A review by zoesnicholson
I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

3.0

3.5 stars

I absolutely adored Heather Demetrios' debut [b: Something Real|15789443|Something Real|Heather Demetrios|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385144446s/15789443.jpg|21510353] and was a bit ambivalent about her second book [b: Exquisite Captive|18106985|Exquisite Captive (Dark Caravan Cycle, #1)|Heather Demetrios|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399313472s/18106985.jpg|25427953], so I picked up I'll Meet You There, curious to see how it compared to her other two novels. And, ultimitely, while I can't say I liked it quite as much as [b: Something Real|15789443|Something Real|Heather Demetrios|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385144446s/15789443.jpg|21510353], I did like it much more than [b: Exquisite Captive|18106985|Exquisite Captive (Dark Caravan Cycle, #1)|Heather Demetrios|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399313472s/18106985.jpg|25427953]. It's a simple tale, really; but one that needs to be told and will turn your hearstrings inside out and back again.

In the small, isolated Californian town of Creek View, there is no way to escape the monochromy of everyday life. Every day is the same thing, over and over again. 17-year-old Skylar Evans knows there must be more to life than this, and she counts down the days until she can leave her hometown and go to college. She has one foot out the door when her mother loses her job, and she soon realizes that some dreams just aren't meant to be.

Skylar is a character that you just can't help but like. She's intelligent, artistic and determined. Sure, she has her flaws (don't we all?), but, oddly enough, those flaws are what makes you connect to her and helps her feel more realistic. Heather Demetrios crafts her in a way that there are times when you almost struggle to remember that she is, in fact, fictional.

19-year-old Josh Mitchell, on the other hand, had a different escape from Creek View: the Marines. But now he's back where he started; one leg less. The occasional chapters from Josh's point of view are absolutely heartbreaking. We witness, through his eyes, the horrors and the tragedies of the military, and it's as horrifyingly real as it is devastating.

The relationship between Josh and Skylar is slow-burning but filled with emotion. It starts slowly at first as they work together at a motel, and soon blossoms into something more as they realize that they're exactly the kind of person the other individual needs.

In the end, though, despite the wonderful characterization and romance, I couldn't strike the feeling that something was missing, but I suppose it's more of a "it's me, not you" situation than anything else. I'll Meet You There is a simplistic and powerful story, and Heather Demetrios has proven her knack for contemporary yet again.