Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. I was fairy entertained while reading this book, however it did not leave a lasting impression. The characters weren’t as profound as I expected and one in particular (Paisley) was really childish. Overall I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light read, magic and people having colorful auras.

Thank you NetGalley. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This will become a xmas for a few of my friends

My first encounter with Dina S. writing style and a surprising read.
Nothing Special is such a wonderful twist on a Fantasy Romance novel. The magic and fantasy is really just a backdrop to the misadventures of love MC Paisley finds herself navigating, which can be jarring at first if you’re expecting an epic fantasy adventure. It’s not that. What it is, is an emotional, gut-wrenching, painful, yet beautiful tale exploring love, friendship, independence, loss, and self-worth.
The number of times the author found a way to interweave the title and the story added so much depth and so many layers to to the title.
The ending was so completely unexpected and it had me feeling so many emotions. I was really surprised by the end and that was the end to the story, but I am excited to read the next books in the series.
Such a tale of love, pain, and loss. Totally recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

"Nothing Special" by Dina S. is a young adult novel that has a blend of the supernatural and the everyday struggles of growing up. The story revolves around Paisley Adams, who possesses the unique ability to see and manipulate auras and emotions called a Discerner, a talent she's kept hidden with the support of her ailing father, who shares the same gift. Paisley’s life is a challenge of fitting in, managing family dynamics, and navigating friendships. Her loneliness and anxiety about her gifts cause her to keep everyone, even her best friend, at arm’s length. Will James Bennett, the outcast, make her feel not as alone? Will her growing feelings and mixed signals ruin their friendship or become something more?

"Nothing Special" by Dina S. is a good read for young teens seeking an absorbing blend of the supernatural and the ordinary. It was a standard young adult high school drama book about trying to fit in and struggling with home life but with a supernatural twist. Trigger warnings are cancer, abuse, teen pregnancy, etc. but also the turmoil of morality with using her supernatural gifts for good, or personal gain, or not at all. It was short and sweet and really enjoyed it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Such a good book, but it's too young for me. But i must confess that this book is well written and i can feel some parts quite inspiring. The characters should be displayed more thightly with their acts so a reader like me could entirely plunge my imaginantion and feel all the characters.

Unfortunately, this book was nothing special. It was all over the place and I'm really upset because the description sounded really good, but it was poorly executed.

First of all, where are the TWs? There are some difficult topics in there that are really deep and they're treated like they're no big deal. I hate when YA books randomly drop a difficult topic without actually giving some useful advice like seeking professional help, speaking up and reaching out to adults who can help and offer support.

Also, drinking and driving should be banned from YA books (from any books really, unless it's essential for the story). In this particular case, it adds nothing to the story and is probably supposed to seem like a cool thing to do, but really it's not. Please stop with this nonsense.

The bullying. Oh my god. When I started reading the book, I felt transported back to the 2000s YA literature, and not in a good way. The bullies are cool, defending the victim would make the FMC unpopular and a freak and a weirdo. Since we're talking about the 2000s, I should also mention slut shaming (Paisley's fight with the other girl at work), about 6 guys are interested in the FMC (and she's not even as hot as her best friend), the constant lack of communication between characters and their constant fear of becoming less popular.

Paisley is giving pick-me energy and she is so obsessed with boys that it's annoying and exhausting. She doesn't have hobbies because her hobby is flirting with boys, and she has magic but she wishes she didn't; I think she changes her mind along the way but the whole magic system and her abilities are incredibly confusing.

The magic system is probably the best thing about this book, but it's not clear how it works. I'm still not sure what extra abilities Paisley has compared to her dad and James; can she see souls? Does she control when to do this? Does she see auras all the time or can she turn it off? Because she's constantly mentioning how overwhelming it is for her to feel what others feel, but most of the time she needs to "tune in" to understand others' feelings. She can put up walls but she's still complaining about having this exhausting magic that she doesn't want.

Paisley is completely insufferable but for most of the story, the other characters made up for that (minus the bully -- who the hell forgives him after everything he did to his brother?). About halfway through the book, James convinces the FMC that she should use her magic to help others and she agrees, then does nothing to help her best friend out of a horrible situation. Then James almost becomes insufferable too, because he keeps her in the dark about feelings (although I'm 100% sure there was someone in this book who could feel other people's feelings) and then proceeds to flirt with other girls while constantly holding and kissing her. Him testing her at prom was once again completely out of the blue and unnecessary, and I was seriously debating DNF-ing at this point in the story.

The best part about this book is that it's a quick read. The thing that I hated the most was the exaggerated and pointless amount of love interests and drama; I was hoping for a light and cute read and this was not it.

I might give a shot to the sequel only to find out what her father knew about their world. Hopefully there'll be more magic and less 2000s style drama.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.


Unfortunately, I DNF this book at 70%.

I don’t like to unfinished a book when it’s close to the end, but sadly, I haven’t connected with the protagonist and the story hasn’t interested me anymore. The plot is simple: the protagonist, Paisley, is a young girl who is a Discerner, someone who can see and manipulate the auras and emotions of people, that keep her power a secret. She tries to live a normal life until something happens, the discovery of another Discerner: James an outcast student. He should be the cause to talk about the powers they got when in reality the story focuses more on the romantic side. I have nothing against this choice, thanks to this expedient there is a way to see the bond between them and their life as Discerner.

In short, it looks fine, only that the protagonist has no kind of development except to be self-center. She says she wants one thing but then she ends up doing another. She wants friends but when there is a male friend she acts like a pick-me girl. She is the representation of a teenager who is too lost in her needs. This makes sense since at that age we were (at least I) selfish but Paisley lives in her bubble and ignored everything else. The worst thing is that throughout the story she comes up with thoughts that have no consistency with the situation or even she insists that no one can understand her problems when all the other characters are facing their difficulties. A striking example that I didn’t appreciate is her friendship with Mikayla. Paisley sees that her friend has problems at home and instead of helping her, for what a teenager can do, she does nothing. She isn't using her power even when they evolve to consolating her. Instead, their friendship gets worse and Mikayla’s exit leaves me puzzled. There was no other way to help her?

As for the magic system, apart from two pieces of information that the father of Paisley tells, as far as I have read, there is not much to know about Discerner. This led me to develop several doubts:
-why do they want to keep this secret if Discerner is so few that even if they used their powers no one would find out?
-how is it that the father knows so many things? did someone tell him? how is it that they haven’t met others like them when the protagonist finds one next to her locker at school?

As a fantasy reader, the lack of this aspect was disappointing. I saw that this book will be part of a trilogy and the fact that there is little substance of fantasy in the first book doesn’t encourage me to continue reading the series. I hope that in the next books, there is more development on this point. I’m sorry to leave a negative review because the plot of the story intrigued me, sad to say, I didn’t find what I was looking for while reading this story.

This was a light, entertaining read, but in the long run it isn't memorable. There's a lot of potential so I hope that the author's quality of work continues to grow with time.

This was a good book, but unfortunately it read a bit young for me. It was imaginative and would be perfect for someone in their teens as it captured being young so well. Although it was written young, it was very thought provoking at times and had some inspiring parts.

I didn’t feel much of a connection to the characters or the story but I do feel like this was because I was not the intended audience for this.

Loved this book and cannot wait to read more. It was captivating from the very beginning as though the MC was talking to me. Brilliant writing.

I really enjoyed this, although it did have a bit of a slow start , but once I got into it , I felt it really picked up. the magic system and characters were fantastic. If you love friendship, strong females, and first love this is definitely for you

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really wanted to like this book, but just had a slow start that didn't connect me to the FMC, Paisley. I recall being an angsty teenager and would have rolled my eyes at how "boy driven" she seemed to be. Sigh. The trauma and emotions are a bit much, especially when I look to escape into a story.

I'm giving it a three because the magic system and side characters were golden. I like happy endings and this one was wanting.

Paisley Adam is a Discerner, she can see and feel people’s emotions and spirits—like an empath, essence, aura in a smoky array of colors and basicly a human lie detector. She hide her ability, she only want normal teenage live. Then she meet James, they have same ability. Bind between them grow and develop through magic and become condependence. Paisley learn hard way what is fake love is, how to accept heartbroken, healing the wound and move on. I enjoy this book, bittersweet tenagee dream to find the soulmate. What Paisley said is true we are special.

#NothingSpecial #DinaS #LostBoysPress #IndependentBookPublishersAssociation #IBPA #NetGalley #ARC

Nothing Special is a delightful YA Romance. Once you’ve started it’s hard to put down. A tale of familial hardships, self discovery, first love and friendships. With subtle underlying magical, supernatural elements throughout.

This is heartwarming and heartbreaking. It had me happy, crying, sad and frustrated. The conclusion leaves you wanting (at least it did me) not the ending you would expect.

All in all a wonderful, beautifully written story and a must read for all.

I just reviewed Nothing Special by Dina S.. #NothingSpecial #NetGalley
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Okay I read this book back in march but had to fully process it Lol. But it was really touching to me with the story & the Ending!! (like what was that) I wasnt expecting it at all, I hope everyone that reads this fully gets the meaning behind it (well the one I correlated behind it neways.) And I will say i picked this book up solely because of the cover but do not regret it one bit :) & I can not wait to read more of the author Dina’s books

Nothing Special is a stunning debut that explores the pains of growing up, first love, and whose job it is to be the hero. This book will transport you back to high school in the best way. As you ride along with Paisley on her journey, you'll feel like you're experiencing everything along with her--from first-kiss butterflies, to the pain of love lost, to the joys and sorrows of finding yourself. The world-building is seamless, the emotions gripping, and the bonus storytelling found within the diary entries is profound with a touch of delightful teenaged angst.

Paisley Adams is just a regular high school kid -- except for the fact that she has magic. She thinks only she and her father have these powers, but when she discovers the school outcast, James, shares her abilities, her whole world changes. Not only does she have to come to terms with that, she also has college advisors breathing down her neck, her best friend is going through a heartbreaking crisis, and her dad's illness is making her come to grips with the fact that she might find herself alone in the world a lot sooner than she once thought.

This is a beautiful slice-of-life coming-of-age book with a touch of magic that will make you feel all the things.--joy, butterflies, grief, heartbreak. If strong female friendships, first love, and beautiful prose are your thing, you won't want to miss out on this book!

It was hard not to like this book. The magic and the magic system were cool and why I chose this book, but sadly iI am not into the ya romance or childhood trauma. The feeling of self-importance, like every boy having a crush on her, did feel like our main character had a lot of deeper rooted mental health issues, rather than just being a regular teenager.

After Paisley discovers upon a fellow person who has the magic of seeing others' auras and thoughts. They quickly form a tight bond and dive deeper into learning about their gift. I thought this book was a cute read. I did, however, find the story a little rushed at some points, and wished that we were able to learn more about the main characters and their power. But all in all I found the read enjoyable.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the arc of this book in return for my honest opinion!
***
“Do you believe in soulmates? I don't - I don't want to believe. Because if I let myself believe, that would mean I met mine. If I believed in soulmates, it would also mean that I lost mine forever"
Paisley is a Discerner and she's full of magic. She has the ability to see and manipulate auras and emotions. But all she wants is to 'be normal'. Until she finds out the school outcast, James is exactly like her.

This book was a whirlwind! This book isn't even out yet and I want a second one!
Initially, I thought this book would take a fantasy route but instead, it took romance. usually, I'm not a huge fan of romance, But this book warmed my cold little heart! It was also more paranormal than fantasy, but that's my fault for not checking the genres! I'm so glad that in the end, paisley became more confident and turned down James's offer to be friends again (I still want them to end up together though...)! It was fast-paced and an overall joy to read, there were so many twists I didn't see coming!
Although at times I did feel like there was too much going on, there was a point where Evan, Mikayla's cousins, and James were all "going for her". I also felt like logan asking her out was unnecessary.
Overall, I can't wait to find out what happens next! This book deserves a solid four stars!!