tracybabler's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to the Kid Lit Exchange for the review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
First, I have to say that I have never read Wuthering Heights, the Emily Bronte novel this book was inspired by. Second, I am not a huge fan of brooding YA love stories. But I understand they are not written for me.
All that being said, WRONG IN ALL THE RIGHT WAYS had an interesting premise: a family fosters a teenage boy who is the same age as their daughter and the two fall in love. I sped through the pages as Dylan's addition to the family brought Emma out of her shell and changed her social life.
I didn't, however, understand the motivations of the characters, and there were inconsistencies in their thought process. For example, Emma can't wait until her family adopts Dylan because then they won't have to hide their relationship. (This made no sense.) But then when they adopt him, she realizes it will be super weird if they date.
The teenagers' anger at their parents didn't seem well founded, and the parents' reaction to the teenagers' relationship was not realistic.
Overall, it was a fast breezy read with a lot of problems (for me).
First, I have to say that I have never read Wuthering Heights, the Emily Bronte novel this book was inspired by. Second, I am not a huge fan of brooding YA love stories. But I understand they are not written for me.
All that being said, WRONG IN ALL THE RIGHT WAYS had an interesting premise: a family fosters a teenage boy who is the same age as their daughter and the two fall in love. I sped through the pages as Dylan's addition to the family brought Emma out of her shell and changed her social life.
I didn't, however, understand the motivations of the characters, and there were inconsistencies in their thought process. For example, Emma can't wait until her family adopts Dylan because then they won't have to hide their relationship. (This made no sense.) But then when they adopt him, she realizes it will be super weird if they date.
The teenagers' anger at their parents didn't seem well founded, and the parents' reaction to the teenagers' relationship was not realistic.
Overall, it was a fast breezy read with a lot of problems (for me).
taylorg_1005's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
violet_judy's review against another edition
2.0
I was very disappointed with this book, the concept was interesting and i was excited for the dynamics but it was super creepy and weird. Emma and Dylans relationship was i mean they were romantically involved but still called each other siblings. I did like Emma as a character and i actually related to her many times, she did annoy me though. I liked how there were so many things relating to the wuthering heights and how Emma wrote her journal entries to her even though they were super juvenile. I loved Karmin and Keegan and i was rooting for him the whole time sadly that did not happen. Although Dylan did have a very hard life he was a real dick and i really didnt like how quickly his emotions changed.
raenovels's review against another edition
3.0
Wrong in All the Right Ways by Tiffany Brownlee is about forbidden love, a tough life, and bad choices. What would you do if you fell in love with someone you shouldn't fall in love with?
Wrong in All the Right Ways was a very cute book! It was entertaining and easy to read. It was simply written and very reminiscent of Erin Watt (so if you're an Erin Watt fan, this one is for you!) While some phrases in the book were laden with cliches, I still enjoyed it.
The pacing of the book was perfect for a Young Adult contemporary romance--swift and packed with interesting events and tense moments. The story flowed seamlessly without any jarring time jumps, and it hooked me from the very first page.
The story concept was interesting. Who doesn't love a good book about forbidden love, right? While the story concept was good, the main character, Emma, irritated me. She's supposed to be a genius, but she came off as fickle and shallow. Her relationship with Keegan was baffling, and I honestly hated how that part of the book rolled out. Though I didn't love the drama with Keegan, Emma's interactions with Dylan were wonderfully executed. I liked reading them and thought the relationship between Emma and Dylan was very sweet.
The ending was okay. It's not how I would have liked to see the book end, but it was still an adequate ending that brought a good sense of closure.
The characters overall were cute, though again, I wasn't a fan of Emma. I loved Dylan's character. I liked that he wasn't perfect and had a past that rocked his sense of self. He made bad choices and suffered for those choices, but overall, he was a good person. The secondary characters--the mom and dad, Keegan and Karmin--were also good. While not highly developed, they were all unique characters and easy to imagine.
Should you read this book? If you enjoy Young Adult contemporaries, check it out!
Thank you to the author and the publisher, Henry Holt and Co., for sending me an Advanced Reader's Copy for review purposes.
Wrong in All the Right Ways was a very cute book! It was entertaining and easy to read. It was simply written and very reminiscent of Erin Watt (so if you're an Erin Watt fan, this one is for you!) While some phrases in the book were laden with cliches, I still enjoyed it.
The pacing of the book was perfect for a Young Adult contemporary romance--swift and packed with interesting events and tense moments. The story flowed seamlessly without any jarring time jumps, and it hooked me from the very first page.
The story concept was interesting. Who doesn't love a good book about forbidden love, right? While the story concept was good, the main character, Emma, irritated me. She's supposed to be a genius, but she came off as fickle and shallow. Her relationship with Keegan was baffling, and I honestly hated how that part of the book rolled out. Though I didn't love the drama with Keegan, Emma's interactions with Dylan were wonderfully executed. I liked reading them and thought the relationship between Emma and Dylan was very sweet.
The ending was okay. It's not how I would have liked to see the book end, but it was still an adequate ending that brought a good sense of closure.
The characters overall were cute, though again, I wasn't a fan of Emma. I loved Dylan's character. I liked that he wasn't perfect and had a past that rocked his sense of self. He made bad choices and suffered for those choices, but overall, he was a good person. The secondary characters--the mom and dad, Keegan and Karmin--were also good. While not highly developed, they were all unique characters and easy to imagine.
Should you read this book? If you enjoy Young Adult contemporaries, check it out!
Thank you to the author and the publisher, Henry Holt and Co., for sending me an Advanced Reader's Copy for review purposes.
alexisneuville's review against another edition
3.0
Read my review on my blog:
Wrong in All the Right Ways review
Beautiful writing and great family dynamics, but it brought up a lot of issues I didn't really vibe with. Read the full review on Literary Lexi.
Wrong in All the Right Ways review
Beautiful writing and great family dynamics, but it brought up a lot of issues I didn't really vibe with. Read the full review on Literary Lexi.
beasleysbooks's review against another edition
1.0
DNF @ 37%
Can I count this book as read on goodreads even though I only read 1/3 of it? Heck yes I can because it’s my life and I do what I want.
When I saw this book on Netgalley, I was excited. A Wuthering Heights reimagining? Heck yes. I loved Wuthering Heights when I read it at the end of last year, and was excited to see a different take on the classically tragic story. Now I’ve read adaptations of classics before. Jane by April Lindner is an excellent example of a classic turned modern retelling. Is it the best book in the world? No. But it does the classic justice while also giving me some trashy romance to love. So I went into this book with totally realistic expectations. I wasn’t expecting it to blow me away, but I was expecting to like it for what it was.
Boy was I wrong. The dialogue was ridiculously stilted. Sometimes we would change scenes within a chapter without any break or indication that it was happening. Kisses would come COMPLETELY out of nowhere. The main character has no redeemable qualities. Originally, she portrays herself as a plain Jane, easily forgettable type of girl. This assessment is backed up by the fact that she doesn’t have any friends and has never dated anyone: forgettable. However, as soon as the foster brother/love interest character, Dylan, comes into play, we learn that she’s extremely gorgeous. In fact, other female characters back up this fact. Why give us the false representation of her in the first place? Is this supposed to help us feel a camaraderie with her? Because it doesn’t.
I get that this is a reimagining of Wuthering Heights, but don’t make the dang love interest her foster brother. In Wuthering Heights, at least as far as I perceived it, the main roadblock to Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship is the social standing. Foster brother/sister situations back then were extremely different than they are now. He’s basically a glorified hired hand in Wuthering Heights than anything else. Make him the pool boy or something. The “sibling love” relationship trope needs to be OVER.
Now let’s dig in to this foster situation. Emma knows she’s going to be receiving a foster brother/sister. She assumes he/she will be younger to match in age with her younger brother. Before the potential sibling arrives, she’s already jealous of the attention they will be taking off of her from her parents (even though she blatantly disregards both of her parents’ affection for her throughout the book). When she sees it’s a boy her age, she flips immediately. She has a crush on him from the very first second. But then she also doesn’t understand why he won’t call her parents mom and dad. WHY would you want a guy you have a crush on to call your parents mom and dad? And why would he be expected to? He is a 16 year old foster kid and he just met all of you! The fact that she and her parents were bothered by him calling them by their first names/surname BOGGLES MY MIND. Not only that, but Emma and her family are under the impression they will be adopting Dylan when he seems to have no idea about that happening.
Sorry that I’m ranting but this book really gets my blood boiling. Beyond the fact that they’re foster siblings, Emma doesn’t care that their potential relationship could ruin Dylan’s prospects for a happy family life. She doesn’t even consider his side of things in any scenario. The first night he’s in her home, she interrogates him about his home life and is offended when he doesn’t trust her with the “secrets in his eyes” or some crap like that. I can deal with dislikable MC’s if it is shown that they will grow and evolve. I saw no indications of that happening within the 37% I read of this book.
The family relationships and dynamic were weird. Not just between Dylan and Emma, but between the parents and younger brother as well. I didn’t root for their relationship, even thought it was implied that I’m supposed to. Honestly, I DNFed this book for all the very valid reasons listed above, but also because I’m sure (based on how fast their relationship was moving) that there are going to be some very awkward sexual encounters between them, and I just would not be able to deal with that should they occur.
I received this book as an arc from Netgalley for my honest opinion. I wanted to like it, but I didn’t. There you go.
Can I count this book as read on goodreads even though I only read 1/3 of it? Heck yes I can because it’s my life and I do what I want.
When I saw this book on Netgalley, I was excited. A Wuthering Heights reimagining? Heck yes. I loved Wuthering Heights when I read it at the end of last year, and was excited to see a different take on the classically tragic story. Now I’ve read adaptations of classics before. Jane by April Lindner is an excellent example of a classic turned modern retelling. Is it the best book in the world? No. But it does the classic justice while also giving me some trashy romance to love. So I went into this book with totally realistic expectations. I wasn’t expecting it to blow me away, but I was expecting to like it for what it was.
Boy was I wrong. The dialogue was ridiculously stilted. Sometimes we would change scenes within a chapter without any break or indication that it was happening. Kisses would come COMPLETELY out of nowhere. The main character has no redeemable qualities. Originally, she portrays herself as a plain Jane, easily forgettable type of girl. This assessment is backed up by the fact that she doesn’t have any friends and has never dated anyone: forgettable. However, as soon as the foster brother/love interest character, Dylan, comes into play, we learn that she’s extremely gorgeous. In fact, other female characters back up this fact. Why give us the false representation of her in the first place? Is this supposed to help us feel a camaraderie with her? Because it doesn’t.
I get that this is a reimagining of Wuthering Heights, but don’t make the dang love interest her foster brother. In Wuthering Heights, at least as far as I perceived it, the main roadblock to Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship is the social standing. Foster brother/sister situations back then were extremely different than they are now. He’s basically a glorified hired hand in Wuthering Heights than anything else. Make him the pool boy or something. The “sibling love” relationship trope needs to be OVER.
Now let’s dig in to this foster situation. Emma knows she’s going to be receiving a foster brother/sister. She assumes he/she will be younger to match in age with her younger brother. Before the potential sibling arrives, she’s already jealous of the attention they will be taking off of her from her parents (even though she blatantly disregards both of her parents’ affection for her throughout the book). When she sees it’s a boy her age, she flips immediately. She has a crush on him from the very first second. But then she also doesn’t understand why he won’t call her parents mom and dad. WHY would you want a guy you have a crush on to call your parents mom and dad? And why would he be expected to? He is a 16 year old foster kid and he just met all of you! The fact that she and her parents were bothered by him calling them by their first names/surname BOGGLES MY MIND. Not only that, but Emma and her family are under the impression they will be adopting Dylan when he seems to have no idea about that happening.
Sorry that I’m ranting but this book really gets my blood boiling. Beyond the fact that they’re foster siblings, Emma doesn’t care that their potential relationship could ruin Dylan’s prospects for a happy family life. She doesn’t even consider his side of things in any scenario. The first night he’s in her home, she interrogates him about his home life and is offended when he doesn’t trust her with the “secrets in his eyes” or some crap like that. I can deal with dislikable MC’s if it is shown that they will grow and evolve. I saw no indications of that happening within the 37% I read of this book.
The family relationships and dynamic were weird. Not just between Dylan and Emma, but between the parents and younger brother as well. I didn’t root for their relationship, even thought it was implied that I’m supposed to. Honestly, I DNFed this book for all the very valid reasons listed above, but also because I’m sure (based on how fast their relationship was moving) that there are going to be some very awkward sexual encounters between them, and I just would not be able to deal with that should they occur.
I received this book as an arc from Netgalley for my honest opinion. I wanted to like it, but I didn’t. There you go.
hj0716's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Okay, let me just say, I did not hate this book. I didn’t love it eathier. The writing was good, and easy to digest, making this a fast and easy read. It felt relatable, in the aspect that it’s teenagers in highschool, which is all that was relatable. The subject on falling for a foster sibling who turns into a sibling was very odd. It reminded me of the fosters. I feel this book had a good premise and potential, but it didn’t give what I thought it would. The fact that they kept calling eachother sister/brother and then turning around and saying girlfriend/boyfriend right after felt gross. Not my cup of tea. The cover art was stunning, and my expectations going in were not what this book was. It seems to be written for a more immature/younger audience, probably middle school or even early highschool students. Not my favorite, but I am trying to give it the benefit of the doubt, because it wasn’t terrible but some of the subject matter didn’t stick right with me.
ahirzspce's review against another edition
3.0
First of all, I like Dylan and Emma's chemistry.
Although it was a little bit too rush for me at first, I think it is actually pretty great.
This book focuses on drug abuse too which is good. I love to see Dylan's jealousy to be honest, somehow it gave me butterfly. It was like, a guy who hates everyone but has a soft spot for someone he loves kinda things
Although it was a little bit too rush for me at first, I think it is actually pretty great.
This book focuses on drug abuse too which is good. I love to see Dylan's jealousy to be honest, somehow it gave me butterfly. It was like, a guy who hates everyone but has a soft spot for someone he loves kinda things
baileyneal's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
tiffanycase's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, I know I'm the author of this book, but I believe it's the best thing I have ever written :)