I found the main character, Kylie, to be insufferable at times with little to no redemption. I was constantly seeing how much I had left to read and my mind wandered more than a few times. I found none of the characters to be relatable, and all of them were one dimensional. Anything that was supposed to hold weight fell flat and I couldn't really feel any sympathy, empathy, or emotion for any of the characters. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this one.

I enjoyed the three main characters in this book, which happened to be strong women dealing with different things going on in their families. They really help each other and even though they are so different are able to lean on and give support when they're friends are in need. I thought they were relatable in their family issues, even if they weren't in their professions. Fun read about friends, motherhood and women who rescue themselves!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

📖My Thoughts📖


If you are in the mood for a really good, hits you in all the feels, tugging at your heartstrings kind of book, then I strongly suggest you get this one. I loved every minute of this book! If I could have one wish, it would be to turn this into a movie. I loved the characters in this book and seeing them grow, especially Kylie’s character. I found myself completely submerged in this book, even struggling to stay awake while I was beyond ready for bed, just so I could keep reading. This book was very well written and very easy to read. At the beginning, Kylie’s personality is really hard to stomach, but I’m really glad I kept going. I enjoyed the main storyline as well as the few side stories that intertwined into the book, which seemed to help bring the everything together. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you Netgalley, Rayna York and Toad Tree Press for the opportunity to read and review this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This reminded me a lot of Schitt's Creek, which happens to be one of my favorite TV shows, so it's no surprised I ate this right up. I loved the main story, but there were a lot of branching narratives and side stories as well that were amazing to read about. I felt like I got to know everyone in the small town and it was really nice to see the personal growth of the characters. The ending felt a little rushed and like it could have been more drawn out, but other than that this was the perfect summer read.

This book has a pretty fun title and great cover. It doesn't have a lot else going for it.

The protagonist, Kylie, is just...annoying. Obviously she's supposed to be a selfish, spoiled brat at the beginning - that's the entire point of her character arc. But she's just so much so, and for so long, that it wasn't particularly enjoyable to read. Furtherore, her maturation and character development feel kind of flimsy, like it's not so much that she's no longer a spoiled brat, she just feels guilty more often after she acts selfishly.

Even worse, at least for me, the writing is clunky, flat, and unsophisticated; it might work better in past tense, but even so, it's just kind of amateurish and awkward. Just really not into it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

This book took me a while to finish, but I’m glad I read it. I almost couldn’t get through it because the beginning was disappointing, but I made it through and it got a lot better.
One of the things I didn’t like was how bratty Kylie was. I understand that she was supposed to be bratty and transform at the end, but she was almost unbearable. It took me a while to get past the beginning because of that, but the second half of the book was a lot better. I also didn’t really like how Kylie acted towards a gay character. She wanted him to change and date her, but that’s not how it should have gone. It reminded me of the TV show Soap and how the characters wanted Jody to be straight.
I did like how she evolved as a person and started gaining feelings and empathy towards others. It was enjoyable how she turned from a major brat to a good person. I also liked her sister, but she acted a lot older than she was which I thought was weird.
Overall I thought this book was okay. As long as you get past the first part of it, it will be very enjoyable.

The writing for this book was riveting I loved every second of this book! The main character is engaging and while she lives a lifestyle I could never imagine it was still very relatable. Loved it and read it all in one sitting.

I really wanted to like this one. The cover was catchy and the intro was intriguing. Then the MC really had to go and just be over the top obnoxiously annoying and shallow. I tried looking past it and thinking okay, maybe she’ll grow humble throughout... nope. I did not finish around 30% and from other reviews, her character remains the same throughout and there’s some fake growth. Dodged a bullet.

Oh wow. I’m blown away by this book. I loved it so much.

I saw some of the not so good reviews about this book, and thought I’d be disappointed as well. But I’ve just finished reading and totally disagree with those reviews. I couldn’t put the book down. I was completely riveted until the last page.
Sure, Kylie acts like a brat in the beginning....but the whole point of the book is to show her grow up and get her head straight. That would be impossible if she was mature and responsible from the start. So for me her snotty behaviour towards her mom was not a deal breaker. Besides, it wasn’t that bad.....
I won’t say any more about the plot, read it for yourself. I absolutely loved the book. I was fully engaged in the characters and story, and it moved me. The end really moved me.
I think the author, Rayne York, has an amazing talent and I can’t wait to read more of her books. Her writing is outstanding.

Easy 5 out of 5 stars. Did I mention I absolutely loved this book?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC for review purposes

Purchased this YA/middle grade novel for my middle school library. Superb character development, elegant world building, and compelling plotting.

When Life Gives You Lemons Instead Of Lattes by Rayna York reminded me so much of some of my favorite books from high school. I loved the cute covers and storylines that were sweeter than a pumpkin spiced latte. When Life Gives Lemons Instead Of Lattes has a cute cover and sweet story, and levels up with a modern take on this genre. York addresses class, growing up and family differences in this novel.

Eighteen year old Kylie has lived a very privileged life in Santa Barbara until one day the FBI shows up at her house looking for her dad who is accused of stealing a billion dollars in investor money. After an epically long road trip with her mom and little sister, Harlow, they settle in her great-grandmother's home in Foxall, Ohio and begin piecing a life back together. Kylie is spoiled and prickly, but I loved seeing her grow in the situations York wrote up for her. This one was a fun read with substance!

Okay this one is hard for me to review. But I feel like 3 stars is good. At the beginning of the book I despised the main character, Kylie, she was such a brat with an awful personality and I completely hated the way she treated her mom. But as the story moves along and we begin to discover all the problems inside her family, I was able to understand her but still she is a very unlikeable character. I appreciate where the story went, at times I was definetely thinking about DFNing this book but I feel like when I reached the halfway mark, the story started to pick up.

Even though this book tackles some heavy topics, it was a fairly easy read! The main character is young enough that I did not connect with her as much as I would have liked, but I still enjoyed the read!

When Life Gives You Lemons Instead of Lattes tells the story of Kylie, an 18-year-old girl whose extravagant lifestyle in California is completely uprooted when she gets a visit from the FBI, telling her that her father has embezzled millions of dollars. When everything they own gets repossessed, Kylie, her sister Harlow and their mother find themselves in small-town Ohio, trying to get by on a lot less than they bargained for.

This book explores various themes of love, class, family and betrayal. It's about the life of a spoilt rich girl who suddenly has to work for a living, caught between two love interests that she never imagined falling for.

Unfortunately, I didn't connect with this book as much as I would have liked. It was definitely a light-hearted, easy read, but Kylie's personality and a lot of the situations she found herself in just didn't seem believable to me. She definitely experienced some growth throughout the story, but I sadly didn't like her as a character, which made it very difficult to sympathise with her struggles. It also made it difficult to root for her relationship as it developed, which was a real shame.

That being said, I read this book very quickly, found myself growing attached to Harlow especially, and appreciated the storyline in which Kylie delved into the history of her great-grandmother. This is a lighthearted, easy contemporary and, if you can look past the slight unbelievability in favour of the easy, romantic comedy aspects, you may enjoy this more than I did.

When Life Gives You Lemons Instead Of Lattes has one of the most annoying central characters ever written. But she goes on a remarkable journey throughout the novel and becomes someone you ultimately root for and connect with.
Rayna York certainly excels at writing strong characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

DNF @ 20%

This book had an interesting premise but I just cannot get past how annoying the main character was. She was the epitome of spoiled little rich girl. In addition, none of the other characters felt like anything other than caricatures. I could see the set up for a good story but the writing kept me from enjoying it enough to continue.

What can I say that baby already been said? This want my cool of tea. The main character was an annoying nightmare and I just wanted to enjoy my reading. Instead she made me anxious and want to quit reading.

The publisher provided me with a secondary, revised copy and asked I read that instead of the Netgalley ARC
DNF 27%
I couldn’t finish this book. The main character was painful to read. She was an absolute brat. She was supposed to be 18, but acted like a spoiled middle schooler. Her mom also acted like a child. And her sister was 9 but acted like she was 6. The storytelling was mediocre at best, often having characters doing things with no real motivation. It might have gotten better later on, but I couldn’t make it that far.

when Life Gives You Lemons is a book about hitting rock bottom and finding yourself on the way back up.

I did struggle with the language, it felt a little too stiff or formal for the book. But for the most part it was easy to read and had great characters.