I thought the story was cute, but the audiobook format was unfortunately lacking in performance. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was that made me feel less excited about Instant Karma's audio, but it detracted from the story.

This was a wonderful book, and having Rebecca Soler as the narrator was the icing on the cake. She is absolutely skillful with all the books she narrates, but I definitely enjoyed her as the voice of Prudence. While the first few chapters were a little hard to get through, the growth that Pru goes through was magical to watch. Definitely a worthwhile addition to any YA collection.

Sooooooooo the only positive thing I can say about this book is that Rebecca Soler does a phenomenal job as the audiobook narrator, as per usual with her. 

Let me just say that I have adored everything else that Meyer has ever written, but this.....was not it. I didn't care about the characters at all. In fact, I found them to be pretty annoying at times. The pacing was also way too slow in my opinion. There were also way too many subplots??? Ugh I'm so sad that I didn't love this because the premise sounded SO GOOD, but....yeah. I think the only reason why I didn't DNF is because I do enjoy Meyer's writing style so much.

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

Mix some ridiculously cute sea animals, with lovable characters, an adorable little town, and add a touch of magic and you’ve got yourself one absolutely delightful YA book. 

Pru is a serial overachiever, and let’s be honest, a little judgy of others she deems to be slacking off, rude or disrespectful. After singing Instant Karma by The Beatles at karaoke with her friends Pru slips and hits her head. After coming to, she discovers that she has the ability to doll out karmic justice to those who are deserving. A giant bird poop to the man who parks in a disabled car space, a fall off a ladder to a girl who is defacing a local business’ sign etc.

But it seems the fates have some plans for Prudence too. She’s going to be forced to get a new perspective, but it might just be good for her.

I really enjoyed both the main and supporting characters in this story, and the descriptions of the town made me swear I could hear the ocean, and almost smell the fish they were feeding those rescued seals. Plus, ya’ll know how much I love a good enemies to lovers trope!

If you’re looking for a sweet, fun, YA romance with heart, you’ll definitely want to pick this one up. The audiobook was fantastic too, and came in at just over 14 hours long and was beautifully narrated by Rebecca Soler (who you might recognize from Sadie, The Night Country, The New Husband and more).

Unfortunately it took me 4 months to finish this, because I disliked it so much. I found Prudence unsupportable, and I tried and tried to get into the book (since I'm generally a huge Marissa Meyer fan), but I just couldn't.

Did you ever experience a main character who just rubs you the wrong way?

That was me and Prudence. The whole book.

Pru is an over achiever (same here, thank you very much) but she’s so judgmental about everything. When something or someone doesn’t match her style or go her way, she automatically passes judgement on them. And, after knocking her head at the beginning of summer, she’s given the ability to pass instant karma on those around her.

Quint, on the other hand, now that’s a character I can get behind. While Prudence thinks he’s slacking off and a lazy surfer beach bum, he’s actually working hard to help keep a sea animal rescue center open. Not that judgmental Pru would know or listen to Quint to know that. Until she absolutely has to to bring their grade in biology up.

I did enjoy the story - learning about each other, saving a nonprofit, ethical decision making. But Prudence’s character made me roll my eyes ALL. THE. TIME.

I listened to Instant Karma as an audiobook thanks to Macmillan Audio, and the narrator Rebecca Soler definitely rescued the book for me. Her voice was perfect for Prudence and while she wasn’t my favorite character, Rebeca’s narration made me want to keep coming back to the audio book.

I seem to be on a roll with reviews falling flat but never fear I'm sure that will not last!  This is another one that didn't do it for me.  I listened to this a while ago and it has taken me a while to actually sit down and review it. Pru and Quint were lab partners in school and they didn't get along and it showed in their grade which infuriated Pru who is a perfectionist. When she asked if she could do the project over she was given a NO but she does not let that stop her she is going to do it again and enlists Quint to help her. After a fall she finds out she is given "powers" to strike instant karma to people who she deems worthy or unworthy of stuff (totally subjective) and really helps her learn how to be a better person overall. Crazy antics ensue and this was really more of a YA than anything I usually read.

**Received this audio from NetGalley**

This was such a cute YA romance read!! I love how this book was themed around aquatic wildlife. It was so fun getting to know more about them. The characters are fun and quirky, though Prudence is a tad on the annoying and immature side, but otherwise they’re great. I did love the character growth in this book, and how Prudence comes to self realization about her behavior.

This is the perfect book to read at the beach or when dreaming of warmer days. This is a very YA book, the characters act on the younger side. If you’re a fan of YA and enjoy reading an enemies to lovers romance, I would highly recommend it. I listened to this book on audio and I really enjoyed it that way!

I was super excited to get a sneak peak of one of my favorite (auto buy) authors. This story was just as cute as her other contemporary novels and I really enjoyed it.

This book was just adorable.

I loved the strong controlling character learning to work with her 'enemy'. 

A very cute and sweet YA romance between two highschoolers.

I also loved learning more about sea life and how I can help nonprofits! 

All of the Jaws culture references were hilarious too. I need to get a Jaws 'pun' poster. 

Thank you Macmillian Audio and Netgalley for an advanced copy to provide my sassy thoughts!

I listened to the audio book on the NetGalley app, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!
Fun book, with two parallel story lines that occasionally come together is interesting ways, mostly to Prudence's liking, but not always. She's an angry teen and we come to find out that it's mostly because others don't always come up to her standards. She likes things done her way. Luckily, her laid back and handsome science lab partner, whom she despises, might be able to rescue her from herself.
I'll probably buy this one for my high school library.

Marissa Meyer's Instant Karma is a book that I really appreciated in concept, as I am a judgmental person, and I would love the ability to bring karmic justice to those around me. :)

When Prudence Barnett wakes up with the power many of us would dream of, she begins doling out acts of justice, but it keeps backfiring against the one person she'd love to use it against. What follows is a fun take on the rules of karma and love. 

Rebecca Soler narrates this audiobook, and the run time is 14 hours and 14 minutes. 

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

DNF @ ~15%: I made the decision that 2021 was going to be the year of putting down books when I knew that they weren't going to be for me, and this one fit that description pretty quickly out the gate. I originally wanted to read this book because I loooooved Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles back in the day, so when I heard that she was putting out a mostly contemporary story (my favorite genre) I hopped right on it. Unfortunately, this one really didn't work for me the way that I hoped it would and I am bummed! Being inside the main characters head annoyed me SO MUCH from page one and I knew that not even listening to the audiobook (narrated by the amazing Rebecca Soler and was fantastically done, tbh) could save this reading expereince for me. Overall, while this book clearly wasn't for me, I do think that if you enjoy a younger leaning YA story with a sassy/snarky lead, there's a good chance that you will probably still like this and I do recommend checking it out if you're interested!

it bothers me a bit when our heroine is smart, ambitions, and wrong. Girls who are driven are almost always also portrayed as uptight and judgmental. Why can't Prudence be driven and focused but still likeable? This is not a fault if this book alone, more of a general trend in fiction. On it's own, this book is fine. Prue is not especially likeable. She is very controlling and dismissive of others. As we're going to expect, having the power to exact revenge teachers her more about herself than anything else.Pleasant enough if you're willing to suspend your disbelief.

*audio arc provided by Netgalley and the publisher*
I love Marissa Meyer's writing. Her prose and dialogue is very grounded, however, I feel like her writing is more suited to genuine fantasy/sci-fi. The setting of Fortuna Beach was so lovely, and I loved all the bits with the Wildlife Center. The love interest and the side characters were very sweet, if not a little two-dimensional. The main character was genuinely unbearable in the beginning, and it very much turned me off for a lot of the book. Obviously, there is growth, but her judgmental attitude really rubbed me the wrong way. Rebecca Soler always does a great job, and her narration definitely made this book more consumable. I do think the whole "karmic justice" thing was fine thematically, but the overall execution felt very nonsensical- and frankly kind of an unnecessary C-plot. The romance was slow going, but they ended up being pretty cute, and I was rooting for them to make it work. Overall, I would recommend this book if you want a fun, summer hate-to-love romance that goes a lot in to environmental activism and lots of cute sea lions!

I loved this audiobook! Marissa Meyer proves again that she is a master storyteller!! I also really enjoyed this audiobook narrator.

Prudence is a typical overachieving perfectionist and she can also be a little judgmental. She was hard to like at first, quite honestly. I had to constantly remind myself that this was a teenage girl and sometimes they can be a little frustrating. But then she gets this magical power where she can dole out karma (both good and bad) anytime she wants, with one exception . . . her arch nemesis and lab partner, Quint. I loved their relationship and their banter. I also loved the growth that Prudence showed throughout the book. She was so judgmental and annoying and I hated the snap judgments she made of people. I also loved the narrator of this book: she sounded young and put so much heart and soul into the narration. She really made it an engaging read. Fantastic book!

A new YA romance from the author of the [book:Cinder|36381037] series! Instant Karma is more realistic than the Cinder series but still has a touch of the fantastical.   

Pru is a type A go-getter high school Sophomore.  She's been paired up with the laid back Quint for her marine biology project.   When the project doesn't go quite as she expects and she gets a C, Pru is determined to do the project over for a better grade.  The teacher agrees, but only if Pru and Quint work together to prove that they CAN work as a team.  Pru thinks that Quint is lazy and unmotivated and that it is his fault that they didn't get an A.   She wishes that things were more fair and that people would get what they desrve. Pru's wishes for karmic justice come true when after a night of karaoke she wakes up with the ability to give karma payback, whether good or bad.   She can't control what happens but she can make whatever will happen, happen.   In the meantime, she volunteers at the sea life rescue center that Quint's mom runs with the goal of working with them to get a better grade on her project. 

This was a fun, sweet read.   It was a nice read to decompress with after this CRAZY news week.  I listened to it on audio, so it made it easy to sit back, close my eyes and listen/read. 
  While Pru starts out as not being very likable (to me at least), I learned to like her by the end of the book as she learned more about herself and how to interact better with others.    I loved that Pru and her siblings are all named after Beatles songs (thanks to their record store owning parents).     The book had a nice message about being nice to the environment, animals AND our fellow humans.  

<b>What to listen to while reading...</i>
Instant Karma! by John Lennon
Come Dancing by The Kinks
Wouldn't it Be Nice by The Beach Boys
Good Day Sunshine by The Beatles
The Beach by The NEighborhood
Daniel by Elton John
Someone to You by BANNERS
Ocean by Elsa and Emilie
Dear Prudence by The Beatles
Electric Love by B0RNS

Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars

Instant Karma was exactly what I expected: Marissa Meyer is an excellent author, but I highly prefer her dark fantasy/dystopia novels to her "realistic" YA tales. 


Negatives:
1. Modern Mary Sue's
How does a character with stereotypical flaws teach teenagers any more lessons than those with none? A majority of teenagers (54.2% in a 2009 study) suffer from perfectionism, and although other interpretations of themes could contradict this, learning that there's a "different way to live" after experiencing the effects of supernatural powers is not helpful to 54.2% readers, nor considered relatable in any way. 

2. Ironic Plot
For a book concerning perfectionism, there are too many unnecessary side-plots and characters and themes and backstories and oh gosh, I'm suddenly unable to summarize the book because the pages are overcrowded with information and motifs that we're supposed to care about but weren't given adequate time to form a connection with. 


Positives:
1. Writing Style
If you disregard the chaotic plot, the writing style is consistent with Meyer's usual: engaging, exhilarating, and encouraging! If it weren't for the author's descriptive and at times raunchy tone, I wouldn't have made it through the entire book!

2. Climax / Ending
As much as I believe the conflict was unrelatable, the ending was climactic and memorable. Who doesn't love to feel the rush of adrenaline as the many, many, many plots come together in one perfect piece? For one reason or another, I was relieved to reach the climax of Instant Karma!

Please remember that these are my personal opinions and if you disagree you can completely ignore me! I hope you enjoyed this book more than I did!

I loved the Lunar Chronicles. I loved the Renegades series. I loved Instant Karma just as much. A new favorite for me. Thank you once again, Marissa Meyer!