Author: Kasie West (Page 1 of 3)

BOOK REVIEW: Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

BOOK REVIEW: Love, Life, and the List by Kasie WestLove, Life, and the List by Kasie West
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Everyone knows Abby Turner is in love with her best friend, Cooper Wells. Including Cooper Wells. But despite what people tell her, it doesn’t affect their friendship. And she’s practically over it, anyway. What she really can’t get over is when her boss at the local museum tells her that her paintings lack heart.

Art is Abby’s passion and she hopes her future as well. She is determined to change his mind and earn her way into the upcoming exhibit at the gallery. So along with her family’s help, she compiles “The Heart List,” a series of soulstretching experiences that are sure to make her a deeper person and better artist in six weeks or less. When Cooper decides to complete the list along with her, she realizes this list is expanding her heart in more ways than one. Maybe she needs to start another project.

I really don’t know that I counted this as a romance…and if you go into it expecting a grand one, it will be painful. Like it was for me. Oh yes, you heard me correctly. Yeah, this is labeled a contemporary romance, but it really was, I don’t know, more about finding out who you are as a person and learning to love yourself enough to do what’s best for YOU. Learning that life isn’t always perfect. That there’s so much more to learn than what you realize. It’s a story of personal growth…even when its painful to do so.

Grandpa went straight to the kitchen sink when he walked in the door and began scrubbing his hands with soap and water. “Is everything all right?”
Okay, maybe I needed to work on my tone when making announcements. “Well, there wasn’t an earthquake,” I said.
“Am I supposed to get that reference? Is that a young-person phrase for something earthmoving? Has your earth moved, Abby?” He turned off the water and dried his hands on the towel hanging on the oven.

This story bothered me if only because I felt like it was too breezy. Too easygoing. Our MC was essentially a doormat and it bothered me on a personal level. But, really, I’m lying. She wasn’t even a doormat. She was a young girl who thought she loved her best friend and maybe-hopefully-one day he’d return her feelings.

On the bright side, this wasn’t a feeling I purposefully had very often. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this amount of sheer panic. Or this amount of hatred toward Cooper. So maybe this would help me paint emotion.

It was painful to read-PAINFUL. And not the good kind of pain, the kind that makes you cringe. Everything felt short, the list too contrived, the list moments almost a backdrop…

But to get through these painfully awkward moments, there was sarcasm. I always LOVED the sarcasm. It was cute, it was witty, and it was right up my alley. I actually even laughed through the whole book, to be honest. I love when I can identify with the main character in this way. But, sadly, it wasn’t enough. I’d close the book and I’d be happy at that moment, but then I’d realize I was bored. I wanted to be done. I wanted my new release (Come ooonnnnn, Cruel Prince) to come out (it just popped on my iPad (when I was reading this FOREVER AGO) EEK!). And I wanted more. But then, out of nowhere, our spineless heroine grew a pair and became my own personal version of a female YA contemporary hero.

“Come in.”
The door opened wider with a squeak. “Hey, you feeling better?”
“Physically? Yes.” I could tell my fever was gone and the headache I’d had for the last couple of days was gone with it. But anger still glowed in my chest like an evil that needed to be exorcised.


I choose to believe this isn’t hot. Lol.

And this is when it crashed and burned-And it wasn’t just because of some plot device or only to further the ‘romance’ (even though the week leading up to said crashing and burning was painfully obvious it would not go according to plan), it was because everything built up to this moment in a huge tidal wave and we got hurled in the side of the head with a crushing crescendo of feels that all crashed down at once….we were in the middle of a hurricane (sorry for all the water analogies????).

Then there was true pain-out of nowhere. It was real. It was raw. It broke my fucking heart-because I felt it. I felt every emotion she felt. And frankly? I didn’t know what I wanted to happen. Did I want a HEA? Did I really??? I have never felt this emotion. Ever. My stomach was in knots-HUGE knots. My heart twisted beyond comprehension and I couldn’t get the bitter bus to go away. I just…I felt like this book, out of nowhere, grew its spine, right alongside our sappy, lovesick, clueless MC.

This book may have been about a list of firsts…but I think it accomplished more firsts with me:
-The Cooper/Ris deal (I can’t explain what I mean until you read it)
-Abby/Elliot’s relationship-adorable. Come on, now.
-CRYING DURING A KASIE WEST NOVEL (THREE TIMES!)
-Hurt in my heart in a way I didn’t think possible for Kasie West
-True, raw pain from Kasie West
-Definitive no nonsense ending (for a KW)

And for once, and I won’t say how, this wasn’t a HFN. It was a real deal definitive end. And I loved it. But, hey. Still a short end…but I kinda tend to like those rather than long drawn out endings that prolong what’s supposed to be a short story…much like my long-winded reviews. 😉

He sat down on the yellow-and-white-striped towel on my right side and handed me the bottle of water.
“What’s this garbage? I want caffeine.”
“Just yesterday you told me you were giving up soda. You said it quite dramatically, in fact. And then you said, keep me honest, Cooper.”
“What?” Rachel asked from my left side.
“You had forty-four ounces of Mountain Dew at my house last night.”
“Shhhhh.” I pressed my finger against her lips. “We’re not talking about that.”
Cooper scoffed and Rachel pushed my hand away.

I read somewhere in one of my friend’s reviews before starting this that the person was kind of like me, over Kasie West, only because it’s been hard to relate lately when her first books were so lovable and the last few have been so underwhelming-I kept thinking l know…why even bother? And I regretted starting this book…But then THISSSSS.

“And it’s not even the Fourth of July,” I said, quieter this time.
“Barely two weeks. Imagine how booked they are for that day.”
“Would you rather have to listen to only quartets for the rest of your life or screeching cats?”
“That’s a hard one. But quartets, I think. Unless they can only sing patriotic songs. Then the cats.”

I’m happy to say this one is my personal favorite by her, and I don’t know why, because I felt it was so weak the whole time-but my heart is a fickle fellow. And I never ignore what my heart’s praises sing. I made myself swear (I did, I kept repeating to myself in a mantra, ‘no matter how cute this ending is, do NOT pull a Chelsea and give it a quick, hot, and dirty 5 star’)

Four thirty in the morning. You owe me.
That’s why I brought you doughnuts. I owe you nothing.

He sent me back the pile of poop emoji and I laughed.

Eh…I folded. I folded like a cheap hooker the minute my heart melted-and that’s all there is to it. Everything came together all of a sudden in a harmonious melody and it was kind of like Kasie West actually intended for us to feel this way…Like she wanted us to be pissed so she could say, ‘ha, you doubted me, you buttholes (I have since edited this part (and it wasn’t a-holes either…) now that a month has almost passed and I can calm my tits lol), well here you go-take THAT. RIGHT IN THE FEELS. BOOM.


I smiled and stole one of his fries.
His face went serious. “Don’t eat my fries, Abby. You said you didn’t want any fries, and I said, you’re going to steal mine if you don’t get your own, and you said, no I won’t.”
“Are you reenacting a conversation that happened five minutes ago?”
“Yes, because you seem to have forgotten it.”

I feel played. I feel very played…but, I don’t care. I lost. My heart won and Kasie West stole my heart [again] after a couple years of waiting for her to reappear like her old self. I thought she and I were parting ways, but alas-She is here to stay.

And I don’t mind that one bit.

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BOOK REVIEW – The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

BOOK REVIEW – The Distance Between Us by Kasie WestThe Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Money can't buy a good first impression.

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers learned early that the rich are not to be trusted. And after years of studying them from behind the cash register of her mom's porcelain-doll shop, she has seen nothing to prove otherwise. Enter Xander Spence—he's tall, handsome, and oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and the fact that he seems to be one of the first people who actually gets her, she's smart enough to know his interest won't last. Because if there's one thing she's learned from her mother's warnings, it's that the rich have a short attention span. But just when Xander's loyalty and attentiveness are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn't a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she'd ever realized. With so many obstacles standing in their way, can she close the distance between them?

Review:

The Distance Between Us was such a cute story, yet I struggled with quite a few things.  So here are some of my thoughts……..

An adorable story-line –

He laughs a little. “You live above a porcelain-doll store; your best friend lives in a cemetery. You’ve pretty much grown up surrounded by creepy things. Is there anything you’re afraid of?”
You.

Carmen and Xander both wanted to figure out what they were going to be when they’re older, since they’re both slated to take over their family’s businesses.  They created these career days that I loved.  And those moments always led to scenes where my emotions were the strongest.  But even before that I loved watching their tentative friendship form.  It was such a cute story, and it was so easy to devour.

A girl I wasn’t the hugest fan of –

Before him, I thought I knew if a guy was flirting with me. But he says things so subtly, so smoothly, that it’s hard to tell if it’s purposeful or if he’s just playing along with my jokes.

So confession time, I’m awful at getting sarcastic humor at times.  My whole family laughed at me, during our weekly Sunday dinner last weekend, because I didn’t catch my Aunt being sarcastic.  Multiple times in her texts.  So my sporadic ineptitude towards sarcasm may have played a huge role in why I never clicked or connected with Caymen.  You see, Caymen’s like the queen of sarcasm and dry humor all rolled into one person.  I tried again and again to connect and get her humor, yet I continually failed at it. It was so frustrating.

A boy that I was obsessed about –

He lowers the visor in front of me and flips open the mirror. “You still have paint on your face.” He runs a finger down my cheek, tracing the paint line. My breath catches for a moment when his finger seems to linger a second longer than necessary.

Xander MADE this book for me.  He was thoughtful, caring, and compassionate towards Caymen.  He was also persistent, charming and I loved how he initiated the friendship between the two of them.  And that he kept coming around and helped the friendship grow.  He was such a good guy, and it was impossible to not fall hard for him.

Lack of communication –

I didn’t want my mom to have bad feelings toward him. Somehow the guy had managed to climb out of the box full of people I had already labeled off-limits with a permanent marker and he’d become different. And now, much to my irritation, I feel some form of loyalty to Xander Spence.
I had to change this immediately.

So the two main conflicts in this book stemmed from lack of communication.  And it wasn’t like the people involved in the lack of communication weren’t around one another countless times.  They didn’t have missed opportunities to ask questions.  It was just never done, and the questions were never asked.  Unfortunately that can be a book pet peeve of mine depending upon how it’s handled, and I struggled with how both of the situations were handled.

A HFN that didn’t sit well with me –

This is the second book I’ve read by this author where that last page didn’t leave me feeling all smiley and happy.  Sometimes I struggle with HFN (Happily For Nows) because there’s still so much up in the air.  And in this case there were still sooooo many things that needed to be worked out, figured out or I just wanted to know what happened.  I wish there were a few more chapters explaining what happened so that way some of the outstanding issues would be resolved.

So now I’m left wondering if maybe this author and I aren’t that great of a fit after all?  Oh my gosh, I just don’t know.  I loved On the Fence, but The Fill-In Boyfriend had one of those HFN endings where I needed more.  I still have PS I Like You sitting on my shelf and Pivot Point sitting in my Kindle, so I guess I’ll find out if this author truly isn’t a good fit for me after reading those two books.  Here’s hoping if you pick this up you’ll enjoy it much more than I did!

BOOK REVIEW: By Your Side by Kasie West

BOOK REVIEW: By Your Side by Kasie WestBy Your Side by Kasie West
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In this irresistible story, Kasie West explores the timeless question of what to do when you fall for the person you least expect. Witty and romantic, this paperback original from a fan favorite is perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Morgan Matson.

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

 

Ahhh I really don’t want to write this review. I mean, seriously, who wants to write a negative review about one of their favorite writers, one of those authors who never ceases to make you happy and put a smile on your face. Well, sometimes its necessary-especially when this is one out of three of your top anticipated releases for 2017. And, might I mention, two so far have been absolute TURDS. Alas, Kasie West was no exception.

I can’t quite put my finger on why this book was so drab, so dull, but I think it has a lot to do with underdevelopment. Undeveloped plot, underdeveloped characters, underwhelming ending…it was all a sad, endless loop of what could have been. I’ve read KW books before where the plot was kind of…hmmm….not for me? A bit boring? But never once have her characters suffered and been quite so cardboard cut out as this.

He laughed. “I’ll work on my poker face.”
“You should come over today after school.”
“To your house?”
“Yes, my brother is in town. I think you’d like him.”
“I don’t like anyone, remember?”
I took another small step forward. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“I do like distractions,” he said.

There was just something so, I don’t know, off about the characters in this one. I loved them, to an extent, but every time I thought we were really getting somewhere with them, it was pulled back in-Kind of like the sun on a cloudy day, as a kid. You would see the sun peeking out, teasing you, only for it to immediately disappear and leave you aching for its presence even more enthusiastically. The characters were like that-especially Dax.

“You’ve definitely been added to the archive the last couple of weeks.”
“What archive?” he asked.
“The happy memories one. The one I’ll draw from in my dark times,” I said quietly.
A smile stole away his hard expression before he wiped it off and pretended I hadn’t seen it. But I had. And it got added to the bank.

Dax was just prime Chelsea BBF material. He was rude, sarcastic, a bit on the side of tortured…I truly thought he was a 100% win. Turns out? The author truly didn’t explore him the way she could have. After the library debacle, I truly figured we’d get so much more out of our leading man, but instead, the plot took an odd turn with our main character, Autumn.

I stopped. “When I feel trapped, anxious, I think about the times I’m the happiest.”
He dared take his eyes off the dark lot in front of him to level his gaze on me. The intensity in them took my breath away. Then he was focused again out the window. I almost apologized, thinking I had hit a nerve with that suggestion. But I held my tongue.

We know, at the beginning of the book, she has a huge crush on some dude (and he might like her, too, GASP!). And after the library, we see him kind of resurface. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I didn’t like where the story went. It was a tad contrived. Maybe not contrived, more pushy. More plot device-y. I think it could have been okay, but it made Autumn even more reserved about liking who she actually liked and it seems like that made me roll my eyes quite a bit more than anything else did. Oh! Yes, I rolled my eyes, QUITE A LOT.

What made me roll my eyes almost as much (maybe the most?) were the constant flashbacks. Like….okay. We get it. She has a life and she loves her life. But…just…argh. Why why whyyyyy the always looking back?? Couldn’t there have been a little more set up and a lot less ‘fade from the present to make these moments longer’? I just loathe flashbacks, and in all that time spent in the library? I think she has at least one flashback per chapter. Did I mention I hate flashbacks? *Cringes inwardly*

There was definitely a lot of cute that can be taken from this story, especially near the end. But, come on, there was so much more that could have happened to make this story unforgettable. In fact, I had forgotten 90% of this book until I began writing this review. Even worse-I forget I’ve even read it until I scroll down my feed. So, take what you will from this review, just know that it is, in my opinion, by far the weakest Kasie West book to date. Meh.

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BOOK REVIEW: P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

BOOK REVIEW: P.S. I Like You by Kasie WestP.S. I Like You by Kasie West
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

What if the person you were falling for was a total mystery?

While Lily is spacing out in Chemistry one day, she picks up her pencil and scribbles a line from one of her favorite songs on the desk. The next day, someone else has written back to her on the desk! Soon enough Lily and the mystery student are exchanging notes, and lyrics, and even sharing secrets. When Lily finds out that her anonymous pen pal is a guy, she's flustered -- and kind of feels like she's falling for him. She and her best friend set out to unravel the identity of the letter writer -- but when the truth is revealed, the guy is the LAST person Lily could have ever imagined it to be. Now that Lily knows the truth, can she untangle her feelings and gather the courage to listen to her heart?

From beloved author Kasie West (The Distance Between Us) comes an utterly charming story about mixed messages, missed connections, and the magic of good old-fashioned secret admirer notes.

“So you think I’m hot?”
“Doesn’t every girl?”
It surprised me when his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. I wasn’t sure why that embarrassed him in any way. I was positive he already knew it. He ran one hand through his hair. Then he said, almost too quiet for me to hear, “You’re not every girl.”

I find it just so strange that I had never read a Kasie West novel until late last summer. Seriously-It’s so hard to find YA contemporary authors that make such a large range of people happy, that continue to produce cute, funny, witty, and memorable stories, and that do it well. I had personally never heard of her, and then one of my best friends is like…are you kidding? Do you live under a rock?? READ HER NOW! So I picked up The Distance Between Us (Still my favorite Kasie West yet) and fell HARD. Who could resist Xander? Who I ask? WHO?

If only there was a way to transport letters faster, through some sort of electronic device that codes messages and sends them through the air. But that’s just crazy talk.

So here I am almost one year later, eagerly awaiting her next release. As soon as I ran out of her books (it was very quick lol) I was desperate for more. I can’t say she’s my absolute favorite author-that would be a lie-but what I can say is that she is an author I have come to admire and that I always look forward to reading. For instance, the minute this book was announced, I immediately had it on my TBR and let all of my friends know. And you can just tell how obsessed and loyal all her fans are. It’s so crazy! And the thing is…I truly truly had never heard of her.

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But now I have, and what I’ve read is nothing but impressive. So here we are, sitting and anticipating her next release-A cute little story about two students who both feel like they are missing something in their lives…and seem to find and express themselves through the words of their favorite bands. What was meant to be just a release one day in chemistry for Lily becomes an instant connection between two people who are desperate for someone to hear them. It begins as a game, a playful flirtation that happens by chance in a boring chemistry class. But, as the days go by, it blossoms into something they look forward to and think about every single night long after the lights have gone out….and turns into something far deeper than they ever thought possible.

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I was both equally in love with this book and disappointed by it. And I know that sounds so crazy, what with my extremely high rating, but I am so torn on this one. On the one hand, I’ve seen this done before-and it was done WAY better. I’m sorry, I adore Kasie West, but that other novel is one of my favorites of all time and it had way more, I don’t know, heart. I’m not saying this wasn’t done well…but on the pen pal aspect, I felt myself strangely detached-and it wasn’t until I was done that I realized I wanted that same intensity I felt from my favorite and this didn’t get one tenth as deep as that. So, this aspect was an extreme let down for me-And I wasn’t even trying to compare.

Words brought us together though they almost kept us apart.
You trusted me with your secrets and then you stole my heart.

And I’m sorry to be focusing on the negatives first, but I’d rather be salty and then sweet-I find it leaves a better taste in my mouth to end on a happy, high note. I had two other problems and one bothered me more than the other, if I’m being honest. I was a tad bored in the middle because the pen pal trope got a little bit stale, in my opinion. That’s a small part of my disappointment. But, no, my largest peeve, and I’m sad to say this, was the main character.

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I know, I know-I almost NEVER dislike the main girl, but for some reason I have been increasingly pickier with my female leads. Lily was…I liked Lily at first, ya know? But then I saw how judgmental she was…ON PURPOSE. She wasn’t simply just a snarky teenager, she made herself be that way. And I didn’t realize until the final page just how deeply her attitude had affected me. I adored how much she loved her family-it’s what my friend and I loved most about her. But then I saw how she reacted to said pen pal…it wasn’t enough that this person was a kindred spirit. It wasn’t enough that this person was miserable on the inside. It didn’t matter. All she saw was what she wanted to see, and even when said person proved they broke the mold of her pretentious expectations, she still pushed, fought, and clawed to keep things where it kept her comfortable. So she wanted to pigeonhole someone… but was indignant when she thought that others were doing the same to her. This really just…grr. This did NOT please me.

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And I told my friend this…That I just couldn’t get past her bias. And my friend Anna said-‘Yeah, I get that. But teenagers are like that. They can be judgmental. I’m used to it.’ And it really bothered me long after-Was I being too harsh? And I finally decided…no, no I wasn’t. I love books where the heroines are unreasonable- I just couldn’t get past this one for whatever reason. She bothered me, plain and simple…and it was probably the largest reason I couldn’t fall head over heels for this story.

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But enough of that. I have so many positive things to say about this. Like, how about the fact that after 50-60% I Could. Not. Put. This. Down. It became everything I’ve expected of a Kasie West novel and made me so badly wish that I’d had that connection from the very beginning. Imagine it like this:

Part one: Cute introduction where the plot is set into play and we get to know all our quirky characters

Part two: Pen pal plot drags a little, I begin to lose a little interest in Lily’s attitude and story

Part three: TOTAL transformation where the plot finally expands and we truly connect to the pen pal and our main character (well…you know what I mean). This part was 100% a 5. Things ACTUALLY happen and it feels like an actual story with a flow and a final destination.

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And let me be clear-Had this whole story been like that last 40%, this would have been my absolute favorite Kasie West book (Probably). I just…I can’t explain how a complete lack of connection, focus, and butterflies turned into IMMEDIATE butterflies that are so forceful and so out of nowhere that I couldn’t breathe. I’m not kidding. It’s like…okay, it’s like the Beast roller coaster at King’s Island (LOVE LOVE LOVE)-It’s a great coaster okay, but then you get to the final third of the coaster and there are all these wooden tunnels that make you go underground-ish and they are pitch black and you feel as if you are going 1000 times faster and, on the first turn into the first tunnel, your head whips to left so fast you can’t handle it-but you love it and it takes you completely by surprise as you laugh and scream and hold onto your partner for dear life. And, by the end, you have the biggest smile on your face and can’t contain the good feels and your extreme excitement. It was just like that. Literally-Feels out of nowhere.

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And I know I haven’t mentioned my main man WHO I AM OBSESSED WITH…but I don’t think I can because it’s a spoiler…is it, though? Is it not obvious? Okay, anyway, I can’t say his name, and I can’t really say much about him or it will make it even more obvious, and I can’t particularly claim he’s above Xander (maybe right below?), but just know that I absolutely loved him. He was an extremely kind, caring, and butterfly-inducing cutie. Misunderstood, if you will. But stop me now, I’m sure I’ve said too much. Whatever, sorry, it’s just so damn hard for me not to say his name and gush and cry like a fangirl professing her love and ah I am just a goner. But, alas, I guess you’ll have to meet him for yourself, unfortunately.

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So, anyway, it may seem like I was mostly down on this book…but that’s not the case. I just wanted people to understand why this isn’t a 5 when I’ve rated her others that way. So many stories win me over in the end (a million jump into my mind) and become a forever favorite and a five star. But when I struggled to love this story from the beginning and found that it paled in comparison to my lovelies, The Fill-In Boyfriend and The Distance Between Us, I can’t objectively and fairly give a five for this story. I finished, was smiling so big it’s unreal, proclaimed my love of it to my friend, and said I had to give it a five…but then I slept on it and realized that it didn’t feel right to give it that rating, that it wasn’t a forever favorite, and it it had too many issues I couldn’t get over. So, I decided to rate highly…because the amount of giddiness and happiness I felt for the final third of the story can’t be overlooked-but it didn’t surpass her other novels and needed to be rated thusly. This rating, while a little disheartening to me for KW, feels right and truly says what I want it to say: While this book had it’s issues, it was fun, addicting, butterfly-inducing, and brought the largest smile to my face. P.S. is a good time, if not a little forgettable, and it will take you away from reality and make you feel better about yourself. It will make you happier, if only for the length of the novel. And, really, what else can you ask for?

**ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review**

*********************

Alright guys…I’m guna be frank. My favorite thing about this book?? AGHHHHH MY BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY….he winssssss. Okay. Phew. Glad I got that out of the way. The boy was everything. He was the pitter-patter in my heart. The butterflies in my belly. He was the smile on my face and the driving force behind my high rating for this book.

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Because, frankly? This wasn’t my favorite Kasie West novel. And I couldn’t quite put my finger on why until this morning:

Spoiler alert?

I hated the MC.

Sorry not sorry.

RTC.

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BOOK REVIEW – P.S. I like you by Kasie West

BOOK REVIEW – P.S. I like you by Kasie WestP.S. I like you by Kasie West
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

What if the person you were falling for was a total mystery?

While Lily is spacing out in Chemistry one day, she picks up her pencil and scribbles a line from one of her favorite songs on the desk. The next day, someone else has written back to her on the desk! Soon enough Lily and the mystery student are exchanging notes, and lyrics, and even sharing secrets. When Lily finds out that her anonymous pen pal is a guy, she's flustered -- and kind of feels like she's falling for him. She and her best friend set out to unravel the identity of the letter writer -- but when the truth is revealed, the guy is the LAST person Lily could have ever imagined it to be. Now that Lily knows the truth, can she untangle her feelings and gather the courage to listen to her heart?

From beloved author Kasie West (The Distance Between Us) comes an utterly charming story about mixed messages, missed connections, and the magic of good old-fashioned secret admirer notes.

“If only there was a way to transport letters faster, through some sort of electronic device that codes messages and sends them through the air. But that’s just crazy talk.”

 Several times during my read I asked myself, “what would it take for P.S. I Like You to reach a 4.5/5 stars?” and in all honesty, I don’t think it could, no matter how cute some parts were. Now, I’m all for rating a novel according to its genre, but where am I supposed to put Kasie West books? In YA contemporary? Sure! Then they can’t – and will never – compete with the raw honesty and the avalanche of feelings I associate with some of my favorites : Please Ignore Vera Dietz, On the Jellicoe Road, Raw Blue, to name a few.

Truth is, P.S. I Like You put a smile on my face and was well, cute, but I cannot deny how unmemorable it is.

Fact #1 : I’ve read all of Kasie West‘s books and I’ve never come across a female lead like Lily, which is to say, the typical quirky girl with weird self-made clothes and notebooks. The tomboy, the popular girl, absolutely. Not the artist.

Fact #2 : Yet I’ve read my fair share of YA novels, and Lily doesn’t bring anything different in the sea of female leads. She likes music, makes (false) assumptions about people, is convinced that no guy would take an interest in her, fantasizes about this crooked-smiling, earbuds-addict guy with cool hair, has one and only friend because people suck (or something). When it comes to analyze someone else’s actions, she’s blind, but aren’t we all? I mean, TEENAGER 101, anyone? I don’t necessarily complain upfront about stereotypes, because sometimes they can be twisted to add something more to a story. Let’s just say that it wasn’t the case in P.S. I Like You.

Fact #3 : Lily’s family is what I like the most about her, but it may be because it is so relatable to me. A four children family and general messiness? It was my playground. Anyone who grew up in a family of six and who looks blank when confronted with the concept of a one child room will easily understand what she goes through. Her family is weird, crazy, annoying, roll-eyes worthy, yet so lovable, with a special award for Bugs Rabbit XD

As for the love interest, given the fact that it’s supposed to be a “surprise” (come on, I knew who it was on page 6 – more on that later), I won’t say his name but he was pretty great, if completely forgettable. I know, I know, I am harsh, but really : no matter how much he made me smile, mark my words : I will have forgotten his name next week. I just know it.

Look, I’m all for pen pals and stuff, as it’s a plot which usually really work with me. Yet if I accept having doubts, I still ask for the story to keep its mystery, at least a little. Take Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, for example. I loved that I did not know if I was right until the very end.

P.S. I Like You, though? I knew who her “mysterious” pen pals was almost instantly, and every time a new event would occur, the threads were always so thick that I felt like I was only waiting for what I already knew to happen. Granted, the story mostly revolved around Lily’s romance with ***, and romance novels are always all kinds of predictable. Yet it annoyed me because given that I knew who it was, I couldn’t help but feel the urge to skim through all the useless scenes with other boys. Just, nope. I didn’t care, and it awfully felt like filler for me.

As for the romance, I cannot deny that Lily and *** shared a great chemistry and that I rooted for them to get together from the beginning. They made me smile, especially when they were writing to each other. But I cannot deny either that something was missing, or perhaps I’m finally too old for this kind of cute, kissing book. Maybe. See, it was adorable to see them getting to know each other, but it lacked some tension and character development in my opinion.

Finally, the music part felt flat and contrived, and rather useless. It’s as if YA contemporaries had to incorporate some kind of artistic vibes, without needing them to add something to the story. I’m quite tired of this.

It’s no surprise that Kasie West‘s writing is addictive and smile-inducing. Her books, how flawed they can be, always manage to make me happy, even if my feelings stay superficial. However, if I really appreciated the letters, the dialogues didn’t flow as well. Although they were often funny, they sounded fake and I forced myself to adapt and ignore the stiffness – or rather, the fakeness. Yes that’s a thing.

All in all a cute but unmemorable novel. I would still recommend it to anyone who needs to smile.

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