Lauren Gibaldi

A fun, romantic read, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Susane Colasanti! What happens when Matt and Ella reunite one year after their breakup? Are second chances really possible? Before Matt, Ella had a plan. Get over her ex-boyfriend and graduate high school—simple as that. But Matt—the cute, shy, bespectacled bass player—was never part of that plan. And neither was attending a party that was crashed by the cops just minutes after they arrived. Or spending an entire night saying "yes" to every crazy, fun thing they could think of. But then Matt leaves town, breaking Ella's heart. And when he shows up a year later—wanting to relive the night that brought them together—Ella isn't sure whether Matt's worth a second chance. Or if re-creating the past can help them create a different future.

The Night We Said Yes

Gisela Ayala 

I picked up The Night We Said Yes mostly because it takes place in Orlando (hometown) and partly because I just wanted a cute summer read, and that's exactly what I got. It was a really nice and easy breezy read! 

The story follows Ella and Matt and takes place between the events that took place a year ago when they met and in the present when they are trying to figure out where their relationship will lead. It is a coming of age story of Ella and although it has a lot of dialogue, it also has a lot Ella's thought process as she tries to figure out who she is and what direction she wants to take after high school. 

The plot was okay, it really reminded me of my high school days and just hanging out with friends, but what I really loved were the characters. Ella and Matt, and their friends Meg and Jake were awesome and funny and it made me wish for a night of saying yes to anything.

Jaclyn

"It was my favorite part of the night-when the evenings events were still unknown and unpredictable. It was the sense of possibility that I loved, the idea that anything could happen next."  

Very, very cute and sweet summer book! It was fun to read and get lost in and I loved how it all took place in one night. 

The story starts with Ella a year after Matt disappears, but then comes back. It's told with alternating chapters between the past and the present so we got to see how everything unfolded and how it went wrong, but how they reconnected and came together 

"Did you ever think of me?" 
 "Yes, did you ever think of me?"
 "All the time."  

The romance was very sweet and I loved the way it all played out, but this story's idea of friendship is where it really shines. I LOVED the friendship aspect of it. And I loved Jake and Meg and their relationship how different it was compared to Ella and Matt. I loved Jake and how passionate him and Meg were. It was all very very sweet and super fun to read. I loved the friendship between Meg and Ella and how they were there for each other and supported one another. 

I definitely felt a lot of connections to my own life reading this book and totally felt nostalgic. It truly captures what it's like to have friends in high school and wishing nothing would change, even though you know it has too. 

"I just moved back," he says finally meeting my eyes. It's as if he wants his look to convey an inner meaning his words won't allow. And when my heart flips stupidly I want his look to say 'I'm back for you, this whole year was a mess, let's run away together and never look back'. But I can't want that. I can't allow myself to get how hopeful again, not after what he did. I hated him once-I have to remember that, and not the way his lips felt on mine."  

All in all, very very cute, quick fun story about love, friendship, and the magic of one night. Highly recommend, especially if you're looking for something light and easy!

 "I've spent my life on the road, trying to find home, when really, you were always home to me."

Kathryn 

This book was pretty middle of the road for me. I didn’t really love any of the characters and I feel like the back and forth way of telling the story got kind of muddled at times. Also reading about Meg & Jakes relationship drove me insane that whole thing was so toxic. Overall this book was ok. Pretty standard YA romance.

laura

Such a cute summer read. It is told from one girl pov but at two different points "both" nights of yes. I really loved the romance in this book. And also it really focused on friendship and about what leaving does to friendships and also why lying happens. I really loved this book and the romance. I know in august we are getting Mat story. The only this that would have made this book better (5 stars) was if we got Mat point of view in this novel.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

4.5 stars!

Ella has her entire life planned out. That is, until she’s falls for the adorable bass player in a local band, Matt. They have the best six months of their lives… and then Matt leaves. No explanation. No return phone calls. For Ella, no closure. She’s completely torn to pieces, and after six months of struggling to recover from this loss, Matt shows up in her life again.

“It was my favorite part of the night – when the evening’s events were still unknown and unpredictable. It was the sense of possibility that I loved, the idea that anything could happen next.”

The Night We Said Yes is told through alternating Then and Now chapters. I’ve seen a lot of that lately, and I’m really a huge fan of it. I have to say, this was one of my favorite instances of the alternating Then and Now chapters done right. Each chapter ends, almost leaving you hanging… then the next chapter fills in what we were missing. It was great! This also makes it impossible to put the book down at the end of a chapter, since you HAVE to keep reading to see what you’re missing. So yeah, you can say I read this book in a very short span of time because it was extremely difficult to put it down. What makes this story even more entertaining is that the entire story takes place over the span of one night. The Then and Now chapters are exactly one year apart, and the story spans the night hours of these two days. It was done so impeccably I was really impressed. I loved the way the two stories blended together, yet showed the differences in the characters over the year.

I also have to say, from someone who married a drummer in a band and spent many years dating him while he was a “rock star”, this story was EXTREMELY accurate! Lauren Gibaldi either lived through this herself, or did extreme research on the topic. Either way, I give her tons of credit. I felt like I was there, back in the day when dating my husband. Each little detail spot-on. I was extremely impressed with her accuracy and how realistic this story really was.

Everything about this story was a win for me. The story, the characters, the effortlessly flipping back and forth… it was incredible. I really loved this story and I’m looking forward to reading Matt’s Story, which will be released in August. I loved Matt, so getting to hear his side is so incredible. I feel like, as readers, we request this type of thing a lot. So to see Lauren Gibaldi answers our prayers is fantastic! (Thanks, Lauren!!) This is definitely a new (and amazing!) contemporary author I will be sure to follow.

(Thanks to HarperTeen for the review copy!)

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The Night We Said Yes

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