Mirella Muffarotto

I just wanted to read this book forever!!

I loved this story so much I didn’t want to stop reading... I wish this book never ended!
It’s such a sweet, intense story. Beyond adorable, romantic, deep, so much more than a YA romance. I love the way I feel while reading.
There are some laugh-out-loud scenes and a lot of sweet, breathtaking moments. The characters are real. I easily made friends with Marika and felt all her emotions. Besides, this book boyfriend is totally swoon-worthy! It’s kind of hard not to have a crush on him. I love him no matter what, whether he’s stubborn, impulsive, protective or passionate, I simply love him.
Marika and Matteo had been best friends since forever, but their connection was SO strong and intense that it was impossible for me not to feel. They belonged with each other! I’d shipped them pretty much from page One. But Federico was cute as well, kind and so vulnerable, I couldn’t help but loving him too!!

I liked the messages in the book. The characters’ insecurities and immaturity, their fear of being who they really are, were very realistic and I think the way they dealt with them was just how a lot of teens would.
The ending was everything! This novel was so beautifully written and the characters are just so memorable.

One of the best YAs I’ve ever read.… (mehr)

Every Boy is a Book is the first title I've devoured and loved in 2019. Awesome is not a big enough word to describe how much it made me smile and feel and fall in love with the writing and the characters. It was so much fun and extremely cute. I loved the storyline, as well as the sub plots, but my favorite part was the slowly developed friends-to-more romance. I just couldn't get enough of it and I didn't put it down until I was done with it and even then, I had a huge smile on my face and I was thinking about Marika and Matteo for a long time afterward.

It's not a very quick and easy read, but definitely a well-written contemporary YA. Started off slow, but finished with a bang!!! Family and friendship dynamics were real, Marika's link with Federico was heartbreaking, and the slow-burn romance between her and Matteo, her BFF, was totally adorable and intense with lots of sweet-swooning moments. Not only did I like Marika, but I loved the supporting characters as well. Matt made my heart and stomach flutter. I fell madly in love with him right away, but I was in love with Federico as well.
Marika's stubborn streak could get annoying at times, and it drove me crazy when she and Matteo had misunderstandings, but I also couldn't help shipping them. They were perfect together, both as best friends and as lovers. A connection like that can withstand almost anything, even fame, success, and drama.

Just my kind of book! Fans of My Life Next Door, Kasie West's romances, Hundred Oaks and The Field Party Series, will adore this book.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. If you don't like insta-love stories, but die for sweet slow-burn romances about people who obviously belong together, this is a great pick!… (mehr)

STORY: (I won this in a Goodreads giveaway! The title really drew me in)!

“He was afraid, not because he thought she wasn’t the one. He was terrified because he knew she was.”

Every Book is Boy by Mirella Muffarotto (413 pages) is set in Italy and begins with Marika coming to terms with her growing feelings for Matteo, her best friend. A romantic relationship is just around the corner until a soccer team tries to scout him. Now, Marika’s world has been turned upside down and a series of (unneeded drama) events break her heart. Will Marika and Matteo ever get together?

Let me be honest. The first five chapters were torture, but this story slowly, slowly (it’s a snail’s pace) starts getting interesting. Of course, there’s constant drama. SO MUCH DRAMA!

I find the drama so frustrating because of misunderstandings. I almost never enjoy drawn-out misunderstandings in stories because they take forever to resolve and the other characters react stupidly as a result.

I enjoyed the Italian setting, Carlotta and Dario, and the book title. I’m not really into soccer/football/fútbol, so I skimmed over the games and terminology, but I enjoyed reading the business side of things, seeing how players dealt with their agents, training camps, and meeting potential teammates. It was nice and a lot of detail has been put into it.

Now, one of the things I didn’t enjoy about Every Book is a Boy is the long passages of details. People are always stressing for writers to add more detail, but I kept skimming through a lot of it.

So, about the romance … Listen, I’m no stranger to YA romances but Marika’s thoughts about Matteo are drenched in syrup. For example:

“I know … you’re right, but all I want to do is score. It’s the only thing I can think of out there.
‘He was to die for, even though his only desire was to score (pg 18).’”

I don’t mind “oh my gosh, my heart almost stopped because he touched my hand” love if I have a connection with the characters. Because I found Matteo so annoying and unlikable, I was left only rooting for ½ of the couple. This doesn’t mean there aren’t any aww-worthy or some oh-my-wink-wink moments. The cute moments are just filtered through mountains of text of Marika pining for Matteo, Matteo being upset for words he can’t convey, Federico trying to woo Marika, and historical and architectural information about Italian cities.

By the way, there’s a minor subplot about the dangers of teen sexting and webcamming. There’s some harsh language (F bombs, bull****, sluts, “easy girls,” etc) and a brief mention of a love scene, but it’s not constant if that’s a worry.

CHARACTERS:
Marika is bland. She has a slight touch of “not like other girls” because she’s such a tomboy. She cries a lot too, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it’s prevalent.

Carlotta is very self-absorbed but nice. She’s got a big mouth but a big heart to go along with it.

Dario is a decent guy.

Matteo, the most wishy-washy character alive, couldn’t decide between water and H2O. Hopefully, you get where I’m coming from. He ain’t have no communication skills!

Lucreiza and Marcello and Valerio are 1-dimensional villains who only think with their genitals. In the beginning, I feel like there is subtle programming to dislike Lucrezia because she wears ridiculously short skirts and flirts with boys and goes “further with boys.” Of course, she does turn out to be a horrid mess of a person, but I didn’t even get a chance to discover her nastiness. I was already predisposed to dislike her.

Federico is my favorite character, but it’s for a sad reason. I only like him because he doesn’t have any of Matteo’s bad qualities. Since we don’t see any bad aspects of him, he’s the seemingly perfect guy. He COMMUNICATES his feelings and doesn’t treat Marika’s heart like a RAGDOLL and APOLOGIZES when he messes up quickly. A decent male character that protects and communicates his feelings to the MC? Well, we know how the story ends! Hint: Not with him!

Eve was cool but then just awful at times. I don’t mind brash characters, but she played a nasty joke that I didn’t care for. Still, she had a lot of personality more than I can say for Marika.

OVERALL:
One of the most frustrating stories I have read in a while with the most wishy-washy male lead ever. This story could’ve been cut by like 200 pages. Maybe I feel so tough on this story because the length exhausted me? I don’t know. On the positive note, I love the title. This is a 2.5 for me, but let’s round it up to 3.

If you like slow burn romance (?), soccer, and friends to lovers stories, then this story is for you. Keep in mind if you don’t enjoy chick-flicks or cheesiness, then you might be annoyed the entire time.… (mehr)