Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Last Chance Books

meh, very much meh. madeline is incredibly self centered, to the point where her problems with jasper and the bookstore come before anybody else’s problem, including benny’s issues with dalia and zelda’s issues with her mother. i feel like a lot of details were just glossed over because madeline is the narrator and her problems are more important, even if the details could have added more to the story.

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relin's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don't tend to read contemporary romances especially featuring teenage romance. It well captured the high all-or-nothing emotional rollercoaster of the teenage experience. There is a lot of interesting family relationship navigation that really made the book more powerful.

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abbypeekreads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted 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

3.25

When I saw this book was advertised as having You've Got Mail vibes, I knew I had to pick it up. I mean, a book about bookish things and bookish people? Sign me up! The premise really delivered on that promise, and I loved the rivalry between Jasper and Madeline unfold throughout the novel.

But while the premise was cute and fun, there were a few elements to this book that kept me from falling head over heels in love with it. My main issues revolve around the characters. I totally get that this is a book for teens (and I am definitely not a teen), but sometimes I felt like the author tried too hard to make her characters sound like teens. Madeline, despite being an older YA protagonist at eighteen, was pretty disrespectful and whined a lot, making it tough to root for her at times. And the adults just felt like your stereotypical YA novel adults--out of touch and corny.

The story didn't really start picking up for me until about fifty percent of the way through, when the subplots and the romance really started to come into focus. Though I wish we'd gotten more depth to Jasper and Madeline before their rivalry started, I really enjoyed their arc. And I did enjoy seeing how things with her mom played out, even if her reaction to her was a bit much at times.

Overall, this book is definitely a cheesy YA romance with a cute premise. I wish some elements of the book would've been tightened up a bit, but I appreciated the bookish and You've Got Mail vibes.

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bujo_bellel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.75

I really enjoyed reading this book, I liked that once they're together then something happens to weaken/destroy the relationship until the very end, and I think I say a few song references(maybe) in the book and I really liked the concept of the book and learning about how much effort is put into managing a bookstore.

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jjstallone's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.5

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ashley_1206's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

3.5⭐️ honestly it’s my fault i didn’t LOVE the book and let me tell you why.

i liked the book i really did. i thought the concept of rival bookstore employees was really intriguing. but rivals to lovers isn’t the only thing you get from this book which i wish i would have known.

i’m a mood/cover reader so i thought that it was gonna be a cute fluffy book to get me in the valentine’s day spirit. oh was i wrong.

in this book we follow madeline moore who works for Books & Moore a family bookstore. however it’s being threatened to shut down because of a new bookstore opening across the street that’s when jasper comes in because his family runs THAT bookstore.

the first half of the book we basically follow madeleines dysfunctional family. her mom is back in her life (who madeleine doesn’t like because her mom has disappointed her many times), and she lives with her aunt so we get a piece of that. her dad isn’t in the picture but her brothers dad is.

we don’t get a lot of jasper until like 60% percent through like roughly and when we get him we GET him. at points i was wishing for his pov. like at the end i was smiling and crackling like i’ve never had feelings for someone before. and sometimes he had me downbad. like i want a man like jasper. to an extent tho to an extent. but the book isn’t spicy at all so don’t read for spice.

however if you wanna read about a dysfunctional family with a main character who’s trying to save her book store with a hint of rivials to lovers with the boy across the street. this may be for you <3

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