ARC Review: Summer of Supernovas

12:00 AM Serena 0 Comments

Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods
Publication Date: May 10th, 2016
Format/Source: ARC, courtesy of Jaime from Fiction Fare who rocks my socks off. Thanks again, Jaime!
Rating: 4/5 stars
Part of a series? Nope!

When zodiac-obsessed teen Wilamena Carlisle discovers a planetary alignment that won’t repeat for a decade, she’s forced to tackle her greatest astrological fear: The Fifth House—relationships and love. 
 
But when Wil falls for a sensitive guitar player hailing from the wrong side of the astrology chart, she must decide whether a cosmically doomed love is worth rejecting her dead mother’s legacy and the very system she’s faithfully followed through a lifetime of unfailing belief.

* Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers.*

Let me just get started by saying that this book has a love triangle in it. Now, for some people, this might be a deal-breaker. I'm usually one of those people. But the synopsis for Summer of Supernovas intrigued me to no end (and it came highly recommended by people whose bookish opinions I trust a lot. Thanks, Jaime (;), so I decided to give it a shot. And oh BOY am I glad that I did because this is a debut I would have been so sad to have missed out on. 

The novel follows Wilamena, Wil for short, who goes out in search of her soulmate who would have a astrological sign compatible with hers in hopes of keeping her dead mom's legacy alive. I'd never heard of a YA novel centered around astrology before (but if you have, point me towards them because I now have a need), so I was obviously on board. And it was so entertaining following Wil on her journey. 

Wil is joined by her best friend Iri (10/10 would read her companion novel) and her grandma, who are both supportive and oh so hilarious. They might be some of my favorite secondary characters I've ever read. The boys in her life are Grant, a musician who she is drawn to because she believes that they are astrologically compatible, and Seth, who she is not compatible with but likes anyway. Did I mention that they're brothers? Yeah, that's a thing. 

Sometimes the push and pull between Wil and the two brothers irked me. She wanted to be with Grant because they're compatible and she thinks it's what her mom would have wanted. But she also wants Seth, who does her heart so much good. She doesn't want bad blood between the brothers, and she doesn't want to hurt any feelings, so she doesn't want to let either go. And though I got annoyed with the choices she made along the way, the story itself was engrossing and I hung on until the end because I had to know how it ended, not just to see if she got the right boy, but if she figured herself out too. 

I adored Summer of Supernovas. It is a delightful debut about astrology, family, and finding the path that's best for you. Also, there's swoony bits and a great friendship because do I even read books without them anymore? Probably not. Anyway, Summer of Supernovas releases next week (5/10), and I highly recommend that you pick it up. If you do, let me know what you think!

P.S. Thanks so much for sticking around during my mini, unplanned hiatus. It's show season at my school theatre, so I've been there almost every day for the last month. I'm also preparing for finals and AP exams, so my schedule is a little wonky. But my goal is to write much, much more when APs are over next week. So stay tuned! Hope you're reading good books! I'd love to know what you're reading and what you've been up to. :)

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