Review: Everything You and I Could Have Been If We Weren't You and I by Albert Espinosa

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Can you imagine a future where everyone has given up sleeping?
From the creator of the television series Red Band Society and author of the international bestseller The Yellow World comes this uniquely special novel.
What if I could reveal your secrets with just a glance? And what if I could feel with your heart just by looking at you? And what if --in a single moment-- I could know that we were made for each other? Marcos has just lost his mother, a famous dancer who taught him everything, and he decides that his world can never be the same without her. Just as he is about to make a radical change, a phone call turns his world upside down.
Albert Espinosa has a peculiar talent for generating immediate congeniality around him, for shifting people's moods toward the positive and for reconciling them with themselves and the world, when needed.

MY TAKE:
Well, this certainly wasn't what I expected.

In Everything You and I Could Have Been If We Weren't You and I, Marcos is grieving the death of his mother and he decides to take the injection that will keep him awake 24/7 for the rest of his life. However, before he gets the chance to do it, he receives a life-altering call from his boss.

I thought this was going to be a love story, sort of like John Green but with magical qualities. It was a love story, in a way, but not a romantic one exactly. There was a little bit of that, of course, but the different types of love here are all over the spectrum.

From the first few chapters, I got the feeling that while I thought the book had some excellent lines, the overall tone of the book, as well as its topic was just not for me. However, I continued reading, and while I still think it wasn't my type of book, I certainly appreciated the points that it brought up.

At first, I had no idea what was going on. Then, as Marcos' gift was introduced, I became quite intrigued and thought that this would be like a detective novel. Then it made me think of Bates Motel and the Keanu Reeves' movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, and finally it reminded me of the Jaime Licauco books I used to read.

The more I read about Marcos' relationship with his mother, the more creeped out I became. This was probably the reason why even early on, I was able to figure out the final plot twist. I wasn't able to predict the origin of the stranger, though. That one was certainly out of left field, as it's not something I see often in Western novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grijalbo for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. It had some unexpected plot twists.
2. It presents interesting scenarios that lead to introspection.
3. It keeps you on your toes.

THE BAD:

1. It's a little darker than I expected it to be. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like novels that have a darker tone.
2. You believe that people are meant to meet certain people, even if they won't be in a romantic relationship.
3. You like surprising plot twists.

RATING:


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