Reviews

A Little Something Different: A Swoon Novel by Sandy Hall

happylittlestar's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

sorreltastic's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

hannahreadsadec5's review against another edition

4.0

I am 99% sure that even this

would not be as much fun as reading this book was.

A Little Something Different is like no other love story I have read before. It is told from 14 different view points, none of which are the couple in question, and due to this, we are able to see a romance grow before the couple even knows it is happening. Lea and Gabe are perfect for each other, but because of the way Lea has trouble holding a conversation, and Gabe's extreme shyness, their story doesn't look like it will end in a happily ever after.

Luckily for them, all fourteen view points are just waiting for them to kiss, and will not stop until they do. Lea and Gabe get seated next to each other at a local restaurant, their creative writing teacher specifically creates a project that will force them to get to know each other, even a park squirrel knows that something is going on between them. But they soon realize that they will need to do a lot more to get Lea and Gabe together.

My only problem with this book is that whenever one of the lovebirds is talked to or about, the other is not close behind. It is rare that you ever see Lea or Gabe without them talking about how perfect they would be for each other. It would have been nice to learn about them individually before they were thrown together.

Even with that, this book is perfect for anyone looking for a short and sweet romance. A Little Something Different has the perfect blend of humor and seriousness, making it a great read for any day.

aplw's review against another edition

5.0

this was definitely different from any book I've ever read before, and I loved all the view points of Gabe and Lea's relationship. I especially loved the squirrel and the bench ha.

stucknbooks14's review against another edition

4.0

I can't think of a better way to review A Little Something Different, than to review it by each viewpoint.
Maribel:The supportive, yet cautious friend. Maribel was the perfect roommate for Lea. She helped give Lea that extra spark she needed. Lea seemed pretty shy and quiet, but then Maribel came in and livened up her personality. Giving her that big sister push.
Inga:The kind of professor I wish I had. I loved that she played matchmaker for her students, but based it on the assignments. Sneaky! And yet, appropriate.
Bench:Maybe my favorite viewpoint? The bench didn't have any reason whether to care if Lea and Gabe ended up together or not. The Switzerland Party.
Sam:Big Brother. There's no better way to describe Sam. He worried about Gabe, supported Gabe, took care of Gabe, but all while letting Gabe do his own thing.
Squirrel:This view point was more random than the Bench, and I loved it! How wonderfully out of the box!
Victor:Victor......The Villain. That's how I'd label him. I know, he's not a horrible person. But good Lord! Calm down buddy!
Bob:I did a lot of "awwwwing" whenever I read Bob's viewpoint. How cute are him and his wife, gossiping about the people that get on his bus? And the way he sees Lea and Gabe. So sweet!
Casey:Casey is the exact kind of friend Gabe needs! He brings out the best of Gabe, while also understand that he needs just a little time to do his own thing.
Maxine:My favorite matchmaker out of the bunch!
Danny:Fix your gaydar buddy! I get it, but.....he was doing his best to convince Lea that Gabe was gay. Not cool. Honestly, I was expecting a fall out. But instead, he had a happy ending?
Pam:Ah yes, the power couple. I'd love a book from Igna and Pam's point of view, of each time Igna has played match maker for her students.
Charlotte:The best character development? Maybe.
Hillary:I imagine Regina George playing this role.
Frank:Least necessary character, but I'm glad we had him. How cute were the awkward Chinese delivery moments?!
I know how cheesy "look at me for a second" is, but when I say my heart swooned to the moon and back!

7/10 Romance
8/10 Young Adult

notthemonalisa's review against another edition

5.0

This book is so good that I couldn't sit down after finishing it. The real struggles that they face are very realistic and viewing it from the outside of the situation is a creative change. This book was so incredibly cute and lovely. I'm having a hard time not spilling every second of the story in this review!

shellfish152's review against another edition

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. It was so different than the books I have read lately. Such a great light read! It’s told in 14 different perspectives. All of which are not the main characters. These perspectives are watching the love unfold with the main characters. These perspectives are hilarious at times. Some of the perspectives include a bench that talks about butts and a squirrel that looses his nuts. I absolutely suggest this for anyone that is looking for a cute light read!



Audiobook review: Amy Rubinate did so good with this book! She made all of the characters so funny. I love her voices for the bench and squirrel. She made a different voice for each of her perspectives. I really appreciate that so I could tell the characters apart. And Will Damron made all the guys characters so funny. He had a different voice for each guy perspective and I really like that.

ablotial's review against another edition

3.0

This book was a little scattered, but it was cute. I usually like books with different perspectives, but this thing is worse than [b:A Game of Thrones|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436732693s/13496.jpg|1466917]! It changes point of view every page and a half! There are something like 14 characters, including a bench and a squirrel. These two in particular bothered me -- the squirrel cannot understand English, but the bench can? This does not make sense. And neither really added to the story. She mentioned in the interview questions at the end that her editor had even made her remove a bunch of characters... I think she just left the squirrel and bench to be "cute" and "different". Eh.

But the story itself isn't bad if you can get past the rapid fire characters. It's a cute love story, except I feel like it would be better as a middle school story instead of college age kids. These kids have SERIOUS communication issues, they make a lot of assumptions about each other and only finally are honest with each other when it seems there is no other choice. And do teachers and baristas really get so involved in the lives of their students or customers?

It's funny--seems like all I've done is complain in this review, but I give three stars. I still smile when I think of this book. It was charming, and I liked Gabe.

tababook's review against another edition

I didn’t like the tone of the book. A lot of the characters hit the wrong note to me. It just wasn’t for me.

lexisun's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Loved: The novel (heh) narrative structure! I love stories told from outside perspectives.

Didn’t love: YA and some NA skews so young to me and feels less relevant and interesting to me now.