Lefty's Lowdown: I'm Not in the Band by Amber Garza

I'm Not in the Band by Amber Garza
(standalone)
Published: June 12, 2017 by Entangled Teen (Crush)
Source: Received an electronic copy for review from the publisher via Netgalley, but that did not influence my review in any way.

Summary from Goodreads:
I like Kassidy Milton. There, I said it. She’s funny, beautiful—even though she doesn’t know it—and my favorite kind of weird. But I can’t tell if she’s into me or just trying to get close to me for a chance with my famous twin brother instead. I mean, it has to be me. I am the better-looking one.


But Kassidy has some demons, and she’s not good at letting people in. That happens when you’ve been hurt by someone close to you. I can relate. Trust is a funny thing; it’s hard to gain but easy to lose. I might just learn that the hard way.


Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book includes a snarky heroine, a swoon-worthy hero, crazy best friends, your favorite music, and lots of feels.

So it seems, recently, that I have A Thing for books that feature some sort of celebrity aspect. Thus, despite knowing how cheesy this looks and sounds, I requested a review copy. In the end, this book as just an okay read for me. There were a lot of little aspects I was not particularly fond of, but I was invested enough to see the story through and figure out where the characters end up. 

This book is, more or less, told from two points of view. I actually really enjoyed how Garza divded the narratives here. First there's Kassidy, who has a mysterious trauma in the near-past and isn't like Other Girls because she wears t-shirts and converse (ughhhh). Her story is told in a traditional formatting, but Archer's point of view was told entirely in facebook statuses, tweets, and text messages. I'm a sucker for mixed media, and this really worked for me. Was robably my favorite part of the novel, actually. 

While I liked Kassidy well enough, I didn't love her. In fact, she's utterly forgettable. Archer, on the other hand, was a controlling nozzle. Like, I get that he has Reasons to be so insecure, but that doesn't make it okay. I thought he was really sweet at first and then Kassidy literally interacts with his brother in the most innocent way and he frickin goes berserk. I'll admit, though, I did enjoy the way he interacted with his brothers and his friends. Some of their banter made me smile. But I lost all my respect for him the second his melodrama started waving its freak flag. 

Honestly, the melodrama was quite prevalent in this book, and I was not a fan. A lot of stuff just seemed over the top--even the romance. It had its cringe-worthy moments and kinda reeked of insta-love. No thank you. But at the same time, I was interested in seeing how everything was resolved and I enjoyed the characters' growth. 

The bottom line is that this was a quick read, and it kept my attention sufficiently, but it was nothing extraordinary. It's something I won't remember in a few months from now. The premise is appealing (at least in my opinion), but it's trope-y and just a bit much at times. 

My rating: 

3/5