Book Review: Sábado à Noite by Babi Dewet

"Sabado a Noite" (Saturday Night) is an YA novel by Brazilian author and influencer Babi Dewet. Originally self-published, the novel became a hit and, today, Dewet has several published novels including the second and third instalments of the Saturday Night series.

Written in Portuguese and set within an international Brazilian elite college in what I am guessing is Rio, this book follows the story of Amanda, Daniel and their friends through one of their last years of high school. Amanda has it all: rich, beautiful and surrounded by equally posh and beautiful friends, she's at the top of the food chain. But she falls in love with trouble-maker Daniel and, to make matters worse, one of her best friends likes him too. Not to mention the mysterious band of masked boys that plays at the school's Saturday Club Nights and seems to know too much about her.

BOOK SPECS:

Number of pages: 288

Format: Paperback

Genre: YA Romance, Contemporary Romance

Tropes: Secret Identity, First Love, Friend's Love Interest

Original language: Brazilian Portuguese

SHORT REVIEW:

I'm so glad Dewet turned this book into a trilogy, as I simply need to know what happens next. The end was such a cliffhanger, I'm still biting my nails. Highly recommend it to anyone that can read Portuguese or to any English publishing company wanting something funny and full of emotion to add to its portfolio. Make sure you get the box of tissues ready, though. This book will make you cry.

HEART RATE:

SMUT SCORE:

Buy it on Amazon

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FULL REVIEW:

I have to admit I'm a little skeptical of any book set within a high school. But I read the first chapter online and thought it was interesting. Babi Dewet then sent me the book - autographed and dedicated (thanks so much!). 

Let me put it this way... On the first two days I read 60 pages, but on the third day... I couldn't put the book down and ended up finishing it at 5am. I laughed, cried, got mad at the characters and then reminisced about my own high school years and all the little dramas and misunderstandings that seemed so life threatening at the time. I know. I was a real drama queen!

Plot

The plot is well developed and the only little inconsistency is the character's parents who just float on the background but are not really there. For example, Daniel's father suffers a serious accident, which I guess influences his final decision, but it's only mentioned twice and you're not sure if his parents live abroad, are abroad on business, or have to stay longer because of the accident. Having said that, by the time you get to this point in the book, you are so engrossed in the story that you don't really care to question.

Characters

To top it off the characters are just charming. Well... Apart from Amanda, which I wanted to slap and tell to "smell the blinking coffee", but she always seems to find a way to redeem herself.

Smut & Romance Score

The emotions are raw in this novel and you can't help but bite your nails. These are two young adults that are discovering themselves and navigating relationships seriously for the first time. Being YA, there is plenty of angst and pining. There is also smut, but it's the romantic type, where the scene fades away before details are given. To be honest, that is perfect for the tone of this book and it ends up coming across as very romantic.

Writing

The point of view changes in between the characters and the narrator as this book takes you on a trip. There are moments that are so funny, I had a lot of people stare at me like I was going crazy. Yes... Laughing your head off one minute then almost crying the next did not go down well in public. I think they thought I was psychotic. In the comfort of my own home and save from everyone's eyes, however, I cried like a baby as the story reached its climax and fell towards an end.

Buy it on Amazon