This Song Is (Not) for You by Laura Nowlin Review

"Bandmate, best friend or boyfriend? For Ramona, one choice could mean losing them all. 

Ramona and Sam are best friends. She fell for him the moment they met, but their friendship is just too important for her to mess up. Sam loves April, but he would never expect her to feel the same way--she's too quirky and cool for someone like him. Together, they have a band, and put all of their feelings for each other into music.

Then Ramona and Sam meet Tom. He's their band's missing piece, and before Ramona knows it, she's falling for him. But she hasn't fallen out of love with Sam either.

How can she be true to her feelings without breaking up the band?"

NetGalley. Thanks for the copy.  

Okay, let me admit that it is a bit hard to pierce together all of my thoughts for this book, This Song is (Not) For You. On one hand, the mixture of novel-writing and poetry is nice. But on the other hand, it is as if the author threw ice water at the readers. I get why that the insertion of poetry is important (hello? Songs are poetry). But it is so unexpected...

Alright, let's talk about the elephant in the room (book). So Sam and Ramona have a mutual crush on each other (but they don't know it). Then they meet Tom, and Ramona starts going out with him. And that puts the trio into a huge tailspin. Tom and Sam are practically life partners, and Ramona... loves them both. And Tom and Sam love each other. *shrugs* I just felt that the three-way relationship wasn't handled as smoothly as it could had been. 

Ramona is a strange character. Think of Luna Lovegood. Then think of Luna Lovegood as assertive and strong, a bit in her head and odd. With friends. Who loves her anyway from the very beginning. That's Ramona. Personally, I like Ramona the least of the three narrators (Sam and Tom are the other narrators, and each one of the trio have their own chapters). 

Sam is the second character I like. I do like the journey of Sam finding out his own path and letting himself become his own person (that is apart from Ramona). Decent. Sam stepping away from his codependency with Ramona? Awesome. 

But Tom. Tom is the best character. Tom is the one I connect to the most. Idealistic, hopeful, and slightly tricky. He is the greatest of the three main characters, and he has a great character arc. Plus, he's an ace. And I think that storyline of him being an ace is handled very well. 

The ending. Most satisfying part. 

The plot goes by a bit slowly in the beginning, but it starts picking up. It is the context that doesn't flow very well as it should, especially regarding relationships between characters. Sam and Ramona? Clicks well. Ramona and Tom? Clicks well. Tom and Sam? Clicks well. But the three of them together? Well... not as well as duos. 

Overall, This Song is (Not) For You is YA Contemporary and told from three perspectives. It isn't my type of book, but I hope other readers may find this enjoyable. 

Rating: Two out of Five