Sometimes, you just feel like getting lost in an adorable, entertaining YA contemporary romance. When the Vibe is Right definitely fit that bill! Let’s see what I thought about it in my review!
When the Vibe Is Right by Sarah Dass Published by Balzer + Bray on May 30, 2023
Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Harper360UK, NetGalley
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From the author of Where the Rhythm Takes You comes a delightful enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance set during Trinidad’s Carnival celebration.
There are two things Tess Crawford knows for sure:
• She’s destined to be a great Trinidadian Carnival costume designer like her renowned uncle, Russell Messina, and will one day inherit leadership of the family’s masquerade band, Grandeur.• Her classmate, the popular social media influencer, Brandon Richards, is the bane of her existence. Everything about him irks her, from his annoying nickname for Tess (Boop) to his association with David, her awful ex.
But when the future of Grandeur nears the brink of collapse in the face of band rivalry, Tess finds to her chagrin that she must team up with Brandon in a desperate attempt to revive the company.
As Tess and Brandon spend more time together, Tess begins to wonder if everything she thought she knew might not be so certain after all. . . .
Set in lush, gorgeous Trinidad, this is a novel about finding love in the most unexpected places.
I received this book for free from Harper360UK, NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: (click to reveal)
grief, death of parents (in the past), cheating, misogyny, sexism.There are no spoilers in this review.
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I ENJOYED…
☂️
- One of my favorite things about When The Vibe is Right was the main character, Tess. She’s seventeen and dreaming of following in her uncle’s footsteps by becoming a famous, professional Trinidadian Carnival costume designer. Right away, I loved how her passion for costume designing showed in the story. I also really enjoyed her as a character overall : she’s certainly a flawed teenager, she’s a bit obstinated but I don’t know, I found it so easy to care for her and really rooted for her, right from the very first pages.
- Before anything else, When The Vibe is Right is an enemies to lovers romance. Fans of this trope will LOVE this book, I promise. I fell for the banter between Tess and Brandon right away and loved how the forced proximity, with them suddenly forced to work together, has them changing their mind and feelings, slowly but surely. I found this to be a soft, fun, slow-building and realistic romance overall and I just loved them!
- Another highlight of this book is the family. Tess lost her parents in an accident and is now living with her aunt, uncle and cousin Hazel. I really loved the family dynamics in this story, especially the Hazel/Tess relationship. They’re close and you know Hazel will fight someone for Tess if she needs to and I just enjoyed that so much.
- The story’s set in Trinidad and Tobago and I absolutely loved that. It was wonderful to see parts of the culture shining through, the landscapes and of course, the carnival and its traditions.
OVERALL
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If you’re looking for a lovely enemies to lovers YA book, I definitely recommend When The Vibe is Right. It was fun, entertaining, filled with great characters and banter. Can’t wait to read more from this author!
FINAL RATING : 4 stars!
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Did you read When the vibe is right, or do you want to? Any similar recommendations for me? Let me know in comments!
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Oh this sounds so fun! I love that there is costume design in this. I haven’t read a story dealing with that but it sounds so interesting.
It was such a fun read! I really hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂
oh i’ve been so curious about this book, glad you liked it, all those aspects are very interesting!❤
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you’ll give this one a try, it was such a great read! 🙂