The pleasant surprise here for me was definitely getting to see both characters deal with their family, financial struggles, college decisions, and alcoholism in more depth than you sometimes do in romance. The relationship between Amy and Oliver was sweet, and progressed relatively naturally, though it did feel a little quick at some points. A fun workplace story with diverse characters and a lot of fun music related content. I would have loved to see more of the frenemy relationships between Amy and Petra, and her relationships beyond the one with Oliver developed a little bit more.

I ripped through this book in a day, in part because I found the character of Oliver so enjoyable. He has a vision for his future, and it was great to see a character actually not laser-focused on college. Amy, of course, was the exact opposite, but the contrast made that a bit less overwrought. I also enjoyed the Rory/Paris type relationship between Amy and Petra. If you want a quick read that departs from the normal settings and character archetypes a bit, give this one a shot.

Review copy courtesy of Edelweiss.

Sort of a YA High Fidelity, Amy and Oliver are coworkers at a record store who are balancing their own life struggles: Oliver doesn’t want to go to college but can’t tell his mom that, and Amy is trying to be valedictorian to get an all expenses paid scholarship to Stanford. The characters are very realistic, good for Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson fans.

This book had a lot of heart! I would recommend this to any teen who likes romance- its characters are diverse and lovable, flawed and real. They deal with complex problems and have real voices any teen would relate to.

Set in a record store, this is a sweet story of two teens who seem to have nothing in common but discover that life and love can surprise you. Great characters and love the alternating POV. Some heavy topics are woven throughout include school pressure and alcoholism. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.