Review: Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

Release: May 13, 2014

Source: ARC from publisher

Summer, boys, and friendships gone sour. This new series has everything that perfect beach reads are made of!

Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer—which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long? 
When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it.

Gemma's plan is working (she's finding it hard to resist Josh), but she's finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is? 

Most people judge a book by their cover. I know I do this many times. But what drew me to this book was the title.

While long, the title is cute, charming, and creative.

At the Nashville Fierce Reads tour stop, Katie actually said that her idea for this book came from the titles. So there's something to be said about a good title. 

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend is all about broken heart and mending bonds. Gemma did something awful to her friend, years ago. After a terrible break up with her boyfriend, Gemma returns to the Hamptons and runs in to her ex-best friend, Hallie. From then on, she determines to win back Hallie's friendship. Things don't go as planed, though. 

Overall, this book was a fun, quick, and entertaining read. Perfect for Summertime. I think Gemma is a very relatable character. While she is not perfect, I understand her motivation. What frustrated me, though, how many times Gemma had to "cover up" her mistakes. Unfortunately, I felt that the side-characters were rather bland. I wanted more from them, and from the Hampton setting. There was a lot of potential, and the book fell short. 

Still, that ending? So twisty! I guessed part of that twist, halfway through the book, but there was another aspect of the twist that had my mouth opened in confusion. With that cliffhanger ending, I definitely plan to get my hands on the next installment. I didn't take this book seriously, and I didn't have high expectations. Perhaps that's why I managed to enjoy the book.

ALSO,  Katie is also Morgan Matson. How did I not know this? I didn't know this until the Fierce Reads tour stop, which is embarrassing for someone like me. I don't know if this is on par with her "Morgan Matson" works, but I'm excited to read more of her work.