I have now read this book twice and, with both readings, finished it in one sitting. This hilarious and heartbreaking novel will make you laugh out loud and then cry so much you'll go through an entire box of Kleenex (or, maybe that's just me). Anddddd that's all I'm going to tell you because I promise it's just one of those books that is best approached--like most worthwhile things in life--by taking a chance and letting the story lead you where it will.
Two teenagers with cystic fibrosis: they have a long list of DON'Ts but very few DOs. Stella sticks to her schedules and pins hope on a lung transplant. Will is ready to be 18, free of hospitals and his mother's race for a cure. An endearing and honest story of two teenagers learning there's more to living than simply surviving.
The whole concept of “meant to be” is filled with lots of exhausting caveats. Are the stars aligned? Does everything feel effortless? Does it feel right? But really, fate and coincidence are all just little chances that we either take, or we don’t. At least, that’s what Ben and Arthur believe. When their meet-cute at a post office in New York City doesn't immediately lead into a romantic montage of bliss, they aren’t worried. By both believing that do-overs are an essential part of life and that important relationships don’t always come about effortlessly, Ben and Arthur’s romance is meant to be because they want it to be so. Through all the meet-cutes, witty dialogue, and, of course, the do-overs, this story is one of the sweetest I’ve read about all the awkwardness and wonder of falling in love for the first time. And who knows, it could be just the book you need? Maybe your reading of this review was…meant to be?
Heart break is hard, especially when you're Roscoe Winston--cursed with kind of memory that never blurs or fades. Each day the pain is fresh as the last. So he's spent the last ten years avoiding Simone, and she's avoided him...except now he's a key component to the federal case that Simone is trying to build, and she can't afford to stay away from him anymore. Reid's writing is funny and smart, often making me actually laugh out loud. Her characters are interesting, brilliant and quirky--the kind you want to go back and visit again and again. (Reid is also a local independent author!) She has become an instabuy author for me.
Stella Lane: brilliant econometrician, lousy in love, ♥s pencil skirts and martial arts movies, autistic.
Michael Phan: Vietnamese stunner, also awful with romance, professional escort.
This book is both fun and endearing, and just goes to prove that romance is not only for white neurotypicals.
Take:
- Cutthroat competion
- Heartthrob athletes in various states of (un)dress
- Painfully well-executed cliffhangers
- Rivalry rife with sexual tension
and you get this cheeky, enthralling, character-driven volume for those who wish the Rocky movies were a little gayer.
I have nothing bad to say about this book. Thorne is a MASTER at telling an enemies to lovers story - which most people seem to get wrong. Not only that but her charactesr are rich, her dialogue is witty, and she just all-around makes you feel good! You'll want to read it five times in a row... and then, maybe again, just for good measure.
