Hey, bookworms--it's review time! Today I have for you my review of What's Not to Love by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka! I'm so excited that I got a chance to review this book before it releases on April 20, 2021 (mark your calendars!). Huge thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. Now let's start talking about this book! Synopsis
My ReviewFirstly, let's take a moment to admire how simply beautiful this book's cover is. I feel like I've been weirdly obsessed with ranting about book covers lately, but seriously: I fell in love with this book from the moment I saw those bookshelves with that stunning aesthetic in the background. Just amazing. Plus, did anybody notice that you can see the spines of Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka's books on the shelves?? It's just so cool! And even though I don't tend to like when books have actual, real-life people on the cover, these people who are apparently supposed to be Alison and Ethan are pretty cute how they're just smirking and looking all competitive and flirty.
Okay, so now that we've discussed the amazingness which is the cover of What's Not to Love, let's dive into the content. When I first started this book, I took one look at Alison and Ethan's relationship and thought, Okay, how is this going to turn into a realistic romantic development? I honestly didn't expect it to be great; I figured it would be some unrealistic "the first day we hate each other, the next day we're suddenly madly in love" sort of thing. You know what I'm talking about. We've all read them, we all know how annoying they are. But! This book completely defied my expectations by executing this rivals-to-lovers romance better than I could have ever dreamed for! It was such a subtle development that I hadn't even fully comprehended all the romantic tension that was building up until that life-changing kiss in the hallway (and then those other dazzling make-out scenes, too...). The authors did an excellent job at making Alison and Ethan grow closer without making it painfully obvious to the reader--something I haven't come across in a rivals-to-lovers book for a while. This was such a delight and relief to read. I give this superb romantic development five stars! One thing I can't say I was a huge fan of was Alison's own character development. I was expecting her to realize at some point in the book that she was messing up her life by being a perfectionistic, competitive, school-obsessed individual. And she did realize this...but she didn't really make any efforts to change it. At the end of the book, I felt like she was just about as perfectionistic, competitive, and school-obsessed as she was at the beginning of the book. She didn't have much of a character arc; the only huge revelation she had in this book was that *gasp* she has feelings for her fiercest competitor! Which was fine and cute and all, but I was hoping for a bit more character development in Alison herself, not just in her relationships and dating. (If anyone has read You Asked For Perfect by Laura Silverman, then you'll understand what I mean when I say that I wanted Alison to have character arc similar to Ariel's in that book in regards to the perfectionism and school-obsession. And if you haven't read You Asked For Perfect, go pick it up because it's really good!) I also loved reading Alison's friend, Dylan. She had some great self-growth in this book, and it was interesting to see her interactions with Alison. I also liked Alison's family, especially her sister, Jamie. I felt like Jamie and Alison were such a contrast to each other, and I wish that Alison had spent more time trying to see her sister's perspective on things. I felt bad that Jamie wanted to spend time with her sister but Alison was always saying she was too busy. I'm glad that they grew closer at the end of the book. I also thought that Jamie's band was very amusing; all of the scenes involving them were always hilarious. That moment with Alison, Ted (one of the band members), and the Teddy Roosevelt comment was one of my favorites and actually made me laugh out loud because Alison's reaction was just too funny. That's a wrap on my review of What's Not to Love! I recommend this book especially if you're looking for a cute and well-written rivals-to-lovers romance. I gave this book 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll give this book a read when it releases on April 20!
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Hey there, bookworms!My name is Rose (she/her) and I'm the creator of Books of Magic and Mystery. I love reading YA books, especially fantasy and mystery. When I'm not reading, you can find me baking, studying, or cuddling with my super-furry pets. Visit me on Instagram @booksofmagicandmystery! Archives
November 2021
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