I loved the concept but oddly I felt like the girl's voice didn't sound as authentic as the boy's character. They were even a little hard to tell apart in the beginning. I felt like it was going somewhere but it fizzled out. Maybe if I was in middle or early high school I would have liked it more. It just seemed written in a very basic tone.

Story
I can’t remember the last time a book so completely engulfed me. Seriously, this book was amazing. More Than Maybe is just the right amount of cute, set to the best soundtrack you could possibly dream up. I don’t normally listen to music while reading, but this book made me. I listened to all the songs the characters referenced, and it just pulled me into the story completely.

It created this lush, intense experience and I am here for it. Seriously, I wish Daisy Jones had this soundtrack.

Writing
My only issue was the writing. Scenes tended to switch very fast and were sometimes cut off too soon. It made some parts a bit disjointed and it wasn’t easy to follow. The book needed more angst and considering all the swearing that went on at least one steamier make-out scene. I love some good angst.

Characters
Luke is my perfect man. Cute, funny and BRITISH. Yes, I have a thing for accents. Leave me alone. Seriously though, I loved Luke. Vada and Luke were the perfect pairing and I wish I could get more of them. I loved every bit of Vada’s internal monologue.

The side characters were also all really great and fleshed out, making this one wholesome book that I stan.

I really loved Erin Hahn’s first book, You'd Be Mine, so I was excited to see this one on NetGalley. Unfortunately, this book didn’t do it for me as much. Both books feature music heavily, so if that’s something you like in a book, I’d recommend giving these a try.

Luke and Vada were fine as main characters, but I didn’t LOVE them like I loved Annie Mathers and Clay Coolidge (from YBM). I didn’t feel like they had much depth and I wasn’t super invested in the things they were trying to accomplish. The romance between them is a bit of a slow burn, but almost too slow? They both like each other for the whole book, it just takes them forever to finally admit it to each other. Secondary characters were also fine. We just didn’t really get to know any of them very well. I liked that Vada had a good relationship with her mom’s boyfriend/boss. I think it’s important to show something besides the “evil step-parent” trope every once in a while.

I wanted more from the relationship between Luke and Cullen. Honestly, it felt like they were just friends–not brothers and certainly not twins. I mean…I’m not a twin so I obviously can’t say what that relationship is like, but it seems like they’d be a lot closer. Zack seemed more like a brother to Luke than Cullen did at times.

The plot didn’t really grab me–I think there were just too many moving parts. Vada’s trying to go to college and write for Rolling Stone and she and Luke have the senior showcase and they’re also trying to save the bar and then Luke’s dad is opening a rival club and all the podcast drama…there’s just too much! I think the story itself needed to be pared down a bit. If we could have really focused on a couple of the elements, I think the story would have worked better.

Overall, I thought this book was just okay. I think it hurt that I came in with really high expectations. Or it could just be me. Its rating on Goodreads is over 4 stars, so perhaps I’m just missing something. My last critique is that this book has a lot of swearing in it. A LOT. More than I deemed necessary to be honest. So just a warning there.

Overall Rating: 3
Language: Heavy
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate
Sexual Content: Mild

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.

What a sweet YA! I loved the music references - the characters were both a bit shy with their feelings and would text songs back and forth. Definitely pick this up if you love romance and a variety of music!

As much as I liked You'd Be Mine, this one didn't work for me at all and I'm so disappointed. First disappoint is that this cover is illustrated (which I know is a huge trend lately) but the You'd Be Mine cover was so nice but instead of matching that, they gave that book an illustrated cover now too.

Some of it is my own fault- I don't follow music / care that much about it beyond the few artists I love so the constant music talk and title drops did nothing besides annoy me because of how much of it there was. Like I guess I was supposed to load up the titles and listen along with them but also no thanks? And wow yet another thing I don't care about: social media / going viral. Thankfully that happens pretty late in the book.

This book suffered from the "too many pop culture reference" bug that seems to follow me and I hated that. Just not the book for me

More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn is YA romance at its absolute best. 

Emotional. Satisfying. Heartfelt. With the perfect amount of teenage angst and sass.

This is the kind of book teenage me would have DIED to read. Heck, I’m in my thirties, and I adored it.

Vada and Luke have been crushing on each other for years from afar. He reads her music blog. She listens to his podcast. 

Both of them love music. It’s their shared language. Their friendship really begins when they partner up for the senior showcase—she will dance to a song he composes.

Add in a twin brother (for Luke), best friends (Zack and Meg), an absentee father, a hole-in-the-wall bar, a illicitly recorded and released viral sensation of a song, and an epic grand gesture—*chefs kiss* Perfection!

Yes--this is clearly Vada and Luke’s story, but More Than Maybe is more than just a story about falling in love. It’s a story about finding your passion and being brave enough to chase it. About finding your favorite person and holding on tight. It’s about family—the one you’re born into and the one you choose.

And obviously it’s about music. How it connects people, drives people, shapes people, and how it speaks for us when we can't find the words.

As I read along, I loaded up every song mentioned in the book. It was an incredible, immersive experience! Side note: Vada and Luke have excellent taste in music.

Five stars—I loved every word of it.

"More than Maybe" is  a cute read, but not one that is necessarily the best. At times, it comes off as pretentious with all of the music selections and the love story is very static. They both like each other and it is obvious to everyone but the two in love themselves. And yet, it takes them the majority of the book to get together and they break up over some silly idea of conflict. It is fluffy, which is it's saving grace.

I enjoyed this book even though it lagged for me in bits. The overall story was good though but the characters also felt a little lackluster to me.

The Music Nerd in me absolutely loves that Luke and Vada can communicate entire conversations by sending each other songs to listen to.  -=hearts in eyes=-

This is a wonderful upper-YA / possibly NA rom-com about high school seniors with goals and the motivation to achieve them.  Told in the duel point-of-views of Vada and Luke, readers are treated to interactions with their friends and families, as well as the interactions between our leads as they transform from unknown mutual crushes, to working together on a project and letting their guards down and getting to know each other better.  Then they fall for each other, while being responsible teenagers with hobbies and after school jobs, and don’t abandon their friends or families for each other.  Absolutely delightful.

I love how likable and relatable the teenagers are; not just Vada and Luke, but also his twin brother and both their best friends.  I’m also glad to see Hahn include LGBT representation in the cast.

There is a quite a bit of cussing and creative language in this book, but it actually helps the story flow and isn’t jarring.  Luke being from London, some of his cussing is rather cute (to this US-based reviewer.)

This charming rom-com has stayed with me the past several days, as I prepared to write this review.  I’m tempted to wait before starting a new book, just so I can enjoy Luke and Vada for a bit longer.  Can’t recommend this highly enough.

I gave this book a 2 star rating as that's how I felt about what I did read, but I did not finish it, unfortunately. 
There is nothing wrong with this book plot wise - I just fell out of interest pretty quickly when it came to the characters. There are some grammatical errors that I could look past, but just an FYI. This is a normal YA (very much YA) that centers around kids still in high school looking to get out of their town and/or lifestyle. I really enjoyed the disco scene, but otherwise nothing really stuck out and I felt like it moved too slow.

4.5 stars

More than Maybe is a delightful YA novel about Vada and Luke, two teens whose love of music helps them make sense of the world and connect with each other.  This story is addicting, and I stayed up until 3 am to finish this whole book in one sitting!  

The best thing about this book for me was the characters.  Vada, Luke and all the supporting characters were great!  I loved reading about them and getting to know them.  They felt real and genuine.  I thought both Vada and Luke had interesting storylines outside of their romance for each other, which added depth to the story as it wasn't soley about their romance.  But the romance was still sweet and cute!

There are a lot of music references in this book.  I wish I was a bit more music literatate, so that I would have known more of the songs and lyrics that were shared.  I knew some songs, but definitely didn't come close to knowing all of them!  Sometimes I wanted to stop and look up the lyrics to the songs that were mentioned, but at the same time, I didn't want to stop reading!  

Lovely, sweet, delightful, charming.  Just a few words that come to mind when describing this book.  It's a perfect summer beach read and sure to put a smile on your face!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin's Press for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Adorable book about following your dreams! Family, music, love... who can't relate to those things?

The book is just so sweet and adorable. Luke and Vada and their love is the ultimate feel good romance. 

Looking forward to Erin Hahn's next novel!

3.5  STARS ★★★✬✩
This book is for… music enthusiasts who enjoy good song and genre references in their YA reads. Be ready for a lot of adorkable teenage angst and overthinking.

⤐ Overall.
That's it, I'm making it official: I'm in a bloody reading slump.


I'm not gonna lie to you, folks. I feel like an utter tosser not adoring this book. Honestly, what is wrong with me. It features angsty teenagers, a pure gay love, family relationships, personal emotional growth and an awful lot of bloody good music.


I have a distinct feeling this book is phenomenal but my reading slump just wasn't having it. The vibes that came off More Than Maybe were incredible but overall couldn't add to my enjoyment of the book.

The chemistry between vada and luke was about the cutest thing since Roomies or even Love Lettering . The fact that they've adored each other for three fudging years was literally everything it took for me to finally read this. At last, we have a propper and relatable romance, where we can actually understand the infatuation with each other. [every average romance out there, cough cough, I'm eying you]

⤐ What’s happening.
‘Be cool, hormones.’

...a brief summary of the cuteness that is More Than Maybe, in which you can accompany two older teenagers balancing family life and self-discovery while also trying to not act like total doofuses in front of each other. If you don't want this, just think about your priorities for a hot minute, aight?
_____________________
writing quality + easy of reading = 5*

pace = 2*

plot/story in general = 5*

plot development = 3*

characters = 3*

enjoyability = 3*

insightfulness = 3*

Following a similar "music" formula from her first book, Erin Hahn has another quiet hit in her hands. A balance of romance with hard hitting issues - I expect this to be another hit!

Erin Hahn writes the SWOONIEST music romances. Both POVs shine in a way I don't often see—both are equally compelling, vivid, and fresh. The way music is woven throughout the story brings the setting and characters alive. I devoured it in 24 hrs and won't stop thinking about them for a while!

I couldn't get into this book.  I tried reading it a few times, but I wasn't hooked right away. I may try again later, so I felt this way with her last book.

More than Maybe

Beautifully written story on finding yourself and following your dreams. 

The diversity in this book truly gave a complete story, from the gay brother hooking up with the best friend to the dead beat dad. Luke and Vana made me relive my first crush and honestly gave me the “feels”. The characters are witty, funny and seriously left me wanting more. Do not sleep on this gem! 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc.

Two shy teens quietly pine for each other, one a cohost of a popular podcast with his gay twin brother (love me some representation), the other working in the college town dive bar where the podcast is recorded weekly, dreaming of becoming a music journalist and blogging in her spare time. 

After they’re paired up for a joint composing/choreographing project at school, a budding crush turns into a real appreciation for who they are as people. It’s not the instalove you get in a lot of these contemporary YA romances since they’ve known and admired each other from afar for three years and you can really see that as the book goes on. 

What I enjoyed most was the music and how it’s woven throughout the story, from set lists to texted YouTube videos, and of course the Stevie Nicks hate! I also thought the complex relationships Vada and Luke had with their respective fathers was really well done and added an interesting dimension. 

The love story itself was cute, the brotherly love was great and the side relationship of Luke’s brother and his best friend was adorable as well. If there was anything I thought could’ve been better, occasional the voices of the two main characters didn’t feel as authentically teen as they could’ve, but to be fair, these are clearly not your typical teens. 

Overall a very enjoyable read, great for YA and adult audiences as well.

I really enjoyed how this book was more than just a typical YA rom com. The characters were well-developed and well written. I also enjoyed how the romance wasn't the primary focus. And I love how the author used music in the story as the characters would go back and forth sharing different songs that were relevant in certain situations. I will definitely revisit this book and recommend it to everyone I know. So sweet!

Overall, this was a really cute book about a couple of teenagers who finally get past their anonymous crushes on each other. I liked Vada and her spunk. I thought Luke was a bit boring. His Clark Kent modesty only goes so far. I loved all the musical references. That always pulls me in, especially when it stretches me to start looking up things on Spotify (there is a playlist, btw). I probably would have enjoyed more Zack and Cullen, but they weren't the main characters. Sadly there was really nothing super unique about the story and nothing to make it stand out months or years from now. That doesn't mean it wasn't an enjoyable read. It won't change the word, but not every book needs to do that. This one entertained and made me smile and maybe a bit nostalgic for live concerts.