Oh no! I absolutely hate that I didn’t enjoy this book. I follow this author on Instagram and feel like I’ve seen the journey of this book from start to finish. However, the writing just was not there. Plus, I did not like several of the characters. They weren’t enjoyable to read about. This book does exude summer, which made me want to go out and enjoy summer more. Overall, I was so disappointed.

<i>"This thing between us is over, it has been -- it already was. And these past few weeks have been us grasping at things from the past -- memories and things that are familiar to us because the truth is, growing up is scary. It means a lot of unknowns and leaving things behind, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to be around someone who feels familiar and makes you feel loved. It just does't mean we should be *together.* We're so young, and we have so much ahead of us. Too much to be clinging to the past already."</i>

TL;DR: A perfectly *fine,* fluffy, Vanilla queer YA romance that is a Win for representation and normalizing queer relationships -- but which falls short in the lack of stakes driving the narrative and flat characters. This will be a perfect read for some readers -- I'm just not one of them.
<b><i>I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</b></i>

Vibes: A queer <i>Bridget Jones' Diary</i> + "Summer Lovin" from <i>Grease</i> with a healthy dose of TJ Klune's The Extraordinaries

Genre: True YA Contemporary Queer Romance
*Definitely True YA as Weber captures the angst of first love / teen crushes

Romance Meter: ❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙
All romance, all the time.
And a Love Triangle. A messy one at that. *sigh*
Actually -- maybe a Love Square? IDK -- everyone seemed to have an inexplicable thing for Harry

Character MVP: ...
Probably Foster. I agree that Kensy is a better nickname than Harry, and he seemed like a genuinely cool and even-keeled dude not prone to emotional drama.

Verdict: Okay, so listen. *Any* book that came after <i>I Kissed Shara Wheeler</i> was always going to not measure up -- but this one had the unfortunate coincidence of *also* being a queer rom-com steeped in classic rom com references and tropes. And...it just fell short for me.

Don't get me wrong -- it was a fun, fluffy, book version of classic RomComs which have (also inexplicably) fallen somewhat out of favor recently.

There was lots of happy queer characters -- at least, "happy" in the sense that nobody was secretly closeted, and nobody had traumatic coming out experiences, and there was no horrific homophobic characters. So, from a representation standpoint, this book is a win.

Also a win in the "summer vibes" category. Lots of beachy scenes, with talk of poolside afternoons, mornings surfing, ice cream and carnivals -- all very light and fluffy.

And the biggest strength, for me, was Weber perfectly capturing that feeling of reuniting with your ex, specifically your first love, and wondering if you still love them and if you can make things work. (You probably can't, but you're really tempted to for awhile.) That part rang nostalgically, emotionally true.

But there were just some things I couldn't get past:

✖️ -- For about 80% of the book, I had no idea how old Harry's sisters actually were. (I know they're 5 and 15, but honestly? I couldn't tell. I have a 6 year old kid, and she does not act like Lottie. Not that all 6 year olds act the same but I thought they were maybe 8 and 12.)

✖️ -- There were like 4 guys who were attracted to Harry, and I'm not sure why. The characters were a bit flat & stock, IMO. Like, Grant is the Daniel Cleaver douchey-hot guy (and I didn't understand his motivations at all), and Logan is the Mark Darcy sweet-and-quiet guy. And Harry has "his screenplay." That's his whole personality.

✖️ -- Also, characters come and go rather conveniently; like the girl who wanted to go to USC (I don't remember her name) and not Harvard. She was there, served her plot point, and then disappeared. Same with Foster-the-Fling; he popped up a couple of times, and then vanished. Even poor Agnes got a few-line dismissal at the end. Same with the grandmother who randomly pops up. The lens is very narrow -- which *is* consistent with an adolescent perspective -- but it just felt a little loose character wise.

✖️ -- And if the characters were flat, then the plot needs to be there. And, it wasn't, IMO. There was less of a bell-curve to the story and more of a straight line -- things just kinda happened, and there weren't really any stakes; there wasn't tension and what was there, was all centered around the romance square.

✖️ -- This is also very much a "things-could-have-been-avoided-had-they-just-had-a-conversation" book. Which, while a common trope in YA, just irks me a bit these days.

This last one is spoilery, so, be warned.

✖️ -- The ending really kinda irked me.
Hear me out.
Harry's "revelation" at the end is that he's been selfish and mean by putting his dreams and screenplay first. So -- being the impulsive adolescent he is -- he throws everything out at once, with this grand declaration that he won't put his dreams -- which might not even come true! -- over his friends and family. (And he apparently doesn't know what he's passionate about, even though screenwriting is like his entire personality. He loves movies, he's *clearly* passionate about movies. It's like the Biggest thing communicated to the reader -- how can he *not* know what he's passionate about...?)

Now, there's a lesson in there about appreciating where you come from, about seeing the beauty in your (beachside, clearly wealthy) hometown. That's not the problem.

The problem, for me, was that Harry makes *such* a big deal about how LITTLE he's worked on his screenplay. Like, the entire "conflict" of the story hinges on Harry procrastinating and continually doing things with his friends and family instead of working on his screenplay. (Which apparently only takes him, like, a few hours to get done when he sits down to it. Because writing is just that easy. Most of that writing happens off-page, so, you know.)

So, the screenplay clearly hasn't taken over his life, although Harry is a bit insufferable about his desire to get out of his hometown and out to California.

But...he's 17. About to be a high school senior. He SHOULD be focused on what he wants to do with his life, and thinking about his future. There's NOTHING wrong with that. If he wants to be a screenwriter --as he makes VERY clear -- then, YES. USC is absolutely a strong dream to have! And a valid one! The opportunities it affords from geographical proximity alone...and you don't let your 5 y/o sister and your Spring Break Fling guide your decisions.

And given the strength of the relationships depicted in the book -- he's really close with his sisters and his mom and his BFF -- there's very little reason to believe that (1) when he says he wants to get out of his hometown where he's lived his entire life he means he wants to get away from his family and friends and (2) that he wouldn't maintain those relationships from California. He definitely wouldn't "lose" them completely.

The big "dramatic" moment at the end landed really flat for me, because it seemed artificially constructed for the climax and inconsistent with the characterization.

Ugh. I feel like King Triton telling Ariel she's 16 and doesn't know what love is.

I really enjoyed this book.
The story was well developed, it flowed well and made sense. The characters, especially Harry, were really well done. The emotional roller coaster Harry went through was so true and real. The author did such a good job that I really became vested in all of the characters lives.
I also liked how organically the summer time frame passed. I felt the time ticking away while also feeling the lazy days of summer.
Perfect summer (or anytime) reading.
Enjoy!

A cute, LGBTQ+ summer read. Sadly not my favorite of the year, but it was enjoyable. It had a strong plot and the characters were typical teenagers, which is always nice to read.

NetGalley ARC Review

If you are familiar with Robby from his social media presence, it should come as no surprise that much of his personality was poured into this debut novel.

For those who aren’t familiar, IYCYM not only provides an entertaining romantic comedy that is a breeze to read and get swept up in, but serves as a successful introduction to Robby; as a person with a confident voice, plus as a new young author with great potential.

Robby’s second standalone novel will be released in 2023.

IYCYM is a nice homage to the romcom film genre, especially those of classic Hollywood — hopefully the youths are just as invested in the films of Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Humphrey Bogart as they are with Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Meg Ryan, and Tom Hanks, all of whom are lovingly alluded to in the book — or will hopefully spark curiosity out of potential film buffs.

The importance of family, friends, and where you’re at in the world at this moment as a young person are all at the heart of this novel. Robby does a great job of tapping into the YA voice, even with a few welcome dashes of old school/old soul vibes. Nothing the characters do seem out of touch or false
from today’s reality which is always something important with any YA novel written by someone not currently living in, or on the edge of, the target demo and audience.

If there were one thing to note, the screenplay pages — while a nice addition — might have made a nice “bonus” in a deluxe edition with all of the excerpts compiled together in the back of the book rather than interspersed after each chapter. (Similar to how, I will be using a reference from IYCYM, Tarantino added a fictitious TV script for Leonardo DiCaprio’s character at the end of the deluxe edition of the novel adaptation of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.) The touching final moments of the last chapter felt sidelined when the final resolution comes from an
excerpt of the screenplay.

That minor thing aside, this was a wonderful read and I look forward to continuing to follow Robby’s progress and updates on social media with his follow-up novels.

IYCYM showed us a side of him that was both relatable and familiar (sometimes too relatable for someone who went through a similar situation as Harry did in the book — #itme) and I’m curious to what other sides of Robby we will see in his future stories.

Bravo on your debut!
“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

This was cute and I was looking forward to reading it. But I ended up not loving it as much as I thought I would. The screenplay chapters were confusing and honestly, pulled me out of the story almost every time. Not to mention Harry's incessant "I need to work on my screenplay, deadlines coming up" and then does anything but that...which was pretty annoying. Harry also wasn't the most likable character, and was pretty self centered. He's a teenager, so I can kind of understand, but there were just moments I was so not on board with how he was behaving and treating his friends.
Overall, I'm just left feeling like everything the author promises at the start of the book just falls short. Yeah, it's cute and refreshing and just a quick rom com, but I really wasn't blown away by any of it. I'd be willing to give the author another chance, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he writes next.

Cute! Enjoyed the last quarter A TON! But overall, the story just fell a bit flat for me. Still a good read—if you're interested ... give it a shot!

Harry wants nothing more than to write Hollywood screenplays. He knows the first step toward achieving that goal is winning a screenwriting competition that will seal his admission into the college of his dreams, so he’s determined to spend his summer free of distractions—also known as boys—and finish his script. After last year, Harry is certain love only exists in the movies anyway.
 
But then the cause of his first heartbreak, Grant, returns with a secret that could change everything—not to mention, there’s a new boy in town, Logan, who is so charming and sweet, he’s making Harry question everything he knows about romance. As he tries to keep his emotions in check and stick to his perfect plan for the future, Harry's about to learn that life doesn't always follow a script.

A fun, summer, LGBTQ+, contemporary, coming of age novel. Harry's interactions with the people around him, specifically 3 hot boys, his best friend, and his family contribute to a screen play he is writing to get into USC, but things don't end up going quite to plan. My only complaint would be that this book is simple and predictable, but that's often what we look for in summer romcoms!

If you change your mind is a good lite summer read, perfect for poolside or at the beach, particularly as how frequently those settings feature. Harry wants to be a screenwriter and is determined to finish his screenplay, but along the way he just keeps having big trouble, his ex, the new boy in Town, his best friends cheating boyfriend, they’re distractions, and make it hard to focus on his end goal, or, are they actually a lesson about his real goals.

The truth is this book is more fluff and relationships, while most of the deeper aspects of the story sit in the background, pulled out only when they’re useful to moving the characters. At times I wanted to tell Harry to take charge of his life please. Overall though, it was fun fluff, very little in the way of sexy content, and the characters are likeable, a fun YA story for summer.

If You Change Your Mind by Robby Weber is a cute summer YA romcom. It centers around a teen named Harry trying to write his screenplay, thinking about college, trying to get over his ex who has returned for the summer, but then what about the new guy who just showed up? Filled with tons of references to the great rom com movies we all love and cherish, and Taylor Swift references. I love this book it was what I needed to begin my summer reading and thanks to netgalley I got an advanced copy though it is out now on bookshelves. Definitely pick it up for all the lovey dovey feels you won’t regret it.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Inkyard Press, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Harry wants to write Hollywood screenplays and he wants to win a screenwriting competion in order to be admitted into his dream college. So he's determined to not be distracted this summer, not by boys, or anything and he wants to finish his script. But when his first heartbreak Grant returns and another boy, Logan, captures his attention, everything is turned upside down and while he tries to stick to his plan, he will soon learn that life doesn't follow any rules or script.

If you change your mind is Robby Weber's debut novel and it's pretty amazing! Wonderful, sweet and funny, the reader follows Harry while trying to "control" and put order into his life, while fighting against distractions and boys and learning he can't do it, at all. It's romantic, swooning and I loved every single page of it. I loved Harry's character, Logan and Grant, I love the love and the happy ending and this book is the kind of book that leaves you swooning, laughing and smiling like an idiot, because it's so good you can't stop reading it and thinking about it.
It's the perfect summer romance, but also the perfect book you can read to smile and be happy. Definitely one of my favourite this year and I can't wait to read what will Robby Weber write next!

I was provided with an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I am so happy to see more and more diverse books on the shelves this year, and this one was a delight! Harry was SO relatable, especially as a teenager just trying to figure life out. Logan was a great lover interest, and I enjoyed the angst that Harry's ex, Grant, added to the mix - even if I disliked Grant immediately. While some part of the plot could have benefited from being further fleshed out, this was a great story that I 100% recommend reading!

This was a wonderful ode to the romcom with delightful summer vibes. In general, the book felt like a relaxing day at the beach. It had its emotional and tense moments, which definitely had me in my feelings, but it was all so easy to read and felt familiar and comfortable. I also just really like books with writing and bookish themes. This book had both with the main character being a writer (of screenplays) and a bookstore employee. I liked the inclusion of Harry's screenplay and thought it provided an interesting window into his psyche. However, I think it would have worked better if it had been included in fewer, longer interludes and wasn't after every chapter. It just made the story feel too choppy and got annoying at certain points where I just wanted to read the next part of the main narrative.

Harry was such a great protagonist. He was a bit of a mess, but let's be honest. Weren't we all as teenagers? Or if we're being REALLY honest... aren't we all still a bit of a mess? Maybe I'm just speaking for myself, but I definitely found it to be relatable. lol. I think the author did a great job of using the character of Harry to tap into that quintessential teenage (and human) struggle of trying to figure out your path in life. Harry starts out his journey like a bulldozer intent on sticking to his master plan no matter what gets in his way, but he learns an important life lesson: there's more than one path to reaching one's dreams, and the path you choose to take can make all the difference. He also learned the significance of being present in one's life and enjoying the things and people right in front of you.

The love interests and other characters were all great too. Grant had tons of charisma, and Logan was just absolutely adorable. I also really loved Foster and wish the author had played up the character and the relationship between him and Harry a bit more. I liked that Harry had three very different guys who were into him because it kept things from feeling like the run of the mill love triangle. However, Foster got so much less time compared to the other two that it did feel a little like he was the fourth wheel in an otherwise super passionate threesome (Important Note: This story doesn't have polyamory or threesomes, but I wouldn't have been mad if it did. lol.). Harry's relationship with his best friend was also a highlight for me. I loved how close they were, but their relationship also added lots of drama to the story while putting Harry in a tight spot that I definitely didn't envy. I didn't agree with his choice, but I can understand why he made it. I just kept waiting for it all to blow up in his face. I do think his friend got over the situation a bit too fast, but it also illustrated how conflict can be resolved through honest, open communication. So, I can live with it.

Overall, this was a fantastic romcom and the perfect summer read. The characters were relatable, and I just really enjoyed seeing Harry grow over the course of the story. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Sadly, this book was just not for me. I really was excited for this one! It sounded like a fun LGBTQ+ beachy read...and in some ways it is. But in a lot of ways, this book disappointed me so badly I DNFed it.

First, the main character, Harry, is rude and a hypocrite. He goes off on a guy he just met in one of the first chapters, regularly tells his friends to simply "not be anxious" or ignores their problems (but then gets upset when they do the same), and only thinks about himself.

On the romance front, there's a love triangle I didn't care for. Harry kept saying how much he should not be with Grant and should ignore Grant and then would proceed to talk to him (and do more than that) while also saying he shouldn't. It was repetitive and annoying.

The writing is very conscious of thought. I felt like it was written so strangely at points. Robby Weber would write a sentence and toss "but, whatever" at the end every few pages, or have the character complain or debate something and end it with "but that's a problem for later". The writing felt like I was being told everything, not shown.

Also, there is no plot. If you're into character driven novels this may be for you. I love character driven novels & plot driven novels, and yet I found this one so dry and lacking in plot that I got bored. When my hold for the audiobook from my library ended I just decided to give up. This was not the book for me.

This is an extremely cute summery contemporary following Harry as he struggles to write his screenplay for a scholarship competition and juggle the affections of (at least) two guys. I thought the characters all felt really three-dimensional and real, though I can't say I completely fell in love with any of them, except maybe Foster. Speaking of Foster, I found myself actually rooting for him and Harry, though he wasn't really a central part of the love triangle. I really hope Robby's next book is centered on Foster, or at least a future book, because he deserves a happy ending. I wasn't in love with the inclusion of snippets of the screenplay, especially in the audiobook. I know readers are supposed to draw connections to what Harry is struggling with, but all the superheroes and world-ending drama of the screenplay took me out of the story a little. Overall, a very strong debut, and I can't wait to see what's next from Weber!

I can't say that I expected to love this one, but I definitely expected to like it a little bit... Instead, I found it unbearable and spent the entire time rooting for it to end. Even though I've spent 3 days of my life reading it, I can't tell you anything that happened. It was all completely unremarkable. The characters were bland, the love interests were irritating, and the structure was a disaster. Seriously, who approved the screenplay segments?? They were horrible. Took me out of the story, didn't make sense, and just served as yet another obstacle. Not my type of book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

This was such a fun summer romance, and it makes the perfect beach read! Set in Florida, Harry is just trying to work on his screenplay for a competition when he meets a cute boy and then his ex immediately shows up afterward. While he's struggling to disentangle his feelings about them, he also finds out that his best friend's boyfriend cheated on her at the beginning of their relationship, and Harry doesn't know how to tell her about this.

If You Change your mind was such a fun read. I loved that the chapter titles were all names of different famous rom-coms (sadly most of which I have not seen), and I loved the interstitials between each chapter, each a short segment of Harry's screenplay. I really loved Harry's character, and definitely empathized with his anxiety over how to tell his best friend about her boyfriend. I loved how empathetic Harry is, how he cares about people and wants to help them or do nice things for them. I also loved his ambition, but I do think he had a sort of one-track mind about going to USC. Like, Harry, there are other colleges with great film schools - I highly doubt every single successful screenplay writer went to USC. This was also one of the few books I've read with a love triangle that I didn't hate, but I still knew he was going to choose, so that was still frustrating. (Also I really loved Foster's character, and would have loved to see him and Harry together, and he wasn't even part of the love triangle. They had a really good chemistry.) My biggest complaint is that every single time I see the book's title, or even think it, Take a Chance on Me by ABBA gets stuck in my head and it's extremely frustrating.

I'm rating this book 4.5, but rounding down to 4. I wanted it to be a 5 for me, but there was just something missing for me, and I don't know what it is because it's a really good book. It's possible it's just because I've been really slow at reading recently so it took me forever to read the book. (But it wasn't the book's fault.)

I definitely recommend this as a poolside or beachside read!

DRC provided by Inkyard Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If You Change Your Mind is Robby Weber young adult debut and what a debut it was! I really, REALLY loved it. Extremely. More comprehensive review to come in the future!

Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of If You Change Your Mind in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Gist
If You Change Your Mind kicks off the YA Summer Reads Blog Tour. It is hard to imagine that soon summer will warm not only our hearts but also our colds bones.

Honestly, I can’t really fathom that we are already talking about summer reads when I’m still sitting over here being pretty miserably cold. They shut off the heat in my building almost two weeks ago and I have been freezing every minute I haven’t been wrapped up in a big blanket, clutching a hot water bottle.

So, bronze skin and cinnamon tans are far from my mind, which makes getting into the mood for this story a bit difficult. I’ll try my best, though.

The Details
Although this is a very safe story, it is one of the best debut novels I have read. It doesn’t have the awkwardness that some debut novels have, but I wish it could have been a little more.

I am not quite sure where the author wanted to go with the protagonist. At first I really liked him, but soon felt he thinks of himself a little too highly, entitled, a little too dramatic.

Also, in the first few chapters there are so many characters introduced, it is a little overwhelming keeping them all separate while continuing with If You Change Your Mind. I began asking and prompting myself who is who and how they fit into the story. It’s a little much.

The plot is a typical teenage summer romance, although I couldn’t find many elements of the comedy variety. So, I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is a rom-com. But that’s up to the reader’s taste. Everyone has a different idea of comedy.

But again, it felt very safe. It’s the typical teenage summer romance formula. Not that there is anything wrong with it, it’s just nothing super special.

The writing is very good. It flows nicely and it is a fast read. I would have appreciated a little more scenic descriptions to help set the mood of summer better.

The Verdict
Overall, If You Change Your Mind is a good way to kick off the summer reads list and get into the warm weather mood.

I would certainly recommend.

Super cute and loved the movie mentions! Perfect rom-com for summer! Excited to see what Robby writes next!