kfriend's review against another edition
4.0
Well, hello, Kelsey Clayton- where have you been on my TBR? This is my first reader experience with Kelsey, but most certainly won't be my last!
This book has so much of what I love - the bully + second chance romance trope, that delicious new adult vibe, deeply nuanced and scarred characters trying to put the fragments of their souls back together after extraordinary tragedies befall them, and a delicious buffet of side characters who I will happily load up my plate for, calories be damned!
This is the story of Savannah and Grayson, former childhood best friends that have not seen each other since they were 10. Both of their lives have since tragically been ripped apart. We discover right away that Savannah has been hiding her trauma- every day putting on a public persona that both protects her from the feared ridicule she worries she’ll receive and also serves as her way to cope, to hide from the harsh truths of her reality. By day, she’s the school queen B of a lux private school, every girl wants to be her, every boy wants her, and she’s an accomplished dancer, pouring her pain and hopes into her art. At night, she’s the embattled daughter of the alcoholic stranger that she once called father. Her world seems to halt when her childhood best friend appears at her school- and he seems to hate her, when all she wants is her best friend back. Grayson has had the beautiful life he loved shattered- his father dead, his life uprooted, and he blames Savannah, the girl he fake married when they were 10. He’s back with one thing in mind- destroy her in the way he destroyed him, break her into as many pieces and she broke him.
Grayson quickly infiltrates her friend group, and we have a prolonged game of cat and mouse- both unclear what the other is thinking, both orbiting each other without acting, us waiting for Grayson to either get over it or strike. The tension mounts and Clayton let’s them settle in, and interspersed flashbacks and dual POVs help us juxtapose the Savi-Gray of the past with the Savannah-Grayson in front of us now. Trouble is- they can’t quite reconcile this, and they are both drawn to each other by the lifelong connection deeply sewn in their hearts.
Savannah really grew on me, once I felt I could know the REAL Savannah vs. the Savannah she projected, and particularly once she reconciled with Laney, their other friend from childhood. She’s incredibly resilient, and despite being a Queen B (and the bully treatment of another girl- who arguably deserved it), she was mostly kind and charming. When she’s at her lowest (won't’ give away why), you feel deeply from her- her pain is our pain, and that is the sign of empathetic character development.
Gray also took a moment for me to swoon over, but I did. We spend a lot of time with him in the hateful, cruel phase (and even later he still revisits this)- and one of my least favorite bully tropes is the “past misunderstanding/no one even bothers to get the full story” device. We have that here- and we swim in it for a while. But, once we start to see Gray open his heart some, start to question his own hostility, and we get to see dirty-steamy gray, I was a goner.
Their chemistry is really fantastic- sometimes I don’t actually FEEL the connection between “second chance” characters without prolonged backstory. We do have some flashbacks, but most of what we learn of the character is the present, and I FELT the magnetic tug between, I bought their soulful intertwining. Clayton makes them fully realized and nuanced characters, but also helps us feel their need for their other half- the two broken souls who can really only be repaired when their pieces are interconnected.
The first half of the book didn't fly for me like the second half. The “angry-vindictive”/”we don’t know what is going on” phase of the book lasted longer than I wanted and was a bit repetitive (and Gray actually didn't’ do MUCH to her- this was less about actual bullying and more about the looming threat of it), but once we got over that hump, I was hooked for the second half- where I felt like we finally dialed into them as individuals and as a interconnected pair, we get some answers, and action picks up. The emotion dials up really beautifully and believable, we see characters surprise us with their maturity and responsibility, and this woman can write a steamy scene! Have mercy! Also, probs for writing a case of side characters that don’t actually fall into the predictable patterns (won’t reveal much, but they surprise you). Given the strength of the back half, and how intense that resolution was (plus that easter egg in the epilogue!), I’d give this 4 stars, and I’ll be excited to read more of the books.
This book has so much of what I love - the bully + second chance romance trope, that delicious new adult vibe, deeply nuanced and scarred characters trying to put the fragments of their souls back together after extraordinary tragedies befall them, and a delicious buffet of side characters who I will happily load up my plate for, calories be damned!
This is the story of Savannah and Grayson, former childhood best friends that have not seen each other since they were 10. Both of their lives have since tragically been ripped apart. We discover right away that Savannah has been hiding her trauma- every day putting on a public persona that both protects her from the feared ridicule she worries she’ll receive and also serves as her way to cope, to hide from the harsh truths of her reality. By day, she’s the school queen B of a lux private school, every girl wants to be her, every boy wants her, and she’s an accomplished dancer, pouring her pain and hopes into her art. At night, she’s the embattled daughter of the alcoholic stranger that she once called father. Her world seems to halt when her childhood best friend appears at her school- and he seems to hate her, when all she wants is her best friend back. Grayson has had the beautiful life he loved shattered- his father dead, his life uprooted, and he blames Savannah, the girl he fake married when they were 10. He’s back with one thing in mind- destroy her in the way he destroyed him, break her into as many pieces and she broke him.
Grayson quickly infiltrates her friend group, and we have a prolonged game of cat and mouse- both unclear what the other is thinking, both orbiting each other without acting, us waiting for Grayson to either get over it or strike. The tension mounts and Clayton let’s them settle in, and interspersed flashbacks and dual POVs help us juxtapose the Savi-Gray of the past with the Savannah-Grayson in front of us now. Trouble is- they can’t quite reconcile this, and they are both drawn to each other by the lifelong connection deeply sewn in their hearts.
Savannah really grew on me, once I felt I could know the REAL Savannah vs. the Savannah she projected, and particularly once she reconciled with Laney, their other friend from childhood. She’s incredibly resilient, and despite being a Queen B (and the bully treatment of another girl- who arguably deserved it), she was mostly kind and charming. When she’s at her lowest (won't’ give away why), you feel deeply from her- her pain is our pain, and that is the sign of empathetic character development.
Gray also took a moment for me to swoon over, but I did. We spend a lot of time with him in the hateful, cruel phase (and even later he still revisits this)- and one of my least favorite bully tropes is the “past misunderstanding/no one even bothers to get the full story” device. We have that here- and we swim in it for a while. But, once we start to see Gray open his heart some, start to question his own hostility, and we get to see dirty-steamy gray, I was a goner.
Their chemistry is really fantastic- sometimes I don’t actually FEEL the connection between “second chance” characters without prolonged backstory. We do have some flashbacks, but most of what we learn of the character is the present, and I FELT the magnetic tug between, I bought their soulful intertwining. Clayton makes them fully realized and nuanced characters, but also helps us feel their need for their other half- the two broken souls who can really only be repaired when their pieces are interconnected.
The first half of the book didn't fly for me like the second half. The “angry-vindictive”/”we don’t know what is going on” phase of the book lasted longer than I wanted and was a bit repetitive (and Gray actually didn't’ do MUCH to her- this was less about actual bullying and more about the looming threat of it), but once we got over that hump, I was hooked for the second half- where I felt like we finally dialed into them as individuals and as a interconnected pair, we get some answers, and action picks up. The emotion dials up really beautifully and believable, we see characters surprise us with their maturity and responsibility, and this woman can write a steamy scene! Have mercy! Also, probs for writing a case of side characters that don’t actually fall into the predictable patterns (won’t reveal much, but they surprise you). Given the strength of the back half, and how intense that resolution was (plus that easter egg in the epilogue!), I’d give this 4 stars, and I’ll be excited to read more of the books.
natneedsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was a 3.5 star read for me. Engaging and good writing. Kept me reading and curious. But Grayson didn't really have many redeeming qualities for most of the book. The scenes we get to read about when they were younger were so cute and sweet. Then he shows back up and is hard and vicious. Which I get, he's mad and wants revenge. That's how this was going to start. But some of it just didn't work for me. I mean how do you love someone since you were 9 years old, and then tell them to get on their knees behind the football field and treat them like trash? And Worse yet... how do you go from being a virgin to falling on your knees to do whatever he says!! No. Didn't like how she took a few pathetic dives there for a while. Grayson going back to Kinsley AFTER his time with Savi also pissed me off - even as a blocking mechanism. How could he even tough someone else! BUT, he is very sweet in the end and Savi does make him do some groveling so good for her for standing up for herself at least for a bit. Overall, good story that I enjoyed reading.
mollywicking's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
oatmealpie's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
Revised rating system August 2020
Five star - one of my favorites
Four-star – very good above average
Three star – I enjoyed it
Two star - meh
One star - horrible
Revised rating system August 2020
Five star - one of my favorites
Four-star – very good above average
Three star – I enjoyed it
Two star - meh
One star - horrible
beleeen1's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
leighanneprin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
talya_12's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
dylanshunter's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars!!
i ended up really enjoying this book! i loved all the characters in this story and im excited to read all of their books! savannah, i just adored her so much and grayson, i love him so much! the thing i love about this book was the groveling that grayson did! overall this book was enjoyable and savannah and grayson have my heart!
i ended up really enjoying this book! i loved all the characters in this story and im excited to read all of their books! savannah, i just adored her so much and grayson, i love him so much! the thing i love about this book was the groveling that grayson did! overall this book was enjoyable and savannah and grayson have my heart!
edenzano's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75