I tried. I tried really hard to read this. But the main character is AWFUL and the plot didn't work as well as it should have. I managed 50 pages and had to give up.

I had high expectations about this new novel by Marissa Meyer as it is a completely different field for her writing. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the main characters, I couldn't care less about what was happening and it took all my willpower to finish this one. It is not for me, but I'm sure there are heaps of people out there who would love this book!

Did not finish. There is nothing specific about this novel that caused me not to finish it, I had full intention of reading it, I just started and didn’t finish. I heard good things about this author so requested the novel and still plan to keep it on my TBR

Prudence, an overachieving teenager, learns a few lessons on judging people and allowing allowing people to shine rather than controlling everything while finding a true friend. The story is a typical hero’s journey, but is slightly unique because it evolves around a marine animal rescue center, The pace is slow at time and the main character felt like she was always angry and yelling at everyone, but this exemplifies how Prudence grows and becomes a more caring thoughtful person.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.

To me, this is like the pinnacle of a summer read for a teen. There's a swoony romance (and an enemies to lovers trope to boot!) with a ~misunderstood~ boy who works at a sea animal rescue?? Come on now. It's an easy, fun read, with great secondary characters too, very hard to find!

I have not read any Marissa Meyer before, so I don't have anything to compare this to. However, I found the story to be slow at times. It felt like things were dragging on. I pushed past it, but it sort of felt like I trudged through the novel.

The characters, though some stereotypical, were written just fine, It was a decent contemporary romance.

Love the Lunar Chonicles. Purchased this YA/middle grade novel for my middle school Instant Karma
Magical realism
Ocean life rehabilitation
Family and friends

Instant Karma will knock your right in the heart! It has quirk, witty banter, sea animals and Beatles references galore!

Prudence is a type A overachier. She strives to work diligently on any school project and expects no less than a grade of an A.

Unfortunately she is paired with Quint for a ecotourism assignment and Quint lacks her punctuality and organization skills which really flusters and irritates Prudence. After presenting their project, Prudence and Quint earned a C for a grade. This incites action on Prudence’s part to do an extra credit assignment which Quint refuses to participate in but the teacher will only allow her this opportunity if she works together with Quint. As you can imagine Quint is perfectly content with a C and is not interested in working with perfectionist-Prudence again.

Fast forward through a Karoeke scene at the local taco joint and a bump on Prudence’s head, she now has the ability to dish out karmic justice to those she deems in need of it. Yet when she tries to use her ability on Quint, he is immune. In fact, better things happen to him for example, finding $20 on the ground!

Eventually, Quint finally concedes to Prudence’s groveling to do the extra credit but only if she is willing to volunteer at the rehabilitation center for ocean life. Quint never expects for Prudence to return the next day after cleaning pounds and pounds of fish and making fish smoothies. But Prudence is no slacker and is determined to redeem her grade.

The rest of the story includes getting to know Prudence’s family who owns a vintage record store, the community of Fortuna Beach, Prudence opening her heart to the importance of the work being done at the rehabilitation center and more importantly learning to work with others.

Instant Karma was a delight to read. I adored all the Beatles references, the dishing out of Karmic justice and especially enjoyed relationship development between Prudence and Quint.

This would be a great summer read. Highly recommend.

I really love Meyer's writing style. Renegades was one of my favorite series and when I saw she was writing a contemporary romance with some magic realism, I just had to read it. This was a super fun, light read that had some themes in that really expressed the importance of literature. Through-out the book, we get to experience helping ocean wildlife which I thought was really well done. You can definitely tell that Meyer did her research for the topic. This is a series topic wrapped up in a rom-com style and I really enjoyed it, enough so that I will be buying a copy once it is out in paperback!

Driven perfectionist Pru is devastated when she earns a C on her final biology project. It's all Quint's fault - if her project partner had bothered to show up on time or listen to her ideas, everything would have been fine. Just when she finds herself wishing for a way to exact revenge, she gains the ability to bestow instant karma with the clench of an angry fist. Curiously, it seems to work on just about everyone but Quint himself. As they spend the summer together working at his family's marine rescue center, Pru slowly realizes that there's more to Quint than meets the eye.

I did not enjoy this book. Pru was desperately immature, blaming everyone around her for problems and taking zero responsibility of her own. At the same time, she was convinced that she was the universe's gift to the people around her, leaping in to solve other people's problems without bothering to listen to anyone else. The way she used her powers was just horrible: if she perceived an injustice, she stepped in without a second thought. The situation with Maya was a perfect example. First, she punished Maya just for saying honestly that she didn't have feelings for Pru's brother. Then, when she knew what happened to Maya's earring, she TRIED TO STEAL $1200 to solve the problem rather than admitting that she messed up. Maybe she learned some things by the end of the story, but I honestly thought Pru could have dealt with a few more consequences. Also, why karma in particular? I don't feel like it added a whole lot to the story, and she had no particular cultural connection to it as a concept. I was leery of that part going in, and I was disappointed that it wasn't explained at all.

My issues with the main character completely ruined the romance plot for me: Quint was such a good guy, and I honestly thought he deserved better. That said, Pru wasn't the only problem. I liked them a lot more as friends, and I didn't really buy the subtle glances and such along the way. It was very realistic for a couple of 15-year-olds, but it was the sort of thing could easily have been reading too much into a one-sided crush. It all felt very young, until maybe it didn't and they were trapped alone overnight and sharing a bed and not wearing pants??? Things ultimately stayed very chaste, but I was seriously thrown off by the pacing.

I want to be clear: romance for younger teens is great. In fact, I struggle to find enough of it for my library! I also usually love seeing teens realistically portrayed as not having it all figured out just yet. It's great to see stories of teens messing up safely and learning from their mistakes... but that's not what happened here. I already bought a copy for our system, but I don't have a clue how to recommend it.

This i an adorable rom-com. Over achiever girl and bad boy are assigned to the same project for Science class. What they learn along the way is that he isn't the bad boy she thought he was and she's not perfect. This is a really great read!

Prudence is an overachiever - until her lab partner Quinn ruins her marine biology grade. Pru is quick wish bad karma on Quinn (and others around her). After she sings Instant Karma by the Beatles at a karaoke night, she takes a tumble and hits her head. When she wakes up, she realizes she is able to cast instant karma on those around her - everyone except Quinn. Forced to work with him all summer at the marine rescue center for extra credit, she begins to realize her first judgement isn’t always right.

I really, really, really liked this YA book! It was super fun. The audiobook narrator was great - highly recommend!

Thanks to @NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for my ARC!

This is a sweet romance and friendship story. I can’t wait to put it in the hands of middle school girls, and some boys too.

I love Marissa Meyer's fantasy/sci-fi books and was excited to see her trying something new. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with this book, I just didn't like it as much as I expected to. It seemed geared towards a younger audience than I usually read, which could be another reason that it didn't click in the way I had hoped. I'm sure many other readers will love this book. I look forward to seeing what Meyer writes next!

Well this may be my first non 5 star review for one of my fave authors. While well written, the main character drove me crazy to the point of wanting to smack her and I felt for her poor lab partner. I was hoping she would get a bit more karma back at her 😂.

This is a wonderful book by the author of the Lunar Chronicles and the Renegades Trilogy. I would highly recommend this book.

I really wanted to love this one but I found myself pushing through.
I didn't connect with our main characters AT ALL. I thought it was a little slow paced, but I've heard so many good things, maybe just a bad reading week for me!

Marissa Meyer is known for her fairy tale retelling taking place on a futuristic world. This her her first YA romance following Prudence Daniels aka Pru is a overachiever and dispenses everyone else who is not. She wakes up one night with the ability to put instant Karama on anyone who chooses. But her powers don't work on her longtime nemesis, reluctant lab partner Quint Erickson. He is always late and running behind. Never helping them with group projects. Pru and Quint end up with a C on their project and the teacher gives them a chance to resubmit. he finds out Quint’s mother works at Sea Animal Rescue Center and Quint also works there as a volunteer. To convince Quint for redoing the project, she offers her help to work at the center for four weeks. This allows Pru to see the real side of Quint and why is always late or not caring about school projects. This is a cute teen romance about enemies who find good in each other.

This was my first book by this author and I will definitely be reading others. This YA romance was totally delightful. Quirky characters, awkward teenage interactions, and a smattering of some kind of magic make this book highly enjoyable. Lighthearted and fun, with a wonderful ending. Highly recommend this to lovers of YA Romance.

This book is sweet and charming, although the sophomore lead means it definitely reads a little on the young side for YA. That's not necessary a bad thing; I think that the enemies-to-lovers trope, the sweet cast of characters, and the unique subplot involving a sea animal rescue center makes this a good book for youth who are looking to transition from MG to YA.

While I love Marissa Meyer's previous works, Instant Karma fell a little flat for me. Though the premise was original, there didn't seem to be enough...what's the word...karma extracted on the protagonist herself. A fun read, but predictable.