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.

This book was everything you want in a YA romcom: fun, entertaining, super cute, lots of awkward and exciting teenage emotions, and, most importantly, teens making a difference. I love the way Meyer takes a romantic comedy and makes it really mean something by adding really important topics like environmental awareness, animal rescues, volunteering to improve the community, and surprisingly deep questions on morality. Everything starts light and fluffy but turns into something much more. Our MC has a lot of character development throughout the book and she learns so much which I think would be wonderful for young readers to see. The only real negative thing I felt about the story was the whole karmic justice power. I feel that, at times, our MC abused the power, other times the universe went a little overboard with their punishment, and many times our MC conveniently forgot she even had it and went days/weeks without using it? I just know that teenage me being given this power.... it would've been the forefront of my mind, at all times, and it would have been part of every decision I made (because, if you have the power to deal karmic justice, shouldn't you use it justly because then karmic justice may come after you? Vicious, vicious circle...)

It took me a bit to get into this story, but when I did, I really enjoyed it. I thought the characters were well-written and the relationship was believable. I would like to revisit some of the secondary characters and hear their story.

I was really excited for a new Marissa Meyer novel, especially one that takes place in our contemporary world. Well one could call this a typical rom-com, there's the additional element of giving the main character karmic powers. I don't feel like the balance of rom-com elements and fantastical elements was executed well. For example, we don't start getting typical rom-com plot points until a third into the book. Then, the fantastical elements aren't mentioned for the second third of the book until Pru loses them at the end. Having these two elements made the book weaker overall because they were always battling for plot points instead of enhancing the plot line. I hope the next Meyer rom-com fits in better with what already exists in the genre.

I loved this so much! One of my new favorite YA contemporaries, but I can't say I'm surprised as Marissa Meyer has been a favorite author of mine for a while! Although Prudence was a bit annoying in the beginning- mainly because how could rescuing animals NOT be your heart's desire- she had wonderful character development. I loved Quint from the moment he was introduced. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a misunderstood bad boy! And his name! Love Jaws! I highly recommend this book, it will tear your heart out but is also so so wholesome! I guess I'm also a sucker for books about animals haha!

Instant Karma was a cute, light-hearted young adult contemporary romance, especially for those who love Pride and Prejudice. While Prudence can be a grating narrator in the beginning of the novel, she grapples with what it means to be a good person or a bad person. Her self-delusion makes what could be a bland story into a self-deprecating, warming character revelation. I would definitely recommend this book!

I really enjoyed this book. I've been a fan of Marissa Meyer for a while, even did my dissertation on the Lunar Chronicles.. This was different than what she's published before but no less enthralling. I was completely invested in the characters, their plight, and possibly the best two people that hate each other in the beginning kind of plot line that I've read in a while. There was even a bit of magical realism involved as well which was a fun addition to the story.
I absolutely recommend.

I loved the characters in this book. This is a YA romance, and it is even good for middle school. Prudence is one of five siblings all named after a Beatles songs. The story is based one Pru who is the type A, control freak, overachiever who,is put with the biggest slacker for the final ,Amir grade for their biology class. Of course it turns out to be a disaster, and Pru cannot allow Quint to leave her with a C. She has to persuade him To work together to make money for the local no -profit animal rescue. He doesn’t want to spend another minute with her, of course. So, she has to show him that she can work to rescue the rescue. Quint is not what he seems. He may be late all the time, and he may be flaky...there are reasons and Peru’s newfound ability to see Karma work shows her not to judge a book by its cover. Good coming of age story about how it is never too late to change the path you are on. And it is always better to work with someone than to shoulder the burden on your own.

I really liked Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer -- I had been introduced to her with the Lunar Chronicles and enjoyed them (but it lost be a bit on the fourth of the series). While her books (after writing Cress) failed to really grip me, I was happy to read through Instant Karma in one sitting. It was a bit difficult to read through the eyes of an overachiever, Prudence's strong character that at times was hard to like which I found endearing. It's refreshing to come across characters that aren't wholly good or bad; just like normal human beings. It's relatable, and honestly provided me with a new outlook on sea life animal rescue. Definitely would recommend to fans of Marissa Meyer and anyone interested in a wholesome story about putting yourself in someone else's shoes.

This is an excellent summer read! A typical opposites attract romance, with characters who initially dislike each other but are then forced to work together. Despite it being a traditional romantic trope, it is still a very enjoyable read that is not too heavy, but has some real heart to it.

This was a cute and fun book to read. The karma powers that Prudence finds herself with give this book a refreshing twist from your typical romance/drama. The only things I didn't like about this book was that the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly for me, and that Prudence was a bit hard to connect to at first. She definitely goes through some major character growth but it's hard to feel sympathetic to her in the beginning as she's almost too over-exaggerated of a character. However, I still found the plot compelling and it was a quick read.

*I WAS PROVIDED A DIGITAL GALLEY VIA NETGALLEY IN RETURN FOR MY HONEST REVIEW. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*

I was so excited to read this book and really thought I'd end up liking it, but now I'm left disappointed.

This book started off really well. Pru--our main character--seemed somewhat relatable, and the book got right into the plot. It was about 10% of the way through when things started to go wrong.

For one, the MC is actually full of herself past this point. Pru deems it necessary to cast bad karma on anyone who is mildly inconveniencing her or doing something that she thinks is unnecessary or wrong. She doesn't bother listening to anyone whose opinion or circumstances differ from her own, and she expects everyone to cater to her every need if something bad happens. I was honestly on her side for the first 10% of the book, but past that, I started to agree with the other characters that she acted like a prude.

On top of that, the writing in this book is mediocre at best. I expected more from Marissa Meyer, considering she's usually pretty good at wrapping readers up in the pages of her books, but this one just didn't do it. The plot was also affected by this, as the instances in which Pru's "bad karma" power (?) repeated small and unnecessary incidents on people.

All in all, I can say that I'm glad this is a standalone. If there were another book of *this*, I'd be fairly concerned.

I have loved Marissa Meyer’s previous books so I had high hopes for this one. It was interesting to see her writing style in a contemporary genre. I really didn’t care for the main character and didn’t change my mind until pretty close to the end. I also thought it was a bit odd that the main point was the MC having the power to enact karma but that was a tiny part of the book. She only used those powers a few times and the story was more focused on the development of the MC and her growing romance. I did get a little sucked in, but overall it wasn’t very memorable and I thought it was just okay.

Woah, Marissa Meyer does it again! I literally could not put this book down!

Pru is a type A student who can’t trust anyone to help her. This lands her in hot water in her marine biology class, but luck is on her side when she’s able to redo the project with Quint. Her pessimistic attitude makes her miserable to be around. When she slips and falls she learns that she can grant instant karma. At first I really wished I had the same super powers, but Pru quickly learns that you don’t always know the full story!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!

This is a favorite author doing her best work - Marissa Meyer does YA romance well but her characters are so well drawn. Can't get enough of her work.

Oh i just adore anything written by Marissa Meyer! No matter what type of genre she's writing she always publishes the best book!
This was a cute and funny read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.