Book Review- One Plus One

I finished reading One Plus One by Jojo Moyes last night.

From Goodreads:

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being
bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages... maybe ever.

I really liked the book Me Before You by this author so I decided to give this one a try.  Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

I loved the idea of the poor single mom working hard make ends meet for her two unique kids--a math genius and a teenage son that's a little different.  But I never connected with any of them.  If I had to pick one I liked the best, it would be the male lead, Ed.  I felt like the portrayal of Jess was maybe too extreme or something.  I wanted her to be more likeable.

Also, I think what made Me Before You so great was the heavy topics and it drew you in.  This book didn't really have anything like that to keep me hooked.  I didn't find myself looking forward to reading more--I just did it because it was there.

I do have the sequel to Me Before You to read too, so we'll see how that goes.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

*FTC Disclosure: I bought this book.

Book Review- The Sun is Also a Star

I finished reading The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon today for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

This book had promise.  The idea how small, insignificant decision or action can change your whole future intrigued me.  And two strangers meeting and falling in love did too.  Unfortunately, I just didn't get invested in the story.

Maybe it was because the narration changed hands so many times.  And most of the chapters were extremely short--a page or two, or sometimes only a paragraph or two.  And so I never really connected with Natasha or Daniel.

And talk about a quick love--too immediate for my tasting.  It was more of a falling in lust.  They didn't truly know each other in the short twelve hours so I don't believe it could be love.  I did like the ending, before the epilogue.  It gave this idealistic story a nice dash of reality.  

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

The Sun is Also a Star will be released on November 1, 2016.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.