3.8 Stars

Overview
I had no idea what this book was going to be about when I first started reading. That’s an advantage but also a disadvantage. It gave me an opportunity to go in completely blind without having an expectations whatsoever. Which was good because then if it didn’t meet them, I wouldn’t be highly disappointed. However, I wasn’t sure if it was the type of book I would enjoy.

After finishing it, I can proudly say that I liked it. The story was completely character driven and also tackled a mental illness. The romance was cute. And it wasn’t a big book, so it could be finished in a night. The pacing felt a little rushed, given the small page count but the romantic relationship was developed nicely. There was one particular relationship that I felt was rushed, but I’ll cover that later.

I must say there are so many things in this book that happen by fate. Because of the overly coincidental of it all, there needed to be a lot of leeway given, especially at the beginning of the book. I found myself relating it to a Rom-Com several times because of the constant coincidence of the two main characters running into each other. Yes, it had to be possible for the story to work, but it was a little unrealistic.

Writing
This will be short, but I was inspired by the writing. At 7%, I wanted to stop reading and attempt to write my own story. This isn’t negative; I just liked how descriptions and information were given in the book. The character’s thoughts flowed nicely. It is something that I wish I could do. I always struggled with what to write next and how to transition from thoughts to actions in a scene without it feeling rushed. Also, I liked how when the characters moved, it felt like you were walking beside them and seeing what they saw.

Granted reading a finished book, did inspire me to finish my own writing, but like mentioned earlier the writing is what really pushed me. I don’t want to duplicate what Stephanie Alba did, but I definitely want to focus on ways to make my writing move vivid and smooth, because it really does add to the reading experience.

Characters
There were few characters in this book that were actually purposeful and front and center besides the main character. Because of this, I can’t really base an opinion about the supporting characters. I can say that I did enjoy Hudson’s grandmother. Hudson’s relationship with his grandma was cute.

I did like the main leads. Margo seemed realistic. She is dealing with some things in this book. I’m glad that as a reader, we got to see them and that it wasn’t pushed under a rug. Also, that it wasn’t made glamorous. Margo was strong; Hudson was extremely supportive.
Hudson was incredibly sweet and could be in the running to be a Book Boyfriend. However, I felt that he didn’t stand out as much as Margo.

There wasn’t much of a character development on his side, and I felt like I knew him the least. I wish he was flushed out a little bit more because I would love to know more about him.

In regards to both characters, I felt like there were some missing elements in their backstory. We were told what happened, but sometimes were never really explained or brought up again.

I enjoyed the romance. It wasn’t instalove; their relationship actually developed as the story progressed which was nice. I loved reading about the little moments they had. The moment when they would watch TV together and just hang out. I think those might be my favorite, because they felt real. And it was just comforting to see them existing together like a real couple.

I do have a problem with the way Margo and Patty’s relationship was handle. The resolution felt a little rushed. And I didn’t feel this deep emotional impact. Maybe if it had come later, I would felt a little better about it. But then again, I understand why they author did what she did.

Final Analysis
Your Mess Is Mine is a good book that features a well development romance and two great main characters. The book does cover mental illnesses, but the author does offer a real depiction of it. The book does cash in on far too many coincidence meetings. But all in all, I would recommend.