Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

I love - LOVE the premise. Romance with a twist of Greek mythology, sign me up. Unfortunately, it just didn’t hook me in like I was hoping it would. I did enjoy it, but it wasn't very well executed.

I have to thank the publisher and Netgalley very much for this copy of the book🥰🥰.

My rating is 3.5/5✨ stars and here's why:

After Brynn discovers her mom cheating on her dad when he goes on a trip, Brynn vows to herself to never believe in love again, as her life has been spent in a slightly passive aggressive family because the parents can't stand each other anymore but don't want to separate for their daughter's emotional well being.
Brynn is about to go off to college and enter the school she wants and this means that very soon she will be able to move and be farther away from her parents, especially her mother with whom she doesn't get along very well.

This story tells us a bit about these family relationships that don't want to separate for the supposed "good" for their children, but what they don't know is that they hurt them more this way and Brynn's search for her true love.

The story was fine and cute but very young adult a little bit too much young adult in my opinion but probably great for younger audience.

I liked this one but it was little too YA for me. But I found it funny and I really loved the Aphrodite aspect! Val was such a fun character def the highlight for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

This book is some real divorced kid shit. And I loved it. Brynn’s parents’ have a relationship that I think most divorced kids will recognize. It’s one of the most realistic depictions of divorce I think I’ve ever read. I wouldn’t be surprised if Manzano has some real life experience with this. Brynn’s mom clearly has some issues, and honestly, I think her and Brynn could use some family therapy, but the family dynamics are really well-explored and bittersweet. I love Brynn’s relationship with her dad. They get along so well, and it’s really nice to see a positive parental relationship in YA.

Brynn is a fun protagonist, and I think I would have really related to her as a teen. Definitely someone I root for. She and Nina have a beautiful friendship, real soulmates, which I, of course, love. Adam is so great. I love him. He's sweet, funny, and goofy. So well-written, and you immediately love him.

This portrayal of Aphrodite was so great. Val has all the bubbly, girly aspects, and the very real power and wrath from the myths. I also loved how unimpressed Brynn and Nina are by her powers. Val literally has to demand they worship her and it’s such a funny scene.

My absolute favorite thing about this book is that there is no stupid miscommunications or assumptions. Brynn and Adam genuinely communicate with each other, and when there is an issue, Brynn does her best to bring it up to the person. Finally, a healthy example of how to deal with relationships!

This was an incredibly sweet, intelligent read with great characters and a lovely message about all the different kinds of love. 5 stars from me.

A cute concept for a YA read with greek mythology that just didn't add up to how it should have been developed. The characters were meh.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m a HUGE sucker for any Greek mythology with a twist books, so when I saw Never Say Never I jumped on the opportunity to read it. Unfortunately, it just didn’t hook me in like I was hoping it would. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the premise of the book but the execution seemed a bit wonky and just a little too much. Maybe it’s an age thing, since the book is YA, but the books and it's characters was a bit over dramatic at times.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but just not for me.

I liked the book and I particularly enjoyed Brynn and Nina's friendship. I liked most of the characters and the love story and romance plots. I feel like the Greek mythology aspect of the plot distracted from what was a really nice YA romance. I don't think that Val's character had enough depth and her past could have been explored more. Also, having Raphael turn out to be Hephaestus felt unnecessary. Overall, Never Say Never was a nice read but not a great read.

I received this ARC from Netgalley. Here are my thoughts:

The premise of this book is fascinating - a teenage romance with a Greek mythological twist. Honestly, like many of the other reviewers, this is the hook that draws in a reader. However, the plot is good but not great. There is the usual heroine who is stereotyped as a nerd and wearing black always defines her character not just to her peers, but surprisingly also to her parents (who, in my opinion, should know their child on a deeper level but fail sadly at it).

The writing is good, well-paced and easy. But the plot sadly just didn't live up to my expectations as much, landing it overall an okay rating. I'd recommend you to read this if you like teenage romances but don't expect to be wowed either by plot or characters.

I am an absolute sucker for Greek Mythology - when I was younger I devoured any Greek Mythology books I could find, compared them to Roman Mythology retellings of the same stories, and read both fictional adaptations as well as "historical" accounts of myths. So when I learned about this book from a friend I knew I wanted to read it as soon as possible. I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this, and so I was able to read about Brynn, Adam, Nina, and Val/Aphrodite immediately.

I related to Brynn a lot, having gone through a similar situation in high school (which I am not going to go into detail about because spoilers), and her whole vibe/aesthetic just seemed very much me at 17. Adam was someone I would have totally dated, and Nina reminded me a lot of my best friend. However, Val grated on me a lot. To be fair, that is a huge aspect of the book, the character development of Val/Aphrodite and the back-and-forth between her and Brynn, but it was a constant struggle for me to find anything redeemable about her character which at times made it difficult to read sections of the book where she was the primary focus. There were also a couple of typos/grammar issues in this ARC, which, while not a hinderance to the plot did pull me out of the book for a moment while I tried to figure out what I was misunderstanding. Fortunately, because it is a proof copy I know this will be fixed by print!

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a very lighthearted contemporary YA and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something sweet to read who enjoys the Greek Myths. It isn't overly long/drawn out, and I kept wanting to see what happened to everyone/how things resolved.

This book was a quick and easy read. It was definitely a welcome reprieve from my usual genre of high fantasy. Brynn had a lot of killer lines which made this a little more enjoyable.

I almost DNF-ed this book halfway through because I just couldn’t stand how annoying the characters were. I decided to stick with it because I’ve recently decided to be more forgiving when it comes to teen stories. It’s just normal for teens to make stupid decisions and be a little annoying so I guess, the book got that right.

I wish there was more to the characters but everyone just seemed too flat. Everyone had a single trait and they stayed that way throughout the rest of the book; no depth and little development. I didn’t read the blurb before reading so Val’s revelation messed with my brain. Although, I wish there was more to the story other than finding love.

Brynn has sworn off love after watching her BFF’s on-again, off-again relationship end (again) and her parents' marriage turn from bad to awful. Brynn is happy to remain on the outside and disbelieve in true love, until her friend, Val, turns out to be Aphrodite. Val makes it her mission to find Brynn true love while Brynn continues to navigate life with family, friends, and falling in love all on her own.

This book has an interesting plot idea and a believable cast of characters. Adding the Greek goddess of Love to a high school opens the door for drama and mayhem that is over the top and well-intentioned (the Gods always liked to help humans, right?). The pacing was fast and the story moved along quickly. A solid message throughout the book is that Brynn and her BFF Nina are soul mates- they are each other’s people. As other characters entered the story they were included in the friend group, but Brynn and Nina maintained their bond. The characters communicated with each other and showed strong relationships within their group.

Unfortunately the book was superficial. Brynn is the standard under-appreciated, not-your-average girl. The characters received HEAs but it didn’t necessarily feel like they were earned by growing and developing. The over-the-top drama was fun at times and at other times it was cringe-worthy (comparing the actions of Brynn to the actions of Brynn’s mother is a bit much given that one is in high school and the other is a grown person, or a HS student harassing Brynn throughout).

Thanks to @NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book for my honest review.

CW: parent death from cancer (off page), cheating, divorce, life-threatening asthma

#neversaynever #netgalley #TeensandYA

Brynn has sworn off love. After watching her parents' marriage disintegrate before her eyes she's decided the L word isn't for her. Unfortunately her friend, Val, (who is secretly Aphrodite in disguise) has other plans for Brynn. After a series of terrible blind dates Brynn realizes there is one person she's interested in...too bad he's Val's boyfriend.

This book requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but I was willing to go with the flow. Overall the story was fun and cute and took a lot of unexpected twists and turns before arriving at the HEA.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

#neversaynever #netgalley

My first ARC, thank you to NetGalley and Sword & Silk Books.

Pub Date: June 15th, 2021

Brief synopsis: Brynn, Nina, and Val are a trio in school. Brynn and Nina have been best friends for ages and Val is newer to the scene but desires everyone to pair up romantically with someone else. However, Brynn finds that she is falling for Val's boyfriend. This story is interwoven with the story of Brynn's parents getting a divorce, which discourages Brynn from ever falling in love.

Overall, this was a cute story! I haven't read much YA romance since my younger days, but this one kept me relatively hooked. I wished I hadn't read the synopsis before reading where one of the biggest plots in the book was shared before it needed to be.

The friendships in this book were delightful to see. Brynn, Nina, Val, and Adam had such a strong bond as a group. The way Brynn and Nina had such a strong long-lasting friendship was one that many cherish!

CW: divorce, infidelity

Overall: 4/5

Never Say Never is a mixture of fascinating plot and imperfect execution. I enjoyed the premise of the book, especially the nod to greek mythology, something I, personally, have rarely come across in my YA Fiction & Romance lane. However, the start of the book definitely had some slower and seemingly superficial moments. Although I could relate to the characters initial views on love, both the protagonist and the writing style came off as juvenile at times, even past the point of YA Fiction. As I got toward the depth of the plot, though, I started to feel more integrated into it, like I was there with the characters. The plot definitely speeds up and fleshes out, even giving some surprising elements that I both did and didn't see coming. To summarize, Never Say Never gives you all the romance/love triangle drama that you may look for in this genre, but adds just enough flair to set itself apart. (3.5)

Thanks to NetGalley and Sword and Silk Books for providing me with an e-ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this one.
Let's start with the positives.
I would have loved to read this book when I was a teenager. It has mythology, it has a hurt teenager who doesn't believe in love, it's a fantasy and it's easy to read. I most definitely found some elements of myself - mostly my younger self - in the main character, Brynn.
"True love is a relationship unicorn. You either find it, or you spend your entire life searching for it", this has been my view of love my entire life.
And... All this talk about mythology, made me want to read Stephen Fry's 'Mythos' again - which I think I will!

Now, for the parts I didn't like.
At times is a bit too dramatic. I know Greek mythology is supposed to be dramatic, but I found it overly so. Like the arrival of Val's real father - I won't spoil it -... was not keen on that part.
Quite a few times, Nina's asthma took over the story, I think there was way too much of it.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I wouldn't read it again, it is one of those books I would read on holiday but nothing more.

Honestly, this book was very disappointing to me. It is entirely based on the fact that the plot didn't engage me as fully as I had hoped, and when the plot failed, I looked to the character development of Brynn, Val, and Nina. However, they were written very one-dimensionally and Brynn is a bit of an unlikeable narrator. Would not recommend.

Very much a beach read for me. A tense romance story with so many complex relationships and emotions it can be uncomfortable at points. It's a unique idea that I think was well executed in theory. My biggest gripe is that the author doesn't seem to have the confidence with their own idea to make it feel natural. She definitely depended on YA tropes a little tooo much. Overall, I would recommend for anyone looking for a quick read that keeps your attention without too much thought.

Thank you so much to Sword and Silk Books for providing me with an ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

The concept of this book was pretty interesting. It has been a while since I had read books with themes of greek mythology set in a modern setting, so I was interested to pick this book up. However, although the concept from the book’s description sounded cool, I think the execution could have been better. The greek mythology aspect felt a little detached from the rest of the story, mainly through the way Val was portrayed as Aphrodite. She felt less like the goddess of love and more like a teenager who had suddenly been dumped with these godly responsibilities. I also didn’t appreciate Brynn’s character all that much because she definitely was a “I’m not like other girls” type of character, which I’m not really a fan of. She constantly would compare her clothes and appearance to those of girls like Val and although I know what the author was trying to convey with these sentiments, sometimes it can come off as unintentionally misogynistic. I thought we left those types of characters back in 2014 :(

Like other readers have mentioned, this book felt weirdly out of place in the sense that I couldn’t exactly tell what year the book’s events were supposed to take place? Some of the language that the characters used felt a little outdated and Brynn and her friends weren’t necessarily partaking in activities that current teenagers partake in so I wasn’t able to relate to them in that sense as well. I think a little clarification about when this book takes place would have been helpful.

Overall this book reads like a typical YA contemporary romance. I think with a little more development with the fantasy aspect, this book could have been a great read!

Thanks to Net-Galley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange to an honest review.
3.5 stars
Brynn Stark after discovering her mother cheating on her father does not want to know about love, too bad that one of her best friends is Aphrodite the goddess of love. I was immediately intrigued by the plot and all in all I found it a very pleasant read, many characters I admit were difficult to bear but only because they were very well written in my opinion.
#NeverSayNever #NetGalley