FROM PUBLISHER: Boy meets girl and both are enchanted but don't get the information to actually connect.

Another chance meeting brings them together, only to have a misunderstanding drive them apart. Madcap mishaps, raunchy hilarity, and deep romance follow these two wherever they go. For two people so clearly destined for each other, they sure have a hell of a lot of trouble even getting together.

I hesitated to review this earlier as I truly did not enjoy it...it is after all a bit awkward. It is well written, but I felt uncomfortable listening to the audio book. Perhaps I was too prudish and could not enjoy it fully. I am sure it would please others. I donated my copy to the public library and they were quite happy to receive it. ( )

A couple of months ago, I started hearing a lot about Lobsters in the Dutch book blogger's world. I got really curious about it, but - as always - very careful as well, because hyped books aren't always my cup of tea. When I heard that the authors of this book would be coming to YALfest in April next year, I decided I was going to try it out, so at least I'll finally know what the hype is about.

Lobsters is about Hannah and Sam, who are determined to find their 'lobster' (aka lose their virginity) before they go to university - because who goes to uni without losing their virginity? that's right, losers. They meet each other for the first time at Stella's house, and have an instant connection. Then, a lot of stuff happens that makes this story super awkward. This story follows them as they have several almosts (almost having sex at a party, almost having sex with an older American girl, almost almost almost).

As you may have realised - by reading my little summary above - this book is just mainly about two kids trying to get laid before going to university, and honestly I didn't really care about that at all. I'm not one of those people that is desperate to lose their virginity, so I couldn't relate myself to these characters at all. I honestly found it a bit annoying that they were so determined on doing it before university.

As an asexual, I felt rather uncomfortable with the amount of (talk about) sex in this book. It wasn't as detailed as in that one adult book I once read (no it's not fifty shades of grey), but still it was super awkward to be reading about that stuff. I mainly just skimmed through it until it went back to 'normal'. The rest of the story was interesting though, and I really would have rather read about the (straining) friendship between Stella and Hannah instead of the latter wanting to have sex with Freddie or 'toilet boy'.

Like I said, I couldn't relate to any of the characters, and I didn't really like any of them more than the other. I thought Robbie was a bit annoying which his determination to prove he wasn't a fan of Harry Potter (why is that so embarrassing jfc) and yeah, I don't know - I just didn't like any of them that much. My favourite part probably was the scene where Hannah and Sam met, where they had a conversation in the toilet.

The writing was really nice, and though it was written by two authors, I couldn't really detect any difference in writing style, which means that they did a good job. I'm not sure if they'll continue as a duo, or if they will write more books separately, but maybe they have other books that can interest me more.

So yeah, I guess Lobsters just wasn't the book for me. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it as much as the majority of the book world did. I am still looking forward to meeting the authors, but I'll probably be more excited for other authors more. If you really love contemporary books such as Anna and the French Kiss and Paper Towns, but you want it to have a bit more of a new adult vibe - you should try out this book!

My opinion on this book in one gif:

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Some funny moments in the story. It has a strong emphasis on losing one's virginity, which is probably fairly accurate at that age. The shallowness of this preoccupation is contrasted with experiencing sex with someone you truly want to be with. The swearing, sexual encounters, drugs and alcohol all make this a story for the older teen. After reading other reviews, sounds like the audio version is not the way to go. ( )

I got this audiobook through the Early Giveaway. A more accurate title for it would be “A Painfully Shallow Love Story” or “How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Trying To Lose My Virginity”. The characters have just finished high school and are headed to university in the fall. Their one obsession for the summer is to lose their virginity.

I read a lot of YA and juvenile fiction, and I expected a lot more from this book. The story switches off its perspective, with passages from Hannah’s viewpoint and Sam’s viewpoint. I did like having that shift, but overall, the story is just irritating. If I wasn’t reviewing this audiobook, I would never have made it past disc one. I kept turning it off while trying to listen to it. The anecdotes include tales of a bikini wax, premature ejaculation, getting caught trying to have sex at work and getting drunk and high at a house party.

It starts when Hannah and Sam meet at that drunken party, discover they like each other, then screw it up and don’t end up together at the end of the party. Their meeting scene in the bathroom is probably the highlight of the book.

The story bounces from one misunderstanding to the next where Sam or Hannah and their friends are in the wrong place at the wrong time or say the wrong thing. It could be a good farce, but it’s just not.

Throughout the story, Hannah sticks with her group of three friends: Stella, Tillie and Grace. Stella seems to be from the school of “no one abuses my friends but me”. Tillie and Grace don’t really make that much of an impression, and they’re almost interchangeable. Stella is mean and rude to Hannah throughout the story, and I can’t understand why Hannah would consider her to be her best friend. The one time Hannah stands up for herself to Stella, she ends up apologizing for it later.

Sam and his friends are just as obsessed with losing their virginity as the girls are, but somehow, they’re less irritating—probably because there’s no equivalent to Stella in the group.

Hannah and Sam are both full to the brim with self-doubt and angst about the opposite sex and about exam results. Neither has a point of confidence—a sport or a skill—that would lift them out of this state. Actually, almost no one in this story seems to have other interests outside of finding someone to pull. The only person who seems to have any perspective is Hannah’s friend Casper.

The audiobook’s voice actors did a great job, but they couldn’t fix the source material. ( )