Buy the book:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble
Connect with the autor:
My rating: 3.7 stars
Book summary:
"Amy has a secret: no one has ever held her hand. She doesn’t even know how to hug. Everybody thinks she’s brilliant, but that’s because school was all she had. Then she meets Dane, a golden-haired surfer whose easy charm and hot touch teach her what she longs to know.
Dane lives for the salty breeze and a sweet wave, because that’s all he has. He’s lived on the streets since he was fourteen. A drifter. Homeless. Then he meets Amy. Smart and accomplished, she's everything he's not. He wants to be the sort of man who deserves her.
Except that means facing down his past—and that past might very well swallow them both."
Something usual and something unusual for new adult. This is first new adult romance by Amber Lin. Her previous books, The Lost Girls series are more appropriate for adult audience. To be honest, I was a little bit surprised when I found out that she will publish new adult novel this month. How To Say Goodbye did not disappoint, there were few fresh turns, but also standard cliches of genre.
What did I like?
- Main character, Amy is half American, half Japanese so there is whole cultural issues. Different from what you'd expect.
- Dual point of view. It doesn't follow usual his chapter/her chapter one after the another scheme.
- Writing. Amber Lin has a way with words. She reminds me a little bit of Megan Hart.
- No alpha males. Dane is has his own quirks but being an typical alpha male of new adult genre is not one of them. He is musician, but not a rock star. He has his own secrets and darkness, but he's now troubled bad boy who finds release in violence and womanizing.
- Amy is smart girl who doesn't throw her whole future away because of the boy. And Dane is kind of the guy who would never let her do that.
What I didn't like that much?
- I didn't get captivated by story from the very beginning. It goes slow and you need to be patient to figure out few key points that will make you understand characters better.
- Main female character has a lot of usual issues - introvert, virgin, too shy... Painfully annoying.
- Convenient solutions for their problems. I'll leave it at that because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone interested in reading. I still loved How To say Goodbye, I was happy for them and I swooned, but it's pretty much fluffy read.
Happy reading,
***Copy of the was provided by author, Amber Lin, in exchange for and honest review.***
I'm not a big fan of the new adult genre, but this one seems a little different. I'd love to read about a smart girl who cares about her future, and a guy who wants her to care. I'm not sure about it being slow, but I'll see for myself. Lovely review, Glass!
OdgovoriIzbrišiAimee @ Deadly Darlings
Like Aimee above, I'm not always the biggest fan of NA. Glad this one skipped some of the cliches at least!
OdgovoriIzbrišiThanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics
I haven't tried this author before (or at least not that I remember) but I am a sucker for the NA genre. I think this is one I might like.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI may give it a try, I'm trying to read more NA and this seems like it's not too bad :)
OdgovoriIzbrišiGreat review, you broke it down nicely.I have never tried this author. I am glad some aspects were unusual for the genre.
OdgovoriIzbrišiCan we please stop with these types: introvert, virgin, too shy. I can't handle. And NOT in a good way. I'm glad you ennjoyed the dual POV though and yay for no alphas! :D Musicians who are not rock stars--they're so much more appealing to me :D I wonder if I'd take an instant liking to Dane :D I'm glad you enjoyed this as a whole :) PS. Yay for a multi-cultural MC :)
OdgovoriIzbrišiI like the sound of Dane the nonalpha male. I love a musician not rockstar kind of guy. dated one in high school
OdgovoriIzbrišiI don't mind fluff, but I've been looking for books with a strong WOW factor. So I'm not sure this is that. However, it's on my radar now for when I need something like this.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI try and stay away from NA but this actually sounds like a really sweet romance. I'm glad it didn't follow the typical sweet girl falls for bad boy stereotype.
OdgovoriIzbrišiHmm...it seems like this one could be a bit of a toss-up, depending on the reader. I read one of Lin's adult books. And while I wasn't in love with that story, I liked her writing. Thanks for sharing!
OdgovoriIzbrišiIt sucks when the main character can be annoying, but at I'm glad you still enjoyed some bits.
OdgovoriIzbrišiFor a fluffy read the characters sound really complex - at least Dane does. Finally a new adult romance where the guy isn't a womanizer. I like that Amy is an introvert because most readers are sure to be ones but annoying is not something an introvert needs to be. Still, the way you described their characters "Amy is smart girl who doesn't throw her whole future away because of the boy. And Dane is kind of the guy who would never let her do that." makes me really interested in their story. I'll have to add this to my tbr list. Thanks and great review :D
OdgovoriIzbrišiYou're so precise! 3.7 stars. LOL I rarely use half ratings, let alone 0.1's. I think this one might be a little too slow paced for me. Great review though!
OdgovoriIzbrišiI hate when conflicts in books just happen to work themselves out super easy. The pacing also sounds like it would bother me, if a book doesn't hook me at the start I tend to put it down :/ All the positives sound so good though!
OdgovoriIzbrišiUgh, those three stuff that you listed under "I don't like" are definitely pet peeves of mine that I don't want to see in a book. I hate convenient twists and solutions! Make them work hard for it, dangit. Don't make it easy and don't make it predictable. But still, at least there is no jerk love interest. We need less of that in this genre imo :P There is so much more to explore in NA aside from the usual alpha males :)
OdgovoriIzbrišiFaye at The Social Potato Reviews
It does sound quite unusual actually, I like how different cultural issues are explored within the books because that's something that I've felt has been largely ignored in a lot of novels. I like the sound of this though. Lovely review Glass!
OdgovoriIzbrišioh a painfully annoying character *twitch* at least the book sounded original, I like that there is a cultural difference.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI have such a hard time with New Adult books but I will say that I think I would prefer fluffy more than the drama and angst but annoying main character...not sure I could make it. I'm glad you found some things you enjoyed about it and I like how you broke down your likes and dislikes. Great job.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI'm glad you still enjoyed this even though it was kind of a fluffy read. Sometimes that's exactly what I'm in the mood for, so I'll keep this in mind for future. Lovely balanced review!
OdgovoriIzbriši