Publishing Date: July 18, 2017
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Pages: 256
Young Adult Contemporary
The Premise from the Publisher: "Quinn is having a rough summer. Her beloved grandmother has been put into a nursing home, her dad's gambling addiction has flared back up, and now her worst enemy is back in town: Wesley James, former childhood friend and life ruiner. So when Wesley is hired to work with her at Tudor Tymes, a medieval England-themed restaurant, the last thing Quinn's going to do is forgive and forget. She's determined to remove him from her life and even the score for once and for all-by getting him fired. But getting rid of Wesley isn't as easy as she'd hoped. When Quinn finds herself falling for him, she has to decide what she wants more: to get even, or to get the boy" (Swoon Reads).
My overall thoughts and review: I first heard about this book at the Raincoast Preview and we got to hear Jennifer talk about her book a bit. I was immediately interested because I loved the idea of working at a medieval English-themed restaurant, and I love ~enemies~ to lovers narratives. I will say that you don't learn how Wesley ruined her life (according to her) immediately, so the pacing of that was a bit interesting. I liked how there was build up for it and it was revealed at a good moment in the text. Also back to the setting: Tudor Tymes is basically Medieval Times and I'm not going to lie, I had a desire to go to Medieval Times the entire time I was reading this. Quinn's big obsession with all things England and her desire to work hard and save up for a trip to England stems from her relationship with her Gran. I really appreciated learning about the moments they shared together. For example, when Quinn spoke about them staying up to watch the royal wedding together, it definitely reminded me of my relationship with my mom and aunt. Wesley also had a relationship with Quinn's grandma and they kept in touch, so it was nice learning how big of a role Gran had in both their lives. Other family members included, Quinn's father and he has a gambling problem. I know that it was more about Quinn & Wesley, but I would've liked to see that addressed a bit more. Especially how to handle that since it just seemed like he was ~getting better~ but then not. I also didn't really enjoy the introduction of Wesley's girlfriend, Jolie, which was definitely strange and came out of no where. I feel like the book could've worked fine without that added drama. Quinn was definitely frustrating at moments putting so much emphasis on what Wesley did, but I'm glad that Wesley persevered through for the sake of their friendship. He's such a dorky character and I have to say he is definitely my favorite from the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm glad the cover choice of the food truck finally made sense towards the end of the book. I was so confused from the get-go going how does food trucks fit with Tudor Tymes (LOL). I would highly recommend this adorable, summer read to anyone who is a fan of Stephanie Perkins and Rainbow Rowell. Honeybourn writes similarly to them with strong female protagonists, a swoony romantic interest, with the perfect amount of family and friendship themes included. I can't wait to see what she writes next!
My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮ (4/5 stars)
Available for purchase at:
Chapters/Indigo, Kobo Books, Amazon, and Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
Author Question and Answer
1. Which character are you most like? Quinn or Wesley?
I am definitely more like Quinn. She and I share some similar personality traits, although I’d like to think that I don’t hold a grudge as long as she does. And I wouldn’t plot to actually get someone fired. I did give her my love of London and I was also close with my grandmother.
I wish I was more like Wesley, however — laid back, lets things roll off his shoulders, doesn’t really stress about much. I aspire to be more like him.
Thank you so much, Jennifer, for taking the time to answer my question. I definitely feel more like Quinn as well! Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour to check out more awesome reviews of this book and to see what other questions other bloggers have asked Jennifer.
Disclaimer: An advanced reader's copy of the book was provided by Raincoast Books for participation in the book tour. All opinions of the book are my own.
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