This was my first Jay McLean book and it was okay. It didn’t wow me, but it did keep my attention. Maybe my feelings are like this because I don’t read books with heavy angst and this was filled with it. I honestly thought this was going to be two people from different groups coming together and falling in love. However, this book was much deeper than that.

The characters both had their issues and I think that’s what connected them. Connor had some issues from his past while Ava was dealing with issues in the current with her home life. While they did connect, I really can’t tell you if I think they should be anything more than friends.

Ava was dealing with so much that I honestly don’t think she should have added romance to the mix. Not to say that she doesn’t deserve it, but it’s not fair to the person that she will be with. She knows it, but I feel like she kept getting Connors hopes up.

Connor made me love him at the beginning of this book. However, towards the 75% mark, I started to feel differently. While I get that he was a high school guy, some things he could have handled differently. Some things he did were immature and should have thought about first.

While this book wasn’t a complete win for me, I do feel like I will pick up the second part of this duet when it releases.

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Man is she good at writing teens with a lot on their plates.
Connor and his dad have moved cross country for a shot at him playing pro ball. He’s in a rich school on scholarship just trying to make the dream come true.
Ava is living in the aftermath of her mother’s severe injury in combat. She doesn’t have time to be a teenager.
These two have so much weight between them: abandonment, expectation, caregiving, school, dreams, nightmares, too much life for teens to manage.
I love her writing style. Her characters always jump off the page. They are believably young without being silly and unrelatable. I can always remember what it felt like to walk the halls of my high school in jays books. The different crowds. All the potential and expectation and if course, hormones pinging ofc everything.
Her books are rarely stories if sunshine’s and rainbows. There’s always longing and heartache and dreams referred. But they are always worth reading.