to 2017 where a chance encounter could change everything.

This was a fun, light story and an easy read. I was also in college around the same time so I understood and appreciated a lot of the nostalgic references to shows, books and music that were popular at the time. About half-way through, just when you may start wondering, "where are we going from here?" there's a fun, unexpected twist.

The moment-by-moment narration of the first half of the book wasn't for me, although I can see how it would appeal to a younger reader or just a reader looking for a very straight-forward read. I did struggle with the fact that the first 75% of the book touches very little on what I perceived to be the biggest conflict (no spoilers, but dealing with the main character's family dynamic). It would be one thing if the author had purposely not wanted to delve deep into real issues and keep the conflict light, but then in the last few chapters it's kind of all thrown in and it's not really resolved in a satisfying way.

If you're looking for a quick, fun read with a hint of magic and a lot of Lost references, this would be a great choice!

As excited as I was to read Christine's debut novel, I'm going to have to say that this, unfortunately, was a miss for me. Even though I am one of her subscribers, I will not be biased when reviewing this book.

First off, I was not a fan of Shane. Sure, she's relatable with her anxiety driven personality (because girl, same), but her perspective wasn't very enjoyable. Upon reading the very first pages of the book, Shane seemed like a carbon copy of Christine (as much as I tried to not think of it). Like the parallels are uncanny. Yes, it's Christine's first book, and yes it's easier to create a character based on one's self, but it made Shane very unoriginal. Like there wasn't anything I didn't already know about her even though I just started the book. Secondly, the tone of Shane's perspective seemed too busy. The number of thoughts that ran through her mind and her detailed accounts of her surroundings and actions. Detail is good, but too much is unnecessary and overwhelming, which is how I felt a lot of the times.

Next, the plot of the story wasn't what I expected it to be. The plot had a slow start and it picked up in the middle, but then fell flat. Overall, it felt uneventful. I didn't read too much of the synopsis since I wanted to go into it pretty blind, but I was not expecting the fantasy element of the story. Since we're on that topic, I will like to say that the fantasy aspect was not that well written. I was very confused to the point where my interest began to drop (so basically everything post time skip, which seemed like a mess). Although there was a little hint of it occurring throughout the first half of the book, it kind of just hits you in the face unexpectedly.

Now onto the romance. I don't like insta-love stories, so I wasn't surprised when I didn't enjoy the romance, which happened a lot quicker than I expected. Pilot (also not a fan of "quirky" names that are just exclusive to main characters/important secondary characters) was an interesting guy who clicked well with Shane until you learn that he kept an interesting fact about himself from her. After that, I didn't like him. Even in this new light, it irks me that Shane is still hung up on him after 6 years (time skip) even when she later gets a boyfriend. Like, why didn't you confront him again before getting a boyfriend and why wait so long? It just didn't make much sense to me. Without spoiling anything major, I felt that both Shane and Pilot were selfish when it came to romance. Not a good quality to have in a romance novel my friend.

An extra tidbit that I also did not enjoy was the 2011/2017 (time skip) references that were shoved in almost every page. Like I get it. It's 2011/2017. STOP. REMINDING. ME. That was also when Christine's self was popping out of the pages, as Shane's/Christine's obsession with the TV show Lost was reminded time and time again. As great as that show was, I got annoyed. Especially since it made no contribution to the plot nor character. This goes the same way with Christine's favorite book series that were coincidentally also Shane's favorite book. Oh, the parallels.

Overall, I didn't really enjoy Christine's debut novel but not every author is successful with their first work. This is also only my opinion, so it could have also just not have fit my reading taste. Plus, that also means that there is plenty of room for improvement, which I'm sure there will be in her next novel. In the end, I still applaud her for even writing a book, as it's not easy and requires a lot of work, especially for a new author.