Monday, February 20, 2017

Book Review: Coming Up for Air (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally


Swim. Eat. Shower. School. Snack. Swim. Swim. Swim. Dinner. Homework. Bed. Repeat.

All of Maggie’s focus and free time is spent swimming. She’s not only striving to earn scholarships—she’s training to qualify for the Olympics. It helps that her best friend, Levi, is also on the team and cheers her on. But Levi’s already earned an Olympic try out, so she feels even more pressure to succeed. And it’s not until Maggie’s away on a college visit that she realizes how much of the “typical” high school experience she’s missed by being in the pool.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, Maggie decides to squeeze the most out of her senior year. First up? Making out with a guy. And Levi could be the perfect candidate. After all, they already spend a lot of time together. But as Maggie slowly starts to uncover new feelings for Levi, how much is she willing to lose to win?



 


I really don't know anything about this author or this series. And I'm assuming it's in a series and I'm pretty sure this isn't the first book but I don't know. It's not labeled on Goodreads and since that's basically my Book Reviewer Bible, that's what I go by. 

If you've ever read any of my reviews, I make it very clear that I don't usually pick up a book in the middle of the series. For the most part, I end up hating myself because I didn't read those first books because even on the self proclaimed "stand-alone" novels, you do miss out on stuff and your reading experience is so much more rich when you get those first novels under your belt. Now, on very rare occasions, I do break that unwritten rule. Kinda like I did this time. But this time it was not intentional. And I'm kicking myself because I'm wondering if there was another book that came before this one. Am I missing out on important info? Pivotal plot points that would have changed my rating for this book? I have no clue. And I'm not going to search for that info either. It is what it is at this point and I can't unring the 'already read' bell. 

The story really skipped around and at times was in a super hurry to go where, I don't know. That's why I was wondering if I had missed something that was within the pages of a previous book. The characters were okay but I really know absolutely nothing about swimming except that Michael Phelps is super fast. FYI, that bit of info does not help you in this book. I played sports growing up, so I understood the dedication and how that impacted their character and was the driving force behind who the characters are within these pages. 

I kind of enjoyed the chemistry between Maggie and Levi but it wasn't anything that really stuck out to me. I didn't really see this as a romance novel as others have classified it. I saw it more as a coming of age story. You experience a big turning point in the lives of these young people and get to watch as they make choices that will impact their future. So from that aspect, it was pretty interesting. 

Just when I have overcome the skipping around and rushing of the plot, the epilogue comes around. And I didn't understand that AT ALL. It was about characters that I didn't even know! Sure, they mentioned Maggie and Levi but it was nothing like what I love about epilogues. I like getting a peek into the future of the characters that I've fallen in love with. I didn't get that kind of satisfaction and it just cemented my initial feelings on this book. Not for me. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *



Available: July 1st, 2017


No comments:

Post a Comment