I am a sucker for thought-provoking, life changing books that alter your perspective and make you cry, the books that leave you in a state of utter messiness after reading. I gulped down the monstrous 584 pages of The Book Thief in a measly two and a half hours.
You know what else I am a sucker for?
Contemporary. Romance.
I’ve seen Austenland more than two dozen times (if you’ve been following this blog, you know that I love Austenland, so I’ll get over it.) I swoon in Win A Date With Tad Hamilton and laugh in She’s The Man.
I love those cheesy, predictable, adorable plot lines more than anything in the world. And although I have seen every Marvel movie ever, I also won’t hesitate to slap down my money to buy a ticket for the newest rom com.
Another thing you probably know about me? My favorite book of all time is The Distance Between Us. You’d know just by looking at it. I treat my books like they’re made of glass- none of them have bent covers or smudged pages. They look like they are brand-new. But, The Distance Between Us is worn out. Not because I wasn’t careful with it, but because I’ve read it so much. So so much. At least once a week. It pulls me out of a sour mood faster than anything else.
As a result, I have purchased every Kasie West book that has come out since. They are all adorable, but none of them have come even close to The Distance Between Us.
Until now.
I sat in a chair by the window and waited for the UPS guy to deliver it. Seriously. Is this what my sad, boring life has amounted to? I was kind of annoyed at that UPS guy, too. My book was supposed to come on Tuesday, two days ago. I know it’s not technically the UPS guy’s fault, but I’m still a little resentful.
Eager, I pulled my treasured copy of P.S. I Like You out of the box… and the smile slid off my face. You know what I said earlier about my books being perfect? Yeah, well… the book’s edges were bent.
Oh, I hope you’re happy, UPS guy. Someone will be receiving a very angry review on Yelp. Or… whatever you rate your crappy mail delivery guys with. Maybe I’ll send my dog after your truck. Or a shark. 
ARE YOU SCARED NOW???
Anyway, on to the book. I ran downstairs (begrudgingly, with the book being damaged and all) and sat down on my bed.
I read it all in one sitting, and when I finished, I had a huge goofy smile on my face that prompted a “What?” out of my mom when I finally came upstairs.
This book is good. Very good.
On to the actual review, Sarah.
The Characters
Maybe I liked this book so much because I related so well to Lily. Not only did was she a bit quirky, (again, did I mention that I waited next to a window for the UPS guy?) but she loved playing her guitar, made many frustrating attempts to write some good lyrics, and had two little brothers that would not stop bothering her.
Oh, and she couldn’t seem to work up the guts to talk to the guy she liked.
DOES THIS NOT SOUND LIKE MY TWIN BECAUSE I THINK SHE DOES.
And, I loved some of the deep thoughts she had, even if they were not appreciated by other characters.
“Silence is kind of awkward, don’t you think?” he said.
Oh. Or not. “No. I’m okay with silence. We’re in a library after all. This is the birthplace of silence.”
“The library is the birthplace of silence?” David asked.
“All the words are being used by the books. When I was little, that’s what I used to think. That people were told to be quiet so that all their words didn’t get stolen by the books. I thought books needed words to exist. Well, obviously they do, but I thought they needed spoken words. Yeah … I was always weird.”
“And here I thought libraries were quiet because people were trying to study,” David whispered.
“That might be another explanation.”
Also, can we talk about her best friend for a bit? Isabel? Wow, she was the perfect best friend. Lily and Isabel get into a fight at some point in the book and Isabel is ready to forgive her completely after a couple of days with the cutest apology ever. Take notes, people! This is friendship done right. Don’t let a boy interfere with your sister bonds! It aint worth it.
And the boy. I will not mention his name because it is a mystery for most of the book, even though the truth becomes pretty obvious at some point. (Lily didn’t see it coming. Facepalm. Come on, girl. You were totally in denial.) Let me get this straight, he was no Xander Spence, but he was enough to make my inner fangirl swoon quite a bit. I think you’re going to love him.
(Yes, I know he’s fictional. But you’ll be thinking it too.)
The Plot
I loved her family; Kasie West always does such a wonderful job of bringing a family element into all of her books. It’s refreshing and something you don’t see very often in contemporary romances. But family is important, whether they be blood related or not. Romantic love is not the only kind of love we need in our lives.
Although her brothers were not as endearing as Charlie’s in On The Fence, they were still pretty adorable. I wished there was more detail about her dad, because he seems so awesome.
My favorite thing about the plot was the LETTER WRITING. Yes!! Ugh, I could rant about this all day. Texting is all about instant gratification and requires little thought and effort. (Maybe this is embarrasing to admit, but I keep every single card that people get me. I love recieving cards.) AND LETTERS ARE EVEN CUTER. Oh, my goodness! I think I would die if someone wrote me a letter. Is it not the cutest thing ever? It is!! Trust me.
Oh, also, if Mr. Ortega catches me writing you this letter, I am committed to shoving it in my mouth and swallowing. I hope I can count on the same commitment from you.
If you have read this entire review, I congratulate you. I’m still a little disoriented from all this cutness. If you haven’t caught on by now, this book is amazing. It’s definitely what I needed to read.
Thank you, Kasie West, for writing another book that I am absolutely in love with. I will definitely be reading this again.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a Yelp review to write.
Up Next Week: All Fall Down by Ally Carter
Up Next Week: All Fall Down by Ally Carter
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