What a cute and easy read to keep me sane in these crazy times. Ben & Arthur meet in a post office and instantly like each other, but get separated before they can exchange numbers or last name's. So they try to find each other and when they finally meet again, they instantly bond. I loved that this book had so many Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton references, they are two of my favorite musicals and when there is a musical mentioned in a book, it's usually an old classic. The style of the two writers fits together perfectly. My one star deduction is for the epilogue. It's horrbile. Like WHY?? It's unrealistic and totally ruins my opinion on A&B. I'm just hoping there will be a second book or novella or ANYTHING because that epilogue is truly sh*t.

Arthur und Ben haben mein Herz erobert. Die Geschichte ist so einfach und angenehm zu lesen. Man Fieber die ganze Zeit mit den beiden mit, vor allem als sie sich am Anfang versucht haben zu finden 😭❤️ Ich habe das Buch auf englisch gelesen , was einem einfachen und flüssigen Schreibstil hat. Ich kann es nicht erwarten den zweiten Teil zu lesen ❤️

well. i don't like writing negative reviews. there's no need for bashing a book that other people might really love just because it wasn't my thing! this book though - it could have been so. MUCH. BETTER. it had sweet and happy moments - that's what i liked about it: that it was light and fun; it was a comforting, warm, and entertaining read. it's what kept me listening and finishing this in less than three days! story-wise, there's a lot that just wasn't done well though. there was simply no conflict. there was no stake. it was a cute story about two guys meeting and getting together, but the story didn't have anything to say beyond that. friendship and family were discussed, but overall, romance/dating was the goal. there was unnecessary drama that could've been easily resolved. (hudson in summer school i mean PLEASE). the characters had potential that just wasn't used, especially all the friends, but also ben and his writing!! i loved that about him, but it could have made a bigger impact! ben not repeating junior year also bothered me a litte. i don't know what it's like to repeat a school year in the us but in germany it's not that big of a deal. loads of people have to and they definitely wouldn't be happy about it but it's not the end of the world!! i think ben repeating the year and learning to be cool with it would have sent a stronger message to other kids in a similar position. also, if a ya-book makes me feel like i'm too old for ya, that just isn't a good sign. (do teenagers nowadays really talk about sex and social media 24/7?) i have to say, the ending almost made me change my rating to 3/5 because it's just so different from what i expected, and i really liked it! it felt so real and natural (after all of those over the top romantic gestures and cheesy dialogues that this book was lmao) 'what if it's us' was an ok book with quite a few weaknesses that i did enjoy listening to - and now i want to listen to more audio books!!

"The main thing I remember is the way he smiled when I said I was gay. I swear, he was happy to hear it. And yes, it could be a solidarity thing, like some kind of Kinsey scale Sorting Hat. “Better be... GAY!!!!!! *cue cheers and rainbow flag waving from Hudson of Gay House*.“ This book was fun. I smiled so many times because of the cute interactions and the humour of Ben and Arthur. There were also so many musical references (they also mention “In The Heights“, which was my highlight!) Although I think people who don't care about musicals or Harry Potter might have problems to enjoy/understand all these references because there were A LOT of them. Dylan, Ben's best friend, was also a lot. He's quick to call any girlfriend his “future wife“ and says things like “It's Samantha, Big Ben. Ha! I knew wifey couldn't get enough of Daddy D.“ This is not cute or charming, it's deterrent and a giant cringe attack. But back to the main characters, Ben and Arthur. I had a lot of problems to keep their POVs apart. They sound so similar! However, I was rooting for them from the start but they moved fast, REALLY fast. I was really entertained at the beginning and thought about giving this book 5 stars. But I got annoyed. Arthur's a drama queen and often hangs up on everyone as soon as they say something he doesn't agree with. I liked that their dates weren't perfect. However, Ben planned a date at the arcade (without asking Arthur) and then whined that he sucked at the games. Well, maybe you should have asked him what he's interested in? They keep on having the weirdest problems and even weirder fights. I was irritated throughout the book. There was no plot apart from the romance. Even though I wanted them to be a couple, they annoyed me. I was really excited to read this book but I feel rather "meh" about it.

When I read the part about Arthur and Ben meeting at the post office, where Ben is about to mail a box with all the stuff that belonged to his ex-boyfriend, as a promo in one of Becky Albertalli's other books I really wanted to read the whole story. It sounded like a cute and easy read, with interesting (or at least likeable) characters, and without any of the gay (coming out) angst we get in so many queer YA stories. Unfortunately, that was about the only part of the book I really loved. So, they get separated about five minutes into meeting for the first time and then have to decide if they want to seriously look for each other, and then to actually search for each other. Which I really liked, with all the misdirections and almost-meetings. But after that's done and they find each other again there's pretty much no plot – except the obligatory misunderstanding that occurs every five pages. And I even could have let that slide, because it is a romance novel, after all, if there would have been something to their relationship, their character development, their goddamn personalities. I know a lot of people thought that search was too slow or creepy, but I honestly think the book would have been better if they would have explored this part of the story more and actually ended with the two of them finding each other again. Ben and Arthur actually going on dates was such a let-down for the most part because they clearly just didn't work and had nothing in common that I would have preferred an open ending. <spoilerEspecially when an open ending is what we're getting anyways. Anyways, my main problem is probably that I just didn't like Arthur. I liked that he's an optimist, that he's a bit extra, that he's apparently a total nerd, but oh my god, give me a break with all the drama and just talk to people without using a Hamilton reference and listen to them for once before assuming the worst. I know they're teenagers, but this is beyond the usual teenager drama, angst, and series of unfortunate miscommunications. I liked Ben for the most part, and I think one of the reasons was that we got to know and simply see a lot more of the people in his life. (I might have low-key been rooting for him and his ex-boyfriend Hudson getting back together at some point, which kind of speaks for itself, I guess.) I still feel like the most fleshed-out character of the entire book was his best friend Dylan. If I took anything away from this book it's that we're apparently come so far that instead of focusing on the gay best friend (TM) of a main character who has like two lines in the entire story I can now stan the straight best friend (TM) side character without feeling too bad about it. One last point: Wow, the pop culture references. It's not so much that there were too many of them for me, it's more like there were too many of the same few topics/fandoms. I've never watched or listened to Hamilton, but after reading this book I definitely never want to. (Also, and this is a serious question, is Harry Potter really still such a big deal for people that age? I mean, I grew up with this fandom, the last book was published when I was 18, and that's been... a while.)

Durch Zufall habe ich die Reihe 'What If Its Us' bei Thalia gefunden und war direkt verliebt. Ich fand das Konzerpt einfach so gut, dass sie sich nur einmal kurz gesehen haben und dann beide jeweils nach dem anderen gesucht haben und dann auch noch in der riesigen Stadt New York! Zu Beginn ist es etwas langsam und ich habe ein wenig gebraucht um in die Story rein zu kommen. Man durchlebt einfach mit Arthur und Ben jede einzelne Sekunde, weil es so schöner Jugendlicher Leichtsinn ist, den jeder von uns in seiner ersten Liebe hatte. Auch die Charaktere rund um die Beiden konnte man einfach nur lieben!! Bin so froh dieses Buch gefunden zu haben. ♡

Ein bisschen kitschig, sehr romantisch, an manchen Stellen sehr unangenehm und vor allem realistisch. Ich mochte diese Mischung sehr gerne, auch wenn es mir an manchen Stellen fast zu intim war. Ich wollte Ben und Arthur einfach nicht in ihrer kleinen Welt stören. Ich mochte die Familien und Freunde sehr gerne. Also ja, 3 Sterne. Meiner Meinung nach hat ein bisschen "richtiges" Drama, irgendetwas spannendes, gefehlt (auch wenn dann evtl. ein bisschen Realitätsnähe verloren gegangen wäre).

What if it’s us was such a comfort read. Exactly what I needed it to be. Both characters are really awesome in their own way. Ben is more the cool kind of guy on the outside and someone with a struggle on self-confidence on the inside. Arthur on the other hand has no filter and just says was on his mind. And sometimes these moments make me laugh a lot. This is a happy story of two guys who where searching for another in New York City. And I was the happiest girl on earth to get some tiny vibes of the city, ever since I miss being there so much. Honestly, if there wasn’t a second part announced, I would be super sad right now, leaving those guys behind. Someone who searches, always could find something to critic on a story, but I am not going to look for those points in that novel. Because I felt soooo good while reading it. I really loved everything about it and I sure will grab this book whenever I need something cozy.

Ich habe es geliebt! Ich habe dieses Buch einfach nur geliebt! Deshalb bin auch nur so durch knapp 500 Seiten geflogen und habe sie an einem Tag gelesen. In dieser Geschichte wird eine tolle Liebesgeschichte erzählt die einem mitreißt und einem auch das Herz zum Hals schlagen lässt. Ich kam irgendwann sogar gar nicht mehr dazu mir gute Stellen zu markieren. Mehr kann und will ich gar nicht zu dem Buch sagen. Ich bin nur wirklich sehr sehr verliebt!