Tiffany Schmidt

Boys are so much better in books. At least according to Merrilee Campbell, 15, who thinks real-life chivalry is dead and there'd be nothing more romantic than having a guy woo her like the heroes in classic stories. Then she, her best friend, Eliza, and her younger sister, Rory, transfer to Reginald R. Hero Prep--where all the boys look like they've stepped off the pages of a romance novel. Merri can hardly walk across the quad without running into someone who reminds her of Romeo. When the brooding and complicated Monroe Stratford scales Merri's trellis in an effort to make her his, she thinks she might be Juliet incarnate. But as she works her way through her literature curriculum under the guidance of an enigmatic teacher, Merri's tale begins to unfold in ways she couldn't have imagined. Merri soon realizes that only she is in charge of her story. And it is a truth universally acknowledged that first impressions can be deceiving...

Bookish Boyfriends

Grace O'Callaghan

This was exactly what I needed. A fluffy mindless read about a teenage girl thinking that boys are better in books (which they definitely are). I don’t think it did anything groundbreaking for its genre, it’s pretty generic, but for what I needed it to be it was good for the most part.

I’ll admit Merrilee is not my favourite. She’s you’re pretty typical teenage girl protagonist, but I loved how fiercely she protected those she loved. In a way she was a bit like Lizzie Bennet, but don’t expect her to meet those expectations.

It was refreshing to see a friendship that actually stayed intact in a contemporary novel. Merrilee and her best friend Eliza have their disagreements, but they don’t fall out over petty things.

The romance wasn’t exactly the best. It was a classic hate to love situation, which are usually my favourites, but it didn’t quite get there for me. Despite the book being pretty long for a YA contemporary, the romance felt a bit rushed. If you’re looking for a romance that hits those ‘Pride and Prejudice’ beats then I’d recommend it. Don’t read if that’s not your cup of tea.

The magical element was interesting? I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. On one hand it added a little extra to the story, but on the other it was pointless. If the thought of magic scares you off from reading this book, don’t be alarmed, it’s an extremely minor part.

References to other literary works is always a win in my book. It’s just fun to know what everyone’s talking about.

All in all,a fairly mediocre romance that hit some of those ‘P&P’ beats that I quite enjoyed. If it’s a genre you’re very familiar with I don’t think it will give you anything new. But I’d recommend it to get you out of a reading slump or to any younger YA readers.

Sophie Elaina 

This was a very cute, light read! Although I did find it kind of boring at times, and the first half of the book definitely lacked the substance I was hoping for. I feel like in the beginning the protagonist lacked something and that made it hard to connect with her and the story. However the second half of the book took a turn and I very much loved it. Before requesting this title on NetGalley I was very intrigued because - A book about a girl who loves books? Sign me up for that anytime. So you could say I was very here for this.

'...I want to figure you out. I'm trying to. You're worth the effort. You're worth...everything.'

Merrilee is a bookworm and enjoys reading about bookish romances much more than the real life experiences. Obsessing over the boys she constantly reads about. Not believing that any relationship could be that great in real life. The book had a couple of strange, I'm going to call them 'magical moments' and I found that to be very interesting. It was almost like the books Merri read started to actually manifest in her life. I honestly found it a little weird to begin with and I think that was because the first one was Romeo and Juliet. The fact the protagonist wanted a Romeo and Juliet kind of love story made me cringe because I hate what that play represents and the references to the play almost made me give up reading early on. However I'm very glad I kept reading because all that was actually addressed and I am so thankful for that! If I was rating the book only on the first half I would not have given it more than one star but it totally got turned around and the author managed to surprise me. It was honestly, pretty excellent I'm not going to lie.

'...he didn't go away. Instead he inhaled deeply and said, "You baffle me." The words rich with emotion...'

There is a hint of insta love but I think it worked well with the storyline, at first the reader obviously isn't aware of the whole story so it's hard to push through if insta love is a deal breaker for you, but I would say if you do start reading and find it a little irritating like I did, to try and push through. In my opinion the story in its entirety was very well put together and I enjoyed the way the author took tropes that I usually hate and make me kind of love them. The second half was much more slow burn and there was tonnes more development and a generous size topping of angst. And you know me, I live for angst so I was definitely happy about that. The plot was slow to an extent but that wasn't a problem for me because I still flew through it, and in the places that it did pick up, it wasn't at all jarring and worked well with the storyline.

'My words were embers and sparks; I couldn't spit them out fast enough, but they still burned.'

The writing was very hard to get used to at the beginning, but I think my problem concerning that was that all my recent reads were very fast paced and there wasn't as many small moments dedicated to smaller things not just the main plot and it just took me a while to get used to that again. But I have to say that I very much enjoyed the slower pace. 

'...I glanced at him, at his brown eyes that seemed wide and searching, like I was the word that stood between him and crossword puzzle mastery.'

I adored the exploration of the sister relationships and the familial relationships in general. But my favourite thing without a doubt about the entire book was how strong willed the main character is. The instances that she stands up for herself are very empowering and it was great to see a woman take control and save herself, not get saved by a guy swooping in. I mean there are instances of that too but the parts where Merri sticks up for herself were fabulous!

Overall this was a very conflicting read for me, because on one hand I really didn't like the first half of it while I was reading it but now looking back I understand it better after reading the whole thing, and I'm glad I suffered through those first few chapters because the end result made it worth reading. If you're looking for a light read with hidden depths to get lost in, I would definitely recommend giving this book a try. Keep an eye out for it on it's release date: 1st May 2018!

Thank you to Amulet Paperbacks, Tiffany Schmidt and NetGalley for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Alejandra Bran

Okay if you are familiar with my reviews you might know by now that Pride and Prejudice is one of my all-time faves, and whenever I find a retailing especially if it is YA I’ll go bananas.

Our booklover and dreamy eyed protagonist Merilee finds herself attending to Reginal R. Hero Preparatory School with her little sister and best friend on her sophomore year. Most of the time she fantasizes on certain situations or on people’s personalities, what makes her the complete opposite to her best friend, who has a very collected and rational personality. Even though she does great on her other classes is English the one that she is most excited about. Until Merilee is convinced that her English teacher has some type of magic, making her love life to be similar to books that she is reading on class, her best friend thinks she is crazy, but Merilee is not so sure about that.

I think the premise is really interesting a book that pretty much guides you through finding your actual love story. Which make this book not exactly contemporary, but even with that I couldn’t bring myself to like the story. I felt as if the conversation between characters lacked of actual content. Most of the time we are on Merilee mind and I’m not going to lie she felt kind of dumb sometimes. 

The character that portraits our Darcy, makes me want to pull my hair out. There is nothing Darcyesque about him. I wanted to fall in love with the book, but I couldn’t. Also did he really have to point out so many times that her socks were never matching, even Merilee mentions that. We get it she is such a cool kid that does not match her socks. And what it hurts me the most is that there is no romantic connection between them. 

Overall is just an okay contemporary book, I finished it mainly because I hate DNFing books, but also because I was hoping for some type of redemption… Most likely I’ll not read the next book. 

My Rating: 2.5 Stars

Leelynn Brady

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Technically, yes I did receive this copy from Netgalley a year ago, and I got so overwhelmed with life that I just stopped reading altogether. It was a rough time, one that I'm still going through today but I'm doing better at reading more and getting through my ARCs. So I'm considering this an ARC review even though it was published last year, since I still have to give feedback on Netgalley.

Moving on.

I thought this was one of the cutest books I've read this year. The main character Merrilee (Row, Row, Row your boat...) reminded me of me when I was her age - the young age of 15 - where I believed that books in general were way better than real life. In Merri's case, guys were better in the books than they were in the real world. Which is why when she gets her "first boyfriend", she thinks she's living in a world of Romeo and Juliet.

It was actually really fun to see how Schmidt drew parallels from both Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice into this world, and how she made it in a way that would make total sense in the real world. Well, not to mention Merri was 15, and she saw the world through her books, so all she could see was how her life was mirroring those books (not at the same time, but you'll see that when you read it).

In short, I can't speak more on this without spoiling some of the novel, which is never my intention. Lilly was my favorite sister, being the oldest and one that I could relate to in some aspect. Merri was adorable with her love for books, and I do think she found her niche towards the end of the novel. Rory was the sister that just wanted to be included every once in a while, but also stood her ground on different things that happened, and I was very proud of her.

Toby was an amazing best friend, and part of my heart breaks for him. Eliza was the all star best female friend to Merri, but my heart breaks for her too for another reason. And of course the rest of the characters... well, you'll see!

Bookish Boyfriends

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