Birdie and Daniel had possibly the most awkward first encounter of all time (they had sex and then Birdie ran away). Birdie would have been fine to never think about the experience again, except that Daniel is working at the hotel where she just got her first job. Determined to push past their initial encounter, Birdie and Daniel embark on a journey to solve a local mystery.
TL;DR – Not as good as Alex, Appoximately.
My first problem with this book is the cover. It’s great that they were able to get a model with long hair for Daniel, but where is Birdie’s flower? That’s such a key part of her character and I don’t feel like it would have been that hard to include that in the cover, but whatever. I mean, they’re eating pie, Birdie has a book…how did they miss the flower???
Some of you might remember that I LOVED Alex, Approximately so I was fully prepared to love this book too. Unfortunately, it seemed a little too reminiscent of Alex, Approximately and wasn’t as enjoyable to me. Obviously there were some different plot points, but it was the same formula of “sheltered and somehow damaged girl meets extremely charismatic and attractive boy, boy pursues reluctant girl, girl discovers boy is also damaged, girl and boy get together”. It just felt too the same to me.
Then we get to the setting. I was born and raised in a suburb near Seattle and I just felt like this was a very tourist portrayal of the city. I mean, I guess maybe people who live in the city proper are different? But I don’t think so and I found it detracted from the book for me. I mean, Daniel calls Safeco Field “The Safe”. Literally nobody calls it that. Okay, I googled it and apparently some news stories have called it that, but I have never heard a local call it that. Literally never. Besides, it’s T-Mobile Park now so that “nickname” is already dated. There’s also a line where Birdie mentions that a Fremont Troll sized weight is lifted off her back or something. What. Who thinks stuff like that? It’s literally only in there to namedrop another Seattle landmark. And the weather is mentioned by Birdie way too often. Growing up, I would never think about the weather. If it’s raining, I’d grab my jacket and that was it. I never dwelt on the fact that it was raining in June or whatever. I hardly even noticed if the sky was overcast. Locals also never talk about the “Seattle freeze”. So there we go. Apparently I’m a Seattle snob or whatever. Don’t @ me.
Besides those things, I thought the side characters were okay. I liked Mona, Birdie’s grandpa, and Joseph, but we never really get time to know much about any of them. I thought the setting of the diner was good too (every pie sounded AMAZING). I didn’t love Birdie as a character, however. She complained about her grandmother A LOT and never seemed to really think about why her grandmother was so overprotective–she just kind of complained about it. I also never understood why she was so resistant to learning about and dealing with her narcolepsy? I guess maybe I didn’t realize that there was a stigma around it. Daniel was okay as a character if a little too perfect.
Daniel and Birdie’s relationship wasn’t super compelling to me. There was just too much angst (created by Birdie). It was so obvious the entire book that Daniel was SUPER into her, but Birdie was really hesitant and kind of held back the entire time. Even after she and Daniel “got together” and his mom had told Birdie that he was super into her, she was still really paranoid and doubtful. It just made Birdie not make much sense to me as a character.
Overall, I just didn’t find this book, the characters, the subplots, or the setting as enjoyable as Alex, Approximately. I probably shouldn’t be comparing the two, but I can’t stop myself. I will say, this was a very sex positive book portraying teens practicing safe sex and consent, so it’s got that going for it. I haven’t read Starry Eyes yet, but I’m a little more hesitant to pick it up now.
Overall Rating: 3
Language: Moderate
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Moderate
Note: I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Only newscasters call Safeco Field “The Safe”. You’re right. It’s not a local thing. I was going to mention the T-Mobile thing, but you already knew! 🙂 Seattle freeze? I’ve heard of it, but I thought it was harder to make friends in AZ when I lived there. People might not chat it up on the streets, but I think they’re generally nicer here. As for the weather, I notice it but it’s not this huge thing. Well, unless it snows or is over 100. Then, us Seattle people are just constantly complaining. Overcast and a slight drizzle is normal. Everyone (who lives here) knows the sun doesn’t shine until after the 4th of July. LOL. This stuff might drive me nuts when I read this one, too. I’m going to read it, though. I loved Alex, Approximately, so maybe I’ll love this one, too.
Nice review!
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Thanks! And I really do hope you end up liking it if you decide to read it. I talked to my husband who pretty much lives and breaths MLB even if he’s not from Seattle and he’d never heard anyone call it “The Safe” either 🤷🏻♀️
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Yeah, I think I’ve only heard it called “Safeco” for short. Or people just say they’re going to a Mariners’ game. It’s the same thing with Century Link. That’s what we call it and the news calls it “the Clink” or something.
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Why do they try to force nicknames???????
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I have no idea.
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I was looking forward to this one. I’m not very familiar with Seattle, so maybe I’ll still manage to enjoy it. XD
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Honestly, the Seattle stuff was a big part of me. I hope you like it if you decide to read it!
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Omg as a Seattle-area native this sounds so frustrating! The overcast weather is so normal that nobody even really notices or mentions it. And that Fremont Troll thing lol… don’t you know that all New Yorkers say that they have a “Statue of Liberty sized weight” lifted off their backs? 😂 Sorry to hear that this book didn’t deliver for you – but I can understand why!
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Haha I love your Statue of Liberty comparison. So true! And yeah, she’s always telling us what the weather’s like and I’m just like, “We get it! You’re in Seattle and it rains there!”
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I wasn’t sure whether this book would be my jam, but now I think I’m certain this isn’t a book for me. A lot of people have been praising it though! I find it really annoying when characters are portrayed on covers and they look completely different to their description or are missing distinctive traits. Like, WHY? 🙄 *sigh*
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Right??? I haven’t had a chance to look over other reviews yet. I definitely can see how other people would enjoy it and it did have some good qualities, but for me it was just okay.
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All the reviewers who wrote about this one raved about Alex, Approximately though. So I think I might have to add that one to my tbr 😃
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I can’t really say what the difference is…but yeah, for some reason I LOVED Alex, Approximately!
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Well I’m glad you liked it even a little 🙂 I have this one and Alex, Approximately so maybe I should start with that! Or maybe start with this one so I’m not disappointed!
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I’d probably start with this one and then move on to Alex, Approximately. Actually, I’d be interested to see how you feel about A, A after reading this one!
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The hat instead of the flower on the cover really bugged me too!! I would still recommend Starry Eyes. That’s my favorite of Bennett’s books.
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Good to know! I’ll give it a try then.
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So I was SO EXCITED for this book because I ADORED Starry Eyes and it’s a month later and I still haven’t finished it- it’s put me in the worst reading slump ever! I love Seattle and have been there several times so I am enjoying the setting but other than that I completely agree with you- there’s so much unnecessary angst created by Birdie, I don’t really like her or Daniel and I’m really not intrigued by the “mystery” they are trying to solve 😦
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Yeah! None of the plot really did it for me and they were SO angsty! I’m glad you feel the same way.
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Aww shame to hear you didn’t like this one – but sounds like Alex Approximately is more worth picking up? I’ve got that one on my kindle and I keep meaning to get to it. I wasn’t the hugest fan of Starry Eyes, although there were some things I really loved about it! I hate it when authors namedrop loads of landmarks to make it obvious where something is set, I feel like portraying the atmosphere and feel of a place is so much more important and makes it much not authentic. Xxx
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I’m totally with you on getting the atmosphere of the setting right! It’s showing rather than telling. And yeah, I’d recommend Alex, Approximately!
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So true! I’ve seen so many books tell instead of show! Awesome, I will definitely check that one out soon, it seems like a good Spring/Summer read! Xxx
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