Review : What If by Rebecca Donovan

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : What If
Author : Rebecca Donovan
Publication Date : September 16th 2014
Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

What if you had a second chance to meet someone for the first time?

Cal Logan is shocked to see Nicole Bentley sitting across from him at a coffee shop thousands of miles from their hometown. After all, no one has seen or heard from her since they graduated over a year ago.

Except this girl isn't Nicole.

She looks exactly like Cal's shy childhood crush, but her name is Nyelle Preston and she has no idea who he is. This girl is impulsive and daring, her passion for life infectious. The complete opposite of Nicole. Cal finds himself utterly fascinated-and falling hard. But Nyelle is also extremely secretive. And the closer he comes to finding out what she's hiding, the less he wants to know.

When the secrets from the past and present collide, one thing becomes clear: Nothing is what it seems.

Personal Thoughts 

Rebecca Donovan is a name I hear frequently in the NA genre and for some mysterious reason, I've never picked up a book by her before What If. There was something about the blurb that made me go all grabby-hands and I am entirely glad I got a chance to pick up this book.

What If is told mainly in the POV of Cal. Rarely does a male POV book suit me, but Cal's POV was phenomenally written. It is definitely one of the more superior male POV books that I've ever read. Being inside Cal's head wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, I absolutely loved that the book was written through his eyes. He was a sweetheart and I loved how genuine and down-to-earth he came across, completely unlike some of the bad boys in NA. It was refreshing seeing the story of a good guy who cares about the people around him. It was easy for me, as a reader, to fall for Cal and all of that sweetness he brought about to the pages. Nyelle/Nicole was also an interesting character. We don't get to be inside her head, so we don't really become as acquainted with her as we are with Cal, but it was still an intriguing journey trying to figure out the shades to her character.

I liked how the secondary characters, Nicole and Cal's friends, played a monumental role in the book. These were secondary characters as developed as the main ones. Some of them had parts of the book written in their voices, mostly when they were younger and they were all wonderfully written. We get to see how they befriend Nicole as children and from there on, they had a tight friendship. For me, that was the best part of this book. As far as the plot went, it was entertaining, but I felt like the book dragged in certain places. I think some scenes could have been cut off completely. Additionally, I knew what the situation was with Nyelle/Nicole from early on, so the reveal didn't really have that much of an impact on me. Regardless, I really enjoyed the romance, which was the perfect definition of slow burn and the characters.  Also, those of you who don't like explicit sex scenes in NA books, will be happy to learn that the sex scenes in What If were pretty much fade-to-black.

What If was a sweet story about life, friendship, romance and finding out who you truly are. I don't hesitate to recommend it one bit.

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 3/5

**Overall Rating : 3.5/5**



Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC of What If.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In My Mailbox (8)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Touch (Denazen #1) by Jus Accorda Summary (from Goodreads) When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home. Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized. Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking dow
Read more

In My Mailbox (3)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer Summary (from Goodreads) Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. The Alchemy Of Forever (Incarnation #1) by Avery Williams Summary (from Goodreads) Seraphina's first love made her immortal...her second might get her
Read more

In My Mailbox (10)

Image
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren . Don't You Wish (Obtained From Net Galley - Big Thanks To Random House Children's Books for the ARC) by Roxanne St Claire Summary (from Goodreads) When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.  In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen. But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie. So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life a
Read more