Lefty's Lowdown: Boys Like You by Juliana Stone

Boys Like You by Juliana Stone
(Standalone)
Published: May 6, 2014 by Sourcebooks Fire
Source: received from Netgalley for review (ages ago, so sorry)

Summary from Goodreads:IF
If I hadn't fallen asleep.
If I hadn't gotten behind the wheel.
If I hadn't made a mistake.

For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart--leaving her empty and broken. There's a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her grandma isn't going to change that...

Nathan Everets knows heartache firsthand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it's all his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn't deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn't going to change that...

There's No Going Back

Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt--looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness. 

The best way I can think to describe this book is as a guilty pleasure. Boys Like You is by no means a fantastic work of literature, but it's not bad either. It's one of those books that is really interesting when you're reading it, but doesn't leave much of an impression. And I mean it--I just read this book for the second time because I don't remember reading it the first time. I have no clue when I first read it, and I didn't remember anything that happened in it. That doesn't happen to me often. Still, it is an engaging enough read. Easy to get lost in for a few hours. It's filled with teen angst, much kisses, and a feel-good ending. 

Told in dual POV, the two narrators are Monroe and Nathan. They've got some serious darkness swirling in those noggins of theirs, and they use each other to try to move on from the traumatic events of their pasts. They've got decent chemistry, but they're no OTP. I was still rooting for them to be together, to find happiness in each other, and to makeout! They both had interesting voices. A lot of times, when there are multiple narrators, I find myself wanting to read one more than the other, but that wasn't really the case here. I just kind of wish there were more to these characters, and that the secondary characters played a larger role in the novel. 

Which brings me to my second point...the plot. I get that the point of the novel was for these two characters to seek solace in each other and get over their serious depression. But like the plot is entirely based on their relationship. A good majority of the scenes are just scenes of their relationship developing. There is really not a whole lot else happening in this novel. 

All in all, this is just a very simple book. Nothing to really fangirl at. It's lacking intricacies, that's for sure, but I still enjoyed reading it. It's an easy, romantic-heavy story that will provide a good distraction from the world for a little while.

Rating:

3/5