Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Rob and Maegan have never really crossed paths until both begin to deal with major family issues. Rob’s father was caught embezzling funds from half of the town causing Rob’s social status to drop from the most popular boy at school to a nobody. Rob now spends his days reading alone and looking after his father who’s failed suicide attempt left him needing 24/7 care.
Meagan is a straight A student who is struggling under the pressure to live up to her family’s expectation. After being caught cheating on a test, Meagan is trying to ignore the disappoint she feels from her parents and her peers. As if things couldn’t get worse her sister comes home from college pregnant and won’t utter a word about what she’s going to do and who the father is.
This is my second book by Brigid Kemmerer, the first being A Curse So Dark and Lonely which was a fantasy re-telling. I was incredibly on the fence about reading a contemporary novel by Brigid but I really enjoyed A Curse So Dark and Lonely and loved the world she created so I decided to take a shot with this one when I saw it on Netgalley.
I’m glad I did decide to read this because I really enjoyed it. This isn’t just your average teen romance. This is a coming of age story. It’s about two teens who have been dealt a horrible hand and realising that one mistake does not define you. It focuses on the choices we make everyday and how far these two characters are willing to go, especially Rob who is trying to protect his family.
The romance was very organic which I liked and the book was actually written in a dual POV which is always my favourite. Each side of the story was detailed and equally focused on in this story. Each of the characters was flawed but they were realistic and I found myself really liking all of the main characters in this book. Another thing I loved was the YA references, for me it made me feel more connected with the book.
This book does have a lot of heavy content but the message of the story is incredibly important. It shows that even at your lowest things can get better and that just your future isn’t set in stone due to a mistake you’ve made. People make mistakes, it’s human nature.
The only reason that I haven’t given this book a five star rating is because I felt like the ending was incredibly rushed. Everything just happened so quickly and I felt like the story deserved more.
Rating: 4/5*
Comments