Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Bad At Love
Author: Gabriela Martins
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Brazilian and Brazilian American MCs and characters, Pansexual MC, Demisexual MC
Recommended For…: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, music, boy band, LGBT
Publication Date: August 2, 2022
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 14+ (sexual content, romance, microaggressions, death, illness, underage alcohol consumption)
Explanation of Above: There is some romance in this book and a very vague sexual remark ala 50 Shades of Grey. There is one incident of microaggressions being said. There is a death mentioned. There is some illness mentioned. There is one scene of underage alcohol consumption.
Publisher: Underline/Delacorte
Pages: 240
Synopsis: Ever since Daniel moved to L.A. from Brazil to join the band Mischief & Mayhem, he’s become the tabloids’ bad boy. Paparazzi follow him and girls swoon over him . . . except for Sasha, who hates bad boys. When a chance encounter brings them together, Sasha sees an opportunity to get close to Daniel and write a story that will make a name for herself at the celebrity gossip magazine where she interns. But Daniel is surprisingly sweet and extremely cute—could she be falling for him?
The truth is: Daniel is hiding something. When Sasha discovers his secret, will she follow her heart or deliver the hottest story of the summer?
Review: I thought this book was okay overall. This is another band book, which I am not getting tired of in the YA world. I loved the discussion on immigration and Diaspora and how race and ethnicity are perceived in different parts of the world. The book reads really young, which is perfect for beginning YA readers. The book also did okay with the character development and world building.
However, I did think that the book was a bit too fast pace. It felt like a Wattpad fanfic about Harry Styles, which isn’t a bad thing but I wished it either fully leaned into it or was a bit less like it. The book also didn’t do well to convince me that this is a serious reporter who is close to getting this tough-to-get scholarship cause the piece she was writing on was kinda weird. I also thought the makeup scene was way too quick and honestly I’d never have forgiven someone who did that to me.
Verdict: It was good, just not my cup of tea.
Book Info:
Bad at Love by Gabriela Martins
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Publishing Date: August 2, 2022
Synopsis:
Ever since Daniel moved to L.A. from Brazil to join the band Mischief & Mayhem, he’s become the tabloids’ bad boy. Paparazzi follow him and girls swoon over him . . . except for Sasha, who hates bad boys. When a chance encounter brings them together, Sasha sees an opportunity to get close to Daniel and write a story that will make a name for herself at the celebrity gossip magazine where she interns. But Daniel is surprisingly sweet and extremely cute—could she be falling for him?
The truth is: Daniel is hiding something. When Sasha discovers his secret, will she follow her heart or deliver the hottest story of the summer?
Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57750153-bad-at-love
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593483448/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bad-at-love-gabriela-martins/1140482259
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Bad-at-Love-Gabriela-Martins/9780593483442
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/bad-at-love/9780593483442-item.html
IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780593483442
About the Author:
GABRIELA MARTINS is a Brazilian kidlit author and linguist. Her stories feature Brazilian characters finding themselves and love. She was a high school teacher and has also worked as a TED Ed-Club facilitator, where she helped teens develop their own talks in TED format. She edited and self-published a pro-bono LGBTQ+ anthology (KEEP FAITH) with all funds going to queer people in need. When she’s not writing, she can be found cuddling with her two cats, or singing loudly and off-key. LIKE A LOVE SONG was her YA romance debut, and BAD AT LOVE (Underlined/PRH) is her sophomore novel, coming out in summer 2022. She’s also one of the contributors for the Algonquin Latinx Horror anthology OUR SHADOWS HAVE CLAWS.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.gabrielawrites.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabhimartins
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabhi/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16984372.Gabriela_Martins
Tour Schedule:
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