Dana L. Davis is a genius when it comes to making her readers feel emotions. I went through intense anger and frustration, intense sympathy and sadness, and intense periods of happiness and positivity for the characters. The book was addictive and I couldn't put it down.

When I said I wanted a funny book with a realistic main character, great side characters, and a solid romance, this book was the perfect fit. Thank you so much to Dana L. Davis and to Skyscape for the eARC! It really made my week.

I liked the message in this book and I loved the main character. Her best friend was also fantastic. I loved all the scenes and the humour embedded within the book and I really hope more people are encouraged to pick this up because it was a fantastic read! I can't wait to check out more by Dana L. Devis, especially Roman and Jewel (which has been on my tbr for ages!!).

This book had everything I wanted. The only reason it wasn't a 5 star was because I got so mad at Langston so I couldn't quite forgive him at the end.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great time with relatable characters and fantastic humour with hilarious side characters.

Thanks to Skyscape Publishing for gifting me a galley of this novel in exchange for my honest feedback.
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𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴:
Dylan Woods, a violin prodigy is in her senior year of high school and preparing for the audition of her life, Juilliard. As Dylan focuses on her big day, an ex-best friend shows up unexpectedly.
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Legendary, who grew up in Iowa with Dylan is now “the world’s most famous” R&B artist. And he has come to stay with Dylan and her family for a short time. While everyone in Dylan’s family is ecstatic about his sudden visit, Dylan is not. Angry that Legendary cut off all communication with her during his rise to the top, Dylan is not ready to face the superstar. But once she does, she soon realize that her and Legend have more in common than she expected.
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𝘔𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴
After reading the synopsis for this book I was excited. It appeared to be my kind of novel. But unfortunately, it just didn’t do it for me. Although the plot was somewhat engaging, I didn’t find it believable which presented a big issue for me.
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Interestingly, I pictured R&B singer Chris Brown as the inspiration for the character Legendary. Thinking of Chris Brown waking up one day and choosing to stay in the basement of his ex-best friend from elementary school, seemed too far fetched. Legendary had enough money to stay anywhere on the planet, yet he goes back to the basement of a girl he hasn’t spoken to in years. It just didn’t make sense.
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With that said, there were some pleasurable moments. The fact that this novel did not make its way to my DNF pile is confirmation that there were some engaging components. For example, I enjoyed the passion Dylan displayed for playing the violin. She put all her eggs in one basket because she believed in her dream. I was rooting for her. I relished in the unfolding of her journey.
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Overall, although this novel was not my cup of tea, I think it’s a charming story for the target audience. Teens!
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Thanks again to Skyscape via Netgalley for the eARC. I appreciate the journey..

I want to be clear that my opinion remains objective, as always. It is certainly a mailing, but my principle is to remain objective and impartial, out of respect for myself and the publisher. Special thanks to Netgalley for sending this. Now that all this is clear, let’s turn to criticism:)

First of all, I must say that I was attracted by this beautiful cover, we see two young characters surrounded by color. I said to myself that I might really like it. A bit of the "Ace of spades" that is in my PAL.

Here we find Dylan a young woman who dreams of entering Julliard and moving to New York. She dreams of changing her life and is ready to give herself the means. But in his plans, there was no question of his childhood friend making an entrance into this life. As you can see, his two characters are the opposite. Dylan is a young woman who was adopted by a Cocasian family, which can sometimes cause quite awkward situations and focus on the racism of some people. and his best friend is kind of the cliché of the young black American who does R&B.

In the course of the novel we realize that the behaviour of some people has an impact on the life of this young woman, it must be said that she dreams of being a violinist. You can imagine that for this young woman the path will be fraught with obstacles, this world is already very difficult to reach, so when you are a minority, you can unfortunately be faced with certain barriers.
Add to that the fact that Dylan is adopted and in her small town where everyone is cocasian, she does a bit of a stain on the web.

As you will have understood, the story is very touching, alas, it is somewhat served by a slow pace of writing. Something desired by the author, but which I think serves the book a little. We’re having a good time, but there are certain clichés that, in my opinion, do not have to be put forward. I would say it’s a popcorn novel.

I downloaded this kind of on a whim, but I had such a good time reading this! It has a lot of my favourite tropes: celebrity romance, childhood friends to lovers, forced proximity. But of course a book can hold all of your favourite tropes and still not work for you. They worked really well here, though! It's such a fun, often hilarious read, but also with a lot of meaningful and heartfelt moments. One of my favourite scenes was the one where Dylan takes Legend to play D&D with her friends, it was so much fun.

Dylan has big dreams of getting into Julliard and moving to New York. Those dreams don't include a visit from her childhood best friend turned R&B sensation, Legendary. After some reckless behavior that ended in a bad accident Legendary has been placed under a conservatorship. He needs to convince his mom he's still the same old him and what better way to do that than linking up with an old friend?

This book was slow-burn but evenly paced which is where many contemporary writers struggle. It never sagged for me in the middle and I found myself eager to continue each chapter. These felt like real teens and Dana L. Davis does a great job with transracial adoptee Dylan who feels like she doesn't quite fit into her small town and her white family. The way she handles dealing with her appearance especially as she compares herself to the Instagram models Legendary is used to was very well done. She also does a great job with Dylan and Legendary's reunion as they rekindle their friendship. The chemistry is there without being too forced and without jumping back in too fast.

I really enjoy 2nd chance friendship/relationships but especially when one person has become famous. This story shows how you have to work hard for your dreams but that you definitely have to take time for yourself and the people in your life. Don’t let life pass you by and make time for loved ones.

This was quick read that was charming and fun. Definitely read this one.

Thanks NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

This was so different but in the most fantastic way. I really loved it and the characters all felt so really. Excellent book.

This book dealt with a lot of heavy things without being heavy itself, which was a breath of fresh air. Adoption, chronic pain, harassment and addiction were brought up with the respect they deserve, but without wanting to drown the reader in them. This way, the story kept being on the lighter side without feeling superficial.
The characters were fine, they carried the story well enough. It's always interesting to me how non-famous authors (although I SCREAMED when I reached the biography and realized Dana is Lonnie from shera) tell stories about famous people, and I don't think this was bad at all in that regard.
The ending did kinda ruin it for me, but that's how it is with romances usually. The decisions Dylan made didn't make any sense to me, there were like three chapters where we kept having time-skips and I think the book ending with the first one would've been okay. The last one made me want to scratch my eyes out because we see her being put in a situation that we had been told she hated (all eyes on her, being in a public place, surrounded by rich people etc) and she still didn't react with nothing but joy. She could've changed in between time-skips, I just wish we had been shown that.

Somebody That I Used to Know is a book about Legend and Dylan who were friends in elementary school and Legend became a superstar singer. Legend comes home and Dylan and Legend reconnected.

I loved the connection that they had as well as the bucket list that they had. Loved the music references as well as their bond and how they started over but started where they left off.

Loved the book

I’ll admit it took a while for me to get into story but once I did I absolutely loved it. Dylan was uptight but her family and friends made her seem more normal. The author takes the time to peel back all the layers of Dylan to show you what she hides away from the world. Legend really felt like a celebrity and it was nice watching him and Dylan fall back into their old ways and reconnect. It felt like an authentic friendship and I like how the author developed both characters with relatable thoughts and flaws. All the characters had depth and the story arc was well done. The romance is a cute, sweet love that has you rooting for them. I absolutely loved this story and I will most definitely be getting myself a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

Somebody That I Used to Know is a rekindled friendship story that features Legend and Dylan. Legend is a superstar singer and Dylan is in her senior year of high school. The two were close as kids but lost touch when Legend became a household name. I loved Dylan’s story; she is very headstrong and competitive by nature. She was adopted and her family is everything! I loved that the author touched on the challenges Dylan endured with having a family of a different race. She talks about code switching and Dylan feeling that she has to wear her hair a certain way or eye contacts to fit in. She goes through stages of not feeling pretty enough- it was raw and well written. I loved that Legend was really down to earth; he was a bit quiet in the beginning but it was clear that he missed Dylan’s friendship and being a normal teen. I loved their bucket list and the way they were able to open up to each other. The author did a great job including musical education, showing and telling all that Dylan went through to be the best violinist, and what dedication looks like. I really enjoyed this story!

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am a fan of young adult literature, and the author really done a terrific job on this one. NOW THIS IS THE KIND OF BOOK THAT I'M LOOKING FOR. The timing and characters were perfect. I went into reading this book with no expectations, yet I ended myself falling in love with it. While reading this, I was on edge and experienced a range of emotions. This book is for everyone who enjoys music and the friends to enemies to lovers trope.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

a cute story of reuniting with an old friend and remembering why you were friends in the first place

First of all, thank you Netgalley and publisher for giving my first chance to write feedback for free books.

Good thing happen in this book is I realized my books mostly has white main character and I've widen my read books by reading this. This book has so much to learn about black culture and the hardships (I'm asian living in asian countries). By reading this, I knew how the way they keep striving the culture even though they are living with non-black. I also love how the main character named Dylan coming to be proud of her own body, as I think it's normal if you are insecure about it at teens. We all are.

The music references, the description about violins and other instrument makes me learn a lot. But this is not something you can't enjoy, the explanation is in between story. By this book, I think I decide I should read more book like this, to understand more point of view in life.

Sadly, bad things here is I think in certain situation few characters were being rude. I mean, chatting with a friend slashed a crush while you had dinner with a date is very rude. Also, how special Legend are until the parents decided that Dylan shouldn't go to her seminar... but I've come to realize is it because this books more like plot-driven? So the characters just accidently have this rude or weird behavior to make this certain scene....

Dylan is strong character here while Legend is not. So, whenever Dylan think about Legend, I just.... meh. And I hope the ending stop at last chapter because in the epilogue, I think there's no conclusion how Legend try to be better, or in the end, Dylan would accept the fact that Legend is a celeb and eventually would give 50% her time to think why Legend haven't read her text?

Over all, it was hard reading as some parts makes me frustrated....

Dylan has one goal in life, to go to Juilliard, even if that means practising her violin for hours upon hours every single day. Super focused and determined, there’s not much that could distract Dylan from her practise- just her childhood friend Legend turning up to stay. With her life flipped upside down; her feelings for Legend making her question who she truly is; and discovering where she came from; will Dylan’s dreams come true?

I really enjoyed this YA romancey book, it was an easy read albeit a slow burner but with some great characters. There were some deeper themes throughout and although there were parts I wasn’t really feeling the love, I did have a few tears towards the end!

I had such a great time reading this book! I loved her other book, and when I saw this was about on NetGalley, I asked for, and got it! I loved reading Dylan's story, I love music and I love books, and having them together was fantastic!

If you're at all familiar with my tastes, you might know what's going to come next. But of course I have to talk about the cover first! The ombre of the yellow to orange of the background looks really great-and contrasts with the purples and blues of the middle. So I love this cover!

Legend ghosted her, once he moved to California, they were really tight best friends, but he dropped her, and that hurt. So finding out that he's going to be spending some time in her house, well, that puts a wrench in her practising for her Julliard audition. Not to mention that he wants to complete their bucket list, bringing up the complicated feelings of their past.

Watching her learn who he is now, what his life has been like, why he ghosted her, and just spending this time with him, was really great. Loved watching her fall in love. I'm not sure if he was falling, or if he'd already fallen, since we were only in her head, but I really enjoyed their romance. Especially the choices made at the end, to make sure that this is what they wanted, that was really mature, and great!

This was a really great read, and I can't wait to read more by Dana L. Davis!

Thank you to Skyscape and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. This story is a slow burn but once Dylan and Legend really start hanging out I couldn’t put my kindle down until I finished it.

Dylan Woods is a super focused 18 year old girl who plays the violin with dreams of getting into Julliard. She spends all of her time practicing unlike other kids she is not on social media. Although she is really talented she does have some insecurities about feeling her talent is enough to get her to where she wants to be.

Legendary (Langston) is the biggest young R&B artist in the world right now and ex-best friend of Dylan. He’s lived in LA for the last 6 years while being on the fast track to stardom. He returns to his hometown to try to fix his and Dylan’s relationship by completing the bucket list they made when they were children.

When Legend comes for a stay with Dylan and her adopted family she learns of the reasons their relationship became strained and with time their friendship falls back in stride. They spend time together more and more completing items from their bucket list in which awakens feeling unforeseen by both.

What I loved
I loved that Dylan was focused on her dreams and she only applied to Julliard because second place is still losing as she says. She knew that’s where she wanted to go and anything besides that wouldn’t bring her the same joy.
I also loved Dylan’s relationships with Kiyoshi her other friends. She didn’t try to shy away from who they were or what they enjoyed doing just because Legend was home.

What I didn’t like
I wanted to have Legend’s point of view. While it was great having Dylan’s POV I think it would’ve taken it to the next level to hear the story through his eyes.
I didn’t like how Dylan’s family (mom, dad, and siblings) reacted to Legend because it didn’t quite match the story. Why act differently when he grew up with your family until 6 years ago. They were all just a little too star struck for me.

I went into this book with incredibly high expectations as I consider The Voice in My Head one of my all-time favourite books and this book still managed to far exceed my expectations.

This book tells such a beautiful love story between Dylan and Legendary and really has fun with it. There were several moments during this book that I was crying happy tears because it was just so incredibly beautiful.

I also really appreciated that the romance felt organic rather than manufactured so the bumps in the road that our leads faced felt incredibly genuine and believable. And honestly I was completely obsessed with the Black joy that oozes out of this book.

This book will appeal to a wide variety of readers and is the perfect feel-good read.

Dylan Woods is talented, focused and driven, and I wanted more for her in this new novel by Dana L. Davis.

When we meet Dylan, our main character, she’s an impressive violinist who has a one-track mind: she’s determined to get into Julliard or bust. The only thing that could distract her from that goal? Her childhood best friend turned R & B superstar, Legendary. When Legend comes to stay with Dylan and her family following some unflattering PR fiascos, your standard teen romance ensues.

But it didn’t have to be standard, and I feel like it almost wasn’t — Dylan and Legend’s break-up near the end of the novel felt very real. He’s a boy with a lot of growing up to do, especially when it comes to learning how to treat women. The way he talks about his exes irks me, and his excuse for why he never contacted Dylan after he moved to LA felt flimsy at best. The pictures with the girl in the club after he and Dylan got together? Yikes.

Meanwhile, Dylan is driven and mature. She had it right the first time – she isn’t the type of girl who would want to sit at home wondering who her boyfriend is with and what he’s doing. That’s why the ending rang false to me. A grand profession of love does not a solid relationship make, but maybe I’m just the cynical grown woman reading too much into YA romance novels.

Thanks to Skyscape and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

One of the most heart-warming and sweet stories I have ever read.

First off, wow. Just wow. I am applauding how much I loved reading this book. What an amazing opportunity, so thank you for allowing me to read this.

Now, this book was truly something else. The writing is so cute, reading it truly made me feel inside Dylan's head and her thoughts are so expressive, I just love when a writer does that. The storyline is absolutely beautiful and fun, with moments of sadness and laugh-out-louds and awws-and-oohhs (pretty sure the last two adjectives don't exist, but whatever). The characters were so easy to love (Aunt Edith is my spirit animal) and some just made me cringe at how they behaved and acted, I mean...ew.

I truly think the author did something really amazing with this book. The way racism is presented in ways that some would not even think is racism (like Dylan not looking like her mother and people making weird or surprised faces), the way some characters dealt with it really did an impact on the story, in my opinion. I also thought it was absolutely impressive how Dylan, as a black young woman, dealt with some issues like that throughout the storyline; I believe those were some of my favourite moments to read, from the way they were written and they way they just made the story more compelling. And also, Dylan knew she could be the best violinist and she never let that blind her, she kept pushing forward with practising and experimenting and learning all that she could to strive for her dream. I love reading characters with that drive and that love for something clearly important in their lives. She fought for what she loved, and she didn't let other people or the colour of her skin or the fact that she wasn't like most people in her small town get that away from her.

Lastly, the relationship between characters was something I loved exploring as a reader. The way Aunt Edith and Dylan have their chess games or the late night talks; Legend and Dylan with their bucket list and all their experiences and moments; or even Dylan's parents and their children. For me, relationships in a story work as one of the foundations for a good story; and Dana L. Davis really did an amazing job with how the relationships shift in the book.

I honestly just really loved reading this book and I cannot fathom the fact that I will never experience it for the first time.

Signing off,
B.