Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen)'s Reviews > Making Faces

4.5 Stars

Overview:

“It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that you aren’t ever going to be loved the way you want to be loved.”

I knew I would love this book.

I don’t know why. This book is so far out of my usual comfort-zone it’s ridiculous. I never read NA. Usually my cynical brain gets bored half-way through a romance.

But somehow I gravitated towards this title, and wished for it on Netgalley late one night. So imagine my surprise when my wish was granted—four years after the publication date? Thanks to Amy Harmon for the opportunity!

Pros:

“How did you know I needed you?”
“Because I needed you.”

If you listen real carefully, I’m pretty sure you can still hear little shards of my heart bouncing on the floor somewhere.

This feels so genuine.
It’s sad. It made me cry (a lot) but it didn’t feel manipulative. It wasn’t some contrived plot I was supposed to feel sad about.

Every character was developed and interesting, so I FELT for them.

The writing is just gorgeous. Harmon has a mastery over words and I will definitely be reading more of her books. Overall, it flowed very quickly and I was completely engrossed. I really didn’t want to put this down, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since I finished.

I went into this very blind. (I didn’t even read all the blurb, tbh) Because of that, I really never knew where the plot was going. I had ideas and suspicious, but the way everything played out was interesting.

Even the side characters are interesting and feel genuine. Everyone’s family was different and impactful, and I love the way it all came together.

Fern and Amrbose were beautiful. They woke up my cold-cynical heart and I was so invested. I just wanted them to be happy. Their healing was gradual and precious and I literally don’t know why I loved it so much, but I did. (Even if there were a few points where I thought it might be a bit much, I still loved them.)

“Caring about someone doesn’t [always] mean taking care of them.”

^This ^Part ^Killed ^Me

It’s smart. It’s realistic. It fits her development and his. It’s overall just a really good mentality and not one I ever see.

I knew this was going to be sad. From the prologue you get an idea and spend half the time preparing yourself. But then it all plays out in a completely different and devastating way.

Cons:

My heart says five stars, but my brain had a few little issues.

Mainly, that as much as I loved Fern and Ambrose’s relationship, I wanted more focus on Fern herself. It seemed like Amrbose had a fully formed arc, but Fern’s mostly revolved around him. She was a very interesting character, but I wish there’d been more focus on what she plans outside her relationships. Does she want to school? Leave Hannah Lake? Work at the grocery store forever?

Other than that, my other issue was:

“Fern doesn’t have a clue how pretty she is. That makes her priceless.”

“And because she was unaware, she became more appealing still.”

Why? Why is Fern more beautiful simply because she’s unaware of it? Why does her lack of confidence make her more desirable?? Was Ambrose less desirable when he was aware of his good-looks? Because the story certainly doesn’t indicate that.

I dislike this ideal that women need to just look beautiful effortlessly and act blissfully unaware. I'm not saying every character needs fantastic self-confidence, and this wouldn't have made sense for Fern's character. But why romanticize a lack of self-esteem??

In Conclusion:

Beautiful and captivating.