I DNFed this book.

I just couldn't get into it, I might come back to this story once it's published, but I don't think that I will be. Which is rather unfortunate, because this book sounded good, and I think it had potential.

🥇

*thanks Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book for an honest review, all opinions are my own*

This is a very solid book.
I didn't expect to like it that much, I admit that because it was about ice skating I didn't understand all the technical terms but that in no way interfered with my reading.
The characters felt real but at the same time captivating, the story itself brings many different layers making the story more real and moving.
The author's writing is easy and quick to read.
It is a quick and pleasant book to read.
It didn’t earn 5 stars because the end is a little hurried except for this is a great book and I highly recommend it!

This was beautiful. It definitely went through all the feels and went to places I wasn't expecting. I loved all the ice skating, I haven't read any books with that in it before so it was a lot of fun. This was overall a very enjoyable read!

I highly enjoyed this! The world of figure skating has always interested me so I loved exploring it more. This was a fun, cute contemporary that was exactly what I needed. Quick and light, the perfect pick-me-up.

For me this book felt like a Hallmark Movie, super sweet sports romance that focused around ice skating. There did not seem to be a lot of action or tension in this book. The main female charcter is Olivia, who is a figure skater.
Specificaly a pairs figure skater. Jonah Choi is a speed skater that has moved to town and is training at her families ice rink. The two begin to develop a relationship.

There did not seem to be a lot of action or tension in this book. The author tried to have some tension built around the family finaces and her mother's health, however it never seemed to really develop.

I found myself skimming through the last half of the book waiting for something to happen.

Possibly because the character seemed imature and the "romance" so sweet. Overall, not a bad read, but I do feel like many of my high school students will not relate to the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#EveryReasonWeShouldn't #NetGalley

3.5 Stars

Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimura seemed like the perfect book for me since I am a big fan of any story about skating. While I did enjoy this concept, I had many issues with the book, including the immature main character and the lack of discussion around the sensitive topics presented. I didn’t hate this book, but it was not what I was expecting.

❀ A SKATING STORY

This book tells the story of Olivia, a figure skater adjusting to life outside the rink and trying to save her family’s business. When speed skater Jonah Choi starts training at her family’s rink, Olivia finds herself falling for him. I love any book about skating, and it was nice to see two different types of skating (as well as roller derby) represented in the book. I also found it interesting how the story talks about being “washed up” at 15 and the difficulties that come with coming back to sports after taking a break. This adds some depth to the book and makes it more than just a romance.

❀ MAIN CHARACTER IS IMMATURE

One of my biggest issues with the book was the main character. I found Olivia to be selfish and immature, and she almost disregards the problems in everyone else’s life and sees her own as more important. I did like how passionate she is about skating and how she perseveres to get her dream back, but I couldn’t get past how whiny she is. Jonah is not as annoying as Olivia, but the two of them have this whole “we aren’t like everyone else” mentality, and the way they isolate themselves is a bit elitist and off-putting.

❀ SERIOUS TOPICS AREN’T HANDLED WELL

Another aspect of the book that I didn’t love was the writing itself. While I did appreciate the discussion of more serious topics, I feel that there are a couple of topics that are not handled properly. For instance, there is a school lockdown scene that comes across as an excuse for Jonah to say “I love you” for the first time. It is an incredibly sensitive topic and clearly disturbing for Olivia, but it is never brought up again or truly unpacked. As well, the main characters’ unhealthy relationship with food is never really commented on, and this could be triggering to some readers. Along with these jarring moments, I also had issues with the way the characters speak. It comes across as though the author is trying way too hard to sound like a teenager with her excessive use of slang like, “extra” and “that’s the tea, sis.” I appreciate the effort to relate to a younger audience, but in this case, it went overboard.

❀ A FANTASTIC PREMISE, BUT A BIT UNSATISFYING

Every Reason We Shouldn’t has a fantastic premise, but other than that, much of the book didn’t satisfy me. The main character is selfish, and sensitive topics are not handled as well they should be. In my eyes, I definitely don’t think this book needs a sequel.

3 stars
This book was a quick read. It’s all about believing in yourself and being in tune with your dreams and the fight to make it happen. The theme was great but the story was just okay. I had high hopes for this one and I love the cover but it fell short.

I got an ARC of this book.

I assumed this was a f/f romance based on the cover and I saw ice skates. That was really as far as it went. Well, I was half right. The book does have ice skates, but there is no f/f love. So I am a bit let down by the cover itself. The cover is just eh and if I hadn't read this as queer, I wouldn't have picked it up.

The plot itself is much better, sorta. Well, everything except the romance is better. The romantic plots of the book are incredibly weak. I just couldn't care less which two in the friend group were dating. The teenage drama just read as false and boring. The romance between the two main romantic leads was also pretty basic. There was instant forcing of the people around them and then it was constant physical stuff after that. The romance read more like an erotica plot, but without any sex scenes. There really were no big feelings or angst or anything I enjoy in a YA romance. If this book didn't feature a romance or the romance was less of the plot I would have enjoyed the plot more. I'm not even going to start in on the idea that jealousy means someone cares about you, because just no. This needs to stop being romanticized and normalized in anything. 

The skating stuff was the good stuff. I loved learning more about skating. I loved that there was a lot of talk about family support and family pressure around skating (and other aspects of life). The way that the drive is just so intense for some people was incredibly engaging. I could have had a book just about these teens coming to terms with their futures in skating. Please leave the random kissing out. The reason I even enjoyed this book at all was all the skating plots. These were able to engage me and they were able to make me care. 

The parent plots felt a bit weak. There were hints that there was a cheating plot coming up, but it fell flat. It was one of the many loose ends that just weren't tied up well. There were the issues of Jonah's parents not agreeing on how much he should skate, that was never wrapped up. I am ok with this plot still being open, since that seemed like a plot that would be on going after the story. I am surprised by the ending, because of this plot, but this may just be my aro peaking out. Love does not conquer all other dreams. I just don't understand how this particular ending happened considering the characters involved. It felt cheap and rushed. 

Overall, the book was eh. There was nothing that would make this book stand out over other YA romances. If this were a coming of age book, then it would have been much better. There would have been less weird half worked out and only physical romance plots and more substance. These characters could have gone so much further. The emotions could have been more intense. There could have been more if there wasnt the focus on a romance that I didn't ship.

This is an excellent, if rather angsty, novel about figure skating, ice sports in general, and being a child doing an adult's job. I loved the characterisation and the ice skating, but found the second half of the novel very hard to read - the author does a bit too good a job of reflecting on the helplessness of being a teenager when your parents have one idea of your life and you have a different one.

My full review will appear on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on March 3.

I really did enjoy the overall feel to this story. At times it was perfectly lovely in romance and dreams and at times it felt a little all over the place. Overall, a great read.

This book hit all the rights tropes. Not fitting in, controlling parents and wonderful HS drama. It’s such a cute sports romance that everyone should def read!

This was a delightful book showcasing biracial Asian-American characters who are unashamedly passionate about their sport, even in the face of pressure to be normal. It is a charming work that encourages readers to chase their dreams through hard work and dedication, and to stand up after falling down. It's easy to recommend for any library's collection or for any reader who has a calling that renders "normal" goals uninteresting in its pursuit.

I was initially drawn to Every Reason We Shouldn't for a few reasons. Number one, skating. Ever since "Cutting Edge" I will read anything ice skating focused and this certainly fills a niche. That being said, there isn't that same romantic, will-they-won't-they as in that film and there aren't pair competitions so just know that the only comp between those is that there are just two characters who are skating professionals (speed skating and pairs figure skating).

Number two, I thought this was going to be an ownvoices biracial/Asian rep situation. You can say I should have done more research before reading, but only when I sat down to write this review did I find out that it is not ownvoices rep. Instead it is written from the perspective of, presumably a white, woman who married a Japanese partner with biracial children. She wanted to write the rep that her children wish they saw. <b> I also want to say I am not a biracial Asian American so I also do not have an ownvoices perspective <.b>

Let's start with what I liked about Every Reason We Shouldn't. The scenes on the ice were great. I loved that it gives you a skating scene whether that be the competition or the feeling of being free on the ice. I ice skate for fun, but I have loved that feeling of weightlessness, of gliding. Secondly, I liked that both Jonah and Olivia are handling this life of being an aspiring professional - training all the time and intensely goal oriented - but also what a 'teenage' experience might be. I loved the side character of Mack. She's a single mother who loves roller derby and wants to join a team.

But,

I feel like the summary makes it seem like there will be this long drawn out angst - sort of "Cutting Edge" vibes - and if you were prepared for that, then just re-evaluate your expectations. I also felt like the latter half of Every Reason We Shouldn't sort of felt loosely connected. The pacing took a different turn, but it also felt like all these elements and events were introduced which were never fully resolved.With two aspiring professionals, or even just two people in any relationship, you can encounter one person thinking their career might be more important. I think this is such a great point to bring up, especially with two athletes (and something I've struggled a lot with in the past), but I just wish there was a more satisfying resolution.

Every Reason We Shouldn't was an enjoyable story featuring family, friendship, romance, and dreaming big. I sympathized with the main character's desperation to prove herself as not a washout and admired her passion for her sport. The romance between Olivia and Johan was cute and sweet, but it felt a bit rushed to me. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the friendship between Olivia and Mack as well as the friendship and partnership between Olivia and Egg. I appreciated that Olivia had a circle of Asian friends that she could hang out with at school and that her Asian and biracial identity wasn't written in an othering way. I'm glad that the major conflicts were resolved nicely and that Olivia was able to keep her family's dream alive.

Every Reason We Shouldn’t is about 15 year old Japanese-American Olivia who is a figure skater but doesn’t skate anymore. She’s trying to be a typical teenager, going to normal school, going to parties but her heart is always on the ice. We meet Jonah who trains at the ice rink that her parents own, whose dreams of being an Olympian are still shining bright.

Every Reason We ShouldntThis YA Contemporary is so refreshing. I loved how not-jaded and simple the storyline was. The story was interesting without being too busy. I loved that it focused on Olivia’s dreams and non-romantic relationships with new friends and her parents. Although some of the backstories felt a little undone. It would have been nice for the background characters to be a bit more fleshed out and “characteristic,” as well as their backgrounds.

I enjoyed this contemporary story focusing on two teens who have Olympic-sized dreams, but life throws each of them different curve balls on the path to making them come true. Olivia is the daughter of gold medalist pairs skaters, and was one-half of a power-house juniors pair that couldn't quite make it in the next age group. Instead of pushing through, she's focused on working at the rink her parents own, largely run by a young single mom since her own mother suffers from crippling pain and her dad is on the road touring. Things get interesting with a young, fellow skater-of-color shows up with the talent and drive to make it in the world of short track speed skating.

This was a fine one-time read for me. A few things that had me struggling to suspend belief especially given that novel falls solidly in the "contemporary, realistic fiction" category were the absentee parents, how healthcare actually works, and the vocabulary/actions/reactions of these apparent 15 year olds. As someone who worked in high schools for 7 years, some of these kids felt a bit Dawson's Creek/Gilmore Girls in how they spoke - If they were 17/18 I could buy it, but 15? Not so much. Good for library collections where contemporary romance is a popular genre.

DNF 26% - This is one of those times when I really feel my age while reading a YA book. The characters just seemed SO young. I found Jonah to be completely obnoxious and couldn’t see why Olivia was drawn to him.

For the first 40% of the book I was reasonably into it. I wanted to see the relationship progress and see where things went. I liked the characters and what they shared and I was interested in seeing the skating theme develop. However, between 50% and 90% of the way through it feels like nothing happens. Then we get a problem introduced at like 95% which gets a rushed solution and I'm not even sure I could really tell you what happened. I found myself skimming through lots as the stakes seemed low and I didn't invest in the characters. Not for me, unfortunately.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital arc.
Olivia is part of an Olympic family. Her parents are gold medalists who now own an ice skating rink called Ice Dreams. She's skated professionally but her dreams seem to have ended after a terrible finish. When a speed skater and his dad buy out the rink every day for a few hours of practice, Olivia doesn't know if it's a good or bad thing. Little does she know how much Jonah Choi is going to affect her life.
This book was so much more fun than I expected. I love ice skating books so add in speed skating AND roller derby? This just got so much more interesting! All the characters are flawed but I loved that. While Olivia and Jonah are not normal teens, they felt genuine to me. Olivia is not quite ready to give up on her Olympic dreams even though she knows deep down that she's not the best. Watching Jonah as he practices every day doubles down on those feelings. Within her skating bubble, there's so much detail about the different types of skating that I loved. From the good with Jonah getting better and better and winning competitions to the bad of her mom dealing with horrendous pain from an old skating injury. It's clear that the author did her research of skating. Throwing in roller derby just made it all the more fun.
The budding romance between Olivia and Jonah was wonderful. It felt real and I couldn't help but smile when they skated together and grew closer. Their growing like/love for each other was adorable. You could feel the love coming off the pages.
The supporting characters were so great and really filled out the story. Mack was my absolute favorite and the story would have been lesser without her. The parents of the story have big problems that make you side with the teens when they have their fights. I also liked Olivia's school friends because it took you out of the skating world and into the normal teen world for a bit. I do feel that last 30 pages was rushed and it could have benefited from a few more chapters. There were actual issues that needed to be solved in a more thorough manner than it was. Still, this is a solid YA book that was a lot more entertaining than I expected. Definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a YA romance or has a love of all types of ice skating!

This book is everything you would expect a high school love story to be. Does that make it bad? Absolutely NOT! Despite the fact that it was fairly predictable, and some of the jokes were just soo cheesy, I really enjoyed the characters and the love story. I also appreciate the representation. If you love a cheesy, fast paced love story like me, then this is for you!