A lot of amazing can come in the smallest of page counts

A Little Something Different

Title: A Little Something Different

Author: Sandy Hall

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Page count: 272 pages

Genre: Romance

Rating: ★★★★★

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common--they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together.

Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it.

Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together…

I have not devoured a book like I did this one in AGES. And by AGES I mean, like, at least five years. In the height of my free reading time, I would finish a book in one or two days, every other week. I had the time, the attention, and the library access for it. Since starting university, the last time I finished a book in only a day or two, it was because I put off a reading assignment until that was all the time I had left. This was not that. I fell in love with this book within the first chapter. Romance novels being my genre of choice for a long while there, I have read almost every version of “meet cute” and “watch them fall in love” imaginable. Sandy Hall managed to make the most basic of plotlines into the most engaging strictly romance novel I have read in a long time.

Like the title suggests, this story is truly a little something different. Who would have thought of telling a story from outside perspectives only? How has no one done this before? Flipping through 14 different perspectives, we are able to follow every interaction, conversation, and feeling that Gabe and Lea go through on their journey to dating one another without ever growing bored or annoyed at the main characters themselves. Hall writes distinctive voices for each of her 16 characters that are engaging and yet still plot driven. There is very little fluff in this story. It gets right to the point without feeling like there is no conflict or like the characters get together overnight. Hall has accomplished a feat where in less than 300 pages she has created well developed characters with complex emotions and backstories. This goes for not only our main characters, but all 14 of the “side” characters whose perspectives the story is told from.

Each chapter changes the way that the side character is interacting with our main couple. Some of the time, they are in direct conversation with them. Other times, they are just observing the interactions between the two of them. The casual way that every stranger to the couple goes from addressing them in their thoughts as the boy and the girl, to finding out their names, to rooting for their relationship makes the story so believable. As the reader, I can very easily insert myself into the shoes of each of the POV characters. Who hasn’t witnessed two people out in public that look to be dating? Who, of the people watching, maladaptive daydreaming group of us, hasn’t made up stories in their head about those strangers who seem to know each other without trying? Just me? That’s alright, it made me enjoy the story even more.

In for the short, long haul

My favorite aspect of this novel is how Hall is able to avoid making the story cliche or unrealistic by simply creating and condensing the story’s timeline. With many short length romance stories, the main couple gets together far too soon to make any sense because the author needs to account for space for the conflict to occur. Hall walked all the way around this issue by allowing the entire story to be about the couple getting together. That was the conflict. Both Gabe and Lea are awkward in their own right, and it is those reservations, crossed with the second hand account telling of their story, that provides all the tension to the plot. Somehow, Hall is able to fit an entire school year into these 272 pages without it feeling rushed or hectic. We see the characters grow into themselves and their relationships in a way that feels natural for a couple of college students. It is wonderful to read a book about characters of this age without drastic differences in maturity level, tropey college antics, or toxic friend relationships. As someone who recently (literally in May of this year) graduated college, this was a more accurate depiction of these interactions and relationships. I mean, they even went to classes.

I really cannot say enough good things about this book! It was an immensely enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something light and happy to mix into their reading list for the summer.

Now I want to hear your opinions! Who was your favorite POV character to read? Did you find the plot engaging despite the lack of traditional conflict? How much did you love their creative writing professor??

Thanks for stopping by and stay peachy!