Does anyone else get really excited when they read books that are companions to books that you've already read? Kody Keplinger's YA books always make me super happy because I love the little cameos that her previous main characters get, and it makes me squeal inside. Lying Out Loud was a book that wasn't all that mindblowing, but it was still really good, mainly because of said cameos.
As with A Midsummer's Nightmare, I wasn't a huge fan of the romance in Lying Out Loud. I don't know if it's because I'm kind of going off YA romances (ha, yeah, right) or because Keplinger just isn't ticking those same boxes any more, but I was totally bored by the romance and I saw the whole Second Act Breakup coming a mile away. Because those happen in EVERY. BOOK. I. READ.
Anyway, I didn't hate the romance like I did in AMN, but I wasn't blown away by it. And those feelings are true for the rest of the book as well. The main character, Sonny, was okay. I didn't connect with her at all but I did feel sorry for her when I was told about her home life and all that. I loved her relationship with Amy, though. Those two are hella adorable. YAY FOR BEST FRIENDSHIPS.
I thought that a couple of points weren't expanded enough, or wrapped up well enough for me to be satisfied after finishing the book. Firstly, the thing with Sonny's dad. We weren't given much information there, and I was really curious about how/why/when. He kind of just pops up out of nowhere with very little explanation and then all of a sudden Sonny is like YAY MY DAD! And the stuff with her mum wasn't wrapped up well at all. Again, there was very little explanation, and it was left very open ended. I wanted to know if her mother had some sort of mental illness, because that's what it seemed to be hinting at, but now I guess I will never know.
I guess Kody Keplinger's books - particularly this one - aren't meant to be all that deep. But I would have liked for her to expand upon some things.
Overall, Lying Out Loud was a good book and I will be adding it to my Kody Keplinger collection once I actually make that a thing. I only own The DUFF so far because I suck. I will, of course, continue reading Keplinger's contemporary novels, but I can't say I'm expecting amazing things from her books any more. But I have hope that she'll prove me wrong in the near future!