A review by jillkaarlela
Maybe Meant to Be by K.L. Walther
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Taylor Swift songs: “treacherous (tv)”
Age rating: 13+ (closed door)
I honestly did not love this nearly as much as I loved “the Summer of Broken Rules”. This was definitely for the younger side of YA, which is not a bad thing, I just wasn’t expecting it. If you like Emma Lord (wrote “Tweet Cute”, “you have a match”) you would really like this!
Now, on to my criticisms. I think this was an overall good story, but I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. I think having it in dual pov with two different couples really limited our time with each and I would have liked more development of each of the main characters and their relationships. We got to see a lot of how Charlie and Luke fell in love, and why they liked each other. However, when the book started, Sage and Nick were already together, so we don’t get to see much of why they like each other. There also wasn’t as much emotional depth as TSOBR. Also, the main conflict of a gay character was coming out, which a lot of people find triggering or problematic. Charlie’s character in general also bothered me because he was a serial dater and constantly led on girls and broke their hearts to cover up the fact that he was gay? He just hurt a lot of people that way, and it didn’t sit right with me.
Overall, this was good, just definitely not my favorite.
Side note: I don’t know how they got away with so much at the school, honestly. Like, the guys stayed in each other’s rooms every night without getting in trouble? I know not to bring practicality into stories, but that genuinely baffled me.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an advanced reader copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Age rating: 13+ (closed door)
I honestly did not love this nearly as much as I loved “the Summer of Broken Rules”. This was definitely for the younger side of YA, which is not a bad thing, I just wasn’t expecting it. If you like Emma Lord (wrote “Tweet Cute”, “you have a match”) you would really like this!
Now, on to my criticisms. I think this was an overall good story, but I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. I think having it in dual pov with two different couples really limited our time with each and I would have liked more development of each of the main characters and their relationships. We got to see a lot of how Charlie and Luke fell in love, and why they liked each other. However, when the book started, Sage and Nick were already together, so we don’t get to see much of why they like each other. There also wasn’t as much emotional depth as TSOBR. Also, the main conflict of a gay character was coming out, which a lot of people find triggering or problematic. Charlie’s character in general also bothered me because he was a serial dater and constantly led on girls and broke their hearts to cover up the fact that he was gay? He just hurt a lot of people that way, and it didn’t sit right with me.
Overall, this was good, just definitely not my favorite.
Side note: I don’t know how they got away with so much at the school, honestly. Like, the guys stayed in each other’s rooms every night without getting in trouble? I know not to bring practicality into stories, but that genuinely baffled me.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an advanced reader copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia