raynsslut's reading journal

without you: ashlynpope

★★★
finished: march 26, 2023
random number: 61

pheww. i can't believe this book took me almost a month to read. i know for sure one reason for that is that the one trope that played a very big part of the book. anyone could guess? yup, the teenage romance.

i don't even understand why i haven't given up yet on this trope, honestly. like, sis, this is your third teenage romance, amd you haven't like a single one of them. but, hey, three star is not bad at all. but is it worth the time? ehh

this author writes lilah, which is now can be find in amazon as a physical copy!! how cool is that? that's why i was very excited in the beginning and i didn't even know why i didn't think it's going to be a teenage romance, my bad at that.

i promised myself that i won't dnf books, but there was this thought that came up when i was in the 25% mark. the first quarter is definitely the toughest part for me to get through. i don't know if it's just me waiting something to happen, the pacing of the book is just slow, or i wasn't in the reading mood.

but once i broke through that wall, i flew through it, i would say. and as i got closer to the ending, the thought of just ending it excites me to no end and i think that's the other reason why.

don't get me wrong, i can definitely see why this can be people's favorite book of all time, but me being me, i was just constantly waiting for something big and dramatic to happen. and by big, i mean, a murder lol. i don't know if it's because i just love mafia romance or i was just in the mood for it to be honest.

that's probably another reason why i read super slow in the beginning. once i got the idea that this book is purely for a younger audience, although, i'm also still at school, i really enjoyed it actually.

i think the fact that i'm at school and reading something that is also set at school really didn't do it for me. like i mean, i read for escapism, and i don't want to be reminded of school while i'm suppose to take a break, you know?

anyway, enough of that. aubrey and luke is not my favorite, but i do love them, well at the end, at least. in the beginning i just found her so annoying with all of the blushing, like okay she's shy but how can one blush uncountable amount of times just by luke looking at her?

also, it's a bit repetitive at times, especially when they were still at high school, to me. the first quarter would just consist of them being paired up 'accidentally' together, ALL THE TIME. once, okay, twice, whatever, more that that? that just doesn't make sense. and i understand that it's not supposed to make sense, it's fiction, but i don't know it just rubbed me the wrong way, i guess.

on the brighter side, however, i did ended up falling for them and smiling at the end  seeing how happy they are together and how right they are for each other. i got used to their jokes, and really can laugh with them, unlike in the beginning where i just found them to be very cringey.