ARC, 267 pagesRelease Date: June 6, 2017Published by: Alfred A.Knopf Books for Young Readers
Read from: June 23-24, 2017Stand-aloneSource: PublisherFor fans of: Contemporary, Romance, Stand-alones, Sparkly Covers, Grief, Realistic Fiction, YA
Love lives between the lines.
Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came.
Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future.
Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart.
As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because life may be uncontrollable, even unbearable sometimes. But it’s possible that words, and love, and second chances are enough.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Can't lie and say
I added this to my TBR because of the synopsis. I added it because of the
gorgeous cover. And then when everyone started talking about it, I decided I
should try it.
"You want to be miserable, but that's not happening. [...] You have to start living again sometime."pg. 41
Rachel left her
hometown and left only a letter behind. That letter said she loved her best
friend. Now she's returned to her hometown with so many more secrets than she
left with.
"It's a truth universally acknowledged, according to George that shit days get shitter. Shit nights roll into shit mornings that roll into shit afternoons and roll into shit, starless midnights. Shitness, my sister says has momentum that good luck just doesn't have."pg. 65
I've seen so many
glowing 5 star reviews on this book, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.
I'm a huge plot based reader, so when there's not really a real reason for
something happening in the book, it doesn't appeal to me. And that's exactly
what happened here. Every setting it featured was beautiful, but I just couldn't
get with the lack of them really doing anything. To be honest they did the same
things the entire book, with a few different things sprinkled in-between here
and there.
"How have you been able to read so many book? [...] I'm a weird girl in high school. I've had some time to kill."pg. 94
I also couldn't
really connect with one of the characters. Once all the answers started coming
out, I just knew someone would say something. But they kept hiding that one key
fact. I know everyone handles grief in their own way, but this had the
potential to really hurt someone. And the fact that they didn’t think about
this until the very end didn’t sit well with me. And because of that, the
ending just didn’t seem believable to me. There should have been something like
sadness, anger, and other emotions present I’m sure. All she did was cry. There
was no huge blow-up or anything. I just don’t feel that was believable. Maybe
she didn’t realize they were hiding from her, but I guess knowing as the reader
just bothered me more than it should have.
"What's the universe's problem with forever?"pg. 255
However, I did
like the writing style. I finished this book in about 24 hours. It was really the
only thing that kept me reading. I found myself lost in her words. Fitting
since the setting is a bookshop. I
was lost in the words of the story and the picture she painted of Henry and
Rachel and their love for words.
"Perhaps all the things that are worthwhile are terrifying?"pg. 260
Looking at all
the reviews, I can see I’m the Black Sheep. I hate it, but it always happens
sometimes. I wasn’t the biggest fan overall, but I can see where everyone else’s
appeal came from. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the book for me.
Overall, I give this
Real rating 2.5 but I rounded up!
What did you think of this book?
What did you think of the secret she kept?