Kelsey RodkeyRezensionen

this book was fine? maybe I've read too many like it recently. the enemies part was more enjoyable than the lovers part

2.25 stars. this was generally enjoyable but felt a little all over the place in some ways. sometimes i felt like the characters were older and it didn't seem like a young adult book, and then it felt like the characters were acting like children. i didn't enjoy the prank war between them, which felt like it escalated strangely and didn't feel natural to me. as to escalating, so did the relationship between madeline and jasper, in a way that also felt unnatural. that said, i liked the voice in this and the tone, and liked spending time in the bookstore. so i still found it fine, i just wanted a little more from it.

YA enemies to lovers trope with two tweens who work at competing neighborhood bookstores, one a new B&N clone and the other an established indy bookstore hurting for business. If you enjoy books and a cast of quirky characters, you'll probably love this title.

One thing I didn't like was how the narrator on the audiobook I listened to gave all the male voices a kind of "low energy stoner" intonation which put me off to those characters.

This was a voicegalley so I cannot comment on the narration or the quality of the completed audiobook.

This felt like a typical high school to me, in the fact that it all felt normal. Teens not discussing their feelings or their troubles honestly, leading to misunderstanding and fall-outs of friendships/relationships. I love the story arc of the main character, there was a lot of growth shown as she learned how to communicate properly with the people in her life.

Saine should probably have IN before her name because she's capable of frequent self-delusion. Yes, she's flawed and annoying, but those are good hooks for a YA story. Her tunnel vision focus on her documentary, something she needs to get into a competitive program, is how she justifies her dishonesty, even when it threatens to destroy everything she's come to realize is important. How she salvages as much as she can makes for an interesting ending.

teen romance (best friends to enemies to boyfriend/girlfriend) CW: drinking, f-word language, 18-year-olds engaged in various sexual activities.

funny characters (not counting the corny dad jokes) that are easy to ship.

'Last Chance Books' was not much of a stand out. After reading the synopsis I was more than game for epic book store rivalry enemies turned lovers book war, it felt flat.

The characters—Madeline and Jasper lacked the chemistry and depth to pull me in and their childish pranks were just that, childish. More so, the unrealistic dialogue was a turn off and the love hate plot was too abrupt and quick for me. One moment the bitter rivals are trying to one-up another and in the next, wham-bam! They’re coupling up.

So all in all, it wasn't completely terrible read but there are a few things that could be tweaked and adjusted to make this a somewhat more salvageable read.

Oh, dear! I hate to say this but "Last Chance Books" was a bit of a disaster. When I started reading the novel, it reminded me of the movie "You've Got Mail" and I was looking forward to reading it. I love books and movies set in bookshops! However, from the start, the main protagonist, Madeline, annoyed me. She often sounded older than her years but her behaviour made her feel much younger. She was overly dramatic, childish and self-centred, and I was quickly fed up with all the language she used. It was unnecessary and only made Madeline sound like a spoilt brat.

Other issues I had with this book were the pacing (it was too slow), the dialogue (which felt unnatural) and the relationship between Madeline and her mother (this was just weird!). When I started "Last Chance Books" I was expecting a light, fun romcom but it never delivered. A disappointing read.

I'm glad I got a chance to read this book, but I think it reaffirmed my hypothesis that I don't really relate to books where the main characters spend time in bookstores. Give me a romance set in the library, that's more of where I developed my connection with books and with other readers.

I kind of ended up skimming through this book, especially when a prank war started brewing. It has a well-crafted ending, especially for how many things got in a bit of a pickle. Glad it was a fast read. I'll probably stick to books set in libraries next time.

What more could you ask out of a romance novel, other than romance? Well, Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey has romance and so much more!

✔ Bookish nerdiness

✔ Breaking gender stereotypes

✔ Promoting growth through body positivity

✔ Emphasizing the importance of consent

On its surface, Last Chance Books is an adorable enemies-to-lovers novel about Madeline, who aspires to one day own her family’s indie bookstore, and Jasper whose family owns the chain bookstore across the street. When a prank war breaks out between Madeline and Jasper, Madeline is forced to ignore the attraction she felt towards Jasper in order to saved her family’s bookshop. This book is most certainly a feel-good romance, but it is also so much more than that, which truly makes it stand out from other romance novels.

First of all, my inner book nerd had many fan girl moments throughout the novel. Reading as a fellow book lover, Madeline’s love of books was so relatable and gave an intense emotional depth to the story. While some of the jokes in the novel might be a little dated, the bookish nerdiness left me wanting more!

While I did think the enemies part of the enemies-to-lovers trope was a little too much, I was definitely rooting for Jadeline by the end of the book (and I’ll admit that Jasper did make up for some of his deviousness)! The chemistry between Madeline and Jasper was definitely a slow burn, and had me yelling at the book and avoiding responsibilities just to find out what would happen.

Madeline’s character was just about perfect in my opinion. I adored her awkwardness and was annoyed by her immaturity and naiveté, but these very traits conveyed her age, and the stress that most teenagers go through, in a vividly genuine way. Honestly, the novel would not have been as compelling without Madeline’s character flaws, and seeing her grow throughout the novel added another interesting component on top of the cute romance.

For me, the novel really shined due to 3 minor aspects that Rodkey included: Body negativity that grew into acceptance, the subtle breaking of gender stereotypes, and the emphasis on consent. Throughout the novel, Madeline frequently makes comments about gaining weight and generally feeling uncomfortable in her body. At first, I was sincerely frustrated by this aspect of the book, but as the novel goes on, Madeline starts to become more accepting of her body. I really appreciated this aspect of the story because she didn’t go from a negative self-image to completely loving herself, but made small yet significant changes, which was more realistic.

Additionally, Rodkey wrote multiple instances in which she broke gender stereotypes. For instance, one of the cisgender, straight male characters aspires to be a fashion designer. At another point, a mother figure in the novel assures on of the characters that there will be other people that they could have a relationship with later in life. People, not boys or girls. Not only were these stereotypes broken, the response of the adults in the novel to the breaking of these stereotypes was typically acceptance, which I think, is so important for both adults and young adults to see.

Finally, Rodkey referenced consent multiple times throughout the novel. At one point, two characters were joking about a book, and one said that the woman on the cover was probably seducing the man, to which the other character replied something along the lines of, “consent or bust.” There were multiple implicit and explicit references to consent, which I think is such an essential concept to include in novels, especially YA Romance novels.

Overall, Last Chance Books was a classic, cute YA Romance novel that incorporated important social issues that should be more prevalent in novels, especially YA novels. If you are looking for a light-hearted romance novel that also subtly tackles relevant problems in our world, then you should definitely pick up a copy of Last Chance Books, which comes out next Tuesday, May 18, 2021!