Isabel Bandeira
Författare till Bookishly Ever After
Serier
Verk av Isabel Bandeira
Taggad
Allmänna fakta
- Födelsedag
- 20th Century
- Kön
- female
- Nationalitet
- USA
- Bostadsorter
- New Jersey, USA
- Yrken
- mechanical engineer
- Kort biografi
- Isabel Bandeira grew up surrounded by trees and lakes in Southern New Jersey, right on the edge of the Pine Barrens. Her summers were always spent in Portugal, where the cathedrals, castles, and ancient tombs only fed her fairy tale obsession. Between all those influences and her serious glitter addiction, it wasn’t a surprise when she started writing stories of her own.
In her free time between writing and her day job as a Mechanical Engineer who designs and develops medical devices, she reads, dances, figure skates, and knits.
Isabel lives in New Jersey with her little black cat, too many books, and a closetful of vintage hats.
Medlemmar
Recensioner
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
Bookishly Ever After was a wonderfully adorable read. The main character, Phoebe, is the most bookish I have ever encountered. Sure, she does some slightly-weird-for-me things (like dressing up as her favourite character every single time she has the chance), but she was definitely incredibly realistic and relatable for probably every bookworm out there. I loved how authentic she felt, and her goofiness and awkwardness in real life situations were borderline hilarious, at least for someone who definitely has lived through similar scenarios. I remember all too well trying to sneak a book at lunchtime especially since I still do it today when I was sixteen, and miserably failing most of the time, because real life always has a tendency to intrude in reading.
Phoebe's friends were awesome! I loved how this group of friends actually look out for each other, have one another's best interests at heart and actually show it. There was none of the drama and backstabbing I usually find in books set in high school, and that was definitely refreshing. I also liked how the author managed to introduce diverse characters without it feeling forced. There are LGBT characters, and Dev, Phoebe's love interest, is Indian, and they are all accepted for who they are, without it being too much of a deal. Like it should be. I was slightly disappointed by the fact that there were very few references to Indian culture and traditions other than Bollywood, but then again I hope these nuances in the characters' background will be better flashed out in the sequel.
Being a fluffy contemporary, most of the plot was actually very predictable, but I enjoyed reading it anyway. Phoebe and Dev are adorable characters, and I liked their banter throughout the book. The two of them are so clueless and clumsy that I spent most of the book with a silly smile on my face, and ended up even laughing out loud at some scenes. They also mature a lot throughout the book, especially Phoebe, as she tries to learn to deal with real life and accept herself for who she is. It sure is tempting to live vicariously through the toughest, most glamorous fictional characters, but it is only by learning to accept oneself and giving other people a chance to show how much they care that life can be lived to the fullest. And that is what Phoebe must learn to do.
Bookishly Ever After delivers what it promises: a cute and funny contemporary romance that will have many, many bookworms see themselves reflected on these pages.… (mer)
Bookishly Ever After was a wonderfully adorable read. The main character, Phoebe, is the most bookish I have ever encountered. Sure, she does some slightly-weird-for-me things (like dressing up as her favourite character every single time she has the chance), but she was definitely incredibly realistic and relatable for probably every bookworm out there. I loved how authentic she felt, and her goofiness and awkwardness in real life situations were borderline hilarious, at least for someone who definitely has lived through similar scenarios. I remember all too well trying to sneak a book at lunchtime especially since I still do it today when I was sixteen, and miserably failing most of the time, because real life always has a tendency to intrude in reading.
Phoebe's friends were awesome! I loved how this group of friends actually look out for each other, have one another's best interests at heart and actually show it. There was none of the drama and backstabbing I usually find in books set in high school, and that was definitely refreshing. I also liked how the author managed to introduce diverse characters without it feeling forced. There are LGBT characters, and Dev, Phoebe's love interest, is Indian, and they are all accepted for who they are, without it being too much of a deal. Like it should be. I was slightly disappointed by the fact that there were very few references to Indian culture and traditions other than Bollywood, but then again I hope these nuances in the characters' background will be better flashed out in the sequel.
Being a fluffy contemporary, most of the plot was actually very predictable, but I enjoyed reading it anyway. Phoebe and Dev are adorable characters, and I liked their banter throughout the book. The two of them are so clueless and clumsy that I spent most of the book with a silly smile on my face, and ended up even laughing out loud at some scenes. They also mature a lot throughout the book, especially Phoebe, as she tries to learn to deal with real life and accept herself for who she is. It sure is tempting to live vicariously through the toughest, most glamorous fictional characters, but it is only by learning to accept oneself and giving other people a chance to show how much they care that life can be lived to the fullest. And that is what Phoebe must learn to do.
"Well-meaning people are going to always try to butt into your life and make you fit their idea of what's best. Believe me, I know. But if you try to make everyone happy, you're going to end up miserable."
Bookishly Ever After delivers what it promises: a cute and funny contemporary romance that will have many, many bookworms see themselves reflected on these pages.… (mer)
This was a cute story for the first 3/4, but the last 1/4 just went too slowly for me, and I started to lose interest. I didn’t like the camp setting. This story reminded me a little of Rainbow Rowell’s “Fangirl,” but Rowell does it better.
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Practically Ever After deserves praise for its main character's diverse and unstereotypical array of interests, from engineering to fashion to dance and cheerleading, but that same complexity does not apply to the rest of the cast. After the initial overwhelming feeling of meeting so many characters in the first few pages, everyone but Grace quickly settles into a single consistent role, reminiscent of nothing more than a workmanlike My Little Pony fanfiction. Each character fully embodies a single character trait and plays that one role in every scene they're in.
This is most egregious with Grace's love interest, Leia, who feels the least characterized of anyone in the book. This is a fairly natural result of Grace's own choices... Grace spends the first part of the book ignoring Leia at every opportunity, and it's made clear she has no interaction with Leia's friends or hobbies, which results in the reader not knowing much about her either. She exists to give Grace a negative repercussion for her obsessive focus on planning out her life, and then reward her again once she makes some effort to apologize at the end of the book. Grace's love for Leia feels endlessly shallow, culminating in her final list of reasons the two of them should get together again, every one of which amounts to "Leia makes me happy" and none of which give any consideration to Leia's feelings or to what Grace could or should contribute to their relationship. Even their initial conflict is totally forgotten with no plans for how to avoid having it happen again. All of this is, admittedly, in character for the self-assured and self-absorbed Grace, but the book fails to question it.
As for the rest of the book, it feels simultaneously too pat and too low-stakes. Grace is forever having chance encounters that relate suspiciously well to her greater conflicts, from coincidentally meeting a girl with an injured leg while wondering if she wants to focus her life on fixing people's bodies, to watching her parents fight in a way that gives her eerily useful insight into her own relationship problem. The characters cannot shut up about how fleeting high school friendships and romances are, even to the point where one character starts reading a fantasy story about the subject. And despite the book seeming to try for a narrative of Grace taking on more than she can chew, it's just not there... other than her (ultimately salvaged) relationship with Leia, and a brief mention toward the beginning of not being pre-accepted into a college cheerleading team, Grace succeeds at every new commitment she agrees to take on. Various moments foreshadow things going wrong--her dance students grumbling that she doesn't seem to have a plan, her lack of focus on asking glove patients for their own opinions, the ongoing mystery of when she actually sleeps--but none of them come to anything. Grace is supremely capable and it is unclear what she is supposed to learn from that.
(This review is based on an Advanced Reading Copy.)… (mer)
This is most egregious with Grace's love interest, Leia, who feels the least characterized of anyone in the book. This is a fairly natural result of Grace's own choices... Grace spends the first part of the book ignoring Leia at every opportunity, and it's made clear she has no interaction with Leia's friends or hobbies, which results in the reader not knowing much about her either. She exists to give Grace a negative repercussion for her obsessive focus on planning out her life, and then reward her again once she makes some effort to apologize at the end of the book. Grace's love for Leia feels endlessly shallow, culminating in her final list of reasons the two of them should get together again, every one of which amounts to "Leia makes me happy" and none of which give any consideration to Leia's feelings or to what Grace could or should contribute to their relationship. Even their initial conflict is totally forgotten with no plans for how to avoid having it happen again. All of this is, admittedly, in character for the self-assured and self-absorbed Grace, but the book fails to question it.
As for the rest of the book, it feels simultaneously too pat and too low-stakes. Grace is forever having chance encounters that relate suspiciously well to her greater conflicts, from coincidentally meeting a girl with an injured leg while wondering if she wants to focus her life on fixing people's bodies, to watching her parents fight in a way that gives her eerily useful insight into her own relationship problem. The characters cannot shut up about how fleeting high school friendships and romances are, even to the point where one character starts reading a fantasy story about the subject. And despite the book seeming to try for a narrative of Grace taking on more than she can chew, it's just not there... other than her (ultimately salvaged) relationship with Leia, and a brief mention toward the beginning of not being pre-accepted into a college cheerleading team, Grace succeeds at every new commitment she agrees to take on. Various moments foreshadow things going wrong--her dance students grumbling that she doesn't seem to have a plan, her lack of focus on asking glove patients for their own opinions, the ongoing mystery of when she actually sleeps--but none of them come to anything. Grace is supremely capable and it is unclear what she is supposed to learn from that.
(This review is based on an Advanced Reading Copy.)… (mer)
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Statistik
- Verk
- 3
- Medlemmar
- 163
- Popularitet
- #129,735
- Betyg
- 3.3
- Recensioner
- 15
- ISBN
- 9
Actual rating: 3.5/5
I read the first book in the series, Bookishly Ever After, when it first came out, and fell completely in love with the characters. I was really happy to get a chance to get to know Em's character a little better and I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one.
Dramatically Ever After delivers exactly what it promises: a fluffy contemporary to keep you company on long rainy afternoons and warm your heart. I really enjoyed the interaction between characters: Em and Kris' conversations were full of witty remarks and enjoyable banter, with plenty of sarcasm going round. As that is one of my favourite modes of communication, I was obviously very pleased with this.
I really enjoyed delving deep into another character's passion: after Phoebe's love of books, we now get to explore Em's devotion for the theatre and the performing arts. It's refreshing to read about teenage female characters who have a passion and vision in life beyond boys and actually work hard to achieve their goals. Em really takes it a step further, acting definitely over dramatically at times and trying to put on a show 24/7 to avoid sharing her fears and appearing vulnerable, but I appreciated the fact that her friends always called her out on it.
Kris was definitely a keeper. We get to see him through Em's eyes first as an annoying wannabe politician, trying to please everybody while working his personal angle. But as they are forced to spend more time together, it was really fun to see Em discover layer after layer of Kris' personality and falling slowly. There were plenty of swoon-worthy moments between these two, and the romance never felt forced.
Overall, this book was a really enjoyable light read, with a good storyline and memorable characters. I shall definitely look out for the next one in the series!… (mer)