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A review by jelkebooks
Well, That Was Unexpected by Jesse Q. Sutanto
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Eh, this was a fine read. This review is going to sound a bit jaded maybe, but keep in mind that I do definitely recommend this book and I had a really fun time reading it. It's just that I've been reading YA books for almost a decade now, and contemporary has always been my favourite genre. So I've seen a lot pass, and therefore a book in this genre needs to stand out to me for it to be a four or five star. This sadly enough didn't do that for me.
Overall, I did really like this book. I thought it was such a really fun time. I laughed a couple of times. I thought our two main characters were quite interesting, and I loved the Indonesian setting. Jesse Q. Sutanto just does such a good job including her culture in her books (at least the ones I've read so far) and this was no exception. In the acknowledgements of this book she mentions this book being her love letter to the country and it was VERY obvious. I loved the scenes set there, and it all felt so very vivid. The romance was also really cute, so officially I have no complaints.
However, I do think the romance was just a little underdeveloped for me. I feel like in their scenes together we consistantly see them tiptoeing around each other because they don't want to expose their parents lies. Therefore to me it never really felt like they truly got to know each other. It also made it feel like the feelings came in a bit strongly out of nowhere. However, it definitely wasn't the worst case I have ever read. I also think the characters just are a bit stagnant. I don't know. I expected a bit of an actual journey for them, especially Sharlot. Her story definitely seemed set up for a huge journey of growth, but honestly there wasn't that much of it, and George basically stays the same the entire book.
So yeah, those aren't massive complaints but it did keep this book from fully standing out to me within this genre. As I mentioned before it was a really fun time, and I do definitely recommend it. Especially because it has one of my favourite side romances EVER.
Overall, I did really like this book. I thought it was such a really fun time. I laughed a couple of times. I thought our two main characters were quite interesting, and I loved the Indonesian setting. Jesse Q. Sutanto just does such a good job including her culture in her books (at least the ones I've read so far) and this was no exception. In the acknowledgements of this book she mentions this book being her love letter to the country and it was VERY obvious. I loved the scenes set there, and it all felt so very vivid. The romance was also really cute, so officially I have no complaints.
However, I do think the romance was just a little underdeveloped for me. I feel like in their scenes together we consistantly see them tiptoeing around each other because they don't want to expose their parents lies. Therefore to me it never really felt like they truly got to know each other. It also made it feel like the feelings came in a bit strongly out of nowhere. However, it definitely wasn't the worst case I have ever read. I also think the characters just are a bit stagnant. I don't know. I expected a bit of an actual journey for them, especially Sharlot. Her story definitely seemed set up for a huge journey of growth, but honestly there wasn't that much of it, and George basically stays the same the entire book.
So yeah, those aren't massive complaints but it did keep this book from fully standing out to me within this genre. As I mentioned before it was a really fun time, and I do definitely recommend it. Especially because it has one of my favourite side romances EVER.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Homophobia