Saturday Shorts: Infinite Repeat

Seventeen-year-old Micah Foster is looking forward to the return of his girlfriend, Amber, who's been away in Los Angeles recording an EP with her band. But when Amber returns home on the anniversary of Micah's dad's death, something feels different and Micah pushes her away. 
Over the next week, as Micah tries to repair his relationship with Amber, he relives the events of the past few years and recognizes a pattern. His friends and family are right--he self-destructs every April, right around the time his dad died, hurting people he cares about in the process. Will Amber be this year's casualty? Or can Micah escape his past in time to fix his present?  Quoted from Goodreads

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I thoroughly enjoyed The Art of Lainey, so of course I had to read this when I found out Paula Stokes had written a novella from Micah's point of view.  

It's a great look at Micah's life, pre-Lainey.  We get to see what happened with his ex girlfriend Amber and especially exactly what happened the night his dad died.  It's not a lot of new material, though there is some.  We get a lot of general background about Micah in The Art of Lainey, but here we get to see the nitty-gritty details of some of the biggest moments in his life that actually makes him who he is, and it's a lot of fun.  

I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing Lainey from Micah's POV before they started fake dating.  There aren't a lot of interactions---that's not what the story is about---but there are a few fun moments that you appreciate.  That's not to say you can't read this book first. You absolutely can.  In fact, this is one of the few novellas that was published after the book it goes to that I don't think would spoil reading the book at all.  Too often you have to read them second despite the fact that they're prequels because they give main plot points away.  This one really doesn't. It just fleshes out the Micah Lainey gets to know later.  

So, should you read this book?  If you've read The Art of Lainey, absolutely.  It's a delightful prequel that gives you more if that's what you want.  If you haven't and might be interested, check this out. It's a great introduction to a lot of the characters without being as much a commitment. I'm giving it a positive 3.5 stars. It's a great addition to the Lainey universe, and an excellent way to get to know Micah better.