In Tune by Yeyet Soriano | REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Updated: Dec 7, 2020

It's my stop today and I am so honored to be blasting off this week-long book tour for In Tune by Yeyet Soriano !! All of the tour hosts are Filipino and of Filipino diaspora which is always sp exciting to me ✨

Read until the end to learn more about this book and enter the giveaway at CBT 🌙

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: In Tune

Author: Yeyet Soriano

Publisher: Self-published

Published: November 17, 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Find it on: Amazon, Goodreads, Philippines Print Pre-Orders

JOIN THE ONLINE BOOK LAUNCH (11/13, 3PM) !!

Summary:

FIRST SET:

Between fulfilling family obligations and navigating the tricky social climate at her private school, Sydney Mendoza tries hard to keep a balance.

Himig Raymundo, on the other hand, knows the feeling of living in the shadow of his successful parents and the agony of being with schoolmates who won’t let him forget.

When Sydney and Himig get “volunteered” to be the stars of High School Night by their batchmates who want to see them fail miserably, they band together to prove everyone wrong, and, in the process, find the one silver lining in the prank—each other.

SECOND SET:

In the midst of college applications and entrance exams, Sydney finds herself at a crossroads: work abroad to earn money for her family or continue on to college on an all-expense-paid scholarship. Ironically, Himig, the school campus’s reluctant star, becomes the rock that anchors her so she won’t get lost in the fray.

No longer bound in anonymity, Himig gets a chance to finally step out of his famous parents’ shadow and show everyone who he really is, as Sydney reveals to him her most hidden secret.

I received an Advance Readers' Copy of In Tune by Yeyet Soriano for review through Caffeine Book Tours ♡

THE REVIEW

— overall thoughts: 3.5 —

As a musician, the fact that the plot centers around music and performance were also very enjoyable. Aside from the Filipino environment, I loved the descriptions of those feelings before, during, and after performances as they hit close to home.

The setting felt like home to me even though the writing style was not particularly for me. It felt young, maybe too young for my taste.

However, I kept getting excited since they were talking about colleges that I’m actually familiar with and part of, as a college student.

The plot was interesting because usually in books, it’s the parents who want their kids to complete college but here it’s the opposite. Our main character is actually the one fighting to go to college. I think that it did a good job of exploring that kind of family dynamic and resolved the conflict quite well.

I love it when a book touches on topics like memories and living in the present.

"I am living in the moment. I'm enjoying every single moment because I know one day, they will just be memories."

Syd and I actually both go to UP (University of the Philippines) but I found it weird that they didn’t mention the campus? Because it usually goes with it. like for example for me, it’s like “UPM” which is the Manila campus... based on the context I’m assuming she’s in UPD though. De La Salle was also only plainly mentioned without the campus as well (there are so many La Salle schools in the Philippines) and as a former student there, that was also a bit off to read. It’s just details like this that, if different, would have felt more believable for me.

I didn’t care too much for the teen drama just because it’s harder for me to relate to it and it’s not something I like to read as much nowadays. Which made some parts feel like they were dragging. Something about the writing style kept pulling me out from the story at times.

Though, the characters and cast were enjoyable to follow along. They’re amusing and quirky, acting the way teenagers would. I actually think they’re somewhere around my age based on the plot but for some reason they seemed younger to me 😂 I just don’t act the same towards my friends or make certain decisions.

I did learn to love Himig and Syd more towards the end of the story. The plot wrapped up on a good note and gave a hopeful feeling.

The sister-sister dynamic was probably my favourite aspect. Aside from that, strong familial themes were still very present throughout the story.

A cute, enjoyable, and light-hearted contemporary romance. It ended on a good note and I enjoyed seeing this story in a Philippine-centered setting. I found it relatable and if you're also into performing arts, try this out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yeyet Soriano is a multi-genre author who writes speculative fiction, crime fiction and contemporary romance. She started writing first as an angst-ridden teenager, then continued to do so as a single working woman, then as a married working woman with kids. Though the themes of her written works have changed over the years, she held on to one truth—she needs to write to keep the voices in her head at bay.

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