Wednesday, May 2, 2018

ARC Book #Review: Did I Mention I Love You (DIMLY) by Estelle Maskame .@estellmaskame

Book Title: Did I mention That I Love You ( DIMLY 1)
Author:  Estelle Maskame |WebsiteTwitterFacebook|
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Mature YA, New Adult, Romance
Series/Standalone: Series Book 1
Format: ebook, Trade Paperback
Cost: $9.99
Pages: 422
How I got it: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Publication Date: December 2015
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Synopsis:
Love is everything but expected.

Eden Monroe came to California for a summer of sun, sand and celebrities what better way to forget about the drama back home? Until she meets her new family of strangers: a dad she hasn't seen in three years, a stepmonster and three stepbrothers.

Eden gets her own room in her dad's fancy house in Santa Monica. A room right next door to her oldest stepbrother, Tyler Bruce. Whom she cannot stand. He's got angry blue eyes and ego bigger than a Beverly Hills mansion. She's never felt such intense dislike for someone. But the two are constantly thrown together as his group of friends pull her into their world of rule-breaking, partying and pier-hanging.

And the more she tries to understand what makes Tyler burn hotter than the California sun, the more Eden finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn't...

Did I Mention I Love You? is the addictive first book in Wattpad sensation Estelle Maskame's DIMILY trilogy: three unforgettable summers of secrets, heartbreak and forbidden romance.
I went into this blind (like always). I just knew several fellow YouTubers love it and I decided to give it a try. OMG, I wasn't ready. I so wasn't ready for the depth, the development or for the full-on crazy that this story holds.  We start with Eden who is angry she has to be in California with her father and his new family. She's still angry at him for abandoning her so this summer before she finishes high school isn't going to be any fun.  Tyler is currently drinking & drugging his way through his senior year and for him, this summer is also going to suck.  At the end of this rollercoaster, I fell in love with Eden because she was sarcastic as heck, & witty when she wanted to be. 

At first, I was totally unsure of where this was going, the cover, and the bright colors didn't really give a clue of what this story entailed.  I was originally thinking this was going to be another painful Gossip Girl wannabe but oh nooo this was actually really good. I got hooked so fast and before I knew it I was laughing, talking back to the book and totally absorbed by what was unfolding.  This story is told from Eden's POV, she's trying to get ready for college, find her place in her father's new family while still being loyal and loving to her mother who has never abandoned her.  I absolutely loved how the LA landscape was described and how it played as much of a character as the humans. My favorite scene from the book would have to be the Hollywood sign scene, the description of the hike and the landscape just made me feel like I was there.  I just loved the daring hike up to the sign, and the trip of getting away before getting into trouble. It totally felt like something my friends and I would have done during the summer in high school. 

As with all teen romances, there has to be angst, drama and of course a bit of the forbidden.  This book was truly about Eden and her growth as a young woman. She came to California to get away from the old her, & to prep for college. She certainly grew and somewhat learned to open her eyes to how adult relationships look different from the outside.  While there were so many things to enjoy about this book I personally didn't like Eden's anger at her father, but I understood that as a child she simplified it down to two choices, even though there were way more things that she wasn't seeing.  I also didn't like her father's anger at her, because at the end of the day he should have realized that she's a kid and she didn't see all that was happening. However, because humans fail at many things this felt the most real. 

For me, the ending wasn't predictable at all because I didn't know what I was walking into. I knew I was a bit shocked by some of the turn of events and I absolutely loved that the author didn't gloss over the consequences of Eden's actions. This didn't go smoothly, her friendships and relationships were thrown into turmoil because of her choices and it was raw and real.  I really enjoyed the friendship between the girls, I really had expected it to be a backstabbing kind of friendship but it wasn't and I loved that it was a bit of a sore point for all the girls.  They all had insecurities and yet they didn't feel they could be completely honest even with their friends and this was awesome to see them learning who they could open up to.

Since this was told from Eden's POV we only know and see what she sees. this both worked and didn't because we only knew what she did about the secondary characters, we didn't know their emotions, take or feeling on a situation unless they verbalized it.  I went into this not knowing what to expect and walked away absolutely addicted to the point that I ordered all three physical books plus the final ebook so I could read at work.  I really enjoyed this one and all the emotions it evoked. 
 ★★★★☆
RECOMMENDATIONS
Movie:

  • Clueless
Books: 
  1. Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry
  2. Raine by J.C. Valentine

Happy Reading my loves, 


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