`✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 4⭐️ ₊˚⊹ spoiler free review !! ⊹˚₊ ╰┈➤ read june 23 - june 28 ╰┈➤ review posted : july 2 ╰┈➤ publication date : september 8
this was actually really good !! i’ve never read anything off booksirens before, so i didn’t really know what to expect. it’s a ya romance and definitely took me a minute to get used to since i don’t usually read ya, but i ended up enjoying it a lot. of course, it was very predictable at times and had a decent amount of cringey dialogue, yet i still couldn’t put it down.
⇢ ˗ˏˋ "that's my girl. see? this is why you inspire me.” ࿐ྂ
⋆.𐙚 ̊ the premise ꒰📱꒱
the story follows avery james, a high-achieving high school senior who is positive she’s joining her boyfriend at mit next year. her plan is simple: graduate as valedictorian, become swim team captain, and keep her close connection with her boyfriend, braden… what could go wrong? soon, her grades start to drop, braden won’t answer, and her best friend's little brother won’t stop following her around. when the school launches a beta test for an anonymous connection app, avery starts talking to someone who seems a little too much like someone she’s known her whole life.
⋆˚࿔ the characters ꒰💜꒱
ᯓ avery james ˎˊ˗ is a high school senior and chronic overachiever, looking to follow her boyfriend to mit. my opinion on avery is… complicated. to put it simply, she was pretty annoying at times. from my interpretation, this was done deliberately to show her growth rather than being the result of bad writing, but i think it needed more. throughout the book, she learns that there’s more to life than good grades and college; however, i feel like her character development could have been expanded on, as it felt a little rushed. other than that, the author does a good job of building empathy for her characters and showing why they behave the way they do.
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ jake taylor ˚., avery’s best friend’s little brother, is literally the definition of a golden retriever guy. i really liked jake a lot !! i usually read books with “morally grey” mmcs, so he was like a breath of fresh air. he’s adorable and cared for avery a lot. my one complaint is his lack of depth. i didn’t expect any crazy character development because this is a young adult novel, but i feel like we learned nothing about jake or the taylor family in general. for a quick, ya romance, it was fine, and i barely noticed while reading, but it was just something i realized when looking back :)
જ⁀➴°⋆ overall ꒰🏊🏻♀️꒱
this was adorable and great for anyone wanting something short and sweet !! my only complaint is the lack of character dimension or development, but then again, it was advertised as a cute romance with nothing too serious. i’d definitely recommend this book, especially to younger readers looking to get into romance.
「 ✦ i received a complimentary copy of this book. opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. thank you to trinity locke and booksirens for giving me an arc in exchange for my honest review !! ✦ 」 ╭──╯thank you for reading !! ‹𝟹 ╰──╮
Okay, I really thought I was going to enjoy this one, but nah.
The pacing was wayy too slow. I kept waiting for the story to pick up, but it never did. By the end, I still felt like nothing much had happened.
The chats were honestly the best part of the book. Those were fun to read and kept me more interested than the actual plot.
The plot itself just felt really underwhelming. Every time I thought something was finally about to happen, it ended up falling flat.
Avery also got on my nerves a lot. She overthinks absolutely everything, and after a while it became really repetitive.
Can we also talk about Braden? He was literally a walking red flag from the beginning, but Avery just kept ignoring every single sign. Like... wdym he's your soulmate?? DON'T YOU SEE IT??
(Okay tiny spoiler ahead! If you're planning to read the book you might want to stop here.)
Then there's the ending. When Jake tells Avery he's Mr. Pi, she reacts like it's the biggest shock ever, even though she'd already convinced herself it was him. She mentions thinking it was Jake so many times throughout the book that her reaction just felt soo unnecessary.
I really wanted to like this because the premise sounded fun, but it never managed to keep me invested. It wasn't a bad book; it just wasn't interesting enough for me.
Thank you to BookSirens and the author for providing me with an e-ARC!
Avery has her entire future mapped out on her vision board, and she's the kind of person who never strays from the plans she's made for herself. Jake is her best friend's younger brother, a spontaneous, easygoing guy who lives in the moment. When Avery's high school starts beta testing a new app called Connection Services, she couldn't be less interested. It's not part of her plan, and it feels like a waste of time. But she ends up joining the beta anyway. And that's just the first of many things that don't go according to plan. As Avery watches her carefully organized life start to fall apart, she finds comfort in Jake and in a mysterious anonymous friend she meets through Connection Services.
Avery was kind of a lot. She came across as pretty naive, and there were so many chapters that felt like they were just Avery spiraling or overthinking everything. She honestly got on my nerves, and I didn't really like her as a main character. I did appreciate her growth by the end though, it just took a little too long to get there.
Jake, on the other hand, was adorable. He was sweet, thoughtful, and easily my favorite character. Honestly, I only really enjoyed Avery whenever she was with him. I also wish we'd gotten way more scenes between the two of them because it felt like there just weren't enough.
Braden was simply the worst, and honestly a big reason why I struggled with Avery. The whole "love is blind" situation dragged on way longer than it needed to.
The story itself is cute, but it definitely feels slow because Avery spirals a lot. My favorite parts of the book were the chats with Mr. Pi and every scene Jake was in.
One thing that also got a bit frustrating was how Avery kept going back and forth about Mr. Pi's identity. She'd be almost certain, then suddenly doubt herself, then completely deny it, only to act shocked when it was finally revealed. The clues were pretty obvious at some point.
Overall, it's still a quick, easy read that's perfect if you're in the mood for a cute high school romance.
Thank you to BookSirens and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tropes: YA Romance/Romcom, best friend’s brother, slight age difference.
The first half of this book didn’t have me sold but the ending was sweet and if you enjoy coming of age movies/novels even when the protagonist is admittedly flawed then this is the romcom for you. Also do keep in mind there’s an age gap of two years I believe but it’s a little different than typical as Avery is actually older than Jake. Not in like a weird grooming way or anything but in a like childhood crush way. Minor spoiler but also Jake apparently skips a grade? So he like was a sophomore but skipped to be a junior? Also apparently a hockey player though there’s next to no development about, well, him mostly outside of his relationship with Avery.
There is also of course the whole fake identity thing too which reminded me vaguely of Tweet Cute by Emma Lord bc of the anonymous app thing. Speaking of which if you liked that book then you’ll probably enjoy this one though it’s more focused on Avery and well her life than romance and humor (I’m not entirely sure if this was supposed to be a romcom or not). Some of her and Jake’s interactions were actually very entertaining though and honestly she was in denial abt her feeling for like the whole book. Also there was no cheating thank god, the truth abt Braden actually caught me off guard.
It is important to remember that this is a debut novel and did have a few flaws in development, pacing, and narration, if that makes sense. Like Avery wasn’t rly an unreliable narrative but also was slightly at times which could make stuff confusing. Also at some points I definitely did feel like the author was trying to be the next Lynn Painter, Ali Hazelwood, Elle Kennedy at times even though the book was completely clean and obviously YA.
Basically think a more or less Rory Gilmore type fmc and a golden retriever mmc who braids her hair a lot and is her unofficial calc tutor.
A solid 3.65 ⭐️ feel good romcom, nothing to write home about but a quick and easy read nonetheless.
I will try to keep this review as spoiler free as I can...
I really liked this book, without exaggerations I started reading it today and could not stop myself for one moment. Frankly speaking this is my first YA contemporary romance and it was fairly good. I loved the banter between Jake and Avery but the thing that settled with me the best was the fact that both of them understood each other well throughout the story.
I could understand Av feelings when she was bothered about the fact that she was seeing Jake more than her best friend's brother or friend. The concept of the connection services app made this story more interesting and I loved that fact that she not just only met her future bf but also met a life long friend. Personally, I really like the character arcs of every character. Loved the fact that every characters were relatable.
For me character depth has always been really important and it showed in the book that every character were well written and every one had white and black sides. I also have to commend the writer - Trinity Locke because even though Bredan was a walking red flag to Ave and all but I still don’t really hate the character very much just the fact that he was angry when Ave rejected him it icked me wrong way, he clearly had issues.
Overall, I am giving this book 4.2 (it's a bummer we can’t give the exact stars.) The thing is that the story was slow paced at the start but when I got the hang of it, I felt really interested. Every character was good but Dan felt unnecessary. (joking 🤣)
Thank you to BookSirens and the author for providing me with an e-ARC! I would really recommend this book to the readers for a fresh read.
I really enjoyed The Beta Test by Trinity Locke. This is the first book the author has released and I hope there will be more in the future. The characters in this book are in high school so keep that in mind when you decide whether or not to read this one. I felt Trinity did a great job with her story telling and brought to life characters that were likeable and relatable. The plot is original and kept my attention - I could not put this one down until the last page.
Avery is a very driven student and athlete who has everything mapped out for her Senior year. Things are not going as well as she expected with her boyfriend Braden. Jenna is Avery's best friend and they face a few trials along the way that will test their friendship. There is major chemistry between Jake who is Jenna's little brother and Avery. She tries to fight this weird relationship that is developing between them, but sometimes emotions follow no rules. Analiese is Avery's nemesis and the relationship between them will challenge who they both are and helped bring this book together.
I received a free advanced review copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is not my typical review type so apologies! I was given this book for free but this review is my facts and opinions. Oh my goodness this book was amazing!!! I came in looking for an adorable romance and I was very much satisfied with this story. I identified with Avery so much and loved how she did not want to be part of "Connection Services" It was lowkey giving Tweet Cute, another book that I love so much. I like unlikely lovers and these lovers were VERY unlikely. This is part of a series and I want the next book immediately!! I also loved how Avery was a swimmer, as a swimmer and the representation of her as a swimmer was realistic (something that can get on my last nerve if it is off). If you want cute lovers, unlikely lovers, anonymous communication and a facts girl who needs to live a little, you will LOVE THIS BOOK!!
The Beta Test is a cute, cozy coming-of-age romance that follows a high schooler whose life isn’t going according to her carefully-orchestrated plans.
The budding relationship between Avery and her best friend’s younger brother is sweet and relatable. Jake, the golden retriever trying to get out of the friend zone, is endearingly charming.
It’s important to remember this is a true YA book. Older readers might find the FMC slightly irritating. She is self-absorbed, ignores her boyfriend’s red flags, and avoids her best friend rather than taking accountability for her own actions. In short, she is a teenager. 😉
This book is great for younger readers who want to dip their toe in the waters of romance books without encountering any inappropriate material.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book is about Avery, a senior in high school. She has been in love with Braden forever. He has gone across the country to MIT to college. In the meantime, her best friend Jenna's little brother Jake has been in love with Avery for a long time. The school has decided to do a Beta Test with a company. Each student gets a tablet with one or two "matches" that are anonymous. In the beginning, Avery hates the idea, but it eventually changes everything for her.
I really enjoyed the book. It has surprises, growing up, relationships, family issues, friendships, and everything it needs to make it a good read. I give it 4.5 stars. It left me wanting more. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Plot: You plan everything to the T. However, situations have changed which bring a lot of changes that are not the ones that you had planned.
Genre: Teen Romance, Highschool Romance, Bestfriend's Brother Trope
My experience: As a debut novel of the authors it's a good attempt in showcasing the struggle amongst teens to form their identity, new relationships and understand the situational factors of real life. It literally brings out the emotional and psychological turmoil that the MLs are going through to be able to achieve their goals.
Would definitely recommend it for someone looking for a teen romance ✨
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Avery is a girl with a plan to get into MIT, and she's working that plan until it falls apart. Enter her best friend's brother and an anonymous social app. Will she cross everything off her list, or ditch it all together?
I loved this book! The "You've Got Mail" trope is one of my favorites, and there are not enough books out there with this trope! I read this book straight through, and can't wait for the next one in the series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A fun coming of age story about managing pressure and reevaluating life goals. The romance was very sweet. I had a great time reading it and couldn’t put it down. I loved how her relationships changed and grew along with her character development. I would let my 12 year old daughter read this!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Plans are meant to be tweaked - especially when you least expected. Loved this story about Avery and her senior year at school. Avery has always had a plan but as her year gets upheaved on her - she learns to adapt and having a connection to an anonymous friend might just help her along the way. As we know, plans don't have to be set in stone.
This was a really good book! I generally enjoy YA books but this one had some surprising moments and things that kept me on my toes and very entertained! I would recommend this to anyone who likes YA reads and coming of age sweet clean books!
Absolutely precious. It’s wholesome and definitely keeps with the YA themes. I loved Avery and all her interactions kept my head spinning and me coming back for more.