I was so eager to read the follow up to Bookishly Ever After and it did not disappoint! A great sequel!

Love love loved this book. Super easy and quick to read yet extremely fun and interesting.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that it was a sort of follow on from the previous book, but it was about a different character within the friendship group. It followed a similar storyline to the first book, but this didn't mean that it was any less enjoyable.

Em and Kris have been school enemies for a long time. It never helped that they have been in the same class for many years. Now they are both qualified to the final of a speech competition, which is supposed to make them like each other even less being each other's competition and all. But will it? Who knows, maybe being outside of school for a week among total strangers and relying only on each other will help them discover their true selves? And who knows, maybe they will even be more than friends? Some swoonworthy moments inside!

*I received a free copy by Netgalley

I read the first book. LOVED IT. I read the second one. Meh.

I'm really sad to give the continuation of a five star book such a rating. Here are my reasons: In this one, I didn't like the main character as much as in the first; the guy wasn't as cute, and the subject of interest (politics, oral representations) wasn't something I could relate to, contrary to the bookiness (is that even a word?) of the first one.

Overall, not a bad book,with a cute enough romance, just up to my expectations.

I really wish I had read this sooner!

I loved Phoebe and Dev from the first book, but Em wasn't my favorite and I wasn't sure what to make of Kris from his limited appearances.

Getting to see things from Em's point of view as she prepares for college and the speech competition was a lot more enjoyable then I thought it would be. She is definitely over dramatic and a little selfish at times, but no more than any teenage girl who is still growing up. The author did a fabulous job of making her relatable and interesting with her love of history and acting.

Setting a majority of the story at a speech competition in Boston was different as so many of the characters from the first book don't appear as much. However, I think this allowed Em and Kris to truly get to know each other since they had so many preconceived notions based on their experiences while in school.

I liked, too, how the plot included Em's dream of going to college for acting. It made her feel like a more well rounded character, just like Phoebe's love of knitting and books did in Bookishly Ever After.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first book in the series, Bookishly Ever After , when it first came out, and fell completely in love with the characters. I was really happy to get a chance to get to know Em's character a little better and I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one.

Dramatically Ever After delivers exactly what it promises: a fluffy contemporary to keep you company on long rainy afternoons and warm your heart. I really enjoyed the interaction between characters: Em and Kris' conversations were full of witty remarks and enjoyable banter, with plenty of sarcasm going round. As that is one of my favourite modes of communication, I was obviously very pleased with this.

I really enjoyed delving deep into another character's passion: after Phoebe's love of books, we now get to explore Em's devotion for the theatre and the performing arts. It's refreshing to read about teenage female characters who have a passion and vision in life beyond boys and actually work hard to achieve their goals. Em really takes it a step further, acting definitely over dramatically at times and trying to put on a show 24/7 to avoid sharing her fears and appearing vulnerable, but I appreciated the fact that her friends always called her out on it.

Kris was definitely a keeper. We get to see him through Em's eyes first as an annoying wannabe politician, trying to please everybody while working his personal angle. But as they are forced to spend more time together, it was really fun to see Em discover layer after layer of Kris' personality and falling slowly. There were plenty of swoon-worthy moments between these two, and the romance never felt forced.

Overall, this book was a really enjoyable light read, with a good storyline and memorable characters. I shall definitely look out for the next one in the series!

More of a 2.5 stars

This one was much better than the first one. But parts did drag a bit and it took me several sessions to finish it.
I have to say, Em is not a good character. So whiny and refusing to acknowledge her own problems. Even by the end it's hard to believe she's actually changed or will remain changed in a good way. I didn't relate to her on any level.
Kris had some stuff going on. I agreed with his side of the arguments way more than Em's, if not a hundred percent. I think he could've used a bit more development with regards to personal quirks and childhood history.
The dialogue was pretty cheesy and off at times, as in I don't think teens actually talk like that. At least, I never did.
The story followed the expected arc and didn't add anything new to the genre.
I'd like to add that I don't think everyone can change the world like they keep harping on and I'm really sick of that message.
Overall it was readable, if forgettable.

I enjoyed this book and overall it was very cute, but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first book in this series, Bookishly Ever After. Em wasn’t my favorite character for reasons I can’t fully articulate but I did like how her and Kris’s relationship was slowly built up and how they started as rivals. I’m a sucker for the back and forth banter between characters that start off as “enemies”. I did enjoy that we still got to see glimpses of Phoebe and see how her relationship was going.

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Kind of a slow start, but ultimately I really did enjoy this one!

I loved, LOVED, Bookishly Ever After. I did not love this book. I could not get over how annoying the characters were. They felt fake to me. I couldn't get into the book, and it hurts.

This book was such a cute story, I really loved this story regardless that it dragged a little bit in some areas. The banter between the characters was adorable and that really kept my interest throughout this story.
One thing I was disappointed by is our main character Em, she had a habit of judging people based on nothing a lot and that got on my nerves at times. She was also a little too dramatic at times, I understand that she is in theater and the word "dramatic" is in the tittle but I think it was a little over the top for me. Overall I did enjoy Em though, I love that's she was so determined and she was willing to go after her goals.
I really enjoyed the romance in this story but it could be a little cliché at times but it was just so cute and sweet, I do wish that there was more romantic scenes between the characters.
I really liked this book, I was given the chance to read the first book and I'm not sure which one I liked more, I hope I also get the chance to read the third in the future..

Another excellent book in the series!! The first book is still my fav though :)

This was a really cute fluffy YA read. I liked how the title plays on the main character's talents (in the first book, Booklishly ever After describes Feeb's love of books, this one points to Em's theatre talent). I really liked "watching" Em's and Kris's spark grow while they get to know the real person, not the facade. Wondering what book three will bring.

Left review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Dramatically Ever After is a companion to Bookishly Ever After. It follows Em as she pursue's her dream of getting into college and becoming an actress. Bandeira proves that she can write well rounded characters that are often not what they appear to be at first glance. Em is more than just an actress and the story of her competing against her nemesis for scholarship money and an 'in' with her college of choice shows more than just her good side. Em is irritating and childish and in denial over a long-distance relationship that is well past its expiration date. Kris is her opponent (along with 100 other orators), and they are thrust together time and time again. Em and her group of friends are complex and unique and not adhering to every 'normal' high school stereotype. Dramatically Ever After was enjoyable and lovely rich with history and rife with conversation about how best to help our neighbors; both near and far.

“Dramatically Ever After” by Isabel Bandeira is the second book in the series. Here we see Em, super confident and flirty, up against Kris, gorgeous, talented, smart and who Em proclaims her arch enemy, in a speech/essay contest. As Em blows everything out of proportion and plots to throw Kris off his game – she starts to see the real Kris – who might not be so bad after all – or is he playing her at her own game.

All your favorites from the first book are back so you can expect the typical advice and criticism, as well as, the drama that comes with high school. A cute read.

I received this book from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

This is such a sweet little book. It is geared towards young adult girl readers, but it is still a very sweet romantic read

I loved the first book in this series, Bookishly Ever After, and I was super excited to receive a copy of Dramatically Ever After that follows Em's story this time! Unfortunately, I didn't fall in love with this book like I did the last and it had a lot to do with the fact that I just didn't connect with Em. She's the definition of dramatic (it is in the title after all) and right off the bat she would exaggerate/complain about everything in her life, from her long distance relationship to her family. It was a lot to handle when it came to reading from her POV for me.

Once the story begins to pick up by Em and Kris (you might remember him from the last book, he's also Em's school rival in this book) both advancing in a scholarship competition, I started to appreciate Em more. Reading about the competition, how hard she was fighting to make her dreams come true, I began to love her determination and bravery to stand up for the things she wants to accomplish in her life. Yes, she was still dramatic up until the very last page and I didn't fully connect with her character, but I appreciated her in the end.

The competition takes up most of the story, which was fun at times but there were moments when it dragged a little. I enjoyed a few of the friendships that were woven into the story and all of the side characters. I even liked Kris for the most part. The romance wasn't as swoony as the previous book but I didn't hate it. And honestly I can't believe I didn't swoon because I LOVE hate-love romances, but sadly, there were few butterflies for me when Em and Kris were together.

Isabel Bandeira is a fantastic writer and I always enjoy how diverse her books are! I think I would've enjoyed this book a little more if we saw Em more with all of her best friends instead of being away at the competition for the majority of the story.. But it all wrapped up in a sweet way! Em discovered more about herself and walked away a better person.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I wish I was able to fall completely in love with Em and Kris but their story wasn't fully for me. I'm still looking forward to the next book, though! If you're in the mood for a light contemporary or you're a theater fan then I definitely recommend checking this book out!

I love book series where we switch to a different character each book. This book made me miss Phoebe's voice a lot, but it's so great to see Em's story and I can't wait for the third one.

The dynamic between Kris and Em was what really made this book I think. It's so different from Phoebe's story. I also really enjoyed how much the intense field trip to Boston was shown. It highlighted how tied up in her emotions Em was getting, because there just wasn't time to process it while she was going from one conference to the next.

I really liked Em's character as well. She was so driven. I love to read about people who know what they want and are ready to go out and do anything to get it. With actors like Em it can be especially fun because you can see the characters they put on.

I think Bookishly is still my favourite, but this is a very good follow up. I can't wait for Practically Ever After!

This second book in the trilogy follows Em, a friend of Phoebe who was the main character in the first book. Em is in theater and has entered a speech contest in order to win a college scholarship. Her parents want her to go to the college where her mother works, and since her father just got laid off from his job, that is her only current option. She, however wants to go to a college with a good theater department, and will only be able to do that with a scholarship. She wins the contest and gets to spend a week in Boston with the other winners practicing for the final round. Unfortunately, the male winner from her state is Kris, a stuck up boy from her school whom she despises. There is friendship, lots of drama and romance in this fun to read teen romance novel.