Sam@WLABB
Written on Oct 23, 2018
This book was billed as a romance, and it had romance, don't worry, but really it was a redemption story. I LOVE redemption stories, because I like to believe that we can all stumble, make mistakes, and atone for our transgressions.
Brianna had turned into a terrible person. She was making poor choices and alienating others, because she was unable to properly manage her emotions. It could not have been easy for her to acknowledge that fact to herself, and that was one of the things that earned her some empathy from me.
I loved seeing her take those steps towards being a better person, and I liked that Hooyenga made it clear, that this was a difficult journey for Brianna. She tripped a little, but she often caught herself, and self-corrected. She experienced tremendous growth over the course of the book, and I was very proud of her.
I was also glad to see her parents doing a little growing too, because they played a role in how she became the mean girl. I guess you could say, that Brianna's arrest was a wake up call for the whole family.
Now for the warm and fuzzy parts! The romance! Xavier was interesting from the start, but the more I learned about him, and the more I saw him interacting with friends and family, the more I adored him. He was just a good person, and the perfect person to accompany Brianna on her journey to becoming a better version of herself. It was great spending time with these two, because I could sense the attraction and the tension, but there were also those little stirrings of something more.
The friendships that developed while Brianna completed her community service were wonderful too. Something different brought each character to the clean up crew, and they were all from very different backgrounds, but at the same time, they shared so much common ground, and I love that Hooyenga highlighted those similarities.
It was also a lot of fun being out on the slopes with Brianna and Xavier. The closest I have ever gotten to any sort of snow sports is watching them from the lodge as I drank my hot cocoa, but Hooyenga did an amazing job pulling me out onto the mountain. I shared Brianna's highs and lows out there, and I really enjoyed getting to be a part of it.
There was one other super delightful little thing you should keep your eye out for. I won't give too many details, because it's a spoiler if you ask me, but keep an eye out for Piper, because she was too adorable to be contained on the page.
Overall: A great story of redemption, and how one can really start living once they abandon the quest to keep up appearances and start looking beyond the surface.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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