Always Never Yours By Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka [Review]

RELEASE DATE: May 22nd, 2018
AUTHORS:  Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka
GENRE: Young-Adult, Contemporary, Romance. 
PUBLISHER: Penguin Books 
SUMMARY: Megan Harper is the girl before. All her exes find their one true love right after dating her. It’s not a curse or anything, it’s just the way things are. and Megan refuses to waste time feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she focuses on pursuing her next fling, directing theater, and fulfilling her dream school’s acting requirement in the smallest role possible. But her plans quickly crumble when she’s cast as none other than Juliet–yes, that Juliet–in her high school’s production. It’s a nightmare. No–a disaster. Megan’s not an actress and she’s certainly not a Juliet. Then she meets Owen Okita, an aspiring playwright who agrees to help Megan catch the eye of a sexy stagehand in exchange for help writing his new script. Between rehearsals and contending with her divided family, Megan begins to notice Owen–thoughtful, unconventional, and utterly unlike her exes, and wonders: shouldn’t a girl get to play the lead in her own love story?

“I’m not the girl in the center of the stage at the end of a love story. I’m the girl before, the girl guys date right before they find their true love.” 

After reading some fantasy and dark stuff, I was looking for something light and fun and this book seemed perfect. Always Never Yours is a perfect summer read with sweet and fluffy romance. I enjoyed the book even though the story was predictable. The main characters Megan and Owen were pretty enjoyable and fun. The romance was super adorable and cute. This book is not only focused on romance but also on family relationships. The story is filled with lots of Shakespeare references and despite not familiar with some of the references, I still had fun reading it.

 Megan Harper is the school flirt who constantly jumps from one relationship to another because they never last long. All her Ex boyfriends had found their true love right after dating her. She didn’t know whether it’s her curse or a coincidence but she stopped feeling serious about love and instead focused on her dream which is  becoming a theater director. She wanted to go to Southern Oregon drama institute which has best directing programs, but to attend the institute every drama student is required to have at least one acting credit on their resume so Megan decides to grab a smallest role possible on their upcoming high school stage debut because she’s good at directing but she’s pretty bad in acting. All her plans crumble, when her drama teacher casts her as Juliet, one of the lead characters.

Megan believes that it’s going to be a disaster because she’s never been a Juliet in her life, she’s always the girl before and then she meets Owen Akita, an aspiring Playwright. They both have something in common and they quickly becomes friends. She asks his help to catch the attention of the sexy stagehand and in exchange she would become his muse to help him in his new project. Between rehearsals and dealing with her divided family, Megan and Owen spends more time together and she starts to notice that he is different from all the boys she has met but there’s not a chance that something will ever between them because they’re so different. Even though she’s the forgotten secondary character Rosaline (Romeo’s first love interest) in her life, someday Megan wants to play the lead on her own love story. 

 Megan is a refreshing character who’s not your typical YA girl. She’s quite bold and not afraid of her sexuality and doesn’t feel ashamed of being called a school flirt. She loves flirting with guys and constantly jumps from one relationship to the next but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t have feelings. All her ex-boyfriends had dumped her to pursue their true love right after dating her. Megan is hard to hate and I felt bad for her. She’s flawed and that’s what makes her realistic. I quite enjoyed her character growth throughout. Honestly, we need more YA girls like these in the future. I liked Owen Okita, he is kinda cute, adorable, thoughtful, and a shy guy. He’s actually Japanese American but the author didn’t discuss that fact in the story. The romance between Megan and Owen was pretty cute. Their relationship started with a friendship which slowly turned into something more, if you’re fan of friends to lovers trope then you’ll definitely enjoy this book. I also liked Megan’s two best friends Madeline and Anthony, but to be honest I enjoyed Anthony’s character the most.  He’s gay and totally fun. He easily falls in love and always in search  for his true love. Unlike Megan, he has a hard time moving on from a relationship.  

The plot was fun and entertaining even though it was predictable. I really liked the theatre and family aspect in it. Besides dealing with her cursed love life,  Megan had to struggle with her new life where her parents aren’t together anymore and she has a hard time getting along with her new stepmother. The author really did a great job in representing the family aspect. The writing was wonderful, I flew through the pages easily without any struggle.  I like dual POV’s in my YA romance, but alas this one is written in single POV. I would’ve love to know more about Owen and his family. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book! The characters and the story felt very realistic. It was a fun entertainment package filled with love, family, and friendship. 

Recommend it?

I highly recommend this book to all the readers who’re looking for a fun YA contemporary romance with friends to lovers trope. 

MY RATING:[3.5/5 Stars]

So, What do you think of this book? Have you read it yet? Do you Plan to read it?
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