[Asis’ Review] INSTANT KARMA by Marissa Meyer

Instant Karma
by Marissa Meyer
Pages: 400
Published by Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: November 3rd, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: Retailer
Format Read: eBook
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Chronic overachiever Prudence Daniels is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, during a night out with her friends, she slips on a spilled drink and hits her head, only to wake up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her. Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to karaoke hecklers, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire — Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner and all-around mortal enemy.

Over the course of a summer, Pru begins to uncover truths about Quint, her peers, and even herself that reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed... love and hate.

In this young adult contemporary romance, a girl is suddenly gifted with the ability to cast instant karma on those around her—both good and bad.

I have wanted to read this book ever since I found out about it. I adore Marissa’s writing and that is no secret, it’s completely immersive and beautiful, and once I start it is hard to stop. That was no different in this book.

I don’t want to make this statement because it’s been a while since I read the Lunar Chronicles, but I think Quint was the character that made me fall in love the fastest out of Marissa’s characters. In fact, he is one of the characters that has made me fall in love the fastest out of most of ALL characters ever. 

When it starts, Prudence and Quint hate each other, and we’re in Prudence’s head with her telling us about all the awful things Quint is. But since the very beginning it was so obvious there was so much more to him than what Prudence knew, you could so obviously see he had a huge heart and a good reason for the way he acted at school. And it just made me want to get to really know him and love him and I was so impatient for the rest of the story to unfold… for Prudence to see the real him.

And I was, of course, completely right. Quint is just one of the cutest, sweetest heroes I’ve ever read. He felt so real, like someone who could totally be out there in the world and exist and if this is the case, WHERE CAN I FIND HIM PLEASE?! But at the same time, he could easily be the most unattainable of Marissa’s heroes just because of how both perfect and realistic he is at the same time. He has the biggest heart, he is incredibly kind, he is funny and lighthearted, he stands up for himself and for others, and he CARES ABOUT ANIMALS. He is a freaking volunteer at an animal rescue center, guys… I had no chance of resisting him. None at all. He is perfect. And just absolutely cute.

As for Prudence… it was a bit difficult for me to like her for a while, I have to admit. I just couldn’t relate to her at all. She was very close-minded and inflexible about her ideas. She felt very prejudiced and judgy. She didn’t stop to think of why people would do the things they did, of how there may be more to people than just the surface of the actions she could see. I understood that but I just truly couldn’t relate to that because I am completely different and my mind can’t grasp someone not even trying to empathise with people this way.

I stuck with her because I could see where her development would go, though. And I was not disappointed at the end. Her arc was amazing, she was progressively better and I ended up loving her almost as much as Quint. The lessons she learns, the development she has as a person, both internally and externally… this is exactly the kind of development a reader deserves and I love the way Marissa worked with Pru.

Another highlight of the book for me was the relationships every character had. Prudence’s relationship with her twin was extremely lovely and interesting. I always love seeing siblings like that, who completely support each other and are each other’s best friends. Her parents were just… nice and normal and weird and I love that. Quint’s mom was very different from them but equally realistic and endearing. It’s great seeing normal relatable families with normal relatable parents. It makes it real and fresh. 

Her little sisters were a bit insufferable for me during the whole first part of the book, which to me speaks a lot about Marissa as a storyteller, because Prudence herself had a lot of issues with her sisters, but as she learns and matures, her feelings change. And as they did, mine did too. By the end I absolutely adored them, I found them incredibly cute, realistic and lovable. 

Ari is her friend and I love seeing two girlfriends so uniquely different who support and love each other, with a relationship so important to the story and to the characters and also just so relatable. To see my type of relationships with friends in the book is something amazing and something that’s becoming more and more normal in stories every time.

Prudence and Quint’s classmates were all so different and I loved how they all really felt like actual teenagers. The scenes of their reunions and especially in the classroom, they brought me back to my own class groups in a way. I loved it. I love how Marissa’s characters are all real and dimensional, the good ones have flaws and the bad ones aren’t all that bad once you really see past the surface. From the main characters to the one-line ones, the whole town came to life in my head when I was reading. I felt I was really living there, in this place with these people… and it felt like such a cool community, such a cool place to live, I so badly wanted to go. The place was amazing and all the settings we found ourselves in completely transported me.

And one of my absolutely favorite parts of Instant Karma was the animal rescue center. I cannot even put into words how much I love that. Marine mammals owned a huge part of my heart already and having them being such a strong part of the story was the nail in my coffin. I fell in love with them. I loved every scene at the center, I loved seeing what they did, reading about how it works to be a volunteer in these places, what they do, and why. And seeing someone who didn’t like all this stuff completely falling in love with the animals and this work to the point of fighting tooth and nail to help the center and the animals was absolutely amazing. If you love this type of thing, you will love the book. And if you don’t, you probably will by the end of the book. 

On the other hand, seeing the economic and business side of things was also incredibly interesting. It fascinated me how good Prudence was at what she did and I loved seeing her come up with different ideas and putting them to work. It was very inspiring to read.

Prudence and Quint together were probably the cutest couple I’ve read about. Certainly, the cutest one I’ve seen lately. They complemented each other so well, they helped each other grow in a million ways, and seeing them both learn to be a team, to be friends, to change their mind about each other, and falling head over heels in love with one another was a complete joy. 

While I could have used a bit more angst and groveling by the end, that’s usually my case with all books lol In reality, this was one more win for Marissa and with every book, my love for her as an author grows stronger, and I truly can’t wait for whatever she brings to me next.