For months now I entered what my friend Joe@Storey of Stories imagined as brand new meme called “First Impression”.

It’s a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only two sentences in the book, a chapter or two , maybe a little farther.  The goal is to  give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.  It will be fun to go back to this post once you’ll have finished the book! Did you think you’d love it and ended up hating it? Or did you think you’d hate it and wound up loving it? Or were you right all along?

This week I am at page 68 on 435 so yes basically the beginning of one of my most awaited books of 2018: Us Against You by Fredrik Backman!

You should know that Beartown, the “prequel” or rather “the book before this one” was one of my “bests of 2017” and even made it to my top 5 2017!

I discovered this author thanks to another author that I worship: Suanne Laqueur. Let’s just say that all she recommends I would read if I had a huge book budget!

You can imagine that Us Against You which is beginning right after Beartown ends could not come soon enough!

I had to wait some more weeks as Amazon cancelled my order (the format or edition I had pre-ordered months ago was no more available) before grabbing this beauty.

Now that I am reading it ….I find some passages somewhat too “boring” as in “flat”. On the other hand once I have time to read it for a longer period without being interrupted *really hard these days with my dad’s problems and son’s coaching in Dutch!* I seem to “fall into it” once again.

So what do I predict? Between 3,5 stars and 5 stars depending on how the action will really kick in! I think the author is just setting the scene and once it will be set we will really go to the heart of the book!

First sentences:

“Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did. We’ll end up saying that violence came to Beartown this summer, but that will be a lie; the violence was already there. Because sometimes hating one another is so easy that it seems incomprehensible that we ever do anything else.”

Very good right? Well that is one of the many excellent parts. If only I would care for every sentence like I care for these….

Synopsis

After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local hockey team will soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. Amidst the mounting tension between the two rivals, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to be Beartown’s new hockey coach.

Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.

As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they’ve been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.

Now last week I was reading The Chase by Elle Kennedy and I predicted 3 stars as the female MC was grating on my nerves.

Guess what? I ended loving her and gave it 4 stars!

You can read my review here (click on the graphic)

What is your firts impression today?

Thanks for reading and happy Friday!

Sophie