Phoebe is a content bookworm, happy in her world of book-boyfriends and crushing on boys who resemble her book-boyfriends, when her best friend decides to play matchmaker. Em tells Phoebe that Dev, long-time acquaintance and heartthrob of the band and theatre clubs, has a crush on her. She’s doubtful at first but Em encourages her to pursue him. When Phoebe starts to develop feelings for him, she turns to her books for advice. Emulating her heroines in an attempt to charm Dev into asking her out doesn’t always go according to plan. Nonetheless, her tactics seem to be working, until Dev starts dating someone else. Phoebe is devastated. She signs up to be a camp counsellor to escape from Dev for a while, but ends up partnered with him instead.
I don’t usually read YA, Contemporary Fiction, or Romance but this book thoroughly charmed me. All the main characters are just a little unconventional. Phoebe is an avid reader, knitter, and musician and Dev is an Indian theatre and band geek, albeit a very handsome one. It’s refreshing that Bandeira strayed from the usual trope of ‘dowdy girl gets the most popular boy in school’, and that she included LGBT and ethnic diversity so naturally. The sweetness of the budding romance between Dev and Phoebe is balanced with humour and the underlying sense of normality of these characters. The intense drama that usually puts me off Romance is, thankfully, absent, as is the vicious popularity hierarchy one usually finds in novels set in USA high schools. Bookishly Ever After is a well-paced story that culminates in one of the most satisfying endings I’ve encountered in years.
Get it on Amazon
I don’t usually read YA, Contemporary Fiction, or Romance but this book thoroughly charmed me. All the main characters are just a little unconventional. Phoebe is an avid reader, knitter, and musician and Dev is an Indian theatre and band geek, albeit a very handsome one. It’s refreshing that Bandeira strayed from the usual trope of ‘dowdy girl gets the most popular boy in school’, and that she included LGBT and ethnic diversity so naturally. The sweetness of the budding romance between Dev and Phoebe is balanced with humour and the underlying sense of normality of these characters. The intense drama that usually puts me off Romance is, thankfully, absent, as is the vicious popularity hierarchy one usually finds in novels set in USA high schools. Bookishly Ever After is a well-paced story that culminates in one of the most satisfying endings I’ve encountered in years.
Get it on Amazon
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