More than Maybe - Review

More Than Maybe

By: Erin Hahn

Publication: May 12th 2020 by Wednesday Books (Updated Release Date: July 21, 2020)

336 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Growing up under his punk rocker dad’s spotlight, eighteen-year-old Luke Greenly knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn’t in front of a crowd, it’s on the page. Hiding his gift and secretly hoarding songs in his bedroom at night, he prefers the anonymous comfort of the locally popular podcast he co-hosts with his outgoing and meddling, far-too-jealousy-inspiringly-happy-with-his-long-term-boyfriend twin brother, Cullen. But that’s not Luke’s only secret. He also has a major un-requited crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell.

Vada’s got a five year plan: secure a job at the Loud Lizard to learn from local legend (and her mom’s boyfriend) Phil Josephs (check), take over Phil’s music blog (double check), get accepted into Berkeley’s prestigious music journalism program (check, check, check), manage Ann Arbor’s summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is most definitely NOT on the list. So what if his self-deprecating charm and out-of-this-world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about some mystery girl on their podcast and she really, really wishes it was her?

I really enjoyed Erin Hahn's debut, You'd Be Mine, and to be honest, I requested More Than Maybe before I even read the book description. A few things gave me pause once I did read it so I began to worry about whether I would enjoy this one after all.

Luke and Vada have a similar situation as Husband and I. Not in every detail but in falling in love through sharing music back and forth. Of course, Luke and Vada's story has much more to it than that but so does our story.

Luke and Vada both have had crushes on each other from afar. For several years. Vada has a music review blog that Luke stalks, and Luke has a podcast with his twin brother that Vada listens to and even sometimes falls asleep to. Both are shy of the other and thus haven't interacted much in person until Luke's music composition class and Vada's dance class combine to do a collaboration project.

The silent concert thing (I don't even know what to call it) was a really cool concept and created some awesome tension. I do wish maybe the characters had been further along in their relationship when they experienced the concert because they were so new to each other that I felt the potential was a little unexplored here.

I do have to say that the language was just ridiculous. I don't remember a wide variety of words used, but the f-word seemed to be on every page. Geez, Louise! If ever there was a reason to DNF this book, the sheer number of f-bombs would be it. A quick search of the word in the e-galley version I received for review showed 80 results. 80! In 336 pages! Is that seriously needed? I really hope this book gets another pass through editing to reduce the amount of language.

Incidentally, More Than Maybe actually addresses God in a positive way. (I almost had to say this questioningly.) Vada's mother and best friend both have strong relationships with God. Yet Vada views Him as a last resort option that she hasn't gotten to yet. She has the realization that because of her relationship with her own dad is so strained and he's undependable, she has a hard time viewing God as a loving Father. I think so many can relate to this. Vada does have a moment of some kind that is mentioned but not expounded upon. The reader really has no specific information about Vada's moment or her thoughts regarding it besides her mentioning an attempt to attempt to be open.

Favorite quotes:

-I can imagine what is moving her, and I want to write that. I want to be the one who moves her. There are words, but self-preservation takes over, and I only have the energy to create the melody. One day, the words will come. Hopefully, I’ll be ready for them.

-“Never. Work. For. Free,” he says, tapping his desk with two fingers to accentuate each syllable. “If you don’t value your time, no one else will.

-It’s like when you say you’re cold and someone else tries to tell you it’s hot. It doesn’t matter what they think; you feel cold.

-But life’s unpredictable. Part of the ride is learning to roll with whatever comes our way. So, that’s what you’re going to do. Roll with it. Change what needs to change and make the best of what you’re handed.

More Than Maybe was better than I briefly worried it might be given my issues with the description. I appreciate stories that mix music so thoroughly with the story. But I wasn't familiar with all of the songs and I wasn't about to stop reading to look them all up as I might once have. I really liked Vada and Luke. And I probably have much more to say, but this is the gist of it. The f-bombs were a bit much, and it certainly wasn't a complete win in all areas, but I didn't want to put it down which is a big factor for me when deciding a rating. While reading, I think I was leaning towards a 4, but now that I've had time to contemplate it, I think More Than Maybe gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read More Than Maybe? What did you think? Let me know!