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”Siblings can be a special kind of cruel.��

Plot ~ Concept: ★★★★��
~ Execution: ★★★★☆��
Pacing: ★★★★��
Writing style: ★★★★��
Characters: ★★★★��
World:
Enjoyment: ★★★★��
Cover: ★★★★��

It had its deep moments, family, and lovable main characters. It had no drama for the sake of angst, no pettiness, and no justifying horrible actions.

Do you know how difficult it’s been for me to find contemporaries like these? Needle-in-a-haystack difficult.

Pros:
🍀 Addie and her brother were borderline ridiculous, but still managed to be very relatable siblings, just in a comedically exaggerated way. And I was living for it.
🍀 The setting was so vivid that it made me want to stop being a hermit, leave my room and travel through Ireland. That’s saying something.
🍀 The writing style is top notch.
🍀 Ireland for the Heartbroken. It’s a guidebook. It was humorous and profound, and if it were a real book, you bet I’d buy it.
🍀 The romance took a backseat. The seat at the very very back. But it doesn’t take away from the story at all. If anything, it adds to it.
🍀 Addie and Ian’s love WARMED MY HEART. The emotional journey these kids take is so sweet.
🍀 Lina’s cat texts. And Lina and Addie’s friendship in general felt so much more authentic.

Cons:
🍀 Like Love & Gelato, this book had an element of mystery. But I actually enjoyed this one’s less, because the main characters know what the secret is while you as the reader have to find out. Whereas in Love & Gelato, you and the main character are uncovering the mystery together. However, it’s not poorly done and keeps you turning the pages.
🍀 Remember the guidebook I mentioned earlier? I may or may not have accidentally read it in the Gossip Girl voice even though I didn’t used to watch Gossip Girl. That’s not any fault of the book. I’m just sharing my questionable sanity with the Internet even though I know I’ll regret it in the future.

Quotes that I liked:
🍀 ��...they’re beautiful because they contradict themselves. Soft, mossy hills turn to petrifying cliffs. A roiling sea rages against a serene sky.��
🍀 “I wanted this to be real life, not a detour.��
🍀 “I can usually count on sleep to polish out the hard edges of whatever I’m worrying about—like a broken bottle tumbling through waves to become sea glass. But I spent the night as jagged as they come.��
🍀��...didn’t matter, because that came with being family. Whether you wanted them to or not, your actions always affected the entire unit.��
🍀��...you can’t outsmart heartache. It has nowhere to be, nothing to do. It will just stand there, buffing its nails, waiting until you’re ready.��
🍀“If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?��

Overall rating: ★★★★☆��

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I just watched Logan, and oh my heck I’ve lost the will to do anything more than just exist on by bed like a potato. A teary potato. Sooo this book will maybe possibly hopefully be a pick-me-up.