*Before getting into this post, I would like to say a BIG thank you to the PR team at HQ publishers for approving me to read a free e-copy of We Just Clicked by Anna Bell via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review! *
With just over 15,000 followers on Instagram, Izzy is well on her way to reaching Instagram Influencer fame, thanks to her posts about living on a budget. She dreams of the day that she can finally give up working as a temp at the insurance agency, and live off of the money she makes through sponsored posts and brand deals. The only trouble is, her follower count seems to be stagnating and she’s struggling to find a way to reach out to a new audience, she’s been at the supposedly ’temporary’ job for over two years now, and Izzy can feel the clock ticking on her chance to reach the life-changing moment she is waiting for.
When co-worker and fellow Instagram-addict Luke suggests that the pair start ’faking dating’ for their feeds as a way to boost both of their followings, and become more attractive to brands who are looking for influencers to work with, Izzy is hesitant to say the very least. A couple of staged picnics and movie nights later and to their delight it actually seems to be working, influencer status is within reach, and it’s safe to say that both of their bank accounts have never looked better. But when Izzy runs in to a man who helped her two years ago on the worst day of her life, and the pair hit it off, things start to get a little more complicated…
This is the first time I have read a book by Anna Hill, and it’s safe to say it won’t be my last. We Just Clicked has served as the perfect thing to get me out of my recent reading slump, if there’s one thing I love it’s a book that warns against living your life for Instagram- as if writing my university dissertation on it wasn‘t enough to swear me off it for life haha!
Like always, I went onto GoodReads before writing this review to see what other people had to say about this book, and honestly, I was quite shocked to find a number of negative reviews. The most common issues seem to be with people finding the characters unlikeable, or not believing/ feeling any romance between Izzy and Aiden- the main love interests of the story. I personally, whole heartedly disagree with these comments, so much so that it makes me wonder if we were even reading the same book. I found Izzy (a character who is struggling with so much grief over the recent and unexpected death of her brother, that she takes it upon herself to create a different and ’more perfect’ life for herself on Instagram) to be very realistic, relatable, and likeable. Unlike some of the protagonist’s that you can find in other contemporary romances, Izzy actually had some depth to her, and I was certainly won over by her charm (although I’m still not convinced that one of her sponsored Instagram posts would be enough to make me buy a pair of silver-sequinned backless dungarees, ha!).
There were a couple of occasions whilst reading where I could call what was going to happen before it did, but that honestly didn’t really bother me as knowing what was coming really didn’t take anything away from the reading experience- I still laughed at times, loudly exclaimed ’OH NO!’ One time that led to my boyfriend rushing into the room to see if I was ok, and I even shed a tear or two a couple of times (which is really unlike me lately so believe me when I say that it’s a BIG deal!). I was sad when the story came to an end and my time with the characters that I had grown to love was over, but I was satisfied in the fact that everyone received an ending that they deserved- no loose ends or wondering what happened to anyone, and that’s enough for me.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book, the storyline, and the characters. It made me genuinely laugh and cry, which is exactly what I needed right now, and for that I am going to give this book a well-deserved rating of 5/5 stars. I think that We Just Clicked would make a great summer beach read (despite the torrential rain that was going on outside the entire time I was reading it wrapped up in bed with the heating on) and I would thoroughly recommend it to any other fans of contemporary romance that involve social media.
We Just Clicked by Anna Bell is available to buy now! Let me know if you’re thinking of buying a copy in the comments below, of if you were lucky enough to snag one through NetGalley like me, let me know what you thought/ link me to your own reviews of it as I’d love to read them!
olivebookreviews.wordpress.com 