Kate Gavin

One of the main characters in this book is Reagan Murphy. She is the typical, friendly and accommodating person you would want as a friend or neighbour. With her long-time best friend, she owns several successful restaurants, with the prospect of several more. But one day, her life is disrupted when she and her mother learn of her father's terminal illness.

The other main character is Jillian Jacobs. She is a relentlessly hard-working marketing exec with only one goal in mind: to climb the corporate ladder. She often uses her insufferable ice queen character to the max to get what she wants. And oh, I loved it! Jillian is attractive in an imposing way, aloof to be around, and therefore totally socially awkward. But all these traits are there for a reason, and she also declares that she doesn't know how to turn them off. I have a soft spot for complicated characters like Jill, so I couldn't help but fall a little in love with her. And as expected, her tough exterior protects a broken interior.

When Reagan meets the obnoxious Jill during one of the most challenging times, her life is turned upside down even more than it already was.

This book is complex and deals with many emotional, sad and disappointing experiences in life. But the question is, how do I find my way out of this total emotional drain? How best to deal with it? Life can be lonely and dark, but sometimes a little light appears in the distance to show you the way out of the darkness.

I could already foresee the conflicts that would arise, so they were no surprise to me. However, the sweet ending made up for it – I really enjoyed reading this book!

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Find more reviews on my blog www.wordsandfiction.com.… (meer)

I’ve often wondered what it would have been like if I’d been brave enough to come out when I was a teenager (I waited until I was 23 and studying in another country). Cameron is in her last year of high school when she realizes she’s not in love with her boyfriend anymore and is such more interested in Riley, who happens to be a girl. The good news is, Riley is interested in her too.

While Riley’s already out to her parents and friends, she’s still trying to fit in as the new girl at school. Both young women are navigating new territory, a new city / school / set of friends / soccer team for Riley, her sexual orientation for Cameron. Being a teenager is mostly about discovering new things about oneself and about the world, and this novel is a good illustration of that.

On top of the romance part, there are a lot of interesting relationships in this book: the relationships between the two MCs and their parents, Cam’s relationship with her brothers, her relationship with best friend Claire, Riley’s relationship with her ex, Abby. And though I had a bit of trouble with the writing at first, I forgot all about it afterwards, and, in the end, only remember how the author manages to give distinct voices to her characters. The teenagers sound like teenagers, the younger kids like younger kids and the parents like normal adults. That’s not always a given (especially with younger characters), and Kate Gavin did a really good job on that front.

I’ve read plenty of YA lesfic but there’s something refreshing about this novel that I can’t really explain. There’s nothing groundbreaking about it but it’s heartwarming and totally worth reading.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)