Review: This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills

Firstly, thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for this review copy <3



Date Read: February 26 - March 4 2017
Date Released: March 1st 2017
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:
Synopsis:
"Sloane isn't expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens.
Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met. When a beloved painting by the twins' late mother goes missing, Sloane takes on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her across state lines—and ever deeper into the twins' lives.

Filled with intense and important friendships, a wonderful warts-and-all family, shiveringly good romantic developments, and sharp, witty dialogue, this story is about finding the people you never knew you needed."

---

That feel when you find a gem of a contemporary. With a gorgeous cover (dust jacket AND naked cover), This Adventure Ends is beautiful inside and out. Emma Mills was already on my radar since I adored her debut First & Then, so when I heard she was releasing another contemporary (blessed with gorgeous covers Mills is) I was so excited. Safe to say this is one of my favourite contemporaries of all time and Mills is now auto-buy.

One of the first things Sloane does upon her arrival in Florida is to stick up for a guy (Gabe) at a party. As a result, she befriends said guy’s twin sister and is immediately part of their friendship group. Said twin sister Vera is actually a social media sensation no big deal, Sloane doesn’t lose her head over it (she doesn’t use even use social media). That’s the way things are with Sloane – she’s mega chill, casual and extremely witty. I loved her comebacks, her wisdom and her independence. She’s immensely loyal despite giving off the vibe she doesn’t need friends. That’s one of her many flaws and I really liked the way she got hurt and contemplative when people called her out on her shit – because nobody had done that before. Sloane’s growth throughout the book via her interactions with these friends is touching and wonderful.

Vera really stood out to me in this book. She’s a gorgeous social media sensation, posting selfies on Instagram and similar platforms but she doesn’t let it get to her head. She’s this humble ball of energy that makes everybody around her feel like they have all her attention (they do). She’s sweet, sensitive and a great friend overall. The other relationship that resonated with me was between Sloane and her dad. Everett Finch is kind of like Nicholas Sparks in that he writes tragic yet hopeful romances. Her dad’s in a writing slump but holy crap he is HILARIOUS. When he finds out about fandoms online he gets totally obsessed with this teen werewolf show (basically Teen Wolf), bingeing the series, reading all the fanfic… and starts writing fanfic of his own. He gets totally immersed in the world, learning terms like ‘canon’ and ‘AU’ (I mean I never even knew what this meant but thanks to Sloane’s dad I do now) as well as ‘ship’. His obsession with the world draws in Sloane, Vera, Gabe and their friends Randy and Aubrey. It was so interesting seeing a TV show connect different generations. The book also explores Sloane’s bilateral interactions with the other characters and their own problems, giving each character dimension and making them unique and memorable. Because while Sloane imparts wisdom, her friends also give a lot back that make her think twice about who she is.

Romance is slow burn and cute and kind of not really there. If you want to talk ship it’s kind of still docked at the harbour, bobbing in its spot, but waiting to set sail if you ask me! Sorry was that lame? Sorry not sorry. Gabe is this broody, quiet guy who’s more aware of things going on around him than he lets on. He’s the total opposite of his sister and I really think he just needed a hug most of the time.

Underpinning the progression of the book and Sloane’s developing relationship with the characters, is her quest to find a priceless painting left by Vera and Gabe’s mum before she died. It was accidentally sold and Sloane has made it her personal mission to try and get it back for the twins. It was a real rollercoaster ride every time it looked like Sloane had a lead only to get to a dead end. While I didn’t find the quest to really expand on her relationship too much with the other characters, I believe it was part of her personal growth in understanding her drive towards why she wanted to get this painting back so badly.

Mills’ writing is engaging, fun and her dialogue gives unique voices to each character. I laughed a LOT and I also got teary a couple of times throughout the book. The characters were all wonderful, the plot seemingly light, yet layered in a way that I could gently peel them back and find the deeper meaning at its core. This Adventure Ends is honestly one of the loveliest, most thought provoking books I’ve read in a while and I can’t wait to see where Mills will take me next.