ARC Review: Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

Release Date: 4, August, 2015

Pages: 320

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic fiction

ISBN: 9780373211548

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Source: NetGalley

Rate: 4/5

SYNOPSIS

Never date your best friend 

Always be original 

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken 

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids—the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, ever do in high school. 

Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, never die your hair a color of the rainbow, or #7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he's broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It's either that or break rule #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember. 

Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they've actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.

REVIEW

Never Always Sometimes is a stand-alone by Adi Alsaid. The premise sounded very intriguing to me, so I was very excited and had high expectations. Thanks to  Harlequin for accepting my request, because I seriously wanted to read it badly.... this story is seriously heart-aching.There were hundreds of OMG cliffhangers with a really confusing love triangle. Two best friends both in love with each other! But they never revealed their feelings to each other! But a girl Gretchen comes between them and their lives become a mess. Gretchen is Dave's second crush but his best friend, Julia is the first one, and now Dave has to choose one.

The two main people are Julia and Dave. They are funny, cute and fully devoted to each other - their chemistry is what made me kept reading. I thought that only Dave loved Julia.... but it was surprising to know that Julia also loved him too badly (their life changing road trip had truly changed them). Plus, the big impact of the 'Nevers list' on Dave and Julia's life was incredible and I seriously wanted them to be together forever but the Gretchen drama....

I loved Julia more than Dave. She's crazy but also loving and caring. Her desperate feelings for Dave was tearing my heart apart. The ending was really bitter for Julia but I'll always love her more than Gretchen.

Overall, I enjoyed this book despite the sad ending for Julia. This book is recommended to YA contemporary romance readers.... I have recently started reading contemporary books and it's becoming my favourite genre. What are your expectations from Never Always Sometimes? Have you got some YA contemporary recommendations? Answer me in the comments and don't forget to subscribe to my blog here!

Happy Reading! <3