If You Come Softly

This story was incredibly short, strangely paced, and sort of perfect. It is a book you should come in knowing nothing about. If you want an easy and quick book to read that can impact your “feels,” it is well worth your time.

I'm gonna give this book a “meh.” It covers a topic that I've seen a lot and seen tackled in more interesting ways (making it a plot twist felt kind of tacky to me). On top of that, the twist was spoiled for me in the author's preface which said it was a “Romeo and Juliet” remake. Romeo and Juliet is my least favorite Shakespeare play. I don't really buy into the “true love” stuff, especially when it's 15 year olds. Falling in love with someone based on a single glance is just stupid to me and not a healthy foundation for a relationship.

This book didn't have much substance other than being a sappy teen romance with a social message. The characters were okay but not super memorable and the fact that both of them were super rich made them hard to relate to or root for. I think this book's strengths are in its writing style, which is pretty and accessible, and its relevance. I would definitely recommend this to its target, teen audience but as an adult I think I would have preferred something a little more meaty.

This was a sweet love story, and the first pick in Life's Library. Even though I had predicted what was going to happen, it didn't make it any easier to read once it finally happened. I found the text towards the end, after Miah's death, relatable due to my own personal life experience, and found everyone's reactions to be believable, human, and not contrived.