Member Reviews
I’d classify this as a very cute YA contemporary romance with a touch of inspiring coming of age. When vlogger, Andi, and her brother get the opportunity to go to the Cabazon Valley Music and Arts Festival it becomes an opportunity to not only push past the perceived bad luck of their father’s death date, but to also push her crafting channel to another level and potentially gain more followers and financial assistance to attend the college of her choice.
I liked how the author took a music festival setting and tied in some fun scavenger hunts and an enemy to lover’s trope. The overall plot is a bit anticlimactic but it’s also a feel-good read with some well-done underlying themes revolving around coping with parental death, sibling bonding and being true to yourself. And is also a type of character with morals and values that younger readers can look up too as she stands her ground and enjoys the things in life that make her happy no matter the perception of others. I also appreciated the more realistic actions and confrontations in a lot of the scenes.
Even though the characters are at an age where they are getting prepared for college, the narrative was a little young for me. However, I think the majority of YA readers will adore this fun festival romp. Thank you to Macmillan for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
I love a good YA rom-com and enemies-to-lovers is one of my favourite tropes, especially if the author includes lots of banter and makes the protagonists relatable! Jessica Patrick did and I can definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested not only in YA romance, but also in questions of identity, authenticity and social media, family dynamics, grief, forgiveness, and second chances. The setting of a music festival was such a bonus, as there is always something magical about letting yourself forget all your worries for a few days and enjoy live music with its fantastic energy.
Andi Kennedy and her twin brother Jordan are very close, so Andi is desperately hoping she can get a scholarship to attend the same college where Jordan, a talented basketball player, is heading to. This college has a special significance for both of them as this is the place where their parents met and fell in love. Andi is a vlogger, but her channel focuses on crafts and is unlikely to suddenly begin making her the kind of money that would help her pay for her college tuition. When Jordan brings two tickets for Cabazon Festival of Music and Arts, Andi and Jordan are thrilled. Perhaps, Andi can find a way to make her videos go viral. At the festival Andi has a romantic meet-cute with a sweet guy called Jay, only to find out he and his brother specialise in prank videos. I don't want to give the story away, but I feel the question of identity and what it is shaped by on and off-camera is very pertinent to our world where social media play such a huge role. While Andi has Jordan and can't imagine her life without him, Jay also has a brother, dedicated to making their channel financially successful, only the way he does is offends and hurts other people. Family ties are important, but there comes a moment when you need to take a closer look at what you are and what you want to be in future.
The book is very easy to get immersed in and you will root for Andi to find her HEA or at least HFN (more realistic considering she is in her final year of high school). If you are a music lover, you are going to enjoy the festival atmosphere with on-stage and off-stage events and spicy pizza at all times.
A great romantic escape with some serious issues raised- definitely recommended.
I read this book as an E-ARC. AND I'M SO GLAD I DID! It's a YA romance. First of all, I would definitely recommend this book to those with a soft spot for YA Romance and a hate-to-lovers story. I'm trying to avoid spoilers...but let me know if I need to put a warning.
I loved the entire vibe of the book. It totally captured my attention within the first few pages. It reminded of me when I was younger right away. Also, the MC, Andi, and her twin brother Jordan had gone through a trauma that I know about all too well.
I connected with Andi on a lot of levels...Her trauma, her love of music, her sarcastic comments (although to be honest my own sarcastic come backs usually come to me hours later), her anxiety about the future and her procrastination to complete something that didn't feel like a great idea to her...It all resonated with me.
Jay, her love interest, had a great redemption story of learning that it's better to be yourself than anybody else. I feel like he really makes up for himself in the end.
I also like how the book shows you that people on Social Media can pretend to be a whole different person than when in person and being themselves.
Another great part is that the book takes place at a music festival and the details included...like stage names. descriptive settings that I could really feel the vibe of the whole weekend festival. And can feel how the characters got wrapped up in a whirlwind because that's exactly what happens at full weekend festivals.
The only negative comment I have, and it's not really even negative...is that I would have LOVED to see an epilogue where all the MC's return home to normal life and how the decisions made at the festival play out. But I also understand that to keep the "festivals are magical" vibe it had to end at the end of the festival.
Anyway - I really enjoyed this book and you should read it when it comes out!
First off, I have to say that I am head over heels in love with this book cover. It is so simple yet with the colors - it just popped and worked brilliantly and stood out to me. In This is For Tonight by Jessica Patrick we meet Andi and her twin brother Jordan. Andi spends her time making a youtube channel featuring her love of crafting and DIY and her brother Jordan is the jock of the family. When her brother wins a basketball scholarship to college at SCU, he is covered but after their dad died and now Andi has lost out on her chance of winning a scholarship, she has to come up with a creative idea. When her brother gets them two tickets to a major music festival, where the band The Known is playing. She comes up with an idea to film at the festival and branch out and make money possibly with her Youtube channel. At the festival, she meets a cute guy named Jayden but what will happen when she soon realizes that it is the one youtube channel vlogger she hates most in the world? Jayden is known for being a prankster and his pranks are harsh and downright rude. Jayden wants to get to know Andi but she won't have a bar of it. Can Jayden prove to her that he isn't the guy that he is on the camera and channel? This is for Tonight by Jessica Patrick was a cutesy YA read from Swoon Romance and perfect for this generation of social media influencers and vloggers as well as music festival lovers as included in this book is also a beauty influencer, an adventure vlogger, and a duo who run a book podcast.
Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan for providing access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
When Andi Kennedy’s twin brother receives free tickets to the Cabazon Music Festival, Andi sees the opportunity to both bring more attention to her Youtube channel and escape her grief on the anniversary of her Dad’s death. The night they arrive, a handsome stranger helps Andi set up her tent. Their chemistry is immediately apparent, but when Andi realizes the stranger is Jay Bankar, a fellow Youtuber she despises, she’s determined to avoid him. Andi tries to focus on the festival and her plans for her channel, but finding a way to go viral while staying true to herself proves almost as difficult as staying away from Jay.
I was initially drawn to this novel due to its setting. The music festival backdrop brings a sense of nostalgia that made me long for my college days. Patrick weaves both the festival and the role of social media into the plot seamlessly, and I can see this being very appealing for a teen audience.
The synopsis of this book makes it seem like a fun romance, but it has much more depth than the summary can convey. The characters are well-developed and multi-layered. While the main plot revolves around the Andi-Jay relationship, the novel deals with themes including grief, coming-of-age, and authenticity.
Overall, this was a fun and engaging story that turned out to be a lot deeper than I anticipated.
Content warnings: profanity (enough to be noticeable but not distracting), references to drinking and smoking
This is for Tonight was such a fun book to read. I love books set at festivals and scavenger hunts, so this had the best of both worlds. I also liked how it wasn't all fun and games as this story talks about parent loss and the impact death anniversaries can have on you.
The plot was very easy to follow, and even though you can guess what's gonna happen, there were still a few moments where I was shocked how things unfolded. The banter between Jay and Andi is fun, and I liked the tension between Andi and Jordan. Jordan can be a bad brother constantly chasing different girls while Andi can be overbearing, so watching them contend with their relationship over the course of the festival was interesting to read and heightened the stakes.
If you love festival books, this one's for you. It has the perfect blend of serious and light, and the characters are easily likable.
I have been missing music festivals and concerts for the past year and this book really filled that void for me. Plus, who can resist an enemies-to-lovers romance?
This book was a lot of fun. It takes place over one weekend spent at a music festival and follows a girl named Andi. Andi has a big problem. She needs money in order to attend her dream school and her side income, a craft-related YouTube channel, isn't cutting it. I thought it was great to see how Andi's problem lended to her character development. The whole weekend she's trying to focus on finding a new way to make money from her YouTube channel and what she really finds is herself. Awww. Sounds cheesy when I say it, but it's actually very well thought out.
While Andi was a good character, my favorite character was actually Jay. Jay is the love interest and has a few problems of his own. He is the literal sweetest guy in the whole world. I'm exaggerating here a bit, but he's really great. He tries so hard to prove himself to Andi, even when she has the worst opinion of him. I admire his perseverance and his courage there at the end. It was great to see his development, as well.
The ending was a little open-ended, but I can see where the book was never meant to extend past this one weekend. Yeah, there are still things Andi has to figure out about her future and Jay has to put into action in his life, but for that one weekend, everything was okay. I liked that.
Overall, I think this book is a must-read for all YA romance lovers. You should especially check this one out if you're needing a live music fix. Here's hoping we can jump back into that scene soon!
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Andi always saw herself following in her parents footsteps. She wanted to attend their alma mater along with her brother, but if she was to fulfill this dream, she needed to make some money, and fast. Her grand plan was to attend the Cabazon Valley Music and Arts Festival and create some content that would catapult her channel to the next level. However, she never planned on one of her least favorite online people being there and being full of so many surprises.
I cannot tell you how exciting it was to be back at a music festival, even if it was a fictional one. Last year was supposed to be my summer of concerts and outdoor musical events, but we all know how 2020 played out. Patrick created a wonderful experience for me and did a fantastic job getting me in the mood to absorb all the good times. She pulled me right into the mix at Cabazon, and I had a great time singing, dancing, and eating lots of pizza.
Another really great part of this story was the influencer competition. It was a multi-day event, and the winner won an opportunity to interview the headliner. I have been known to enjoy competitions, and this one featured some really fun challenges. It did get a bit cutthroat at one point, but it was still a lot fun to watch them duke it out.
Though this story unraveled at a music festival, it had substance. Andi was still working through her grief, while trying to get a handle on her uncertain future. She had to reconcile with the fact that maybe her plans would fall though, and then what? I liked the exploration of a plan B.
Overall: This was a sweet story of family, forgiveness, and life changes set against the backdrop of a music festival. It was a wild three days, but it helped Andi work out some of her post high school plans and a whole lot more. She found clarity, direction, and even a bit of romance. It's amazing how much one can accomplish in only three days.
This was SO much fun to read! I've been in a reading slump lately, and this picked me up out of it. Very readable, with realistic dialogue and engaging characters- and such a cool setting... concert lovers are going to eat this up! I really liked the author's take on influencer/Youtuber culture, as well as the way she captured that transitional feeling at the end of high school-- life as you know it is about to change, and it's a lot to cope with. Amidst the comedy and romance of the hate-to-love storyline, there's a heartfelt exploration of healing from grief, too.
I really enjoyed reading this, and look forward to recommending it to teen readers who love a realistic contemporary romance.
⭐⭐⭐.25
Thank you to Fierce Reads and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This Is For Tonight follows Andi Kennedy, who’s trying to grow her YouTube channel so she can pay for college. Her goal is to head to the Cabazon Valley Music and Arts Festival to film an interview with a famous band. But she finds herself competing for the spot with Jay Bankar, the annoying host of a popular prank channel. But as their competition grows, Andi finds a growing connection to him where she’ll have to decide what’s more important.
This Is For Tonight was such a cute YA contemporary story that also explored familial relationships, grief, and planning for college. In the rising world of influencers, it was fun to have a story about a YouTuber with a small channel and her aspirations to grow her channel, all in the background of a music festival.
This book reminded me a lot of the books I loved reading as a teen. Even though Andi’s nearing the end of high school, This Is For Tonight is also a great fit for younger YA readers. It takes place in such a fun setting that readers will enjoy, in addition to all of the challenges and activities that the characters take on throughout the course of the book.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Jay Bankar’s storyline given the synopsis, but it definitely exceeded my expectations! While there were some times where we saw Andi’s judgment of him without really knowing what his channel was about yet, over time I really got to know her conflict and frustrations with him. I also thought it was interesting that we got to explore our expectations of influencers and how they behave in comparison to who they really are off-camera.
While the beginning and end of the book were absolute page-turners (and the book being a fast, fun read overall), I did find that the middle dragged a little bit. There was so much more excitement towards the beginning and the end that there was a noticeable pace change towards the middle.
Regardless, This Is For Tonight was a really enjoyable read overall, and I had a lot of fun with this one. I’d definitely recommend it for fans of light YA contemporaries, and I think this would especially be a good summer read.
I decided to DNF this book pretty early in. The amount of language was a huge turn off, and the story wasn't compelling enough to make me want to give it more of chance. Normally even if a story isn't my favorite, I'll try to read at least a few chapters in, but with this one I just couldn't keep going. One positive thing I can say is that the author really did a good job of making the MC seem like modern social media influencer, the voice and style was definitely there!
This was super cute and fun.
This is basically a fun rom-com meets road trip meets internet celebrity lifestyle novel. You swoon for the characters, their banter and shenanigans. I enjoyed this one, especially because I was looking for something light-hearted to read after reading some dark fantasy books.
Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for the e-galley!
Jessica Patrick's upcoming This Is For Tonight is a cute YA rom-com which also explores grief, familial obligation, and even a little crafting.
Andi loves her little YouTube crafting channel, and she loves her loyal band of followers, but no one is going to mistake her for an influencer or an internet celebrity, and the biggest perk she's ever gotten was a few skeins of free yarn.
But when it becomes necessary to turn her channel into a moneymaker if she has any chance to go to her dream college with her twin brother, she needs to think of a new strategy. Making friendship bracelets might not cut it.
When she and her brother go to the famed Cabazon Valley Music Festival, she’s hoping inspiration will strike. She does get a meet-cute in the dark with a hot guy who helps her set up their tent, but the next morning she finds out she was lusting after Jay Bankar, the incredibly hot but horrible guy who hosts a popular prank program on YouTube and insults everyone. (He even pranked his own grandmother.) Andi hates everything his program stands for, so of course he’s the one she connects with!
Andi is determined to win a contest that would land her an interview with headlining band The Known, and that could launch her channel the right way. But of course, she’ll have to beat Jay and his even-more-horrible brother (not to mention ignore her growing feelings for him). At the same time, she'll have to confront the grief and insecurities she’s been feeling about the anniversary of her father’s death and the possibility of not going to her dream college.
This was a sweet, quick read, but there was also more to it than just the typical rom-com. I’m always a fan of books that give me more than I expected!
I was pleased to be part of the blog tour for This Is For Tonight. Storygram Tours, Swoon Reads, Fierce Reads, and NetGalley provided me with an advance complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!
This Is For Tonight publishes May 4!
I loved this story. The book touches on family relationships, love, paying for college, misogyny, and loss. The author does a great job of weaving all these issues together without having the story feel weighed down. This is contemporary YA at its best.
"I Grab Jay and kiss him, right on film, as the music of The Known surrounds us."
I thought picking up This is for Tonight would be a drug infested wild music festival that we all perceive Cochella to be. But this book is so much more and a perfect coming of age story about a girl and her brother setting off to set her social media on fire and also feel connected to their father on the anniversary of his passing.
Full of grief, laughter, new friendship, romance, scavenger hunts and music... this story is one for all and a very easy read.
Read if you like:
-music and festivals
-YA romance
-personal growth
-social media influence (pros and cons)
-a stand alone you can read in a day.
-clean romance and fun
What I struggled with:
-the story was a bit anticlimactic... I think I could have read the first 20% and the last 20% and felt like I wouldn't have missed anything.
For me I read so many books and so maybe because of that I am sometimes just looking for a little wow factor or something that pulls at my heart strings.
Rating:
story- ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
romance- enemies to lovers
steam- the word kiss is used 42 times... the word is used more than the action
Song: Live While We're Young One Direction
Andi has one goal-to get enough money to go to college with her twin brother after her scholarship falls through. Luck as it, Jordan has won tickets to a music festival and Andi begins to schema up ways to make her Youtube channel take off, and rake in the ad revenue for college. And Cabazon is just the place to do it. But out little hero has her plate full when a chance encounters with a viral prankster her tied up in knots. But as the days go on, she realizes she may be falling for the jerk she once loathed.
The setting of this book rocked. It took me back to when I was younger and going to concerts and doing all kinds of fun stuff while not having a care in the world. But it’s different for And since college is riding on her finding new and unique content for her channel. She enters a contest that spans the three-day festival and brings her closer to a possible interview with a big band that will shoot her to fame. I loved all the games they played. I hereby reserve a spot in my heart for Hipster Matthew, the curator of the contest in all his hipster glory.
I felt Andi’s hate for Jay like a second heart. I’ve watched these Youtube pranksters, and they grate my bones so it was easy to despise Jay and all his antics. But oh, does he turn into a cinnamon roll. The path we take from enemy to lover is a fun one. It’s not insta-love. It takes And the time to realize he’s not the jerk he appears to be.
Oh, and I feel Jordan’s plight in breaking away from sister and being independent, but dude, text the girl. She’s worried, you butt-head.
Overall thoughts: this book took me through a musical romp through showering with your bathing suit on to eating spicy pizza and i loved every second of it. I absolutely hope this book gets the love it deserves, and I hope you all like it too!
Unfortunately, this wasn't the book for me. The premise drew me in, as a sucker for a good Rom-Com style plot this looked like everything I was looking for in a book, and I'm sure if certain things were different it still would have been the book for me. I think my main issue was I didn't see anywhere that this would have large mentions of dead, illness and trauma related to it very early in, or at all. The characters were obviously well thought out and I love a good music festival as much as the next person, I just really couldn't get into this book.
This book was so interesting! I really enjoyed where the author led the story and the characters were very relatable. I really like these kind of stories because they are an easy read. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends.
This madcap romp through a weekend rock festival is like escaping to a party of good music and food, complete with all the teenage drama of social media so you never get bored or want to leave. THIS IS FOR TONIGHT by Jessica Patrick is a fun escape but will also draw on the readers’ heartstrings with family themes and the importance of finding your own path.
This was a delightful read! Packed with music festival fun, social media shenanigans, and relatable characters trying to hold true to themselves when audiences, fan bases, and even family members are tugging them in different directions. A fast and fun escape read. Now I'm just wishing I could get a slice of Spice Pie...