The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson
Actual Rating: 4
*Thank you to the publishers and the author for providing me a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.*
Darcy believes in love at first sight. I, on the other hand, don’t. At all. Which is why I went into this with a bit of trepidation.
The book follows Darcy, who suddenly finds herself stranded at the bus station after a music festival. While trying to find an iPhone charger, she runs into Russell. He’s cute, he’s funny, he’s everything she could ever ask for, and the two of them spend a single, whirlwind day together — which makes Darcy feel like she’s finally living the rom-com life she’s wanted for so long. Until everything comes crashing down.
I was pretty lukewarm on this at the start because it really does start off as a pretty uneventful insta-love type of romance. I found it difficult to become emotionally attached to Darcy and Russell’s story when it seemed their relationship was little more than light-hearted banter.
And then. And then. We get to the 30% mark, and everything changed. The twist is something I surprisingly didn’t see coming (I wasn’t thinking that much lol) but it completely changed the course of the book in a very good way. Suddenly, Darcy and Russell’s relationship felt much more high-stakes and real, and it became extremely clear: This is not a “love at first sight is real” type of book — it’s so much more than that. And I love a book that flips a trope on its head.
When the plot got interesting, so did the characters. Russell became much more than a manic pixie dream boy, and Darcy also seemed to become much more than the typical quirky female lead. I really enjoyed how much depth were added to the characters. The family theme is also really touching, and it manages to insert some well-timed humor and chaos while we’re at it. In the end I was pretty impressed at how mature the story was.
Overall, although it kind of had a slow start, I ended up really enjoying this one, and I think any other chick-lit or YA contemporary romance lover will too.
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