Marisa Kanter
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Can a love triangle have only two people in it? Online, it can... but in the real world, it's more complicated. In this debut novel Marisa Kanter explores what happens when internet friends turn into IRL crushes.REVIEW
There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.
He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…
Except who she really is.
Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.
That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.
Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.
If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels.
Halle, the daughter of renowned documentary film makers and the granddaughter of publishing royalty, was looking to make her own way in the YA world. Assuming the online identity of Kels, she created the uber successful YA book blog, One True Pastry. She was happy with her life online, but when she went to live with her grandfather, things got complicated. Now she had to deal with what happens with online life and real life collide.
I obviously wanted to read this book, because it was about a book blogger, and well, I love book bloggers. But, it was also about so many other things, and here are some things I really enjoyed.
Book Blogging
I was so awed by Halle's book blogging prowess. She was huge on multiple platforms, and Kantor didn't gloss over all the hard work she did to earn her following. The story touched upon many aspects of the blogger life, and I really appreciated that the good and bad parts were featured.
Exploration of Grief
Less than a year prior to the start of this story, Halle lost her grandmother to cancer. This was a profound loss for her. Her grandmother was the inspiration and supporter of many of Halle's dreams. She introduced her to NYU, the publishing world, reading, and book blogging. Therefore, when she came to live with her grandfather, and found merely a shell of who he once was, it was difficult for her. There were some painful and beautiful moments shared between Halle and her grandfather, and I really enjoyed this story arc.
Jewish Faith
I have read quite a few books featuring Jewish protagonists, but most aspects of their faith were somewhere off-page. Kantor put Halle's religion front and center. Halle attended services, and celebrated holidays on-page, which was wonderful. I also appreciated that she made a point to feature some characters, who were more secular, as well as more religious Jewish characters.
Friendship
I was fan of the group of friends Kantor gifted Halle with. They were fabulous bunch, and made up of very different personalities. The group had some athletes, artists, brainiacs, and obviously, readers. I loved seeing them embrace Halle, and welcome them to their group, and I loved seeing her bond with them. I think I really liked them, because they reminded me somewhat of the friends I kept in high school. They even spent Saturday nights bowling.
Cupcakes
Halle's OTP - one true pastry, was the cupcake. She started out featuring cupcakes on her blog, and it grew to be her signature. I loved all the baking and book reveals, and could almost taste those cakes. I sort of wish I had a cupcake right now.
Overall, I had a fun watching Halle trying to reconcile her online and IRL existences. The book celebrated family, friends, blazing your own path, and most importantly, books and cupcakes.
* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marisa Kanter has worked in publicity for major publishers and covered YA books for MTV. Currently, she works in sales, on the distribution side of the publishing industry. She can often be found searching for the best iced chai in NYC, or reading on the 3 train. What I Like About You is her first novel. Follow her at marisakanter.comWEBSITE | GOODREADS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM
FOLLOW THE TOUR
Week 1
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3/30/2020
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BookHighlight W/ Giveaway
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3/31/2020
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Review
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4/1/2020
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Author Guest Post
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4/2/2020
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Review
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4/3/2020
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Author Q&A
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Week 2
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4/6/2020
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Creative Post
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4/7/2020
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Pub Day (Marisa)
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Creative Post
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4/8/2020
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Author Q&A
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4/9/2020
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Author Q&A
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4/10/2020
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Review
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Week 3
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4/13/2020
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Review
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4/14/2020
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BookHighlight W/ Giveaway
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4/15/2020
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Review
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4/16/2020
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Review
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4/17/2020
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Author Q&A
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Week 4
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4/20/2020
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BookHighlight W/ Giveaway
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4/21/2020
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Author Q&A
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4/22/2020
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Review
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4/23/2020
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Review
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4/24/2020
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BookHighlight W/ Giveaway
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Week 5
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4/27/2020
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Review
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4/28/2020
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Review
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4/29/2020
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Review
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4/30/2020
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BookHighlight W/ Giveaway
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5/1/2020
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Review
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Do you like cupcakes?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
This sounds like an adorable book! It's interesting to explore the question of whether a love triangle can feature two people. Plus, I think many of us can relate with the fear of letting someone deeper into our lives.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a solid debut, and I look forward to seeing what other stories Kanter has to tell. A bit of editing could have made this better, but I did think it was good.
DeleteI really do like the sounds everything this has to offer. Halle sounds like she would be a character that I’d enjoy following on her journey.
ReplyDeleteI liked her a lot. Her living situation was so interesting, so nomadic. This time with her grandfather had so much significance because of that.
DeleteThis one sounds like a really thorough character study with a very interesting premise!
ReplyDeleteIt was cute. Was it perfect? No. That's why it got 3.5 stars, but it was a good debut. I always have room in my heart for a girl, her grief, and her cupcakes.
Deleteenjoyed the post and it looks like a nice read with all the feels
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Definitely had a lot of feels, and it was a pretty fun read
DeleteThis sounds really good! I loved your review! All the things you liked were things that I think I'd like too! :)
ReplyDeleteIt had some issues, but overall, I thought it was a pretty solid read. I had a lot of fun with it
DeleteI think I saw this book pop up on my Goodreads feed and library app, but I completely overlooked it. You've definitely convinced me to give this one a go now! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was cute. It could have benefitted from a bit of a trim, and if you are going to read it, be aware that there is a bit of adult YA blogger bashing in there. That made being invited to the tour a bit odd for me, but I thought the book had a lot of good things going for it too
DeleteAh this is such a lovely review, Sam, I'm happy you enjoyed this one. I'm so curious to read it as it deals with a book blogger (yay! Looking forward to seeing how that is represented in the story). I can't wait to give it a try :D
ReplyDeleteThe blogging stuff was really great, and because Kantor was a blogger herself, it was really authentic. I found those parts very relatable, even though I am no where as big as Kels
DeleteI love the unique book blogging angle, the pairing with the cupcakes! How cute!
ReplyDeleteHer "signature" was cool. She started with cupcake pairings, and then went onto book cover reveals using cupcakes. There are a few bloggers out there, who do books and food, like Pie Lady Books and The Reader and the Chef, and their instagram feeds are awesome
DeleteOooooh this sounds like a fun and cute book while being relatable too. I really like how Halle uses an alias too while blogging, because I personally use one myself and definitely understand how it can be... hard to separate the two but also together.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. You might really relate to this book on a different level because of that
DeleteI mean, the MC being a book blogger is enough to make me read but then I saw cupcakes and I was so ready to read this. It does sound like there are quite a few good points to this one and I'd be interested to see how the MC sorts through the clash of online and IRL when they come together.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't perfect, but I was able to overlook a few things, and did really enjoy it. The online drama had to do with the author saying the book wasn't just for teens, and then there was some bad mouthing of adult YA book bloggers, which made me uncomfortable, but I was able to move past it, and enjoy other parts of the book
DeleteIt sounds like this book does have some great points. I am not sure that this one will be for me though since I really believe that YA is for everyone. I think that the blogging aspect of the book is really interesting. Great review!
ReplyDeleteSome of my other blogger friends were put off by the adult YA book blogger bashing. At first, I thought I was being too sensitive, but when other people started mentioning it, it validated my feelings at least. I did let it slide, though, and overall, the book was solid. I enjoyed many other aspects of it, and would read more from this author.
DeleteI've read several mixed reviews for this one, so it was nice to read your positive review for it.
ReplyDeleteThis book would have earned a higher rating had it been edited a bit more. It was kind of long, and I felt like there were parts that didn't really add much to the story. Part of the plot involves insulting adult YA bloggers, and I know that rubbed some people the wrong way. I was wondering why the publicist would invite me, an adult blogger, on the tour knowing this was in the book, but I did find a lot of things I liked in the story.
DeleteI've been on the fence with this one, and I'm not sure if it's for me! I like the concept, but after reading your review and others, I don't think I'd LOVE it.
ReplyDeleteLindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?😷 💬
It was good, but there were a few things that kept it from being great for me. I felt like it needed a trim. It came in over 400 pages, which is not super long, but I thought there were a lot of things that took up page space without really adding anything to the story. There were things I would have liked to see more of too.
DeleteI really like the sound of the main character and that the story has so many layers to it.
ReplyDeleteI like Halle a lot, and I thought all her emotions and the way she was dealing with all the changes in her life, online and real, rang true.
Delete