sandylovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book would be too much like the authors Wake series but it isn't. They are both similar with visions of some sort but I saw this one more of a love story than the other series. I really liked Jules and Sawyer and rooted for them. I love Trey and the fact that he is gay and it was no big deal was great. The family feud story line was really interesting. Can't wait until the next book is out in this series.
michelle_pink_polka_dot's review against another edition
4.0
Jules whole life is pretty much consumed by her family's Italian Restaurant which they live above. Her dad has mental issues and severe depression, so the family has to pull together that much more to make it work. She's always working and driving around the super-embarrassing meatball truck. Then she starts having visions of a crash. In the vision an out-of-control snow plow crashes into a building and the building explodes. Nine body bags are then seen in the snow beside the burned out building. This crash is very realistic and she figures out the building getting crashed into is the Agnotti's, the restaurant-rival of her family. She tries to ignore/block it out, convinced she's just crazy, but the vision refuses to be ignored.
Eventually she comes to the realization that she's not crazy and that this is going to happen. The body bags she sees in the snow after the crash.... well one of them belongs to Sawyer Agnotti, her super-crush. She knows she has to try to save him and his family, but how in the world do you tell people about a crash that hasn't happened yet without them thinking you are completely nuts?
My Thoughts:
I got really into this book. It was super addicting!! The more the crash would show up on random signs and TV screens, the more anxious I got wondering when the heck this was going to happen! I love that feeling like you HAVE to know what's going to happen. You can't go to bed because you don't know if the characters are going to be okay. This book definitely is an up all night kind of read.
I read the first Wake book, and while this definitely had some of the same elements to it as that, it was completely better!! The side characters in this book were so cool. I really dug the siblings and their relationships with each other. Being an only-child it made me a little jealous even. Rowan, Trey, and Jules were like this awesome team who looked out for each other, joked around together, and just had this protecting love between them. I was really glad that Jules had this and wasn't all alone like Janie was in Wake.
The book is short and written sort of choppy. But if you read my stuff I write that way too, so it didn't bother me in the least. I like how this author doesn't dick around explaining and explaining things... but it can be a good and a bad thing. The good- she gets to the point... and sometimes it's just nice to read a shorter book. The bad- some of the characters suffer a little from it.
The love story part was a little ehhh for me. I wasn't expecting it to come together so fast at the end and I really didn't love that part of it. I was into the Romeo and Juliet vibe, but all the family-drama and Jules just being so forward at one point was throwing me off a little. Also I think I just wanted more personality from Sawyer to know what was so love-able about him... besides the sharing of plastic animals. Plus Jules gets really creepy at times during this book (for good reason, but still) and I wanted Sawyer to react like a normal person and tell her she was a freaking weirdo!!
Jules was a really funny character (even if she was a little stalkerish). I loved the "oh my dogs" stuff and the way her and her brother Trey would talk to each other. They always had super funny convos that just completely made the book for me.
The ending was definitely surprising! I'm trying not going to get all spoilery here, but I was expecting another vision, just not who it came from at all!!! I'm definitely up for reading the 2nd book like immediately.... when does it come out?????
Overall: Very addicting, suspenseful book. A must-read for Lisa McMann fans and anyone just looking for something that will keep you up all night reading!! Also the cover is GORGEOUS in person!
My Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com
Eventually she comes to the realization that she's not crazy and that this is going to happen. The body bags she sees in the snow after the crash.... well one of them belongs to Sawyer Agnotti, her super-crush. She knows she has to try to save him and his family, but how in the world do you tell people about a crash that hasn't happened yet without them thinking you are completely nuts?
My Thoughts:
I got really into this book. It was super addicting!! The more the crash would show up on random signs and TV screens, the more anxious I got wondering when the heck this was going to happen! I love that feeling like you HAVE to know what's going to happen. You can't go to bed because you don't know if the characters are going to be okay. This book definitely is an up all night kind of read.
I read the first Wake book, and while this definitely had some of the same elements to it as that, it was completely better!! The side characters in this book were so cool. I really dug the siblings and their relationships with each other. Being an only-child it made me a little jealous even. Rowan, Trey, and Jules were like this awesome team who looked out for each other, joked around together, and just had this protecting love between them. I was really glad that Jules had this and wasn't all alone like Janie was in Wake.
The book is short and written sort of choppy. But if you read my stuff I write that way too, so it didn't bother me in the least. I like how this author doesn't dick around explaining and explaining things... but it can be a good and a bad thing. The good- she gets to the point... and sometimes it's just nice to read a shorter book. The bad- some of the characters suffer a little from it.
The love story part was a little ehhh for me. I wasn't expecting it to come together so fast at the end and I really didn't love that part of it. I was into the Romeo and Juliet vibe, but all the family-drama and Jules just being so forward at one point was throwing me off a little. Also I think I just wanted more personality from Sawyer to know what was so love-able about him... besides the sharing of plastic animals. Plus Jules gets really creepy at times during this book (for good reason, but still) and I wanted Sawyer to react like a normal person and tell her she was a freaking weirdo!!
Jules was a really funny character (even if she was a little stalkerish). I loved the "oh my dogs" stuff and the way her and her brother Trey would talk to each other. They always had super funny convos that just completely made the book for me.
The ending was definitely surprising! I'm trying not going to get all spoilery here, but I was expecting another vision, just not who it came from at all!!! I'm definitely up for reading the 2nd book like immediately.... when does it come out?????
Overall: Very addicting, suspenseful book. A must-read for Lisa McMann fans and anyone just looking for something that will keep you up all night reading!! Also the cover is GORGEOUS in person!
My Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com
ashhanna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.5
sh543's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ciaralo's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Concept was great, characters were awesome, and the book was absolutely addicting. The one thing that got me was the writing style. Full review to come but I will say I'll definitely be picking up the next two books!
mangoseaquest's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
nlevesque27's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this quite a bit. The story was fast paced enough to keep me interested, and now I'm excited to read the next book!
Book 47/75 (2018)
Book 47/75 (2018)
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
3 starts is a bit generous - 2.5 would be better. Why? Because the author is trying to do too much here and it's the start to a series (a one-off would have been much better).
First, there's a family feud between two pizza families. Second, there's a gay older brother. Third, the author uses lists far too often. Fourth, Our Heroine has visions. And Fifth, Dad's a depressive hoarder. Subtract any two of them and it would have been a stronger book. That Jules' brother is gay is casually tossed in, which is fine, but it felt deliberately casual, as in "hey, look, here's a gay character because they happen, you know?" (if so, the comments about going to church could have been stricken). That Dad's a depressive hoarder was, I suppose, to further illustrate why Jules had no friends and to give her Something To Overcome. Without the visions the story wouldn't move forward, so ok, leave them in but... Sigh.
ARC provided by publisher.
First, there's a family feud between two pizza families. Second, there's a gay older brother. Third, the author uses lists far too often. Fourth, Our Heroine has visions. And Fifth, Dad's a depressive hoarder. Subtract any two of them and it would have been a stronger book. That Jules' brother is gay is casually tossed in, which is fine, but it felt deliberately casual, as in "hey, look, here's a gay character because they happen, you know?" (if so, the comments about going to church could have been stricken). That Dad's a depressive hoarder was, I suppose, to further illustrate why Jules had no friends and to give her Something To Overcome. Without the visions the story wouldn't move forward, so ok, leave them in but... Sigh.
ARC provided by publisher.
jules1278's review against another edition
5.0
I love everything about this story. I love the idea, I love the people (and not just because the main character's name is Jules.) I love the way the story was set up and how it played out and how the end set up the next book. Everything felt really authentic, and the conflict made sense in a family rivalry way, and the characterization was perfect. I don't know if everyone would love this. I think you'd either love it or hate it (and I can tell by the top reviews that people are falling into those categories.) But I can't wait until the next book. :)