What do you think?
Rate this book
So It Went Like This
Kennedy’s life is at a standstill. While on her therapist’s couch, she psychoanalyzes herself, her latest short-term failure of a relationship, and all of those mistakes she’s made along the way. On impulse, she books a getaway. Where better to find herself than a luminous gay-owned bed and breakfast on the coast of Maine?
Enter Logan, a stranger who approaches her in the lobby. Logan who’s oh-so-persuasive and determined to win her over. And maybe she does. Or maybe she’s beginning to, at least. But as the two find they’re inexplicably drawn to one another during an intoxicating and completely sublime few days secluded far away from reality, they’re also struggling with the relationship’s transience.
So It Went Like This is a candid and deeply personal exploration of fate, chosen family, and that dreamy vulnerability intrinsic in life’s uncertainties, as told in interwoven perspectives. It’s a portrait that seeks an answer to an enduring What if some were predestined and meant for one another?
Enter Logan, a stranger who approaches her in the lobby. Logan who’s oh-so-persuasive and determined to win her over. And maybe she does. Or maybe she’s beginning to, at least. But as the two find they’re inexplicably drawn to one another during an intoxicating and completely sublime few days secluded far away from reality, they’re also struggling with the relationship’s transience.
So It Went Like This is a candid and deeply personal exploration of fate, chosen family, and that dreamy vulnerability intrinsic in life’s uncertainties, as told in interwoven perspectives. It’s a portrait that seeks an answer to an enduring What if some were predestined and meant for one another?
Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2023
2 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 10, 2023
Kennedy is trying to understand why yet another girlfriend was short term and did not look back when she walked away. Therapy is supposed to help but isn’t. Kennedy decides she needs a small vacation from her life. Here she meets Logan who shifts her axis at first glance. Logan who asks all the right questions and sees into the chaotic core of Kennedy.
So It Went Like This has dual perspectives advancing the story. For the first half of the novel both voices sounded similar and I had to refer back to the chapter heading for clarification. By the second half there is a strong distinction between the two.
There is a philosophical depth to this novel which I enjoyed however the wordiness surrounding Kennedy’s character bogged down the pace of the novel. Kennedy reminded me of the stream of consciousness writing style with her circuitous thinking patterns combined with unexpected tangential outliers of thought.
I have to say that the ending is the best that I have read in a long time. To me it more than makes up for some of my slogging at the beginning and it matches the author’s style perfectly.
I was definitely challenged by this author and she has my appreciation. I truly hope others will rise to her challenge as well.
I received a free advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
So It Went Like This has dual perspectives advancing the story. For the first half of the novel both voices sounded similar and I had to refer back to the chapter heading for clarification. By the second half there is a strong distinction between the two.
There is a philosophical depth to this novel which I enjoyed however the wordiness surrounding Kennedy’s character bogged down the pace of the novel. Kennedy reminded me of the stream of consciousness writing style with her circuitous thinking patterns combined with unexpected tangential outliers of thought.
I have to say that the ending is the best that I have read in a long time. To me it more than makes up for some of my slogging at the beginning and it matches the author’s style perfectly.
I was definitely challenged by this author and she has my appreciation. I truly hope others will rise to her challenge as well.
I received a free advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 19, 2023
Kennedy, feeling stuck in life and reflecting on her past mistakes, impulsively books a retreat at a gay-owned bed and breakfast in Maine. There, she meets Logan, a persuasive stranger with whom she shares an intense connection during their getaway, leading them to grapple with the transient nature of their relationship and the possibility of fate bringing them together.
I really wish I liked this more than I did. To be honest, I found the writing style really difficult to engage with. For some reason, it just didn't flow easy for me to keep track on who was talking and what was going on. I found the voices quite similar, which is difficult when it's a dual perspective. I pushed through, but to be honest this was a really tough read for me.
Although the premise is quite interesting and the philosophical aspect was intriguing, this book just wasn't for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
I really wish I liked this more than I did. To be honest, I found the writing style really difficult to engage with. For some reason, it just didn't flow easy for me to keep track on who was talking and what was going on. I found the voices quite similar, which is difficult when it's a dual perspective. I pushed through, but to be honest this was a really tough read for me.
Although the premise is quite interesting and the philosophical aspect was intriguing, this book just wasn't for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
April 5, 2023
Fascinating!
Kennedy’s taking some time away after a failed relationship and some self-evaluation. Meeting Logan, the two of them strike up an unusual connection. Determined to win Kennedy over, Logan persuades her to indulge in their secluded get away location, but they’re both struggling with very personal things.
Such an insightful and thought-provoking story, told from different perspectives to give a well-rounded account of events and the developing relationship between Kennedy and Logan. Kennedy was easy to identify with. Going through all she was it was understandable she just wanted to get away from it all and escape reality. It was brilliant how meeting Logan was like fate, depicting a typical situation we can all relate to. Everyone at some moment will have had that moment they wanted to be alone when someone came along and you didn’t know you needed their presence.
In a way everything that happened was magical and an exploration of life at its best. Throwing curveballs and the unexpected, disrupting plans for solitude, and bringing people into our lives to teach lessons or provide moments of realisation. That was definitely happening to Kennedy but there was no way to avoid Logan. Something bigger than both of them was at play and the way it brought them together as a great reminder that life will provide what you need, when you need it, so just go with it.
A great story, with much depth and self-exploration that not only leads Kennedy and Logan but has a profound effect on the reader to. I loved their connection and learned so much about just being vulnerable and giving into the natural opportunities that life presents to you.
Kennedy’s taking some time away after a failed relationship and some self-evaluation. Meeting Logan, the two of them strike up an unusual connection. Determined to win Kennedy over, Logan persuades her to indulge in their secluded get away location, but they’re both struggling with very personal things.
Such an insightful and thought-provoking story, told from different perspectives to give a well-rounded account of events and the developing relationship between Kennedy and Logan. Kennedy was easy to identify with. Going through all she was it was understandable she just wanted to get away from it all and escape reality. It was brilliant how meeting Logan was like fate, depicting a typical situation we can all relate to. Everyone at some moment will have had that moment they wanted to be alone when someone came along and you didn’t know you needed their presence.
In a way everything that happened was magical and an exploration of life at its best. Throwing curveballs and the unexpected, disrupting plans for solitude, and bringing people into our lives to teach lessons or provide moments of realisation. That was definitely happening to Kennedy but there was no way to avoid Logan. Something bigger than both of them was at play and the way it brought them together as a great reminder that life will provide what you need, when you need it, so just go with it.
A great story, with much depth and self-exploration that not only leads Kennedy and Logan but has a profound effect on the reader to. I loved their connection and learned so much about just being vulnerable and giving into the natural opportunities that life presents to you.
February 24, 2023
Kennedy tired of everything, her job, her love life, finally she book a getaway to breath. She meet Logan, who eager to get to know Kennedy. Logan herself feel different with Kennedy, everything Kennedy do seem cute and make her happy, they spend time talking without realise time fly. Kennedy have her peace and answer during her getaway time and now she curious how her relationship with Logan heading to.
Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.
#SoItWentLikeThis #CSpencer #BolsStrokesBooks #NetGalley #ARC
Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.
#SoItWentLikeThis #CSpencer #BolsStrokesBooks #NetGalley #ARC
March 16, 2024
I did not finish this book. I tried three or four times to get into it, even skimming ahead to see if it got better but I hated everything about these characters and the writing style from the very start of the book. I found it very hard to tell what was going on. I found both women annoying and the way the dialogue was treated was like fingernails on a chalk board. Every time I thought it was getting better, they would start talking again and stupidly flirting and none of it felt realistic or true at all. The book is about a young woman who is in therapy because she is super lonely. All her girlfriends keep leaving her and it seemed like she was getting suicidal or something. She decides to go on vacation alone to clear her mind and chooses a gay B&B in Maine. Alone. 🙄 And when she gets there, she immediately meets a woman who is instantly attracted to her and they have a bit of flirty banter. Yet this goes on WAY too long in the book. Back and forth, in the horrible style of the dialogue. I just honestly didn’t care what their freaking problems were anymore by about halfway through. I just wanted them all to go away. I read someone else’s review that said the last part is better but I don’t think I can make it. I don’t have time to read through all this BS to get to the point. The author’s job is to make you care about the characters in the first place and if they don’t share enough details about why these people are acting the way they do so that you can relate to them, then it can’t be surprising when the reader leaves. I’m just irritated by the writing style, the characters, the plot. All of it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews