But when Wil falls for a sensitive guitar player hailing from the wrong side of the astrology chart, she must decide whether a cosmically doomed love is worth rejecting her dead mother's legacy and the very system she's faithfully followed through a lifetime of unfailing belief. (Pub Date: May 10th, 2016)
Thanks to Netgalley, this ARC was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Wil is an expert in astrology, a hobby inherited from her mother, who had warned her of the dangers of defying the stars. Now Wil has found the astral map to her perfect match and happened to find perfect fit to that, she might also have found love in the most dangerous place ever.
The book is narrated in first person, using the present tense and is basically a romance, while Will tries to find her true one, debating on whether to trust stars or what her heart is telling her. Even though the astrology theme was what drew me in to this story, I feel it to be the least interesting feature.
The main theme is actually a love triangle between two brothers and the main character. Wil herself, as inflexible she might be when it comes to astrology, was a nice protagonist. I wouldn't say I'm madly in love with her, for she had her flaws, but the moments I simply wanted to hug her were there and in a much bigger proportion.
First boy, on the other hand, the sensitive guitar player mentioned in the summary, was love at first sight for me. I'm not sure I could fully imagine a past where he was crazy crazy but any of his scenes were so sweet and entertaining I'm willing to ignore that detail. Additionally, I need to mention I tend not to like the perfect-boy-in-the-triangle-of-course-the-MC-will-choose-him type. The forced comparisons usually turn me off to both sides. The author knew to dose here, and guitar player is really perfect.
Second boy, also known as the other-boy-in-the-triangle-of-course-the-MC-will-never-choose-him-and-why-the-hell-did-she-even-consider-him boy, wasn't that bad either. However, he does fit the aforementioned type. Oh well, it's better this way, so my heart doesn't feel too torn. At the same time, I half pitied him. Poor thing, never stood a chance in the plot but he did try very hard.
So... this is a triangle but far from the type to get you biting nails to know whom to choose. It's obvious from the first scene (literally). I'm stating this because I couldn't figure out why this book did have the biting-nails effect on me. I wasn't too into it for the first third of the story. And then I couldn't stop. I literally saw the sunrise because I couldn't stop.
In other words, this is a lovely debut, filled with nice characters I even wish I had read more about them. The conclusion was well done and very credible—I feared this was doomed to be cheesy but it betrayed my predictions in a good way. In general, I can't say this was stellar, it could have used better the astrology thematic—though I don't think there were any mistakes in that aspect, even if I'm no expert. At the same time, I do recommend it to any contemporary YA fan out there, especially those who appreciate heartwarming stories.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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