ARC Review: Together, Apart

Authors: Erin A. Craig, Auriane Desombre, Erin Hahn, Bill Konigsberg, Rachael Lippincott, Brittney Morris, Sajni Patel, Natasha Preston

Genre: YA Contemporary

Release Date: 10.20.20

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Source: E-Arc via Netgalley

My Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis: A collection of original contemporary love stories set during life in lockdown by some of today’s most popular YA authors.

Erin Craig “delivers” on a story about a new girl in town and the cute pizza delivery boy, Auriane Desombre captures our hearts with teens communicating through window signs, and Bill Konigsberg takes us along on daily walks with every step bringing us closer to love. There’s flirting and romance from Rachael Lippincott, a tale of a determined girl with a mask-making business from Erin Hahn, and a music-inspired love connection from Sajni Patel. Brittney Morris turns enemies to lovers with the help of a balcony herb garden, Jennifer Yen writes an unconventional romance that starts outside a hospital, and Natasha Preston’s teens discover each other–and their love story–in a storybook oak tree.

Romantic, realistic, sweet and uplifting, TOGETHER, APART is a collection of finding love in unexpected places during an unprecedented time . . . each with the one thing we all want: a guaranteed happy ending”

Together, Apart was everything I wanted and more! This collection of quarantine romance short stories was adorable, fluffy, and exactly what I needed. It was a fast read and brought me a lot of comfort to see these light hearted stories set during the pandemic. I think the authors were really creative and used the idea of “quarantine meet-cutes” to the fullest potential. These meet-cutes were downright swoony and really just SO CUTE.

I’ve never read a short story collection before, but there’s something so nice and refreshing about reading this one! The stories left me smiling and hopeful. And honestly it left me wishing that some of these stories would be adapted into full length novels one day (what can I say? A girl can dream).

In total there were nine stories in here. I’m not sure how I would rate each story, but my top three favorites were “One Day” , “Love, Delivered”, and “Stuck with Her”. Out of all nine there was only one story that I disliked and I think it was because it was too insta-lovey for my taste. Other than that I enjoyed them all and quite a few stole my heart.

I think that after reading Together, Apart I have a desperate need for more stories like this. I loved watching so many characters in so many different situations finding love. The representation was incredible. It has an assortment of diverse characters with unique voices which made me happy to see.

So, overall, this was very enjoyable! I didn’t love all the stories the same amount, but I left this collection with a smile on my face. It was a very swoony, sweet, and enjoyable collection of pandemic romances that I’d highly recommend to anyone needing something light-hearted right now.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an E-Arc via Netgalley!