Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on
Dallas was determined to escape her hometown and was just biding time until graduation. She kept most people at arm's length, and would rather swipe right when she had "an itch" than invest any time or energy into a long term relationship. All that changed, when Drayton came crashing into her life.
I really enjoyed getting to know Drayton and Dallas. They seemed mismatched on paper, but as I delved further into their backstories, I learned that they both experienced profound loss, which had a lasting effect on any relationships they formed. I will tell you right now, learning what happened to Drayton's family broke my heart in half. Dallas' backstory wasn't any less heart wrenching, and I liked that Marely had both characters reflect on those losses and address them head on.
This story wasn't a downer though. It was actually quite fun. I had the opportunity to join Dallas and Drayton for a lot of parties, a dance, football games, motorcycle rides, and quite a few unapproved excursions. Essentially, I did a lot of standard teen things with them, and I loved seeing their tension and attraction blossom into more.
Lots of fun, a great romantic pairing, fabulous backstories, low drama with the conflict coming from outside the characters -- so many things I love, but I felt like there were parts of the story that could have been trimmed. It's a pet peeve of mine, when authors make books longer than they need to be with elements that don't advance the plot. It's not that those parts were terrible, it's just that they were not necessary, and I think maybe that was what kept me from rating this higher.
There are things I would have liked more of. I would have liked the relationship between Dallas and her bother to have been explored more deeply, because I enjoyed their bond. I also would have loved to have spent more than one chapter in Drayton's head. Though he was fairly forthright, at times, I yearned for more of his point of view.
Final impressions go a long way with me, and the ending was super strong. Marely made some interesting choices, AND she gave me an epilogue. Not only did I get my precious epilogue, but I am happy to say, it was a jump-ahead epilogue. That's my catnip right there. Needless to say, I was left in a really good place.
Overall: This book was amusing, fun, sweet, touching, and emotional. I found myself very invested in Dallas and Drayton's futures and will definitely read future books by this author.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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Reading updates
- Started reading
- 31 July, 2019: Finished reading
- 31 July, 2019: Reviewed