Friday, May 5, 2017

Feature Friday ARC Review : It Started with Goodbye by Christina June

Feature Friday ARC Review : Nemesis by 


*Feature Friday is a meme hosted by The Tattered Page to feature YA books that have not yet been released by reviewing them.




*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Publisher
Blink

Release DateMay 9, 2017
Pages: 272
Source: ARC

The Story:

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she's stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF's gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client).

When Tatum discovers she's not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela/fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

A modern play on the Cinderella story arc, IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE shows us that sometimes going after what you want means breaking the rules.
 

IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, and Jennifer E. Smith.
via Amazon
Rating






My Review

First off, I want to thank Blink for sending me It Started with Goodbye to read and review.

Tag Line:

Not all stories being with once upon a time . . .

Opening Line:

Tatum, they have your license plate on camera.

Plot:

It Started with Goodbye is a Cinderella inspired YA so naturally, I was excited to read it. Tatum is "Cinderella" who still has her father but also a stepmother and stepsister who are not the greatest. A wrong place wrong time lands Tatum in jail -- both the actual one and the proverbial one at home with her stepmother. And, yes, there a Prince Charming of sorts who makes an appearance.

The pacing of It Started with Goodbye was a little slow for me. To get to the romance part anyway. Christina June's writing was on par; it was interesting and flowed well. It Started with Goodbye world-building was decent as well. I was able to get into the story and get caught up with the characters and the storyline. The best aspect of the story were the characters. They were so alive. Well fleshed out and each had such strong personalities. 

The Evil Stepmother was a pain in my ass. So cold and nasty towards Tatum. So prickly and frustrating.

The Evil Stepsister wasn't terrible. More of a Evil Stepsister by association. Cold and reserved the worse she did was say a few snide remarks here and there.

Tatum's father was the worst of all. Worse than her stepmother and stepsister. 's father should I have known her like the back of his hand. Known there was some mistake. Known that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He should have known his own blood, his own daughter better than that. Yet, he would not even give her a chance to explain. He would not even hear her out. On top of the fact he is perfectly fine with the way his second wife treats Tatum. *URGHHHH* Moving on . . .

Tatum was only  little annoying. Mostly I liked her. What annoyed me is how she kept blaming herself for how her stepmother and father's behavior toward her. I definitely get the whole being a bigger person thing but she should not have to shoulder the blame for how she was treated by them. She did nothing wrong. Except maybe telling an adult about her best friend's - who was a entitled bitch and terrible friend -- good-for-nothing boyfriend. Still . . . Anywho, her character growth was on point. I loved it when she finally stood up for herself.

All in all, while It Started with Goodbye is not one of my favorites I did enjoy it.


Meet the Author:



Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She is a voracious reader, loves to travel, eats too many cupcakes, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter. Her second novel, EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE (a companion to IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE), will be published in 2018.


***Check out Christina June's website for more information about her and It Started with GoodbyeHERE

Happy Reading!



1 comments:

  1. I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well. Thanks... brujos en los angeles california

    ReplyDelete