erin hahn – GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Erin Hahn
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: September 7th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Raised by conservative parents, 18-year-old Meg Hennessey just found out her entire childhood was a lie. Instead of taking a gap year before college to find herself, she ends up traveling north to meet what’s left of the family she never knew existed.

While there, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor’s kid whose dad ended up in prison, leaving Micah with his own complicated relationship about the church. The clock is ticking on Pastor Allen’s probation hearing and Micah, now 19, feels the pressure to forgive – even when he can’t possibly forget.

As Meg and Micah grow closer, they are confronted with the heavy flutterings of first love and all the complications it brings. Together, they must navigate the sometimes-painful process of cutting ties with childhood beliefs as they build toward something truer and straight from the heart.

In Erin Hahn’s Never Saw You Coming, sometimes it takes a leap of faith to find yourself.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an eARC.

I LOVED THIS.

Hahn’s books are only getting better and better. Oh wow did I love this. My favorite of her books so far.

I am a religious person so I wasn’t sure how I would feel reading this. But the way that many important topics were discussed and approached made me tear up and want to hug this book. It hit home in many ways and honestly strengthened how I feel in my spirituality. It’s okay to question. It’s okay to love. It’s okay to find what works best for YOU. I may not 100% agree with every little thing in this book, but faith is handled differently by each of us and no two experience life the same way.

The absolutely precious first love romance between Micah and Meg had me grinning from ear to ear. IT WAS SO CUTE. I loved it. They truly hit it off and I couldn’t get enough of their open conversations and meaningful dialogue about their struggles and triumphs. Even better, there wasn’t some wildly dramatic conflict between them. The conflict lied elsewhere and I could shout for joy about how that was handled.

NSYC had me hooked from the first chapter. I read it in a day because I needed more more more. The characters were flawed and beautiful. I ended up loving the themes of faith and the essence of human nature versus God himself. It wasn’t a book of belittling, it was a book of hope and growing up. Being resilient in the torrent of trials and leaning on what matters to you most.

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: kisses to heated make-outs; some implied closed door scenes
Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mentions of suicide and self harm, an incarcerated father, loss of a parent by drunk driving

Instagram || Goodreads

ARC Book Review & Blog Tour: More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn

July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Erin Hahn
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: May 12th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Growing up under his punk rocker dad’s spotlight, eighteen-year-old Luke Greenly knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn’t in front of a crowd, it’s on the page. Hiding his gift and secretly hoarding songs in his bedroom at night, he prefers the anonymous comfort of the locally popular podcast he co-hosts with his outgoing and meddling, far-too-jealousy-inspiringly-happy-with-his-long-term-boyfriend twin brother, Cullen. But that’s not Luke’s only secret. He also has a major un-requited crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell.

Vada’s got a five year plan: secure a job at the Loud Lizard to learn from local legend (and her mom’s boyfriend) Phil Josephs (check), take over Phil’s music blog (double check), get accepted into Berkeley’s prestigious music journalism program (check, check, check), manage Ann Arbor’s summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is most definitely NOT on the list. So what if his self-deprecating charm and out-of-this-world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about some mystery girl on their podcast and she really, really wishes it was her?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

SUPER CUTE.

I feel like I use that word a lot when describing books, but I like reading cute books! Maybe I’ll come up with another adjective at some point, but for now, I found this book super cute.

When I read Erin Hahn’s first book (You’d Be Mine), I found it charming, but only alright. Upon seeing her latest book and the summary, I was enthralled and it sounded completely up my alley. Take a chance? YUP. And I’m happy I did.

There were plenty of pop culture references throughout. I usually find them more on the obnoxious side, but guys, these made me laugh. Actually giggle at my book because they were spot on. They reference would hit at the right moment and I loved them in this book.

I love allllll of the music. One of the few things that could make this book better would be putting it together as an actual movie. I would be all over hearing these songs because the lyrics are stunning and heartfelt. I was pleasantly surprised that I knew most of the songs referred to by Vada and Luke. Music plays a big role in the feelings and emotions and creates a great backdrop for the story as a whole.

Luke and Vada were adorable. Simply adorable. I LOVED the way their relationship developed over the course of the book. It didn’t need an enemies to lovers trope to sway me. This friends to lovers things was perfect. The awkward, young love flirtations made me smile and I was smitten with them together. I liked both of their personalities and interactions and the natural way everything came together for them. The side characters were great in their own right. Cullen and Zack were a sweet and funny couple. I love how accepted they were and what they added as a brother and friend to Luke.

Not to mention, the side story between Vada’s Mom and Phil (Vada’s boss) was everything I needed in a sub-plot. These two were flippin’ cute and I am so happy we got their full story too. I love when other characters who get page time have a beautiful and moving adventure too.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult contemporary romance
Language: some strong throughout
Romance: kisses/make-outs; mentions of sexual relationships (side characters), but no actual scenes in book
Violence: drunk/belligerent father

Instagram || Goodreads

Book Review

Book Review: You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn

December 4, 2019October 14, 2019 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult contemporary romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: Erin Hahn
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: April 2nd, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.

But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.

Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk.

WOULD WORK WELL AS A MOVIE.

This was more unique to any YA contemporary I’ve read in recent past in regards to the setting. It’s set on a country music tour and that provided a whole array of situations including tour buses, hotels and concerts. There were some great scenes from those options alone.

My biggest gripe was that I felt it would work SUPER great as a movie. There were a lot of concert scenes and lyrics throughout the novel and I wanted to see those brought to life. Hearing the voices, seeing the emotions and body language of Annie and Clay on stage would really create an awesome movie. As a book, it was hard to truly convey everything.

The love story wasn’t bad, everything just happened SO FAST. It’s a very short book (under 300 pages) and things are thrown out in rapid fire. The relationship came off a bit insta-love, yet it was full of artist passion so in some odd way it kind of worked? Jury is still out for me. I will say, I loved how it came together at the end. That was a solid happily ever after that made sense and made me smile.

This was somehow naive and adult all in the same breath. The writing felt more on the younger side of YA, but the situations were DARK. I mention this in my trigger warnings, the descriptions of a child finding two who had committed suicide was probably one of the darker things I have read recently. Then having to watch a teen go through an addiction to alcohol and coping with grief was a lot to handle.

I enjoyed seeing the evolution of Clay and how he learned to cope with his choices and grief from situations out of his control. He and Annie were able to feed off of each other to help get to higher ground. I liked their connection and hope that they were finally able to find.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult contemporary romance
Language: some throughout
Romance: some kisses, and mentions of spending the night together but no big details
Violence: physical
Trigger warnings: drug use, underage drinking, alcoholism, loss of loved ones, double suicide (discussed throughout book, detailed in chapter 23), overdose, depression