Review: My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp

My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

You say it was all meant to be. You and me. The way
we met. Our secrets in the woods. Even the way it all
exploded. It was simply a matter of fate.


Maybe if you were here to tell me again, to explain it one more time, then maybe I wouldn’t feel so uncertain. But I’m going back to the beginning on my own. To see what happened and why.

Luisa “Lulu” Mendez has just finished her final year of high school in a small Virginia town, determined to move on and leave her job at the local junkyard behind. So when her father loses her college tuition money, Lulu needs a new ticket out.

Desperate for funds, she cooks up the (definitely illegal) plan to make and sell moonshine with her friends, Roni and Bucky. Quickly realizing they’re out of their depth, Lulu turns to Mason: a local boy who’s always seemed like a dead end. As Mason guides Lulu through the secret world of moonshine, it looks like her plan might actually work. But can she leave town before she loses everything – including her heart?

The summer walks the line between toxic and intoxicating. My Best Everything is Lulu’s letter to Mason – though is it an apology, a good-bye, or a love letter?
  I tried to love this book. I really, really tried. As soon as I heard about My Best Everything, I thought it'd be for me. Appalachians, moonshine, and a romance? Yes, please! But My Best Everything quickly became a letdown for me.


  My biggest complaint with this one is that it seemed so damn long. It became such a chore to finish this book. I felt like I'd read for an hour and only get through 5% of it on my Kindle. For me, the writing style is what slowed this book down. It's written as a letter from the main character, Lulu, to the love interest, Mason. For the first few chapters, it was quirky and cute. I liked it. But after 15% of the awkward writing, I was completely over it. It would have been better to post a paragraph or two in letter form at the beginning of the chapters or something. Anything but the way it was written would be an improvement.

credit
  Aside from my issues with the writing style, I did find myself enjoying parts of My Best Everything. As a fellow Appalachian small town girl, I understood where Lulu was coming from and her desire need to spread her wings. There was a connection between us because of that. But what I couldn't understand were her decisions. Lulu was able to plot up a devious and lucrative plan to rake in money illegally. But she lacked so much common sense.

credit
  I know it sounds like I disliked this book so much. But I really didn't; I promise! My hopes were just a bit too high, I think. Teenagers will enjoy My Best Everything. It's got a slow burn romance that I enjoyed, a bit of finding yourself through illegal means, and the bittersweet feeling of being on the brink of adulthood. Overall, My Best Everything was an enjoyable read. I just wish that a more complete story had been told without the letter!

**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.

18 comments:

  1. Aw, I'm sorry to hear it seemed like a chore to read. I hate books that just seem like they go on forever. The small town aspect appeals to me. I'm really interested in the Moonshine aspect though, I love illegal, backdoor, under the table dealings. I'll read this one sometime. Nice review. :)

    --Amber

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The moonshine part is what had my interest. Such a letdown! :(

      Delete
  2. I'm sorry you did enjoy this one more. My co-blogger read it and enjoyed it, but I'm a little hesitant to pick it up for some reason. I hate the books that are slow and seems like it takes forever. I may try to get this one at the library if I decide to read it.

    Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The library would be a great option! Slow books are the bane of my existence. I like to be swept up in a story!

      Delete
  3. I was sorry to read that you didn't enjoy My Best Everything. I will be reading it soon and will form my own opinion. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good review. Too bad this book was a miss, it had good story set up. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Boo for let-down books! :c I'm sorry this book didn't work out for you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The story line caught my eye...the moonshine was an interesting element. I guess I'd have to try the book myself to know if I liked it or not but I'm not fond of the letter type format, especially if it's the whole book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it would have been so much better if the letters were just snippets through the book. It made the flow of the book really complicated.

      Delete
  7. Oh, boo. Did it at any point feel like it was going faster? I thought this sounded like a very good book choice for me - like you, I grew up in an Appalachian town (in West Virginia) and was determined to get out of the state as early as middle school. It's a shame the book wasn't quite what you'd hoped for. btw, have you ever tried moonshine? When I went home to visit my parents, my dad had this peach flavored moonshine. It tasted like rubbing alcohol! With a peach smell that was way deceiving. It was great on a sore throat, though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, it never did. It got progressively slower the entire time. :( I did love the mentions of Appalachian life in the book. That was the highlight for me.

      And I have! Have you heard of Popcorn Sutton? He was a family friend, so I got to try the best shine ever. ;) We put horehound candy in a jar to drink for sore throats and coughs. True hillbillies, we are!

      Delete
    2. I haven't, actually. Or maybe I have and it went in one ear and out the other. I live in Seattle now and haven't spent much time in WV legally able to drink. Zero clue where my dad goes to get his stuff, but it's supposedly some guy that is beyond careful when making it. Dad had some weird anise drink too, but I have no clue what that was. I just know it came with one liquor in the bottle and this stick/twig. When you finish the bottle, you fill it up again with another kind.

      omg, the candy thing! That's fantastic :D My dad got to the point where when he'd get sick of me coughing (lots of bronchitis as a kid), he'd pour me a jagermeister shot. Kept me from drinking underage until like my second year of college. Blech.

      Delete
  8. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't like this one at all :( It must be horrible to feel like you were hauling through such a long book. I hope your next read is a lot nicer!

    Check out my latest post: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2015/03/sign-up-fantasy-favourites-read-thon.html

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...