Book Review: Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Book Title & Author: Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Published by: Simon Pulse on January 15th, 2019
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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Synopsis: 
From the author of You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone comes a stunning contemporary novel that examines the complicated aftermath of a kidney transplant between best friends.

Aspiring choreographer Sophie Orenstein would do anything for Peter Rosenthal-Porter, who’s been on the kidney transplant list as long as she’s known him. Peter, a gifted pianist, is everything to Sophie: best friend, musical collaborator, secret crush. When she learns she’s a match, donating a kidney is an easy, obvious choice. She can’t help wondering if after the transplant, he’ll love her back the way she’s always wanted.

But Peter’s life post-transplant isn’t what either of them expected. Though he once had feelings for Sophie too, he’s now drawn to Chase, the guitarist in a band that happens to be looking for a keyboardist. And while neglected parts of Sophie’s world are calling to her—dance opportunities, new friends, a sister and niece she barely knows—she longs for a now-distant Peter more than ever, growing increasingly bitter he doesn’t seem to feel the same connection.

Peter fears he’ll forever be indebted to her. Sophie isn’t sure who she is without him. Then one blurry, heartbreaking night twists their relationship into something neither of them recognizes, leading them to question their past, their future, and whether their friendship is even worth fighting for.

Review:
I was really nervous about this book because my feelings about Solomon's debut were so conflicting, but I always give authors a second or even third chance and in this case, I am really glad I did. I still had some conflicted feelings about this book, but overall, I enjoyed this more than I enjoyed the author's debut and that to me, says that the author has grown as a writer since her first book came out.

I was fully expecting to relate more to Peter. We both have chronic illnesses (though his is his kidneys and mine is my heart) and he's bisexual. Wait, before I continue on, I want to massively praise Solomon for making Peter bisexual. There aren't enough bisexual boys in books and I really hope that changes. Well, I want more bisexual characters period, but definitely more bisexual boys please. I also liked that Peter was Jewish. I've actually looked into converting to Judaism in the past 6 months or so, so I was really excited to see how Peter dealt with it.

Sophie is also Jewish, but she's more into the Jewish religion than Peter's family is. Sophie's the reason I had such complicated feelings about this book. Being willing to donate an organ is a big freaking thing and I don't want to discount that at all because her willingness to do that was totally awesome. But I had a nagging feeling that the only reason she was doing this was so Peter would magically fall in love with her and all her pining away for him would not be in vain. 

I had a strong suspicion that what Sophie desperately wanted was not going to happen. Especially once Peter met Chase. I think I might be in love with Peter and Chase as a couple. Their first kiss was probably my favorite first kiss this year. It was perfection and I could not stop smiling. These two are definitely on my shortlist for favorite literary couple of the year.

Sophie's attitude towards Peter's new life was really bothersome to me. I understood that she felt left out of stuff, but Peter had finally gotten a kidney and his life didn't have to be so sedentary anymore. Sophie should have been thrilled about that, but instead she pouts and whines about how Peter never has time for her anymore and that his new friends are more important than she is. Really, she should have taken the opportunity to develop new friends, new routines and new activities, and to some extent she does, but never without wondering where Peter is and why he is doing whatever he's doing.

I wish I could remember who called their relationship codependent, because it was and I had been trying to put my finger on the correct word for the majority of the book. Sophie and Peter's friendship was very codependent and after he got his transplant, Peter seemed a lot more willing to break free of it than Sophie was.

I wish we had seen more of Sophie's sister, Tabby because in a lot of ways, Tabby was a lot more grown up, responsible & mature than her older sister Sophie was. Granted that probably had to do with getting pregnant at fifteen. Tabby's situation, while not uncommon, seemed a little too idyllic, and not representative of a lot of families. She was very lucky to have the support of her family, her baby's father and his family.

Final thoughts: This book packed a lot into it, but it was done really well and I look forward to seeing what Solomon writes next.

Book Review: The Complication by Suzanne Young

Book Title & Author: The Complication (The Program #6) by Suzanne Young
Published by: Simon Pulse on April 24th, 2018
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 464
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
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Synopsis: 
How do you go back to a life you can’t remember? Find out in this sixth novel in the New York Times bestselling Program series from Suzanne Young.

Every cure has a cost.

Tatum Masterson learned this after years of being monitored by The Program. She witnessed it when her boyfriend, Wes, came back changed, erased. And now, even the newest “cure” has a heavy cost—one she and Wes paid.

The Adjustment came into Tatum’s life just when she thought she needed it most, a promise for Wes to get back his forgotten memories. But when the procedure went wrong, a revelation shattered everything Tatum thought she knew.

Now, with no one left to trust, Tatum must find out what really happened last summer. And with the help of the boyfriend she lost, Tatum will have to dig into the past and future of The Program and its handlers.

And discover the true cost of a cure.

Review:
I cannot believe I have to say goodbye to this series. I never wanted it to end and now that I finished the final book in the series, it hurts. It hurts almost as badly as finishing the Harry Potter series hurt. That's how much I loved this series.

I really wish I had reread at LEAST The Adjustment before I read this book. I was having a heck of a time remembering characters and it was driving me insane. I would remember a certain character and then wrack my brain trying to remember where I knew them from. Which timeline? The before timeline with Quinlan McKee or the after timeline with Sloane Barstow. I started to wonder if my memory was still problematic after my health scare in November.

Suzanne Young is an absolute wizard at storytelling. She managed to keep all the threads from all of the books in this series together. I think all of my questions about this world were answered by the end of this book. She wrapped up all the threads of all of of the storylines. It takes a wizard to be able to do that effectively.

By now, I've come to expect bombshell after bombshell in this series and this book did not disappoint me in that way. I got my bombshells. Some of it I guessed and some of it I didn't, but that's another mark of a fantastic storyteller like Suzanne Young.

I was not a huge fan of the romance between Tatum and Weston. I'm trying to remember if I liked them together in The Adjustment, but I don't remember. I mean, they weren't horrible together and they did have chemistry together, but I felt like they were better as friends. Especially once certain things came to light. Especially about how The Program fit into everything concerning Wes & Tatum.

It was so good seeing all the familiar faces. Realm, Dallas, Sloane, James and several others. I think having all these familiar faces make cameos made the book even stronger. I actually want to reread the entire series now because I didn't realize how much I had missed these characters. Especially the ones I hadn't seen in awhile like Sloane, James and Dallas.

Final thoughts: Awesome ending to an awesome series. I am sad to see it end, but I look forward to seeing what Suzanne Young writes next.

Book Review: Four-Letter Word by Christa Desir

Book Title & Author: Four-Letter Word by Christa Desir
Published by: Simon Pulse on May 15th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
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Synopsis: 
Eight friends. One game. A dozen regrets. And a night that will ruin them all, in this high stakes gripping story of manipulation and innocence lost, from the author of Bleed Like Me.

Chloe Sanders has wasted the better part of her junior year watching her best friend Eve turn away from her for the more interesting and popular Holly Reed. Living with her grandparents because her parents are currently serving as overseas volunteers, Chloe spends her days crushing on a dark-haired guy named Mateo, being mostly ignored by Eve and Holly, and wishing the cornfields of Iowa didn’t feel so incredibly lonely.

But shortly after spring break, a new girl transfers to her high school—Chloe Donnelly. This Chloe is bold and arty and instantly placed on a pedestal by Eve and Holly. Now suddenly everyone is referring to Chloe Sanders as “Other Chloe” and her social status plummets even more.

Until Chloe Donnelly introduces all her friends to a dangerous game: a girls vs. guys challenge that only has one rule—obtain information by any means necessary. All the warning bells are going off in Other Chloe’s head about the game, but she’s not about to commit social suicide by saying no to playing.

Turns out the game is more complicated than Other Chloe thinks. Chloe Donnelly hates to lose. She's got power over everyone—secrets she’s exploiting—and she likes to yank their strings. Only soft-spoken Mateo is sick of it, and when the game turns nasty, he chooses Other Chloe to help him expose everything Chloe Donnelly has done. But neither realize just how much the truth could cost them in the end.

Review: 
I will read anything Christa writes. She is one of my auto-read/auto-buy authors and she has been ever since I read Fault Line several years ago. I was super excited to get my hands on this book. It looked dark, compelling and very character driven, which are all things that I enjoy in books and awhile I did enjoy parts of it, it wasn't as good as her previous books were.

The two biggest issues I had were: character development and pacing. There was character development, particularly for Chloe S., or "other Chloe" as she was nicknamed as well as character development for Mateo & Chloe Donnelly, but the other five players in this game called Gestapo? Yeah, not nearly enough character development. We learn their secrets because Chloe Donnelly learns their secrets, but I wanted so much more in the way of character development. Especially for Other Chloe's closest friends, Holly & Eve. 

In a book like this one, character development for all the main players has to be the most import thing, but to have decent character development for only 3 out of the 8 players in this game was very disappointing to me. I felt like even Other Chloe's parents and grandparents were better fleshed out than Cam, Aiden, Holly, Eve & Josh were. I definitely didn't expect that and like I said, I desperately wanted more.

The pacing also really bothered me and to be honest, I felt like there was quite a bit that could have been removed from the book. Certain things that slowed the book down. In a book like this, I was expecting a fast paced book with not a lot of "filler" and that wasn't what I got with this book. Surprisingly, I don't feel like Other Chloe's romance with Mateo was filler. I freaking LOVED them together and the way the book ended, just tore up my insides.

Final thoughts: If there was a bit more character development and smoother pacing, I think I would have loved this book. I will still continue to read Christa Desir's books, but this one was not my favorite.