I really liked the idea of this book. The idea of diving into themes of fate and free will all wrapped up in a nice, sweet YA romance story all sounded great. Add in some fake dating and unrequited love and you have a great mix! Unfortunately, the elements didn't work together as well as I had hoped.
Mostly I struggled to truly connect to the characters and what was going on around them. The writing style relied too strongly on telling the reader what was going on, what characters were feeling, and how the reader should feel themselves rather than showing any of this on the page.
I also was a bit let down in the romance itself. Fake dating can be a fun romance trope, but we barely saw any of that here. And the author did attempt to explore themes of free will in the face of "curses," I have a hard time buying that many teenage readers would be turned off by a "curse" that will make their first love their ultimate happily ever after! Beyond that, what we got from the characters was more instalove than anything, which is a particular annoyance of mine.
I do think that some YA romance readers will enjoy this book, if they're looking for light-hearted fare. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me.
Mostly I struggled to truly connect to the characters and what was going on around them. The writing style relied too strongly on telling the reader what was going on, what characters were feeling, and how the reader should feel themselves rather than showing any of this on the page.
I also was a bit let down in the romance itself. Fake dating can be a fun romance trope, but we barely saw any of that here. And the author did attempt to explore themes of free will in the face of "curses," I have a hard time buying that many teenage readers would be turned off by a "curse" that will make their first love their ultimate happily ever after! Beyond that, what we got from the characters was more instalove than anything, which is a particular annoyance of mine.
I do think that some YA romance readers will enjoy this book, if they're looking for light-hearted fare. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me.