4*
What if you had the chance to reinvent yourself by taking a semester in London, pursuing your passion rather than continuing to follow the career path your parents chose for you, forcing yourself to socialize, and even trying to get your first kiss? What if the boy you’re falling for turns out to have a girlfriend at home and things between you become painfully awkward? What if you spent the first twenty years of your life living to please others and it still blew up in your face? If you’re regretting your decisions and are given another chance, would you take the do-over in the hopes of getting it right the second time?
These are the questions that timid, insecure Shane Primaveri is faced with in this frustrating, but ultimately redeeming story. The first half of the book drags because Riccio uses running commentary, via first-person narrative and Shane’s blog, journal, emails and postcards, to chronicle her thoughts and recount everything the characters said and did on a daily basis. Shane was so full of self-doubt that it made much of it uncomfortable to read. However, when the story fast-forwarded six years and Riccio added a magical element, the pace picked up and much of the detail in the first half made sense.
The well-described supporting characters are varied (including different races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations), and fill critical roles without their own subplots being superfluous. Beware: descriptions of their travels also inspire wanderlust!
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Wednesday Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
These are the questions that timid, insecure Shane Primaveri is faced with in this frustrating, but ultimately redeeming story. The first half of the book drags because Riccio uses running commentary, via first-person narrative and Shane’s blog, journal, emails and postcards, to chronicle her thoughts and recount everything the characters said and did on a daily basis. Shane was so full of self-doubt that it made much of it uncomfortable to read. However, when the story fast-forwarded six years and Riccio added a magical element, the pace picked up and much of the detail in the first half made sense.
The well-described supporting characters are varied (including different races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations), and fill critical roles without their own subplots being superfluous. Beware: descriptions of their travels also inspire wanderlust!
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Wednesday Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
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