cupcakegirly's review against another edition
3.0
There was a lot of buzz surrounding this book at ALAMW and I got excited just listening to one of the publicists at Little Brown get excited. At the time, I wasn't aware that it was actually the sequel to book one, I'll Be There, and while it can be read as a stand alone, I think in order to truly understand what these characters have been through, reading the first book is a must.
Holly Goldberg Sloan's poetic prose drew me in immediately and her ability to tell the story from not just one or two POVs, but from all of the character's POVs left me a little awe-struck. One would think so many different voices would get distracting but it doesn't, and she weaves them together so seamlessly that you don't even realize you've slipped from one character's head into another until you're already there. In both books, she lays out a story that reminded me of a connect-the-dots picture. Up close, it looks like nothing more than a bunch of dots dispersed across a page, but once you finish, you're better able to see how each of those dots is joined together to form a bigger picture.
I was a few pages into Just Call My Name before realizing there was, in fact, a book that came before it, and I wanted to have all the pieces to this story puzzle before continuing. So I found a copy of I'll Be There at my library, read it as fast as I could and loved it. I was fully invested in Emily, Sam and Riddle and when I came to the final page I had tears pooling in my eyes and a smile plastered on my face. I was happy knowing they would all be okay, satisfied with the way it all ended.
And here's where my feelings get mixed up...
I don't think every story needs a sequel. Doing so means more characters, more strife and sometimes it changes how the reader views the original characters overall. (Okay, so maybe just this reader, but still.) Sam, Emily, Riddle and the rest of the Bell family have already been through hell and back in book one, so why drag them through it all again? I guess maybe some readers wanted closure as far as Sam and Riddle's father goes, but for me, I had that in book one. And yeah, Sam is naive and will come up against some of the things he did in this book, but again, he and Emily were tested enough in book one. The ending for this one felt rushed and even though the romance isn't the main focus, I still wanted to see more happy times for Sam and Emily.
Having said all of that, this is definitely worth the read, it's a great example of sacrifice, forgiveness and love, and the writing is fantastic!
Holly Goldberg Sloan's poetic prose drew me in immediately and her ability to tell the story from not just one or two POVs, but from all of the character's POVs left me a little awe-struck. One would think so many different voices would get distracting but it doesn't, and she weaves them together so seamlessly that you don't even realize you've slipped from one character's head into another until you're already there. In both books, she lays out a story that reminded me of a connect-the-dots picture. Up close, it looks like nothing more than a bunch of dots dispersed across a page, but once you finish, you're better able to see how each of those dots is joined together to form a bigger picture.
I was a few pages into Just Call My Name before realizing there was, in fact, a book that came before it, and I wanted to have all the pieces to this story puzzle before continuing. So I found a copy of I'll Be There at my library, read it as fast as I could and loved it. I was fully invested in Emily, Sam and Riddle and when I came to the final page I had tears pooling in my eyes and a smile plastered on my face. I was happy knowing they would all be okay, satisfied with the way it all ended.
And here's where my feelings get mixed up...
I don't think every story needs a sequel. Doing so means more characters, more strife and sometimes it changes how the reader views the original characters overall. (Okay, so maybe just this reader, but still.) Sam, Emily, Riddle and the rest of the Bell family have already been through hell and back in book one, so why drag them through it all again? I guess maybe some readers wanted closure as far as Sam and Riddle's father goes, but for me, I had that in book one. And yeah, Sam is naive and will come up against some of the things he did in this book, but again, he and Emily were tested enough in book one. The ending for this one felt rushed and even though the romance isn't the main focus, I still wanted to see more happy times for Sam and Emily.
Having said all of that, this is definitely worth the read, it's a great example of sacrifice, forgiveness and love, and the writing is fantastic!
ivy_reads_'s review against another edition
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
taliereads's review against another edition
5.0
Great book!!! I don’t usually read realistic fiction but this was great! Lovely romance and a great thriller! Sort of good girl bad/quiet boy vibes!I also ended up reading the second book before the first and still managed to follow along and all made sense! I loved it def recommend!
froydis's review against another edition
3.0
This was an ok follow-up to the first novel, but falls somewhat short for me. It was a bit too much like the original, and the plot line with Sam's father felt a bit too soap-opera-y for me. It was great to see these characters again, and the suspense was pretty good. The ending felt a bit neat and tidy, but was nonetheless satisfying. A good read if you've read and loved the first one.
xassteriax's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
This book just wasn’t meant for me. We didn’t jive. Just was very boring to me.
shyleek's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book didn't quite pack the emotional punch of it's prequel, I'll Be There. It was adventurous. It maintained the writing style. And I still loved all the characters. If I'll Be There needed a sequel I don't feel like this is the one it needed.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
It's to the author's credit I didn't realize this was a sequel until fairly late in the read - there was some Previously... but it really didn't feel like that!
The focus here on what family is, what loyalty and friendship are is impressive. It really does make one think about how one defines all three, particularly when home/family may not be the safest or easiest place to be. Less impressive was the series of coincidences that had to happen to make the Big Crisis happen. Had there actually been a manhunt, or even an awareness that there was a problem that might involve the Bells, Sam and Riddle.
ARC provided by publisher.
The focus here on what family is, what loyalty and friendship are is impressive. It really does make one think about how one defines all three, particularly when home/family may not be the safest or easiest place to be. Less impressive was the series of coincidences that had to happen to make the Big Crisis happen. Had there actually been a manhunt, or even an awareness that there was a problem that might involve the Bells, Sam and Riddle.
ARC provided by publisher.
siobhan27's review against another edition
3.0
Had i known that this was a sequel to a previous book, I probably would have waited to read it once i read the first book. The reason I say that is because I think i missed a lot of the character development for the two main characters. The author did a great job of making me understand what happened in the first book, and what that meant to the characters in the story. but I do think that I would have connected to them more if i had their whole story and not just this one.
This book is all about characters, and there are a few to choose from. The one I disliked the most was probably Destiny because I felt like she was a shell. To me she didn't have that much substance as a character and she was only there to advance the plot and make for a conflict between Sam and Emily. I thought the conflict between these three characters was very thin and really had no resolution in the end. At least not enough for me. My favorite character in this book would probably be Sams father. I loved his chapters because seeing inside his head and how he saw things was quite interesting. I also loved how he bent the truth in his own mind to justify what he had done to his sons.
The end of the book was the best part in my mind because there was so much action involving all the characters and I loved how we finally gt to see another side if Destiny at that point. A little too late for me, but it was still nice to see. Although there was the subject of the love triangle that never really git address or resolved, I liked the way the book ended. There was a HEA for every character and they all seemed genuinely happy, which was nice to read.
This book is all about characters, and there are a few to choose from. The one I disliked the most was probably Destiny because I felt like she was a shell. To me she didn't have that much substance as a character and she was only there to advance the plot and make for a conflict between Sam and Emily. I thought the conflict between these three characters was very thin and really had no resolution in the end. At least not enough for me. My favorite character in this book would probably be Sams father. I loved his chapters because seeing inside his head and how he saw things was quite interesting. I also loved how he bent the truth in his own mind to justify what he had done to his sons.
The end of the book was the best part in my mind because there was so much action involving all the characters and I loved how we finally gt to see another side if Destiny at that point. A little too late for me, but it was still nice to see. Although there was the subject of the love triangle that never really git address or resolved, I liked the way the book ended. There was a HEA for every character and they all seemed genuinely happy, which was nice to read.
book_nut's review against another edition
5.0
Not many authors can keep me reading while completely wrecking me, but Holly Goldberg Sloan can. What a ride.
chloereadsbooksyoutube's review against another edition
I mean that was bad - but I did accidentally read the second book without reading the first. Looking back at the book, there is no mention on the cover or the inside that this is actually a sequel.
A lot of my problems here were that everything felt under-developed, but then again, I did read the second in a series. For this reason I'm not giving it a numbered rating. I didn't really enjoy the story at all. I do have another of Holly Goldberg Sloan's books on my shelves which I'm going to give a chance to, but I'm not optimistic.
A lot of my problems here were that everything felt under-developed, but then again, I did read the second in a series. For this reason I'm not giving it a numbered rating. I didn't really enjoy the story at all. I do have another of Holly Goldberg Sloan's books on my shelves which I'm going to give a chance to, but I'm not optimistic.