<i>It's not like I asked for this gift, so I figure I must've done something to deserve it.</i>

So, full disclosure, I didn't remember requesting this and when it popped up for download I did experience some minor trepidation. I'm not sure why. I just wasn't sure about this one, even knowing as little about it as I did, so again, why on earth did I click? I blame quarantine brain.

<i>I can punish <b>and</b> I can reward. It makes perfect sense. I'd just been so eager to right wrongs before that I hadn't considered how karma flows in two directions.</i>

And ultimately I guess my gut instinct was right. But not quite to the extent I expected. Because Prudence? Completely and utterly insufferable -- even before she's given the power to aware and punish those around her for situations she infers at a glance. No context, no understandings, just snap judgments and bam, a bird shits on your car, bam you fall and break a leg, bam a baby pukes on your feet, and on and on. The reward element of her magical powers are very underutilized as is to be expected from someone who assumes she knows all and not only has a right to judge others but has somehow earned it.

"<i>So you're officially volunteering at an animal rescue centre for the next month. How very selfless of you, dear Prudence.</i>"
"<b>Hey, I can be selfless.</b>"
"<i>I know you can, but don't you see the irony? You're only doing this for the grade.</i>"
"<b>So? Actions make a person good, not motives.</b>"
"<i>I'm not sure I agree with that.</i>"

^^ additionally the irony is Prudence's whole argument definitely feeds into her delusion of thinking she knows best. But also.. doesn't the fact that she's directing the universe to work through her to punish others also mean her actions, despite her motives, make her a bad person?

The frustrating thing is there was such a lovely element to this story, which thankfully did take up a lot of page time and is what kept me reading, regarding the animal rescue centre and all the animals requiring care and rehabilitation and, occasionally and happily, even a return to the wild. There is a big emphasis on the environment and conservation and protection of animals, both those in the wild but also farming practices and the meat industry too. It worked to ground the story, yes, but was also a nice distraction from everything else.

Ultimately, though, even though Prudence undergoes many little epiphanies and realizations that she's erred in judging others, I'm just not sure she ever really overcame where she started from. I liked Quint, the love interest, but do not think he deserved half of what he put up with. Though he did have a line regarding his feelings towards Pru that summed it up perfectly, I think. I won't spoil it though. It's worth experiencing in the moment.

And, to make matters worse, there ended up being a person who deserved true karmic justice and ultimately didn't get it. So after putting up with all Prudence's choices for the whole book, when she finally gets the chance to make an informed decision and enact justice and retribution -- even though I don't agree with someone having that kind of power, particularly an entitled sixteen year old -- the one person who does deserve it? Doesn't get it. Arg.

This definitely wasn't a win. It wasn't quite terrible. But it definitely skirted the line for me. It was frustrating, and there were a few too many things left unresolved, but it wasn't toss-the-book-across-the-room rage inducing. Plus, the image of big eyed seals are keeping me from rating this any lower. So, thank the seals.

Instant Karma is such a fun and adorable read. The characters are charming and entertaining, the premise is unique and quirky, and the romance is authentic with the characters staying true to themselves.

2.5/5 Stars

This book follows a chronic overachiever named Prudence, who was assigned irresponsible Quint as her lab partner. After receiving a less than satisfactory grade on their final project, Pru is upset and wishes Quint would serve some karmic justice. When she attends a karaoke night and hits her head, she gets her wish and gains the ability to serve some karma herself. But, before that can happen, she needs to convince Quint to rewrite their project during summer grade in hopes of a better grade.

Marissa Meyer is one of my favourite authors so I was so excited to see her write in a different genre from her usual sci-fi/fantasy. Especially, when I heard it was enemies to lovers, I thought I would love this story. Unfortunately, I was so disappointed in this book... I was not a fan of Prudence, she annoyed me to no ends. She is super judgy and self-absorbed. The whole idea of the karmic justice was interesting, but weak in my opinion... It wasn't as big a part of the story as I believed it was going to be. I also was not a fan of the romance between Pru and Quint either, but I think that's just because I didn't like Pru. I did like Pru's twin brother, Jude and their friend Ari and their relationship with Pru. I also liked the cute animals at the rescue centre and the interactions they brought with Quint and Pru. Other than that though, this book just wasn't for me.

Instant Karma – Marissa Meyer

In this young adult contemporary romance, a girl is suddenly gifted with the ability to cast instant karma on those around her—both good and bad.

Chronic overachiever Prudence Daniels is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, after a night out with her friends, she wakes up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her. Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to karaoke hecklers, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire: Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner and all-around mortal enemy. Soon, Pru begins to uncover truths about Quint, her peers, and even herself that reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed . . . love and hate.

-Goodreads

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 3 Stars

Marissa Meyer has done something that her readers have wanted for years – she has finally delved into the romantic comedy genre. I always love the romance in her series and was so excited to read a book from her that was wholly focused on romance. The added twist of “instant karma” sounded incredibly fun and this quickly became one of my most anticipated reads of 2020.

Since reading this book, I’ve developed a newfound love for sea creatures and preservation. Honestly, the time spent at the conservation center was my favorite part of the book. I loved the animals, the new information I received about them and their care, and I overall appreciated the research that must’ve gone into those scenes.

The story is set up as a sort of hate to love romance between two lab partners who just can’t seem to get along. Pru is a perfectionist and focuses heavily on her grades and little else, while Quint seems to always show up late. In Pru’s eyes, Quint fails to pull his own weight time after time, and his lack of interest in their joint project infuriates her.

I adored Quint. It was clear almost immediately that there was more to his character than met the eye and honestly, he was likable from the start. He had an affable personality and tried to be nice to Pru despite her frostiness towards him. As he developed as a character and Pru learned more and more about him, he just became more likable and was my favorite character by the end of the book.

Pru on the other hand was…awful. She was self-centered, judgmental, and rude. She assumed that Quint was constantly slacking and when he tried to explain himself and provide her with a (very reasonable) excuse for his constant tardiness, she told him to stop talking and wrote him off. The way she used her instant karma powers was mildly infuriating, particularly because all I wanted was for her to receive a bit of karmic justice for her own attitude. I understand that she is meant to be a bit rough around the edges for the overall progression of the plot. That being said, she almost made the book unbearable. There was just nothing relatable or enjoyable about her or her POV and it made the first three quarters of the book difficult for me to read.

Though I did guess how the book would end, I enjoyed the wrap up and in the last ten percent of the book finally saw a side of Pru that I enjoyed.

The book ended on a hopeful note, with the door open for another book with this set of characters. While I didn’t love Pru, I did enjoy her brother Jude and would definitely be interested in a spin off story featuring him. I also feel that there is more story to be told when it comes to their family’s record shop and look forward to seeing what happens there.

Although this particular book fell short for me, I will absolutely read any spin off Marissa Meyer writes because she is consistently an author whom I adore.

This is a hard one for me to review. I really really disliked the MC Prudence. She was extremely selfish and rude, and it was just really difficult to connect with her, or even understand where she was coming from. And although she grows, by the time she does I had basically given up on the character.

I did, however, love Quint and I really loved the story also centered around animal rescue centers and how it is so vital to take care of our Earth, something I've not read before in books.

Instant Karma, by Marissa Meyer
Review by Prince Kai Fan Pod Host, Bethanie A. Finger
An overachiever with a big family and a tube or red lipstick, Prudence Barnett can’t believe she got stuck with Quint Erickson as her lab partner. Quint is a notorious goofball who never seems to get to class on time or complete his homework. Prudence won’t let him ruin her class project and decides to spend her summer volunteering at a local sea animal rescue center to improve her grade. But when Quint unexpectedly shows up at the center, Prudence realizes there is more to him than the goofball persona she knows.
After a fun night of karaoke at her favorite local restaurant, a small head injury grants Prudence the ability to exact instant karma! With the point of her finger, she can now dole out punishments to those she deems in need of behavior change. But, will the power of cosmic justice go to her head, or will Prudence hone her skills and make the world a better place?

Readers will fall in love with Prudence, who is perhaps the most unlikeable and yet relatable character in Marissa’s repertoire. As more of her personality comes to the surface, we see the injustices of the world through Prudence’s eyes. The character of Quint surprises everyone with his true personality, and we can’t help but find him endearing and attractive. Instant Karma will leave everyone full of joy and hope, and wonder, what would you do if you could exact Instant Karma on the world?
*SPOILERS*
Prudence starts out as perhaps the most unlikeable but relatable character I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know. As a fellow overachiever, I was instantly on her side when it came to the class project and refusing to accept a lower grade! As a lifelong animal lover, perhaps the only character trait I could not understand is not being an animal person 😊 Prudence receiving her gift in such a vulnerable way makes it seem almost impossible! Multiple times throughout the story I wondered if Prudence really had a gift or was simply seeing what she wanted to see!
Quint reminds me of every goofball from high school I can recall! His persona comes off as carefree, but he is hardworking and has a huge heart! His love of animals and his dedication to both the center and his mom really stand out. His interest in photography and his passion for spreading the word of helping sea animals will have everyone wondering, what can I do to help?
*FAVORITE MOMENTS*
Of course, we love a romantic moment and a happy ending, but the most relatable moment to me is Prudence’s vulnerability. Prudence sitting in the grass, hugging herself, and repeating the mantra “I’m a good person” is perhaps the most relatable moment from any story I have ever read. I was in tears on her behalf and found myself desperately wanting to speak up on her behalf and give her a phantom hug of comfort!
*FINAL THOUGHTS*
As the host and founder of a podcast dedicated to the writings of Marissa Meyer, it is no surprise I absolutely loved this story! I felt overwhelmed, in a good way, on more than one occasion during this reading and Marissa has found a new talent in her ability to spin a story with more emotional depth even than we have seen in her previous works. My favorite novel by Marissa has always been Cress because I relate to her on a very personal level, but I must be honest that now Instant Karma is my true favorite and has absolutely captured my heart.
As a lifelong animal lover, I have had the joy of working several volunteer jobs in animal rescue centers. Growing up in the Midwest, many of the centers I worked for included land critters, but I am happy to now be living somewhere I can also help sea creatures. I have a small collection of Yellow Volunteer Shirts and can say Marissa really nailed that on the head! Yellow is often the easiest to spot and the cheapest to buy, so many of the shelters I have volunteered at have had this color shirt!
My hope is that readers will see the amazing work of Quint, his mother, and other center volunteers and be inspired to help animals in their local area!

If the universe gifted you with the power to judge people as worthy of instant karma or not, what would you do with these new found powers?

Prudence has to present to her class on eco-tourism. She's prepared. She's done the research. She has props. BUT her lab partner fails to show up and she needs the moral support as the thought of presenting to her class gives her anxiety. Quint has his reasons for not being in class on time... not that Prudence would know because she took over the project and doesn't allow him a word in edge-wise. He makes it before the end of the presentation, but it's not enough to save their grades. In a burst of karma, their teacher grants them the summer to redo their project.

Music and the Beatles swirls around Prudence and her family. Sea animals and Jaws bubbles around Quint and his family. A storm of instant karma is brewing around our two young protagonists. Sophomore year is hard, but it just got harder with a chance to redo this project over the summer. Prudence starts volunteering at the sea animal rescue and discovers some gems, some treasure and some scandal. Quint discovers there's more to Prudence than hard work and a nose to the grindstone.

Other than the Beatles and Jaws vibes, this story has a Pride and Prejudice jam woven into its vinyl as well. Adorably chiche and cute.

Recommended for: fans of Jaws, fans of the Beatles, fans of Pride and Prejudice, YA romance fans, animal rescue lovers, sea animal lovers, beach goers, believers in fate/karma

This book is such a fun read. This is the perfect example of opposites attract - Pru, the main character tends to be slightly judgemental but it's not out of a desire to be mean. Pru's lab partner, Quint, is laid back and easy going. Quint's carefree attitude leads Pru to believe that he doesn't care about is grades. As a result, she takes the lead in their lab project and ultimately insults Quint.

In order to redeem herself and her grade, she has to convince Quint to work with her over the summer to improve their project. Of course, his first answer is "no".

I loved the quick banter between the two characters and enjoyed the environmental focus emphasized in the book.

In Instant Karma, Marissa Meyer reinvents Pride & Prejudice via high school lab partners. Prudence simply can't seem to shake off Quint, who majorly disappointed her all year in marine biology, but Quint is full of pleasant surprises and uncovering them leads to a delightful slow burn. Both Prudence and Quint are well-rounded characters navigating what it means to maintain relationships while also saving pinnipeds.

I’ll be honest; I straight-up hated this book at the beginning.
Prudence is not a likable character. She is judgmental, self-center (not to mention self-righteous), and I was extremely tempted to quit at just 30% because she honestly didn’t have any redeeming qualities. I get not wanting a C on an assignment (I’d be a blubbering mess), but that doesn’t excuse any of her behavior at all. Also, she was not a well-developed character. I’m struggling to remember anything about her hobbies or interests other than The Beatles. Making money, maybe? Prudence felt like a stuck up smart girl stereotype from a mid-2000s movie, and honestly, I thought we were way past that. I know, I know, she learns from the karma and starts to grow. However, I would have liked a lot more growth and an actual connection to the character. I didn’t care about her throughout the book, and I still didn’t at the end.
I liked the last 25% of the book best, but I could have saved myself some time since I knew how it would end about halfway through the book. I’m not saying every YA contemporary has to be groundbreaking, but it would be nice if it weren’t so predictable.
This book was work to read, and I would not recommend it. At all.

I’m not gonna lie, the first 50% of this book was a little rough. The main character was beyond unlikeable and the pacing was bizarre, but I actually ended up liking it enough to give it 4 🌟 in the end! The romance is a hate to love verrrrrry slow burn and the Beatles references and Marine life rehabilitation were very cool. I still kind of hate the main character, but in the end she had a good amount of development. ⁣

My biggest complaint with the main character was the way she handled this weird ability she seemed to manifest. She used it right and left, despite being set up as a fairly analytical and intelligent character. Like after seeing your ability toss someone off a tall ladder would you be willing to use it on a child?! It seemed a bit psychotic. I think the book would have benefited from a few less gratuitous uses of the new power, and just more developed descriptions of the times she did use it.

In the end there were some very enjoyable tropes in this one and I would recommend it to friends.
⁣
Thank you to Feiwel and Friends and @netgalley for the early review copy of this book! ⁣

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I did not enjoy this book. I was so bored with it and the main character was so unlikable. I ended up quitting halfway through. The instant karma was mildly interesting but then it seemed to go away anyway.

Just super bored with this, it was a dud for me.

I love Marissa Meyer’s other books, so I was super excited to see she was branching out into contemporary and I was not disappointed! I loved the idea behind the story and I thought it was super cute! I hope she continues with contemporary because I will continue to read anything she writes!

Unpopular opinion time. I have read all of Meyer's books and unfortunately so far this is probably my least favorite. Meyer did such a great job of writing such an arrogant and self absorbed MC that even though Prudence changed and did grow through the story it was so hard to move past how unlikable she was in the beginning. Karma only played a role in the beginning and end of the story that it really felt like an afterthought instead of part of the main plot like the title of the book implies.

Prudence is a perfectionist. When it comes to school projects, she knows exactly what to say and wrote, so she probably won’t actually let you help. At all. Quint is unpredictable, tardy, and constantly getting in Pru’s nerves - but they are lab partners. After getting an unacceptable grade, they have the summer to redo and figure out what teamwork means. I loved the animal rescue aspect to the story, but also the trope of opposites attract. It was cute, fun, and definitely hit a lot of what you want in a YA romance novel.

4.25⭐
"Instant Karma" by Marissa Meyer, is an excellent coming of age story that sort of gives me "Pride and Prejudice" vibes, but it takes place in modern day California.
When the ever punctual and perfectionist Prudence, gets a C on her group project, she is determined to get her slacker lab partner, Quint, to redo the project over summer and get their grade up. After some karaoke, a bonk on the head, starting a volunteer opportunity, and paying attention to more than her woes, Prudence may find more to her life than rudimentary, concise schedules.

This book really made me feel at home. I adored the story and the secondary characters were all very lovely additions and helped the story take a life of its own!

I personally was not blown away by The Lunar Chronicles like everyone else seemed to be. I tried it. I got the first one was different and unique, but I struggled to get through the second one, and still haven’t tried to pick up the third one, even though I’ve been told it is really better than the first two. So you might think that I would not bother with this author based on that. However, the synopsis of this one just really sounded cute and fun, and I decided to give it a chance.

Boy am I glad that I did! Because I adored this book! Even as much as I was rooting for our main character, Prudence, there was even a little something about her that wasn’t perfect, that made her real, and made me not just feel like she should be getting so much more to go right for her. But then, that’s kind of the point of the whole book, and the whole instant karma thing. Karma isn’t always what you think it is. People aren’t always really being a bad guy even if to another person it seems like that. It just depends on your viewpoint and your part of the situation.

So much about Prudence I could see in how I was a teenager. But I liked how the author didn’t necessarily concentrate on her insecurities as being all physical, while they definitely kept that it would be at least a little bit. Of course there was Quint. Now we had to think he was irresponsible and a goof off because of where we started the story, we only had Pru’s remembering of the situation. It wasn’t until we got further along, and we saw the reasons for his supposed tardiness and irresponsibility that we realize just maybe he wasn’t exactly the way Pru remembered. And when she herself started thinking back and realizing just how she’d handled situations, it was the perfect way to have a teenager figure things out.

I adored the story, loved all the different aspects of it, and even the little bit of a shout-out to a bit of plot from Dirty Dancing, well at least that’s what it reminded me of as I read it. Great story, and I look forward to reading more contemporary stories by Marissa Meyer in the future!

Instant Karma was my first Marissa Meyer book and wow she does romance so well! This book was highly entertaining from me feeling secondhand embarrassment several times to laughing and swooning and everything in between. There were so many scenes between Quint and Prudence that gave me an automatic serotonin boost.

I think the characters were one of the highlights of this story because Quint, Jude, and Ari were so great. I would read a whole spinoff about Jude and his D&D playing and quest to get with Maya. I also loved angry Quint. He kept his foot on Prudence’s neck a lot and made her really think about how she was assuming the worst about him. Also, who doesn’t love someone who is sweet and cares about animals.

I also really liked the setting of this story too from the town to the animal rescue center. I appreciated the research Meyer did on rehabilitation and rescue centers, and I spent a few minutes just looking at the Instagram she talked about in her acknowledgements.

Now on to Prudence. She was a lot. I love unlikeable characters and always give YA characters lenience, but Prudence was a little too grating for my tastes. She also was kind of a music snob which was slightly funny. There were several parts though where I empathized with her and was like “oh that’s definitely me.” There was a moment she enacted karma against a man that parked in a handicapped spot without a handicapped license plate even though he didn’t look handicapped and while I understood the sentiment it did seem a little ableist considering all disabilities aren’t visible. So, Prudence definitely had a lot to work on over the course of the summer. Thus, I liked seeing her moments of growth because there were things I would call her out on in the beginning of the book that she reflected on later in the book as she started thinking about how she using her powers.

The romance in the book definitely saved it for me. I love moments when characters get deep with each other and start revealing things about themselves, so the nighttime rescue center scene gave me life. I will say this book was a bit long for my preferences when it comes to YA romances, but considering how the second half of the book was my favorite, the length worked out.

Overall, I’m glad I kept with this book because I actually enjoyed it a whole lot. I love doing karaoke and embarrassing myself, so I’m truly bound to like any book with karaoke scenes. Also, the cover is so so good. They look so cute, and I love how Prudence is actually curvy as described in the book.

This was possibly my favorite teen read of 2020! I always love Marissa Meyer, and this rom-com was a departure from her usual genre, and is an instant winner. Pru is a straight-A student. Her bio partner, annoying and constantly tardy Quint Erickson, arrives halfway through their class presentation having changed her ideas and report, but it's Pru who gets the lower grade? She is super angry, and is forced to swallow her natural feelings to beg him to re-do the project with her; this time opting to volunteer at his mom's struggling marine biology center. Weirdly enough, Pru has noticed some karma happening with people who hurt someone else, but it doesn't affect Quint? A rivalry to romance in a quirky beach town where Quint and Pru come to discover they're worth more as a team than alone. When I finished this book, I wanted to start it over again immediately. The perfect thing to read in a pandemic that's funny, flirty, and heartwarming. Bonus that it carries a save-the-animals theme. I bought my own copy immediately!

One thing that has become glaringly obvious to me in the last two years is that I’ve pretty much finally outgrown contemporary YA. In my early 20s, I could still relate to teen romance and lifestyle and everything it entails, but I’m getting a little too old to have the patience for most of it now. 😅⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Because of this, I was just a tiny bit worried about reading 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐫’𝐬 new contemporary YA romance, 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢. I am a diehard 𝘓𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘳 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 fan, though, so I still had to give it a chance.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
And boy am I glad I did! This book is precious at its finest! I fell in love with 𝐏𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 and 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐭 and their constant squabbling. There were so many elements that really surprised me in terms of how much I enjoyed them, like saving the sea life, all of the 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 references, and obviously a healthy dose of 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 is available to add to your shelves now! Thank you so much to @fiercereads for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.⁣⁣