Not a bad book. Not a great book. I read it. I don't remember most of it but it was a book that I read

I have tried to read this one so many times and I cannot get into it. Super sad because I love Sonia's other books for the. most part.

This is your generic modern YA. I found it an interesting idea for a social media aspect of the story and the negative impact that can result form it and how it leaks into your life. Also, it shows that people will decide their own ideas about you and your life from what they see on social media. I am glad this story worked the way it did and had a good lesson and ending for the readers.

I think Sonia Hartl is fantastic - everything I've read by her has been an absolute joy, and Not You #lovestory is no exception. One of the brightest YA authors around today, she treats everything she writes with positivity and sensitivity, and it sounds like a cliche to say hers are the books I wish I had as a teenager, but it's absolutely true.

I initially thought I would enjoy this but quickly realized it isn't for me. The premise is completely me, old movies and cosplay? Yes please. However it fell flat almost from the start. I couldn't keep going so unfortunately it is a DNF.

I was initially really excited about the concept of this, but ultimately it wasn't 100% as fun as I thought it might be. But I still enjoyed reading it!

I tore through this book and Sonia Has become an autobuy author for me. I loved the sex positivity and the juxtaposition between small town life and having big dreams.

I really enjoyed this sex-positive romance! The characters felt relatable and you didn't want to put it down. My only issue is that some of the social media components didn't feel too realistic.

3.5 stars
Not your #lovestory is indeed a sweet love story about meet cute and how social media can influence the lives of the ones implicated in it.
There are much more deep feelings and discussions in here, much more than one is expecting and while the cover and blurb is setting up for an easy read, this is not the case.
The characters are well described and i enjoyed it overall but maybe i wanted a bit more from the actual romance and how that develops into something more steady and beautiful for the future.

Not Your #LoveStory is a quick and fun read about two people who happen to meet at a baseball game in a rom-com way. Macy runs a Youtube channel where she reviews old movies in cosplay. Her dream is to become famous so that she can save money for college. The characters are amazing. Macy is a badass, and I loved Paxton and his cinnamon roll vibes. I loved how this story dealt with both the positive and negative aspects of viral fame and social media.

DNF after 80 pages

I liked the start of this, but it didn't go anywhere, and I got bored. I didn't have any major problems, but 2020 being what it is, I need to feel connected so I can get out of my own head.

I loved this book so so much !
It was fresh and young.
A mix between 80's and today's youth!
One of my favorites of the year !

Sonia Hartl rules. I came across her previous release by chance and was so impressed by her handling of sexuality and consent that I had to read whatever she had coming next. In general, I like her writing so much because her characters are messy and feel real to me, while being laugh-out-loud funny, and educational. That being said, this wasn't the plot for me. I sort of guessed that would be the case from the title though, and still enjoyed reading it. I'm looking forward to her next release.

There's a reason I keep coming back to Sonia Hartl's books. Brilliant prose, hilarious yet poignant writing that makes me alternately cry and laugh, and a close look at social media and its impacts on society. This is a must read!

Not Your #Lovestory is a fun, quick read that explores what happens after you go viral. When Macy chats with a cute guy sitting next to her at a baseball game, she's not expecting the woman sitting behind her to live-tweet their every interaction. Suddenly, the whole internet is shipping Macy with a guy she barely knows. But the fame is helping her build up her film review YouTube channel, and Macy starts to lean into it. But as her internet life and real life begin to collide, Macy will have to make some tough choices.

This book was such a quick read that answered some really interesting questions. It discusses consent and privacy in the digital age, which I think is incredibly relevant to teens today. What starts out as a normal day at the ballgame with her mom explodes into a viral meetcute story and Macy struggles to take back her own narrative and her voice.

The small-town setting was perfect, and Sonia Hartl captures it well. Macy and her mom have a total Gilmore-Girls vibe which was fun! There were some great supporting characters and I loved the IRL romance between Macy and a coworker at the local video rental store. There were some supporting characters of color and queer characters. Overall it's a super cute contemporary romance that touches on some important subjects!

This was such a cute book. I enjoyed all the characters and their stories. Macy was interesting MC and I really felt for her.

Without a doubt, Sonia Hartl has crafted a story that is compulsively readable, and poignant. It’s the sort of book that can, and undoubtedly will, be devoured in a single sitting. Hartl managed to squeeze so many important discussions into such a short book.

As a narrator, Macy is tenacious and feisty and so, so easy to root for. She is driven, and funny, and an absolute joy to read. This saying goes for the majority of the characters in NOT YOUR #LOVESTORY, with a special shout-out to the Bees (a posse of equally grumpy and hilarious elderly quilters). Hartl also has a knack for writing the softest and most endearing of love interests, and Paxton was no exception. I appreciated that Hartl used their relationship as a means through which to have ongoing discussions surrounding consent, and sexuality. This continued in the same welcoming vein as Hartl's debut, HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN ME, where sex (and pleasure) is never stigmatized.

I also love when the settings in a story feel as real and palpable as the characters who inhabit them, which describes Honeyfield (and it’s community) perfectly. Honeyfield functions adeptly as the backdrop through which Hartl explores—and challenges—small town plights, most prominently classism and poverty.

At it's core NOT YOUR #LOVESTORY offers very needed discussions about the internet, privacy, and mental health—and how damaging the former can be to the latter. Macy’s decision to go along with the lies for clout on social media felt completely reasonable, even though both she (and you as the reader), can see all the ways it could—and ultimately does—go awry. The book does an incredibly strong service to bring awareness to the lesser known qualms of the online world, especially to youth.

But no amount of care can distract from the book’s largest shortcoming: a generational gap that points to misunderstandings in how Hartl’s target demographic use social media (especially Twitter). No teen uses that many hashtags, regardless of the clout they’re chasing.

This is the story of Macy, who runs her own youtube channel that does reviews of videos. She decides to take her mother on a birthday trip to a Royals game where she accidentally spills her hot dog and drinks on a very cute boy. During this baseball game, a complete stranger decides to document their "meet cute" and it goes viral. As this meet cute goes viral, her youtube channel starts to take off and Eric, the boy from the game, proposes that the two of them play it up for social media so that they continue to get the clicks and the views. At the same time, Macy is starting to develop feelings for a local boy and questioning everything that she's doing for clicks.

Now at first, I thought I was just going to get a simple romance read where a girl likes a boy, and things kind of fall out in a tumbling fashion with a little bit of tension thrown in. Yet still, something that is sweet, quick, and very easy to dive into. What I got was a lot deeper than that and I very much appreciated that. I will note that there is talk of suicide and other mental disorders, in case that is triggering for anyone. It dives into a lot of deeper commentary on social media and how we can judge people on something that complete strangers may post and how that will affect other people's lives.

The character development of Macy and her family is absolutely amazing. I love the dynamic between her and her mother and her grandmother and just the look at the town in general. She comes from a small town and because of that, it affects the way that people interact with each other. This book could have easily had cookie-cutter characters but each of the characters seems to hold up on their own and they each have a deeper backstory. A lot of it takes some very deep look into a lot of social issues. This book has a lot to say and I think it says it very well. It makes you stop and think about what the internet is doing to us mentally and how crazy we can get for that validation of complete strangers' likes. It also looks a what those negative comments from complete strangers can do to us mentally.

Now the writing in this book can get a little repetitive at some points, we were given a lot of detail that didn't feel like it had a lot of relevance. It was mostly filler. But it was very easy to get into and latch on to what the book was saying about social media.

There is a little bit of romance as well. This is what I would call a new adult read because the main character is 18 and it takes a deep look into her relationships.

Overall I really did enjoy this book. I think it had a lot of good commentary on social media and just relationships in general. So if you are looking for a read that dives into social media and has a little bit of romance on the side, I highly recommend this read.

I appreciate the juxtaposition between small town (trading quilts for beef) and modern life (wanting to have a youtube career). I was really interested in Macy's world, and really loved the setting. In fact, I wish more of the book was about that than the dumb viral relationship. Fans of the game Night in the Woods will like the trying to escape small town sort of vibe. There were a lot of parts I highlighted, especially in the first half, because I think Hartl captures the small town life and creates an authentic environment.

That said, I struggled with the main plot. I don't get why everyone cared so much about Macy and Eric being a thing. They both got tens and thousands of followers overnight...why???? Eric wasn't like, famous, and neither was Macy, so why were they on the Today show? Why does the Today show care? Headline: two rando teens interact at a baseball game? I just didn't get why it was such a big deal or why the internet blew up over it. I can see it being a cute little local story, but the way it created these huge stakes just wasn't believable to me. That said, I did love how the story showed that Macy wouldn't get fans for her youtube channel just because of the relationship, and how people around her were hurt because of the online viral vitrol. That felt authentic.

Even though I struggled with the plot, I was invested reading for most of the book--probably because I loved the setting so much. Sometimes the characters come off as a bit anime-y, over-emoting, and I just found this unnecessary and unbelievable but mkay. On that note, Macy smashes her phone multiple times? For someone who doesn't have a lot of money, it seemed weird her instinct would be to repeatedly throw and damage a rather expensive object. It’d be more impactful if those sort of moments were more restrained and believable.

*SPOILERS FOLLOW*

I started losing engagement toward the end. I'm not sure I can explain why. Maybe it was that the internet tension was just so easily fixed. Macy decides to stop playing along with the game, and instantly destroys Eric and Jessica's hold. It was kind of anti-climactic. And Paxton is sweet, but suddenly they have sex and everything's great. I guess everything at the end just tied up a little too quickly and neatly. It wasn't 100% believable or satisfying.

All in all, a decent read.

Formatting feedback: Cover doesn’t quite fit content. ARC PDF I received via Netgally is mis-paginated so it was confusing to read/they’re on the opposite pages. Got used to it, but you should probably fix that!

I loved Macy’s unapologetic way of speaking her mind and being very direct. She cares so much about her friends and family and goes out of her way to make them happy. The story is told entirely in the first person from her perspective and she’s just so endearing and kind. I also loved Paxton, her sweet friend who clearly is in love with her. He raises rabbits for the county fair and is so unbelievably wholesome and genuine. I rooted for him the entire time.

If you are a fan of YA that deals with feminist issues in a smart way, Not Your #Lovestory is for you!