Megan Harper is never the star of her own love story. All of her exes seem to find their one true love right after they date her and while it’s a demoralizing pattern, Megan refuses to waste time feeling sorry for herself. Instead she focuses her time and energy on directing theatre and fulfilling her dream school’s acting requirement in an innocuous role.
However, her plans quickly grow awry when she’s cast as the leading lady in her school’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Enter, Owen Okita. Sweet and thoughtful, Owen agrees to help Megan get the attention of a sexy stagehand in exchange for help writing his newest play. Between rehearsals and dealing with her complicated relationships, both romantic and platonic, Megan must grapple with the way she sees herself and her budding relationship with Owen.
4/5 stars
I really enjoyed this book! Always Never Yours was the cute read I anticipated and it went beyond my expectations in many ways. First let’s talk about Megan. I think that Julie Buxbaum said it best when she described this novel as “funny, bold, unapologetic, and endearing.” Megan Harper is all of those things and more! From the first pages, Megan had me laughing at her narration about everything from a certain swoon worthy hunk to her lamentations over the less than stellar food at Verona Pizza. She’s bold, yet vulnerable in a way that everyone can relate to. In my opinion, Megan is an interesting departure from the typical YA contemporary heroine. Generally, in those stories we see a female main character who’s inexperienced in her love life, and ends up pursuing a love interest who is considered more popular and experienced than her. And I 100% have nothing against those types of novels, I love those novels! But Always Never Yours gives us a different perspective on what it means to be a YA contemporary heroine that I think is really refreshing. She’s not demeaned in any way for having a robust love life and for being an unapologetic flirt. Despite being a pretty popular girl, there are several times throughout the novel when Megan feels completely alone. I think that Austin and Emily were perfectly able to capture that feeling of isolation and messy complication that is a hallmark of the High School experience for many.
And Owen, sweet sweet Owen. *sigh* Owen Okita is an absolute cinnamon roll. He’s quiet without being boring. He’s got a wonderful sense of humor and I love the banter between him and Megan. Their chemistry was great and it was always fun to see what new way Megan would try to embarss Owen with her flirtatuous nature. If I had one critique, it would be that for me the pacing could be a t. But, it defintly wasn’t a glaring issue. Overall, Always Never Yours was a solid debut from co authors Austin and Emily. The characters were grounded, their internal conflicts felt very real, and the writing style was engaging and highly entertaining. I also really enjoyed the parallels that the authors created between Shakespeare’s play and Megan’s story. I would defintley reccomend this book to fans of Jenny Han and Kasie West.
Be sure to click this link to pre-order this adorable read.
About the Authors
Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka met in high school and fell in love over a shared passion for Shakespeare. Austin went on to study English at Harvard so he could continue to impress Emily with his literary analysis, while Emily studied adolescent psychology at Princeton. They live in Los Angeles, where they’ve combined their interests and decided to write stories of high school, literature, and first love.
Follow Emily at @wibbs_ink and Austin at @austins_b on instagram to keep up to date on all their work. Be sure to click here to check out their website.
*I was provided a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review*
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