I enjoyed this book because I loved the music aspect with Ben being a concert violinist and the setting in NYC. Dom was a good character too, strong and despite her life circumstances, she really wants to go to college and make something of her future. I love the way they meet and then how Ben looks for her after he sees her 2 times. They are so different that their relationship is very unique. They also do not spend that much time together which makes it hard for them to even have a relationship or to get any closer. I thought this book needed a better ending. I did not like being left hanging wondering what might happen someday but I guess that is the title, after all.... It took me a realize what Ben's issues were and how serious it was for him--and that whole storyline was so sad because he was obviously so accomplished at a young age. I just felt like they didn't have enough time together to even develop a relationship so that took away from the plot and the ending.. for me at least. It's a quick read and Ben and Dom are sweet characters--I especially loved Cass, Dom's best friend. Would love a whole book just about him!

**I received Someday, Somewhere from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
3.5 stars
"It begins, it consumes you and then it ends."
This book definitely flowed as the above quote describes. I was immediately transfixed with this story. This book is narrated from two perspectives: Dominique and Ben. I liked Dominique from the start. She's incredibly relatable and all she wants is hope for a better future. Ben, on the other hand, starts out as this bright star. He's a brilliant violinist that is attending a prestigious music university. To me, this story is about each of these character's individual journeys. Dominique is learning to fight for the future she wants and deserves, while Ben is realizing that he needs to accept his reality and stop living in denial.

This is a coming of age story. Both of these characters are just trying to find a way to make it in this world and they're learning how to chase their dreams. Yes, there is romance in this story but I wouldn't label it a romance novel. In all honesty, the romance didn't seem fully dimensional to me. It was a bit too Insta-love for me. I would need a bit more development in their relationship in order for me to feel invested in their relationship. However, the character arcs were not rushed. Champion does an amazing job in growing these two characters. They are different people on the last page than they were on the first page.

My biggest complaint would be the ending: what was that? I don't feel as if I got closure from Ben's story with that ending.

This love-at-first-sight story had me instantly hooked, and I kept reading because I was so invested in the outcome for these two.

•Pro: I was instantly in love with Dom and cheering for her the whole time. I wanted more for her, and was beyond happy with where Champion took her story.

•Pro: Ben was so intense. I have a certain admiration for the dedication those who perform at an elite level have, and that intensity came through ten-fold with Ben. Watching him spiral out was really difficult, because I wanted him to succeed. The look we got into his world was quite intriguing as well, and I found all the musical references fascinating.

•Pro: The romance was wonderful! From the meet-cute to how Ben found Dom again. It all made my heart flutter.

•Pro: The setting was wonderful. I have a special place in my heart for NYC. I lived there until I was in my teens, and it is still my hometown. I love revisiting places I know, and Champion took us on a fun tour.

•Con: The ending left me a little wanting. There was enough closure, but I just wanted a bit more.

•Pro: These kids were my kind of people, as they shared my love for old movies, especially musicals.

•Pro: The mental health issues were well done. I diagnosed Ben well before his problems were acknowledged in the story.

•Pro: Cass was a top-notch friend. I absolutely loved him, and you could see how much he loved Dom. It was in everything he did for her.

•Pro: Dom's life was not easy. She was poor, and lived in an unsafe neighborhood, but Dom and her mom had each other, and their bond was quite beautiful.

•Pro: I loved the way Champion divided the book, and matched the pacing to it's musical equivalent. Ben was learning this sonata, and at one point, he explained the three movements of it, and I thought it was an interesting way to divide the book.

•Pro: Though the book deals with some heavy issues, it was never too heavy.

Overall: An equally heartbreaking and heartwarming story.

Centered around Ben, a violinist at a prestigious New York school, and Dominique, a high schooler in New Jersey, this book chronicles their relationship, from their first glance to what happens next. I was a little concerned at the beginning because it seemed to be another book of insta-love, it turns out that wasn't really the case.

This book dealt with some intense topics in a non-intense way and really drew me into the story and the characters and I really wanted to know what was going to happen. This book really grew on me and by the end I was racing to find out what was going to happen.

I recieved Someday, Somewhere by Lindsay Champion from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't remember when I requested this book, but I wasn't expecting to get it because it was sooooooo close to the publication date, but I got the eARC the day before the book was about to be published. I was happy about the fact that this book was mobi/epub file so they could go on both my Nook and Kindle. (I do read on both.)

That cover was what drew me in the most, and then the plot. The book pretty much lived up to the plot. The writing was very fast paced. I was a bit worried about not being able to get through with it so quickly since I got the eARC at the very last minute, but that ended up not being a problem at all. I like it when books have a good pace for me. I also liked the short chapters, and the different point of views.

Cass was actually my favorite character in this book. I wish he had been in the story more because he was super loyal to Dominique even when she had some of her silly teenager moments she had because of a guy. I will be honest that there were a couple of instant moments where I was just more than shaking my head at her. Some of the things she did just made me frustrated, but I liked how it all came to a circle in the end.

I liked how the happily ever after didn't happen the way it was supposed to with the way the book was going. I was happy with how it ended because it showed character growth. I really liked Champion's writing style.

I am still super thankful I was given a chance to read this book at the very last minute. THANK YOU publishers and Netgalley again!! I will definitely be on the look out for more of this author's books. The rating is a four star read especially since I was able to enjoy it and get through it a couple of days instead of a long time like I first thought. That plot was just gorgeous! I just liked how real it was with the emotions. The instant love plot made this book work as well.

Started off really good. Then the characters become so frustrating and annoying. Very disappointing.

I'm not sure if it's because I have subliminally high expectations, but ever since I spent the summer in New York City, every single book I've read since then that takes place there has failed to captivate my interest. The descriptions of New York in this one were pretty good, and definitely read as if they were written by someone who knows that city inside and out like the back of their hand. If there's one thing I hate about those who write about places they've never even been to, it's that it never ever matches the aura of the actual place. This book didn't do that, but I'm afraid to say that this is its only really positive aspect.

This book isn't absolutely terrible, I want to make that clear. But it definitely was not for me. I can recognise that it follows a similar formula to Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story, neither of which are particularly my favourite, so perhaps that why I could never properly warm up to it. At first I didn't mind it at all - I could connect to Dom, because I too feel the pull of New York City and would do almost anything to get there again. But her developing story line and obsessiveness with seeing Ben rubbed me completely the wrong way. She comes from a poor family, one that is barely scraping by, and struggles to find even twenty dollars lying around to pay for a train ticket. She calculates the cost of a subway ride, shares a bed with her mother in their tiny apartment, and then all of a sudden becomes so obsessed with boy in a different state/city that the cost never even crosses her mind. I just don't find that believable. She borrows other peoples' clothes from her mother's laundromat, which is just plain creepy, uses up her (also dreadfully poor) best friend's birthday money, and steals money not only from her family's business, but also a giant wad of cash from a jacket dropped off for dry-cleaning. She basically turns into a petty thief and criminal just because of a boy, and yet she is perpetually portrayed as someone with a good conscience, because she is eaten away by the guilt of lying to Ben, and essentially fulfills the mold of the manic pixie dream girl. Who cares if she steals clothes and money if she knows who Duke Ellington is? I just couldn't possibly sympathise with her as the story progressed and it made no sense to me that someone who grew up with as hard a life as she has would just throw it to the side like that.

As for Ben, I had mixed feelings for him pretty much from page one. He's a great musician, I will give him that. I especially liked the quote at the beginning of the book, where he mentions that every minute you don't spend practising, someone else is. But his actions were obsessive and also a little creepy as well, and it just sat wrong with me. He plasters the Upper West Side with posters with Dom's description just because he met her one time and she had an opinion on Frank Sinatra, and was always insulting others around him because either A) they weren't as good as he was, or B) they just didn't understand his genius. Literally nothing about him was appealing to me. There were so many parts of him that were revealed in the last 30% of the book that would have been beneficial to reveal early on, because at least then there would be an explanation to his behaviour and would make readers feel more sympathetic.  Yes, there is a point that is crossed where it's obvious it is no longer a obsession with perfecting a sonata and is instead a side effect of a mental illness, but it doesn't count if you don't let your readers know that. Mental illness is not a plot twist, and it was used as one. The character is built up as pompous, entitled, with an ego the size of Manhattan, but all of a sudden he's got a mental illness and the reader is left in the dust feeling awful for disliking him at all.

There were a couple of little side storylines that could have worked, but weren't given an lead-in or lead-out, merely a middle. There was no background given regarding Dom and Anton's relationship, and it goes from a matter of him being a bully to all of a sudden they dated and he abused her. It felt unnecessary and forced. Part of what makes Dom's development is that she struggles with thinking she's not good enough, and clearly Anton is supposed to be part of that story line and represent a legitimisation for the voice in her head. But it was not done well at all and felt excessive. Another side story line that didn't feel real was the one with her father. His influence (or lack thereof) had no impact or role in the majority of the story, but then all of a sudden at the end she decides that visiting him is the only thing that will make anything better. It felt like it was a placeholder, meant to give Dom a way to achieve her peaceful happily ever after.

Both of these main characters represent a certain kind of character, and they do not delve outside of that mold whatsoever. In fact, nothing delves outside of a basic, simple mold. We don't know anything about the secondary characters outside of what serves to support the main ones. It's as if as soon as they check off a certain trait, their development stops. Also, the point of Dom being Latina was handled poorly, in my opinion. It was not mentioned whatsoever in the first half of the book, and was hastily thrown in as a side note as if it was a check box for diversity. Diversity is not a check box.

The ending is rushed and ties up in all the wrong places. It's great that Dom is pursuing dance, but after an entire book's worth of developing the fact that she's really really poor, I have a hard time believing that she manages to scrounge up enough money to pay for a top-tier school like NYU. Ben's story remains unfinished, and so is their romance. Exactly what was that scene in the subway where Ben is playing the saxophone? While Dom's story line has an outlook, we don't really know where Ben ends up. Okay, he's been diagnosed, but then what? And after all this intensity they both went through when they were obsessed with each other, are we supposed to believed that their relationship came to a halt just like that?

Despite all of these things I've laid out above, there are some things I liked about this novel. Ultimately, I did like the story of Dom's background and the contrast of her and Ben's upbringing. The parts I didn't like were how these backgrounds were treated. Like previously mentioned, I liked the descriptions of New York, because it felt real and genuine. I liked that the book was split into three sections using musical terminology. I do like the emphasis on the music, and it did open my eyes to how vast and beautiful the classical music genre is. These parts of the book were excellent, and after reading the background of the author, I am really glad that it comes from a point of experience. I also really liked all the references to old movie musicals. I did say early on that this book isn't a bad one, but it certainly wasn't something I overly enjoyed and I found quite a few flaws that I felt were substantive. Perhaps if some of the plot reveals were rearranged, and the obsession with and between the two characters was toned down, I would enjoy this book. Because I do want to, I just...don't.

Pros:
- I LOVED THE SETTING. I really could relate to where this book was set, NYC and NJ. Because I live in one, and I dream to live in the other. So you can imagine how happy I was to read so much about those places.
- As well as relating to the setting, I found myself really relating to both Dom and Ben, in terms of me being a struggling artist like the both of them. Especially like Dom, being a dancer and finding how to fit into the world of one.
- I enjoyed how the two main characters meet, it was a little bit of insta love (I wish I got more out of them starting to date so that's a con), but it was cute how they both went above and beyond to try and find each other again after they part ways.

Cons:
- The ending. I thought I was going to get SOOOO MUCH MORE. I swiped the screen thinking there would be more but I was at the acknowledgements page and I was like whhatttt this cannot be true.
-Honestly I wanted more of Anton. I wanted to get inside his head and see where his thoughts came from. I also wanted to know more about why Dom had such an issue with Anton after they broke up.
- I was left with a lot of questions, and truly just didn't like that I was. They weren't questions like "I want more, I need another book. I can't get enough of these characters." It was more like confusion. Why did this happen, and what happened between some lost space.

This book is definitely enjoyable and a good one for Champion's debut novel. But I really wish I got more.

When I requested the ARC, I thought I would be more into it. The plot sounded so nice.

Unfortunately, it wasn't written for me. It's not a bad book, I know many people will enjoy it. But, for me, it didn't work. I had to force myself to keep reading it and I don't like when that happens. I apologize, but in this case I prefer not to write any public reviews.

Unable to review. Everything was fine in initial download, but now all the books that I've tried to read that are not sent to my kindle I've been unable to read. It's a shame because I was really excited to read this one.

Between that cover and the synopsis, there wasn’t a reason for me to not devour this book.

Dominique and Ben are both interesting characters. They’re both struggling with something and even though their backgrounds are wildly different, they’re both yearning. I really enjoyed the scenes with them together. Dom’s BFF, Cass, was a fantastic secondary and I wish we would have gotten something more of substance. I wasn’t a fan of how Dom treated him.

Plot wise, it was what I expected. The music portion on Ben’s side is frantic and obsessive and I absolutely loved it. Dom’s POV is maybe a bit whiny and needy, but her wanting was palpable. It was fairly obvious to me what the secret was going to be, but it didn’t take away from the story. The writing sounded more like someone’s actual stream of consciousness and I’m not sure that’s a proper description or a good thing. The page long sentences didn’t help.

Overall, it was an easy read, but there was still something in the back of my head that kept me from loving it. Oh and I definitely wanted more from the ending.

**Huge thanks to KCP Loft for providing the arc free of charge**

et me start by saying this book has promised to be really good. There were just a few issues that i had. The first one being that one of the main character is lying about pretty much everything except her name when she meets the love interest. There is also a big case of insta love involved here. There were just small things throughout the book that would frustrate me a little bit. That being said i really loved the music element in this book. It definitely appealed to me since i myself use to play an instrument. I felt like the ending was pretty rushed, if the book would have been just a little longer i think i would've liked it a little more, rather than having such an abrupt ending. Overall i still really enjoyed my time reading this.

Someday, Somewhere is a novel that I have very conflicting feelings about. I just really can't say I had a good time while reading it and while writing this review I realized, I don't think the issues raised in this novel were handled very well.

This book was an incredibly uncomfortable read for me. I definitely think the cover gives off a wrong vibe. Going into this novel I simply didn't expect it to deal with so many serious issues and it was honestly kinda a downer. Now I don't wanna take away from anyone seeing themselves in these main characters but I just wanna warn you. Do not expect a fluffy, happy contemporary romance with some drama on the side. That is not what this is it all. This is definitely far from happy.

While I guess a lot of the issues I had with this redeemed themselves at the end and it did feel like the characters developed well, the romance just made feel icky throughout the novel. First of all, it is based on a big old pot of lies. And I just can't be invested in a romance that I know is based on lies. DON'T BASE YOU RELATIONSHIPS ON LIES. That's literally the worst thing and I hated reading about it so much. Also because it made no sense. At all. I know the main character had her reasons for her lies but I don't think it was written well enough to actually be relatable. And her best friend supporting her in her lies? Telling her “he will leave you if you tell him the truth”? Eww. I can't handle that shit. I always need one person to stay clear-headed. And there simply was none.
Then when the lies finally got revealed there were seemingly no consequences AT ALL. I might be petty and if there's feelings involved they won't change according to your background story, but oh my god. I can't believe we brushed that whole thing off in like.. two sentences. No. Just no.

Also.. uhm.. I mean I might be exaggerating but in a way I feel like mental illness was used as a plot twist? I just think this should have been talked about way earlier in the novel. I would have wanted to see this resolved in detail. Instead this is another thing that really got brushed off in just a couple of sentence.

And while writing I'm realizing this is where my issue is and why I felt so uncomfortable while reading this book and even after finishing. Yes, everything is “okay” at the end but where's the journey to this part? We see all of these problems building up and up, leading to a downright problematic relationship. And then we never really deal with the problems. We know everyone does the right thing and they learn from their mistakes. But as a reader I don't think I was able to get much out of it because it was cramped into the ending.

In general I didn't really think any of the relationships stood out. I didn't really enjoy any of the parental relationships or the friendships. Really, the only relationship I had some interest in was between Ben and his brother. Honestly his brother is really kinda the only person I had some real sympathy for in this novel and he was the only one who stayed clear-headed.
I think this novel could have benefited from more outsider POVs but I guess that would've spoiled the mental illness because it's no longer coming from an unreliable narrator. Yikes.
I can't speak for anyone who actually suffers from this particular mental illness and I'm not saying the representation itself was bad, it's just that the way it was handled and resolved left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Ultimately I feel more mad about this novel now that I was actually able to sit down and reflect on my experience. I can't say there was much that I enjoyed and ultimately it will be a novel I'll forget about in a couple of days.

I loved the music aspect of the story. The characters were great, and they made me smile and worried all at the same time. I wish we could have gotten to know Cass more because he was awesome in the few chapters he was in. Dom was wonderful as well even owning her flaws. Ben, my dear, made me super stressed about his health. The part I did not like most was the ending. Maybe it's parshly because Dom and Ben were not together, but I just wanted to see Ben's point of view in a better way than being told from Dom's view. Thanks to this story though, I am going to start a musical movie marathon tonight.

I’m not going to lie, this book was almost perfect but I wanted a different ending. I wanted more!!! It really killed me and made me so sad. But the story was sooooo good!
First of all, I loved the characters, all of them, even the moms. Also Cass was a super awesome best friend. Then we have Ben, oh Ben! My poor Ben! I was so sad when I finally understood him and I have to say I was also very scared. I thought this was one of those books that makes me cry and cry but although I was super sad, mostly because I wanted a different ending to the story, I didn't ugly cry. I also loved Dom, she was a great character that knew what was right and what was wrong even if she made a few tiny mistakes.
I really loved this story and will definitely recommend to my friends.

This book was a bit of a surprise. I requested an arc because of the musical aspect of it and ended up realizing that it was far more than a book with a musical focus. I loved the writing style and the way that things were revealed about the characters.I enjoyed the changing points of view and the twists as we got to know the characters more and more though the novel. The references to music made this a delightful read for anyone who has played music or enjoys it! Thank you netgalley for giving me a chance to try something a little different from what I normally read. I am very happy I took the time to read this story!

If this book were a person, I'd squish their cheeks right about now. This was just such an enthralling YA contemporary.

So, this story is told in dual POV - Ben, who's a musical prodigy living on the Upper East Side, studying at this prestige conservatory and who cares about almost nothing besides music. Then we have Dominique, who lives in a bad part of Trenton with her mother who runs her own struggling Laundromat, basically surviving on a steady diet of beans and rice. On a chance school trip to New York, Dom sees Ben playing the violin and is mesmerized - almost as much as I was by their story.

Let's break this down:

+ the characters

Listen, Dom and Ben are fan-fucking-tastic, I can't even.
Ben is this violinist prodigy who spends every single minute of every single day playing his heart out because he knows he can only be the best if he practices constantly. The passion he puts into his music translated so beautifully in this novel, I wanted to cry. I'm absolutely tone deaf but always had daydreams about being this brilliant virtuoso, and I might have lived a bit vicariously through Ben's experience.

Dom, on the other hand, lives a completely different life. She comes from a poor household, she loves dancing, and she can't afford to take classes because her mom and her are barely scraping by. This was executed so well - so often in literature, people just slap the label 'poor' on characters to show their struggle, but Dom felt so real. She has to help out her mom, doesn't get an allowance and basically only gets to meet Ben because she has this best friend Cass (who is the coolest) who helps her out any way he can so she can get her happily ever after. Friendship goals right there.

+ the themes

MUSIC I can't read sheet music, I can't tell you if a specific sonata is by Beethoven or Vivaldi or whoever, but I love listening to classical music and this book just perfectly described the feeling??
10/10 would recommend listening to the pieces Ben mentions while reading the book!

The wish for more I love the ambition in this book: Dom and Cass want to get out of Trenton, want to move to New York and have their own lives away from the poor one they grew up in. Though Dom never loses sight of how improbable it seems, she also fights for her better future. Ben is determined to be the youngest, best violinist out there. This drive (which as we learn pretty early on is unhealthy) and struggle and pressure was so relatable I wanted to cry.

Mental illness It sneaks up on you in this book, but the bipolar disorder rep was incredible. We get this slow unraveling of Ben, these phases he goes through as he grows more frantic and erratic, not only in the pursuing of his music but in his relationships and it was so intoxicating I'm getting a bit antsy just writing about it.

+ the romance
...was actually my least favorite part of this?! Don't get me wrong, Dom and Ben are adorable, but I'm always hesitant about instalove and it just didn't feel entirely authentic that the both of them were talking about love literally after meeting three times and not having any real contact between those meetings. That being said, boy, were they cute when they were actually together. Their meet cute at a fountain made my cold heart beat faster.

+ the ending (spoilers ahead, fair warning!)
...left me a bit disappointed. We get pretty good closure concerning Dom's story, but Ben's story just - stops. I just wish we would have learned more about how he recovered and what happened to his musical career. Has he switched instruments? Has he found a healthy balance in his life? Is he still obsessing over music? I need answers!

If you're looking for a YA contemporary with a lot of heart, a handsome violinist and some good mental illness rep, this one's for you!

SOMEDAY, SOMEWHERE was an absolute excellent and heart shredding book. All I knew going in was it's about music, and being a musician who writes about music and also spent my entire teenagerdom listening to Beethoven on repeat...oh hello there book. You are mine. It absolutely didn't disappoint and I was so teary at the end. It balanced emotion and complex characters and had such tight pacing that I couldn't stop reading. I could feel myself speeding up with the book, like a classical piece just going faster and faster, until the string snaps at the end.

It's about music and mental illness and wanting more. I think the music aspect was done nicely and felt authentic enough even though the author wasn't a musician. I loved the parts where Ben was so into his music that nothing else mattered, because I really felt THERE with him. Even though I also ached for how unhealthy his obsession was and wanting someone to help him.

It's dual narrated by Ben and Dominique. Ben is a rich musical prodigy and Dom is super poor and watching her mum struggle to run a laundromat and has had to give up her dream of being a dancer due to money. (She's also half Ecuadorian.) Dom and Ben meet at a concert and then -- SPARKS. Their get-together-story was super cute and I loved how they had to find each other with no information. It wasn't instalove at all, but insta-connection, and it was perfectly done. They were also both equally winning, although Ben was a bit conceited (but there are reasons for that) and I rooted for Dom to have a better life and for Ben and her to work out.

I also loved the writing! It had a lot of cute and fun dialogue, some banter, some excellent side-characters (Cass was great and I hope he has a wonderful life too!) and how real it all felt. The details made the settings leap off the page. And every character felt real and complex, even if they weren't mentioned very often.

My only complaint is I felt the ending was unbalanced. Open endings I love, but I felt this was just unfair since Dom's story had a conclusion but Ben's didn't.

Honestly this book is amazing and I totally loved the combination of music and #meetcutes and two teens who just want more from their life. I'm just sitting here with heart eyes.

A lovely debut novel by Lindsay Champion. I loved her writing and even though there were parts in the story I'm not usually a fan of, I still enjoyed the book much more than I expected to.
It was sweet, fast paced and filled with music and I'm one of those who actually liked how it all ended.