Paintbrush
We received the book Paintbrush by Hannah Bucchin from Blaze Publishing awhile ago for a review and we're just a little late on reviewing it! (WE ARE SO SORRY)!!! This book was given to us for an honest review, so LETS GO! THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE!!!
Now, if you guys haven't realized, we are not into YA Contemporary or Romance novels. So when we received this book for review we both kind of expected us to not be into it and were expecting to not to like it. Once I read it though, I actually found myself really liking it!
Paintbrush is about two people, Josie and Mitchell, that grew up together in this communal living area called Paintbrush. It's kinda like a hippie living area. There is a community garden, community meetings, and everyone knows everyone. Josie and Mitchell grew up together - playing in the dirt, going to school, play dates, you name it. As they are both about to graduate though, they find that their friendship is turning into something more. As they both deal with their feelings and the impending graduation/future, we follow these two on their journey to graduation and love? Maybe?
Okay so yeah definitely NOT a book I would personally grab at the bookstore if I had the choice but I'm glad I read it! This book was actually so cute and well written! The character's and their relationship was not over the top. A lot of romance books I have read in the past (or even YA fantasy/sci-fi books with romance) focus so much on the relationship and it becomes melo-dramatic. This book made it feel real. They weren't acting madly in love. They just liked each other. The situations going on in their life obviously impacted their relationship but not as dramatically as other books would have made it. Its was more a coming of age story with some romance tossed in and that I could appreciate.
So anyways! Lets get to the rating! I would give this book 4.4/5 stars.
So here is how I got my rating:
I give reviews based on five separate categories: plot, characters, description, pace, and extras. Each point earns a total of 1 star - which is what gives my five star rating.
Plot: 1/1 stars. I honestly really enjoyed the plot of this book (although I'm a little annoyed about the ending) and it does deserve the full star. The progression of events made sense, there was no inconsistencies (except maybe the end), and it was a quick and enjoyable read!
Characters: 0.9/1 stars. I really enjoyed reading about these characters' lives and seeing them grow. They were so funny and entertaining but sometimes I felt like certain emotions or events for them were underdeveloped which made their reactions over the top. And Josie's reaction at the end of the book felt unrealistic for her, but I also understand that characters grow and change so I guess it makes sense. I think the biggest thing was the reactions for certain moments that made the characters seem unrealistic or over the top, which is why it is not a full star.
Description: 1/1 stars. The writing was clear and easy to follow. You can see what the author sees and there is no confusion on place, time, or what is going on!
Pace: 1/1 stars. The pace of the book was not too fast nor too slow, although it felt like a quick read! I enjoyed the pace of the book and the amount of time spent on each moment/day for the characters. It had a really nice flow!
Extras: 0.5/1 stars. Since this book is contemporary and there are no fantastic beasts or magical places, the extra points really come from the fact that a person that is not a fan of romance or contemporary books actually really enjoyed this story. I wouldn't say it was my favorite book of all time but it was definitely a read I didn't hate and found myself invested in!
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to a friend and thankfully, Paintbrush was published July 11, 2017! So if this book sounds interesting to you, please go check it out!!
Thank you to Blaze Publishing for sending us this book and to Hannah for writing it!
If you liked this review, or didn't, please let us know in the comments below or feel free to message us on Instagram or Twitter @ladyandstar or on Facebook on our Wandering Midnight page!!
HAPPY READING!!!
