Here’s to Us, by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
Goodreads ¦ Amazon
Series?: What If It’s Us #2
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Release Date: December 28, 2021
Length: 448 pages
Source: ARC
Format: Paperback
Times Read: Once
Rating: 5/5

Ben has spent his first year of college working on his fantasy manuscript with his writing partner Mario, who is a great Spanish tutor, and an even better kisser. So why can’t he stop thinking about the fact that Arthur’s back in town two years after they called it quits?

Arthur is in New York for a dream internship on Broadway, with a boyfriend back at home that he couldn’t be happier with. But when he comes upon Ben cuddled up with a mystery boy, he starts to wonder if his feelings for Ben ever truly went away.

Even as the boys try to focus on their futures, they can’t seem to help running into each other in the present. Is the universe forcing them to question if they’re actually meant to be?

Possibly not. After all, things didn’t work the first time around.
Possibly yes. After all, the sparks are still flying.
Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and raise a glass.

Here’s to celebrating old friends!
Here’s to embracing new beginnings!
Here’s to believing in second chances!

My greatest wish is for Dylan to never ever find his chill.

Happy almost 2022 guys! I’m trying out a new star ranking system this year, and this is my first time using it. Y’all know how I struggle with writing negative reviews, and I don’t know that this will change that necessarily but it’s at least a more nuanced way to look at all components of a book instead of rating based on mood.

To my knowledge, this system was created by G at Book Roast, so I’ll post her original video here so that you can hear her explain it in her own words.

To paraphrase, it’s a rating system called CAWPILE, an acronym that stands for Characters, Atmosphere, Writing, Plot, Intrigue, Logic, and Entertainment. Each category gets a rating from 1-10, then you add them all up and divide by 7. You’ll get an odd number that you then compare to a little chart to see what it equals out to, but in the end it will still be from 1-5.

So it’s still a 1-5 star rating, taking a much more complicated path to get there. But for someone who hands out 4 and 5 stars like they’re candy…

…Maybe that’s a good thing!

HI ARE YOU STILL WITH ME? We can get back to the review now!

♥ I adored What If It’s Us, and one of the best parts of it was the epilogue at the end. It jumped ahead to college but didn’t leave their relationship in tact. Usually I would find this infuriating, but there was something about the way it was written, something about the hope coming from both of their perspectives, that made it feel sort of beautiful instead.

♥ Did I love Here’s to Us even more than the first one? It’s truly hard to say. But I can tell you that this book ended up being the best one that I read in December! We have some new characters in the mix, like Mario who is an absolute gem through and through. And Dylan is back and more extra than ever and I love that about him. He’s what you might call a real handful, doesn’t always make sense, he’s loud and will talk to anyone. But he also loves fiercely and he’s fiercely loyal and I wish for a whole book just from his POV.

♥ And guess what, that’s pretty much all I can say because for the second time the epilogue is the best part! So that’s why I’m calling this a sort of review. All I can tell you is YAY GOOD! DO READ! MANY STARS! So I’ll leave you with a few quotes that stood out to me and say that yes, you should read this one.

“Happiness is tricky when it comes to the person who used to make you happy.”

“Sometimes I feel like my life is moving so slowly that it’s not moving at all.”

“Just because someone says they love you doesn’t mean they’ll never say it to someone else.”

“I’m tired of not being able to own my feelings because someone else has it worse. I know I’m lucky to have a roof over my head and parents who love me and food on the table. I know, I know, I know. I can also want more for myself.”