In A World Just Right by Jen Brooks

Gut Instinct Rating - 3.5

Characters - 3

Believability for type and topics - 2

Similarity to other books - 5

Writing Style - 3.5

Excitement Factor - 2.5

Story Line - 3.5

Title Relevance - 3

Dust Jacket Art - 4

To read or not to read? To read on a dreary day when nothing else is out there; maybe for a change of pace.

Movie? None

Goodreads users gave this book a 3.53. I think it was more deserving of a 3.33.

---

Published in 2015

Pages: 419

Publishing Company: Simon & Schuster

Number of books by author: 1

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, SciFi

This book wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. It was a bit too long in the beginning, and too short in the end. It's the kind of book you can keep on your shelf, but one you'll never read again. Think, the Sims meets time travel. (I think that's a real thing in Sim-land, but for the sake of conversation...) There simply weren't enough diverse characters, which I know was relevant to the story. But, for me, I just needed something else. I can't really divulge on specifics, because it would truly ruin the book. But, more or less, it was too much of the same when it came to the characters' personalities.

It wasn't all that believable. Maybe the ending was too picture-perfect, or maybe it just wasn't written well enough to believe. Maybe it all seemed to far fetch to be true. I mean, shouldn't he have known? (Know what, I'm sure you're asking, but I just can't tell you.) It was just so long-winded, that I think we missed out on some things that could've made this book something really special. It certainly could've evolved into a series, or at bare minimum, a duology. (One I might even dare to pick up.) But, there was so much of the non-details, so much of the day to day, and in a sci-fi/fantasy book, especially one with a complex background, there was a need for this to have more information. The writing style paired with the story line should've been different. This story could have been really great. It could have! But it just wasn't well executed. The long-windedness made it boring, until it wasn't boring anymore. But, why didn't we get more of the end and less of the beginning?

The title was fine - did it make me want to read it? No. Why did I even pick it up? Well, I was at a library book sale, and it was only $3, and the cover art was bright and vibrant, which made me read the flap. Which was a bit misleading, honestly. Nonetheless, this wasn't a love story. It was a story about a genuine power, and we just didn't get enough of that.

(I've opted out of doing a book club chat on this one... although, questions do exist.)