Hello Beauties,

It is time to write my review on my next book that I finished. I actually finished reading it the other day (March 21, 2020). I just didn’t get a chance to post about it. When I did finish it, it was already pretty late at night. I wanted to finish it write my review in my journal, and go to bed. So this was the review I wrote in my journal about it.

“Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between”

By: Jennifer E. Smith

***         (3 Stars)

"Hey Sunshines,

This month was hard when it came to reading. I finally finished my reading for this month. It might be a challenge to continue. With this virus the library is closed. It says that it is closed until the 29th of this month. See for this Resolution I check out the books instead of buying. If this virus continues I am going to have to buy them then sell it. I think that is dumb, but that might be the only option... I guess I will see for sure what is going to happen. 

Point blank this book starts with a high school couple hanging out the whole night deciding if they should break up or not. The reasoning for this ultimatum is the simple fact that they are both leaving for college the next morning. Their colleges are in opposite directions. They spend the night going to different places around their town reliving  important memories.. From their memories they go back and forth to decide what the best plan of action is. 

I was pretty excited by the concept. I was happy to know that this is a different love story concept. Instead of starting from the beginning, and ending it with the couple together, it starts with them together and about to end it. To be quite honest, it didn't turn out the way I wanted to. I wanted the story to written out better. 

Based on how the author wrote the story I didn't get sucked in. Usually I can be drawn in by the characters, and will want to keep reading. Nothing drew me in. The thing that made me finish was the fact that I wanted to accomplish  my Resolution. The characters of Aiden and Clare were fine, but they didn't do much for me. 

From the start I could see that (Aiden and Clare) they weren't meant to be couple. They are 2 different kinds of people. Clare just doesn't how to really express her feelings. She hides behind book and lists to make sure she is doing the right thing. It just seems like she is pretty selfish. She wants to do  what she wants to do, and Aiden has to follow suit. After realizing that her list doesn't work how she wants, she then realizes making a list is stupid. I think spending the time and talking to Aiden would be fine, and making every one moment count. I don't know... She really bugs me. There was this whole thing where she couldn't say, "I love you" to her boyfriend of 2 years. Which I don't get. There is the joke where she says, "I dove you." She expects that should be enough for him. She has to get him angry and announce it before she gets the importance. 

Aiden I mean I have a better respect for. He states what is on his mind. He doesn't hold back to what he feels. He takes chances and also willing to fight for the relationship. I don't think Clare was the best thing for him.

There was some interesting parts of the book like when Aiden and his friend Scotty got into a fist fight at a party. I also really thought it was interesting when Aiden got mad at Clare for mentioning his feelings about why she won't confess her feelings. I also thought it was interesting when Aiden decided to swim to the buoy in cold water in the middle of the night,  she had this epiphany about their relationship she was willing to fight through the cold water to get to him, because she originally just stayed at the shore. In other terms Aiden challenged her a bit.

I like Aiden's and Clare's conversation about their story up until now and how the epilogue is the most important part of the story. As a writer myself I like to see writer details in the things I am reading. I find it a little ironic. 

I was a little bored toward the end. It just seemed like the final choice between the characters had to be talked about over and over. It was getting redundant after a while. Personally, i would rip out the last chapter. The last chapter was completely pointless.

After the last chapter there was this "Epilogue" about how they turned out after a few months. In that regard I liked to see how the characters grew up a little bit. I like that the college life shaped them into other versions of themselves. 

At any rate, the story was fine I guess. It was so easy to  lose my place in the book. It was easy to forget about the characters. I didn't have a favorite character, because they didn't do much for me. It could be how the story was written. I could have been written better. It wasn't too bad. That's why it is okay as a 3 star rating.



That's all I have to say about this book. Until next time!

Sandra M. Dorazil"