╰┈➤ 3 stars!
it’s a love story follows jane jackson, who is determined to make her first project a huge success—but she lies about securing an artist, jack quinlan, a popstar who supposedly promised to write an original song for the soundtrack. the problem? they haven’t spoken IN YEARS and never had the kind of relationship where she could just casually reach out and ask for a favor.
when jane hears that jack will be performing at a festival on long island, she sees it as her chance to reconnect. there’s one thing though, she has to go with dan Finnegan, her one-time crush because aside from the festival, it’s also his hometown.
i had such huge expectations for this book because i’ve read so many good reviews about the author—but that’s on me for setting the bar too high. i should’ve been more balanced with my expectations.
౨ৎ dan. he loved the notebook! it’s not always you get to read a man who enjoyed romance and cried because of it. his character had a laid-back vibe—he didn’t seem to care much about other people’s opinions of him or his life, probably because he knew himself better than anyone else.
౨ৎ jane. her character really showed how hard she tried to be “perfect” in every aspect of her life—so much so that when things didn’t go as planned, it completely threw her off. i could relate to her on that level, but there was something about her that just kind of annoyed me.
adding more the review is dan’s family. they perfectly embodied the kind of chaos that comes with being surrounded by loved ones—but in a good way. this book highlighted that it’s okay if your family doesn’t always understand you, but only to a certain extent. on another note, i really loved seeing jane’s relationship with her mom develop. it was clear how much she loved her, but there was a strain between them that wasn’t obvious at first. they managed to find their balance by being honest and open with each other, which made me really happy.
some issues are: i can’t get past about the fact that she’s sick of everything that is happening but not doing anything to make it stop or change for the better. literally, knowing about something and pretending not to know about it will eat you alive and that’s what it did to her. it affected everything in her life, most especially how she views herself.
another thing—i didn’t really feel the romance between them. it was there, sure, but it could’ve been stronger, you know? given the title of this book, i expected more. overall, this story really showed how self-sabotage can keep us from getting what we deserve simply because we believe we’re not enough. it was cute and lighthearted, with some fun banter, but i have to admit—it felt a bit underwhelming since it took so long to actually grab my attention.
Thank you to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and the author for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.
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pre-read:
idk about you guys but it’s starting to feel like summer from where i live, and what better way to start reading this book?! i never thought i’d get the arc for this but i’m so excited to start reading my first book of her!!