Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index || ARC REVIEW

I received a copy of Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index from Netgalley, initially the cover is what attracted me to request it but once I read the synopsis I was sure I was going to love it. It came across as a kind of contemporary/mystery book which is something I’ve been loving lately. 

♦Author: Julie Israel  ♦ Series: Standalone ♦ Published on: 20th September 2016 ♦ Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary ♦ Format: Paperback ♦Source: Purchased

Amazon || Goodreads

Synopsis

It’s been sixty-five days since the accident that killed Juniper’s sister, and ripped Juniper’s world apart.

Then she finds the love letter: written by Camilla on the day of the accident, addressed mysteriously to “You,” but never sent. Desperate to learn You’s identity and deliver the message, Juniper starts to investigate.

Until she loses something. A card from her Happiness Index: a ritual started by sunny Camie for logging positives each day. It’s what’s been holding Juniper together since her death – but a lost card only widens the hole she left behind. And this particular card contains Juniper’s own dark secret: a memory she can’t let anyone else find out.

The search for You and her card take Juniper to even less expected places, and as she connects with those whose secrets she upturns in the effort, she may just find the means to make peace with her own.

This is a smart, funny, poignant book guaranteed to make you laugh and cry – and maybe even take notes.

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My Rating 

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My Review

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index was an enjoyable read. When I saw this cover on Netgalley I was immediately drawn in, then I read the synopsis and knew I had to read it. There is actually another cover that I like more but both are beautiful. I have to say though I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, I really did, but there were aspects of it that irked me slightly.

I loved the mystery aspect of this book. Juniper finds a note that her sister wrote to ‘you’ and is determined to find out who ‘you’ is. Throughout the book we see Juniper suspect so many people and it’s so much fun trying to work out who it is. I’ve been reading a lot of books that have been a mix of contemporary and mystery recently and I’m LOVING it. 

I was debating whether to give this book 3 or 3.5 stars for a long time. I’m still very undecided about it to be honest but I eventually settled on 3.5 because, despite the things that irked me, I still enjoyed it. One of the main things that bothered me was the love interest, I found him to be actually quite horrible. I really liked him for most of the book, but then he did something that I felt was totally out of order and I don’t even feel like he was reprimanded for it. It really annoyed me because I so wanted to like him, but after this incident I just couldn’t stand him. 

I also felt like this plot kind of ended up falling flat for me. This massive suspense was built up the whole way through and by the time the book finished I just felt kind of disappointed.

It’s really difficult to explain my feelings about this book because even though certain things bothered me I still really enjoyed it. I think it ended up being one of those books that you enjoy reading at the time, but that doesn’t really leave any kind of impact on you. You know the books I’m talking about. I mean I finished this book about a week ago and I’ve already forgotten a lot of what happened. 

One thing I will say though is how beautiful this authors writing was. It just flowed incredibly and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books. 

So sorry if this review is a little incoherent. I wrote part of it during the week then realised I was too tired and it ended up sitting unfinished for awhile. I feel like I might have focused more on the negative aspects of this book but I did still enjoy it clearly. I mean I gave it 3.5 stars! That’s not bad going! It’s just I’m not entirely sure what about it that I enjoyed, I just can’t seem to put my finger on it. Anyway, thanks so much for reading ❤️