Novel Review: FML by Shaun David Hutchinson

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: 2013

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday. Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

There’s more than one way to get the girl in this fun and fast-paced novel about one epic party and a kiss that could change everything.Tonight’s the night: Simon’s big chance to finally get with Cassie. Cassie, who he’s loved for ages. Cassie, who is newly boyfriend-free. Cassie, who just happens to be throwing the biggest party of the year. Simon’s plan is simple: He’ll go to the party, she’ll fall in love with him, they’ll make out like crazy, and the night will be a complete success.

But things don’t ever go as planned…especially when it comes to Cassie.

In two alternating plotlines, Simon goes after the girl of his dreams and stumbles toward his destiny. It’s one night, one party, and a thousand ways for things to go wrong…but a million ways for them to go right.

The Cover:

I quite like this cover. I think it fits the feel of the book well, and I like how similar it is to the cover for Party by Tom Leveen. It's eye-catching, and fitting.

Review:

“Sometimes love hurts, but it shouldn’t be so damb hard.” (Paperback, pg. 247)

“We’re all imperfect people looking for perfect moments to share with other imperfect people.” (Pg. 275)

Simon has been in love with Cassie for years, and tonight is the night that he’s going to go for it. She’s throwing a party, and he has to choose whether to go and win her over, or attempt going out with someone who actually knows he exists. From there, we follow Simon on two possible time lines, where he goes straight to the party or where he tries to hang out with Natalie instead.

Simon is very stuck on Cassie for this entire book. He’s a little hard to handle at times, how blind he is to everything else. It makes his friends’ reactions very understandable. And about halfway through (more or less, depending on the timeline), we meet Stella. She’s eccentric, funny, understanding, and curious though inexperienced. The banter is immediate, and the attraction is obvious, but Simon ignores it for a long while. I loved her immediately, honestly.

I did actually quite like the way that the two timelines worked, how things developed separately but very similar. I actually got confused a few times on which time line was which, because they were so similar, just different because events moved in a different way. I quite liked how it all wrapped up, though; I think it worked out well, and I liked how it all pulled together in the end. 

This was a fun book, and I enjoyed it.