This was definitely my favorite read of 2019 and wish I could’ve given it more than 5 stars. If your looking for an awesome summer read this is the one! I found this book funny, romantic and even surprising at times. I would highly recommend this book. Ever read a romance novel and wished you had the romance they described? This is one of those book!

I LOVED this book. Definitely a young adult romance. Loved the angst of the star-crossed lovers following the hopeful rainbows and stars, . And the time travel was a delightful (if a smidge unrealistic) surprise. I couldn't stop reading in order to find out what happened with Pilot and Shane. And who wouldn't love a do-over? My high school students will love this book. This will definitely be a purchase for our library, as will the author's future books!

This is between a 2 and 3 star for me. The overall storyline and tone of the writing was not my vibe. I can see other people really loving this book and writing style, but I think I was just not the intended audience.

I didn't get very far into this book before putting it down. I didn't enjoy it at all. The protagonist is very childish for a 20-year-old, the writing was a little lazy and it was a very slow-paced book. I was reading it wondering where this story was even going, nothing was happening, and the showing/telling issue was problematic for me.
I tried to like it but it fell very flat for me.

I was pretty excited when I saw Again, but Better, because I've watched Christine Riccio's YouTube channel on and off for a couple years. I'm not an avid viewer, but it's always so cool to see booktubers/bloggers become published. I thought Again, but Better was a decent debut novel that was incredibly relatable and quite heartwarming.

In the 2011 section, I feel like all the characters read a lot younger than they were? I mean, I'm admittedly a childish twenty-one year old, and Shane in 2011 reminded me of how I was when I was 15 or 16. I did find Shane very relatable--I mean, yeah, moving out of the country to make more friends? I have done that. This is a sidenote, but I just could not get over the names. I'm not too fond of the name Shane, but okay. Babe? Pilot? Atticus? Pilot???

I don't feel as if the plot really got rolling until halfway through the book. The first half was so heartwarming and reads a lot like a travel diary - heck, it gave me wanderlust, and I was travelling while reading this book. (Incidentally, it also made it really nice and immersive, because I read the part where Shane visits Edinburgh literally on the flight back from Edinburgh, so I kept going "I was just there!!" like a five-year-old.) But I don't feel like a lot really happens in regards to character development. I did think it was nice and fun, though - that's the kind of life I want to live. Honestly, I feel like reading this during my study abroad really meant I could relate a lot more to Shane, because my university experience so far has been a lot like hers.

The time travel aspect was something I didn't see coming, but I thought it was really interesting - you can see how much Shane has matured and how unhappy she was with her life. I really enjoyed seeing her go through her experience in London again, but better - and it showed that even though Shane may have been twenty-six and more mature, she could still make mistakes. This part really showed how much of a focused, determined person that she was, and how the fallout with her parents changed her. I'm a bit disappointed we didn't get to see the slow character development in the first part but the 2017 bit was great.

There were also a lot of nods to the book community as well - this book is super geeky, which was cute. On the whole, I enjoyed reading Again, but Better, and I'm excited to see more from Christine Riccio.

A cute and fun story that is rather silly, but still a solid read. Makes great company for a dark and stormy day. I do love me some London, so I did enjoy reading about students studying abroad and all the travels they go on. Plus, I did enjoy the idea of getting to re-do life choices - finally making the right ones. All in all, a solid read.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. But, wow. I’m not sure it was just one thing as much as a series of several things in the writing style that were just too much. Some things were over the top, names for characters, including naming the protagonist’s computer...all oddly done. Not only were the names randomly unusual, I mean, maybe one or two unusual names will be unique in a group of strangers but the entire group? Nope. And then all the scenes were so exaggerated cringey. I like that Shane is searching for a do-over to remake herself, but this was not believable. Even the writing of every detail of experiencing a new country and the shock to the system of that, both in jet lag and culture shock was dealt with clumsily, detailing way too much. Maybe some more editing would have been all that was needed to clean this up into a much better debut.
The idea was great but the execution needs work, maybe just a harsh editor. Keep practicing.

#AgainButBetter #NetGalley

This book wasn't my favourite and Unfortunately I don't believe it lived up to the hype surrounding it... (Sorry Booktube).
This book had a great pace that meant that it didn't drag too much, the little nods to the different cites (including Edinburgh) and the work, life balance kept the book an interesting read.
I went into this book honestly knowing nothing and I think that was the best way to do it, because I didn't like the magical element to it. I feel like this was just throw in and had no real context, It would be awesome to be able to do over everything we have ever done but that's just not how life works and I feel like that helps to make us into the people we are today, it helps us to grow and not make the same mistakes. All it did here was made Shane focus on Pilot more rather than herself and I hate to say it, but this was super CRINGE! She just seemed very obsessed almost to the point of being a stalker and if the shoe was on the other foot...
Another thing I really didn't like was the constant reminder that its 2011, I get it Angry Birds was the rage and Avril Lavigne sang about life being Complicated but I don't need to be constantly reminded, also every Diary/postcard entry...
I did have an early copy thanks to NetGalley in return for an honest review and even though this wasn't my favourite as too many things were just passed off as Normal, I don't think this should put other readers off. This book just wasn't for me. But Well Done Christine for the effort, I will definitely give the next book a go because I liked the writing just not the content.

Note: Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me an ARC review copy of Again, But Better.

I finished this book two days ago (two nights ago, actually) and I'm still trying to figure out how to say what I want to say without sounding mean or nasty. Like people actually want this book to fail because it's made by a successful booktuber/internet personality, and we know her and love her so much. I for one have been following Christine's youtube career since it's inception in 2010, and haven't stopped since. When she first announced that she was writing her debut novel, I followed pretty much every Writing Video because not only did I believe that she had (has) the talents to transition into publishing novels, but also she has such a passion for books and reading that I don't see from anywhere else.
With that being said, I had a hard time enjoying Again, But Better.

I know I gave it 3 stars, but my version of 3 stars means it was a decent read. Just strictly decent; not downright garbage, but not that great, either. The more I think about it, the less I think I really did like it. Because I didn't want my 'fave' to let me down.

The writing is simplistic, at best.

There are 2 parts and an epilogue, and in Part 1 2011, we are introduced to the main character Shane Primaveris, who has traveled from her small hometown in New York to study abroad in London for a creative writing program, unbeknownst to her parents. In one aspect, you want to root for the MC because everything is in her perspective. But if her actions are questionable, her thought processing is all over the place, and her morality is poor, then you won't like her. And that comes down to the writing. I understand that Shane is 20 years old and had lived a very sheltered life, but the way Christine wrote her made it seem like Shane was 16 years old; 18, at most. I didn't feel like I was reading in the context of a mature 20-year-old learning about herself, starting over in a new country, to do what she really wants to do, who she really wants to be.

Granted, the writing isn't piss-poor, but the incessant amount of pop culture references (specifically 2011 pop-culture references), started to drive me crazy. Also, the amount of song lyrics.... Christine couldn't have described the song without having the characters obnoxiously scream them into the abyss?! Additionally, I didn't feel the environment in which London took place; I didn't feel like we were in London, but merely watching snippets of the city and other cities Shane and her friends visited. I didn't feel immersed in imagery, similes, metaphors. This book could have taken place in New Jersey (where Christine is from, and also where I'm from!), and it wouldn't have been any different. But at the same time, I knew walking into this book that the writing wasn't going to be of the essence of The Great American Novel. Most debuts don't have that kind of luck, except if you've been working on the same book for 5-6 years, developing your craft hardcore.

Ok so on to the characters. I'd already spoke on Shane, so I'll go on to the others. There's Pilot, her love interest; and her roomates Babe, Sahra, and Atticus. There is also Pilot's roomate Chad. These people (with the exception of Pilot) were pretty forgettable. I liked Babe, but I didn't know her enough as a character to root for her, either. There is a little more information about her in Part 2 2017, but it's still not enough. Sahra is invisible; and Atticus is the drama major who is mostly too busy with his own life to join in on the adventures they had. Not much else I can say about them, I'm afraid. But they weren't bad or awful, by anymeans. With the exception of Chad; because there was a moment between him, Shane and Babe that was so rude and awful.

Pilot. What can I say about our dear, ol' Pilot Penn?

Pilot ain't $hit.

He'd started out as a nice, cute, funny, kind of sweet guy that Shane had a crush on. But it could only stay as a crush because he had a girlfriend back home. However, he didn't even let the group of friends know himself; I think Atticus (or was it Chad?) who let it known about Amy, Pilot's girlfriend. And while I'm not okay with what is now known as emotional cheating, I didn't hate Shane like everyone else did. She was being called a homewrecker/whore/boyfriend-stealer by other reviewers, and I didn't see it. I still don't see it; Pilot was the one with the girlfriend. Not Shane. Pilot was the one who kept leading her on and practically kept dodging everyone's questions about Amy, until Part 2 2017. So if anyone should be mad at anyone, it's Pilot. Additionally, Pilot showcased more of his ain't-$hit-ness in Part 2. He'd gotten a bit better at the end, but by that time, I was already so done with him and knew how the story would end. I imagine that if this story continued in 2018-2019, Shane and Pilot would have been broken up again. Because I did not see the character development between the 6-year time jump. Shane and Amy deserve better than this manipulative, singer-songwriter, one-time Youtube sensation.

Also, I've noticed how none of the reviews mention how borderline abusive Shane's parents are, especially her father.

One of the key moments that made me cry and finally feel badly for Shane was during the dinner scene when her parents surprise her in London. Not only do they find out Shane lied to them about the pre-med program in London, which doesn't exist, but are furious when they find it's a creative writing program. Not only does her father proceed to humiliate his only daughter in a crowded restaurant, but he takes her British phone and smashes it on the floor! I understand that these rich-ass parents want the best for their daughter, but they're also dumb for not looking into this school they've spent possibly thousands of dollars for. I don't know any parents who would just accept a handmade brochure (yes, handmade! Shane had the time!) to a program that doesn't exist, in another country no less! But I digress; Shane's father is an abusive bastard who knows nothing about his daughter's dreams of being a writer and doing what she loves. Her mother was passive-agressive as fck; she only spoke when she needed too, and what she said didn't help the situation. This was one of the key moments where the writing was actually better than the rest of the novel. I could feel everything Shane and her friends felt; there was an emotional pull in the writing that made me cry buckets! If Christine were to create a prequel or spin-off series on Shane's relationship with her parents, I wouldn't hate it, because I want to know what that was like.

Not to mention, there is a magical realism thing that happens in Part 2 2017; that's why there's a 6-year difference between then and now.

Which to me wasn't executed well at all; I could have done without this part because it wasn't needed. Even if there was a time-jump, it wasn't expressed in the writing. Shane (now 26 years old) still acted and spoke like a 16 year old kid, but now engaged to some guy named Melvin. Pilot still had Amy back home. Not that 6 years isn't that much of a difference, but between 20 and 26 years, you've lived a little bit of life, had some experiences that changed you and matured you in some way. Nope, no, Shane was still speaking like a 16 year old goofy, nerdy, shy, awkward kid. She didn't grow into herself that much. Same with Pilot, who was also older in 2017. Not only did that make me not want to root for them even more, but it made me angry at times. Also, Shane and Pilot had a spirit guide redhaired woman creature that followed them around and basically set them up for this time-travel adventure. And her magical abilities weren't explained at all. We didn't even know she was a spirit guide until Shane proclaimed her as such. The redhaired woman never confirmed or denied it, which made the plot more jumbled and all over the place.

However, there was a period after their breakup that Shane drove herself into her work, her internship, hanging out more with her friends, becoming her own self. And I really liked that; aside from the Pilot drama, we got to explore the Shane that could have been. The aspiring writer from the US traveling to UK to explore her dreams and pushed herself to the extreme in every aspect. That last quarter (before the ending) was what gave me to rate this 3 stars. That last quarter of the book made me finally root for Shane and her well-being.

Also, in Part 2, there was another moment between Shane and her cousin Leo, who was a closeted gay person. She helped him and was there for him during his own breakup and homophobic father. Even though it was through Facebook chat, I felt their connection, and I thought that was really sweet of Shane to help him.

I could go on and on about this book, but I need to let my fingers rest with all of this typing! All in all, this wasn't terrible, but it just wasn't very good. It was just....ok.

To tell you the truth, if Christine were to write a second book (or even do this one Again, but better!) I'd read it because I do think she has a talent and a way with words. Her words just need extra cleanup and way less pop-culture references.

This book is hard for me to rate. The writing style was wonderful. Shane felt relatable in some ways and unrelatable in other ways. I wasn't a fan of some of the themes in this book like girl on girl hate and emotional cheating. It was hard to get through. I enjoyed the setting, the elements of being abroad and the pop culture references. I think that Christine is a wonderful person but this book just has parts that I wasn't able to connect with.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley

I enjoyed the book but it was not my favorite. Some parts of the story were definitely stronger than others. There was a twist in the book that I was confused by but you just have to roll with it. The parts I enjoyed outweighed the issues I had with the book. Overall, pretty solid debut novel.

Although this book had a couple great quotes that made me laugh so hard, overall this one just didn't work out at all. The character is supposed to be 20 and then 26 in the two time period POVs but I have to say that they both sounded more like Shane was 15-16 and then in her early 20's. I really wished that someone who was editing this title would have seen that as well and could have done something with it. Shane herself was WAY over the top. Which made this one a pain to read. Early on she talks about how she's never been kissed. But its not just that she's never been kissed but that she was kiss blocking herself. I think in a different setting this could have been so funny. But by the time you just get there which is about 2% in this title you are already kind of over the over the top writing that this one had.

This book had a lot going for it but it just felt like this was still not fully formed in thought and execution.

Go Into This One Knowing: Juvenile Writing, Over the Top Writing, Verbal Abuse

This was an absolutely adorable coming of age story. I related to the MC on many levels. I was always awkward, yearning for a way to start over, to expand my world. Shane is a slightly neurotic and riddled with anxiety. This comes off as annoying and self deprecating at times. If you don't understand the underlying issue with anxiety, I really enjoyed the first part of this boo but it took a turn that I really didn't expect. Honestly, the fantasy/time travel thing was really weird for me. It didn't work for the story for my taste. Over all, the book was OK. It was obvious it was a debut in many aspects. I will keep an eye out on this author though, as portions of the book really showed promise! I rated this novel 3/5 stars.

Though finishing the book at the end of April, it has taken me a while to write the review. I wanted to be able to describe the experience I was able to have with this book, and how much its story meant to me.

I graduated this month and college has been such a bittersweet experience for me. College of course was a huge change in my life, with a lot of heartache and disappointments at times. At the same time, so much of my college experience was amazing, and I didn’t want to leave it behind. Wrestling with the idea of having the opportunity to relive this experience and do things again, but better, was something that really drew me into the novel. I loved the idea of it, and ultimately, it was a book I really needed to read at this point in my life.

I do have a bit of critique in regards to the narrator of the story, which is why I have knocked a bit off of my overall rating. It felt like I was reading a story about Christina Ricco, not by Christina Ricco. The character looked, talked, and acted like she did. I understand wanting to incorporate aspects of yourself into a character, as most authors do either intentionally or not. This was a bit of an extreme in this case unfortunately, and it felt a little like reading a fan-fiction that someone wrote about themself.

With that critique out of the way, after about 20% into the book I was hooked. The beginning had a lot of set up, but I really related to a lot of the ideas behind the book. This story to look at nostalgia, life choices, relationships, and the best moments of life and how to hold on to them.

Something I don’t think was very clear in the synopsis of the book is that there is time travel involved! I’d seen that in a review, and I think if I’d started the book without knowing that I might have been expecting something totally different.

The characters were all very likeable, and the interactions and the sense of friendships explored throughout the book was very heartwarming. I loved the feeling of this book, and I definitely plan to reread it in the future.

Overall, it was a very impactful story on how we view the ups and downs of our life. It was engaging, quirky, and heartfelt. I definitely recommend Again, But Better to any nostalgic and wanderlust bookworms who are looking for their next great read.

So, I’ve seen some mixed reviews on this book, but holy crap, I bloody loved it. I listened to the audio book and the narrator was fantastic, she really brought the story to life. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud several times whilst I was in work. Which will always be appreciated by me.

I was fully aware of the synopsis when I requested this book on NetGalley. However, by the time I got around to it, some time had passed, and I no longer had any idea what this book was about. Which, honestly, I enjoy doing because I like surprises. And boy, was this a surprise.

This is your typical, girl trying to find herself, and possibly love, whilst travelling story, but with an added touch of magic, right at the very end, which was completely and utterly delightful and such a beautiful surprise. When things don’t fully go to plan for Shane, she’s given the opportunity to have a do-over and it’s absolutely magical.

Who hasn’t thought “I wish I could have a do-over” once in a while? I know I certainly have. This is everything you imagine a do-over would be, and more.

I highly recommend this book, and especially listen to it because the narrator is fabulous. I gave it 5/5 stars

2.5??? Maybe??? I'm waffling a lot with this one, folks.

So here's the thing. The writing is pretty good. The storyline is pretty interesting. I've seen some people complain about how most of the romantic plot revolves around cheating and to me, it didn't seem like that? Like yeah, the main character has a crush on a guy who has a girlfriend. But they don't DO anything. She doesn't even tell him she likes him. She doesn't try to break up his relationship. I didn't have an issue with it.

But GOD is Shane annoying.

Shane takes the "clumsy, quirky girl" stereotype to new levels. I don't usually use the word "cringey" to describe things because I'm not an asshole, but I don't know if there is any other way to describe her. This was very much frontloaded, so after I got a little bit into the book, Shane settled down and I was able to enjoy the story, but for a while, I was so annoyed by her that I was not enjoying this book at all and considered DNF-ing.

Am I glad I pushed through and finished the book? Not especially. This ended up being a take it or leave it kind of book. I'm not overjoyed that I finished it, but I also don't regret finishing it. So an extremely middle-of-the-road 2.5 stars it is.

If any of you follow Christine on BookTube, you know that she’s been working on this book for some time now. In fact, you can even go on the journey with her, as she has an entire video series chronicling her experience writing and publishing Again, but Better. If I’m being honest, seeing the thought and work that went into this on YouTube is what drew me to this novel in the first place.

Sadly, this book wound up being just okay for me. There were definitely things I enjoyed, but overall, I found the execution of the story fell flat, especially during the latter half. But first, let’s discuss what worked. I really enjoyed Shane as a main character. I know there’s been a bit of criticism regarding the anxiety representation here, as Shane’s social anxiety is definitely more high functioning than some readers might find believable. Still, I actually found Shane to be pretty relatable—probably because my own anxiety falls into the same category.

The one unfortunate thing about Shane, however, is how transparently like Christine she is. This can be an issue when an influencer releases a book, but there are so many references in this novel to things that Christine likes and does. In fact, Shane is a blogger, and even her blog name is a play on Christine’s YouTube name. I understand that authors do insert themselves into their stories, but I’d be lying if I said that this level of it wasn’t jarring while reading this book.

As far as the plot goes, I found the first half of Again, but Better to be a lot of fun. The writing style is amateur, and there isn’t a ton of depth to the story, but I think Christine captures the carefree innocence of college well. Shane’s experience studying abroad reminded me of my own days living in a dorm. The travel components of this book are also entertaining, and I think they should have been elaborated on more.

My main problem comes with the second half of this book, when it turns into a partially magical story—something I did not see coming or think was necessary. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say that there’s a time travel element to this story, and it’s not really alluded to much in either the synopsis or at the beginning of the book (with the exception of the title and the recurrent appearance of a strange, fairy god mother type of character who doesn’t really work at all). Truthfully, I think I would have liked this book so much better if it had just been a contemporary, with the second half showing Shane working out her issues from the first half.

Anyway, my other main criticism is in regard to the romance in this book. Shane’s love interest starts off interesting enough, but their fling really goes downhill when you realize that he has a girlfriend. There’s a lot of emotional and eventually physical cheating taking place in this novel, and it’s not really something I’m onboard with. Also, given the lack of intensity between the two characters at the beginning of the book, their residual feelings for one another during the latter half really didn’t seem believable to me. Again, the second half really did me in.

All in all, I think this book could definitely work for some people. It’s entertaining enough, and if you can get past beginner writing aspects, you might even enjoy it. Unfortunately, it was just not my cup of tea. I’m teetering between a 2.5- and 3-star rating currently, so I guess I’m rounding up to 3!

Shane Primaveri’s been doing college all wrong. Her parents talked her into premed instead of the writing degree she wanted to go for. She’s unhappy, hasn’t made friends and goes home every weekend. So she decided to do a study abroad writing course in London. She’s going to get college right this time but first she has to lie and tell her parents it’s a premed program. Will her plan get her everything she wants and make her happy or will it all go wrong?
I’ll be honest for about the first 20% of this book I was having trouble getting into the story. Although I think that was my fault since I kept picking it up when I wasn’t completely in the mood for this kind of story. I did that cause I was trying to pressure myself into having this review up before or at the latest on the release date. Clearly that didn’t happen, cause I told myself to wait and give it a fair shot. Once I did that the next time I picked up the book I got so into the story I had to make myself go to bed when I realized it was 4 am!
I loved reading about Shane’s adventures around Europe. Also slight spoiler there are a few different story lines that could be the ‘Again But Better ‘ part. The London study abroad is done twice (won’t tell you how though) so she gets a second shot at college, love, writing, friendship, family, and finding herself and what she wants.
I personally prefer the second go at the study abroad more than the first. She just seems so much more confident and isn’t letting anyone stop her, except for herself at some points. Also just a heads up you might need tissues for the ending of this book, but in a good way!
I received an electronic advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Again, But Better was released May 7th, 2019 and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

I didn’t absolutely hate this book. It was a fun read, a little dragged out, but fun nonetheless. I really liked hearing the author’s voice throughout the novel. The writing could be a bit cheesy at times, but overall I found it to be easy to read and enjoyable. The idea behind the study abroad trip and “starting over” was cute and interesting. I enjoyed reading about the trips to various Europen counties that the characters went on. That being said I did have a few problems with this book.

Right off the bat, I realized that the author was inserting herself into the main character. Between the screen name, references to Christine’s favorite things, and ~awkwardness~ it was apparent that the main character wasn’t Shane, it was Christine. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Christine and watch her videos, but I do find it important to set the art and the artist apart. That being said, I like Christine and her personality, but I found it distracting to be constantly making parallels between Christine and Shane. Inserting yourself into a character is something I expect from a teenage writer, not a published novel on The New York Times bestseller list.

Now let’s talk about the social anxiety aspect. In the book, it is described that Shane has social anxiety. Now, I feel it is important to have this type of representation in books, but sadly it wasn’t done right. It was approached as if it’s just a quirky character trait that can just be turned on and off at will. There is only once or twice that we see the main character in the book struggle with social anxiety, other then that Shane just seems to push past it as if it never existed in the first place.

Another problem I had with the book was the insta-love. Literally the first boy that we see in the book becomes the love interest, I mean COME ON. It is also mentioned that the main character has never been in a romantic relationship before so I find it hard to believe that the first guy she ever interacts with she has an instant connection to.

I went into this book without reading the blurb and with no prior knowledge on the plot of the novel. This is usually how I like to approach a book that I know I am going to read anyway so I have no prior opinions on the book when I began reading it. So that being said, I was unaware of the fantasy element in this book. When we saw the “copper-haired lady” multiple times throughout the story I thought to myself, “No, there is no way this is going to become fantasy in any sense, I’m halfway through the book and there has not been one fantasy element so far.” But boy was I wrong, when the magical twist was revealed I felt like I had readers whiplash. I had no idea what was going on and why, and to be honest I was kind of frustrated. When a fantasy element is in the book I expect a little foreshadowing or maybe even a bit on unrelated magic in the book to warm the reader up to the idea that this might turn into a fantasy narrative. But no, as readers we are just thrown into this fantastical narrative out of literally nowhere. It’s not that I didn’t expect this twist to happen, I did. I just could not believe that the entire twist to the story would come out of nowhere and never be explained. The author never explained why this happened, how it worked, how Shane specifically was chosen or anything of that matter. Good fantastical elements in books come from a good setup and understandable explanations, neither of which were seen in this book.

Overall, If you go into this book looking for a cutesy and cheesy read with a fantastical twist you will enjoy it. But do not go into this book expecting anything more than surface-level plot, and half-done explanations.

I would recommend this to: Anyone looking for a cute rom-com like read and doesn’t mind some magical elements.

I'd heard lots about this book, mainly hype about how good it was going to be, but sadly, it ended up to be a disappointment. Although the premise and the idea was good, the overall execution was lacking.

I enjoyed the parts about Shane's writing and her blog (yay bloggers!). Her character as a sketch was also fun and relatable (as in, her character as described in the book fell a little flat as compared to the one that I was imagining her "stereotype" to be).

Overall, I enjoyed reading about the travel-abroad experience and her experiences at her job, travelling on the weekends, and things like that. However, I found that the "character makeover" bits were a little bit unrealistic: you don't really just go from not having friends and being in pre-med college to being in creative writing in England and making friends at the snap of a finger! That's simply not how it works.

I felt like the characters fell a bit flat in general: most of the other people, aside from Shane and Pilot, were not really talked about, in term of their characters, outside of what they looked like and what they wore. In addition, the writing was just poor: there were many sentences that were "showing not telling," and I even found a typo!

Poor storytelling aside, I also felt that the plot was not great? There was a touch of magic, but the magic wasn't well done (I didn't realize what was happening for 3 chapters after the magic happened!) and overall I just thought that, while the idea was good, the execution of the idea did not work well at all.

Overall, I thought this book looked good conceptually--the cover is SO CUTE, the plot was good, even the romance was sweet--the writing just failed it, and the book was just disappointing. Because of how the story is written, it also feels so much longer than it actually is: just under 400 pages. Reading more than 100 pages in one sitting felt like a drag (when I usually can take out 350-400 page books in one sitting), and it just felt very slow all around.