Title: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Pages: 256 pages
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon
Summary (Goodreads):
On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they’ll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?
This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.
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Whenever you pick up a book by Jennifer E. Smith, you can always count on getting a sweet romance story. Not only that but they are quick reads, perfect for a day on the beach. My favorite of hers is The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, which is a love story that happens in the course of a day, mainly on a flight from USA to London.
Since Hello, Goodbye , and Everything in Between seemed to be similar in the time-lapse for its story, it appealed to me immensely and I expected it to be as heart-melting as The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. While it was a quick, cutesy story, it really didn’t live up to my expectations as much as I wanted it to. I really, really tried to love it.
My main problem had to do with Clare. I didn’t really connect to her as a character. I didn’t buy her reasons for wanting to break up with her boyfriend of two-years since the thought of breaking up with him was too painful to bear. WHY would someone go on about this for so long? It was plain cruel to me to lead on someone when you already had plans to break up if there was a slight possibility of going long distance. The excuse about her parents’ history was not really something that should have been a rule for her own personal love life.
Aidan, Clare’s boyfriend, was a character I did end up liking a lot. He was more down to earth and extremely patient with Clare and her indecision towards their relationship. While Clare was the pessimist of the relationship, Aidan was the optimist. He’s the type of guy that takes risks, instead of playing it safe. He has his faults and all, but for a jock, he was really nice and comprehending.
A thing that also upset me was how Clare and Aidan didn’t let me like them as a couple. I feel like I didn’t get a chance to fall for their relationship since they were trying to break it off right from page one. The flashbacks to their relationship were cute and all, but it only made me wish I had had the chance to read the story in that time frame and not only the memories.
Surprisingly, my favorite characters from this book were Clare’s and Aidan’s best friends, Stella and Scotty. I wasn’t expecting them to be such great supporting characters, much less for their story to be more exciting. I think everyone will love them as much as I did and look forward to their parts.
So in the end, Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between turned out to be just an okay read for me. The writing is flawless and I really liked how smoothly the story progressed, but I think that for you to truly love the story and to feel for the main characters deeply depends on whether you agree with Clare’s thoughts or not.
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