KE Strand

After really liking the prequel novella and loving book 1 in the Oak Grove High Series this book was honestly a bit disappointing.

It may have to do with me not getting the American dating culture (or at least how it is portrayed in books and movies) but to me it seemed a bit extreme for Sam, still a teen, going on dates with that many boys and on the other hand overly dramatic how the whole thing played out.

I still liked the main characters and the best friend trio with Sam, Ava and Bec, but I didn’t really feel the connection between Sam and Brent. So the romance part was a bit boring because I neither understood why Brent was so different, so special for Sam nor why Brent liked her back. So to be clear - I really liked Sam and that she was genuine, open, nice, fun. She is a real good friend and I like that she actually isn’t the stereotype she seems to be on the first glance.
I also liked Brent as a character a lot. He seems to do his own thing, being just who he is and that alone makes him interesting.
But I just didn’t see them as a couple, they had very few shared moments, too few for me to see the attraction and emotional connection which made the romance not very believable for me.

In book 1 the romance was a bit rushed, but I could totally overlook it because I loved the background story of Ava’s family situation, her struggles and growth.

This wasn’t the case with Sam and I was pretty annoyed with how she was portrayed almost like a hero for speaking her mind. Obviously we shouldn’t judge people because of rumors, but at least what was explicitly said in this book, the rumor was that Sam dated a lot - which she did. And I think it is totally okay if you don’t want to go out with someone who dates like all the boys in school, even if it’s only for dinner and in two cases a kiss.
I didn’t really see that Brent should have apologized to Sam let alone make this big gesture.
It seemed like the rumor led some people to think Sam was sleeping around - which she obviously didn’t, but we don’t really know who started and fed this rumor. So this big public scene where most people seemed to be a bit ashamed of themselves didn’t feel right. Like only because I hear a rumor I’m also guilty of spreading it. Maybe the scene just wasn’t clear enough, but to me it seemed like all the guys looked guilty after that scene, but we in fact don’t know who said what or who didn’t say anything at all and I think it’s very unrealistic that all the boys who went on one date (usually without even a goodbye peck, let alone making out or more) would spread the rumor that Sam slept with them. It just was a bit confusing and too much and to make her like THE voice for the oppressed, bullied and victimized, even starting a non profit… I don’t know, it just seemed over the top.
And before my review gets even more confusing than the book - I just didn’t like where the book went after that public scene so it went downhill the last third of the book and I especially didn’t like how Brent was portrayed after that scene. And actually Sam as well since she was supposedly this new reformed being who spoke out about bullying and shaming people when in fact she was more or less who she was before but had made a big - unnecessary - public scene to get rid of her reputation and was now the specialist on victimization. Okay, I repeat myself, I really didn’t like this whole No Shame scenario. Unbelievable and over the top and did nothing to sell the romance.

I will still continue the series especially because I’m interested in Bec’s and Josh’s story and overall I like the writing style of the author.

* I was given an ARC of this book and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.… (more)

It’s always difficult for me to rate novellas because when I don’t hate them I always wish they were at least 100 or better 200 pages longer to get to know the characters better, to add more backstory, more depth, more character growth…

But I try to rate and review this story for what it is - a Young Adult novella.

I actually really liked the main character even though I was very skeptical at first since I don’t care for gossip at all and never have, neither the school / work / friends related kind nor gossip about celebrities.

But Sarah turns out to be a really sweet, fun and genuinely nice girl who cares for her friends and is quite upset when she learns her gossiping hurt someone.

In fact I think this rather short story is more about her character development, reflecting and changing her behavior than about the love interest Tod - and in this case I like it that way.

Tod was a great character because there is just no drama with him and he instantly accepts Sarah’s apology. He is nice, understanding and he doesn’t really think he’s more important than non-famous people.

I liked the scene where they first met but other than that I didn’t really get why Tod was interested in Sarah because with 70 pages there just isn’t enough space for showing instead of telling. So we are told by Sarah that they text and talk a lot, but we see very little of that and it was a bit difficult for me to buy the falling in love part from both sides. In fact I rather got the impression that Tod was mostly interested in Sarah because she is so “normal and average” and I thought that was kind of insulting.

But maybe I read into it too much and I try to let it slide because now I start where I begun - I wish the novella was actually a full length novel so we could get to know especially Tod more, understand his feelings and motives and wanting more of a story is probably a good thing.

On a last note I like to add that this novella was described as a “kick off” to the series, so I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t read one familiar name (I already know the male and female main characters of book 1 - 3 since I was already reading book 2 of the novels when I saw there was a prequel novella) and I think Sarah is only mentioned in book 1 but more like a random thought.
So I would have liked it more if the novella and the novels were more intertwined.
But who knows, maybe Sarah’s BFF gets her own book or we meet Sarah throughout the series…

Overall enjoyed it, recommend it, but too short. ;)… (more)

I read this book as a standalone, but I think it would have been better to read all the other books before starting this one. It isn't necessary to do so, but it would probably make it easier to get into the story having some of that background on the characters. Toward the beginning of the book, there were a few scenes that moved quickly. While that kept me reading and interested in the story, I also felt like the scenes weren't fully developed. It became less of a problem after the first few chapters, and the book settled into a smoother pace.

The tension in this book was great. I was emotionally invested and personally felt all the back and forth going on with the characters. It was frustrating as the characters struggled to figure out what they wanted and how to go about things. It all was necessary, even if it drove me crazy. I guess I was feeling all of the angst along with the characters, which is what made this such a good story. It was done so well and really kept me glued to the page.

I did feel like some of the friendships could have been shown a bit more, particularly between Tess and Lonnie. Maybe that was in the book right before this one, but I felt like we didn't see enough there during this book for any of the struggles they had during this book to have an emotional impact. But, that friendship wasn't the many one focused on, so it isn't that big of an issue.

I really did enjoy this book and got so invested in it. It was on the shorter side, but so much happens during those pages that it felt longer than it was. I really can't wait to go back and read other books in the series. I also hope to see some of these characters in another book to come.

I was given an ARC of this book, and I voluntarily left this honest review.… (more)