What If It’s Us is a realistic and sweet romance that is so well written and genuine. I haven’t read anything by either of these authors (shocking I know) but their writing styles blended together seamlessly and I couldn’t really tell the difference between the two. Each of the two main protagonists have their own distinct “voices” and styles which helps distinguish between the two narrators. 

I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters, in particular Ben and Arthur, as they felt honest. This wasn’t written as a perfect love story and there were plenty of ups and downs. I thought the portrayal of a young, gay relationship was brilliant as it demonstrated that it is the same as any young, straight relationship: they have the same hang ups and worries and experience the same myriad of emotions.

This does feel very much like a teen read, with some extra teenage angst, however I’m not a teen (and haven’t been for some time 😕) but I still really enjoyed it. 

What If It’s Us is a cute, young adult read with plenty of emotion and a well structured storyline. Well worth a read! 

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What If It’s Us will be available from the 18th October 2018.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Simon & Schuster) for providing a copy. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

First of all, I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Before this book, I'd read all of Becky Albertalli's other novels, but nothing that Adam Silvera's written. I didn't actually know how they'd split up the writing of the novel, going in, so I spent the first chapter thinking "Wow! This is so great! The exact same joie de vivre and humour in all of Becky's other novels! I love this! I love Arthur! " and then, about 2 lines into the next chapter, which is from Ben's POV, I was just like "...aha so THAT'S how they divided it, this is very clearly not Becky Albertalli's writing", and felt like a fool for not realising sooner that OBVIOUSLY the two writers were writing from two alternating POVs. And I also have to admit that, at first, I really didn't enjoy Ben's POV chapters as much - they were much closer to stereotypical 'moody teenager' lit, which I'm generally not a fan of (as I hinted before, my favourite thing about Becky's books has always been the underlying sense of pure joy, which never dissipates even when the characters are absolutely being moody teenagers). However, over the course of the novel I definitely found Ben's POV growing on me, and by the end I was enjoying both halves of the book equally.

Overall, I had a great time with this novel - on occasion it definitely strayed into overblown teenage drama that had me rolling my eyes in exasperation, but that's really quite inevitable in this genre, so it didn't bother me too much. And the good parts were just so good! If I had to pick one word to describe the book, it would be "soft", because the majority of it felt like a warm hug enveloping me and reassuring me that not only will everything be just fine in the end, it'll be full of joy. Almost every time I picked it up to read a chapter when I had a few minutes to spare, I put it down again with a huge grin on my face - and yet, there's a kind of realism to the novel as well. Even the happiest moments aren't idealistic, they just show the world in its best light, in the same way that a person's favourite memories take on a halcyon glow in their mind. In a lot of ways, this book felt like the record of a cherished memory - which is very fitting, given the epilogue - and as a big fan of cherished memories, that was definitely right up my street.

The story of an unexpected romance for two boys, What If It’s Us, highlights just how important Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera are to young adult and fiction as they release this just fantastic book. (People on mobile, be warned spoilers ahead). 

Ben and Arthur as characters are just, right. Beautifully developed throughout this book, they have personalities that anyone can connect to in this book. The insecurities and worries of being young and also being in love are written so well by these two authors throughout this book. The supporting characters too, particularly Dylan and Samantha also add to the development of the story. 

Set in New York, the perfect location for many romances, What If It’s Us uses an incredible landscape to  to add to the story and if it was a movie, it would have such an awesome setting to be made in. The romance develops beautifully and I feel realistically, it’s not instalove, it blooms in this book and that ending is kind of crushing, however suits this book perfectly and leaves you hoping for them. 

Albertalli and Silvera are some of the best young adult writers around and this book proves it to me, as they drag you into their characters in this book with such brilliance. Never miss a book by these authors, especially this one.

I am shamelessly biased about this book and even if there are any weak points here I will not notice them, as I loved "What if it's us" sooo much.  It also gave me Hamilton and  almost made me cry at the end (while listening to Wait for it, which is officially my best favorite song ever). It was a perfect summer romance, story of missed opportunities, second chances, friendship, love and what ifs .With very believable flawed characters and amazing ending. I can only gush about this book, sorry! I'd kill for books like these when I was a teenager. So happy that YA books are getting so much ore diverse. That they talk so openly about LGBT issues, homophobia, racism, class prejudice and first heartbreaks. That they are not all full of lovey-dovey stuff, but also not full of misery. Just a perfect balance. I wish I could reread it first time.

This book is ten levels of cuteness, if you're not into first love naivety put the book down and slowly walk away. If you love budding teen romances then keep reading...

I really loved this book, it had a slightly slow start and I honestly did start to wonder what all the hype was about?! But then it picked up and as soon as I hit half way, I was hooked! There's no way you're putting this book down for anything once you're in.

Becky Albertalli, I can say from experience, is a PHENOMENAL (yes, that requires caps) teen/ya author. She nails it every single time, she 100% understands the inner turmoil of a young adult during the most difficult situations.

I've only read one novel by Adam Silvera (so far), but he's also a brilliant teen author and his writing has a knowledgeable air to it. It feels as though he's lived through some rough teen years and is able to express his emotions through his characters.

So team these two authors together and you've got a young adult novel that is pure perfection. Both main characters have unique and individual personalities, I have a feeling the authors each wrote their own characters scenes but I could be wrong there.

It's impossible to choose a favourite out of Arthur and Ben because each have their own quirks, traits and flaws. Both are charming and yet their personalities come across as complete opposites. Arthur is naive and innocent while Ben is a pessimist who's full of self-doubt.

This novel in no way packs a powerful plot but it makes up for it in emotional detail. These characters express their thoughts so clearly I felt connected to them and immersed in the romance.

I've seen many a complaint about the ending of this novel *no spoilers* but I'm quite pleased with it myself. As a young woman who isn't currently part of a fairy tale romance it was incredibly refreshing to read this paticular ending.

If you're a fan of either or both of these authors I wholeheartedly recommend this as your next contemporary fix. If you've yet to experience the delightful works of these authors, throw yourself in head first with this co-authored book!

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an e-copy of this book, I also managed to grab an physical arc in a trade!

Okay, so, I gotta begin this quick review by saying that this is such an amazing, adorable book! I absolutely loved it and I want more!

There are two points of view in this book, Arthur and Ben. They have their meet cute in a post office in New York but they never get each others contact details so they both end up trying to look for each other, Arthur does try a hell of a lot harder than Ben does though but they finally get to meet and have their summer of romance!

I was so excited to read this book that I actually ended up hesitant for a hot minute because what if I didn't like it? What if it didn't live up to my expectations? TURNS OUT IT WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE! I've not actually read a single Adam Silvera book before this so I know I need to get to his other books (I only own History is all You Left Me) but I have read all of Becky's books prior to this!

I very highly recommend this book, I just flew through it, it was absolutely everything! You are all going to love it!! The ending was perfect, wasn't predictable in the slightest as it wasn't how I thought it was going to end whatsoever so I love how well rounded the ending was :3

Buy it. Read it. LOVE IT! I'm excited for my full cover copy to come next week and I'm hoping to eventually read Adam Silvera's books soon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  I am a fan of both Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli and personally I thought that their voices blended together to form this narrative.

There is so much to love about this story, but what really captures your heart is the love story between Arthur and Ben.  They are both such engaging and empathetic characters and you find yourself cheering for them to succeed.

As well as being a touching love story, What If It’s Us also touches on more serious issues of racism, homophobia and class prejudice.  Both authors deal with these issues in a sensitive manner that is woven into the main body of the story so they are brought to the reader’s attention in a subtle way.

If you are a fan of either of these authors I would definitely recommend this read!

Well, that was a rollercoaster and a half of a read. Since the announcement that Becky and Adam were going to write a book together, it seems like every YA reader has been desperate to read the end result. I was fortunate enough to have an awesome friend who booked us tickets to meet both authors in London later this month [so stay tuned for that] and we get a copy of the book with the event. I was planning on just waiting it out, but then Netgalley had e-book ARCs to request and I went and hit the button…

Anyhow. Prepare for all the feels. Honestly, this book will make you laugh and then sob and then repeat that process over and over again. Honestly, I was expecting it a bit, especially considering Adam has a knack for messy-cry books, but I feel like Becky has gone and joined the dark side of authors who wish to crush my heart with feelings.

The book is very funny, I’ll give it that. I loved seeing so many nerdy jokes in there, alongside about a gazillion Hamilton references. There was so much culture packed into the pages, that you really couldn’t help but be swept along by it. I almost felt like I was in New York right alongside the characters. And then there’s all the meet cute bits that made me die a little inside [in a good way] because it seems like Arthur is the most cinnamon roll character ever. Like, I thought Simon from Simon Versus… was a cinnamon roll, but this reaches new heights and OMG. Obviously, as with every other Adam and Becky book, the characters are one hundred percent awesome and lifelike and you kinda just want to wrap them up in a giant blanket and smother them with affection [again, in a good way]. I liked how they seemed so like real people, in fact they reminded me of my own friends.

Also, I just love that this book is simply about two boys having a romantic relationship. Sure, there are moments when issues like ‘coming out’ and homophobia are tackled, but it’s clearly not a book that’s meant to deal with that. Which I am really pleased about. We have lots of books about characters discovering their sexuality, or about them braving telling parents etc, and while I love those books too [including ones written by Adam and Becky] I’m also pleased that there’s an LGBTQ book which is just about the gloriously fluffy romance. Both characters are already ‘out’ in the book, both sets of parents already know. And that’s just great really.

On the slightly more critical side, I do think some of the drama was a bit overblown. I won’t get into it too much in this review, because the book is only just coming out now and I don’t want to have spoilers for people, but some of it made me roll my eyes a bit. I’m not sure if its just that I’m jaded and that I’m now in a long-term relationship, but some of the arguments and the secret-keeping and the jealousy just seemed… unnecessary. Some of it really wasn’t a big deal, but the book turned those molehills into mountains. I get that its a YA book, and that almost guarantees a certain level of angst, but maybe dialing it down a notch would still make it a brilliant book.

Overall, I’m giving What If It’s Us? 9/10 stars. I loved the fluffy romance and the characters, but I do wish that there was a touch less drama going on.

I’m definitely recommending this book if you want your dose of cute, fluffy LGBTQ romance with a big scooping helping of ugly crying. Trust me, keep the tissues handy. What if It’s Us? will be released in the UK on the 18th October.

I am so confused as to my thoughts on this book. I really loved some of it, and yet I really hated other parts. It was so awkward and cute, that sometimes being a good thing and at other times it was just too much.

What If It's Us starts off when Arthur just happens to be walking past the post office when he encounters an odd situation, which then leads to him meeting Ben.

The diversity was amazing, and I was sold instantly on the idea of the story as soon as I heard about it. I've read a couple of other books by Becky Albertalli, including 'The Upside of Unrequited' which is one of my favourite reads of all time, however I hadn't read anything by Adam before this. I'm definitely going to read some of his other books though, I want to see what his other work is like. 

"I don't know whether we're in a love story or a story about love."

The humour was hilarious, and some of the scenes were so unbelievably cute and made me smile so much. Ben was brilliant, however I didn't love Arthur, he was a little annoying to read from at times. And the side characters were intriguing and more well developed than I was expecting. Dylan is the BEST best friend! 

But on the other hand it didn't quite get there, if you know what I mean. As a whole the plot was kind of bland. I wish there had been more of a uniqueness to it, but I've honestly read so many elements of this story so many times. I was expecting so much from these authors and the actual story didn't touch those hopes.

“I barely know him. I guess that is every relationship. You start with nothing and maybe end with everything.”

The pacing was great and I really enjoyed the style of the writing. It was an easy quick read. The first half of the book was my favourite, it was slightly more unique. The meet cute was adorable and so funny, and I really enjoyed following Arthur and Ben as they try to find each other. But once they'd finally that point where they find each other I got bored. And I really didn't like the last fifty pages or so of the book, in my opinion the writing felt so different to the rest of the story, it was kind of choppy and I found it really hard to stay invested in what was happening. I also didn't enjoy the turn in which the story took but that was much more original so I kind of liked that aspect at the same time, but the ending felt rushed, which was odd. 

Overall I would recommend giving it a read, as it did fly by really quickly and the diversity in this book is amazing, I know a lot of people who will love this. But I read a lot of YA contemporary and I think that was what really impacted my feelings. Anyway, if you've already read it, be sure to let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Rating: 3 Stars

Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster UK for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! (Disclaimer: All opinions are honest and my own.)

I haven’t read too many books where two authors have co-written it but I did like the blend between the two authors writing styles. If I hadn’t read both authors before I maybe wouldn’t have really noticed that two people had written this book.

Something that these two authors are very good at is creating characters that us readers really relate to and they do that brilliantly once again with this book. Something we don’t usually see in YA romances is two different sets of friendship groups and I liked those characters a lot and I liked their interactions with our main characters. 

This book is undeniably cute. But unfortunately that didn’t make up for the problems I felt this book had. 

First of, I kept getting this feeling that I’d read this exact book before and then I realised I basically have. This book is a mixture of History is All You Left Me and Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. That may not be negative for some people but for me that just made the book feel so unoriginal. 

 I also didn’t particularly love the two main characters. Individually they were fine but the minute their romance started I just felt no chemistry between them, there was never a moment where I thought they would be good together. I didn’t ship them at all. 

But, of course, I loved the setting. It's not very often I read a book set in New York and actually feel like I'm in New York. I liked all the references to Broadway shows like Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton.

Having heard such a lot about Becky Albertalli's successful and young adult novels over the past couple of years, and having been meaning to pick one of them up a lot sooner I thought this was a perfect time to do so. Let's just say I was so enamoured by it that I immediately grabbed hardback copies of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (published in 2015) and Leah on the Offbeat (published in 2018) both for myself and my nieces who I know would find this very entertaining but not only that, this book has some important messages for its young readership. I have always thought that the young adult genre is one of the most influential and YA authors have an unspoken duty of care to their young readers almost as celebrities have a duty to be mindful as to how they behave or what they let escape their mouths - role models if you will. I would venture a guess that Ms Albertalli has likely gotten another bestseller on her hands with this beauty!

There is such a lot to love about What If It's Us that it's going to be a struggle to mention them all, however, I will, of course, mention those I deem to be most important. Essentially, this is a beautiful love story between Arthur and Ben but it also explores racism, class prejudice and homophobia too. This is on top of all those pesky challenges that every teenager is subjected to. Both of the boys' friends are people that any teenager would be blessed to have in their corner - they are so supportive and reliable and what I would term "keepers" or "friends for life". Anybody would be incredibly lucky to count these guys as friends! The fact that the book explores the relationship between two gay teenagers in love and dissects their relationship makes this a gorgeous book for those like myself - a huge proponent of equality and LGBTQIA+.

It deals with topics sensitively throughout but doesn't shy away from exploring or highlighting particular issues and always does so with the utmost respect. What really impresses me about this book is that it is a fun, fast and light read that is bold enough to approach many issues that are important in the lives of youngsters but without compromising the story and making it feel heavy - not an easy thing to pull off, it shows just how masterful these authors are. Authentic feeling and realistic, it picks up on many topics that most youngsters will be able to relate to and empathise with. The many references to pop culture are obviously targeting the books main audience so will either hit the spot or go completely over your head depending on your age. I enjoyed this immensely, it is a quick read that has so much substance to it. I feel if you loved <i>Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda</i>, you'll fall hard for this too - just as I did! It captures your attention firstly before swiftly following suit with your heart, Cute, quirky, unmissable and utterly UNFORGETTABLE!

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster UK Children's for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

The story of Ben and Arthur and young love. The problems of a teenager in love while overcoming social issues of race and discrimination and homophobia on top of being a gay teenage boy dealing with being a teenager in a world of confusing times. 

The part I loved about this book the most was the supporting friendships of both Arthur and Bens friends but especially of Dylan as his love for Ben was unconditional and brutally honest! 

If you loved Simon vs. The Homo-sapiens (Love, Simon) you will love this book!

I really wanted to read this, because I am a big fan of ‘Love Simon’. My honest reaction is that I liked it, but didn’t love it. Arthur was kinda annoying for a lot of the book. And I am not sure if the ending was right. Not a bad read, but nothing I will be fangirling over.

I'm a sucker for Becky Albertalli's particular brand of bittersweet romances, but had never read anything by Adam, so came into this cautiously optimistic. And what a read! I think this might be one of my favourite reads so far. There's some beautifully sweet romantic moments, I loved all the musical references far too much and Arthur and Ben are brilliant main characters. Really sensitive issues like money problems and feelings of academic failure are covered brilliantly too. I liked the ending too, felt very realistic rather than very romantic.

I always feel terrible when I can't be positive about an ARC, especially one I wished for, and especially one that is so anticipated! But here goes - I did not like this book. Really really not at all.

A collab from two great authors about love and fate? I was hoping this would be right up my street. But unfortunately, it fell flat and I spent most of my time reading it wishing that I was reading something else!

It had it's sweet moments but for the most part, I was bored. The pacing was terrible and I didn't especially care about any of the background characters or events that went on when they weren't trying to find each other. Also, it dragged especially slow because there's pop culture references every five seconds! I don't mind a few but I really hate them being shoved in my face every other page. We get it, this is clearly set in 2018. It will age badly.

I did like the last few pages as they were quite sweet and I definitely liked a certain pair of interesting bystanders being brought back again but that was about it. 

This stands at 1.5, maybe a 2 if I'm generous. Lots of people will love this book but it's not for me.

I have been waiting for this novel since the day it was announced and, as you can probably imagine, it did not disappoint.

 

☾ the writing:
I have to admit that I was a little unsure about how Becky and Adam’s styles would mesh, because Becky is known for her light, relatable contemporary, while Adam’s books can get a lot darker and generally pack a punch or two. I’m so happy that all my expectations in that regard were exceeded. They were able to co-author it very seamlessly, all the while giving the characters very distinct personalities by including their respective writing styles. So if you love Adam’s and/or Becky’s writing style, I’m sure this will be right up your ally.

 

☾ the characters:
Another thing that we are used to seeing in both author’s books is the amazing diversity of their characters. While it obviously features gay romance, that is not where they stop. Ben is Puerto Rican (and struggles with being white passing!!) and Catholic and Arthur is Jewish and has ADHD. There’s a girl who wants to get into programming apps and a character who suffers from panic attacks.
It’s one of those stories where all of the characters are so easy to love, but not because they are two dimensional or ‚perfect‘, but because they are the kind of people you would like to be friends with and they might just feel a bit too real at times. Their flaws and the fact that not everything was as smooth sailing as it usually is in YA romance was a big winner for me!

I really related to Ben and he’s definitely a character that will keep his special spot in my heart and will not be forgotten soon, if ever.

 

☾ the plot:
Now look, of course this was gonna be predictable to some degree. All of us knew that they would somehow find their way back to each other after their meet-cute at the post office (OR DO THEY?). But what I did not see coming was that this story would not only be about a beautiful romance, but would also focus heavily on friendship. I completely adored the friendship dynamics in this and honestly, I should not have expected less from Becky, who does friendships better than anyone.
I loved how it challenged the friends to lovers trope with the simple question of: „What if it does not work out?“ („But what if it does?“). It was also SO refreshing to not see another villanized ex-boyfriend.

Probably my favorite part of this novel was the fact that pretty much nothing was smooth sailing. Just when you think that it’s gonna turn into another cliché YA contemporary romance we hit another bump in the road and, god bless, not only because of miscommunication (although there’s some of that as well, I’m looking at you Ben), but just because they’re written to be so painfully human. I love the big role that ‚do-overs‘ play in this book and the fact that it might be able to teach people a thing or two about when to keep trying, even if things don’t immediately work out perfectly.

I personally really loved the ending (more about that in the spoilery section of this review!) and am so happy that we actually got to see true character development.

 

☾ the setting:
This isn’t usually a separate category in my reviews, but I would do this book a huge dishonor if I did not explicitly mention it. It’s set in New York City, only my favorite city on earth, no big deal. If you’ve ever been to New York, this is a treat. The references are so seamlessly woven in that it doesn’t feel obtrusive, but super duper enjoyable. Think: the exact right amount of delicious chocolate chips in a very good cookie.

Another thing that Adam and especially Becky are both masters at is referencing pop culture and that’s another aspect that did not let me down.

And the most obvious one: if you’re a Broadway fan you probably already have this on your radar for the title alone, but let me just tell you, it only gets better. You will not be disappointed, Arthur has your back.

 

☾ spoilery thoughts:
Boy, oh boy. I was pretty sure that I was going to absolutely like this book, but I ended up absolutely loving it, which is even better. The beginning was pretty cliché in my opinion, with them trying to find each other, but always barely missing each other. But that does not mean that I wasn’t immediately rooting for them, because I was.
Arthur is the type of character that’s right up my ally: no chill, funny, a bit dorky. He was so fun to read about and instantly lovable. As already mentioned I really enjoyed Ben from the get-go, because I really relate to him and the way that he thinks.
Dylan is another character you just have to love. He gave the book the perfect amount of comic relief (with a lil help from Arthur’s dad). The only thing that bothered me a little about his character was the fact that he would constantly make jokes about him and Ben being somehow sexually involved and I although it was funny to an extent, I do think that it did get too much at some point. If this were a f/m friendship, people would probably frown upon it a lot more and I think that we should treat all friendships the same, no matter if it’s two girls, two boys or a boy and a girl, ya feel? I just think it was unnecessary.

Where I really started to loooove this book was when the boys did not immediately click on their date and had to try again and again to actually build a connection, because that’s real life right there. It wasn’t as picture perfect as most – especially YA – books make love out to be.

Another really strong part of the book was the Epilogue. I feel that is where people are either gonna say they love it or they hate it, but I obviously loved it. I think it was amazing to see Arthur and Ben having this strong friendship and talking and still having a soft spot for each other. BUT they did not build their whole life around each other. They did not completely disregard every other aspect of their life to be with each other. They stayed their own person and continued on with their life, because that is the most important thing. And Arthur’s character development? AMAZING, my baby, I CRY. He’s so distinctly different in his last chapter than he is in his first and that is great writing right there. I love that he gets to make his own experiences and grow as a person without anything or anyone holding him back.

Of course I’m rooting for them to get together in the alternative universe where these boys actually exist. But I’m also rooting for them to become the people they have to become to be happy and do their thing. I feel like a lot of YA novels do not send the right message when it comes to this and it was SO refreshing to see an ending where it wasn’t all about the love. It wasn’t a picture perfect happy ending, but it wasn’t tragic. It was an ending and everyone was happy and that’s that.

All in all, well… what more can I say? I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would and I cannot wait for all of you to finally read it in a few day.

 

☾ rating: 4.5/5 stars
 

Tw;cw: homophobia, panic attacks, racism, cheating

Highlights

Cuteness levels

Both main characters

Dylan 😍

Overall

I just had a really stressful week which ended on a bad note, and I came home to this book. It was totally what I needed and I loved every single piece of it. I completely forgot time on Friday evening and ended up reading until 1am which is a very rare occurrence for me. I loved this book! ❤️

This book made me very happy and fluffy 😊


The Story

The story is dual perspective between Arthur and Ben, and follow their summer in New York trying to find each other, figure each other out, and figure out what the universe is planning for them.

There are sociologically interesting elements touched on in this books too. The is a homophobia scene, a racial moment, a clash of religion moment, and the meeting of two economically different families. All of these scenes and moments were done very well.

The Characters

Arthur is staying in New York for the summer working as an intern for his mom's law firm. He is a musical buff and is a person who loved life and feels the universe is on his side. I really liked Arthur as the little naive, inexperienced, cute boy in the big city type.

Ben is the New Yorker in summer school. I prefer Ben to Arthur, or sure why but he was probably my type of guy. He is Porto Rican and from the more middle-class area of New York.

Arthurs friends and Bens friends are also there. They all give you a better understanding of who the main characters are. Arthurs friends from home set the scene of who the trio is at home. Same with Ben and Dylan. But Dylan is very funny and I absolutely loved him as a character. Come to think of it, Dylan might be one of the reasons Ben was my favourite character, I would love to have a friend like Dylan.

LGBT+?

Oh, Holy Hell Yes!! The entire book is centred around a m/m romance and it's the cutest 😍

Writing

Loved it. On occasion, I found it difficult to differentiate between the two narratives and I got confused to who was talking/narrating sometimes, especially in dialogues between Ben and Arthur.

Apart from that, I loved how the texts are displayed and the overall writing was very easy to read.

Considered this book is co-authored, I couldn't tell whilst reading. I don't really know either of these authors books or writing styles, so I wouldn't know them anyway. 

Summary

Loved it!

I will totally live on this cuteness for a while.

I've already pre-ordered a copy for myself 

Hey! Netflix! You looking for something else to adapt? Look no further!! I demand you to adapt this!

It feels weird to give a book 4 stars and simultaneously say I’m disappointed by it, but that’s how I feel about this. I guess that makes it a low 4 star rating. I could tell by how long it took me to get through it, in comparison to other contemporary YA that I have flown through. There is a lot of cuteness in here, lots of friendship & family dynamics, some bits here and there about studying and university. I guess just generally I didn’t feel emotionally connected to the story, although I found it adorable. I much preferred Ben’s perspective to Arthur’s, personally. Dylan was the best character by far!!!

A love story but also so much more than a love story - that's what Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera wrote here. And I loved all of it so very much.

These two authors, brilliantly on their own and even more so together, wrote a story about two gay teenagers falling in love that somehow both manages to be very cliché and adorable but also distinct and unexpected.

The main characters, Ben and Arthur, jumped up from the page immediately and I felt connected to and interested in them from the very beginning. Their adventure is fun and heartbreaking and dramatic and everything I expected from these authors plus a lot more. 

Ben and Arthur try to have a perfect romance but it doesn't work out that way. Nothing is perfect but they still find something so beautiful that helps both of them grow and accept some of their flaws and it connects them more or in a different way to people that are very important to them.

I did not expect to read so much about complex friend groups that aren't what they used to be and complications with all parts of life but here we are.

This book really is the best of both worlds - Silvera's sad love story and Albertalli's sweet teens who make way too many pop culture references. What If It's Us made me smile like an idiot and nearly cry and it never let me go. I always wanted to know what happens next and where the story ends.

This book has some very unexpected twists and that makes it such a unique and even more wonderful story than all the other amazing things about it.

Georgia-native Arthur is doing a summer internship in New York and finding it's not, as expected, the city of opportunity: he's lonely, he misses his best friends, and he still hasn't won the Hamilton lottery. And Ben, who lives in Manhattan, is stuck in summer school, alongside his cheating ex-boyfriend, after flunking out of chemistry. It's not exactly the summer of dreams either of them expected. Until a meet-cute in the Post Office sets them on a new trajectory.

How, I wondered to myself, would a narrative that's part-Silvera, the undisputed king of tragic gay lit, and part-Albertalli, the queen of the queer happily ever after, work coherently? And, more importantly (because I much prefer a happy ending to a sad one), would it break my heart Silvera-style, or warm it? Without giving too much away, I'm glad to report that the ending was perfect. And, with Arthur written by Albertalli and Ben by Silvera, there's a clear enough division between the characters and their voices that the differing writing styles don't jar.

I didn't fall head over heels in love with What If It's Us, but I liked it a lot. It deals with some big issues - racism, class in America, homophobia - without ever feeling preachy and heavy. There was a similarity in tone to some of David Levithan and Rachel Cohn's novels, most notably the Dash and Lily duology, but with more of a sense of social realism. And as in those books the supporting characters are a delight, with Ben's best friend, Dylan, particularly reminding me of Boomer from the Dash & Lily novels. And that ending really is perfect.