Ask Again Later

by Liz Czukas

Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there's only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.

Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother's best friend really be?

Tails: The theater geek...with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart's interests--even if he wants to share all his feelings?

Heart's simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all...

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit, Realistic Fiction, High School, Young Adult Contemporary

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2014

About the author

Liz Czukas is the author of fun YA romances like ASK AGAIN LATER (2014) and TOP TEN CLUES YOU'RE CLUELESS (2014), and THROWING MY LIFE AWAY (2016). She also writes fun New Adult romances like WHEN JOSS MET MATT under the name Ellie Cahill.

Want to be the first to know the latest releases and giveaways from Liz Czukas? Sign up for Liz's newsletter HERE


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Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5

He proceeded to do some moves I can only assume are part of a war dance in some lost tribe of the Amazon. There were a mysterious number of elbows involved, and a face that was probably meant to be sexy but looked more pained.

Some things are universal, and a horrible dance partner is one to which we can all relate ^_^

This book was all sorts of adorable. This is what I look for in an YA contemporary. Light romance, adorableness to the extreme, silly and realistic teenagers, and a very likeable narrator.

No slut shaming. No love triangle (despite the premise), and really, just cuteness all around. My only complaint is with the Head/Tails alternate scenario premise. Why? What was the point? It's an YA contemporary, let's leave it at one single possible timeline, ok? This isn't a choose-your-own-adventure book. The alternate scenario is just pointless.

The Summary: Heart LaCoeur has a horrible name, ok? Let's get that out in the open. It means "Heart the Heart." It's Prom time, and she's got no time for that nonsense, no sirree. Heart is going to prom with a group of her friends, guys and gals. They call themselves the "No Drama Prom-a" crew.

So Heart's set to chill with her pals. She's got an awesome vintage dress. And it's going to be just great!

Until Heart gets more on her plate than she planned. For one thing, her brother volunteered Heart as his friend's prom date without her consent.

“Eh.” He shrugged and swallowed the last of his pizza. “Anyway, he already had tickets to prom, so I said you’d go with him.”

And to make it even messier...

Ryan beckoned me closer with a jerking head motion. “Listen...I was wondering...would you want to go to prom with me? As friends.”

WELL, FUCK. Heart doesn't want any of this. She tries to turn them both down, but there are problems.

“So...” He drew an elaborate, invisible design with his finger on the lab table. “Just pick someone and be done with it.”
“It’s not that easy.”

Seriously, it's not that easy. For one thing, Troy is the most pathetic, broken-down jock in the world. He just got dumped by his girlfriend, hence why he needs a date, and he's more teddy bear than tough guy. How can you turn down someone who looks like this?!

“If you don’t want to, that’s cool.” Troy looked down, and I swear to God, I thought he was going to start crying. Ginormous, six-foot-four, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound Troy Rafferty was going to break down in the french fry line.
“That’s cool,” Troy said softly. “Sorry to bother you.” He started to lumber away, and my heart crumpled.

NOOOOOOO. You'd have to have a heart of ice to turn him down.

So Heart goes to turn her friend Ryan down, only it doesn't quite work out either.

He smiled and laughed nervously. “I just feel like I should be honest with you,” he said. “I didn’t want you to think that I was asking you because...that we...that I...” He took a frustrated breath and let it out in a short huff. “I’m gay.”

*HOWLS WITH LAUGHTER*

So now Heart's stuck between a downtrodden, depressed teddy bear of a jock, and a gay guy who wants her to be his beard. NOW do you see her problem?

So Heart tosses a coin. Heads or Tails. Heads, Troy wins. Tails, Ryan wins. And thus, we get to watch Prom Night unfold in both scenarios. There will be torn dresses, drunken kisses, terrible dancing (Hint: gay guys are terrible dancers, too).

There will be horrible kissing experiences, designed to incite jealousy in an ex-girlfriend.

There was nowhere to turn when he laid a wet, alcohol-soaked kiss on me.
His tongue was like a fish flopping on a dock in my mouth, but hot instead of cold.

There will be relationship counseling.

“Ugh, maybe you are gay after all.” I crossed my arms.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you’re into sports and you hate dancing, but now here you are giving me relationship advice.”
“You have way too many stereotypes in your head.”

And maybe Heart will realize who she should have gone with all along.

He laughed. “You’re having...thoughts?”
“And feelings. Damn it. Feelings! This is not on my agenda.”

Heart: Yeah, she's got a crappy name, and a crappy mother. Don't hold it against her. Heart feels like a realistic teenager. She is normal. She is not "quirky" or strange, she's got a sarcastic sense of humor sometimes, she tends to get snarky, and her internal dialogue gets to be kind of silly sometimes. The point is that Heart never pissed me off. Like this internal monologue about the utter horribleness of her name, Heart.

Sometimes, people ask me what it’s like to be named Heart, but how am I supposed to answer that? I mean, how would you answer if a fish popped out of a lake and asked you what it was like to breathe oxygen? Apart from freaking out that a fish was talking to you, of course. You don’t know what it’s like to breathe anything else. You’d probably be like, “I don’t know. It’s okay, I guess. What’s it like to breathe water, Talking Fish?”

I would understand if you found her annoying, but I thought she was pretty cute.

Despite her name, Heart is a skeptic. She's not a skeptic in the sense of I WILL NEVER EVER EVER LOVE AGAIN BECAUSE MY MOTHER ABANDONED ME AS A CHILD. No. Heart is a skeptic in the sense that she believes in romance, she believes in love, but she is willing to take it slow. She is pragmatic. Rational. She is not a believer in fate.

“I don’t believe in fate.” It was automatic. My response since I’d decided not to let my maternal genetics and my porn-star name choose my future for me.
“Why not?”
“I don’t like the idea that I can’t control the outcome of something. Your choices should be the only influence in your own life.”

She is a NORMAL girl. She loves her friends, she is kind-hearted. Heart knows that a beautiful girl can be kind, too. She never, ever slut shames, and she calls out bad behavior when she sees it.

“Did you see the way Olivia went off? God, that girl would do anything for attention.”
“I know, she’s so pathetic.”
“I can’t believe she even got nominated for prom court.”
“It’s just because she’s going out with Austin.”
“Seriously.”
I wasn’t exactly buddy-buddy with Olivia, but my ears got hot with embarrassment and anger listening to them dissect her.

From confronting a bunch of mean-girls in the bathroom, to talking to her brother's beauty-queen friends. She never, ever judges someone for her looks. She defends the beautiful girls when she hears them being trashed behind their backs, and doesn't expect any rewards for it.

I had a feeling they’d both heard plenty of gossip about themselves over the last four years. You don’t get to be a senior looking like custom-ordered perfection without earning a little jealousy along the way.

Heart really did win over my heart.

The Other Characters: What made this book so fun to read was the fact that the teenagers feel like real people. These boys and girls could have been my friends when I was in high school. They joke around with each other, boys and girls can be friends without drama, they're a group of mixed boys and girls who just have a lot of fun with each other. They like each other, they laugh with each other, they have fun! And I had a lot of fun with them. They do silly things, they play lighthearted pranks on each other, they do dumb things. Nothing is ever outrageous.

This book really defies the steoretype that all pretty girls are bitches. There are numerous beautiful girls in the book, cheerleaders, prom queens. They may be beautiful, but they are portrayed as people, too. They're just normal girls who just happen to look pretty. There is never an attempt to hate them or to slut shame them. I love that about this book.

The Romance: There is only one romantic interest in this book, and it is predictable as heck. That's not to say it's not sweet. It's the friends-into-lovers trope, and it is so light and well-built, that I found it to be completely understandable. I rooted for the two. I wanted them to be together. I wanted to see them get past their misunderstandings, and I cheered for Heart when she got pissed off and told off the boy of her dreams because he was kind of an asshole.

“Uh-uh. I had no idea how you felt about me. None. And you know whose fault that is? Yours. If you wanted to ask me to prom, you should have frigging asked me. You don’t get to whine about it just because somebody else had the balls to do what you didn’t. I’m done apologizing to you.” I poked him in the chest. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Get over yourself.”

I love Heart's slightly cynical attitude. She's not one of those I-believe-in-soulmates people. She doesn't want to rush into things, and that's just fine with me.

“And you have to promise we’ll take it slow.”
“How slow?”
Blanking, all I could think of was my mother. I blurted out, “Well, like, let’s not have kids anytime soon, okay?”

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

It is a universal truth that a person cannot run in clogs, but that didn't stop me from trying.

If you love banter, this book is for you. If you love cute romances, this book is for you. If you love fluffy contemporaries, this book was written for you. Ask Again Later is one of the best light contemporaries I've ever read. Also read in over 2 hours, so I guess that shows just how unputdownable this was. Just writing this review makes me want to go and grab out my kindle out to re-read it.

I'm just a high school student with a list for Broadway musicals and an unhealthy relationship with The Big Book of Baby Names. My copy is dog-eared, highlighted and Sharpied into complete submission. I've got less than a year to go until I can match my butt down to the courthouse and choose my very own name for the rest of my life.

The main character, Heart immediately presents a good impression to us readers with her snarky and vibrant attitude. She maintained this personality throughout the entire book and it was an absolute pleasure to have her as the lead. She made a rule when she was young to never get into a relationship--after her mother ditched her and her father when she was born. So when prom comes around the corner and two people unexpectedly ask her out, she has no idea who to choose. Besides, her original plan was to go with her friends--the No Drama Prom-a group. Ask Again Later was not what I had expected, in the best ways. I love how the author did not follow the typical path of multi-reality stories. That being said, this is not a sci-fi novel. Simply put, Heart can't choose to go with either the jock or the theatre nerd so we end up seeing both sides and how they slowly meld together in the end.

Ask Again Later has the perfect mix of romance, friendship and humour. It's not necessarily the type of humour that has you cackling on the floor but it will keep you grinning the entire time. I also love how the author doesn't make Heart a "special" person because her odd name. Schroeder, who is part of the No Drama Prom-a group doesn't call Heart by her real name, instead, he calls her by internal organs such as Lung, which was pretty entertaining. The two, along with the rest of the No Drama Prom-a group have the best banter. THE. BEST. And as a last add on to show how awesome this book was: there's a gay character who was not at all stereotyped. One of my favourite characters, in fact.

Everything was pretty much spot on for this book, though I'd like to mention my problem with Heart's brother, Phil. I get that the author purposely made him a douchebag, but he ruined my mood every time he opened his mouth. He constantly manipulates Heart into doing things she has no intention of doing. Things that only benefit him and his friends. For example, forcing her to go to prom with his recently dumped friend, Troy, as a pity date. He treated Heart like absolute trash and probably is one the the worst siblings in YA fiction that I've encountered. Here's an example of how shitty Phil is when Troy was drunk and kissed Heart:

"You're completely overreacting. It was just a kiss."
"But I didn't want to be him to do it."
"Don't be such a baby."
"I'm not being a baby! I'm saying I want to go home."
"Stop freaking out. You're going to ruin prom."
"I'm going to ruin it? Are you kidding me?"
"Heart. It was a kiss. Deal." I curled my fingers into tight fists, barely feeling the bite of my own nails into my palms. "Don't you even care what I want? I'm your sister."
"Yeah, and Troy's my friend."

JERK. ASS. DOUCHE. DESERVES TO DIE.

Aside from the atrocity of Heart's jerk face brother, Ask Again later was a compelling read with plenty of charm and amusement. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

~Thank you HarperTeen for sending me this copy!~

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars, but I loved every minute

Dear friends, I want to push this book on you if you love fluffy things. And banter. And ships. And adorableness. If you do not like those things, you should probably turn around because you would hate this book. However, those of you who are like me, YOU WANT THIS. Ask Again Later is the sort of fluffy, slow burning, bantery goodness of which I will never tire.

Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out our interview with Liz Czukas about her other novel, Top Ten Clues You're Clueless! Enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Ask Again Later! Open to US residents only.



3.5 stars

After all the early reviews I've seen raving about how adorable this one was, I just had to see for myself! Indeed, that adorable cover's a plus. I should get a physical copy for my collection once it's out, huh?

The story revolves around Heart--whose name I actually like--a girl who planned to go to prom with a group of friends. But then, to her surprise, two very different guys ask her to prom for two very different reasons! I loved the premise (no matter how unlikely it is to happen, at least from what I think) and how cute it was. It was a great opportunity to show the world that even the crappiest days can turn into the happiest ones (you'll find out why when you read it).

Heart herself was a pretty clumsy girl, in a cutesy-funny way, even if sometimes I wanted to smack her across the head for being dense. She considered both sides of the coin (literally) and really wanted to choose which date she thinks will benefit her more. Okay, well, she basically wanted to pick whoever she thought needed her more, which was considerate of her. What was stupid was that she didn't even consider going with her friends anymore! Psh! But all's well that ends well.

My favorite thing about the novel was that the side characters were also given importance and weren't boring at all! Heart's friends really supported our heroine (most of them, anyway) and were very protective of her. Despite her ditching them, they were there by her side throughout all the prom disasters (which was a lot). Chase was my favorite--he was super adorable and was really close with Heart, even giving her nicknames using other internal organs, such as "Pancreas" or "Lung."

Now, I can't talk a lot about the guys without spoiling things, but let me just say this: you guys are in for a surprise. Okay, maybe you do figure out this surprise around 30-40% in, but it's still a surprise! Fine, I'll just say a few things about them. Ryan was really cute and I loved his friendly, chillax relationship with Heart. Troy was a depressed ass, mostly. I didn't like him at all and wanted to throw him out the window.

With a fun, easy to get writing style, hilarious main characters and a funky supporting cast, Ask Again Later's a contemporary that'll stay stuck with me for a while. I would recommend it to fans of Miranda Kenneally's Hundred Oaks series.

[Jasprit · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Ask Again Later was exactly the cute fun read that I was in the mood for, I admit after seeing the cover, I thought that this book would be a bit young for me, but this was not the case at all.

Heart is asked to prom by two guys, (well actually one, as Heart’s brother Phil forces his friend Troy on her, who has been dumped by his girlfriend just before prom). Heart’s really a decent girl and doesn’t want to let either guy down, so decides that a coin toss will help her to decide who she should go with. The way that the story went from this point onwards I was a bit confused about at first, but I soon came to realise was cleverly done. Each chapter gave us an insight into how Heart’s date would have turned out if she went to prom with either guy. So we’re treated to alternative chapters of Heart’s prom night with Ryan and Troy. I have to say I immensely enjoyed these alternative chapters, it was clear from the very beginning who Heart should have gone with to prom, but still it was fun watching the night unravel before us.

There were a great set of characters that were each brilliant in bringing something different to this story. Normally when there are such a huge number of secondary characters, it can be hard to recall who everyone is, but for me this was not the case at all. I had many laugh out loud moments with these characters although at times there was one character Phil who I wanted to knock some sense into at times. However Ask Again Later couldn’t have been this fun quirky little book without these different personalities.

Although the story was written into two separate nights; Heart’s prom night with Troy, and prom night with Ryan, the blending of the events from one night into the other was done wonderfully. I didn’t find this aspect repetitive at all, but appreciated seeing it from another whole perspective (Phil’s friends or Heart’s friends). Heart’s night was full with chaos in both possible scenarios, however much more in Troy as Heart’s potential prom date. I did at times really feel for Heart in this perspective, as she was roped in on making Troy feel better and was guilt trapped into attending prom with Troy in the first place and then every time she did want to enjoy prom with her friends, her brother Phil would go and put a dampener on things. But through this Heart went to show how much of a great character she was, from being knocked to the ground, having a table thrown at her and going to prom with guys she wouldn’t have gone for, she showed just how selfless she was.

Although there were many wonderful characters in this book two stood out the most for me; Heart and Schroeder (how awesome is this nickname, not only did his nickname have me sighing, but he was just such an amazing character). Poor Heart was clueless to what was going on, but I loved the build up from both perspectives to the ending that we were given.

Whenever you need a quick fun pick me up, which will cause many snort laughing moments and consequent death glares from people sitting next to you on your journey to work, I highly recommend giving Ask Again Later a go, it definitely surpassed all my expectations.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Louisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gif should more or less encapsulate the cuteness of this book:



YES. YOU GOT THAT RIGHT. Sometimes you read a YA contemporary... and to be honest a fair number of them don't "change your life" or are even particularly substantial, but sometimes that one book just clicks.

The protagonist's name is Heart LaCoeur. She can't choose between a just-dumped jock and a gay boy, both of whom ask her to prom after she's already made No-Drama Prom-a plans, for her date. In come the alternate story lines (aka. what happens if she chooses one over the other)! I honestly think this way of storytelling both adds and detracts from the actual plot, but whatever. You can't go wrong with a heroine who calls the eventual hero Schroeder because he plays the piano and looks exactly like




and a hero who calls the heroine body parts like Pancreas and Spleen because HER NAME IS HEART. How adorable is that? SO ADORABLE.

So if you need something light to tide you over between heavy books, or you just want a cavity from uber-sweetness, try this out!

[Faye, la Patata · Rating 2 out of 5]

...meh.

I hoped I'd like it but I didn't :( Predictable, trying hard, has annoying characters, and with the parallel style thing that just didn't work on me. I'm sorry .-.

[Danielle (Love at First Page) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5 stars

Ask Again Later is the type of book that I just love to read; it’s pure enjoyment from the first page to the last. I was grinning like a fool so much I was worried it would become a permanent facial expression. The narration, the group dynamics, the antics, and the blunders all combine to make one hilarious, heartwarming, and super fun debut by Liz Czukas. It’s not just a glorious romp fest, though; I was fully invested in these characters and cared about them as if they were my own friends. It’s fluff with Heart (heh). It should also be noted that the author told me on Twitter she hates love triangles, too, which immediately put her on my will-always-read list. So basically this felt like one huge win for me.

The plot starts out straightforward enough: Heart LaCoeur, a junior in high school and our narrator, has plans to go to prom with her theater friends as a group. They dub themselves the “No Drama Prom-a”, vowing to avoid any and all prom clichés. Just two weeks before prom, and the unthinkable happens: Heart gets asked by not one, but two guys to the dance. One is Ryan, a member of the theater’s tech crew and a somewhat-friend. The other is her older brother’s best friend, Troy, who recently got dumped by his girlfriend. Heart is torn not only by the fact that she never wanted to go with a date, but also because now she has to hurt the feelings of one of the two boys. To help her decide, she puts it into the hands of fate and flips a coin: heads for Troy and tails for Ryan. The book then starts to alternate chapters between what would happen if the coin lands on heads or if it lands on tails.

The writing and plotting are really spectacular. Sometimes I would get tripped up trying to keep track of the two different “realities” and remembering what scenes took place when, especially in regards to the romantic bits, but ultimately that doesn’t matter. Although different shenanigans ensue in each, or they’re seen from a different vantage point, the plots steadily begin to intertwine and converge until they mold into one at the end. I thought this setup was brilliant and oh so romantic: no matter which way the coin fell, things would work out all the same and just fine for our dear Heart(s). Although avoiding drama was Heart’s goal, it’s never meant to be when it comes to prom. There’s a wardrobe mishap, fixed shoddily by duct tape; fake cockroaches that lead to near drowning; exposed condoms; a serial-killer-turned-prom-delivery van; girl fights; boy fights; and, most importantly, a kidnapping involving two unsuspecting people and a trunk (it’s much sexier than it sounds).

None of these antics would have been nearly as hilarious if not told from Heart’s witty point-of-view. She is an absolute riot: down-to-earth, sarcastic, and an excellent commentator on everything going on around her. She is such an easy character to love, as are her supporting cast of theater friends. Their dynamic of easygoing banter and fierce loyalty is one of the best aspects of the book; they are a tight-knit group with years of history and inside jokes among them. Between the two dates, her more successful one is with Ryan, who makes a confession early on in the book. He turned out to be one of my favorite characters, giving Heart the push she needs at the end to figure out her romantic dilemma. With Ryan, the two of them actually join up with her No Drama Prom-a crew, but with Troy, she’s forced to go with her brother’s group of friends: the jocks and cheerleaders. Needless to say, her observations are hilarious if not always kind, but there’s dimension to those characters as well.

Toward the end of the night, the two realities become more and more tangled, until they meet in the middle and become one. The driving force behind this is the romance and bringing our two lovebirds together. As you’ve already figured out, there’s no love triangle in this book, and her love interest is surprising because he’s not either of her two dates. His name is Chase, but she calls him Schroeder due to the fact that he plays the piano and looks like the character from Peanuts. Adorable, right? He calls her names like Lung and Kidney to tease her about her name. Even more adorable, right? Because Heart’s mom had her and her brother at a young age and then abandoned them, she has had a no dating rule her whole life, not wanting to make the same mistakes. It’s not exactly logical thinking, and thankfully she has some good friends to point this out. Heart and Chase make such a cute pair, with their flirtatious dialogue and slow-burn transition from friends to more. Poor Chase didn’t have it easy, watching Heart with her date(s), but when he finally mans up and when she finally comes to her senses the sparks really fly. The last few pages of the book are pretty much the best kissing scenes ever.

If you couldn’t already tell, I love this book to pieces and cannot wait for Liz Czukas’ next, Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless. If it has the same sort of entertaining dialogue, witty banter, cute romance, and adorable friendships, I know I’ll be just as smitten. More and more I’m gravitating toward these lighthearted contemporary romances that make me happy for days afterward. In fact, I’m still smiling about Ask Again Later.

This review can also be found at Love at First Page.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Originally posted at Writer of Wrongs

Rating: Adorably, swoony, witty fun! Fluff reading at its best.

Oh, this book was JUST what the doctor ordered. After a string of alternately grim and/or disappointing reads, I really needed to cleanse my readerly palate with something fresh and adorable that would make me giggle. Ask Again Later had all that an more, because I didn't merely giggle--I chokelaughed. And it wasn't just adorable--it was painfully, cuter-than-puppies adorable. I want to hug this book.



This book is a little like Pivot Point minus most of the paranormal elements and the part where Kasie West decides to crush your ship soul same thing. Heart is a poorly named and brilliant realized teenage girl desperate to avoid any kind of prom date drama. She does what any reasonable high school girl would do, and agrees to go with her group of friends. Until two, stupid not-romantic-options boys with their stupid life-ruining ways decide to ask her to prom, and Heart decides to flip a coin and let fate take the reins. Also she can't make a decision to save her life, which is a trait I can relate to. Also romance is scary and should be avoided when your only romantic options are teenage boys. Heart, girl, I feel you.

From then on we get a kind of Sliding Doors divergent narrative. Heads she picks one date, tails she picks another, and we get to see the repercussions of both flips play out. The narrative is split between the two prom nights, and obviously both lead to dancing and kissing and wardrobe malfunctions and being locked in the trunk of a car. Normal teenage stuff.

So how does the shipping in this (completely love triangle free) book play out?

Heart: Banter banter snark snark.

Adorable love interest: Snark snark banter banter.

Heart: BANTER SNARK.

Adorable love interest, pining deeply: I banter to hide my overwhelming boy feelings.

Heart: I banter because banter also what's that about feelings?

A.L.I.: Oh. Um. I feel--I feel-- BANTER. SNARK. TEASE.

Me: Now kisssss.

Heart: Banter banter banter--

Me: No, seriously, kiss.



Plot: *intervenes*

Me: KISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

Shenanigans: *ensue*


OBEY, HALLUCINATORY PEOPLE.

There are puns, funny adorable nicknames, a ship, awesome friends, a No Drama Prom-a Crew, family jeopardy, and all sorts of prom-related disasters that I, who had a rather disastrous prom night herself, can fully relate to. Plus Heart, our narrator, is just hysterical. Christina pointed out in her review that your enjoyment of this book may be dependant on your enjoyment of Heart's voice and personality, and she's right. It never occured to me that people could dislike her, since I loved her so totally, but I can see how her brand of humor might not be the same as other people's.

But it was most certainly mine. She had me at page one, and the love interest had me at page three, aka the first time he calls her Spleen instead of Heart because he's FUNNY AND IT'S CUTE, OKAY? This is what dreams are made of, you guys. (PSA to my future currently non-existent husband: you'd better make some puns on my last name if you want to put a ring on this.)

So, yeah. Have fun suffering the slow burn! The love interest made my heart melt and also my Heart melt. See what I did there? I'm almost as funny as Schroeder.



The story also resolves itself in both an adorable way AND an interesting, not-so-clear-cut way. This is the sort of book I'll certainly be rereading when my spirits need a little lifting, and I can't wait to buy a hard copy when it releases next week!

[l. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ask Again Later is one of the cutest, most adorable young adult romance novels I’ve read in a long time.

Well-written, funny, and charming, it sweeps you off your feet, and puts a smile on your face all the way through—occasionally accompanied by jumping up and down and squealing around in excitement. This book had me chuckling more than once, and grinning so much I could actually feel my cheeks afterwards.

The main character Heart is extremely easy to like; she’s fun and down-to-earth, and I could relate to her in many ways—she actually reminded me a bit of myself, a few years back. But it’s not just Heart I took to—Liz Czukas created a great set of well-rounded, likable, and relatable characters, which made the relationships and group dynamics believable, and me as the reader invest and care about them.

The romance is, though predictable, cute and more than swoon-worthy, but by no means cheesy, and you can't help but root for Heart and Chase.

My final verdict: read it, loved it, want need more books like these. If you’re looking for a light and fluffy, feel-good, lovable read, Ask Again Later is the perfect choice.

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[~Tina~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truthfully, when I first saw this book, I looked at that cover and wasn't instantly dazzled. I'm a cover-crazz kinda gal and if a cover doesn't get my attention off the bat, then I usually don't bother with it. But! when a goodreads friend (waves to Sam) gave this a wonderful review and talked about how funny it was, I decided to give it a go since I need funny in my life and I'm so glad I did because, Ask Again Later was the real deal. Clever banter, awesome zingers, sweet friendships and an adorable romance. Truly, a fun-filled escape.

Ask Again Later, is the kind of story that makes your heart happy and puts one of those stupid plastered smiles on your face the entire time your reading. The writing is effortless, smooth and quite smart. What a brilliant and refreshing concept idea to have a girl who doesn't date be put on the spot for two good-intention prom invites. Heart doesn't know what to do and decides to leave it up to fate, or in this case, a Chuck E. Cheese token. But fate is a mischievous beast and our tender Heart will be in for one helluva night filled with hilarious disasters, epically entertaining comedy and finally some insightful discoveries. Watching Heart have to endure everything and anything that came her way was such a hoot and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her go through the 'what could happen' for both of her respective prom offers. One was obviously the better choice while the other was the prom from hell, which was both parts sad and hilarious. But no matter how Heart's night is going with both Tyler and his group and Ryan with the No Drama Prom-a Crew, it's where Heart ends up that makes it so incredibly worth it.

My favourite thing about this book is all of the amazingly awesome characters. They were all so funny and just fun to be with.
Being inside Heart's head was a complete joy. She's sassy and sweet and all kinds of scared. She's the kind of character who doesn't like confrontations, gets manipulated easily by her brother and has commitment issues, but despite some of her flaws I like that she felt real and easy to connect with. But what I thought was so cool about her the most was that no matter what the night threw at her (which was a lot) she took it all surprisingly well and made the most of a bad situation. I liked that she just went with it, head up and just dealt with it. Kudos for Heart.
I also really loved all of Heart's friends, they are all a perfect mix of good times, tough love and endless support. While the romance in this is both sweet and frustrating. Despite what's implied there isn't a love triangle in this one, but I really did love both guys. Ryan is a sweetie-pie and I love how much of a friend he turned out to be when Heart needed it the most. But Schroeder/Chase is a different story and I couldn't help feel a tad conflicted with him. Most of the time he's charming and funny and I adored their banter and the use of witty nicknames, but then we have moody-Schroeder who quite frankly was a pain in the ass. Communication is the key to every friendship and/or relationship but I'm not sure Chase got the memo. Honesty people, it works.
While I really did love all of these characters, the only one I had an issue was with Phil. I'm a huge sucker for great brother/sister and family bonds in my books and was slightly disappointed that wasn't the case here. Phil was such.a.asshat. Period. Or well, at least he was in one version of the night, on the flip side I guess he was okay, but I can't help wishing he was written differently.
I really loved that ending. It felt like a warm fuzzy blanket after being stuck out in the cold for hours. Prefect and adorable.

Basically, I had a lot of fun with this book. It's funny and warm and sweet and cute as hell and the perfect book when your in need for something light and wonderful. A feel good, fun-filled read. Can't wait till Czukas next book, but this time there wont be any hesitation!

[Kimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted at Geeky Chiquitas


Reviewed by: Kimi



Actual rating: 1.5 stars

Ask Again Later is about a girl named Heart LaCoeur who has vowed to never date, as she does not want to turn out like her mother (who got pregnant at 18 and left her kids). Prom is coming up and Heart has already made plans with her No Prom-A Drama friends when two boys, Ryan, the theater geek and Troy, the jock who is her brother's best friend, ask her out to prom. Now Heart is torn between the two, and to solve her dilemma, flips a coin. Then the novel unfolds showing both scenarios, told in alternating chapters.

Ask Again Later is a choose your own story type of book, a writing style which is not so original or clever but with a great premise and when executed well could turn out to be a fun and interesting read.

Sadly, Ask Again Later is not that kind.

Remember when I posted the other day that Ask Again Later is one of my 2014 debut favorites?

I take it back! I must have been half asleep when I wrote that because I really didn't like this book.

I have since finished Ask Again Later and I don't feel good. Not at all. In fact this book will leave you offended and violated for all the worst reasons possible. And it can't go any further than that.

The name Heart LaCoeur basically means Heart heart, as LaCoeur is French for heart. It is obviously a very ridiculous name which even the main character herself complains about all throughout the book. This wouldn't be as problematic if the author had chosen the name simply at random; that would've been more forgivable. However, the name choice was obviously a conscious decision made by the author for no reason other than to establish Heart as one of those 'other girls'. Once again, the protagonist falls into the category of those girls who are considered unpopular, geeky, but apparently better than the rest of the social ecosystem - especially the popular kids consisting of the cheerleaders and jocks who seem to only care about their clothes and nail polish and drink and party for fun which are activities that are just SO SHALLOW for 'other girls' like Heart - just because they are 'different'. The name is also a plot device to create 'fluff' - an archetype/genre of overly cutesy gratuitous nonsense scenes that will make you automatically ship (or in my case, hold in puke) the couple involved in said scene. Chase, one of Heart's friends who's part of the No Prom-a Drama club thing, is the main love interest in this book (and this isn't even a spoiler because if this wasn't obvious to you at first then I don't know what's wrong with you) who calls Heart by other organ names like Pancreas, Lungs etc., in an attempt to be flirty and witty and cute and all - but sadly this isn't even funny, it's just cringe worthy. There is much to be said about the characters' names in this book, as Heart also opts to call Chase by the name Schroeder which doesn't even make sense to be honest. The banter between these two people involving their names is very annoying and cheesy and also shows how obvious that they like each other that there shouldn't have been any problem in the first place.

The name isn't the only thing problematic about this book. The characters are even worse. Heart is an okay protagonist but there is absolutely nothing special about her. Her voice is not as distinct and she feels more like a mesh of different YA girl main characters taken from all sorts of books, with nothing that sets her apart from any of those people. She's got nothing on Mia from Princess Diaries or even Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars (both books that belong to the same genre). She doesn't even sound like a real person. Yet, Heart is the least of the problems regarding the characters of this book. Ryan is surprisingly gay (omg i am SO surprised) but is not a stereotype yet his presence in the book and his being gay was entirely superfluous except serving as some kind of PSA to the readers that you shouldn't assume that all gay people fit into stereotypes. There is so much mention of that between Ryan and Heart that it has become too preachy and condescending. Stereotypes exist for a reason and there is nothing wrong about being a stereotype until you become a caricature of that. In this case, Ryan becomes a caricature of a gay man who does not fit into a stereotype.

Troy spends the whole book pining for his ex-girlfriend Amy, in which it becomes obvious that he only asked out Heart to make his ex jealous. In the course of the book, he has only been sober for about 3 pages and spends the rest drunk and doing assholey things. Heart's brother Phil's friends are portrayed to be jocks and cheerleaders who discuss what Heart dismisses as the most trivial things - things that she is not used to talking about. They do not appear to be very smart, and you will start to question why they were dumbed down this much. Tara, Phil's girlfriend, exists as one of those "not like those other cheerleaders" kind of girls as she shows kindness to Heart, and is interested about other things other than nailpolish. Yet she drops the R-word and there does not seem to be any reason for such word to be uttered, unless the author wanted her to be relatable to other teenagers? Even so, it is still relatable even if she does not use such word, so in any case, that should've been just omitted. Tara stays with Phil even though it is plenty obvious that they have a very unhealthy relationship with one another, given the fact that Tara herself admits that Phil is an asshole most of the time - but she loves him and stays because he has a soft side and dreams of becoming a teacher? Really? A woman never exists to take care of her boyfriend, and there doesn't seem to be any redeeming qualities about Phil (but more on that later). Heart's friends are caricatures - caricatures of people who exist to be hipsters, losers, geeks, but there is nothing substantial about them and I don't see what is so great about them.

Now on to the most problematic thing I've ever read, EVER, because this just left me offended and disgusted.

The perpetuation of rape culture.

Two characters are involved in this act, and sadly they are supposed to be the good guys.

Phil, Heart's brother, is the most assholey person I've ever encountered in YA, and there is nothing about him that shows any sign of being a brother to Heart. Phil is described as Heart as her stupid brother who annoys her, but is also the sweet guy who plays Jeopardy with her. Sounds like the typical big brother. Yet, the fact that Phil forces Heart to go out with his best friend knowing he is unstable from his break up shows how bad a big brother Phil is. Big brothers are supposed to be protective, caring, sometimes annoying, but still ultimately good, at least to their little sisters. But there is one scene where Phil's douchebagness becomes clearest of all. In one scene, a drunken Troy forcibly kisses Heart, to which her first reaction would be to go and tell her brother:

Heart: Phil, I can't do this anymore. Troy just kissed me. I want to go home.
Phil: He did? (laughs) That's awesome!
Heart: It was not awesome! In what world is that awesome?
Phil: In the world where it means he's getting over Amy.

What kind of brother cares more about his best friend's moving on process rather than oh, his little sister being sexually assaulted by said best friend?

Phil: You are completely overreacting. It was just a kiss.
Heart: But I didn't want him to do it.
Phil: Don't be such a baby.
Heart: I'm not being a baby! I'm saying I want to go home.
Phil: Stop freaking out. You're going to ruin prom.

BANGS HEAD.

Phil: Heart. It was a kiss. Deal.
Heart: Don't you even care what I want? I'm your sister.
Phil: Yeah, and Troy's my friend. He wouldn't hurt anyone. He probably thought you wanted it.

he probably thought you wanted it !!!!!

When has it ever been acceptable to kiss someone because "you thought the person wanted it"? Heart clearly did not want Troy to kiss her; she has expressed it plenty of times! This is sexual assault, and how Phil reacts is just so unreal. I expected there to be a fight, some punching, a black eye here or there, or even a few broken bones. That would've been way better than this.

There are plenty of other instances where we witness how much of an asshole Phil is, but all his offenses are quickly erased, after what? When Tara drags Phil to say sorry to Heart for being such an asshole, suddenly it is all okay. Tara excuses Phil's assholeness as him being drunk, and they bond over their love for Phil because apparently there is a good side to him and he wants to be a teacher. A god forsaken teacher. Because having an ambition and being good at trivia automatically makes you a good person. Wow. There is nothing wrong with having an offensive character, but there is something wrong with making that character so unnaturally mean and unrealistic, and for that character be given the Get Out of Jail free card by simply existing.

Lastly, we must discuss Schroeder and how he adds up to this problem (more on this below). He is one of Heart's really close guy friends and it is apparent that he likes her from page 1. He calls her by weird organ nicknames and likes teasing her, sure indications of his infatuation. Theoretically he is supposed to be the good guy who cares a lot about Heart and has her best interests. But actually, Schroeder is a Nice Guy. (See our discussion post about this here)

We only see him as a jealous prick all throughout the book who wallows in the corner cursing Ryan and Troy and even Heart because she 'abandoned him'. He is conflicting, jumping from being so charming and nice to Heart (when he dances with her) then all suddenly mad and cold to her by ignoring her (when he refuses to take any pictures with her). He gets mad when Heart gives Ryan a friendly kiss, mad when Heart goes to the party at what's-his-name's house who apparently bullied him in middle school and just generally mad because Heart ditched him - all of which are NONE of his business. Though it is obvious to everyone that Schroeder likes Heart, he never actually tells her, at least not until Heart confronts him about it. He is obviously a Nice Guy, the type of guy who calls girls heartless just because they don't show interest in them - in this case he doesn't even get rejected because he never even tells her he likes her and just assumes that she knows, and therefore Heart should not go out with anyone else instead of him because that would hurt his feelings and would make her a psycho bitch. yayyy!

When Heart convinces Schroeder that there is nothing between her and Ryan this is what he says:

Schroeder: You just better hope you're right, cause if you're not...
Heart: Then what?
Schroeder: I guess that would make you kind of heartless, wouldn't it?

Way to call a girl heartless. When a guy likes a girl and the girl doesn't like him back, then the girl is automatically heartless. Wow. As if girls are not entitled to their own feelings. It's like you owe it to them to like them and there's automatically something evil and wrong with you if you don't because they are just. So. Nice!11 omg

What makes Schroeder/Chase irredeemable as not just a love interest but as a character however, is not his Nice Guy-ness but because he is also in fact like Phil, someone who encourages rape culture. Let's go back to the scene after Heart gets kissed by Troy.

When she talks to her brother and ends up not being comforted at all, this is the way Schroeder cheers her up:

Schroeder: Do you know what it takes for a guy to actually try to kiss a girl?
Heart: Believe me, that was totally effortless on his part. No thought involved.
Schroeder: You don’t know that.
Heart: I was there.
Schroeder: I’m just saying, it’s not that easy. You’re really putting yourself out there as the guy.
Heart: Do you go around kissing a lot of girls you’re not sure want to be kissed? I think that’s called first-degree sexual assault.
Schroeder: Believe me, it’s hard to tell with some girls.

This moment just made my jaw drop, not even in a good way. When the girl you like comes to you after being sexually assaulted by a pig, what must you do? To Schroeder, the right thing apparently is to defend the sexual assaulter's actions in order to indirectly defend himself and communicate his own feelings to Heart, thereby trying to guilt trip her and appearing as a selfish and exploiting asshole.

At this point, it made the most sense for Heart to be rid of all these boys who did nothing but make her night miserable, but since this book promises to be full of romance and 'fluff', there is no plausible way to end this book than have Heart finally get together with the 'right' man.

Again, there is nothing wrong with having problematic characters. But there is something wrong with glorifying and rewarding these characters.

In the end, we are unsure which of the two scenarios actually happened, but it does not bother me, as things mostly end up the same no matter what. Prom is over, everyone's happy, people who are supposed to be together finally get together, and lalalala things are A-okay!

Ask Again Later was one of my most anticipated YA books of 2014, but sadly the only thing that seems to be great about it is its marketing. The writing is flimsy and lacks coherence, the style is meh, the story itself is predictable. Overall, it was a light and 'cute' read, but was jampacked with offensive and disgusting characters and situations, that at the very most I can only describe the book as 'tolerable'.

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Actual Rating: 3.5

Ask Again Later was the fluffy contemporary I was looking for to fill in between the heavier books. It was entertaining, funny and completely adorable, featuring a quirky, clumsy character called Heart. Heart is a quirky, lovable and entertaining girl who really knows how to make you laugh. She even has a strange 'no dating' rule so she wouldn't end up like her mother. Along with her clumsiness and awkwardness, she says some pretty hilarious things throughout. It's cute how she's completely blind to the fact about the guy that has feelings for her.

Split into two different scenarios, Heart gets asked to prom by two guys. Troy, her brother's friend who needs a pity date after recently breaking up with his girlfriend. Or Ryan, the theatre guy who needs a cover for being gay. Although she already had plans to attend with her friends, the No Drama Prom-A, she decides that she needs to go with one of these days, and she flips heads or tails. I was consistently confused with the two different scenarios, especially when concurrent events would occur, but in the end, it didn't really matter as everything led to the same outcome.

Dear God, whatever I did to offend you, I'm deeply sorry. Please accept my apology and deliver me from this prom-themed purgatory.

Heads: Heart in this scenario seemed to attract all the bad things. When she goes to the prom with Troy, she gets elbowed in the face, gets water knocked all over her dress, splits her dress up the back, smashes her phone against the window. The universe just seemed to be against her here, and it didn't help how her brother Phil was a jerk to her the whole time. I'm pretty sure if my brother's friend tried to kiss me he'd have something to say about it but nope, Phil just egged him on.

Tails: Heart clearly had lots of fun here, with plenty of entertaining banter with Ryan and even her friends taking her and her 'date' in. Some of the clumsiness still occurs, but not as much. I'm not sure why she couldn't just ditch her brother's friends when she wasn't having fun in the first scenario, but Heart is more loyal than her brother deserves.

Many of the characters are entertaining and quirky, like Ryan who was a great friend, while others are totally cliche, like the jocks and the popular girls that are her brother's friends. There were some parts where I rolled my eyes, with the teenage antics and high school boys being totally immature with the pranking each other, getting drunk and fighting over a girl. Other parts were completely adorable, like Heart with the guy she ends up with (even though it wasn't half obvious from the start) and her friends looking out for her and never abandoning her.

I did have the problem with how Heart wouldn't shut up about Ryan being gay though. She urges him to come out because "you're not the only gay person at our school." Ryan has entrusted her with a secret because he's not ready to tell the whole world yet, and she doesn't have the authority to make that decision for him.

Ask Again Later is the perfect fluffy, cute contemporary romance to pick up when you're in the mood for something lighter. It's not without it's flaws, but I was able to overlook them and enjoy the book for what it was - a fluffy in-between read.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review and more can also be found at The Book Shimmy.
_________________

Fun, fun, fun! Lately I've been reading a lot of heavier/more serious books, and I needed a break. I needed somethinf cutesy and fun and fluffy. Ask Again Later is the perfect book for that. It was just so incredibly FUN to read, and it's been a while since I've felt like that!

Now, I know some people thought this, so let me make this clear: Ask Again Later is NOTHING like Pivot Point. Clear? Good. So, if it's not like Pivot Point, what is it like? It's cute! And funny. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. If you know me, you know how incredibly hard it is to get me to show some emotion while reading. (Before I start sounding like a robot: I do feel emotions while reading. I can be incredibly sad or extremely happy or very angry, I just don't show it. I have also never cried over a book: I simply can't.)

Most characters were nice. I enjoyed Heart's unique, funny and not too serious voice. She's a really likeable protagonist, if a little weird and naive at times. But to be honest, that just added to her personality. If I had to pick a favorite character, though, I'd immediately scream RYAN at you! I don't even know why I love him so much, but I do. I loved reading the 'TAILS' parts (i.e. with Ryan in it) and he was just so cute and awesome. Schroeder/Chase was a character I liked too, although I feel we didn't get to know him very well.

Some characters were absolute jerks, though. I really disliked Troy and Phil. They were pretty much assholes and they only seemed to care about alcohol. And, to be honest, Troy was sort of pathetic. I really did like how Tara, Phil's fabulous girlfriend, turned out though. She could have easily been painted off as the 'perfect' mean girl, but instead she shows signs of depth in the parts we get to see her and she even made Phil apologize for his behaviour. Yay for non-mean girls! She's actually really nice to Heart, even when the latter didn't always fit in with Tara's group of friends.

The romance was cute. I'm not going to tell you who the love interest is, since it might be considered a spoiler. Even though I didn't feel we got to the LI that well, it was obvious that he cared for Heart and he was really nice to her (most of the time). I didn't SHIP IT LIKE CRAZY but I did want them to end up together. Also, no worries, there is no instant love to be found, even though the novel is set during one night.

Although the plot isn't exactly brain-shattering or WHOA - no real twists, actually - I didn't mind at all. This story is just so much fun and I feel like there doesn't need to be an OMG-I-never-saw-that-coming twist or mind-blowing plot. As long as the book was going somewhere and stayed being awesomely cute and funny, I was happy.

In all, this was so cute and funny and exactly what I needed. I loved most of the characters and their banter, and the romance was definitely cute. This book was just so. much. fun. Ask Again Later is a delight to read!

[Reyes · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Heart plans to have a drama-free prom with her friends, but just two weeks before the actual prom her friend Ryan asks her to be his date, and at the same time her brother kindly volunteers her to go with his just-dumped friend Troy - and just like that, we have a prom nightmare.
The story is told as two alternate dates: in one Heart decided to go to prom with Ryan, and in the other one she goes with Troy. This was interesting for the first half of the book, but then some stuff in the dates starts to overlap and it gets confusing.. Heart and Chase are cute and the book is funny, but there's not much more than that. The kids are supposed to be 17, but they felt a lot younger to me, no matter how much alcohol they were ingesting. The brother and his jock friends were a bunch of drunk idiots, the cheerleaders were mean and the drama kids were very drama-prone, so basically you get every American high school stereotype you can imagine. And Hearts's no-dating policy was plain ridiculous.

It had the potential to be much better, but it's ok if you're up for a couple of hours of mindless fun.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars!

I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't. I think someone who has a higher tolerance for weak characters may like it more, but Heart just let everyone walk all over her and it made me crazy.

The plot line is really interesting. Heart has 2 options for prom and the author writes as if both realities are occurring simultaneously. But it just wasn't interesting enough and Heart wasn't an engaging enough heroine for me to stay absorbed in the book. I read this chapter by chapter until about 75% in. I would force myself to read a chapter before I would allow myself to watch 15 minutes of TV, switch the laundry, or load the dishwasher. About 75% in, the book got better, which is why I gave it 3 stars instead of 2.

I would not recommend this book to anyone, but instead would guide them to Czukas newest work, Top Ten Clues You're Clueless. It's infinitely better.

[Rosaline (Rosaline's Rolls & Scrolls) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute and adorable with a likable MC. Read it for laughs and a delightful and bubbly evening.

[Biena (The Library Mistress) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crossposted at The Library Mistress

Aside from the really pretty cover, what made me read this book is PROM. I don't know why, but I've always liked stories about the Junior-Senior Prom. Well, maybe because it is that one dreamy night where everyone is licensed to be pretty if not gorgeous, where no one will think you're extravagant because you're wearing couture and dancing crazy in couture at that, or perhaps, I just know that it is definitely a moment to remember. I was lucky I got to experience this most coveted dance, only once though because our school admin is just too kind come Senior year they don't even want us to have a graduation ball and I can say I still can remember it to date and like Heart, my friends and I also went together, or at least in my case that plan carried out well.

When I was a little girl, back before I realized that romance was like a field of land mines, I always thought it would be this magical, romantic night where I'd be princess at my own personal ball, and I'd dance with the love of my life, and stars would shine down on us as we kissed.

Ask Again Later is the story of the feisty and witty Heart La'Coeur who is down with a dilemma of choosing a date for Prom between two guys she is not romantically involved with when she and her friends already planned to go to prom together, thus the group name – No Prom-a Drama (which I find really sad and corny, I cringe everytime it was mentioned!). She wanted to just go out with a group since she doesn't want to be in any kind of relationship at all. For Heart, it is reasonable not to date anyone for her not to follow suit to what their mother did, left her along with her father and big brother Phil when the going gets tough.

Crushes are the best part of liking someone, and they are completely safe. You get all the benefits of fantasizing about someone but not of the he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not drama.

Everyone who has been reading Chick Lit and Young Adult titles will definitely find this predictable and not at all exciting until the moment Heart flipped a coin to help her decide which guy she will be going to prom with. The next chapters are totally something new. Here you are presented with two alternate realities, what will happen if Heart goes out with Ryan or if she goes to prom with Troy.

I don't like the idea that I can't control the outcome of something. Your choices should be the only influence in your own life.

Two stories. Two outlines. Or is it the author can't just pick which story to pursue? Nonetheless, I think it's brilliant. Heart is a character one can easily like and relate to, her level of being annoying is tolerable and understandable. However, it is clearly stated that she just don't want to be with Troy at all. Haha. Another thing I didn't like is, it has two alternate realities with two prom dates but it is clear to everyone who she really likes! Plus, I mean, what's the point of having two storylines if you will just combine them both by the end anyway. Yes, that head and tails chapter is dizziness OVERLOAD, I tell you.

Sometimes it's the small victories the keep a person going.

I am surprised that I actually am giving this four stars when from the start, I'm convinced that this will only have three stars from me. Maybe it was the sweet ending, or the way it is predictable but still gave me that giddy feeling.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
Heart is going to prom with her friends, until her friend Ryan asks her (and has a very specific reason why they should go as friends), and then her brother tells her she has to go with his friend who just got dumped.
Heart can’t decide which offer to take up, so she flips a coin – Heads she goes with Troy, Tails she goes with Ryan.
Then we get two stories – Prom with Troy and Prom with Ryan. But who should Heart have gone with? And who should have asked her to prom but didn’t?


This was a cute story, and I liked how everything worked out okay in the end.

I like Heart, even if she did have a stupid name, and I liked the way she thought of other people rather than just herself. I liked the way she went with a vintage prom dress, and I also liked the way she took her little party bag from her auntie, even when she didn’t really want it.

The storyline in this was pretty good, and reminded me of the book ‘Pivot Point’ by Kasie West, which had a similar sort of thing happen in it.
I did find it a little strange the way the chapters alternated between ‘Prom with Troy’ and ‘Prom with Ryan’, and it meant that you couldn’t stop reading in the middle of a chapter or you’d get confused as to which prom you were at when you next picked up the book. I have to say that I wasn’t quite expecting this sci-fi twist, but it worked out okay.
I felt really sorry for Heart at moments, especially the catastrophe of her dress, and at times it was difficult to know which option she should have picked. Thankfully though everything seemed to work out okay at the end!
There was some subtle romance, which also worked out well, even if it took a while to get there.
The ending was good, and again, I was happy that everything worked out okay for Heart in the end!
Overall; an interesting prom story, with a bit of a sci-fi twist.
7.5 out of 10.

[nick (the infinite limits of love) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going through a rough day when I decided to pick up Ask Again Later. I was angry, sad and just wanted a book to make me feel like there are good things out there. Ask Again Later was the ultimate perfect book to get me out of my sour mood because it managed to bring out a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. If I had to briefly describe Ask Again Later, I would say that it's Pivot Point with a prom!

We meet Heart, who is an adorable and entirely loveable young girl who gets asked to prom by 2 different guys. Heart was an easy character to connect with because she was so genuine. I loved the sarcastic side she possessed and she said some pretty hilarious things throughout the book. She's also super awkward times, which reminded me a lot of myself, because I was pretty much like her in high school. Schroeder was the one I fell head over heels in love with him. The guy was so adorable and I loved his organ nicknames for Heart. He does act a little hot and cold throughout the book, but he's always there to support Heart when she needs him to.

The plot was so much fun you guys. It's one of those reads that you need to go in not expecting anything heavy and if you do, you will most definitely enjoy it. I was a bit worried with the whole idea of going to prom with the 2 guys, because I thought there might be a love triangle, but thankfully, there wasn't any and I knew very early on who Heart had feelings for. Out of the 2 story-lines, I have to say I preferred, Ryan's, only because unlike Troy, he was sweet and caring and was very fun to be around. Troy could be a bit of a douche and I never warmed up to him. I also had issues with Heart's older brother, because he was kind of annoying and at times idiotic, but I think that was how the author wanted to portray him.

In the end, this was a cute read that I recommend if you're looking for something light, fun and enjoyable in between heavier and longer books.

[Sophia Sardothien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah next time I should really look at what the synopsis has written. THE ENTIRE BOOK IS ABOUT ONE PROM OMFG I MIGHT AS WELL DIE. It wasn't only that that annoyed me, I did not connect to the characters as I hope I did :( I basically feel like all of their personality is flat which its a big deal since its contemporary hello? XD I'm not saying this book is bad or anything I'm just saying it's not one for me :/

[Wendy Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute...but not quite as cute (or substantial) as it could have been. I also never really understood the point of the two realities, being that the Troy one was so absolutely uninteresting and the guy she is clearly meant to be with isn't even one of the two choices. I liked the narrative voice, though, so I would try another book by this author down the road.

[Brittany S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edited 2/1/14: bumping this rating up because I just thought it was so darn cute.
egalley approved by HarperTeen via Edelweiss
SO cute! I loved so so so much about this book! The characters were fantastic and I felt like Heart in so many ways. Schroeder was totally an amalgam of so many of my crushes and man, I wish I had a crew like No Drama Prom-a because I was that girl with the friends but not the boyfriends.

The only place it got sticky for me was all of the "stereotypical" prom stuff, just because you know.. My aversion to jocks & cheerleaders nowadays and those stereotypical characters.

Loved the two story lines, loved how it wrapped up! Definitely The Trouble With Flirting meets Just Like Fate.

Full review originally see on The Book Addict's Guide 2/10/14:
ASK AGAIN LATER was adorable and just the book I needed! The story opens with Heart (and yes, that is her real name and she hates it) weighing her prom options. It being their junior year and none of them really dating anyone (except a couple), they decide to all go together, forming a crew called the No Drama Prom-a crew, a group I really wish I had had in high school! The book follows one story line until it’s time for Heart to decide on her new options for Prom: Her classmate in French, fellow theater nerd, and friend Ryan and her brother’s best friend and jock Troy who had just gotten dumped. Heart feels so torn and doesn’t want to hurt either guy so after her friend’s Magic 8 Ball continues to give unhelpful answers (hence our title “Ask Again Later”), Heart flips a coin and the two story lines split into how Prom night goes with Ryan and how Prom night goes with Troy.

The concept was very reminiscent of JUST LIKE FATE by Suzanne Young and Cat Patrick or PIVOT POINT by Kaise West which was a big bonus for me because I truly enjoyed both of these and how they played out! It’s a sort of parallel universe without actually experiencing both, keeping it contemporary and not paranormal or sci-fi. We flip flop between heads and tails, seeing both sides of the coin (as you will) and how things go terribly wrong and awesomely right in each respective scenario. In each path, Heart learns a lot about herself and also in respect to her family and her relationship with her friends. Oh yeah…. And a ROMANTIC relationship which constantly filled me with butterflies and totally reminded me of my own high school experiences.

ASK AGAIN LATER felt very true and loyal to legitimate high school experiences (or at least the ones I had)! With a few exceptions where we lean towards the stereotypical “popular kids” like Troy the jock and other cheerleader/dance team/beauty queen girls in the jock Prom group, reading ASK AGAIN LATER really felt like it hit home with me. I loved Heart’s relationship with her friends and seeing the theater nerds because while I wasn’t a full-on drama person, I did a couple plays and musicals in high school and we had our own niche of musical & choir nerds so I can totally relate to that! It was so much fun to see and watch how relaxed they were with each other. I adore nerdy friendships and I loved seeing a solid group of friends who weren’t afraid to be silly and were truly comfortable with who they were around each other. I often tire of the catty girl friendships so this was so refreshing and truly enjoyable to read!

I’m not normally one to pick up books about Prom because too often I feel like I don’t connect with them or I’m easily turned off because dance scenes often lead to a drama-filled plot. Liz Czukas totally nailed this Prom-themed book though because although there was drama, I never felt weighed down or turned off by it. Yes, bad things happened to Heart. Yes, hearts were broken. Yes, tears were shed… But Heart has her friends to back her up and spend the night with, even if she doesn’t go solo with the No Drama Prom-a group and true to their motto, they make valiant attempts to make the best of each negative situation that comes their way. Heart finds herself in some truly compromising situations but her friends are always there to lend her support and she’s able to rely on them when she needs it most!

Okay NOW NOW NOW let’s talk about the most adorable romance! I personally think it’s adorable because this was about 90% of my dating (aka non-dating) life. Imediately, I latched onto Schroeder. His real name is Chase but instead of calling Heart by her real name, he instead calls her various internal organs like kidney and lung to be funny and Heart in turn calls him Schroeder playing on the fact that he resembles the Peanuts character and is a whiz at the piano. Ummm, ADORABLE. Okay, that may seem immature to some and totally not adorable, but that teasing is totally my kind of flirting and just somehow really just GETS me. Since the first time I met Schroeder, I was already rooting for Heart and him to get together. Throughout the book, the back and forth between Heart and Schroeder just totally tugged on my heartstrings and their friendship, their banter, and their feelings for each other were absolutely my favorite parts of ASK AGAIN LATER.

I actually double-checked my review just to make sure I covered all of my favorite points because there were really no parts of this book that I didn’t enjoy and you NEED to know about all of them. I had expected to like ASK AGAIN LATER, but I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with the characters and really connect with this story as much as I did. It’s a lovely contemporary novel that focuses not only on the romance but also on the friendships, compassion for others, and not letting the negative get you down. I really hope others love this book as much as I did!!

[Jenni Arndt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy cuteness overload, Batman! I went into Liz Czukas’ debut novel, Ask Again Later, with some pretty high expectations after seeing some love for it from friends of mine. The novel delivered in every way I could have expected it to and then some. This is good ol’ teen drama, fluffy fun!

As soon as we meet our MC Heart her personality starts to bleed off the page. We meet her in a rant about how much she hates her name which leads her into some weird ramblings about talking fish and what it’s like to breathe air/water. I knew from page one that I loved this girl. She was snarky, honest and downright hilarious. Sure she could be a bit oblivious at times but that just made her even more endearing! She’s faced with quite a predicament when her plans to go to the prom with a group of friends are interrupted by her getting asked to go by not one, but two guys. So, not only do we get a fascinating character at the heart of the story (haha see what I did there? Because her name is Heart *snickers*) but we get a whole cast of characters in her friends that become people we care about and who have their own little stories going on. I really loved Ryan and even came to be a fan of Heart’s brother’s girlfriend, Tara, who is the popular girl at school.

One of the coolest things about this novel is the way in which it is told. It’s given to us in 3 parts, in part 1 we meet our cast of characters and are presented with Heart’s predicament regarding prom night. At the tail end of that part we see her flip a coin to make the decision about who she should say yes to. Here’s where part 2 starts, we see how her night will play out whichever way the coin lands. The chapters in part 2 alternate between heads and tails chapters, heads being her going with her brother’s recently dumped friend, Troy, and tails is her going with the tech guy from drama, Ryan. I loved the way that the two stories were so tightly bonded to each other. You would see some of the same happenings in both view points but they would happen in a completely different way and have different results on Heart’s night. There were also instances where she gets weird sensations of deja vu which was really cool because deja vu is just super weird to begin with but here it made so much sense!

All of this leads up to part 3 in which we see that no matter how her night went she still ends up at the same place and that what this really is about is the romance. Heart had closed herself off to being in relationships because her mother had abandoned her family and we see Heart begin to get past that and open up. I was a huge fan of how the romance played out in this story and I had a serious case of the swoonies through most of it. Filled with equal parts hilarity and awkward teenage romance; Ask Again Later is the perfect kind of fluffy read. What makes the story is our MC Heart, she is magnificently sarcastic and so blunt that it sometimes takes you off guard. Definitely pick this one up when you can!

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Just a person · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
I wanted to read Ask Again Later because it sounded like a cute read and I like the premise of being able to live out both flips of the coin and see what changes and how it effects her. I was glad to see it on Edelweiss for review and I have a good run with Harper Teen.
It came through with the cute and fun. Heart, the main character is easy to like and she learns how to stand up for herself in this one, we get to see the heads side where she goes with Troy, and tails with Ryan. I liked the banter between her and Ryan, and things that he helps her to see. Ryan has a reason why he asked her, and that he doesn't make for a long term relationship, and I like how his story was handled. But I didn't find a whole lot that made me like Troy. I know that his heart was broken and all, but still. Also there was an interesting relationship between Heart and her brother.
But all along I was pulling for Chase, or Schroeder, a long time friend who calls her by random body parts and she calls him that because of the piano player. It was obvious to me, but not to Heart that he liked her, and it was interesting what drew them together in both flips of the coin. He is shy, a drama nerd, and head over heels for Heart, which endears me to him.
I do love the premise of fate and how different choices have different effects. I also liked that in both of the sides of the coins, certain things happened, like they were inevitable, that life will sometimes just get you a certain way and not much can change it.
I liked her circle of friends but none of them really stood out to me. They supported her and brought her truth when she needed it, but I think their personalities could have been more fleshed out and they could have played a better role in it.
I flew through this one, and it was just what I needed. A cute and fun story, with some pretty epic bad prom moments that made me cringe or giggle, sometimes both. While I liked it while reading, I couldn't rate it higher because there was nothing that made this story unforgettable, or something that made a bigger impact on me. Sure I liked the romance in the end, but besides sweet, witty and being right for Heart.
I wasn't sure how the ending was going to work out, but I think that it came to the best ending in my opinion and got there in a way that I didn't suspect. It gave a definite conclusion and the happy ending that I was searching for.


Bottom Line: Cute read about a coin flip to decide who should be her prom date and the sweet boy in the background that isn't head or tails, but perfect for Heart.

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prom night is a right of passage. It is an unforgettable night that can change your life --- and for Heart her prom was a night she would remember forever.

Heart was always quirky. She was in the drama club, she loved vintage clothes and she had a no-dating rule thanks to her mother. Her home life consisted of a game show dinners with her jerk of a brother, and an overworked dad. Heart was fine with her life; group prom plans, no boyfriend, no stress. But then her French class buddy asks her to prom and her brother sets her up with a broken-hearted jock.

Now, Heart is faced with a decision, who should she go with? This book shows the events that occured if she had chosen either one of the guys. It was disastrous both ways but the one good thing did happen in both scenarios --- Chase Schroeder. He was the best part in this story.

All in all, this book was light, romamtic and funny. I enjoyed it very much. I recommend this for anyone who would like to read romantic comedies.

[Stuti Rai]

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhh

What is that word I'm looking for- you know when the book you've been waiting and struggling and trying to paint your nails for is so unlikable and your great expectations, quite unliterally, point at you the noblest finger in a moment of fake camaraderie, and you have but one choice: to diss the book?

I think it goes along the lines of:

let down, fail, dash the hopes of;
dishearten, dispirit, discourage, upset, dismay, depress, sadden, dampen the spirits of, disenchant, disillusion, shatter the illusions of, dissatisfy, disgruntle, chagrin;
fall short (of expectations)

*copied directly from google.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

asdfghjkl this is so cute 'n sweet my dentist is going to be mad. seriously, I was "awwweh ing" so much. my mouth hurt okay. it was worth it. I suspected the very first time HE appeared that he was going to be the one. :'D

review to come. someday. soon. SCHOOL. IM SORRY. I hate you.

anyways, this is PERFECT for a light, fast, funny, cute contemporary book. I read this in 1hour and 35 mins. extreeeeemely fast, easy FUNNY, cute read :')

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.