Prudence Daniels can't wait for the school year to be over. She's been saddled with the WORST lab partner ever, Quint Erickson, and if there were such a thing as karma, she'd ace their big project while he'd fail, considering he can't even bother to show up on time for their presentation. When they get a disappointing C on the project, it feels like the world is conspiring against her. Pru can't help but notice all the other small ways the world seems to reward the "bad" and beat down on the "good." Then she hits her head after a freak accident involving karaoke, spilled soda, and her nemesis Quint, and when she wakes up, she mysteriously has the power to bring down instant karma on anyone she sees with the snap of her fingers. This karmic power along with a determination to re-do her science project with the insufferable Quint, shapes Pru's summer in ways she could never have imagined. Marissa Meyer's foray into contemporary YA is funny and sweet, mixed with a conservation message and a sprinkle of magic, that will have instant love from her loyal fantasy/sci-fi fans and appeal to the contemporary romance camp who won't be able to resist her take on the enemies to something more storyline.

I picked up this book because I’m a fan of the author, and thought it would be a decent read. Starting out I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but after a few pages the book was hard to put down. The author captivated me with a fun, yet engaging story with fleshy characters that made you love them. I loved the depth of each character, they were not just a character from a book, it felt like you knew these characters. Beautifully done, wonderful story, with such an amazing message to not make snap decisions on people but to get to know them and see their stories. Great book, would highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I have to be honest: I found this underwhelming and predictable. I know Meyer's fans will flock to it, though, and I anticipate that it'll do very well at my library. Good for middle schoolers who want to read a cute high school love story.

This was a cute, light read for summer. Prudence is a character who embodies the concept of "great power requires great responsbility". After a concussion grants her the ability to enact karmic retribution on her community, Pru finds herself wondering about what makes someone a good person. Is she a good person for punishing someone who made fun of her brother? Or is she a bad person, because the punishment caused that person to lose a valuable family heirloom? Woven into the storyline is a sweet romance, a seal and sea lion rescue, and the vibrancy of summer time at the karaoke bar. The Beatles are also featured throughout the story. The ultimate villain of the storyline felt a little unearned, but the final resolution was satisfying.

Having never read any of Meyer’s incredibly popular titles, I jumped at the opportunity to change that. Contemporary with a tiny touch of fantasy that I go back and forth on whether it works. I disliked the main character throughout the story, but still found the overall story to be a quick page turner. The romance feels believable for teens. There’s a lot of information about marine life, which is different for this kind of book but I think it works and will draw in some readers. Entertaining if a bit repetitive.

From Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles, Heartless), this is a contemporary romance with a tinge of magical realism. It's a fun rom-com where the main characters, Prudence and Quint have undeniable chemistry. Appropriate for middle-school.

What would you do if you gained the power to dispel instant karmic justice? Would you use your powers wisely?

This question (and others) is just what Instant Karma seeks to answer in a fun, fast-paced romance starring Prudence Daniels. Prudence, called Pru by friends, is horrified to learn that she has earned a C on her final biology project, a grade she blames on her lab partner, Quint Erikson. Quint is late, inattentive, and seemingly does not care one iota about his grade. After an ill-timed fall at karaoke later that evening, Pru finds out that she can influence the karmic justice in the world. She takes gleeful pleasure in doling out justice as she sees fit, but does Pru really have the right perspective for this power? At the same time she is dispensing justice, Pru and Quint begin an unlikely partnership to complete an extra credit assignment that will raise their final grade. As Pru begins to learn more about the consequences of her judgments, and works with Quint at his family's animal rescue center, she comes to see that maybe people are more complicated than seen at first glance.

This was such a fun novel to read. Marissa Meyer is always wonderful at crafting a story and this was no different. Initially, I must confess that I didn't care for Prudence. Maybe it's because I'm a teacher and she seems like she'd be a challenge to have in the classroom, or maybe it's because I was that overachieving, hyper-controlling student....who can say. But Prudence grows on you as you keep reading, in part because she is very much a real person. She doesn't always make the best judgments. She is ofter overbearing. But she works so hard for what she believes in. She is willing to try new things. And most importantly, she is willing to both admit when she is wrong and learn from her experiences. Prudence fights for what is important. I loved seeing her journey and her growth in this novel and come to realize that karma is a lot more complicated than she thinks. Her relationship with Quint was so much fun to explore, and I loved all of the descriptions of how her brain worked when she goes off on a tangent. Although there are some awkward moments (I may have taken a break at one point because it was too much teen angst) overall this was such a fun read. Highly recommended if you like romance, happy endings, the Beatles, and/or cute sea creatures.

This was a book seeded in the knowledge that there is always more to a person than what appears on the surface. After getting a poor grade on their final project, lab partners Pru and Quint are stuck together for the summer to (maybe) try to raise their grade. In the process, the uncover not only more to each other, but karmic energy and quite possibly romance. I enjoyed the larger lessons of giving others the benefit of the doubt and especially the marine biology lessons sprinkled throughout.

I couldn't finish this book unfortunately. I was really excited by the premise, but I ended up hating the characters. Prudence was just so unlikable and unpleasant to everyone around her. She continually harped on everyone, and acted like a selfish brat, so I really hated the idea of her of all people deciding who should be affected by 'karma'. I hope that the story ends with her learning a lesson about putting herself in others' shoes, but I couldn't get far enough to see if that happens. I think the book has a lot of potential if you can get past how awful Prudence is at the beginning of the book.

I truly wanted to give my best when reading this book, but this was a disappointment from Meyer’s usual narrative arc.

Pros:
Nods to The Beatles and music classics
Cute sea life descriptions (otters! Sea lions!)
Advocacy for marine life
An interesting theory of granting instant karma

Couldn’t get past:
A narcissistic and self-serving protagonist
A great plot twist with the antagonist, but too fast and too little detailed (why wasn’t this developed more fruitfully across the book?)
Quint being the love interest, but a fairly flat character despite attempts to grow his persona

I do see some of my middle schoolers enjoying this book, but I would hope for more from this story. Thank you for the chance to give an honest review of the ARC, Netgalley.

When I heard Marissa Meyer (author of one of my favorite fairytale retellings The Lunar Chronicles) was going to be writing a contemporary romance novel, I freaked out! The synopsis had me already in love and the cover is just so cute!

The idea of being able to give instant karma (and yes, it’s related to the song) to anyone was just a really fun idea! I knew going in that it was going to be a fun romance (and guys… it’s rivals to lovers YAY!) but I did expect that her new power would play a bit more of a role. And while it did have an influence to the story, there wasn’t as much of it as I hoped!

I thought Prudence was a really interesting and flawed character and I really enjoyed reading in her point of view knowing that she had a lot to learn. It was great seeing her slowly realizing her flaws and seeing her growth! And being around Quint? ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE.

Quint is the kind of person that I would probably have problems with too if I were to ever meet him in real life because I saw a lot of myself in Prudence. It’s easy to fall into a one sided point of view and it was great to see that there are multiple sides to a story through Prudence’s POV.

When I went in, all I knew was that it was romance and that there was some sort of “magic” involved, so I was so pleasantly surprised to see that there was a lot to do with the environment and marine life in this small beach town.

I loved seeing Prudence interact with her friends and her family. Everybody’s relationships to the main character were really great and I’m a huge fan of sibling relationships so getting to see that was also fun! Honestly, I’m not a big fan of super small towns, but this book made me really want to live in a small beach town!

This is perfect for someone who wants some fun rivals-to-lovers high school summer romance! If you enjoy beach life, The Beatles references, karaoke mishaps, excellent character growth, amazing banter, scuba diving, and absolutely adorable seals (er… sorry, sea lions!)! You’ll love this if you love fundraising parties, photography, girls with lots of ideas, misunderstandings leading to drama, and family and friendship!

This was a cute rom-com that will mostly be enjoyed by young adults (more so than those in the "new adult" category). It feels very high-school, and won't transcend age groups in the same way that similar books have, like "Tweet Cute." All of the essential YA themes are present: self exploration, making mistakes, coming of age. Overall enjoyable but a bit long, maybe too heavy on drama.

I love Marissa Meyer and this book was a lot of fun. It started a little slow compared to her series but the characters were fun and fully realized and I enjoyed spending time with them.

Meyer's take on a summer romance novel, but for YA audience is a winning shot. The characters of Pru and Quint are well developed and the reader is drawn into their relationship, the push and pull of love/hate. The underlying themes of family, and the importance of the environment are strong, and help add to the "magical" plot. When Pru figures out that she has the ability to give someone "instant karma", is it a good thing or a bad thing? Should Pru really be interfering with the natural force of the universe? Overall, it's a great read and gives more to the reader aside from just the magical theme.

I liked the original premise of this book and I enjoyed imagining what I could do with a power like that. Unfortunately most of the book fell pretty flat. The romance wasn't very romantic,, the villain was really underwhelming, the climax was meh. What bothered me most was when Pru was accused of theft by two people previously painted as super great folks. It seemed really harsh and not believable. Also, the swiftness with which Pru was all "hey it's totally fine you accused me of a horrible crime let's make out" was concerning. Girls need to learn to demand positive relationships not toxic ones.

I really enjoyed the depth of this novel, in terms of allowing the reader to change perspective on the characters on multiple occasions. I enjoyed the slight tinge of magic, or whatever you'd like to call it, and I think I would even have liked to see more of it. I can think of several students who would love this one.

This is such a great summer read to read any time of the year. It is a perfect hate-to-love romance. I feel in love with Marissa Meyer's words a long time ago, and this book just made me fall in love with her even more. Meyer takes characters that could be simple, and makes them deep and charismatic. I loved how this book showed that not every good deed is really a good deed, and how not every bad deed is a bad deed. I cant wait to go back to this book and visit them again.

This was a cute, hate-to-love romance with a tiny dash of magic. Prudence is smart and hardworking, but also a little bit (or a lot) self-absorbed and judgemental. When she hits her head one day and suddenly has the ability to dispense cosmic justice with the squeeze of her fist or the snap of her fingers. At first this is fun, but it turns out that deciding who deserves punishment or who deserves reward isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Through it all, she has to try and work alongside Quint, her sworn enemy and biology lab partner to raise their grade on their final project. As they volunteer together at the local sea life rescue organization, Pru starts to realize maybe she has judged some people, including Quint, a little too harshly.

*Thank you Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the eARC from Netgalley.

4.5 / 5 stars

Prudence Daniels always has to have things go her way. Prudence is known for her judgement and overachiever attitude. When things do not go her way on her final class assignment, Prudence finds herself in new territory with her lab partner. Pru soon finds herself working with Quint at the local sea rescue center in order for her to get some extra credit for class. When Pru has a small accident while out with friends, she awakes to find herself with the power of dishing out karma to those she feels deserve it.

Oh the character development and growth! I loved seeing Prudence grow so much throughout this book. Prudence is an unlikable character, and she is meant to be. I think that this book is a great representation of how everyone can change in more positive ways if they try. Prudence loves to be one that has knowledge of everything, but she soons realizes that maybe she is too quick to judge. It was great to experience a character having deeper reflections over their own actions. If you cannot stand Prudence in the beginning, I couldn’t, then I promise that by the end you will like her more.

I loved the setting for this book. Rescue centers are so important and should be supported. I loved learning more about the animals and seeing the characters interact and support them. This book really tugs on your heart strings at times.

The blend of karmatic magic was very well done in this book. This inclusion brings in a deeper topic of do we really know others well enough to judge them, or are we only seeing things in the way we want to at face value. Prudence actively struggles with this, but soon realizes how quick she is to determine the fate and identity of others.

I loved Quint. He was such a well-written character. He does have some faults as well, but overall he is a great individual. He struggled with communication at times, but it did get better during some scenes. Honestly, both characters struggled with this.

Overall, I adored this book and I cannot wait to share it with my students this fall.

I was so excited for this latest book by Marissa Meyer as she is one of my favorite authors. Sadly, this did not work for me. This felt more like a MG book than a YA. The protagonist, Pru, came across as deeply immature, selfish, and an all around brat. From the start she was only thinking about herself and how any situation could better her. It is one thing to be active in a school project, it is another to choose not to let your assigned partner participate in said project because you believe you can do it better by yourself.

Let's not talk about (or maybe we should?) the unknown angst Pru has for her assigned partner and self-proclaimed enemy, Quint. She carries a massive grudge against him, always trash talking him when he hasn't done anything to deserve it. She bashes him every single chance she gets, as if her brain just wants to utter his name as every other word that comes out of his mouth. It's maddening because she never gives an actual reason why she dislikes him so, so, so much. He certainly isn't the devil in human form, he's a decent human being.

The setting for the book was the best part, and that's sad. The pacing was terribly slow and I lost interest several times. Would I recommend this? I know some readers that will love it, but it will be an either "love it or hate it" book for most people.