betweentheshelves's review
4.0
Virginia (Vee) Miller is looking forward to her summer on the road with her high school rock band friends, now known as Your Future X. What she doesn't know when she decides to join their tour is that her ex will be there; and those wounds definitely haven't healed yet. Now, Vee and Cam are forced to work through the problems that ended their relationship while the entire world is watching.
The structure of this novel is absolutely what works the best. Told in a then/now format, Pennington slowly reveals the beginnings of Vee and Cam's relationship, switching back to now to create even more intrigue. It made the plot more interesting, making the reader desperate to get to the end to figure out what put an end to what seemed like an incredibly compatible relationship. What may have been a predictable plot in a more straightforward novel becomes more interesting with this structure.
Having two points of view also helps in giving the reader a fuller picture of the relationship; if we got only Cam's or only Vee's point of view, we would be likely to be biased toward one or the other. The inclusion of both their voices makes the reader feel empathy for both sides of the relationship. They both have reasons for doing what they do.
With a cast of extremely relatable characters and an immersive plot structure, fans of summer romance and rock bands will find a home in Pennington's story.
The structure of this novel is absolutely what works the best. Told in a then/now format, Pennington slowly reveals the beginnings of Vee and Cam's relationship, switching back to now to create even more intrigue. It made the plot more interesting, making the reader desperate to get to the end to figure out what put an end to what seemed like an incredibly compatible relationship. What may have been a predictable plot in a more straightforward novel becomes more interesting with this structure.
Having two points of view also helps in giving the reader a fuller picture of the relationship; if we got only Cam's or only Vee's point of view, we would be likely to be biased toward one or the other. The inclusion of both their voices makes the reader feel empathy for both sides of the relationship. They both have reasons for doing what they do.
With a cast of extremely relatable characters and an immersive plot structure, fans of summer romance and rock bands will find a home in Pennington's story.
theresajs's review
5.0
I love this book!!!!
It's a great swoony read about a second chance romance!
Here are some of the things that I liked:
~that music played such a huge part in this book! Seeing Vee work through her emotions by writing songs (plus playing her guitar and singing) and finding herself.
~Watching Cam and Vee's relationship develop and the banter between the 2 of them
~Having all them on a bus tour reality show was fun and different!
~The beach town, the mood there was captured so perfectly!
~Vee's grandma was the best!
~Going back and forth in time - seeing Vee and Cam in the past and the present helped put things in perspective.
~Logan's and Vee's relationship - this was something I could really relate to as I had also dated a best friend only to realize we are better off as friends. Yes, just like them, it was a bit awkward at first but many years later, we are still really great friends.
~the drama and the flaws, it all just felt real!
even after reading the ebook a couple times and then listening to the audio, I still teared up at parts in the book, even though I already knew what was going to happen.
It's a great swoony read about a second chance romance!
Here are some of the things that I liked:
~that music played such a huge part in this book! Seeing Vee work through her emotions by writing songs (plus playing her guitar and singing) and finding herself.
~Watching Cam and Vee's relationship develop and the banter between the 2 of them
~Having all them on a bus tour reality show was fun and different!
~The beach town, the mood there was captured so perfectly!
~Vee's grandma was the best!
~Going back and forth in time - seeing Vee and Cam in the past and the present helped put things in perspective.
~Logan's and Vee's relationship - this was something I could really relate to as I had also dated a best friend only to realize we are better off as friends. Yes, just like them, it was a bit awkward at first but many years later, we are still really great friends.
~the drama and the flaws, it all just felt real!
even after reading the ebook a couple times and then listening to the audio, I still teared up at parts in the book, even though I already knew what was going to happen.
chazar's review
4.0
When you think contemporary young adult read, Love Songs & Other Lies should get a check in all the boxes. That's not even a bad thing. This is a sweet and angsty romance, perfect for anyone in love with love and the crazy ride it tends to be. You have the guy with the tragic past meeting back up with the girl whose heart he left in pieces. To make matters more interesting, Virginia and Cam are on a reality band competition, and all eyes are on them. Side characters could have been fleshed out a little more, but this is ultimately a story about the complicated love between a girl and her guy. You really can't have enough of those.
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