Title: What Are The Chances by D.R. Graham
book 2 in The Britannia Beach Series
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
*Provided Title Via Netgalley for honest review*
Synopsis
“Oh, there’s a point to a summer fling. Trust me.”
The Inn is sold and Derian Lafleur has been accepted to two universities—one close by and one across the country. Before leaving Britannia Beach for good Deri wants to enjoy one last summer of sun and fun. However her best friend, Sophie Sakamoto, is more interested in making sure Derian has one last summer romance. The question is, with whom? Deri has had a crush on childhood friend Trevor Maverty since forever. But he’s already taken. And Mason Cartwright is back in town after a year abroad. But will he remember her?
My Thoughts
For my review for book 1 ‘Put It Out There’ please click HERE.
Boy oh boy their is ALOT going on in this book.
From visions, to drug addicts, to crime and mysterious men, love triangles and more.
The Plot for What Are The Chances is as romance filled as the first however the second book for this series incorporates a somewhat Love Triangle and the visions include Derian in new levels. One vision in particular which she has she then goes on to help deal with and I loved this because it was great to see her act in such a strong and selfless way.
Another thing I really enjoyed about this book is how it felt that D.R. Graham was really playing around with genres, overall the book is a Young Adult Contemporary but it pulls different characteristics from a range of other genres such as Crime and Mystery, Romance and Supernatural. It is this that really keeps you on your toes as one minute you’re scared because of one of Derian’s visions and the next you’re suspecting the creepy and mysterious new guest in the inn.
As y0u may have noticed in the little snippet above I mention ‘drug addicts’, one character goes through a little journey in this book and struggles with drugs which I won’t go into deep detail with because I don’t want to reveal spoilers however D.R. Graham is incorporating more serious elements into her book with this and it makes it further stand out for me. There is so much going on in its pages that you constantly are wanting to read on to find out what will happen next.
As with the first book I really enjoyed the characters in book 2, I was so excited to be reunited with Derian to see what would happen with the situation with Trevor and it’s safe to say this book didn’t disappoint. Throughout the book there is a lot of tension and angst between Trevor and Derian and it poses the will they – wont they dilemma which in itself can be really infuriating! I just wanted and need them together.
We also get to meet Mason more in this book, find out more about him and see an almost love triangle forming. Which mixes both the boy next door vs popular boy with the rich vs poor dynamic as well. Mason can be really extravagant which we get to see in this book especially as one point he has a Helicopter… I mean wow. I kind of got a Christian Grey feel to him when the Helicopter was introduced. The fact Mason is rich and Trevor not necassilary poor but he has less money than Mason is something which drew me in a little more because I found they constrast each other really well.
What’s also great to see in this book is Kailyn, for those who haven’t read book 1 just yet Kailyn is Trevor’s Sister and she has Downs Syndrome. In my first review I posted a section on Kailyn and mentioned how much I appreciated D.R. Graham’s diversity with the inclusion of a character with a disability, it’s rather rare to see in young adult fiction and I love how Kailyn has her own plots/dilemmas interlinked with the entire story. Within What Are The Chances Kailyn has a plot which is linked in with the crime and mystery element of the book which lead me to experience an array of emotions such as fear.
I adore the setting for the Britannia Beach series so far, I find the small town and the Inn reminds me of Gilmore Girls and then the mentions of rivers and woodland make it sound like a truly serene place. In my head I have a mixture of Stars Hallow (Gilmore Girls) and Forks (Twilight).
- Mixes Characteristics from different Genres which makes it unique against other young adult fiction
- Angst and Tension Build Up With Derian and Trevor
- Small Love Triangle
- Fast/Steady Pace
- Derian is still having her Visions which she plays a little bit of a bigger role with this book rather than just passing the information on.
What Are The Chances is definitely a 5 star read for me, I have thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience of book 1 and now book 2 and I can’t wait to see what book 3 has in store. It is safe to say I can imagine another rollercoaster of emotions and drama. The constant will they – wont they feel attached to Derian and Trevor isn’t drawn out and whilst I have felt infuriated at times it is simply because I have interacted with the characters so much and I am really rooting for them. The overall pace of the book felt like it was a steady pace which picked up in the right places and D.R.Graham’s incorporation of darker/serious subject matter such as drug abuse further adds to the uniqueness of this book which makes it stand out against other books in this genre. There is so much happening within these pages, you won’t want to put it down.
Useful Links
Goodreads Book Page | www.drgrahambooks.com | Amazon UK | Amazon US |
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I’m really enjoying this series. I read Rank by the same author recently. It blew me away. I loved it! I can’t wait for the third book!
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I haven’t read Rank yet but I will definitely have to check it out. I can’t wait for the third book either, I’m just praying Derian and Trevor stay together!
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