Sarah Sutton (4)

I had a hard time deciding if I liked this one or not, but in the end I did like it. Quite a lot actually - hence the 4 stars.

I sympathize with Addy, but I don’t like her that much. I found her behaviour to be quite confusing and not authentic. I get why you would want to push feelings aside and not deal with them, but being this little sunshine… why would someone, especially a friend, believe this after such a tragic loss..?

But I didn’t count on Addy having awful - AWFUL - show more friends.
Molly I think is justified and even if I don’t appreciate her keeping secret because Addy already had enough on her plate (way to exclude someone..) we’re talking teenagers here and Molly’s secret wasn’t really Addy’s business.

But Vesta? Please just leave. She didn’t care for Addy at all, wasn’t there for her and to top things off kissed the boy she thought her “best friend” was still in love with or at least crushing on. Wow. Seriously, avoid the guy if you think he is for your best friend or at least be honest.
I’m all for forgiveness, but to be honest, I’m still angry Addy forgave her… That’s not someone to trust or to rely on…

And don’t get me started with Bryce. They we’re on a few dates, something was developing and then he texts her ONCE after her dad died and she wants to stay friends? I would rather be alone than have friends like that. Are expectations for friends really that low??

Vincent on the other hand is just great as is the way he starts to open up and how the relationship develops. I would have liked a chapter or two from his POV but I could believe him going from broody and distant to caring for Addy and seeing her. (I repeat myself but how could her so-called best friend Vesta not see her grief and her struggling..?)

I get why Addy keeps her talking to Vincent a secret because he is connected to the accident and she doesn’t want to talk about it - even if it’s silly - but I didn’t like that she seemed embarrassed being seen with him. He didn’t so anything wrong - something I can’t say about her friends…

So there were a few stupid and for me not too believable actions on Addy’s part and it seemed a bit like she was already done grieving at the end of the book, but all in all I liked both MCs and their relationship was really sweet.

I would have wished for a bit more intel on their psychology assignment since it seemed and it was the thing that brought them together, but we don’t really see the result.

And I would totally read a book about Molly. I was intrigued by her (she stood up to Vesta) and her family situation and would like to know more about the whole Jason (?) scenario.

But please don’t write a book about Vesta! I kind of would have to read it but I would hate it. -.- show less

It feels really harsh giving only 3 stars but man did I dislike Stella.
And Destelle for that matter…

Because yeah, we get that you created an alter ego to escape your strict parents and the expectations that everyone (??) has, but you know that you’re not actually two different persons, right? Neither physically nor mentally so all this drama seemed a bit over the top and kind of silly.
And when Stella talked to Harry about herself it was exactly Destelle’s backstory. Stella is just show more Destelle with a wig, edgier clothes, a cute nickname and a bit full of herself.
“Stella has game”... Urgh.

No, I didn’t like the whole “setup”, didn’t like Stella/Destelle, don’t know why Harry liked her so much or why she liked him to begin with.
Seemed to me to be solely based on physical attraction which of course often is the start but why they developed such deep feelings is beyond me.

Harry wasn’t that great either. I already expected his story and Stella’s father’s part in it but I have to say he redeemed himself by telling his story (like how he told it). It was just a little late in the story and I was already very annoyed with everyone…
Except Vincent and maybe Addy from the previous book. It was nice “seeing” them again but not enough to really enjoy this book.

Even the twins were a bit annoying because they helped Destelle for the wrong reasons in my opinion.

The solution with the parents was a bit forced and unrealistic. When people behave a certain way for at least 17 years and are not really reflecting on their behaviour they don’t change from one day to another because the daughter starts to act out (a bit).

I have read all of Sarah’s books and have come to really love them, but this is her weakest in my opinion and even though I love her writing in all her books, I think they have extremely improved after the Love in Fenton County series. (I still don’t really get how this is a series. Some books are connected why other’s seem to be completely independent from the others…) If you have read only this one and aren’t sure if you should read another one, I highly recommend the Most Likely To series! show less

I read all of Sarah’s YA books and absolutely loved them! Even though I was hoping for a new addition to the “Most Likely To” series, I was also intrigued by the prospect of reading Margot’s story, since she was a character I was definitely curious about in “Two Kinds of Us” - in fact, she was my favorite character of that book and I hoped she would someday get her own story.

NA is known for including more spice/smut and I know of several authors that changed this aspect of their show more writing when changing the genre. I am very happy Sarah kept her first NA book clean, since this aspect is what got me looking into YA in general and Sarah’s books more specifically in the first place.

So even though “Love and other Champagne Problems” doesn’t get the “includes mature themes” label, it definitely seemed more mature, more serious, even more somber to me.

Maybe this has more to do with our main character Margot than with the genre itself, but I think part of the reason is that actions of grown ups usually have graver consequences than the ones of minors, so Margot thinks a lot more about her future and her decisions with 22 than she would have with 16.

Margot was an absolutely intriguing character. Not coming from money and honestly never having cared for it, nor for luxuries or fashion, she isn’t a character I could relate to in the way of having similar experiences or opinions, but I absolutely empathized with her. She was closed off with a cynical view on relationships and life itself and my heart ached for her.

Margot was snarky, sarcastic and a bit rebellious, but in the end always did what her parents wanted her to because she knew she would lose everything she cared for (mostly related to very expensive food and fashion) and it was really interesting for me to read about a character that struggled so much with it. For me this would be a nonbrainer. What do you want with money if you can’t spend it with the people and for the dreams you want to? But Sarah made me see how a life with money but without affection could make you kind of desperate for the kind of security that wealth can give you, since this is everything Margot knew.

Okay, I already wrote half a page and haven’t even mentioned Sumner. Actually, there is not much to say about him, because he is pretty much perfect. He is sweet and kind, not blinded by the rich but also not condescending but sees Margot for who she is and the struggles she deals with. He sees how lonely her life has made her and it was so sweet how he cared for her and just wanted to make her smile.

“You’re snarky and pessimistic, and you don’t smile often, but when you do - when you do -” Sumner’s chest rose and fell once, as if just the image in his head was enough to take his breath away, and he took a step forward.
“I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. And the only thing I can think about after is how I’m going to make you smile again.”

Sumner is a genuinely great guy, respectful, thoughtful and as always Sarah delivered the most perfect kissing scenes. She is a master in building anticipation and I didn’t expect this, but this also worked with the female main character being the initiator (at least most of the time).

So we have a reverse grumpy sunshine situation which works perfectly, swoony kisses, lessons learned and an elderly lady who is equally as grumpy and sarcastic as Margot and actually made my heart ache for her too. Nancy obviously helps Margot to see her life in a specific way but knowing that Margot is Nancy’s only real friend, the only one she really cares for and who cares for her, yet not really able to voice her feelings (even though they are very obviously there) and regrets her life choices - surrounded by wealth but always lonely - was really sad.

I absolutely enjoyed Sarah Sutton’s first NA book, I even think this is my favorite book of her’s. (Okay, I have to be honest, it’s a tie between this and “Christmas As We Know It”.) It’s a sweet love story with realistic character growth and quite a few funny moments - most of them related to Margot’s sarcastic personality. I loved the characters and their redemption arcs and since I have read everything by Sarah yet you probably guessed that I just love her writing style!
If you loved Sarah’s YA books - I assure you, this won’t disappoint!

* Thank you to the author for letting me read an advanced copy of this book. I leave this review voluntarily and the expressed opinions are my own. show less

This is not a bad book but it’s kind of lacking and I personally didn’t enjoy it that much, especially compared to Sarah’s other books.

I had a really hard time getting through the book and that had mostly to do with me disliking the fmc.

Yes, I get it. It’s hard to open up to people. Especially considering Blaire’s home situation. And I can even somewhat understand her knee-jerk reaction to shut down and break up with Lucas, but after this initial moment she is honestly just show more stubborn which annoyed me a lot. Adding to that that we as readers don’t even know what pushed her to do it until near the end made it really hard to relate to Blaire and to understand how she behaves.

She is whiny, negative and bitter and I think she should be happy that Lucas and her best friend forgave her for being that selfish. - Because other people have feelings too…
When she started to open up and be more honest it got easier, but I still didn’t feel the connection to her that I would have liked.

Donnie and Lucas were great! But since it’s all in Blaire’s POV, she already was in love with Lucas, the story is very short and Blaire was so negative in the beginning, we don’t really get to know these two that well until about 70% in.

While it was okay in the end, I personally just didn’t like it nearly as much as Sarah’s other books and I would not read it a second time. - But I would read a story about Donnie who was fun and loyal and honest!

I really struggled with giving a Sarah Sutton book 3 stars because I love her books and her writing, but this one just missed the mark for me. It felt like it could have been so much more if for one the reader would have been clued in earlier and if at least one of the many topics would have been dealt with properly instead of just glossed over. show less