Prudence, an overachieving teenager, learns a few lessons on judging people and allowing allowing people to shine rather than controlling everything while finding a true friend. The story is a typical hero’s journey, but is slightly unique because it evolves around a marine animal rescue center, The pace is slow at time and the main character felt like she was always angry and yelling at everyone, but this exemplifies how Prudence grows and becomes a more caring thoughtful person. The audiobook and narration are well done and overall a sweet story.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Oh my gosh, I loved this book! It was so cute and I absolutely adored Prudence and Quint’s relationship.

Instant Karma follows Prudence Barnett. She is a perfectionist and is utterly annoyed with her slacker biology partner Quint Erickson. She thinks he is lazy and not motivated. So, the last straw comes when they bomb their final biology project. Prudence gets a low grade and is furious because she blames Quint for not doing his share of the work. The teacher says they can redo the project, but only if both of them work together. As a result, Prudence has to spend a few weeks volunteering at the sea animal rescue center that Quint works at and his mom owns. She figures it will be easy, her and Quint can get their project redone and then she can spend the summer relaxing. However, she finds that it’s not and that Quint isn’t a slacker at all. In fact, he’s a lot more kind and generous than she ever thought. Quint comes to realize as well that there is more to Prudence than just a perfectionist and the two ultimately hit it off. Sparks start to fly...until Prudence is accused of stealing money from the center. Miserable, Prudence wants to clear her name and see if there is any way to salvage whatever might have been starting between her and Quint.

In the book, she also has some sort of cosmic power that is brought up a few times throughout the book but really would have been the same without that aspect 🤷🏼‍♀️

But overall, if you’re looking for a cute summer YA romance, I highly recommend this one!

I adored the concept of Instant Karma, I love Meyer's writing style, the Fortuna Beach setting details were fantastic, and the way that everything came together in the end was so sweet and perfect for the story. I also liked and appreciated Prudence's character growth through the story. I identified with her to an almost uncomfortable degree... so I loved seeing her change and learn people's stories and appreciate their strengths (and forgive their weaknesses.) The only two things I didn't absolutely love were the pacing, especially for the middle section of the book, and the karma portion (which, though fun, felt unnecessary and I thought was the culprit for the slow pacing in the middle section.) Overall, I thought this was a very well done book, and I would happily pass it along to any of my teenagers to read.

I listened to the audio, and the narrator did a fantastic job of portraying Prudence.
Thank you for the review copy!

Instant Karma is super cute, but I wanted to like it more, which is disappointing for me because I love Marissa Meyer's other books. Pru and Quint are smart and caring people and their hate-to-love romance was what I enjoyed the most about this book, but an instance in the book makes me not like Quint as much as I did before and that changed my opinion of him.

There's a magical realism aspect in this book that is a fun idea, but there's hardly any of it throughout the story. Pru can unleash instant karma on people who do something wrong, but I thought it was going to be a bigger aspect of the book and it just isn't. I wish it was more important to the story -- I think it would have made it more fun and upped the ante more.

I struggled with Instant Karma because of the protagonist. She's unbelievably selfish and bratty and doesn't seem to have much of a growth storyline in the book. I also thought the book was unnecessarily long and could have been wrapped up in a few 100 pages.
The audiobook narration itself was fantastic!

This book was definitely different from Marissa Meyer's other books, but it was still enjoyable. There were parts where the main character was not super likeable, but overall a fun read!

Instant Karma drew me in with its terrific premise. I mean, think about it, if you could cast instant karma on people, wouldn't you have a list of those who need a bit of karma to deal with? I know I sure would. It also sounded like a fun read, or listen as it were, so I jumped right in. And here's where I ran into problems. Not with the narrator.. Rebecca Soler did an excellent job of making the story engaging and bringing the characters to life. But there wasn't a lot she could do with the lags in the story, and I'm not sure anyone could've made Pru a likable character. Oh, she's supposed to have personal growth and become a better person, but her uppity attitude, in the beginning, turned me off completely. Even when that personal growth supposedly happens, I had a hard time buying into it. So, for me, this is a story that's fun and witty, but not completely. There were things I liked (some of the side characters) and things I didn't, leaving me somewhere in the middle. It's one of those books that I'm glad I checked out, but it's not something I'd read or listen to again.

Prudence is an overachiever - until her lab partner Quinn ruins her marine biology grade. Pru is quick wish bad karma on Quinn (and others around her). After she sings Instant Karma by the Beatles at a karaoke night, she takes a tumble and hits her head. When she wakes up, she realizes she is able to cast instant karma on those around her - everyone except Quinn. Forced to work with him all summer at the marine rescue center for extra credit, she begins to realize her first judgement isn’t always right.

I really, really, really liked this YA book! It was super fun. The audiobook narrator was great - highly recommend!

Thanks to @NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for my ARC!

Prudence and Quint are high school lab partners. Pru is an overachiever while Quint lives a more relaxed lifestyle. When they get a C in their class, Pru wants to do extra credit over the summer, but Quint is not on board with spending his summer working on a school project. When Pru hits her head after singing "Instant Karma" by John Lennon she gets the ability to cast instant karma on those around her that she feels are doing wrong. The only person she can’t use this power on is Quint. When she discovers more about Quint and how he volunteers at his mother’s animal rescue center, she offers to volunteer as long as he does the extra credit with her.

This was a cute young adult contemporary romance with some magical realism thrown in. Prudence is a bit stuck up, but she’s a smart teenage girl with her head on straight, which I like as a main character in young adult. Quint seems to be a slacker, but there’s so much more to his character. This is definitely an enemies to lovers trope with the two being an unlikely couple.

My favorite part of the book was once Pru started volunteering at the animal rescue center. I loved all of the animals that they helped. I enjoyed that this book gave me an education on beach cleanup and conservation of wildlife. I liked Pru and Quint’s relationship especially as he teaches her more about the animals at the rescue center and how people can make a difference in helping them.

The only negative I have is that this booked dragged a bit at the end. It could have been a few chapters shorter.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that narrator, Rebecca Soler, did a great job. I enjoy Marissa Meyer’s writing style, and I would recommend this to fans of YA romance.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Well this may be my first non 5 star review for one of my fave authors. While well written, the main character drove me crazy to the point of wanting to smack her and I felt for her poor lab partner. I was hoping she would get a bit more karma back at her 😂.

I’m glad I was too lazy to get up and turn this audiobook off. At first I was not impressed and I still really don’t like the main character. She's snotty, and doesn’t give other people or ideas a chance. This book felt like it started in the middle and left a little to be desired. But once through the first two hours or so the book gets interesting and enjoyable. However, it seems to never end. When you think you have come to the perfect end, it goes on more. For example the mystery of the money, totally had the one figured out. But on a 14 hour audiobook it only came in to play the last 2-3 hours and then it was mostly the main characters mad at each other, one for being accused, and one for theft. Overall I did enjoy the book, but it is not one I would read/listen to over and over again. Like I said at the beginning, it’s a fluke. I even finished it.
#popsugarChallenge - Do over

The moment I finished Cinder in 2013, Marissa Meyer became an instant buy author for me. Although magical realism isn't typically my jam, I found Instant Karma to be sweet, entertaining, and light. The characters were all likable and well-developed, and the world-building was in typical Marissa Meyer style: extensive. I thought the middle drug a bit, but overall it was an entertaining listen.

AUDIO:
Just as Marissa Meyer is an auto-buy, so is Rebecca Soler. Rebecca is consistently adept at creating distinct voices for each character with smooth transitions that add to the story rather than distract.

Marissa Meyer is known for her fairy tale retelling taking place on a futuristic world. This her her first YA romance following Prudence Daniels aka Pru is a overachiever and dispenses everyone else who is not. She wakes up one night with the ability to put instant Karama on anyone who chooses. But her powers don't work on her longtime nemesis, reluctant lab partner Quint Erickson. He is always late and running behind. Never helping them with group projects. Pru and Quint end up with a C on their project and the teacher gives them a chance to resubmit. he finds out Quint’s mother works at Sea Animal Rescue Center and Quint also works there as a volunteer. To convince Quint for redoing the project, she offers her help to work at the center for four weeks. This allows Pru to see the real side of Quint and why is always late or not caring about school projects. This is a cute teen romance about enemies who find good in each other.

Something about Marissa Meyer the way she tells her story and makes you either love them or hate them is so great. After reading one of her series this was a good one to follow up with !

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.