Blog Tour: What If It’s Us // Review & Aesthetic Board

Welcome to my stop on the What If It’s Us blog tour! 🙂 Thank you so much to JM @ Book Freak Revelations for hosting this tour and giving me this amazing opportunity!! Please check out his blog, he’s so sweet and he writes incredible reviews! ❤

 

 

Title: What If It’s Us

Authors: Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+

Publication Date: October 9, 2018

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | TBD  | Amazon

 

 

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is?

 

I love Becky and I love Adam and I love their debut collaboration. I’m so glad this precious story is almost out in the world.

I loved the main characters in this book. Arthur is truly a Becky Albertalli character. He’s innocent, honest, and sweet. Likewise, Ben is truly an Adam Silvera character. He’s laid back, thoughtful, and a little cynical. Their personalities really complement each other and allow them to grow together throughout the novel. Arthur helps make Ben more upbeat while Ben helps keep Arthur grounded. Becky and Adam really shine through their respective characters but at the same time the transitions between their chapters flow seamlessly. I really enjoyed getting to hear from both of them. They’re hilarious separately but even more hilarious together. I highlighted the parts that stood out to me as being really funny, so needless to say most of my eARC is covered in color. I also have to mention that there are a ton of Harry Potter references in this book and I truly appreciated all of them.

The romance between Arthur and Ben is absolutely adorable.  I loved the beginning of the story where they were both searching for each other. The ways in which they kept almost finding but just missing one another were very clever. I also thought it was interesting that when they were finally reunited, they decided to keep “redoing” their first date. I thought that this was a unique take on the classic meet-cute story and I liked that things weren’t perfect between them. They didn’t always say or do the right things. My favorite part of their relationship was that despite this, they always kept trying. They were into each other and so they didn’t give up. Instead, they kept making an effort to get things right. Things weren’t always easy, but I think they came out stronger together because they both decided that it was worth it to fix their problems and I really admired that.

I also loved the secondary characters in this book. Even though Arthur’s family dynamic was a little more dysfunctional, both families were very loving and supportive. The interactions between Arthur and Ben’s families were so cute. Both characters also have great friends. Dylan is probably my favorite character in the whole novel because he’s just so freaking hilarious. He hardly said anything that didn’t have me laughing out loud. Friendship is an important aspect of this story. There are discussions about balancing spending time with your friends and your significant other. Ben also has to make decisions about whether or not he wants to return to being friends with his ex, Hudson. I found that part of the novel to be really thought-provoking and I think the way Ben handled the situation was very mature.

There’s a lot of diversity in What If It’s Us. Not only are the main characters gay, but Arthur is Jewish and has ADHD while Ben is Puerto Rican. Ben mentions how he has struggled with his identity in the past because he doesn’t look Puerto Rican and people often think he’s white, yet he’s proud of his heritage. Arthur and Ben also encounter a homophobic man in one scene and you can see how much his hateful comments really affected both of them and made them feel unsafe. Becky and Adam did an amazing job of encouraging tolerance and understanding.

I’m still not quite sure what to think of the ending. I won’t talk too much about it because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that it really made me think. I suspect that people are going to feel very strongly about it when they read it and either love it or hate it. I think I fall somewhere in between and while it frustrated me a bit, I think there’s something to learn from it.

Overall, I really enjoyed What If It’s Us. It was a cute, quick read that was mostly fluffy but did have some serious discussions about things such as homophobia and fate. It was really funny and easy to get through. It also gave me a lot of feels. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2018 and I can honestly say that Becky and Adam did not disappoint.

 

 

You can enter to win a finished copy of What If It’s Us! 

The giveaways will end on October 19th. They’re open internationally (with the exception of the UK, South Africa, Australia, and India due to publishing/selling rights). You can enter them by clicking on these links:

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Good luck! 🙂

Have you read any books by Becky Albertalli or Adam Silvera? Are you planning on reading What If It’s Us? What are some of your favorite YA contemporary romances?