This story opened with Devon's guidance counselor encouraging her to push herself in order to pad her college resume. Though, she had always been happy with her predictable and average life, she was willing to put herself out there in the name of college, and what she found was some beautiful and unlikely human connections.
This book was about family...
Devon's family took in her cousin Foster after his father passed away and his mother was unable to care for him. Devon did not immediately warm to him, as she had spent 17 years as an only child, but the more time they spent together, the bond just began to grow and grow, and by the end of the book, they were sharing the kind of love siblings have for one another.
This book was about friendship...
Mills never fails to write brilliant friendships, and she blessed me with quite a few in this book. I loved the unlikely friendship, that developed between Foster and Ezra, the captain of the football team. Foster was so open and honest with a youthful exuberance for most things, while Ezra was very reserved and hard to read. However, after seeing some talent in Foster, Ezra decided to mentor him, and a genuine relationship developed on its own.
This book was about unrequited love...
Devon had spent years and years pining for her best friend, Cas. She watched him go through a myriad of girls, but always held onto some hope, that he would eventually reciprocate her feelings. This was part of the plot, which was tough for me. I grew to adore Devon, and I didn't want her to miss out on something wonderful, because she was holding out for something that would never happen, and unrequited love always makes my heart ache.
This book was about romance...
There was quite a bit of romancing going on in this story, with several romantic storylines woven into the plot. Obviously, my favorite was between Devon and Ezra. It was so subtle until it wasn't, and I rather enjoyed the slow burn. I was also happy to see someone recognizing how amazing Devon was, and who better than a misunderstood, grumpy hero.
This story was about change...
Devon might have been satisfied with the status quo at the beginning of this book, but by the end, she was willing to stretch herself. She grew so much. She began to see outside her little two person bubble, and she discovered there were a lot of wonderful people and things to enjoy out there. I liked snarky, self-centered, and sort of stuck Devon from the beginning of the book, but I loved caring, generous, and go-getting Devon at the end of the book.
This quote from First & Then pretty much sums up how this book made me feel:
"and there was just this pure, unadulterated, highly concentrated happy. Baking chocolate for the soul."
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