YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

First quarter. I like the dynamic between our two characters. For all the criticism of her mum, she’s doing something similar.

Second quarter. They have a great dynamic. Each of them has their own issue, so I wonder how long they’ll take to realise the truth.

Third quarter. (view spoiler)[ They’ve managed a bout of extreme illness…have to stay together! (hide spoiler)]

Finished. Review on home page. Mixed feelings here - felt like two quite different books and not sure they were sandwiched together wholly successfully.

Chapter 6 (view spoiler)[ I love it so far. I love the easy chemistry and conversation with Justin & Emma. I can already see things are going to get complicated with his mom going to jail, and I'm sure her mom will have a crisis looming on the horizon. I want to read it all in one go, but I also want to savour it knowing there won't be another Abby Jimenez book for a while. (hide spoiler)]

Keen to see what you make of this. It’s got some really mixed reviews.

Chapter 16 (view spoiler)[Now they’ve both shown the skeletons in their closets. Of course I think they both need more therapy because I see the shipwreck coming if they don’t deal with their own stuff. Also the foreshadowing of her doing the DNA test, is it gonna be something weird like it's Neil but they were so drunk they don't remember each other? If it really was a one night stand, and her mom told her the truth for once. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 29 (view spoiler)[ Well this is the shit hitting the fan that I was waiting for. She's told him the truth, and he can't accept that she doesn't want to be with him. And her mom's blowup at the garage-we'll see where that goes. Seems like it's just about time for a bio dad to get thrown into the mix. (hide spoiler)]

Karen wrote: "Finished. Review on home page. Mixed feelings here - felt like two quite different books and not sure they were sandwiched together wholly successfully."

I see what you're saying, I'm on Chapter 38 but at Chapter 36 she totally switched personalities without dealing with stuff. So I don't know if that blows up again later or if the book finishes like that. But I feel like she needs to tie up some loose ends for herself before committing to Justin.

Karen wrote: "Third quarter. [spoilers removed]"

Oh yeah, that was a bit much. I can't believe she let herself get so bad before asking for help.

Finished, and I loved it. But I guess I came into it with different expectations, having read all of her other books and been straight-up devastated. Thanks for reading with me.

Took me a while to realize it was part of the Part of Your World series, but I really enjoyed it. I love how she covers mental health issues in her books. (Love the idea of the billboard outside the apartment!)