Author: Kayla Tirrell
Genre: Contemporary; Young Adult; Romance
Published: June 8th, 2017
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
After her mother’s death, eighteen-year-old Katie finds herself in a town she never thought she'd see again. Lost in turmoil and sadness, a ray of hope shines brightly when she comes face to face with Julian for the first time in years.
However, he isn’t the same boy she left behind. Reserved and covered in bruises, everyone in River Valley avoids him. Rumors of his activities run rampant.
Despite his cold attitude toward her and her own sadness, Katie can’t keep her thoughts from straying to her childhood friend.
Julian is barely keeping it together. He’s the sole provider for his family after his dad leaves. His dreams to go to college are ruined. Even his relationship with his older brother leaves its mark.
But, Katie’s back in town and is stirring feelings in him he thought were lost forever.
Can they find hope and love in each other, or will the struggle to survive their desperate situations prove too much?
Rating
Hello Fellow Readers,
So in-between all of the fantasy I have been reading I decided to do a contemporary book. The synopsis intrigued me, I wanted a story that explored sadness, loss, and hope. While those themes are in the book, it wasn't as explored as I like. Katie lost her mother, something I wouldn't begin to even be able to understand, but the way in which Tirrell wrote her made her come across as Selfish and privileged. I really tried to like Katie and there were times in the book I did, like when she stood up to a racist jerk. Other times, I just wanted to skip her POV because of how she sounded.
Julian I loved, and his parts in the story were a saving grace, I completely understood what he was going through and Tirrell wrote him beautifully. Maybe it's because I've been around situations such as the one he has been through so I understood his grief more? He wasn't perfect by any means, but I guess I was just more sympathetic to him.
The one thing I didn't like was the romance. I understood that there may needed to be a build up and have it slow burn into love, but they spent half of the book avoiding and ignoring each other. I also understood they were childhood friends but you haven't seen the person in 5 years, plus they have changed due to the events in the book but they barely talked when they first saw each other. A childhood connection is not enough to have them bloom into insta-love after 1 kiss.
This is a series and the next book involves 2 characters who were in this one, that I enjoyed. I am not sure if I want to read it or not, I'll keep it in mind though.
Julian I loved, and his parts in the story were a saving grace, I completely understood what he was going through and Tirrell wrote him beautifully. Maybe it's because I've been around situations such as the one he has been through so I understood his grief more? He wasn't perfect by any means, but I guess I was just more sympathetic to him.
The one thing I didn't like was the romance. I understood that there may needed to be a build up and have it slow burn into love, but they spent half of the book avoiding and ignoring each other. I also understood they were childhood friends but you haven't seen the person in 5 years, plus they have changed due to the events in the book but they barely talked when they first saw each other. A childhood connection is not enough to have them bloom into insta-love after 1 kiss.
This is a series and the next book involves 2 characters who were in this one, that I enjoyed. I am not sure if I want to read it or not, I'll keep it in mind though.
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