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worldsunlikeourown's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
So I finally got around to reading this book which has been on my TBR forever, and I really enjoyed it. Serious Moonlight was an entertaining read, and the mystery element was a great addition too!
So I finally got around to reading this book which has been on my TBR forever, and I really enjoyed it. Serious Moonlight was an entertaining read, and the mystery element was a great addition too!
scriptrix's review against another edition
3.5
The mystery component to this book took a backseat to the contemporary YA romance parts. Honestly, I'd have liked a little more intrigue, but the romance was cute.
zzalisha's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
cute book, some moments were hard to read though; little bit cringy
minne_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very cute book. Also Daniel is such a sweetie
seholmes811's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not usually a fan of teen romances (just because teenagers are usually very dumb), but this one was super cute and enjoyable to read!! It had some amazingly interesting characters and depicted very real and raw emotions in a very delicate way. I definitely saw one of the big “reveals” coming, so that was a little disappointing and there was most definitely some dumb teenager decisions made, but overall, it was an enjoyable book to read!
amengelking's review against another edition
5.0
Aided by fantastic gifts from Once Upon a Bookclub, this was a fun romp.
ashurq's review against another edition
3.0
For book reviews and more, please visit my blog: What's She Reading?
TL;DR – Not as good as Alex, Appoximately.
My first problem with this book is the cover. It’s great that they were able to get a model with long hair for Daniel, but where is Birdie’s flower? That’s such a key part of her character and I don’t feel like it would have been that hard to include that in the cover, but whatever. I mean, they’re eating pie, Birdie has a book…how did they miss the flower???
Some of you might remember that I LOVED Alex, Approximately so I was fully prepared to love this book too. Unfortunately, it seemed a little too reminiscent of Alex, Approximately and wasn’t as enjoyable to me. Obviously there were some different plot points, but it was the same formula of “sheltered and somehow damaged girl meets extremely charismatic and attractive boy, boy pursues reluctant girl, girl discovers boy is also damaged, girl and boy get together”. It just felt too the same to me.
Then we get to the setting. I was born and raised in a suburb near Seattle and I just felt like this was a very tourist portrayal of the city. I mean, I guess maybe people who live in the city proper are different? But I don’t think so and I found it detracted from the book for me. I mean, Daniel calls Safeco Field “The Safe”. Literally nobody calls it that. Okay, I googled it and apparently some news stories have called it that, but I have never heard a local call it that. Literally never. Besides, it’s T-Mobile Park now so that “nickname” is already dated. There’s also a line where Birdie mentions that a Fremont Troll sized weight is lifted off her back or something. What. Who thinks stuff like that? It’s literally only in there to namedrop another Seattle landmark. And the weather is mentioned by Birdie way too often. Growing up, I would never think about the weather. If it’s raining, I’d grab my jacket and that was it. I never dwelt on the fact that it was raining in June or whatever. I hardly even noticed if the sky was overcast. Locals also never talk about the “Seattle freeze”. So there we go. Apparently I’m a Seattle snob or whatever. Don’t @ me.
Besides those things, I thought the side characters were okay. I liked Mona, Birdie’s grandpa, and Joseph, but we never really get time to know much about any of them. I thought the setting of the diner was good too (every pie sounded AMAZING). I didn’t love Birdie as a character, however. She complained about her grandmother A LOT and never seemed to really think about why her grandmother was so overprotective–she just kind of complained about it. I also never understood why she was so resistant to learning about and dealing with her narcolepsy? I guess maybe I didn’t realize that there was a stigma around it. Daniel was okay as a character if a little too perfect.
Daniel and Birdie’s relationship wasn’t super compelling to me. There was just too much angst (created by Birdie). It was so obvious the entire book that Daniel was SUPER into her, but Birdie was really hesitant and kind of held back the entire time. Even after she and Daniel “got together” and his mom had told Birdie that he was super into her, she was still really paranoid and doubtful. It just made Birdie not make much sense to me as a character.
Overall, I just didn’t find this book, the characters, the subplots, or the setting as enjoyable as Alex, Approximately. I probably shouldn’t be comparing the two, but I can’t stop myself. I will say, this was a very sex positive book portraying teens practicing safe sex and consent, so it’s got that going for it. I haven’t read Starry Eyes yet, but I’m a little more hesitant to pick it up now.
Overall Rating: 3
Language: Moderate
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Moderate
Note: I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
TL;DR – Not as good as Alex, Appoximately.
My first problem with this book is the cover. It’s great that they were able to get a model with long hair for Daniel, but where is Birdie’s flower? That’s such a key part of her character and I don’t feel like it would have been that hard to include that in the cover, but whatever. I mean, they’re eating pie, Birdie has a book…how did they miss the flower???
Some of you might remember that I LOVED Alex, Approximately so I was fully prepared to love this book too. Unfortunately, it seemed a little too reminiscent of Alex, Approximately and wasn’t as enjoyable to me. Obviously there were some different plot points, but it was the same formula of “sheltered and somehow damaged girl meets extremely charismatic and attractive boy, boy pursues reluctant girl, girl discovers boy is also damaged, girl and boy get together”. It just felt too the same to me.
Then we get to the setting. I was born and raised in a suburb near Seattle and I just felt like this was a very tourist portrayal of the city. I mean, I guess maybe people who live in the city proper are different? But I don’t think so and I found it detracted from the book for me. I mean, Daniel calls Safeco Field “The Safe”. Literally nobody calls it that. Okay, I googled it and apparently some news stories have called it that, but I have never heard a local call it that. Literally never. Besides, it’s T-Mobile Park now so that “nickname” is already dated. There’s also a line where Birdie mentions that a Fremont Troll sized weight is lifted off her back or something. What. Who thinks stuff like that? It’s literally only in there to namedrop another Seattle landmark. And the weather is mentioned by Birdie way too often. Growing up, I would never think about the weather. If it’s raining, I’d grab my jacket and that was it. I never dwelt on the fact that it was raining in June or whatever. I hardly even noticed if the sky was overcast. Locals also never talk about the “Seattle freeze”. So there we go. Apparently I’m a Seattle snob or whatever. Don’t @ me.
Besides those things, I thought the side characters were okay. I liked Mona, Birdie’s grandpa, and Joseph, but we never really get time to know much about any of them. I thought the setting of the diner was good too (every pie sounded AMAZING). I didn’t love Birdie as a character, however. She complained about her grandmother A LOT and never seemed to really think about why her grandmother was so overprotective–she just kind of complained about it. I also never understood why she was so resistant to learning about and dealing with her narcolepsy? I guess maybe I didn’t realize that there was a stigma around it. Daniel was okay as a character if a little too perfect.
Daniel and Birdie’s relationship wasn’t super compelling to me. There was just too much angst (created by Birdie). It was so obvious the entire book that Daniel was SUPER into her, but Birdie was really hesitant and kind of held back the entire time. Even after she and Daniel “got together” and his mom had told Birdie that he was super into her, she was still really paranoid and doubtful. It just made Birdie not make much sense to me as a character.
Overall, I just didn’t find this book, the characters, the subplots, or the setting as enjoyable as Alex, Approximately. I probably shouldn’t be comparing the two, but I can’t stop myself. I will say, this was a very sex positive book portraying teens practicing safe sex and consent, so it’s got that going for it. I haven’t read Starry Eyes yet, but I’m a little more hesitant to pick it up now.
Overall Rating: 3
Language: Moderate
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Moderate
Note: I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
twisted_cursed_reads's review against another edition
4.0
First Impressions (First Chapter Thoughts):
One of the coolest things for me while reading the first chapter was Birdie’s love for mysteries and detective work. The way that Birdie describes her backstory as a case file as if she is a detective is really fun and different. This coupled with the mystery dude that she kept talking about left me wanting to read more.
Thoughts while reading:
After finishing “Serious Moonlight”, I found it to be an enjoyable read. When I originally picked the book up I thought it was going to be cute and simple but it definitely touched on some serious topics that I was not expecting. Birdie deals with narcolepsy, something that I knew very little about before starting the book. I felt like I learned quite a bit after finishing it.
“Grandpa called “going boneless,” better known as cataplexy. It’s this thing that happens to some narcoleptics. Basically, you lose control of all your muscles and sometimes collapse. People think you’ve fainted, but you’re conscious, It’s just that you can’t move. And it’s triggered by the stupidest things. A burst of laughter. Excitement. Anger. Any intense emotion, really.”
While the romance was pretty adorable, it was not my favorite part of the book. I always felt like something was missing from it. I guess I never fell in love with their love, if that makes sense. It was a little bland for me. I wanted this epic romance and I never felt like it got there.
“Sometimes it felt as if grief were a tightrope, and I spent half my time trying to to stay balanced; I never fell off, but I also never made it to the other side.”
I think my favorite part about this book is Birdie’s experience dealing with grief and loss in her life. There were many parts in this book where I felt like I related to Birdie in a lot of ways when she would talk about losing people and the fear of getting to know someone and love them, only to lose them.
Final thoughts:
All in all, I felt like I learned something from this book which made me really happy. It made me want to learn more about narcolepsy, something that I have never seen in any other YA books that I have read. While I came for the romance, I left with something more.
One of the coolest things for me while reading the first chapter was Birdie’s love for mysteries and detective work. The way that Birdie describes her backstory as a case file as if she is a detective is really fun and different. This coupled with the mystery dude that she kept talking about left me wanting to read more.
Thoughts while reading:
After finishing “Serious Moonlight”, I found it to be an enjoyable read. When I originally picked the book up I thought it was going to be cute and simple but it definitely touched on some serious topics that I was not expecting. Birdie deals with narcolepsy, something that I knew very little about before starting the book. I felt like I learned quite a bit after finishing it.
“Grandpa called “going boneless,” better known as cataplexy. It’s this thing that happens to some narcoleptics. Basically, you lose control of all your muscles and sometimes collapse. People think you’ve fainted, but you’re conscious, It’s just that you can’t move. And it’s triggered by the stupidest things. A burst of laughter. Excitement. Anger. Any intense emotion, really.”
While the romance was pretty adorable, it was not my favorite part of the book. I always felt like something was missing from it. I guess I never fell in love with their love, if that makes sense. It was a little bland for me. I wanted this epic romance and I never felt like it got there.
“Sometimes it felt as if grief were a tightrope, and I spent half my time trying to to stay balanced; I never fell off, but I also never made it to the other side.”
I think my favorite part about this book is Birdie’s experience dealing with grief and loss in her life. There were many parts in this book where I felt like I related to Birdie in a lot of ways when she would talk about losing people and the fear of getting to know someone and love them, only to lose them.
Final thoughts:
All in all, I felt like I learned something from this book which made me really happy. It made me want to learn more about narcolepsy, something that I have never seen in any other YA books that I have read. While I came for the romance, I left with something more.
desertlover's review against another edition
4.0
"Maybe I was wrong about fate."
The beginning and ending are shaky, but overall I loved Birdie and Daniel. It's a sweet and heartfelt coming of age story. Both are atypical YA main characters. I appreciated the unique and somewhat quirky plot.
I always adore anything Bennett writes and can't wait for her next book.
PS - Why does the cover NOT have Birdie with a flower in her hair?? ugh..
The beginning and ending are shaky, but overall I loved Birdie and Daniel. It's a sweet and heartfelt coming of age story. Both are atypical YA main characters. I appreciated the unique and somewhat quirky plot.
I always adore anything Bennett writes and can't wait for her next book.
PS - Why does the cover NOT have Birdie with a flower in her hair?? ugh..
bright_night's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5