BOOK REVIEW: Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

I initially gave TIME OF OUR LIVES three stars because it had so much potential. But after ruminating on it a bit, I removed one of those stars. The book just has way too many plot holes for me to give it a three-star rating in good conscience.

TIME OF OUR LIVES has been marketed as Young Adult / Contemporary Romance. This book is NOT contemporary romance; it's a coming-of-age story (which is perfectly fine -- I love a good coming-of-age!) with a romantic moment or two here and there.

Perhaps, the story would've been more enjoyable to me had I not been in the mood for an adorable, feel good romance. I chose to read this particular book, at this particular time, because I was led to believe that it would be similar to the YA romance novels previously published by this author duo. THAT IS NOT THE CASE.

The plot (or should I say lack thereof) moves verrrrry slow, and the first half failed to hold my interest. When I put it down, I didn't pick it back up for two weeks because I didn't care about the outcome.

Juniper has a chaotic life at home in Springfield, Massachusetts. She lives in a multi-generational household and yearns for the freedom an out-of-state school would provide.

Fitz lives in New Hampshire with his mom and feels a great deal of pressure to take care of her (she carries the gene for early onset Alzheimer's). Although he's resigned himself to a future attending a nearby college, he begrudgingly agrees to tour several universities in the northeast to appease his mother.

As Fitz sets off on his college tour, Juniper and her boyfriend Matt set out to do the same. Herein lies problemo numero uno. It becomes clearly obvious that Matt is nothing more than a plot device to get Juniper alone in New York City (as no responsible parent would let their teenage daughter traipse across the northeastern United States by herself), yet they don't break up until halfway through the book! This story is about Juniper AND FITZ. This is not a story about Juniper and her EX-BOYFRIEND. 

Thennnn... we are to believe that not only is Juniper over her charming, athletic, hunk of an ex in mere hours, but she's also ready and willing to continue the tour with this awkward dude she literally just met. 

To read the rest of my review (spoilers included),

you can find it on Goodreads >>> here.