Mini review + reading update🍋

I don’t have much to say about it this one because I dnfed at 30%-40%. I just couldn’t get into it. I was excited for the Italian family and the destination wedding. But I just didn’t connect with the characters or care about rooting for the romance enough. It could easily be someone else’s cup of tea though, so if it sounds fun give it a try!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for a copy of this book!

i really LOVED the My Best Friend's Wedding inspiration. the first time i saw that movie, i remember thinking it was wildly out of pocket (in the best way). i really enjoyed seeing queer characters get to be that kind of authentic and messy that sometimes they're usually devoid of due to fears of writing a "perfect" queer character. perfect queer characters are authentic queer characters, and that's exactly who Fielder Lemon is. he is allowed to be messy, emotional, and go after what he wants. he was human. he's a really great character with a wonderful arc.

the italy setting was perfect. the wedding backdrop was romantic. the scheming and pining were extremely entertaining. i loved the romance and the themes of knowing how to find what you want and what you need, and sometimes letting yourself have both. as a member of a loud italian family, i appreciated that inclusion too.

Steven's books are always my favorites. the stories are a gift, and everyone needs to prioritize them

This wasn’t bad necessarily, but the main character was so insufferable I found myself trudging through the story. Honestly Ricky deserves better

I have mixed feelings about this book, and I hate that I feel this way. I loved Steven Salvatore’s previous YA books—No Perfect Places is one of the most underrated and underread books I’ve ever read—and I adore his vivid writing. I also love that he writes different kinds of YA stories, more uplifting ones and more serious ones. The thing is, though, I think I like the serious ones more.

Ricky’s (the love interest) mom says somewhere in the story, <i>”Sorry about that. He means well, but he’s a bit much sometimes—”</i>

That’s also how I feel about this book. Don’t get me wrong, the descriptions of the Italian landscape were incredible, the Coven (Fielder’s mom and her sisters) hilarious, with Nonna the icing on the cake, but Fielder was indeed a bit much, sometimes. Add that Ricky and Fielder only started talking at 1/3 of the story and all those fourth wall breaks (where the MC talks to the reader), and I was like: whoa. I felt so overwhelmed.

Ricky’s POV was, thank God, a bit quieter, but I didn’t feel much. I didn’t feel the chemistry between those two boys, I didn’t root for them, I didn’t even particularly like them. And I definitely didn’t like that whole Cam thing.

And now I’m mad at myself for not loving this book as much as I wanted to. I did love all those beautiful descriptions of Amalfi, though, but I can’t rate a book 4 or 5 stars, just because of a gorgeous setting, right? So, please, if you want to read this book, check out other reviews and ignore mine.

incredible ARC with awesome writing, fun themes, good characters, and some very cute romance. as well as an interesting antag. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

***Trigger Warning: Loss of a Parent***

When Love Gives You Lemons follows  Fielder, who grew up next door to Ricky. They used to date but Ricky broke up with Fielder to find himself. Now, one year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin's destination wedding in Italy. Fielder is so excited until he finds out that his cousin is marrying Ricky's sister.  Fielder and Ricky have not spoken since their breakup. Fielder thinks this is the perfect time to try and win Ricky back. However, it seems like Ricky has already moved on. But  Fielder is determined to win him over. 

OBSESSED!!!!!!! (That pretty much sums up how I feel about this book) I might be a little biased because Steven Salvatore is one of my go-to authors. If they write a book, I will read it, and I will be in love with it. I LOVED everything about this book. I think this is going to be my go to summer romance book (Because I will be reading this over and over again)! This was just such a fun read. I love that this book not only focused on romance but also family. The fourth wall breaks in this book were so dang funny. I am not normally a fan of the second-chance romance trope, but this was EVERYTHING. Fielder and Ricky were just so darn cute. ALSO, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS COVER?? It might be my favorite Steven Salvatore cover ( I promise I love them all). Anyway, I could keep talking about this book, and I know I am not going to stop thinking about it. But I am going to stop talking just say read this book and all of Steven Salvatore's books because they are all so perfect! 

Thank you so much, Steven Salvatore and Bloomsbury YA for the ARC of this book. This comes out May 13!

for as much as i wanted to like this book, quirky title aside, i found little to enjoy

the setting was good, like who wouldn’t want to fall in love in the amalfi coast? but apart from that everything else seemed to irritated me, which might as well be a me problem and not the books fault

<spoiler>let’s start with the main characters
* never in my life have i heard someone italian whose name was fielder (that’s a lot american imo). name aside, this boy is 18, what 18 year old is not obsessed with his phone doing absolutely nothing? every single one i have met. however ricky criticised him so much for that <spoiler>(that is the reason they broke up) </spoiler> when he’s actually doing something good with the social media
* i have a bone to pick with you, ricky. apart from the obviously breaking up without giving an explanation and then running away, i found him so condescending, in the way he acted like he was better than everyone else because instead of crying of talking when he had big feelings, he used his hands like his nonno, even though men like his grandfather clearly lived in a very different era.
* if you ignore all that, let’s talk about how he strung two boys along—even though one turns out to be kind of like a piece of shit— and couldn’t seem to make a decision to save his life without someone actually spelling it for him.
* i also didn’t like that when he was finally choosing the one guy he apparently wanted to be with, he still kissed the other one pretty hard, only for him to go and also kiss the chosen one ten minutes later</spoiler>

i spent the entire time reading this book getting so frustrated, because i really wanted to like it, but it was so not for me

also, i tried reading this on kindle, but the formatting was a fucking mess, so i ended up having to change to my netgalley account, which i don’t mind, but why make the arc kindle appropriate if there’s no way you can read that?

anyway, many thanks to NG, the author steven salvatore, and Bloomsbury for the arc of when love gives you lemons

Thank you Netgalley for my ecopy of this ARC.

I have read a lot of Steven Salvatore's books, and I really enjoy them.

When Love Gives You Lemons is a great YA romance with some lovely characters. Fielder Lemon is from a loving and gregarious Italian family, and he lived feet away from his best friend and first love, Ricky DeLuca. That is... until Ricky went and surprised Fielder by getting into a woodworking program miles away and breaking up with him.

Fielder has done his fair share of pining (a year ok!?) but he can totally handle the fact that he must go to a family wedding at which Ricky is the best man.

This book isn't just about an underground plot by friends and family to get a couple back together... it's much more than that. This book is about family, love, life and figuring out who you are.

Sometimes, we can figure out who we are when we are with other people and sometimes we can't. Sometimes, we meet the love of our lives at exactly the right moment and sometimes we don't.

Salvatore meanders through a world in which Fielder and Ricky realize they are both on journeys to "becoming". They're young, maybe they don't know exactly what the world has in store for them but it's a journey, nonetheless.

I loved the way this family loved each other. This book is a beautiful thing.

Thank you SO MUCH to @bloomsburybooksus for this HIGHLY anticipated ARC to review. Thank you @stevensalvatorebooks for this book and for tolerating my 80000000 messages while reading.

In this exuberant and gorgeous YA romance from the critically acclaimed author of And They Lived..., a budding social media influencer sets out to win back his first love at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove.

^from the publisher!

Ok so first thing you need to know is that I discovered Steven Salvatore last year. I devoured their books. The backlist. Every single book was a banger. Loved their adult debut. Another banger. My expectations were high for this book and Steven *knocked them out of the park!!!*

Can we talk about this cover!? The love struck eyes. The thick thighs saving lives. Yall. More bodies like this on romance covers please!!!! As a fat girl, seeing bodies that don’t just look like everyone else’s hits different. This would have meant the world to me as a teen.

This is a LOVING homage to rom coms of yore, specifically My Best Friend’s Wedding. I was immediately bought into this story. Rooting for Fielder. Wanting to see him happy and fulfilled.

Zero spoilers but!!!! This book is laugh out loud funny. As in I found myself cracking up immediately. It is *swoony* and oh-so-romantic. It is gay as hell. I LOVE all of the queerness and the calling out of *ahem* some people. I LOVE that it is sex positive and also has room for discussion of not having sex if you aren’t ready.

I was laughing, tearing up, giggling, cheering, squealing, cheesing, and having the best time. This book is not just about love in relationships. It’s about family and friends and finding your passion. It’s about pushing yourself to grow and leaning on your friendships. It’s about realizing you can do hard things *giggle* but really.

I think about And They Lived… at least once per day. This book is even better than my favorite Salvatore novel. I ate this up with a spoon and enjoyed every last lemon filled bite. An enthusiastic Hell yes from me!!!!

Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Steven Salvatore always writes the sweetest stories! Fielder Lemon had his heartbroken by the boy next door, his best friend, and his first and only love. He spent the next year and then some working on building his following on the Clock app and working on himself so that when he saw Ricky again he could win him back. He just didn’t realize it would be so soon. His cousin is marrying Ricky’s sister, in Italy! His whole family is headed to a romantic destination, what better place to win Ricky back! Only Ricky is not alone. Will Fielder let a this new person stand in his way? Ricky wanted to guard himself from Fielder, he’s the one that left, but Fielder hurt him too. But when the two return to each others orbits he can’t help but notice all the things that always attracted him to Fielder and all the way in which Fielder has grown. Caught between his ex and his current someone he’s more confused then ever. Can Fielder win back Ricky’s love? They’ve both been hurt and are scared. Maybe Italy can give them more then just time with each other. I love a book with a beautiful setting! The villages, the coast, Lemon Grove, and the Blue Grotto all sound absolutely lovely! A swoon worthy setting for a swoon worthy story! I loved both Fielder and Ricky and my heart ached with love, I smiled with them, felt all the warm and fuzzies with them, and just loved them! Of course there is the wonderfully loud, not at all subtle, in your business family that makes the story so enjoyable as well! Topher and Sienna’s love, Matty’s determination to lose his virginity, the Coven’s constant bickering but unconditional love and support of their children. And of course Benny’s hilarity! Humorous, sweet, charming, gut wrenching, and so lovely! Highly recommend reading When Love Gives You Lemons!