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mgcho's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful
gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! the writing was beautiful and all the characters were so lovingly fleshed out that I felt like I knew them myself. this book has It, the spirit, character, and message that so many books fall short of having. i feel like giving a standing ovation. i especially appreciate the presence of an interracial f/f relationship that was so lovingly and beautifully represented
gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! the writing was beautiful and all the characters were so lovingly fleshed out that I felt like I knew them myself. this book has It, the spirit, character, and message that so many books fall short of having. i feel like giving a standing ovation. i especially appreciate the presence of an interracial f/f relationship that was so lovingly and beautifully represented
ajb24's review
5.0
This was one of those books where I kind of just knew from the beginning that I would love it, and i really did. I’m usually not a fan of the “enemies-to-lovers” trope but it worked out in the end and they have chemistry together and its cute and I love it <3
I wasn’t expecting Abel and Brandon to be so central!! I thought it was gonna be like “I’m lost and need directions. Oh look! Those two nerds seem to know what they’re doing, let’s ask them!” ;) ;)
BUT NO
THEY WERE KEY
Although my one question: how long was Abel pining over Brandon again cuz that guy was gonna be MARRIED and it happened to not work out...was A just gonna stew in unrequited love forever??? damn
OK and then the one part I didn’t really get was when Ava gives that speech to Brandon about not letting fear rule him,,why did she have that planned for Dani? Did she imagine Dani was just scared about dating her but she could convince her to “give it a go” with the speech? I don’t get it...
(But it doesn’t matter because Dani’s story of how she got engaged to that girl she met at a craft fair only four months ago is THE most lesbian thing I’ve EVER read fjfdkfjdl I can’t
I wasn’t expecting Abel and Brandon to be so central!! I thought it was gonna be like “I’m lost and need directions. Oh look! Those two nerds seem to know what they’re doing, let’s ask them!” ;) ;)
BUT NO
THEY WERE KEY
Although my one question: how long was Abel pining over Brandon again cuz that guy was gonna be MARRIED and it happened to not work out...was A just gonna stew in unrequited love forever??? damn
OK and then the one part I didn’t really get was when Ava gives that speech to Brandon about not letting fear rule him,,why did she have that planned for Dani? Did she imagine Dani was just scared about dating her but she could convince her to “give it a go” with the speech? I don’t get it...
(But it doesn’t matter because Dani’s story of how she got engaged to that girl she met at a craft fair only four months ago is THE most lesbian thing I’ve EVER read fjfdkfjdl I can’t
ryanpfw's review
5.0
Sometimes the best barometer of a book's worth to me is to wait a year or so and see how much of it I still remember. A couple of times I've given an average rating and spent the next year digesting just how terrible the book was, and other times I give a high rating and can’t quite recall the emotional experience, and second guess myself for being overly generous.
In starting A&B, I genuinely questioned the five star rating I had given Mechanical Hearts and wrote it off as just the mood I was in that day. Within about two chapters, I remembered why and knew that not to be the case. The dialogue was fun, the character arcs were engrossing, and the story never lost steam. The ups and downs felt natural and there was a lot of poignancy to the story, especially between Barrie and her mom. Stories weren't unnecessarily complicated with drama. The shortest distance and all that....
A word on Abel and Brandon. I've read books set in the same universe that feature brief character returns, often treated as cameos and Easter eggs. I expected the same here. Not only were they back, but they were very well utilized and the time lapse was put to great effect. Life did not continue unabated at the end of Mechanical Hearts, and it likewise won't here, and that acknowledgement and realism made me adore this book all the more.
Highly recommended.
In starting A&B, I genuinely questioned the five star rating I had given Mechanical Hearts and wrote it off as just the mood I was in that day. Within about two chapters, I remembered why and knew that not to be the case. The dialogue was fun, the character arcs were engrossing, and the story never lost steam. The ups and downs felt natural and there was a lot of poignancy to the story, especially between Barrie and her mom. Stories weren't unnecessarily complicated with drama. The shortest distance and all that....
A word on Abel and Brandon. I've read books set in the same universe that feature brief character returns, often treated as cameos and Easter eggs. I expected the same here. Not only were they back, but they were very well utilized and the time lapse was put to great effect. Life did not continue unabated at the end of Mechanical Hearts, and it likewise won't here, and that acknowledgement and realism made me adore this book all the more.
Highly recommended.
boja's review
4.0
Aaaaand I just finished a book in one day, in one sitting... and it feels so good...
Found exactly the book I was looking for... it was one of those can’t-put-down, who-cares-it’s-2-am, must-finish-now kind of book... my favorite genre...
Maybe it’s not gonna make my year end top ten list... I’m probably not gonna remember what happens in this one in 3 months... but I realized that I don’t read books to change my life or “like realize stuff”... I read because it helps me to get out of my life and go somewhere else and other stuff... and these books do exactly that... what else does a girl need right???
Found exactly the book I was looking for... it was one of those can’t-put-down, who-cares-it’s-2-am, must-finish-now kind of book... my favorite genre...
Maybe it’s not gonna make my year end top ten list... I’m probably not gonna remember what happens in this one in 3 months... but I realized that I don’t read books to change my life or “like realize stuff”... I read because it helps me to get out of my life and go somewhere else and other stuff... and these books do exactly that... what else does a girl need right???
lindadreams's review against another edition
4.0
Rating 4/5
Totally recommend if you're in the mood for an extremely cute and a bit angsty f/f rivals to lovers book that revolves around music and songwriting!
Totally recommend if you're in the mood for an extremely cute and a bit angsty f/f rivals to lovers book that revolves around music and songwriting!
missdandyreads's review
4.0
A cute f/f story about unlikely relationships, music and competition. A little less dramatic than How to Repair A Mechanical Heart but it suits the sequel well. Props for the Abel and Brandon cameos!
demonsreadtoo's review against another edition
4.0
Being the companion to my much loved, and favourite book read this year, How To Repair A Mechanical Heart, I’m probably going to judge this one harsher than if it were a standalone. Barrie and Ava were great characters, but fresh off the first book, my heart still lies with Brandon and Abel. Luckily for me, they did more than just cameo briefly—they got their own subplot! A decade has passed and the guys are now my age, so seeing where their lives had taken them was heaps of fun. But the heart of the story lies with Barrie, and her jealousy/humungous crush on the reality show contestant that knocked her out of competing in Pop University, Ava.
Read the full review on my blog, Demons Read Too
Read the full review on my blog, Demons Read Too
sonni89's review
4.0
4.5 stars, probably. I was honestly a little hesitant going into this book, and I remained hesitant for about the first 20% of the book, but this ended up being such a positive surprise and such a delight.
Basically, our heroine, Barrie (short for Barbara) ends up in a sudden-death competition with a girl named Ava in a songwriting reality competition TV show in which her all-time favorite pop star is a host/judge/mentor/something. Barrie humiliates herself on national TV, Ava who knows nothing about that pop star or pop music advances, and Barrie writes a scathing song on the spot about Ava beating her and performs it for the empty auditorium, which, of course, wasn't entirely empty and which someone leaks to the interwebs.
Now, the premise of the book was what I was hesitant about. BUT. It gets much better. Ava thinks the song is hilarious and gives Barrie feedback and fuel for the envy/jealousy-themed cabaret show she's writing, and in turn Ava asks Barrie to help her with the songs she has to write for the show because she's not good at writing catchy pop choruses. So, the girls start texting in secret (because collaboration is forbidden on that weird fake reality show), collaborating in secret videochat sessions, and also start falling for each other.
Barrie ends up meeting and crashing with Abel and Brandon from [b:How to Repair a Mechanical Heart|16102490|How to Repair a Mechanical Heart|J.C. Lillis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1350926753s/16102490.jpg|21913214] who are at this point no longer together, but still best friends and also still in love with each other. I was not a big fan of How to Repair a Mechanical Heart at all, but I LOVED Abel and Brandon in this, a few years later, a lot more grown up, and trying to work out their issues. I don't think it's necessary to have read their book in order to read this one - the only thing you have to know is that in their youth they were fannish about a fake sci-fi show called Castaway Planet and Abel opened a cafe/bar/performance space that is themed for that show.
ANYHOW. Barrie and Ava are SO GREAT and SO DELIGHTFUL and I really loved their progression of enemies to friends to lovers, and I was honestly very happily surprised by the book. I had a huge grin on my face starting from when and even through the obstacle they faced, it was always clear they'd make it work. This was just really cute.
Also, one other thing I appreciated is that even though the girls in this book get to be together and happy and loved, homophobia and biphobia isn't just glossed over as a non-issue. It's something that both girls have faced in their lives and have had to learn how to deal with, but despite some heavy themes like rejection by family, this still manages to be a happy and undramatic book.
Basically, our heroine, Barrie (short for Barbara) ends up in a sudden-death competition with a girl named Ava in a songwriting reality competition TV show in which her all-time favorite pop star is a host/judge/mentor/something. Barrie humiliates herself on national TV, Ava who knows nothing about that pop star or pop music advances, and Barrie writes a scathing song on the spot about Ava beating her and performs it for the empty auditorium, which, of course, wasn't entirely empty and which someone leaks to the interwebs.
Now, the premise of the book was what I was hesitant about. BUT. It gets much better. Ava thinks the song is hilarious and gives Barrie feedback and fuel for the envy/jealousy-themed cabaret show she's writing, and in turn Ava asks Barrie to help her with the songs she has to write for the show because she's not good at writing catchy pop choruses. So, the girls start texting in secret (because collaboration is forbidden on that weird fake reality show), collaborating in secret videochat sessions, and also start falling for each other.
Barrie ends up meeting and crashing with Abel and Brandon from [b:How to Repair a Mechanical Heart|16102490|How to Repair a Mechanical Heart|J.C. Lillis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1350926753s/16102490.jpg|21913214] who are at this point no longer together, but still best friends and also still in love with each other. I was not a big fan of How to Repair a Mechanical Heart at all, but I LOVED Abel and Brandon in this, a few years later, a lot more grown up, and trying to work out their issues. I don't think it's necessary to have read their book in order to read this one - the only thing you have to know is that in their youth they were fannish about a fake sci-fi show called Castaway Planet and Abel opened a cafe/bar/performance space that is themed for that show.
ANYHOW. Barrie and Ava are SO GREAT and SO DELIGHTFUL and I really loved their progression of enemies to friends to lovers, and I was honestly very happily surprised by the book. I had a huge grin on my face starting from when
Spoiler
they mutually confess their crushes on each other on videochatAlso, one other thing I appreciated is that even though the girls in this book get to be together and happy and loved, homophobia and biphobia isn't just glossed over as a non-issue. It's something that both girls have faced in their lives and have had to learn how to deal with, but despite some heavy themes like rejection by family, this still manages to be a happy and undramatic book.
eloise_bradbooks's review
3.0
3.5 Aw. Cheesy, and full of non surprising twists but hey, sometimes a cheesy story about girls falling in love and deciding to live in happiness instead of sadness and envy is exactly what we need.
PS: JC Lillis scared me for a minute when my boys Abel and Brandon weren't happily together but of course she mended that part too... ;)
PS: JC Lillis scared me for a minute when my boys Abel and Brandon weren't happily together but of course she mended that part too... ;)
emmieclassix's review
4.0
It took a while to get into it, the first part wasn’t my thing but the second part more than made up for that. I loved it.