Mini Reviews: Beach Read, Felix Ever After, and more!

Hey everyone and happy Tuesday! I realized that I haven’t posted a book review in so long on here, so I thought I’d make a quick post on that. I basically don’t write long reviews, since I never have enough to say, so I usually don’t put them individually here for the fact that the blog post would literally be two paragraphs. BUT, I’ve read a few books, and I’m finally going to compile them all here.

This post will include my reviews for Beach Read, The Kiss Quotient, Felix Ever After, Yes No Maybe So, and Admission. It might get a little long, so just feel free to scroll through and read the ones you’re interested in.

So, let’s get started!

I ranked Beach Read a 4.5/5 and I thought it was such a good read! I usually don’t read this genre, so I came into this book with little expectations, but it beyond surprised me. I have so many feelings that I don’t know if I can put into words, but I’ll give it a shot.

I loved this story, and the fact that it wasn’t the light/fluffy read I thought it was going to be made it more meaningful. This book deals with a few heavy topics, but I thought that the author handled it in a really good way. The characters were so well-developed, and they felt like real people, instead of just words on a page. Both January and Gus had imperfections, worries, and they were each broken in their own way, and I thought that made the story so much easier to connect to.

The slow burn romance was so good, and I just loved how well they fit together. The fact that they each found comfort in the other and could each empathize with the other’s hard background made the romance so much more meaningful. All the themed trips they had developed their relationship so well, and the uniqueness of everywhere they went made the story so much more fun to read about. And the notes they held up to communicate with each other were so cute.

There were a few parts in the middle of the book that felt a little too slow, but it didn’t detract too much from the book. I also agree with a few of the other reviews saying the ending was too cheesy, but I liked the characters enough so I didn’t mind at all. Overall, I’m really happy I read this one, and I’d highly suggest that you read it too.

Yeah, yeah, it’s yet another romance read, and I’m a little late to this one. But, I did enjoy The Kiss Quotient too and ranked it a 4/5. Maybe I’m just in the mood for them? Anyways, I thought that this was a really cute book, and I loved the Asperger’s representation. I enjoyed reading about both of the characters, and they really felt dimensional. The journey and growth they each had made the story more real.

I found the entire thing with Phillip to be really unnecessary though. The random addition of him professing his love to Stella was really out of place. I found it to be a plot-device that didn’t fit well with the story. The insta-love also wasn’t my favorite and the story was a little cringy at times, but I still enjoyed it nevertheless.

Overall, it was a really cute read! It definitely has its flaws, but I think it was a nice fun, feel-good, light read!

Okay, we’re finally getting into the contemporaries! I’ve heard so many good things about Felix Ever After, so I admit my expectations were a little high, but I found it to be just *okay*, and I gave it a 3.5/5.

I did really appreciate the diversity/representation, and I thought that it really shone a light on the struggles of these often marginalized people. I loved Felix’s story, and I enjoyed his growth from the beginning to the end of the story. I also enjoyed the way the romance developed, and I liked how the characters fit together within the story.

The only thing detracting from the book was the presence of the catfishing plot/love triangle with Declan. I hated it! I don’t want love triangles being formed out of catfishes! I think it might be more of a personal preference thing, but it’s just kind of weird, uncomfortable, and boring. I literally felt the need to skim read all the text messages that had this catfishing plot because I didn’t really want to read through it at all. I haven’t really liked many plots with that trope though, sooo, it could totally be a personal preference thing.

Overall, despite what I’d just mentioned, I’d highly recommend this book for the topics it covered!

I decided to pick this one up after seeing its really cute cover and the fact that it was nominated as Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee. I did not like Yes, No, Maybe So though, and I gave it a 2/5. I genuinely wanted to like this one so bad. I actually liked the first bit of the story, but afterwards, I just found myself skimming the book for the sake of saying that I “finished it.”

The sole amount of pop-culture references was fine for the first few pages, but it really started to bother me after it. I found a lot of it to be “cringy” in my opinion and there were continuous dumps of references that I felt didn’t simulate real life. It felt like the authors were trying too hard to mimick the “Gen Z” culture/language that they went way too overboard.

I also wish the actual characters could have been fleshed out and developed more. Both MCs fell flat for me, and I wish that they were less one-dimensional. They also got annoying really fast. I really didn’t like the romance either that much, and there were so many times where I physically felt myself rolling my eyes and sighing.

I actually liked the idea of the plot, but because of the way it’s structured, it feels like the book is supposed to be a lot more character-driven. Unfortunately, because I didn’t like the characters, it did not work out for me (despite me usually enjoying character driven books).

Anyways, it was a big disappointment and I’m upset that the pretty cover didn’t match the content. Maybe it just wasn’t for me though.

Yeah, I DNFed Admission, but I did give it a 2/5 for consolation and in case it got better? I know you might not be supposed to rank books you DNFed, but I read about 40% of the book, so I thought it was enough to know about the general trajectory of the book.

I am a huge fan of college admissions in general, and I found the USC admissions scandal to be really interesting. I thought that this book would offer a unique spin on that, but I don’t think it was for me.

The entire first 125 pages, nearly echoes the entire real-life admissions scandal, so it was a little boring to hear a story so similar to what I was already familiar with. The entire plot is about the MC’s parents being charged for artificially raising her SAT score & by getting her into a college by bribing a coach, which is *extremely* similar to the real thing that happened with Loughlin and USC. I was just hoping for a twist on that story in some way, rather than a near direct copy of it.

I wasn’t particularly a fan of the characters either. I suppose I only read the first 100 pages, so they definitely could have changed for the better. I felt that the main character, Chloe, was too shallow and underdeveloped. She felt too cliche, fitting the “average oblivious rich-kid who likes to party and doesn’t know anything outside of her own little bubble” stereotype. Additionally, Chloe was a little too naive for my own tastes, and I felt that too much of the story focused on her getting dragged along by her parents while not understanding a single thing about what was happening.

Overall, I had high hopes for this book, but it fell flat. While it might be the right book for others, it unfortunately wasn’t for me.

And with that, we are done! I feel like I totally just dumped a huge block of words on all of you, but I hope you enjoyed! I was going to include more pictures, but I really had no idea where to put there, but I had some fun dividers instead.

Also, I really didn’t realize that I structured my post from best -> worst, because I literally just went on my Goodreads and found the last five books I read! But I guess it’s good? Improvement!

Anyways, I hope you all have a great Tuesday and Thanksgiving if you celebrate!

Happy Reading!

-Allison