I’ve been meaning to read some of Emma Mills’ books for a while now and I’ve finally taken the leap. I’m happy to report that I love them! Her characters are always so likable and her books so easy to read. Here’s my quick take on her first three books.
First & Then
This book actually was a surprise to me. I wasn’t loving it or Devon (the main character) at first, but both grew on me. I thought Devon’s progression as a character was great and not too extreme and I like how in the end, she had resolved to do better in a specific area. I ended up really loving Devon’s relationship with Foster. It felt real to me and like it progressed at a genuine pace. As Devon started to care more and more about Foster, so did I. Another thing I was surprised by was the depth that I felt the characters had. I just didn’t really expect that for some reason and I thought the secondary characters were all lovely as well. I thought the dialogue between characters was great and felt authentic–sass levels were v high. Lastly, I liked that this book was a sports book, without REALLY being a sports book. 4.5/5
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This Adventure Ends
First, I’m just going to say that I’m not going to pretend that the characters were realistic because they’re just…not. They were all just a little too shiny, but I still thought they were fantastic with great chemistry and sharp dialogue. I thought Sloane was immediately likable and funny. It made me literally LOL a few times in the first 100 pages. I thought her dynamic with her dad was especially fun. Something I especially liked about Sloan was that I didn’t feel like she was timid. I thought she could hold her own with her new friends. I’ve gotten a tad tired of the “extreme introvert being absorbed into a magnetic friend group” trope (sorry Sarah Dessen). Another character I loved was Laney! She was an absolute gem and reminded me a lot of Kitty from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in some ways. The one thing I will say is that we got hardly any scenes of Sloane at work with Gabe and it just seems like that should have played into things a bit more? But overall, a great read. 4/5
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Foolish Hearts
This book was so compulsively readable! Seriously, before I knew it I had blown through 200 pages and it felt like nothing. I thought all of the characters were all likable and I liked that Claudia was a gamer, but was also normal. I think a lot of times authors rely on stereotypes for their characters because it’s easier, but I appreciate when an author can “break the mold”. I liked all of Claudia’s interactions with Iris, but I found it a tad unbelievable that Claudia wouldn’t have ANY friends at school until senior year? But perhaps it’s because everyone else at her school is so rich… I don’t know, it just didn’t really ring true to me. While I enjoyed this book and Claudia’s story, I found myself wondering more and more about her older sister, Julia. I almost would like a story about her starting with the beginning of her pregnancy. She just seemed like a really interesting character and I wanted to know more about her–I found myself hardcore relating to her. Perhaps that’s just showing my age… Another great book from Mills and I’m excited to read more from her! 4/5
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