Review: Maybe This Time by Kasie West

 

Maybe This Time
by Kasie West

July 9, 2019
368 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?

Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year's Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.

Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn't so bad after all . . .

Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West shows how love can blossom in unexpected places.

 

Review

Although not quite a new favourite, Maybe This Time is another solid teen story from Kasie West. I swear I will never tire of her books. They always bring out the smiles in me.

Sophie came across as not a very tolerable person but I actually liked that about her. She has a mature mind and knew what she wanted. Her attitude sometimes came off as snobby but when/if you had family issues and was as stressed about your future as Sophie was you'd probably fail to consider other people's feelings too. It was not intentional so I didn't hold it against her. For her age, I thought Sophie held herself and handled others exceptionally.

Various family dynamics were present in Maybe This Time. They were all well-represented especially when it came to Sophie's relationship with her mother. Things sometimes aren't what they seem on the surface. It was nice to see Sophie's perception change as some truths were laid out.

I hate to say this but there was not enough cuteness in Maybe This Time! Sophie and Andrew's relationship was very slow. The romance part of the story didn't really begin till over half way in. Though given the two only saw each other at town events it was a realistic timeline. Just not what I was used to with a Kasie West novel. It was fun to witness Sophie and Andrew's hate-to-like and friends-to-more progression. This pair was relentless with their bickering and fought at every turn. It made the eventual realization of their feelings all the more heart-pounding ;)

Although the romantic relationship didn't live up to my expectation, the friendship aspect of the story was excellent. Sophie and Micah have been best friends since forever. They love each other very much but that didn't mean they were always peachy. Communication was key so I was super happy to see it happen in Maybe This Time. It was also cute to see Micah hit it off with Andrew. She was like a mother hen that just needed to take care of everyone and I adored that.

Maybe This Time was more than a teen love story. It was as much about friendship and family as it was about learning about yourself. Kasie West, please never stop writing!

*I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not affected in any way. Any quotes included in my review were taken from the ARC I received.