A review by brittany_tellefsen
First & Then by Emma Mills
4.0
Well if that wasn't the loveliest, sweetest surprise of a contemporary!
I picked this up, begrudgingly almost, because it is currently one of the oldest books I have on my physical TBR and I am trying to knock those out one by one. Though my taste in books has changed since my original purchase of this, I kept it, and the other Emma Mills books, on my shelves because I had really enjoyed Foolish Hearts and thought that, despite my distancing from fluffy YA contemporaries, there was always going to be room in my reading life for them. And I am so glad that I was right!
This was a slow start for me. My reluctance to read cutesy YA contemporary, combined with the relentless mentions of football, made it a tough sell. But, once we started diving more deeply into what Emma Mills does best, relationships, I truly started to love this story and all of the characters within.
I loved Foster, who grew to feel like my own little brother that I just wanted to protect and give the world.
Of course I loved Ezra, because like Gideon in Foolish Hearts, he is just the most precious little cinnamon roll.
I even appreciated Devyn, who was bland if nothing else. Emma Mills seems to have the ability to create the perfect love interest, but boring female protagonists.
But what I loved most, was their interactions with each other. How realistic these friendships were, and how much they truly cared for one another.
I also love that there was the true depiction of female friendship in here, and the acknowledgment that girls aren't the catty, jealous, conniving, bitches they are often portrayed to be.
I am so thrilled this exceeded my expectations, and I will definitely be reading more from Emma mills in the future.
I picked this up, begrudgingly almost, because it is currently one of the oldest books I have on my physical TBR and I am trying to knock those out one by one. Though my taste in books has changed since my original purchase of this, I kept it, and the other Emma Mills books, on my shelves because I had really enjoyed Foolish Hearts and thought that, despite my distancing from fluffy YA contemporaries, there was always going to be room in my reading life for them. And I am so glad that I was right!
This was a slow start for me. My reluctance to read cutesy YA contemporary, combined with the relentless mentions of football, made it a tough sell. But, once we started diving more deeply into what Emma Mills does best, relationships, I truly started to love this story and all of the characters within.
I loved Foster, who grew to feel like my own little brother that I just wanted to protect and give the world.
Of course I loved Ezra, because like Gideon in Foolish Hearts, he is just the most precious little cinnamon roll.
I even appreciated Devyn, who was bland if nothing else. Emma Mills seems to have the ability to create the perfect love interest, but boring female protagonists.
But what I loved most, was their interactions with each other. How realistic these friendships were, and how much they truly cared for one another.
I also love that there was the true depiction of female friendship in here, and the acknowledgment that girls aren't the catty, jealous, conniving, bitches they are often portrayed to be.
I am so thrilled this exceeded my expectations, and I will definitely be reading more from Emma mills in the future.