Member Reviews

I read it in 1 sitting - I love the Creative HeArts series and as usual it didn't disappoint! Willa & Finn are adorable and I'm really glad that even with multiple authors the continuity of the storyline and personalities of the other characters have been able to stay intact.

Thank you Entangled & NetGalley for the e-ARC! You made my day!

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This is the conclusion or at least a HEA for Willa and Finn and even though the pacing was kind of rushed at the end, it still was a sweet, fun and great book.

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It has been several months since Willa’s father announced his engagement to celebrity Mia McKain, and the wedding is only three weeks away. Mia has everyone on a tight schedule…which means that Willa and Finn will have to stop ignoring each other long enough to make Mia happy. That would be fine if they actually thought of each other as step-siblings, but the chemistry between them is getting harder to deny—despite their parents’ marriage, senior year, Willa’s boyfriend, Finn’s bribe, and every other obstacle in their way.

Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas by Emily McKay is the cute conclusion (or is it?) to this high school romance. Willa’s spunk drew me in from the first page, yet again. I really adore all of her funky thoughts and comments in her narration; it speaks of a well-written book. And Finn is as hot, caring, and irritating (to Willa) as ever. I mean, he was a great guy who truly cares for Willa, but he had a hard time showing it. Willa was still as clueless as ever when it came to the men in her life and facing her challenges. It irritated a little, but those were the lessons she learned in this book, making her a true dynamic character. And let’s not forget that the adorable romance and the fantastic prose easily made up for any leftover annoyance. Both of the characters made huge mistakes in their relationship, but it was great to see Willa and Finn overcome those mistakes and move on. The literary comparison at the end of the story was perfect—I’m not giving it away, though!

In case you wanted to know, Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas contains swearing, kissing, sexual innuendos, and a gay couple.

I enjoyed this novel very much and would gladly recommend it to lovers of high school romance.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, through Chapter by Chapter blog tours. All opinions are expressly my own.

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Ugh. Willa was such an awful character in this one. I couldn't stand her. All she did was whine.

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Of all the girls in Austin, why did he want the one he could never have?

We first met Willa and Finn in the second book of the Creative Hearts series, How Willa Got Her Groove Back. Back then, Willa had just found out that her father was marrying Mia McCain - the hottest actress in Hollywood. Aside from getting a new stepmom, she's also getting a new step-brother, Finn. While neither of them are happy about their parents upcoming nuptials, Finn has a little more push to seem happy about it - early access to his trust fund. All he has to do is get Willa on board. How Willa Got Her Groove Back didn't really end with any closure so I'm very happy these two popped up again.

The wedding is on and coming up quickly. Mia had meticulously planned out every spare second of time and Willa and Finn find themselves thrown together for many of the prewedding activities. This would be fine and all if how they felt toward each other wasn't more than friendship. So while trying to deny their feelings, Willa throws herself into her current relationship with her high school dreamboat and Finn, well, Finn broods.

However, I think I will just always continue to be super disappointed in Willa's dad. For someone who was supposed to be super close to his daughter, he does a horrible job of helping her transition into her new life. It's almost like he literally just forgets he has a daughter. I get being wrapped up in love, but your a grown ass man with a child. Act like it.

This was such a short book but it was super cute. The positions the two of them find themselves in always had me laughing and I found myself rooting for Willa to dump her boyfriend and jump on Finn. I haven't read all of the books in the Creative Hearts series, but it was nice to see characters from the ones I had read show up here.

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Weddings, Crushes and Other Dramas by Emily McKay! Finn and Willa are soon becoming step siblings because Willa's father, Matt, asked Mia, Finn's mother, to marry him. The parents get along well, but the paparazzi make life difficult for Willa. Mia is a famous actress and Finn helps Willa deal with the publicity since he feels used to it. I think Finn's protectiveness of Willa is cute and I'm very happy about the references to Harry Potter, the wizarding world and quidditch; they made me smile and added to the list of commonalities between Willa and Finn. This is a cute, charming story about two teens trying to figure out their relationship with each other in the scheme of all that's occurring around them. I give 4.5 stars for a book that turned out to have more depth than I expected and for the sweet romance that grows throughout the story!

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"He wanted more than just the occasional excuse to touch her. He wanted to be with her without needing an excuse to do it. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted her to smile at him."

It's not weird that I'm a grown woman who completely melted into a puddle of feelings after reading this quote from Finn, is it??? Because I did, I so did! And that wasn't the only time. He'll have you swooning and pulling for him, as he grapples with his feelings for Willa while she does her best to keep her distance. As soon to be step-siblings Willa and Finn have a lot of obstacles they're facing, but that doesn't stop Finn from taking a chance to show Willa how much he cares about her, in hopes that maybe, just maybe, she'd be willing to get past her issues and take a chance on him.

Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas is such a cute book! I haven't read the first book focused soley on Willa and Finn, but I don't feel as if I've missed out on a whole lot, although I do plan on going back to read what started all the animosity between them in the first place! There's quite a bit of push and pull in this book, especially on Willa's end- poor girl's torn between who she thought would be the perfect high school boyfriend, and the one who really is! (At least in my opinion!) Add in the stress of the wedding between their parents and you have all the makings of one fun read.

I'm not even ashamed by the fact that I'm older than the parents in the Creative HeArts series, I'm here to say I love this series. If you're a fan of YA this is one series I would definitely recommend. You can enjoy all the fun and stress of high school without actually having to relive it!

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It's no secret that I've been dying to get my hands on this book and find out what happens next between Willa and Finn ever since I read How Willa Got Her Groove Back about a year ago. And it definitely was a satisfying read in the end, I loved seeing all the characters from the Creative HeArts series appear again in a supporting cast capacity and it was nice to see Finn have his own friend group with Cabot and Dahlia. In the end I will say that Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas definitely lived up to my expectation in that it was a quick, fun and utterly adorable read. I just wish it wasn't the last book in the Creative HeArts series as some parts of it felt a bit rushed as if the authour was trying to tie up as many possible loose ends from the series as she could. I'm also disappointed that we won't get to see what becomes of the other characters as it felt like there was more of their story to tell. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to any future collaborations that the various authours of the Creative HeArts series have planned as I thoroughly enjoyed this series.

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A year ago I read How Willa Got Her Groove Back, which started me in the fantastic series about several students at a dedicated Arts High School in Texas. I’ve really really liked these books so far, and this one was no exception. Willa and Finn are AMAZING!!!

The dual POV style of these books never cease to amaze me, if you need a refresher: Willa’s POV is in the first person, while Finn’s POV is on the third. I liked that Finn got a little more page time on this second book 😀 .

I had already loved the characters on the first book about them, but they were simply amazing on this one. There was a lot of character growth, from both of them. Willa accepted that her dad was happy, she learned to admit that she was wrong and listen to others, and she finally started trusting Finn. Finn leaned to show his feelings and how to let go.

It was awesome to see them trusting each other more and more and finally confronting their feelings for each other – something that EVERYONE had already seen.

The plot was simple, with no major drama, but I still loved it. Willa and Finn’s story is all about character growth, and the author nailed it.

I was a bit surprised that this is the last book about Willa and Finn, I actually thought there would be 3 of them! But then, the end has an epilogue, and I don’t think we’re getting more, and I felt kind of cheated. I wish the book had showed some important moments that it didn’t, but I was overall pretty satisfied with it.

I highly recommend this book, and the whole series to be honest. If you just want to read about Willa and Finn, you totally can, but you need to read book 1 first, How Willa Got Her Groove Back.

Also, can we just agree that cover is absolutely gorgeous?!

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4 “Weddings, Crushes on your Stepbrother & Drama” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Entangled Crush!!

I’ve been waiting for this book for over a year!! Technically, it’s been almost one year, but it felt like a lot more. While the Creative HeArts series brought me more characters to fall in love while I waited for Emily Mckay’s second book, I have to say Willa and Finn were still my favorite couple.

There was just something about nerdy, strong Willa and mysterious, sexy Finn that got me and never let go, no matter how amazing the other couples in the series were.

When I started Willa and Finn’s second book, I didn’t know whether it’d be their last one or not (totally my fault, since the e-mail I got with the e-ARC specified this would be the last book in the series). I kind of wished it wasn’t, because I was so not ready to let go of this characters and this world.

In case you haven’t read any of the Creative HeArts books (in that case, why haven’t you?) this series is set in a high school focused on the arts. Students are future musicians, writers, actors…So there’s a whole cool vibe about the stories, which I enjoyed immensely. Plus, there’s always a lot of drama, as one would come to expect.

The drama in this book revolves around Willa and Finn. We met them in How Willa Got her Groove Back (still love this title a whole lot), and that was also when Finn and Willa first meet. The attraction between them was instant and clear, which meant I was shipping them pretty much from chapter one. The catch was: Finn’s mom was one of Hollywood’s favorite actresses and was in love with Willa’s dad. Not only that, but they were planning to get married and making Willa and Finn stepsiblings. *cue to forbidden romance* *cue to me shipping them harder*

Willa and Finn did everything in their power to stay away from each other and crush down their feelings. Finn made a stupid promise to his mom, one that would certainly come back to bite him in the ass. Willa got herself a hot boyfriend, who was also a jerk.

Many books where Finn and Willa were side characters later, we’re back in their heads and hearts to learn that as far as their feelings for each other go nothing has really changed. If anything, their feelings have only gotten stronger and the temptation much bigger now that they’re living under the same roof and about to officially become part of the same family.

With Weddings, Crushes and Other Dramas, we get to finally see Finn and Willa giving in little by little. It’s a slow process, and I admit there were parts of it I wished had been faster, but the slow burn was painful in a good way. I love myself a little angst and the chemistry between Finn and Willa never disappoints. They’re super hot together.

While a big part of the story still revolves around the upcoming wedding and their feelings, we also get to see glimpses of their school life and friends. There’s drama involving the show Willa created, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries webseries that impacted the lives of so many of the characters we met throughout the series because it’s also their senior project. I only wish we’d gotten to see more of the final product. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to learn what happened to it. If it’d been a total success or failure. If it’d launched any of them into stardom.

We also get drama involving Willa’s boyfriend, a guy who doesn’t deserve her attention at all. Some people might have a problem with how Willa put up with his attitude for that long, but I found it hard to be too sorry for Willa when it was clear she was definitely using him, too. For her, staying with him was a convenient way to ignore her feelings for Finn. So, yeah, Willa, sorry but you dug yourself that grave.

There were some things I wish had been different, especially because the ending felt a little rushed, but it also left me with that feeling of “I need more. I need a lot more.” As I said in the beginning, I hadn’t paid attention to the e-mail saying it was the last part of the series and as I got to the end, all I kept thinking was that I wasn’t ready for it to be over. That’s a good sign. I tend to get bored with long series, but that didn’t happen here. I’m still not completely over the fact that I won’t get more Finn and Willa in my life. Unless I reread their books. As some say, it’s always best to leave people wanting more.

The final thing I want to say about this book is a spoiler, so here it goes:

[I’m a 100% certain I would’ve loved this book even more if it hadn’t been for the cheating. Finn kissing Willa hours after she had already made up her mind about breaking up with her boyfriend was both unnecessary and a risky move. After waiting so long for their kiss, I was left with a sore taste in my mouth. No matter how sure Willa was that her relationship with her soon-to-be-ex was already over, it couldn’t hurt to let her break up with him first. I was really upset by how things were treated and how there was no consequence afterwards. The moment (or the love story) wasn’t entirely ruined for me, but it didn’t have the same impact as it would’ve had without the cheating aspect, which is a sad conclusion. (hide spoiler)]

As far as young adult contemporary romance book series go, the Creative HeArts is definitely one of my favorites, and Willa and Finn are my OTP. I’m sad to see them go, but I’m happy I got to meet them in the first place.

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Weddings, Crushes and other Dramas by Emily McKay......This was a great fun quick read. It was enjoyable to watch the stories be told for Willa and Finn be told. They are both likeable and relatable characters. Emily McKay sucks you into the story and has you flipping pages to find out what is going on. I highly recommend this book and series. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book from publisher via NetGalley.

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Willa’s father and Finn’s mother will get married soon, Willa finally accepts this and she even see the good in their relation. She is attracted by Finn but she knows he will be her brother in law and they can’t share anything together. In the meantime, Willa must deal with her boyfriend, which most of her friends don’t like.

Finn’s feelings for Willa are stronger than anything, he wants to be friend with her but he also wants more and that is difficult for both of them.

This book was nice, not original but the characters grow up and their friends are awesome. Their parents on the contrary are not always very great but they have good intentions.

It’s a good final point to the story of Willa and Finn and I will read the others books in the Creative Hearts series.

Emily McKay did a great job with these two books but I prefer the first one, There was more humor and more fun.

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I want to thank Netgalley, Entangled and Emily McKay for a chance to read this for an honest review

i LOVED it! i love how even though the series is made by 4 different authors with different points of view they can all be read seperate or together an they all tye in well either way

This book is #6 in the series as a whole but #2 for this particular couple an it showed how they've grown through out the series.

I can't wait to see the finished product of everything an am really curious on how the webinar turned out

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I was waiting eagerly for this book for sooo long, I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations but I did enjoy it.

Willa's life turned upside down since her father decided to marry Mia McCain who is a famous celebrity. Along with everything, it also bought Finn McCain into her life. Willa knows that nothing is possible between them but she can't deny the attraction she feels towards her soon-to-be-stepbrother either. Will Willa be able to untangle herself from this mess?

This book picks up from where book 1 left off. Willa's dad and Finn's mom and to be married soon but Willa and Finn both have not so step-siblings feelings towards each other. I enjoyed this book but there were some factors which I couldn't ignore. I loved Finn, he was so, so great but Willa acted a little too immaturely. It was crystal clear that Finn cared for her so much yet she was hell bent on thinking the opposite. Also, the word good-looking and hot were used waaaay too many times. I get it, Finn is handsome along with the rest of the other guys in this book but what about the qualities that actually matters? We do get this but kinda at the last 30% of this book which was really disappointing.

The plot felt a little too repetitive but I did enjoy it. I loved the minor characters in this book, it was pretty great to see the other characters from this series, especially Mariely who is Willa's best friend. I didn't know what to feel about Damien in book 1 but in this book her really showed his true colours. I liked the romance between Willa and Finn and I was soo happy to see how they finally got to their senses. I definitely enjoyed how everything is resolved in this book.

Overall, Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas was a good read. The plot was executed neatly and I liked the chemistry between Willa and Finn. The writing was smooth and easy to read and the pace was even throughout the book.

Recommend it?

Yes.

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OMG!
What a rollercoaster.
McKay had me eating out of her palm.
I actually expected way more dramas, with the title but also after the first installment. But actually there are dramas, but they not like DRAMAS. Rather Finn and Willa have more internal dramas than anything else. And that affected me way more than their battles or any other teenage drama McKay could have thrown at me.
Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas is in my opinion completely character driven.
I mean the plot kept me interested. But frankly the thing that I love about this book: character building. McKay did an amazing job. Not only did she totally endear Willa to me this time around. Finn got more depth and had plenty of character growth as well. Both MCs transform, enough to make a huge difference but not too much to feel fictitious. Their attraction always was huge, but in this installment it gets depth. Gone is the insta-lust. Friendship and genuine care take over instead. Don't misunderstand me, there is plenty of frustrating und fulfilled chemistry. In fact brace yourself for it. 75% of the book before there is some leeway. And I mean some... it takes basically the entire book to get ..somewhere.
The support cast is written well as well. In fact I much prefer each character in this book than in the last. It's like McKay went and added depth to each one of them. Even annoying shallow ones are more interesting for some reason.
As this is a multi-author series I love seeing characters from the other books written from a different POV. Let me just tell you, these authors do a brilliant job and connecting the story lines and the characters. Sure each couple is differently written, but the series feels so connected to each other, the characters are so well defined, that this feels like it was written by one mind. I am totally in awe of that! What a great collab! I imagine all the authors hanging out together, having coffee and plotting the next twist. I would love to know how they actually did pull this off for real.

Let's go back to the plot. As I said, there is a lot of waiting for it to happen here. Honestly I savored every moment. Not a minute to fast. The slow pace of the romance while frustrating was also brilliant.
My only little problem. The quick turnabout at the end. I mean the epilogue. I love it. Don't get me wrong. I do. But I was left with a gazillion questions. Also the Damien situation felt a bit hastened, but I didn't care that much.
The question is, are we left with a huge gap with loads of questions because the answers will be in another book? And the other thing I am wondering: Is there another Willa and Finn book?

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Aww, these series is my favorite and the cutest. I want more of the NexteGen crew.

Willa: Busying herself with her stepmother's wedding and writing for the senior seminar web series is hard. But avoiding her feelings for Finn her soon to be stepbrother is harder, especially since he's really quite attractive to the eye. Willa is really trying to avoid her feelings for Finn, but of course, at some point she has to come to terms with her feelings for him. Being thrown together with Finn for her dad's wedding isn't making it any better.

Finn: He's been known as a bit of a player in Willa's mind and he's trying to dispel that. But little does he know that he's fallen for her. Unlike Willa, Finn has come to terms that he's fallen for her and he wants to do everything to show her. But poor oblivious Willa doesn't see it, well more like Denial City.But when she did realize it; it was the cutest thing.

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I was given this ARC for a honest review of ‘Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas (Creative HeArts)’. I really enjoyed the book, although there are some things you might want to know before reading.

‘Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas (Creative HeArts)’ is the second book for Willa and Finn, but the sixth book in the ‘Creative HeArts collection’. You will want to read ‘How Willa Got Her Groove Back’ before reading this book. I suggest you read the third book in the ‘Creative HeArts’; ‘Crazy, Stupid, Fauxmance’. Not only does the story have details that are slightly important to Willa’s story, but it is also an adorable book. I have not read any of the other ‘Creative HeArts’ books, but I do feel like I was missing out on some important information because of it. So, it might be best to read the whole collection.

Previously, we experience Willa’s outrage at her father's engagement. Without giving any spoilers, the first book did not end on a particularly happy note, so I was excited when ‘Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas’ was given to me. I wanted to know what happened with Finn and Willa and I was eager to read this book. At first the beginning of the book was a little disconnected from the first book, but eventually things started to click and make sense. Some of the details were inconsistent, but none of that mattered to me, because I love Willa as a character and Finn definitely makes your heart race and skin tingle.

Overall this was a good book. It kept you guessing until the very last second. The only reason it is getting four stars, is because of the inconsistencies I noticed.

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If you are looking for an amazing but conflicting story read it. It covers all the aspects of the teenage life, without annoyance or a drag, and giving you multiple personalities to relate too. Full review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1888005309

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Weddings, Crushes and Other Dramas wraps up the Creative Hearts series and the Willa and Finn sub-series. This series has been a fun read and will work well for teens looking for YA romance books. In this installment, Willa and Finn's parents get married and go on their honeymoon which provides many awkward situations for our couple that's not quite a couple. While Finn does half of the narration in the book, it is primarily a Willa story. Willa is still working on the Lizzie Borden project and realizes that the script needs serious help. She is conflicted about if she should or shouldn't break up with her lackluster boyfriend and give Finn a chance.

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“Weddings, Crushes, and Other Dramas” is quick, fun, romantic story about Willa and Finn, who are seniors in high school and soon to be step-siblings. This is a continuation of an earlier book in the series, but I read this as a stand-alone and it would fit as a stand-alone easily (you are caught up on the previous book in the first few pages/don’t need any history to enjoy this one). As a “Crush” book, it’s meant to be read in one sitting, and thank goodness it is short enough to do so- as I don’t think I could have put this one down.

Willa describes Finn as her nemesis, while Finn is pretty sure he’d like to describe Willa as his girlfriend, but at least as a friend. The book flips back and forth between their viewpoints. The back-drop of their stories is their parents’ wedding and preparations plus their school project that Willa believes may allow her to get into the best colleges. Willa and Finn are both easily likable- Willa is adorkable and sweet, and Finn may seem like a playboy who never lets anyone get too close, but he’s super mushy and romantic on the inside. The question is really if Willa will allow him to get close enough to open up.

Predictable and cute, this was a great story that went by too fast! I loved the writing style and all the characters- we get to hear some tidbits about some of Willa’s friends and they are all fun characters. I am very curious to read more from this delightful series! Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

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